PREFACE
I originally had an Anet A8 which I spent a ton more time working on than actually getting decent prints - I also spent about half as much as I did on the original price for upgrades and replacement parts... so I wanted something better I could just unbox, throw together, calibrate quickly and be off on decent quality prints for a reasonable price. "Just work" out of the box - I thought the A30 was it. At first it was (although I did have a minor issue of the bed glass lifting off the plate on one corner - but I did not feel like dealing with returns and waiting, so a binder clip solved the issue). This lasted for about a month, and then I had to take a break due to other obligations.
ISSUES
After sitting for about a month and a half, I decided to start printing again. I got one or two good prints and decided to install my auto-level sensor that I had purchased on amazon a while back. The sensor itself seemed to be working fine, but when probing the center of the bed in setup, it seemed to sense fine the few times it probes, but then decided to slam into the bed and proceed to drag a nice thick scratch.
So angrily I gave up on that idea and just keep printing... I got about 1 more decent print and it started under extruding. So I cleaned the nozzle and re-leveled the bed - got a little better, but still not as good as the beginning. I would get 1 or 2 decent prints, then terrible under-extrusion again... repeat process. This got old quickly, so I did a full "atomic" clean, replaced the bowden tube (the end was not flat in the extruder), and replaced the feeder mech with an Al one I had bought as a future upgrade - no significant change.
Cleaned everything again, leveled, start a test print, but forgot to push the filament all the way back in
so I stop the print, and it then starts freaking out and slamming all axes continuously into the home switches... I turn it off and back on, push the filament through, and try to print again. It now decides to GOUGE the bed with the nozzle, so I stopped it as quickly as I could. I wasn't sure if this would affect adhesion, but it's at least an eyesore to look at now.. the nozzle seemed to also get damaged from this, so...I did an atomic clean AGAIN, and changed the nozzle with the spare that came with it - heated to 240° and tightened both block and nozzle. Test print, still under extruding... After some research I decided that maybe my extruder motor needed calibration. I used the Smarto tool to check the the motors and indeed it was not extruding enough, so I changed the steps/mm to what was needed. The fact that this wasn't a problem in the beginning leads me to believe there is another issue (motor, electrical?)... whatever.
So I thought, finally I would be back in business... NOPE! I start a test print and it is STILL under extruding - I then noticed gobs dripping as well and realized the nozzle was leaking filament - horribly. So I disassemble AGAIN - PLA all over the inside and outside of the nozzle, heatblock and heatbreak, and threads. This obviously cannot be reliably reassembled like this, so I tried the usual cleaning methods. After a couple hours of this, I decided I needed a better method, or I need to buy a full replacement to save time. I could not find any replacements on amazon that would fit... and do not want to shell out for a real E3D, so I ordered (and purposely paid more for Prime One Day items) new insulation, kapton, and cleaning tools, which just arrived today, as I was in a rush. When I got home from work, I used a torch to burn off all the remaining plastic, planning to completely re-assemble and install. Apparently the quality of metal is garbage as well because it melted the heatblock beyond use, and a couple of the fins on the heatsink warped as well. I have used this same torch on small Al parts for much longer before with no issue.
I was not planning to separate the heatbreak and heatsink, as I do not have the thermal compound - this has now loosened as well. I intentionally paid extra to get items shipped faster which I now cannot even use for who knows how long. I also cannot buy any of the generic E3D clones because the mounting is different and I cannot print a new mount... another option would be to buy the thermal compound and re-use my A8 heatblock if possible, OR I would assume/hope I could buy a replacement directly from Geeetech but I did not have time for this because I was planning to give some 3d printed gadgets (some partially done already) as xmas gifts - this obviously is not happening now either and we will need make other plans...This is completely unacceptable - it's quickly just become a larger, more expensive A8... I'm pretty much just fed up with it at this point and hoping I can just pawn this off for 70-80% of what I paid.. doubtful though and anything less is not worth the return for me.
An Ender 3 probably would've been a better option and saved a lot more money. Hell, my A8 probably gave me as much useful printing time in the beginning as this thing, but I spent so much time working on it that it was overshadowed... I cannot justify the waste of time and money to bring this thing back to life - I regret buying it in the first place. if I had been using this thing for a year and getting a lot out of it, I wouldn't mind, but I have had this thing for like 3 months and less than a week of printing time on it. IMHO, look for a cheaper option if you are looking for something budget/entry-level, knowing you will need to spend more time fussing anyway, or just save for a real Prusa, Ultimaker, etc and save the headaches and unforeseen costs.
/endrant
I have work around this now with duck tap and a spring wich enforce on the back of the reader. Now. In the most cases the card will be read if I switch on the printer.