Just got a Prusa Mendel.

Just thought I would introduce myself on here before it arrives. I managed to get a decent price of £350 on a special offer. just hope it arrives and Is ok.

I know there will be a few upgrades I could do with getting once it arrives but I think it may be best to get used to it and see what works for me.

Any advise for a newbie?

I got it from 3dstuffmaker. not sure if i can post links but google will find it.

Im sure to be here often once i start the build and use process..

NomadUK Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I got it from 3dstuffmaker.

Uh oh.

---

Help improve the RepRap wiki! Just click "Edit" in the top-right corner of the page and start typing. Anyone can edit the wiki!

sounds ominous.. I take it they are not brilliant?

My advice is:

1. Read the assembly instructions twice before starting.
2. Measure everything 3 times during assembly
3. Buy digital calipers and be obsessive with your motor calibration

Everyone starts with a similar pile of parts, but print quality varies greatly.

Have fun with your build and let us know how it turns out.

Cheese

NomadUK Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> sounds ominous.. I take it they are not brilliant?

3dstuffmaker doesn't have the best reputation. That doesn't mean that you can't end up with a printer that works well though. Post here with your progress and we'll help as much as we can.

---

Help improve the RepRap wiki! Just click "Edit" in the top-right corner of the page and start typing. Anyone can edit the wiki!

well, I got it built connected and trying to print ) Trying is the issue.. Im an electical mechanical engineer so I love a challenge..

I just stripped it all the way back down and am attacking it with numerous sets of calipers and rulers etc.. The problem that I was having before the re-strip down was the pla bunching up and not streaming.properly. I think its just the balance between the heat and the extruder..

There are absolutly no measurements for the top section to get it parralel and no instructions on how to set the extruder effectivly..

I had problems with the Z axis.. hence why I have stripped back down to check that it is exactly parallel and that there are no obvious bind points..

once I get it working I can then see about printing improved parts..

any advice would be great, expecially the extruder.. It clips onto the side and has a pipe leading to the extruder.. (should i cut the pipe if i feel its too long)

thanks again..

Ok I managed to get a Print kinda anyway..

I think the problems are now with the sofware.. I got the extruder pushing really hard as explained in another post. it seems to extrude at a constant rate now.

I just need to work out how to set the speeds. looking at the manual it wants me to measure the extrude length 3 times and set the rate as the average.

then half it for medium and quater it for slow speeds.. where do i put that in the software?

Thanks for taking your time to read this

Got the same printer over Xmas, installed Repetier Firmware/host, and calibrated axis steps through EEPROM with digital calipers. Now my prints are looking fantastic (as long as I dont try to reverse filament, then it just gets chewed to crap and jams).

Next step is to swap the Ultimaker-cloned bowden extruder for the Uni-X Wades, and get reverse working well.

Have printed out a Bertho's Ultimaker Extruder Drive Upgrade (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:26094) and that seems like it will do the trick also, but would much rather a hotend-mounted extruder.

I'll post some pics of my prints at some stage soon

Adam

and here's some pics!http://imgur.com/a/St5UM

I bought one on the "special deal" as well

Ohhhh man..i can't even count the hours i've put into this one. It sure has been a steep learning curve. I've had it for more or less a month now, assembled for a couple of weeks.

Some of my "errors" are due to machine, either quality, or design: and i guess an equal amount of time spent is due to lack of experience with these buggers. It's really hard to troubleshoot when you have no clue what so ever on WHY it's acting the way it does. So many variables involved.

So, errors not due to lack of experience(or intelligense).

Z axis. Seizes up from time to time, even after i replaced the included threaded rods with new ones. The included ones was bent a bit to much.

Extruder....ohhhhhhhhhhhhh maaaaaan!!!!. The single most hated part on this machine, period. The filament feeder broke(snapped right of) even before the first print. Bad design. Acrylic glass, sharp corner..and snap!!
Oh well, superglue and dentalfloss to the rescue. The repair still holds up

Even with that fixed, i've never really gotten it to extrude in a nice, consistent manner. Hot-end is the problem there. I have temperature variations in the range of 20c difference, while running.
More, i have to print at 240c minimum..more prefered, but the heat protection kicks in and stops the machine.

This evening i installed a small gpu-fan that blows cold air over the hot-end. Result was really impressive. I can now print at 230c, and get my first somewhat decent prints.

So, i need to replace the extruder, the hot-end and possibly the controll card to get this thing working as it should.

The reason for me to MIGHT have to replace the control card is that i can't for the life of me get the darned card to accept new firmware from any version of arduino known to man(or woman for that matter).
I'd appreciate any tips in that regard.

To sum it up..1kg of PLA later, and countless hours(not to mention furious wife), i get some things out of the machine that doesn't look as if the cat threw up on the plate.

And just to make it clear. I don't feel like i've been ripped off. I bought the machine with the full knowledge that it would take both time and money to get something useful out of it