Folger Tech 2020 i3 Printer Kit (Official Thread)

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix
Im confused about how to calibrate my extruder, when I measure 150mm is that before I even insert any plastic into the extruder? Or do I have some inserted then measure from the top of the extruder.

Thanks!
Sam
EDIT:
Im assuming the second from looking at the video a second time.
Now I have a new question.. If I re upload the firmware do I need to add the folgertech setting's again?

As long as you are using the same file from before, everything will stay the same as the last time you saved it. Control + S is a helpful shortcut for saving things in files

Thank you for your help and quick responses! Sorry if I sound like a idiot Once my dolphin is done printing im going to calibrate it.

Thanks!
Sam

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Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix
Im confused about how to calibrate my extruder, when I measure 150mm is that before I even insert any plastic into the extruder? Or do I have some inserted then measure from the top of the extruder.

Thanks!
Sam
EDIT:
Im assuming the second from looking at the video a second time.
Now I have a new question.. If I re upload the firmware do I need to add the folgertech setting's again?

As long as you are using the same file from before, everything will stay the same as the last time you saved it. Control + S is a helpful shortcut for saving things in files

Thank you for your help and quick responses! Sorry if I sound like a idiot Once my dolphin is done printing im going to calibrate it.

Thanks!
Sam

No problem. everyone has to be new to something every once in a while.

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix
Im confused about how to calibrate my extruder, when I measure 150mm is that before I even insert any plastic into the extruder? Or do I have some inserted then measure from the top of the extruder.

Thanks!
Sam
EDIT:
Im assuming the second from looking at the video a second time.
Now I have a new question.. If I re upload the firmware do I need to add the folgertech setting's again?

As long as you are using the same file from before, everything will stay the same as the last time you saved it. Control + S is a helpful shortcut for saving things in files

Thank you for your help and quick responses! Sorry if I sound like a idiot Once my dolphin is done printing im going to calibrate it.

Thanks!
Sam

No problem. everyone has to be new to something every once in a while.

Well that was easy, i'm going to try printing another double helix, hopefully it will help If I like the results im gonna run a "huge" 5 hour print.
I was off by abuot 13mm, is that significant?

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Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix
Im confused about how to calibrate my extruder, when I measure 150mm is that before I even insert any plastic into the extruder? Or do I have some inserted then measure from the top of the extruder.

Thanks!
Sam
EDIT:
Im assuming the second from looking at the video a second time.
Now I have a new question.. If I re upload the firmware do I need to add the folgertech setting's again?

As long as you are using the same file from before, everything will stay the same as the last time you saved it. Control + S is a helpful shortcut for saving things in files

Thank you for your help and quick responses! Sorry if I sound like a idiot Once my dolphin is done printing im going to calibrate it.

Thanks!
Sam

No problem. everyone has to be new to something every once in a while.

Well that was easy, i'm going to try printing another double helix, hopefully it will help If I like the results im gonna run a "huge" 5 hour print.
I was off by abuot 13mm, is that significant?

Not sure I understand the question..

Quote
UltiFix

Quote
Mach

Quote
UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix
Im confused about how to calibrate my extruder, when I measure 150mm is that before I even insert any plastic into the extruder? Or do I have some inserted then measure from the top of the extruder.

Thanks!
Sam
EDIT:
Im assuming the second from looking at the video a second time.
Now I have a new question.. If I re upload the firmware do I need to add the folgertech setting's again?

As long as you are using the same file from before, everything will stay the same as the last time you saved it. Control + S is a helpful shortcut for saving things in files

Thank you for your help and quick responses! Sorry if I sound like a idiot Once my dolphin is done printing im going to calibrate it.

Thanks!
Sam

No problem. everyone has to be new to something every once in a while.

Well that was easy, i'm going to try printing another double helix, hopefully it will help If I like the results im gonna run a "huge" 5 hour print.
I was off by abuot 13mm, is that significant?

Not sure I understand the question..

Sorry, it wasn't well typed out.

I mean my extruder was off by 13mm, I changed the value from 90 to 103, is that a big change? So far my print still has some gaps in it, what else should i calibrate? The x y and z steps?

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Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix
Im confused about how to calibrate my extruder, when I measure 150mm is that before I even insert any plastic into the extruder? Or do I have some inserted then measure from the top of the extruder.

Thanks!
Sam
EDIT:
Im assuming the second from looking at the video a second time.
Now I have a new question.. If I re upload the firmware do I need to add the folgertech setting's again?

As long as you are using the same file from before, everything will stay the same as the last time you saved it. Control + S is a helpful shortcut for saving things in files

Thank you for your help and quick responses! Sorry if I sound like a idiot Once my dolphin is done printing im going to calibrate it.

Thanks!
Sam

No problem. everyone has to be new to something every once in a while.

Well that was easy, i'm going to try printing another double helix, hopefully it will help If I like the results im gonna run a "huge" 5 hour print.
I was off by abuot 13mm, is that significant?

Not sure I understand the question..

Sorry, it wasn't well typed out.

I mean my extruder was off by 13mm, I changed the value from 90 to 103, is that a big change? So far my print still has some gaps in it, what else should i calibrate? The x y and z steps?

That is a huge difference. As for your X, Y and Z, the X and Y should be at 80, and the Z should be at 4000. Also make sure your belt are fairly taught, but not to much. It make have a dull "twung" sound when you shrum it. Make sure the set screws on the pulleys are tight too.

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix
Im confused about how to calibrate my extruder, when I measure 150mm is that before I even insert any plastic into the extruder? Or do I have some inserted then measure from the top of the extruder.

Thanks!
Sam
EDIT:
Im assuming the second from looking at the video a second time.
Now I have a new question.. If I re upload the firmware do I need to add the folgertech setting's again?

As long as you are using the same file from before, everything will stay the same as the last time you saved it. Control + S is a helpful shortcut for saving things in files

Thank you for your help and quick responses! Sorry if I sound like a idiot Once my dolphin is done printing im going to calibrate it.

Thanks!
Sam

No problem. everyone has to be new to something every once in a while.

Well that was easy, i'm going to try printing another double helix, hopefully it will help If I like the results im gonna run a "huge" 5 hour print.
I was off by abuot 13mm, is that significant?

Not sure I understand the question..

Sorry, it wasn't well typed out.

I mean my extruder was off by 13mm, I changed the value from 90 to 103, is that a big change? So far my print still has some gaps in it, what else should i calibrate? The x y and z steps?

That is a huge difference. As for your X, Y and Z, the X and Y should be at 80, and the Z should be at 4000. Also make sure your belt are fairly taught, but not to much. It make have a dull "twung" sound when you shrum it. Make sure the set screws on the pulleys are tight too.

My z is at 3840, not sure why? Will change it now.
Also added a spring tensionor to my loose belt. And im trying this to.

EDIT: Pretty much everything i have done hasn't made a difference in my print quality. What else can I do? Tried letting the printer do the autospeed, tried calibrating exturder, and added spring's to the belt. Im printing pla at 190c with bed at 70c

Quote
Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

Quote
UltiFix
Im confused about how to calibrate my extruder, when I measure 150mm is that before I even insert any plastic into the extruder? Or do I have some inserted then measure from the top of the extruder.

Thanks!
Sam
EDIT:
Im assuming the second from looking at the video a second time.
Now I have a new question.. If I re upload the firmware do I need to add the folgertech setting's again?

As long as you are using the same file from before, everything will stay the same as the last time you saved it. Control + S is a helpful shortcut for saving things in files

Thank you for your help and quick responses! Sorry if I sound like a idiot Once my dolphin is done printing im going to calibrate it.

Thanks!
Sam

No problem. everyone has to be new to something every once in a while.

Well that was easy, i'm going to try printing another double helix, hopefully it will help If I like the results im gonna run a "huge" 5 hour print.
I was off by abuot 13mm, is that significant?

Not sure I understand the question..

Sorry, it wasn't well typed out.

I mean my extruder was off by 13mm, I changed the value from 90 to 103, is that a big change? So far my print still has some gaps in it, what else should i calibrate? The x y and z steps?

That is a huge difference. As for your X, Y and Z, the X and Y should be at 80, and the Z should be at 4000. Also make sure your belt are fairly taught, but not to much. It make have a dull "twung" sound when you shrum it. Make sure the set screws on the pulleys are tight too.

My z is at 3840, not sure why? Will change it now.
Also added a spring tensionor to my loose belt. And im trying this to.

EDIT: Pretty much everything i have done hasn't made a difference in my print quality. What else can I do? Tried letting the printer do the autospeed, tried calibrating exturder, and added spring's to the belt. Im printing pla at 190c with bed at 70c

Did you level your bed? If you did, the only other thing I could think of could be your loose extruder. If the nozzle has to much play to it, that will mess up the precision of the generated tool path.

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bstern
So I have a weird question. How do I use the springs they provided as belt tensioners? I understand how the cylindrical "bedsprings" work for leveling the bed, I'm more wondering how to tighten the belt with the clip-like springs.

ETA: Do any of you have pictures of how you used them?

belt-t-6_preview_featured.jpg

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chking
For the LED screen issue I tried switching the two cables around but that had no effect.

For the end stop issue, I ran the M119 command and received the results below. Why would the endstops that don't have a switches connected to them show a TRIGGERED status?

19:28:36.536 : Reporting endstop status
19:28:36.536 : x_min: open
19:28:36.536 : x_max: open
19:28:36.536 : y_min: open
19:28:36.540 : y_max: TRIGGERED
19:28:36.540 : z_min: open
19:28:36.540 : z_max: TRIGGERED
19:28:36.540 : ok

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bstern
So I have a weird question. How do I use the springs they provided as belt tensioners? I understand how the cylindrical "bedsprings" work for leveling the bed, I'm more wondering how to tighten the belt with the clip-like springs.

ETA: Do any of you have pictures of how you used them?

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Mach

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bstern
So I have a weird question. How do I use the springs they provided as belt tensioners? I understand how the cylindrical "bedsprings" work for leveling the bed, I'm more wondering how to tighten the belt with the clip-like springs.

ETA: Do any of you have pictures of how you used them?

Here is a pic. They may be a royal pain in the butt to put on. I remember I spent about forth mins putting one on my Y belt. was easier the second time I putting one on though

belt-t-6_preview_featured.jpg

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UltiFix
Have any of you used cura over slicer? from some posts on the interwebs it looks like it does a finer job. I can obviously believe everything I read lol

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Mach

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UltiFix
Have any of you used cura over slicer? from some posts on the interwebs it looks like it does a finer job. I can obviously believe everything I read lol

I use it. I have never used slic3r so I cannot really say, but I believe it is better. Completely my personal opinion though. I have heard that a new slicer call craftware is better than cura, so I may have to try that out one day...

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix
Have any of you used cura over slicer? from some posts on the interwebs it looks like it does a finer job. I can obviously believe everything I read lol

I use it. I have never used slic3r so I cannot really say, but I believe it is better. Completely my personal opinion though. I have heard that a new slicer call craftware is better than cura, so I may have to try that out one day...

Mind sharing your setup file for pla? I would like to try it out.

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Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix
Have any of you used cura over slicer? from some posts on the interwebs it looks like it does a finer job. I can obviously believe everything I read lol

I use it. I have never used slic3r so I cannot really say, but I believe it is better. Completely my personal opinion though. I have heard that a new slicer call craftware is better than cura, so I may have to try that out one day...

Mind sharing your setup file for pla? I would like to try it out.

For cura?

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix
Have any of you used cura over slicer? from some posts on the interwebs it looks like it does a finer job. I can obviously believe everything I read lol

I use it. I have never used slic3r so I cannot really say, but I believe it is better. Completely my personal opinion though. I have heard that a new slicer call craftware is better than cura, so I may have to try that out one day...

Mind sharing your setup file for pla? I would like to try it out.

For cura?

Yea, your using this folger tech printer right? Assuming you do hopefully the file will work decen't without a ton of tuning

Quote
Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix
Have any of you used cura over slicer? from some posts on the interwebs it looks like it does a finer job. I can obviously believe everything I read lol

I use it. I have never used slic3r so I cannot really say, but I believe it is better. Completely my personal opinion though. I have heard that a new slicer call craftware is better than cura, so I may have to try that out one day...

Mind sharing your setup file for pla? I would like to try it out.

For cura?

Yea, your using this folger tech printer right? Assuming you do hopefully the file will work decen't without a ton of tuning

Yes I am using the FT. I am using bowden though, so some of the settings may be abit uh...interestting . 10% infill is fine for that type of print btw.

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix

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Mach

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UltiFix
Have any of you used cura over slicer? from some posts on the interwebs it looks like it does a finer job. I can obviously believe everything I read lol

I use it. I have never used slic3r so I cannot really say, but I believe it is better. Completely my personal opinion though. I have heard that a new slicer call craftware is better than cura, so I may have to try that out one day...

Mind sharing your setup file for pla? I would like to try it out.

For cura?

Yea, your using this folger tech printer right? Assuming you do hopefully the file will work decen't without a ton of tuning

Yes I am using the FT. I am using bowden though, so some of the settings may be abit uh...interestting . 10% infill is fine for that type of print btw.

Ah, ok. Did you find something wrong with the stock extruder?

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UltiFix

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marc2912

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iamquestar

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iamquestar

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UltiFix
I want to print multiple objects at once, some taller than others.. will the extruder "forget" one of the objects are there and hit it? Like at the end when it resets to default position?
Nevermind, the extruder will end up at the highest point of the print, duh


On a side note, would you guys let your printer run overnight?

I'm letting mine run right now. I'm about to go to bed, and it has another 7 hours to go on this print. The first time I did an all nighter, I woke up several times and each time went to check progress. I've had such great adhesion that I don't worry much any more. BUT I think it wise to have Thermal Runaway protection enabled. No sense tempting fate.

So I had to open my big mouth about "good adhesion..." I woke up this morning to this:
[attachment 71376 goof.jpg]

There were 4 other items on the build plate that, thankfully, stayed stuck AND didn't get killed by this wandering piece. Note to self, on things without a lot of contact area at the base... Use a brim!

I'd recommend not running your printer overnight until you're sure it's stable and even then I'd recommend some safety features. 3d printers are a potential fire hazard and until you have them, for certain, dialed in properly I'd always run it supervised.

+1, all it takes is a loose wire by the extruder and boom, cable management is VERY important on these things!!

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iamquestar

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therippa

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iamquestar
Hello fellow FT2020ers! Let me start of by saying a huge THANK YOU to all of you who have contributed to the thread over the past several months. It has been an invaluable resource to me these past couple weeks since I received my FT 2020. (I'm reading through it, but am still back at page 92 - I'm getting caught up!)

I had a couple issues out of the gate (the same things as many of you). I also had a bad hot-end termistor which prevented me doing anything until I diagnosed that. I pulled the one off the bed to get things going, and have stuck with PLA for now.(The good folks at FT have taken good care of me, and sent out replacement parts immediately.)

So when I got things up and running, I ran my first print (without doing any other extruder calibration or anything) and it came out beautifully (I turned down the temp to 195c from the default 219). From that cube, I did some calibration to the XYZ steppers, and have calibrated the extruder to accurate 100mm runs.

Attached is a pic of my 6th or 7th print, and I think Benchy came out great.(.2mm, 30% Infill)

I'm having a couple issues that I can' figure out. First, the middle of my print bed is higher than the corners.It doesn't matter what I do, but I can get the corners all the same height, but I can't print anything in the middle unless my first layer is set to .4mm, as at .2, the nozzle touches hard, and can't extrude anything. I have checked the heat bed with a straight edge, and it looks good and flat. I've used multiple sheets of glass, and all have the same issue. Anyone else deal with something like this?

The second problem I'm having is with object scale. I printed out a set of the Z motor standoffs, to raise them up and reclaim my height, but they came out small. I couldn't insert the 608 bearings for the life of me, so I pulled out the calipers and sure enough, they measured small. I had to upscale them to 1.024 for them to print the right size. Now before you yell Calibrate! I have. When I print a 20mm cube, it comes right in at 20x20x20mm. I have a number things I want to print, but I need accurate dimensions, and I can't print each thing a second time (after seeing the results, then scaling up to compensate). So do any of you have any recommendations?

For your first problem, sounds like a rod may be bent, there's no reason it shouldn't be perfectly flat if you're printing on glass

For the second problem, a lot of people have problems with holes being too small (I'm in that camp, by like a fraction of a millimeter, I just design around it). Try googling for potential solutions (there's a bunch)

Thanks for the quick reply. You have provided many words of advice I have benefited from.

The first issue may be caused by the build plate. When I received it from FT, it was bent. I *thought* I had been able to bend it back to OK flatness (not perfect, but I figured if the heat bead was "floating" above it, it should be good enough.

The second issue us not just holes being too small. (although I realize my mention of the bearing made it sound like that.) I can deal with that. It's the whole part that is printing small. For example, on the z motor standoffs, they measure 39mm in the software. When I first printed them, the result was about 38.05 wide. Almost a full mm off for the screw hole alignment (at the base). Up-scaling by 2.4% got me to the proper size. If that was required for everything, I would expect the 20mm cube to print out at about 19.5mm but its printing right at 20. That's what has me so puzzled.

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UltiFix
Im printing at 15mm/s instead of 30mm/s, I want to see if it increases the print quality. Will report back!

How slow do you guys print?

box.jpg

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iamquestar

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UltiFix
Im printing at 15mm/s instead of 30mm/s, I want to see if it increases the print quality. Will report back!

How slow do you guys print?

I usually print between 50-60 mm./sec @ .2mm layers - If I'm going to .1, I slow that down to more like 30-40,

I just printed this small box (50mmx50mmx25mm) and lid for my son at .2mm layers, 50mm/sec. for inner perimeters, 40mm/sec outer perimeters, and, 75mm for infill (not that there was much)

I used Cura. I have found that it seems to be a cleaner job than Slic3r. Since Slic3r was the default, I used that a lot in the beginning, but have been very pleased with results from Cura, once I got used to the different settings.

[attachment 71458 box.jpg]

--Andrew