Migbot Prusa i3 Unofficial Support Thread

Quote
Ax

Quote
IBaz

Quote
IBaz
HELP!!

I have had my Migbot for a while now and after many months of tweaking and modifying I have slowly been working it out and getting to grips with it.
The problem I have is that while I have the larger bed I have never been able to use this whole area. My printer seems to have only come with firmware for the smaller bed installed. In the beginning I had a real hard time getting it to connect to my PC but eventually worked it out. Since I have moved on from there I have not had the printer connected for some time as have been printing from the SD card. Having put it off due to the fact that I have really no idea what I am doing I decided to try and update to the larger bed firmware. The first problem arose when I could no longer connect the printer via USB. Again it was just not recognized. After what seemed like forever I managed to install the drivers and it seemed to be connecting. Although it connects in Repetier I cannot manually control the printer, nothing moves at all. In Cura when I tried to print via USB and even though it was again recognized it would not connect to the COM port and I would just get a 'closed' error when trying to open the serial port after pressing 'print with USB'
After I gave up with this I decided to try and update the firmware. Having no idea where to start I trolled the internet on how to perform this and finally got the guts up to give it a go. This is where my woes continue. I can load the firmware into Arduino and adjust the settings for my printer but when I try to load I just get a timeout error. After trying this multiple times I have given up and now ask for help.
Can anyone help explain as to why I cannot fully connect my printer even though it used to work properly. I assume this may also be why I cannot update the firmware.
This printer has now been working well after multiple upgrades and has been giving me some great prints. I really hope someone here can help with my connection problems.

Are you running Windows? If so, check device manager and see if there's any unrecognised devices. If so, it may be worth updating the driver from here. Also check the baud rate, it should be 115200.

Yes I'm running Windows 7
I have tried all the above and the printer is recognized in device manager. As stated it connects through Repetier and Cura but just wont talk to the PC so I cannot actually do anything. I have tried two different computers and have the same problem. I don't know what else to try. I just hope it's something I have overlooked as it used to work just fine in the past.

Tried a different USB Cable? Are there any errors in Repetier? Will it print from SD?[/quote]

Using the original USB cable that came with printer. I did have a problem with another cable when I first got the machine together. This cable is the only one I have that will work with it.
I cannot get any errors in Repetier as it wont talk to it to receive anything. I can hit connect and it becomes connected but referring to the manual control screen it gets no information from the printer. It doesn't display temps or anything and will not respond to any commands.
It will and always has printed from the SD card. The only reason I want to connect to USB is to update the firmware for the larger bed however cannot connect through Arduino IDE either and just get a timeout error. Just trying to connect through Repetier or Cura first as a stepping stone to Auduino.

If this means anything when trying to print over USB from Cura I get the following;
Cura displays "Opening Serial Port"
The LCD display on printer resets
The blue "L" LED on board flashes twice followed by two flashes of the "Tx" LED
After a long pause the "Rx" LED flashes once, pauses then flashes a second time.
Cura then immediately displays "closed" in the window and nothing happens.

It's like its trying to communicate but something is wrong.
Is there any other program or something that I can use to test communication with the board?

Did a test print last night, and ran it at 50mm, and no skips now that things are lighter.

Gonna kick off another couple more complex prints and see what i get.

Will also weigh the stock plates I have. (since they are not on the printer)

Edit:
The factory, Migbot Electron Prusa i3 6th iteration yada yada large table
(225 x 280 x 200 mm)factory "large" aluminum build plate 656 grams
Acrylic factory carriage 183 grams

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2016 11:30PM by spinracing.

Quote
IBaz
Using the original USB cable that came with printer. I did have a problem with another cable when I first got the machine together. This cable is the only one I have that will work with it.
I cannot get any errors in Repetier as it wont talk to it to receive anything. I can hit connect and it becomes connected but referring to the manual control screen it gets no information from the printer. It doesn't display temps or anything and will not respond to any commands.
It will and always has printed from the SD card. The only reason I want to connect to USB is to update the firmware for the larger bed however cannot connect through Arduino IDE either and just get a timeout error. Just trying to connect through Repetier or Cura first as a stepping stone to Auduino.

If this means anything when trying to print over USB from Cura I get the following;
Cura displays "Opening Serial Port"
The LCD display on printer resets
The blue "L" LED on board flashes twice followed by two flashes of the "Tx" LED
After a long pause the "Rx" LED flashes once, pauses then flashes a second time.
Cura then immediately displays "closed" in the window and nothing happens.

It's like its trying to communicate but something is wrong.
Is there any other program or something that I can use to test communication with the board?

Quick question, tried re-flashing the firmware?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2016 03:52AM by Ax.

Quote
Ax

Quote
IBaz
Using the original USB cable that came with printer. I did have a problem with another cable when I first got the machine together. This cable is the only one I have that will work with it.
I cannot get any errors in Repetier as it wont talk to it to receive anything. I can hit connect and it becomes connected but referring to the manual control screen it gets no information from the printer. It doesn't display temps or anything and will not respond to any commands.
It will and always has printed from the SD card. The only reason I want to connect to USB is to update the firmware for the larger bed however cannot connect through Arduino IDE either and just get a timeout error. Just trying to connect through Repetier or Cura first as a stepping stone to Auduino.

If this means anything when trying to print over USB from Cura I get the following;
Cura displays "Opening Serial Port"
The LCD display on printer resets
The blue "L" LED on board flashes twice followed by two flashes of the "Tx" LED
After a long pause the "Rx" LED flashes once, pauses then flashes a second time.
Cura then immediately displays "closed" in the window and nothing happens.

It's like its trying to communicate but something is wrong.
Is there any other program or something that I can use to test communication with the board?

Quick question, tried re-flashing the firmware?

Err, that's exactly the problem I am having and what I'm trying desperately to fix here. I CANNOT connect to the printer to be able to re-flash, update or do anything else with the firmware.
I found a thread with others having what sounds like exactly the same problem but still no solution is given.
I think I may have to try another board as this one sounds like it has clapped out.

Does anyone know if this will work for our printers to enlarge the bed? It attaches the same way, and is the same width as the standard bed, so it SHOULD work.

Bed upgrade

Quote
IBaz

It's like its trying to communicate but something is wrong.
Is there any other program or something that I can use to test communication with the board?

have you tried a different baud -rate other then 115200? mine was default at 250000 since then Ive changed it to 115200 though

Quote
IBaz

Quote
Ax

Quote
IBaz
Using the original USB cable that came with printer. I did have a problem with another cable when I first got the machine together. This cable is the only one I have that will work with it.
I cannot get any errors in Repetier as it wont talk to it to receive anything. I can hit connect and it becomes connected but referring to the manual control screen it gets no information from the printer. It doesn't display temps or anything and will not respond to any commands.
It will and always has printed from the SD card. The only reason I want to connect to USB is to update the firmware for the larger bed however cannot connect through Arduino IDE either and just get a timeout error. Just trying to connect through Repetier or Cura first as a stepping stone to Auduino.

If this means anything when trying to print over USB from Cura I get the following;
Cura displays "Opening Serial Port"
The LCD display on printer resets
The blue "L" LED on board flashes twice followed by two flashes of the "Tx" LED
After a long pause the "Rx" LED flashes once, pauses then flashes a second time.
Cura then immediately displays "closed" in the window and nothing happens.

It's like its trying to communicate but something is wrong.
Is there any other program or something that I can use to test communication with the board?

Quick question, tried re-flashing the firmware?

Err, that's exactly the problem I am having and what I'm trying desperately to fix here. I CANNOT connect to the printer to be able to re-flash, update or do anything else with the firmware.
I found a thread with others having what sounds like exactly the same problem but still no solution is given.
I think I may have to try another board as this one sounds like it has clapped out.

Herp Derp, I shouldn't try to help when I'm one Coffee into the day.. As Wes78 said, check the baud rates, also if you've not, do try as I suggested above and try another USB cable.Other than that, does sound like the USB side of things is banjaxed.

Quote
veaceonee
Does anyone know if this will work for our printers to enlarge the bed? It attaches the same way, and is the same width as the standard bed, so it SHOULD work.

It may but you may find that the smooth rods are slightly wider apart, which is no bad thing (more stable). It may be worth contacting BQ and asking them the width between the smooth rods..

Quote
veaceonee
Does anyone know if this will work for our printers to enlarge the bed? It attaches the same way, and is the same width as the standard bed, so it SHOULD work.

Bed upgrade

Looks similar in end result to where I am right now. For me, I purchased the 280MM bed length, but ended up putting a larger print surface on mine.
I would think that it would work fine.. If everything lines up as Ax mentioned.

Quote
spinracing
Did a test print last night, and ran it at 50mm, 50 percent infill, and no skips now that things are lighter.

Gonna kick off another couple more complex prints and see what i get.

Dont mean to be wierd quoting myself. I just wanted to have context to this print.

At 50MM I had ZERO skips.
Parameters.. printing PLA, 210C, bed 40C with walmart generic masking tape. (sticks well to the bed, but leaves no residue) (I get nicer initial few layer stick at 40C vs cold(house is 67F))

The print job in the picture is this one Swivel Filament Guide
First not so good print. My print
Couple issues.
1st I should have changed the orientation.. but it was late, so just plopped them down and kicked print.
2nd At 50mm I got some webbing between the parts, and some blobs off the sides. Im pretty sure if I did the 50MM print to a single object that would be an issue.
3rd As I had them both on thier sides, the fill everywhere setting ended up making a lot of extra fill. Which may have contributed to the fuzziness.

Print time IIRC was like 2.5 hours.
I will clean it up and then when I get home re-print it with the proper orientation for a cleaner result.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2016 10:47AM by spinracing.

Quote
spinracing

Quote
spinracing
Did a test print last night, and ran it at 50mm, 50 percent infill, and no skips now that things are lighter.

Gonna kick off another couple more complex prints and see what i get.

Dont mean to be wierd quoting myself. I just wanted to have context to this print.

At 50MM I had ZERO skips.
Parameters.. printing PLA, 210C, bed 40C with walmart generic masking tape. (sticks well to the bed, but leaves no residue) (I get nicer initial few layer stick at 40C vs cold(house is 67F))

The print job in the picture is this one Swivel Filament Guide
First not so good print. My print
Couple issues.
1st I should have changed the orientation.. but it was late, so just plopped them down and kicked print.
2nd At 50mm I got some webbing between the parts, and some blobs off the sides. Im pretty sure if I did the 50MM print to a single object that would be an issue.
3rd As I had them both on thier sides, the fill everywhere setting ended up making a lot of extra fill. Which may have contributed to the fuzziness.

Print time IIRC was like 2.5 hours.
I will clean it up and then when I get home re-print it with the proper orientation for a cleaner result.

I have some questions for you.

1. did you print with the fan on? if so what % on was it?
2. did you check the size of your filament and enter that in to your slicer?
3.have you tried dropping the the temp down 5 0r 10c? (hotend)
4. are you using retract?
5. what is you "jerk" set at?

Quote
spinracing

Quote
spinracing
Did a test print last night, and ran it at 50mm, 50 percent infill, and no skips now that things are lighter.

Gonna kick off another couple more complex prints and see what i get.

Dont mean to be wierd quoting myself. I just wanted to have context to this print.

At 50MM I had ZERO skips.
Parameters.. printing PLA, 210C, bed 40C with walmart generic masking tape. (sticks well to the bed, but leaves no residue) (I get nicer initial few layer stick at 40C vs cold(house is 67F))

The print job in the picture is this one Swivel Filament Guide
First not so good print. My print
Couple issues.
1st I should have changed the orientation.. but it was late, so just plopped them down and kicked print.
2nd At 50mm I got some webbing between the parts, and some blobs off the sides. Im pretty sure if I did the 50MM print to a single object that would be an issue.
3rd As I had them both on thier sides, the fill everywhere setting ended up making a lot of extra fill. Which may have contributed to the fuzziness.

Print time IIRC was like 2.5 hours.
I will clean it up and then when I get home re-print it with the proper orientation for a cleaner result.

I printed that same exact model. IIRC I printed the swivel round piece standing up. My firmware runs the printer really slow, My bed is at 50C, and 209 on the extruder. If I was to guess I would say you have a retract issue going on.

Here is a picture of mine, didnt realize it is as dusty as it is.

Quote
Wes78

Quote
IBaz

It's like its trying to communicate but something is wrong.
Is there any other program or something that I can use to test communication with the board?

have you tried a different baud -rate other then 115200? mine was default at 250000 since then Ive changed it to 115200 though

Hi Wes,
I tried every baud rate I had an option for and nothing changed.
I have just tried another USB cable and again no change. It isn't doing anything different at all.
One thing I did notice is that I'm sure when it used to connect it was on COM3 but now after having to re-install the drivers it is now showing on COM4. I'm not really sure what that means but something seems a miss in that it is no longer recognized as it once was on COM3

Do you have another PC or laptop you can try it on?

Do you get the sound from your pc, When you plug it in, like you do with other devices?

It going from com3. To com4. Did you change what USB you were plugged in to?

With the printer powered off. (Unplugged from 110) When you plug in via USB. Dose the ldc light up?

Here's a quick video run-down of my 3 Migbots, if you have any questions, just ask. As a note the loud rattle from one of them was one of the bed screws coming loose. [youtu.be]

I'm considering doing a quick few video tutorials for the Migbot on various things I've come across, if that would be of any help to people. Stuff like how to get your belts good and tight without adjusters, auto levelling set up etc

Do you have an example of 2 parts, where one layer fan was run vs running with 2?
dose the fan shroud come down around the hotend or just stop right before?

Im trying to decide if i want to mess with putting 2 fans on.

The shroud im using actually goes around the tip and is almost to the edge on the heaterblock on the other side

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/2016 01:09PM by Wes78.

Quote
Wes78
Do you have an example of 2 parts, where one layer fan was run vs running with 2?
dose the fan shroud come down around the hotend or just stop right before?

Im trying to decide if i want to mess with putting 2 fans on.

The shroud im using actually goes around the tip and is almost to the edge on the heaterblock on the other side

I'm afraid I don't have comparison parts, however I generally only run the fans at 60% speed most of the time, the only time it hits 100% is when it's bridging. I will say though I can bridge 65-70mm with only a little sagging with the dual fan setup, also the dual setup promotes even cooling over a single fan which can be uneven on larger parts. The heatsink shroud only covers the heatsink, so you have about 4-5mm between it and the heat block. The set up is this one on Thingiverse.

Hmm interesting... thank you

I may just give that a try on the Openbeam printer build im doing right now, hopefully there is enough room with the carriage that i designed..

did you print that with ABS?

Quote
Wes78
Hmm interesting... thank you

I may just give that a try on the Openbeam printer build im doing right now, hopefully there is enough room with the carriage that i designed..

did you print that with ABS?

Er, one is a mix of ABS (Shroud) and ColorFabb NGEN (Vents) (Black), one is Colorfabb PLA/PHA (Shroud) and ColorFabb_XT (one vent) (doesn't actually get that hot) (Orange) and the other is ColorFabb NGEN (Blue). Doesn't really matter what you print it in, my preference would either be XT or NGEN, can stand heat and are a metric feckton easier to print than ABS.

Quote
Ax

Quote
Wes78
Hmm interesting... thank you

I may just give that a try on the Openbeam printer build im doing right now, hopefully there is enough room with the carriage that i designed..

did you print that with ABS?

Er, one is a mix of ABS (Shroud) and ColorFabb NGEN (Vents) (Black), one is Colorfabb PLA/PHA (Shroud) and ColorFabb_XT (one vent) (doesn't actually get that hot) (Orange) and the other is ColorFabb NGEN (Blue). Doesn't really matter what you print it in, my preference would either be XT or NGEN, can stand heat and are a metric feckton easier to print than ABS.

I haven't tried colorfab yet, the NGEN looks good and holds temperature almost like abs,

I have been running makergeeks pla,abs and Petg there pla extrudes at 230c (not a typo lol) there abs also extrudes at 230c witch makes it nice. there Pla prints very nicely. abs will it prints good... but i hate the head banging i have to do when printing with it. typical problems when printing abs.
But the PetG thats a horse of another color. there PetG (extrudes at 250-260c) has become my favorite to print with. strong as abs but prints like Pla
and the kicker is all 3 of them are 21.99 a roll+free shipping

but like you said they dont get that hot so im wondering if makergeeks Pla with its more heat resistance would be ok i bet it will,
Im out of PetG atm so ill give the PLA a try and go from there.

So, I've got my printer up and running (sort of), got my first two (semi)successful test prints out, along with a few failures.Printed this thing. Even the two that printed have the same problem as those that didn't - the piece is not adhering to the bed well. Most of the prints get to a few layers and then were pulled from position, dragged around with the nozzle

On the two that printed fully, the adhesion was just enough to withstand the printing, but the bottom of the piece is terrible and the edges all the way up are jagged (like a spinal cord effect), while the sides are actually quite impressively nice. When the print was done, I was able to pull it off the bed immediately with my fingers with almost no resistance.

Using Cura, all layers were at .2 mm. Used hairspray for one and Elmer's glue stick on the other, both seemed to work equally well. Initial layer speed at 15, then at 30 for other layers. Fan speed at 60 (weirdly, my nozzle fan doesn't seem to trigger until I manually spin it once with a finger).

I think the real problem is that the initial layer is printing too high. At .2 mm as the filament comes out it is suspended in the air and pulled down by gravity. When the nozzle turns a corner the filament gets dragged in that direction before laying on the bed, so instead of all 90 degree angle I'm getting some 75 degree angles, creating just a mess on the first couple layers. After the first couple layers, when there is a bed of PLA to stick to, the rest of the layers print nicely (aside from the spinal cord effect on the edges).


Question 1: Should I be setting the initial layer so that the filament is actually slightly squishing against the bed?

Question 2: When my printer begins printing, it does not print in the center of the bed (even though in Cura the item is centered). Both the X and Y Axises seem to think the bed size if 5" x 5", instead of 8" x 8". Last I looked at the firmware I believe I saw some offset lines, I understand that I can change those. Is that all I need to do on this - just try to find the perfect combination of offsets to tell it where center is?

Question 3: I want an auto-leveler! I have the Migbot Prusa i3 (obviously, since I am here, haha). Can I get suggestions on the best proximity sensor to use (I've seen two types: this and that)? What about Inductive vs Non-Inductive? And also, for the type you suggest, can you provide a link or STL for a mount that would work on my Migbot? I searched Thingiverse a bit but didn't find any mounts that seemed to look like they would fit.

Quote
AccidentalWisdom
So, I've got my printer up and running (sort of), got my first two (semi)successful test prints out, along with a few failures.Printed this thing. Even the two that printed have the same problem as those that didn't - the piece is not adhering to the bed well. Most of the prints get to a few layers and then were pulled from position, dragged around with the nozzle

On the two that printed fully, the adhesion was just enough to withstand the printing, but the bottom of the piece is terrible and the edges all the way up are jagged (like a spinal cord effect), while the sides are actually quite impressively nice. When the print was done, I was able to pull it off the bed immediately with my fingers with almost no resistance.

Using Cura, all layers were at .2 mm. Used hairspray for one and Elmer's glue stick on the other, both seemed to work equally well. Initial layer speed at 15, then at 30 for other layers. Fan speed at 60 (weirdly, my nozzle fan doesn't seem to trigger until I manually spin it once with a finger).

I think the real problem is that the initial layer is printing too high. At .2 mm as the filament comes out it is suspended in the air and pulled down by gravity. When the nozzle turns a corner the filament gets dragged in that direction before laying on the bed, so instead of all 90 degree angle I'm getting some 75 degree angles, creating just a mess on the first couple layers. After the first couple layers, when there is a bed of PLA to stick to, the rest of the layers print nicely (aside from the spinal cord effect on the edges).


Question 1: Should I be setting the initial layer so that the filament is actually slightly squishing against the bed?

Question 2: When my printer begins printing, it does not print in the center of the bed (even though in Cura the item is centered). Both the X and Y Axises seem to think the bed size if 5" x 5", instead of 8" x 8". Last I looked at the firmware I believe I saw some offset lines, I understand that I can change those. Is that all I need to do on this - just try to find the perfect combination of offsets to tell it where center is?

Question 3: I want an auto-leveler! I have the Migbot Prusa i3 (obviously, since I am here, haha). Can I get suggestions on the best proximity sensor to use (I've seen two types: this and that)? What about Inductive vs Non-Inductive? And also, for the type you suggest, can you provide a link or STL for a mount that would work on my Migbot? I searched Thingiverse a bit but didn't find any mounts that seemed to look like they would fit.

I only have tine to answer your first qustion
Question 1. YES! defiantly. I run my initial layer 70-80% of the other layers., needs to be slightly squishing against the bed, this is key to sticking well
also ive had really good luck using watered down elemer;s gule (extra hold school glue) clean up with Windex


Im am worknig on a new x-carrage and sensor mount that ill be uploading to thingiverse hopefully by this weekend ill post it here see if its something you like

actually..... here is a picture of the prototype

[www.dropbox.com]

Quote
Wes78
actually..... here is a picture of the prototype

[www.dropbox.com]

Cool looking carriage! I wuold be interested once you post it. I'll keep my eye out on Thingiverse for it. Already thinking about upgrades to the machine and haven't even really gotten it truly up and running yet, haha. I got a nice borosilicate glass bed in yesterday, going to look into adding that to my bed.

Quote
Wes78

Quote
AccidentalWisdom
So, I've got my printer up and running (sort of), got my first two (semi)successful test prints out, along with a few failures.Printed this thing. Even the two that printed have the same problem as those that didn't - the piece is not adhering to the bed well. Most of the prints get to a few layers and then were pulled from position, dragged around with the nozzle

On the two that printed fully, the adhesion was just enough to withstand the printing, but the bottom of the piece is terrible and the edges all the way up are jagged (like a spinal cord effect), while the sides are actually quite impressively nice. When the print was done, I was able to pull it off the bed immediately with my fingers with almost no resistance.

Using Cura, all layers were at .2 mm. Used hairspray for one and Elmer's glue stick on the other, both seemed to work equally well. Initial layer speed at 15, then at 30 for other layers. Fan speed at 60 (weirdly, my nozzle fan doesn't seem to trigger until I manually spin it once with a finger).

I think the real problem is that the initial layer is printing too high. At .2 mm as the filament comes out it is suspended in the air and pulled down by gravity. When the nozzle turns a corner the filament gets dragged in that direction before laying on the bed, so instead of all 90 degree angle I'm getting some 75 degree angles, creating just a mess on the first couple layers. After the first couple layers, when there is a bed of PLA to stick to, the rest of the layers print nicely (aside from the spinal cord effect on the edges).


Question 1: Should I be setting the initial layer so that the filament is actually slightly squishing against the bed?

Question 2: When my printer begins printing, it does not print in the center of the bed (even though in Cura the item is centered). Both the X and Y Axises seem to think the bed size if 5" x 5", instead of 8" x 8". Last I looked at the firmware I believe I saw some offset lines, I understand that I can change those. Is that all I need to do on this - just try to find the perfect combination of offsets to tell it where center is?

Question 3: I want an auto-leveler! I have the Migbot Prusa i3 (obviously, since I am here, haha). Can I get suggestions on the best proximity sensor to use (I've seen two types: this and that)? What about Inductive vs Non-Inductive? And also, for the type you suggest, can you provide a link or STL for a mount that would work on my Migbot? I searched Thingiverse a bit but didn't find any mounts that seemed to look like they would fit.

I only have tine to answer your first qustion
Question 1. YES! defiantly. I run my initial layer 70-80% of the other layers., needs to be slightly squishing against the bed, this is key to sticking well
also ive had really good luck using watered down elemer;s gule (extra hold school glue) clean up with Windex


Im am worknig on a new x-carrage and sensor mount that ill be uploading to thingiverse hopefully by this weekend ill post it here see if its something you like

Thanks, that makes sense. I read about watering the glue down, too, yesterday I just used it right from the stick. I'll try the watering as soon as I get time to print again.


Anyone else able to help with the other two questions?

not stick glue... the glue that you squeeze out from a bottle


[www.amazon.com]

Quote
Wes78
not stick glue... the glue that you squeeze out from a bottle


[www.amazon.com]

Personally I use the disappearing Elmers glue stick. The so called "purple elmers"

Works great and easy to apply since it's stick form. Cleans fairly easily with rubbing alchohol. Although I have a glass bed so that would make a difference.

amazon.com

that is worth mentioning! im using katon tape on top the alum bed,Ive had poor luck using any stick glue on the kapton.
Need to make it to an office supply store so i can get clips to use the glass that i got 2 months ago.

[www.amazon.com]

Quote
AccidentalWisdom
So, I've got my printer up and running (sort of), got my first two (semi)successful test prints out, along with a few failures.Printed this thing. Even the two that printed have the same problem as those that didn't - the piece is not adhering to the bed well. Most of the prints get to a few layers and then were pulled from position, dragged around with the nozzle

On the two that printed fully, the adhesion was just enough to withstand the printing, but the bottom of the piece is terrible and the edges all the way up are jagged (like a spinal cord effect), while the sides are actually quite impressively nice. When the print was done, I was able to pull it off the bed immediately with my fingers with almost no resistance.

Using Cura, all layers were at .2 mm. Used hairspray for one and Elmer's glue stick on the other, both seemed to work equally well. Initial layer speed at 15, then at 30 for other layers. Fan speed at 60 (weirdly, my nozzle fan doesn't seem to trigger until I manually spin it once with a finger).

I think the real problem is that the initial layer is printing too high. At .2 mm as the filament comes out it is suspended in the air and pulled down by gravity. When the nozzle turns a corner the filament gets dragged in that direction before laying on the bed, so instead of all 90 degree angle I'm getting some 75 degree angles, creating just a mess on the first couple layers. After the first couple layers, when there is a bed of PLA to stick to, the rest of the layers print nicely (aside from the spinal cord effect on the edges).


Question 1: Should I be setting the initial layer so that the filament is actually slightly squishing against the bed?

Question 2: When my printer begins printing, it does not print in the center of the bed (even though in Cura the item is centered). Both the X and Y Axises seem to think the bed size if 5" x 5", instead of 8" x 8". Last I looked at the firmware I believe I saw some offset lines, I understand that I can change those. Is that all I need to do on this - just try to find the perfect combination of offsets to tell it where center is?

Question 3: I want an auto-leveler! I have the Migbot Prusa i3 (obviously, since I am here, haha). Can I get suggestions on the best proximity sensor to use (I've seen two types: this and that)? What about Inductive vs Non-Inductive? And also, for the type you suggest, can you provide a link or STL for a mount that would work on my Migbot? I searched Thingiverse a bit but didn't find any mounts that seemed to look like they would fit.

1) yup, Squishy is good.. Think Dory from Finding Nemo
2) That'll be my firmware, which I assume you're still using, I need to sort the small bed version for someone anyways so give me a day or so and I'll send you the config.h file.
3) Get this one. It's what comes with the auto level kit. The mount is on the firmware repo here, I'm assuming you're on the MK8 so that mount'll be the right one. However, if you want the round one, check Tom's Guide on auto levelling, that'll tell you how to set it up.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/2016 07:59PM by Ax.

look for this link, as this guy is cool and you can use this to mount the sensor: [www.thingiverse.com]

question 2 answer: when you use cura or repetier, did you change the setting to Y-55 and X-10, as this is important or else you can't get the correct centre