How stable does the table under the printer need to be?
I am running a Wanhao on a little-rickety table.
Is it going to shake itself to bits? How might it affect the print?
ps. never done this before 
Strongly recommend a stable surface.
I definitely recommend a solid table, but as long as the table-to-print-head isn’t shifting around, I can’t see that it’ll screw up the print. Arguably, having the printer on some sort of vibration isolation system (which is to say: something loose that allows it to move around) reduces the impulse that the printer system sees when the printhead makes quick directional changes.
It’s on a folding camping table. Want to try a first print, but don’t want to ruin the printer. The print I don’t really care about too much, since I am prepared to tell myself “I told me so”. But I don’t want bits flying off the machine - looks fragile enough as it is.
As long as the table doesn’t collapse or the printer walk to edge and fall off, it won’t care about the surface its on. If you print something with a tight in fill pattern (like say a tear drop shape), you’ll see the range of vibrations the printer can do as it infills a tighter and tighter area. Keep an eye on it and it will be fine.
@John_Bump Agreed. I have a crazy rickety drill press - the whole thing sways/shakes about a 1/4" from center. And yet I was able to drill a 0.4mm hole into the center of a tapered threaded rod because all that stuff was swinging together. The drill bit relative to the material never noticed the swinging.
Ok thanks for the advice - time to try!
I’ve been using a flimsy foldout table for months with a Mendel90 ., and ended up with good results once I tightened the belts sufficiently. The table is not appearing to be a problem, even though it often vibrates quite a bit.
Three easy fixes…
If the legs are uneven, fold some paper in a wad and place it under the leg.
If the table is bending under movement, add more weight to dampen the movement.
If the legs move relative to the table. Use a piece of wood clamped to the top and a leg diagonally.