GMax 2 First Impressions (and some warnings!)

gCreate_Joshua

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#21
They are using a product called geckotek cold. It is similar to buildtak, but we sometimes use the cold version on acrylic bed to print in PETG.
 
#22
Yes, what Joshua said. I was thinking about the acrylic bed vs. the heated bed when I responded. We use GeckoTek on top of the acrylic bed. That allows you to use a layer of glue for better adhesion.
 
#23
Ah that makes sense. I'm still waiting to test my heated bed. Seems I was one of the unlucky folks to get a printer with the wrong bed control cables. Team shipped the replacement today, hopefully I'll get it tomorrow.

Unfortunately, I installed an updated firmware provided by gCreate support and it has some weird issues. The X-Axis controls seem to be inverted and the stepping on the Y-Axis seems off as running auto-home causes the printer to crash violently into the right X stop (screen shows it thinks it's going towards 0 but it's really at 500+mm). Link to video below which shows what auto-home does after new firmware. I even tried clearing the eeprom and restoring safe defaults from the menu. Only after did k realize that the original firmware for gmax2 isn't posted anywhere so I can't even roll back... Dead in the water again. I'm not giving up yet but damn this has been a rollercoaster.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/K7oW2b55rTNAAUKu5
 
#24
I must say I have gotten good support thus far but am still working through various issues due to poor packing of the Gmax 2 when they are shipped. My X carriage ended up getting bent during shipping and my bltouch damaged. Gcreate has a sent me replacement parts for both. However even the replacement parts were packed poorly and the pulley on the right side came damaged in shipping. I was able to take the pulley off of the damaged X carriage and use is but it would appear that the gear on the X motor may be defective also because I'm getting serious belt wobble on that side. Also I am getting poor prints with my replacement parts so I'm very confused.

Overall for the cost of the Gmax 2 printer I shouldn't have received a damaged printer and be receiving damaged replacement parts. If Gcreate wants to be known as having good printers they need to resolve their poor packing and poor quality control.

Thanks,

Brian
 
#25
Hello,

This will be my first 3D printer, I hope I made the right choice and haven't bitten off more than I can chew, buying this printer. I first learned of gCreate about 3 weeks ago when I stumbled upon 3DPN's unboxing video of the gMax 1.5XT+ on YouTube, I loved the build volume of that printer so much I immediately went to the gCreate website and discovered there was a gMax2, and It had everything I've been wanting in a 3D printer and more. Massive build volume, Hywin X, Y, and Z linear guide rails, printer controlled heated build plate, auto bed leveling, and best of all it's built in America with really high quality metal parts, and very few 3D printed plastic parts. Needless to say I got really excited, perhaps too excited?

Reading these reports of quality control issues and printers arriving damaged due to poor packaging. I'm a little concerned, to say the least. Especially considering what we are paying for this printer.

Hope I wan't to hasty in making this decision...

Thanks,

- Jeff
 
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#26
The 72hr print succeeded after the 5th attempt. Can get PLA to adhere to the bed enough to resist warping. I've got it in a temperature controlled enclosure I built. I suspect my acrylic bed just has too much variance. Most of my other issues came down to the wrong nozzel size being installed from the factory. I'm working with gcreate to test new firmware with a higher density mesh. I'm also hoping to install my heated bed tomorrow and see if it help with the adhesion.

You are printing petg on the acrylic bed? Or did you get the heated bed early on?
So are you using the heated bed for PETG? And if so, what do you have your set temp to? We will be experimenting with PETG here in the next week and I am wondering if it possible to not use the heated bed with it.
 
#27
Heated bed is a must for all materials in my experience if you are printing anything above a few inches. Though this is highly dependent on the geometry you are printing as well as the material. If you have a high quality PLA then maybe you can get by with acrylic build plate. In my opinion, this machine isn't cheap... The heated build plate is not a large relative investment and it will reduce your failure rate a TON. I'd also recommend a removable flex plate if you can get one that is big enough. I managed to get into an early production run of a flex plate for the Gmax2 from buildtak and it is amazing.
 
#28
Hello,

This will be my first 3D printer, I hope I made the right choice and haven't bitten off more than I can chew, buying this printer. I first learned of gCreate about 3 weeks ago when I stumbled upon 3DPN's unboxing video of the gMax 1.5XT+ on YouTube, I loved the build volume of that printer so much I immediately went to the gCreate website and discovered there was a gMax2, and It had everything I've been wanting in a 3D printer and more. Massive build volume, Hywin X, Y, and Z linear guide rails, printer controlled heated build plate, auto bed leveling, and best of all it's built in America with really high quality metal parts, and very few 3D printed plastic parts. Needless to say I got really excited, perhaps too excited?

Reading these reports of quality control issues and printers arriving damaged due to poor packaging. I'm a little concerned, to say the least. Especially considering what we are paying for this printer.

Hope I wan't to hasty in making this decision...

Thanks,

- Jeff
I think my issues were mostly due to being an early production unit. The machine has been awesome for me after those earlier issues got sorted. I would HIGHLY recommend the heated build plate both due to its more uniform surface and also the improved adhesion of the pei sheet and of course the heat reduces warping. If put about 20 rolls of filament (PLA and PET) through my Gmax2 and it's doing awesome.

I do kinda wish they had opted for a better main board like a Duet2 wifi given the price point having wifi and the more robust firmware would give more future growth prospects but that may be an upgrade I do in the future.
 
#29
I think my issues were mostly due to being an early production unit. The machine has been awesome for me after those earlier issues got sorted. I would HIGHLY recommend the heated build plate both due to its more uniform surface and also the improved adhesion of the pei sheet and of course the heat reduces warping. If put about 20 rolls of filament (PLA and PET) through my Gmax2 and it's doing awesome.

I do kinda wish they had opted for a better main board like a Duet2 wifi given the price point having wifi and the more robust firmware would give more future growth prospects but that may be an upgrade I do in the future.
Thanks for the update. I have wondered how the new model was performing for users.

You touch on a couple of things that nagged me about this release. Selling it at $4k without a heated bed... A $4k dollar printer should have a heated bed. A printer with a 18 x 18 inch bed should not be available without, at a minimum, the glass sheet with a Geckotek EZ-Stik Cold sheet installed. The standard sanded acrylic sheet was unusable on my original gMax 1.5+ machines so, I don't know how they manage it on an even larger bed.

The mainboard. A Duet would have been nice but I am glad they are using a RAMPS over the Rambo. The Rambo's have a tendency to burn out the soldered on motor drivers.

The power supply. Ditch the ATX unit for a standard 12 or 24 volt Meanwell or similar. It would make power supply replacement less of a pain.

Overall, it looks like a hell of a machine. Glad to hear you up and running now.