First machine and first print problems.

Gen7 with teacup.
DRV8825 drivers.
1/32(400 step) motors from sparkfun.
Mk3 ALU heatbed.
J-Head 1.75/.3 hotend.
ABS

First issue is steps_mm. I got X/Y to accept what I think is the correct calculation(320000) in 1/32 mode but Z and E are giving me problems.
If I calculate Z, I get the number 8000000(Triffid hunters calibration guide) and feed it to teacup, but then it seems like nothing happens, like the controller is hanging or something. If I switch it to 320000 then it comes to life.
I left the extruder in full step mode with it's default step mm setting. Messing with it just seems to get me very little movement out of the thing.

Getting ABS to stick on the Mk3 heatbed just isn't happening. The wiki says to "print directly to the bed, no glass required". But I dunno, this isn't happening. I can only get the bed up to around 95c too.
I also tried to make some "ABS juice" with the ABS I got and it isn't dissolving, even after letting sit overnight, wtf?
I also think the head maybe the head is too high when starting the print?
Very little comes out of the hotend when printing thou. What little that does come out ends up making a little ball on the hotend.
So should I just get the kapton tape and put a layer on it?

Thanks for all your help.

Hi,

I'm pretty new, but I'll try to help you out.

Your steps/mm seem way too high even without knowing your motor specs, belt pitch, or # of pulley teeth. Your calculations are several orders of magnitude off for some reason. For a 200 step/rev motor with 1/32 microstepping and a T-5 belt system, you should get around 160 steps/mm. Depending on your motor and belt configuration, this value could be a little different but nowhere near the values you're getting. The z-axis steps/mm should be a bit higher than the x/y axis. Assuming a 8mm z-axis lead screw with 1.25mm pitch and same motor as before, you should calculate 5120 steps/mm. The extruder is a similar calculation but you need to know the diameter of the hobbed section of the extruder bolt, so you need to measure it with calipers. Depending on your extruder type, this value can vary quite a bit but should be less than 1000 to give you a ballpark of an acceptable value. Try these new values and see if the movement improves.

As far as your sticking problems, I seem to have solved those printing with ABS on my own machine so I'll give you some a good hint: Use hairspray! First off, you do need a glass surface (you want a flat, level surface to print on for best results). Then just skip the PITA kapton tape and the "ABS juice" nonsense and just pick up a can of high hold hairspray. I use Garnier Fructis Ultra Strong with excellent results.

I start the first layer at a bed temp of 105 deg C and lower it to 95 deg after the first layer is done. This allows maximum adhesion of the first layer without warping the bottom of the part. If you can't get the bed to above 95 deg, there is a problem. Not sure what it could be, but check to make sure your wiring is adequate and measure the resistance of the bed across the terminals to rule out any power issues. What kind of power supply are you using? You may not be getting the bed heater enough power...it takes several amps to run!

If the print head is too high off the bed, I just lower the z-axis endstop gently until the head comes down at the desired position. There are other ways of adjusting it, but I find this is the easiest for me. The blobs you are getting are most likely related to not calibrating your extruder steps/mm. Do that and see if the problem fixes itself.

Hope all that helps.

Hey, thanks for the great tips.
Hmm, my motor is 400 step/rev and I also got the drivers in 1/32 mode. The X/Y seems to be working great, it's Z and *maybe* E that I have problems with, I think, not sure, because I can't get plastic to laydown yet.

Anyways, since this post, I have ordered a 24v power supply that will be dedicated to the heatbed, but it hasn't arrived yet.

The builder of this heatbed has stated that resistance on it is between 1.4-1.6 ohms on the 12v side and I am getting 1.6 so that is in spec. For 24v's he lists 5.0-5.4 and it's right there too.

I currently have a 500 watt psu wired to it and everything else, so plenty of watts, prolly a voltage drop when everything kicks on.