Multiple issues..Newbie needs helps

Hello Everyone,
I have recently moved to this new job and the guy before me had assembled this sanguinololu Prusa Mendel 3D printer.It is using Pronterface. My boss wants it running and I have no clue

I tested the machine,however there were too many issues.please SAVE ME!!


Zaxis Problem
Issue 1: I am having problem to set the height of the Zaxis respect to the bed. As my Zend stops is at the top,the motor would not know where to stop and it digs into the bed.The pronterface has settings option for width,depth,height,X,Y and Z offset,X,Y and Z home pos.I tired changing them here.does not seem to work. Where should i set the correct height so that it stops just above the bed?

Printing Problem
Issue 2: Considering everything is the default value, I tried to load the test file to see if it prints anything. When I press print, the motors move to the top and stays there and I assume THE MACHINE thinks its priniting but very slowly. Also the extruder does not move when it THINKS its priniting. Otherwise the extruder extrudes fine.

Issue 3:I dont have any slic3r option as everone have been discussing in similar threads.

Issue 4:i have no idea about G-code and what to do with it.

Issue 5: I have set XY 3000 mm/min and z 200. is that right??

I am using ABS.

I dont know if all the above info makes any sense or not,if you need more details I would send them.please help me.

Thanks a lot

What is your new job not to sound mean but but I've been laid off for a year and can't get a job your job if it has anything to do with engineering machine repair or computers or electrical I don't think you are qualified in that being said I don't know why your boss would ask you plus you know nothing about G code or slicing software. What kind of firmware are you using and depending on that you are going to have to set up the configuration file in the firmware. In the configuration file is where you set all the parameters of the machine how many steps per millimeter where the switches are located which direction it homes in how the switches are wired normally closed a normally open which direction the stepper motors operate in which can be changed also manually through the wiring. You have a lot to learn just stating what you have is not enough to help you the reprap calculator will help you a little bit with steps per millimeter but there's a lot more to do.[calculator.josefprusa.cz]

Edited 8 time(s). Last edit at 03/17/2014 05:50PM by cnc dick.

I would have to go ahead and agree with CNCD. It seems that nowadays, folks are none too shy about selling printers on kickstarter they've no idea how to build, and interviewing for jobs they've no idea how to perform. So if the boss knows absolutely nothing, and you toss around a couple of buzzwords, then mazel tov, you have a job. So now what are you going to do? You need to first have a passion for it. Which probably means you need to either have or be in the active process of building a printer. You want to do this for a living, you should understand the wiki in its entirety, and spend your evenings on this forum, learning. That is, when you are not busy building /tuning your printer. Don't have money to get a printer? Most traditional computer jobs require at least 15 grand worth of education, or at least a well qualified geek. If this is your living, let me give you some helpful advice, that's what we are all here for. Read the wiki. Front to back. Download whatever software you can (it's all free) and fire it up. You don't need to be connected to a printer to navigate thru the menus. I would usually say try to learn something new every day, but the ship sounds like it's nose down, so I would cancel life and just learn everything you can, in every spare minute you've got. If you've a technical mind, this should not be to onerous a task, in fact, I'd think you would enjoy learning about all this. If you don't, then give up, because it will all be different in another year or two, it will be a lot more complex, and if you don't like learning this stuff now, it is not going to get better later on. More and more, companies will begin using 3d machines from a variety of disciplines, and if you can't master them all, you will face stiff competition from folks who can. Also, it's important to work thru the exercise of finding the answers to these technical questions on you own, in a work environment, if you can master that, you should be able to adopt new technology as it comes along.

This might be a good starting point:

[buggerit.blogspot.com]

Thanks John for your valuable link.I did manage to sort out my extruder and zpoint homing problem....

To the rest thanks for wasting your and my time with ur unnecessary advice on a forum like this.VERY ENCOURAGING for a newbiee...There is a saying "dont judge a book by its cover"...I would not go into my qualifications or my capabilities and the job....If u cant help dont reply..U guys must be one of those geeks who never helped anyone or thought of themselves to be Einstein.

Back to the issue:
So far have found the following solution, it might be helpful for any new comers.(Dont get discouraged,keep moving)

Solution to Issue:
a. You can adjust the z axis upto the bed by measuring the actual height and feeding in onto the configuration.h file.Please refere to the important link below.It does take careful measurement for accurate result,need multiple attempts.Infact i like the solution where we reverse the motor and the zendstops in level with the bed.however i havent tried it myself.would update it ,if it works.

b. the problem with the extruder in my case was i did not adjust the potentiometer properly which gives power to the motors.to adjust the potentiometer for proper output,take it to the lowest level and rotate it 1/5 in the clockwise direction.

[www.mendelcraft.com]

I would post more info once i go through the process myself.Have a good day and stay POSITIVE

Again not to sound mean but you didn't even mention which firmware you had it's like you didn't even know what controls the machine. And yes I might be a little bit bitter you have a job I don't still. And again before people ask a question especially a vague one they usually look on the Internet youtube wiki and posts like this one that lets them narrow it down to something to change in the configuration file and I did try to help I explained about the configuration file controlling the machine and gave you a link to the reprap calculator Please tell us your qualifications and experience maybe there's something I can learn to help me get a job

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/18/2014 09:00AM by cnc dick.

biswajitneog,

Despite the negative tone of some of the posts, you have actually reached the right forum for answering technical questions to get your machine running.

First off, what happened to the guy that built the machine? If he hasn't been fired, or walked off because he hates your boss, he would be a good source to find out what software / firmware is on the machine and if it ever worked in the first place. A large number of people give up after a few problem and doom otherwise decent hardware to the trash heap.

Do you have a description of the machine: manufacturer, model, controller board, options (like LCD screen, SD card, etc)? A pictures of the machine would be great also.

Rule #1, Don't give up. Truthfully, most people here, never built a CNC printer before 5 years ago (and probably before a year and a half ago). It is a growing hobby, very fascinating, and a lot of fun once debugged.

Congratulations, on getting the job, you are qualified enough. You don't need to be a whiz at programming, machining, or G-code to get your machine up and functioning. Now days, most of the heavy lifting has been completed by others. You will need a STL file model (pull one down from a website, or create your own with a program like Blender or Google Sketchup), a slicing program (like Slic3r - it's easy), a GUI / G-Code sender program (like Pronterface), and a 3d printer with decent controller and firmware loaded on it (like Marlin). Keep it simple at first. Learn to ride the bike first before you try wheelies.

I myself like the Z limit switches on the bed side of the machine (Z- = 0 = downward side), unless it is a Delta Style 3d printer. My machining center, as with all machining centers, have Z+ limit switches so you don't crash your tooling into the machine's bed. It's mainly personal preference, but is loaded into the firmware inside the controller.

For ABS, you will want a starting temp around 230°C and a bed temp around 110°C. Without the extruder temp being near the set temp, the extruder won't extrude and the machine probably won't even try to print. Most new firmware has a safety built in to prevent stripping the filament.

The good news is that if the printer once printed, you are only a couple of long afternoons, or a good weekend away from having a printer up and running. If parts are broken, you will need some repairs first, but thousands of us have done it successfully. Thankfully, it's not rocket science.

If you have the computer that was originally hooked up to the machine, the firmware will likely be on it in an Arduino folder. That Arduino "Sketch" contains lots of comments that allows you to find and change the variables you need to, and reflash the firmware onto the Arduino. There is no real way of telling exactly what firmware or values are on the controller otherwise, so you will probably be reflashing new firmware to make changes. Some changes can be made through "M" codes (look up G-code on Reprap.com), like changing stepper motor steps/mm or PID temp control values, and can be changed in your G-Code start commands or end commands. Sadly, some things can't be changed, so knowing how to change and reflash firmware is necessary.

For an unknown machine, I would look for parts printed by that machine. If there are no parts with or by the machine, it probably never printed any. Even poorly printed parts lets you know that the machine at least runs.

Keep asking questions, keep investigating, and you will have a good working machine that you know how to use in a few days.

Also, where are you located? If you are near a local hackerspace that has 3d printers, it might be helpful.

Hello BeeKeeper
First of all thank you for your post.I am humbled with your encouragement. People like you are rare
The guy working on the printer abondonded the project and the boss needs the printer working immediately.he is not bad as it sounds.Its going to be tough but there is no stopping me.Come what may
MY QUALIFICATION is my attitude

The model that i am using sanguinololu 1.3a Prusa Mendel
The firmware being used is Marlin
I am using Pronterface and ofcourse Slic3r for slicing.
I have used cheetah3d to create a simple .stl file with as number of layers as possible(SOLID throughout)

Have used ABS temp as 230 for the nozzle and 65 for the bed(may be i would increase it to 110 as u mentioned)
XY 2500mm/min z:200
The extruder speed as 110mm @ 140mm/min

The following website did help me for adjusting the right height of the Zaxis and generating the right Gcode in the configuration file.

[www.reprap.org]


Managed to get a simple print. However the quality is very very bad.haha...i think i have to readjust my settings to get more accurate and smooth print.

Sorry cnc DICK....appologise if i didnt thank you...indeed the calculator is very helpful...infact when i was trying to move the z axis....it was not aligned and therefore cut through the holders.so i dismantled everything..and used YOUR calculator to put it back with the right rotation on both side of the z axis. now the axis is not skipping or eating though the plastic holders. cheerss!!

May i ask why does the homing distance changes everytime I switch off and switch on the machine??

Thanks again
have a great day

The software doesn't know where the head is until it homes, plus if its not been used for a while the endstop holders might be a little loose.

If you don't have the original spec or firmware settings for the printer I would go though the belts, pulleys, z axis thread, stepper drivers. and steppers getting as much information as you can.
Once know them wack the values into the calculator then the only axis you'll really need to calibrate is E (well Z axis aka bed levelling, but without auto levelling its always the case).
Sounds stupid but its easy to mix up T5 and T2.5 belts and pulleys let alone 1/8 and 1/16 stepper drivers.

---

My Reprap blog

jds-reprap.blogspot.com

Pictures are always helpful. Especially pictures of prints, they really tell a lot about how to tune a printer.

If you don't have a SD card add on, I would recommend getting one for the sanguinololu. It will make the printer print more smoothly and stop blobs & bad surface finishes from data choking through the serial port.

You should really check and make sure your belts, pulleys, limit switch holders, and nuts/screws are all tight. If any of these are too loose, it will show up in bad quality prints.

65°C is too low for ABS. You will really find this out when you move to larger parts or structurally thick parts. Bump it up to at least 100°C at a minimum for starters. If you don't the parts will not stick properly to the print bed. PLA would be fine at 65°C though, or on blue tape.

Take care, and let us know how it goes.