Folger Prusa i3 Kit from ebay

Quote
amphiox
i was getting mirrored prints along the x axis as well.. i have my x endstop on the right and y on the back..with xmotor being on the right.. ymotor on back..so the home point was 0,0 on the front right corner.. but after configuring marlin with my config .home is now 0,0 on the front left corner.. but homes to the max endstop. .. it does do a 5mm bounce as configured in Configuraitonadv.h . full graphics controller is also enabled on it as well. .as someone pointed out earlier as well. they were using pidtempbed? i dont have that enabled.. didnt know if this hardware worked for it.. but the bed heats up just fine without it..(pcb heatbed r1 dual power..)

also dont forget to switch the endstop connector on your ramps 1.4 board to the max.. from top to bottom it goes.. zmax zmin ymax ymin, xmax xmin..

and adjust your max movement if you wish i set it 185 so i wouldnt hit clips and m3 bolts

also another note.. it works as described from the lcd screen.. you may have to change thigns in repetier host.. i posted a picture
here is my config took me a few hours to figure it out as i didnt want to move my endstops..
[attachment 44479 Configuration.h]
picture of repetier host printer settings
[attachment 44480 curainvertx.png]

I tried your file but no dice. Everything was going the wrong way for me. I guess we have more differences than just the x axis. So I tried a bunch of other stuff and nothing worked. Then I went back and read your message and understood what you were getting at. I then sat down and figured it out and I probably ended up doing the same thing as you. Or at least in concept. I changed..
#define INVERT_X_DIR from true to false
and changed
#define X_HOME_DIR from -1 to 1.
That got me going in the right direction but still not right then I remembered what you said about the endstop and changed my connector on the RAMPS board to the next one over. Now everything is going the right way.

Hi all, finaly some news from John from Folger. It looks like he did not read my messages in time. He awnsered more than 10 days after my message, when I gave my evaluatuion of the item on ebay. Hopefully John have a great sense of service and is sending to me some of the broken parts. We talked about the kit and encountered problems, some already known by him. Good news for future owners: Folger is switching from PLA to ABS for the printed parts of the kit. Those parts will be stronger, with more flex for an easyer mounting of the bearings.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/2014 06:24AM by Zavashier.

---

Collective intelligence emerges when a group of people work together effectively. Prusa i3 Folger (A lot of the parts are wrong, boring !)

Does anyone have slop in their Y sled? Not front to back on the Y axis, but side to side.

Gannicus, check your bushings they should be well tightened and with no cracks. If they cracked (most of mine cracked) try to fix them with CA glue. If not, it's just a question of setup. Set your rods a bit more away from eachother. That will reduce the existing clearance. There's some gap betwen bearings and the rods. Remember the bed must keep on sliding easy, with no noise.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/2014 09:36AM by Zavashier.

---

Collective intelligence emerges when a group of people work together effectively. Prusa i3 Folger (A lot of the parts are wrong, boring !)

Quote
Zavashier
Gannicus, check your bushings they should be well tightened and with no cracks. If they cracked (most of mine cracked) try to fix them with CA glue. If not, it's just a question of setup. Set your rods a bit more away from eachother. That will reduce the existing clearance. There's some gap betwen bearings and the rods. Remember the bed must keep on sliding easy, with no noise.

Ah yes. Didn't even think about that.I squared them all up before doing the final tightening. The bushings aren't cracked, so I know it's because the rods are too close together. A seconds pair of eyes is always useful! Thanks!

Also double check that the M3 bolts holding the y-belt connector is tight... mine would loosen, so I put locktight on them, and locking nuts...

Quote
Waltermixx
Also double check that the M3 bolts holding the y-belt connector is tight... mine would loosen, so I put locktight on them, and locking nuts...

I need to do the exact same thing Walter. I plan on taking most of it apart this weekend to install proper tensioning pulleys for the X and Y axis, and during that time, I'll locktite and locknuts on those parts.

The nuts already gave off once on me during my first proper print. LOL

Quote
Waltermixx
Also double check that the M3 bolts holding the y-belt connector is tight... mine would loosen, so I put locktight on them, and locking nuts...

As I posted several posts back, I have been trying to track down weird wobbly print issues. You can see the photos on page 21 of this thread. Well last night I leveled the bed for the tenth time and started to print and it seemed off again. So I watched it for a while and what I did notice was just that, those M3 nuts had come loose and the bed was moving. I tightened them up and re tightened the Y belt and things improved but are still not where I think they should be. I used the nuts with the nylon inserts. I though that they would hold pretty well but I guess not.

Locktite. do it... do it now...

and make sure you have M8 locking washers on your Y threaded rods...do yourself a favour.

Quote
mikez104

Quote
Waltermixx
Also double check that the M3 bolts holding the y-belt connector is tight... mine would loosen, so I put locktight on them, and locking nuts...

As I posted several posts back, I have been trying to track down weird wobbly print issues. You can see the photos on page 21 of this thread. Well last night I leveled the bed for the tenth time and started to print and it seemed off again. So I watched it for a while and what I did notice was just that, those M3 nuts had come loose and the bed was moving. I tightened them up and re tightened the Y belt and things improved but are still not where I think they should be. I used the nuts with the nylon inserts. I though that they would hold pretty well but I guess not.

Auto leveling bed. Fixes that forever.

mikez104
I'm glad you got the direction working it can b a little confusing I don't know how many times I unplugged the cord because it was going the wrong way lol

and for my first post I got the thermistor working but ended up twisting the nozzle barrel off and found out it had pushed the ptfe tube into the nozzle and thus the reason for it clicking so ordered another one it from Folger and no ptfe tube but it wasn't drilled straight from both ends so reemed it out as smooth as I cld but now having problems from retraction in prints more tweeking to do

Quote
Gannicus

Auto leveling bed. Fixes that forever.

Point me to one please I'm game. How does it work? Any info would be great. Bed leveling sucks.

Quote
Zavashier
Hi all, finaly some news from John from Folger. It looks like he did not read my messages in time. He awnsered more than 10 days after my message, when I gave my evaluatuion of the item on ebay. Hopefully John have a great sense of service and is sending to me some of the broken parts. We talked about the kit and encountered problems, some already known by him. Good news for future owners: Folger is switching from PLA to ABS for the printed parts of the kit. Those parts will be stronger, with more flex for an easyer mounting of the bearings.

Glad to here that he got back to you. I am still waiting to find out if and when mine will ship. No word back yet.

Made my first real print tonight. I made a spool holder from ABS and it did not turn out too bad. Nothing really went wrong during the print. I'm still getting the "chain" look to the extrusion though.

After that print, I found a spool holder that I liked better so I decided to print that in PLA because I got sick of the ABS smell after smelling it for 4 hours. that's when things went bad. I set the bed for 60 degrees and the hot end for 185 and it started to go ok then the clicking in the extruder started. I then quit and slowed the print down and the clicking started again. I tried to raise the temp of the extruder. I went from 185 all the way to 210 and it made no difference. I quit for the night as it is late. After I stopped the print, I Raised the Z axis and was able to click the extrude button and it extruded without issue. No clicking. I must have run a foot of filament through it without any issues.

Any ideas why the ABS seems to work ok but the PLA will not? It works fine in my son's printrbot simple.

Also I think the "chain" look is not from the bed or anything else, I think it is from the extruder. It seems to kind of pulse as it extrudes. Maybe the two issues (PLA and Pulsing) are related.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/04/2014 01:30AM by mikez104.

Quote
mikez104
Made my first real print tonight. I made a spool holder from ABS and it did not turn out too bad. Nothing really went wrong during the print. I'm still getting the "chain" look to the extrusion though.

After that print, I found a spool holder that I liked better so I decided to print that in PLA because I got sick of the ABS smell after smelling it for 4 hours. that's when things went bad. I set the bed for 60 degrees and the hot end for 185 and it started to go ok then the clicking in the extruder started. I then quit and slowed the print down and the clicking started again. I tried to raise the temp of the extruder. I went from 185 all the way to 210 and it made no difference. I quit for the night as it is late. After I stopped the print, I Raised the Z axis and was able to click the extrude button and it extruded without issue. No clicking. I must have run a foot of filament through it without any issues.

Any ideas why the ABS seems to work ok but the PLA will not? It works fine in my son's printrbot simple.

Also I think the "chain" look is not from the bed or anything else, I think it is from the extruder. It seems to kind of pulse as it extrudes. Maybe the two issues (PLA and Pulsing) are related.

One time I had this problem, what caused mine was I had left over ABS in the hotend that was restricting flow. I think I pushed PLA through at the minimum temp of the ABS I was using. It's worth a try. Also some PLA you need to heat up to 220.

Yesterday I had to change the Extruder stepper motor, blocked ! I'm damned.

---

Collective intelligence emerges when a group of people work together effectively. Prusa i3 Folger (A lot of the parts are wrong, boring !)

Locktite was my best friend for this entire build. I had read that tightening any screw had potential to crack the acrylic frames so I snugged everything with some blue locktite. Speaking of Acrylic frames, I think Some aluminum frames may be in my future.

What are you guys doing about wires. Mine are horrible. My printer its trapped in a very colorful spider web. I tried to use split loom to cover them and make it look pretty, but the added drag caused me to skip steps and all my parts were slanted along the Y axis.

Quote
KeyserSoze3d
What are you guys doing about wires. Mine are horrible. My printer its trapped in a very colorful spider web. I tried to use split loom to cover them and make it look pretty, but the added drag caused me to skip steps and all my parts were slanted along the Y axis.

see my pictures for my cable managment...
i have a base on mine so it gave me a place to secure wires...
see my earlier posts with links to flickr for lots of pics.

I ordered my kit on 17 November, UPS label generated on the first. Here it is the fourth and UPS has not received it yet? WTF!

Quote
KeyserSoze3d
What are you guys doing about wires. Mine are horrible. My printer its trapped in a very colorful spider web. I tried to use split loom to cover them and make it look pretty, but the added drag caused me to skip steps and all my parts were slanted along the Y axis.

I did a litle something special with mine...

I heard back today. They said they are back logged and working on getting orders out.
They got back to me so I am some what happy.
They should pull the ebay listing until they get caught up.

Finally! UPS has my order on it's way.

Ok, I'll admit it, I didn't use locktite. Duh. Every screw in my bed support was loose. Took it all apart and use blue locktite. I should of listened.

Quote
jrcaster
I ordered my kit on 17 November, UPS label generated on the first. Here it is the fourth and UPS has not received it yet? WTF!

I ordered mine nov 15 and being delivered tomorrow. I'm in ontario, canada and also found out got nailed for $127 duties on my shipment:

The shipping can be delayed 20 days, depending of the stock at Folger's.

Quote
KeyserSoze3d
What are you guys doing about wires. Mine are horrible. My printer its trapped in a very colorful spider web. I tried to use split loom to cover them and make it look pretty, but the added drag caused me to skip steps and all my parts were slanted along the Y axis.

My advice : Expandable Braided Sleeving. holded by nylon zip ties and/or shrinkable tubing.

---

Collective intelligence emerges when a group of people work together effectively. Prusa i3 Folger (A lot of the parts are wrong, boring !)

Quote
mikez104
Ok, I'll admit it, I didn't use locktite. Duh. Every screw in my bed support was loose. Took it all apart and use blue locktite. I should of listened.

There is a fluid you can buy that welds acrylic. You put it in a squeeze bottle that has a hollow needle, and you just touch the needle to an acrylic joint and the fluid runs into the joint and welds the acrylic together. You can buy the fluid and applicator bottle from Tapp Plastics. It is virtually invisible after application.

Quote
Zavashier
The shipping can be delayed 20 days, depending of the stock at Folger's.

Quote
KeyserSoze3d
What are you guys doing about wires. Mine are horrible. My printer its trapped in a very colorful spider web. I tried to use split loom to cover them and make it look pretty, but the added drag caused me to skip steps and all my parts were slanted along the Y axis.

My advice : Expandable Braided Sleeving. holded by nylon zip ties and/or shrinkable tubing.

That would work much better, what sizes did you use?

Quote
jrcaster
I ordered my kit on 17 November, UPS label generated on the first. Here it is the fourth and UPS has not received it yet? WTF!

It took several days between the UPS label being issued and UPS receiving my order. If you go to the eBay listing and click on the number of units sold, it is amazing how many of these kits are being sold. I really don't know how they are able to sell and ship so many kits, and at such a low profit margin.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/05/2014 11:09AM by Easy.

Quote
Easy

Quote
mikez104
Ok, I'll admit it, I didn't use locktite. Duh. Every screw in my bed support was loose. Took it all apart and use blue locktite. I should of listened.

There is a fluid you can buy that welds acrylic. You put it in a squeeze bottle that has a hollow needle, and you just touch the needle to an acrylic joint and the fluid runs into the joint and welds the acrylic together. You can buy the fluid and applicator bottle from Tapp Plastics. It is virtually invisible after application.

Oh, no cracks, just loose bed flopping all over the place and ruining my prints. Waltermixx warned us to use lock nuts and locktite on everything but I was in too much of a hurry I guess and after only a few hours of printing, everything loosened up.

I am familiar with the stuff you are talking about though because I used some when I broke my motor mount while building this thing. I really wish I could get these parts in aluminum. My bed is so warped already that it is hard to adjust the Z axis height.