Profile Help

Can anyone provide a skeinforge profile they currently use for their reprap mendel? If you are using wades extruder that would be a plus, if so could you also provide your E_STEPS_PER_MM you are using?
I am currently using the value of E_STEPS_PER_MM = .670 (with FULL STEP enabled) along with most of the default settings in RepSnapper. It works fine and I have been able to print several simple part without any issues. However the gcode it generates isnt that good, for example, I am trying to make myself a new wades extruder gear, the gcode RepSnapper generates does not print the gear teeth very well at all, so I am trying to switch to skeinforge for gcode generation, i am having all kinds of problems. First the extruder doesnt spin, it just vibrates loudly in place... just looking for a working profile to work off of, thanks

I would recommend going through and configuring everything yourself. It takes a while but you end up with a ton of more useful knowledge in the end. Learning g code has been super helpful in my reprap learning. I had similar problems when I switched to SF. If you are working with PLA then turn off the chamber and cooling. Also, set your x y feedrates and flowrate to the same number, mine is 25mm/s. Set your z feedrate to a low number. You can then try to generate a calibration print, outline box or something, which you can try to print to make sure your steps per mm are correct. You may need to change your steps per mm in your firmware, but try to keep your feedrates the same.

steveo290 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I would recommend going through and configuring
> everything yourself. It takes a while but you end
> up with a ton of more useful knowledge in the end.
> Learning g code has been super helpful in my
> reprap learning. I had similar problems when I
> switched to SF. If you are working with PLA then
> turn off the chamber and cooling. Also, set your x
> y feedrates and flowrate to the same number, mine
> is 25mm/s. Set your z feedrate to a low number.
> You can then try to generate a calibration print,
> outline box or something, which you can try to
> print to make sure your steps per mm are correct.
> You may need to change your steps per mm in your
> firmware, but try to keep your feedrates the same.


totally reasonable response, I have noticed you have spent a good deal of time asking questions and posting on this topic.

So you recommend I set and leave the rates in SF but modify my FW until it works as it should?

You may not have to modify your firmware steps per mm. I have a 10 mm gear on my extruder motor which I found to be like .113 steps per mm when using a formula found on the wiki and here on the forums. I used that for a while but when I switched to using SF instead of the host software for g code generation I was told by Emt that the best way to use SF is to set your feedrates and flowrates (extrusion speed) to the same number. I then had to fiddle with my steps per mm to make it work. Check the recent posts in this thread for a lot more information.

steveo290 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You may not have to modify your firmware steps per
> mm. I have a 10 mm gear on my extruder motor which
> I found to be like .113 steps per mm when using a
> formula found on the wiki and here on the forums.
> I used that for a while but when I switched to
> using SF instead of the host software for g code
> generation I was told by Emt that the best way to
> use SF is to set your feedrates and flowrates
> (extrusion speed) to the same number. I then had
> to fiddle with my steps per mm to make it work.
> Check the recent posts in this thread for a lot
> more information.


yup it made for a very good reading, what i am going to do now is leave my FW alone and play with the SF settings until the speeds in its gcode render look similar to the working repsnapper and then try it out and see it the extruder stops twitching and starts spinning

Hi

Are you using standard Mendel firmware?

If so you could try sending standard G codes from a terminal to figure out what your extruder is doing.

Send separate commands, you should get an "ok" response to good commands.

F100 (CR)
G92 E0 (CR) ; sets E to zero
G01 E100 (CR) ; The space between 1 & E is required I believe

This should put out 100 mm of extrusion in one minute
If the extruder buzzes you might try a much slower feed rate just in case your settings are miles out.

Try changing values for E until you get 100mm of extrusion

The E value that gives a 100 mm of extrusion gives you an idea how much you need to adjust your steps per mm
If a programmed E of 500 gives you an actual 100 extrusion you need to multiply your steps per mm by 5 (500/100)

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Regards

Ian