Folger Tech 2020 i3 Printer Kit (Official Thread)

Recieved some hatchbox PLA and ABS, time to do some ABS printing for the first time 215C and 100C for the extruder and bed sound good?

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2016 06:54PM by UltiFix.

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UltiFix
Recieved some hatchbox PLA and ABS, time to do some ABS printing for the first time 215C and 100C for the extruder and bed sound good?

What temp range do they recommend? I do ABS @235 but I have a different brand.

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Newbie with Folgertech 2020 i3.

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msaeger

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UltiFix
Recieved some hatchbox PLA and ABS, time to do some ABS printing for the first time 215C and 100C for the extruder and bed sound good?

What temp range do they recommend? I do ABS @235 but I have a different brand.

It says 210-240, and starting low always seems good LOL, exept I received some glow in the dark PLA and I kinda want to try that How are you guys storing your unused plastic?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2016 07:31PM by UltiFix.

I am having trouble with my bed's heating element it appears. I set the target temperature to 120C for printing (ABS) and the bed heats to this temperature, then slowly continues heating until about 131C where it hovers around consistently. It was getting up to 137C before I just tuned the PID values in the config file, I'm not sure if that impacted this or not though. It's not just going to my max bed temperature (designated in the config file) because I have that set for 150C so I'm not sure where it's getting this 131C value from. My extruder is maintaining a constant and correct temperature. Would anybody be able to recommend any troubleshooting techniques for this? Thank you for your time.

The pla from hatchbox doesn't smell at all! Nothing like the stuff from ebay!

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UltiFix
How are you guys storing your unused plastic?

I store all my PLA (12 rolls) in a large Rubbermaid container with a gasket and 6 snap locks. Inside I put this dehumidifier that can be recharged. [smile.amazon.com]

So far it works great. My humidity gauge says it's 35% in there but I don't know how accurate it is. I had a roll of red Hatchbox that was almost gone and I left it out for a week. It was brittle as potato chips and unuseable. I put it in the box for a week and now I can print with it again!

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Folger Tech 2020 i3 and FT-5 as well as modified JGAurora A5 with direct drive E3D/Titan. All running the BLTOUCH.
Great kits. Having fun and running the heck out of them.
Running Marlin 1.1.0 RC8 on the i3 and FT5. Custom firmware on A5.
Folger Tech Wiki board >[folgertech.wikia.com]

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flatlander

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iamquestar
So here I am with a three-day weekend, and a boat-load of upgrade parts all ready to go, and my v-slot order won't be here until Wednesday.

Sigh...

This is where I am in terms of parts etc. Shipping is killing me in terms of waiting time and cost. Where should this stuff be sold locally? If Radio Shack, now a cell phone company, had any sense. Fastenal maybe??? Hobby Lobby is closed on Sunday. So, they're out because when do people work on hobbies? On the weekend, duh. Home Depot is selling a $1000 printer and might, someday, stock plastic. Try getting M3-M5 screws there. We have a local Ace Hardware that might be a prime candidate for stocking small parts, 80/20.net Rail and OpenBuilds V-Rail.

On I side note, I printed my first 20X20X10mm PLA hollow box. Order of the day: print some 30 X 30 X 10mm "+" signs, to get a handle on the squareness of my x and y axis'.

Yeah, i think local sources is a pipe dream for most of us. The closest Maker Space that I know of around me is 40 miles away, and I don't know if they sell parts. That's the kind of place I would expect might be able to stock these types of things, and keep prices reasonable.

I don't know if you have an Orchard Supply hardware in your area, but our local one sells small metrics, but they cost you big time. I'd only use them if I needed something and couldn't wait for Amazon Prime, or slow-boat from China.

There's also the local hobby shop (Hobby Lobby in my area is more like a craft store that traditional "hobbies"). I'm all for supporting local businesses, but the independent hobby shops here have absurd prices. I was looking for some servo wires to hook up a gimbal to my quad's flight controller, and they wanted $9 ea (and I needed 2). No thinks, I'll got a dozen on ebay for $5, it just took a few days...

The problem with expecting a local store to stock items is sales volume. No one's going to stock something that doesn't sell, or only sells rarely. Shelf-space is too valuable, so I guess most of us are stuck waiting on, and paying through the nose for UPS...

On that note, I ordered some extra vSlot rail (it didn't really cost any more in shipping, so I figured, why not?). I hope to build a laser engraver next. Anyone here use a Mega/Ramps combo for that?

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UltiFix

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msaeger

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UltiFix
Recieved some hatchbox PLA and ABS, time to do some ABS printing for the first time 215C and 100C for the extruder and bed sound good?

What temp range do they recommend? I do ABS @235 but I have a different brand.

It says 210-240, and starting low always seems good LOL, exept I received some glow in the dark PLA and I kinda want to try that How are you guys storing your unused plastic?

I just got some Glow in the Dark eSun PLA on Friday, and have been printing with it all weekend. It's a lot of fun, and the kids are asking for all kinds of junk...

I've printed a little with ABS (that I bought with he printer from FT), and have been running 240/100. I did a single thickness thin wall shape, and started at 240, then dropped the temp by 5 every 10mm, then compared. Visually, they all looked good, with only little differences in the finish. Where I really saw the difference was in tearing it apart. The cooler temperatures de-laminated much easier. The 235-240 range was much much stronger, so that's where I've been. I've had good adhesion on glass with glue stick, and no warping or lifting.

--Andrew

Happy Valentines Day!

So I'm really very happy with my printer over all. I'm getting far more accurate and repeatable prints than I expected to get from something twice this price.

But. There's one fairly major issue I'm still regularly experiencing that I can't figure out.

Overhangs towards the back of my printbed never come out well. Like if I print a 3D Benchy with the front of the boat to my right, then the side facing me will look perfect, but the side facing away from me will look mostly great...but with a few spots where a perimeter droops.

Same with balls or other objects with that same kind of overhang. The side towards the front of the printer always comes out great, but the side towards the back always has a few rows that droop.

Any thoughts what could be causing this?

I've been looking around thingiverse and others with no luck. Does anyone know of a non-bowden E3D mount with support for a BLTouch sensor? Or is bowden the way to go for an E3D?

By the way I am interested in printing with flexible material. Does anyone know what the best choice would be? Ninjaflex, Filaflex or any others?

I would like to try to print a wristband/strap for a watch. Anyone got recommendations?

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MuckYu
By the way I am interested in printing with flexible material. Does anyone know what the best choice would be? Ninjaflex, Filaflex or any others?

I would like to try to print a wristband/strap for a watch. Anyone got recommendations?

Ninjaflex is very flexible, but can be hard to print with. Semiflex (a variant of Ninjaflex) and Taulman PCTPE are a bit stiffer, easier to print with, and stronger. I have used Semiflex for printing a spring hinge for a letterbox and some mechanical fixings where I needed a little rigidity. I suspect they would be too stiff for a watch strap, though that depends how thick they are. I just tried a test piece from the hinge I made and it would not be comfortable as a watch strap, but it was also 4 or 5 mm thick, and maybe at 1mm it would be fine.

Maybe buy samples of each from filabits. I've done this a lot with things I think I might want to use buy don't want to buy a large quantity of.

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See my blog at [moosteria.blogspot.com].

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animoose
Maybe buy samples of each from filabits. I've done this a lot with things I think I might want to use buy don't want to buy a large quantity of.

Thanks for that link animoose. I have ordered a few for testing.

Has anybody else noticed the hatchbox glow in the dark pla does not stick to the bed at all? It hardly sticks.
Nevermind it must have been cool when I took it off.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/15/2016 10:30PM by UltiFix.

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elkayem
Happy Valentines Day!

[attachment 72556 IMG_0949.JPG]

nice... my daughter would love those....

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Upgrades:
-Simple3d
-E3D V6 Direct drive hot end, Animoose's E3D mount for FolgerTech 2020 (version 2)
-Animoose's LCD bracket for Folger 2020
-Sonny's Y-axis Upgrade, Sonny's X-axis Upgrade, Sonny's Mini Gantry Direct Drive Extruder mount
-Acme screw rods (400mm),Z Motor Stand-off for FolgerTech 2020 i3
-Spool Rollers for Folger Tech i3 2020


New Wikia page: [urlhttp://folgertech.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page][folgertech.wikia.com][/url]

I set up my bed for manual leveling using the following approach: [www.youtube.com]

It's essentially anchoring the origin; I used an aluminum 1/4" tall spacer at (0,0,0). It seems to have removed the wavy-ness from the prints. With a print count of 3 who knows?

Now I need a better z-endstop -microswitch clamp. Off to the thingiverse.

I have a few issues with the stock printer.

1. There is leakage at the top of the heater block, at least that's where the PLA pools. I don't want to end up sheering something, by over tightening, before I have some replacement parts.(I'm not too worried about this because I'm likely to add a J-head with a Bowden feeder, at the spool, in the not too distant future.)

2. The bed temp climbs way too high at the beginning of a print. Repetier-Host doesn't seem to to accept manual temp adjustments. I would like for the bed temp to be ~60 C but it wants to go to 90 C or greater at the print start. I can't get Repetier-Host to hold/take the Printer Settings.

Thank's again for all the good info here.

With most of my tech glitches, if I can frame the question I probably have solved the problem.

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flatlander
I set up my bed for manual leveling using the following approach: [www.youtube.com]

It's essentially anchoring the origin; I used an aluminum 1/4" tall spacer at (0,0,0). It seems to have removed the wavy-ness from the prints. With a print count of 3 who knows?

Now I need a better z-endstop -microswitch clamp. Off to the thingiverse.

I have a few issues with the stock printer.

1. There is leakage at the top of the heater block, at least that's where the PLA pools. I don't want to end up sheering something, by over tightening, before I have some replacement parts.(I'm not too worried about this because I'm likely to add a J-head with a Bowden feeder, at the spool, in the not too distant future.)

2. The bed temp climbs way too high at the beginning of a print. Repetier-Host doesn't seem to to accept manual temp adjustments. I would like for the bed temp to be ~60 C but it wants to go to 90 C or greater at the print start. I can't get Repetier-Host to hold/take the Printer Settings.

Thank's again for all the good info here.

With most of my tech glitches, if I can frame the question I probably have solved the problem.

I found the answer for #2. above...
You cannot change printer settings while it's connected.
[www.youtube.com]

Is the custom Google search broken? I even tried creating a new one, but a search for "folger" came up empty.

I put together my E6D-V3 Lite and was looking for a good mount/fan combo. I saw this one

[www.thingiverse.com]

Anyone using it?

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markts
Is the custom Google search broken? I even tried creating a new one, but a search for "folger" came up empty.

I put together my E6D-V3 Lite and was looking for a good mount/fan combo. I saw this one

[www.thingiverse.com]

Anyone using it?

Yes, it works quite well. I mount my inductive sensor on the other side.

Quote
flatlander
I set up my bed for manual leveling using the following approach: [www.youtube.com]

It's essentially anchoring the origin; I used an aluminum 1/4" tall spacer at (0,0,0). It seems to have removed the wavy-ness from the prints. With a print count of 3 who knows?

Now I need a better z-endstop -microswitch clamp. Off to the thingiverse.

I have a few issues with the stock printer.

1. There is leakage at the top of the heater block, at least that's where the PLA pools. I don't want to end up sheering something, by over tightening, before I have some replacement parts.(I'm not too worried about this because I'm likely to add a J-head with a Bowden feeder, at the spool, in the not too distant future.)

2. The bed temp climbs way too high at the beginning of a print. Repetier-Host doesn't seem to to accept manual temp adjustments. I would like for the bed temp to be ~60 C but it wants to go to 90 C or greater at the print start. I can't get Repetier-Host to hold/take the Printer Settings.

Thank's again for all the good info here.

With most of my tech glitches, if I can frame the question I probably have solved the problem.

Sounds like your bed temp in your start gcode is set to 90. The temps in printer settings are just presets that you want repetier to default to when you start it up. These get overridden by your custom gcode at the start of the print.

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Folger Tech I3 2020 Wikia page: [folgertech.wikia.com]

Custom Folger Tech I3 2020 custom search

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Mach

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flatlander
I set up my bed for manual leveling using the following approach: [www.youtube.com]

It's essentially anchoring the origin; I used an aluminum 1/4" tall spacer at (0,0,0). It seems to have removed the wavy-ness from the prints. With a print count of 3 who knows?

Now I need a better z-endstop -microswitch clamp. Off to the thingiverse.

I have a few issues with the stock printer.

1. There is leakage at the top of the heater block, at least that's where the PLA pools. I don't want to end up sheering something, by over tightening, before I have some replacement parts.(I'm not too worried about this because I'm likely to add a J-head with a Bowden feeder, at the spool, in the not too distant future.)

2. The bed temp climbs way too high at the beginning of a print. Repetier-Host doesn't seem to to accept manual temp adjustments. I would like for the bed temp to be ~60 C but it wants to go to 90 C or greater at the print start. I can't get Repetier-Host to hold/take the Printer Settings.

Thank's again for all the good info here.

With most of my tech glitches, if I can frame the question I probably have solved the problem.

Sounds like your bed temp in your start gcode is set to 90. The temps in printer settings are just presets that you want repetier to default to when you start it up. These get overridden by your custom gcode at the start of the print.

Aha! It's Slic3r that is generating all that high temp gcode. Light bulb goes on. Slic3r ha(d) some high temps for the first layer.
Thanks

Why are the z axis motors at the top? Having them at the bottom would be better wouldn't it? Less weight up high is always good?

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Folger Tech 2020 i3 Wiki

Custom google search for the Folger Tech 2020 i3 forum topic by Animoose

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UltiFix
Why are the z axis motors at the top? Having them at the bottom would be better wouldn't it? Less weight up high is always good?

They won't really fit on the bottom next to the 2020 aluminum the same way they would for a acrylic frame. It could be done, but the gap between the threaded rods and the smooth guide rods would greater than on a regular prusa i3, and they would have to mount differently to the 2020 and the printer would need to be a bit wider to accommodate them, if they sit inside the frame.

Actually more mass up top could help to dampen any high frequency vibrations. Honestly, though, I doubt it would make much difference either way. Probably not worth all the changes it would take to get them down on the bottom.

I expect that the Folger 2020 Prusa i3 was designed to share as many parts as possible with their Acrylic Prusa i3 version. The X carriage design is the same, along with the smooth and threaded rods, and even the acrylic pieces that hold the rods at the top, and the motor brackets. That was probably the main driver behind the design decision. A new mount design to attach the motors to the 2020 at the bottom would have meant more new parts and higher cost than using existing parts inventory, just flipped upside down. Sure there are some new parts, but probably not as many as it would take for the motors on the bottom.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2016 06:49PM by Bert3D.

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Folger Tech 2020 i3 Wiki

Custom google search for the Folger Tech 2020 i3 forum topic by Animoose

My Thingiverse Designs

Well, I have been printing like crazy and been having a ton of fun! Here are some pics... Planning to attach a 40mm fan to the extruder once it arrives.
Oh yeah, how are you guys attaching the glass to the bed? I have ran my hotend into those stupid black clamps.
[imgur.com]

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UltiFix
Well, I have been printing like crazy and been having a ton of fun! Here are some pics... Planning to attach a 40mm fan to the extruder once it arrives.
Oh yeah, how are you guys attaching the glass to the bed? I have ran my hotend into those stupid black clamps.
[imgur.com]

I use the black clips, and then I adjusted the end stop position so that the home is inside them. I also changed the printer config to tell it the bed size was a little smaller so the head won't run off the other side.

---

See my blog at [moosteria.blogspot.com].

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animoose

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UltiFix
Well, I have been printing like crazy and been having a ton of fun! Here are some pics... Planning to attach a 40mm fan to the extruder once it arrives.
Oh yeah, how are you guys attaching the glass to the bed? I have ran my hotend into those stupid black clamps.
[imgur.com]

I use the black clips, and then I adjusted the end stop position so that the home is inside them. I also changed the printer config to tell it the bed size was a little smaller so the head won't run off the other side.

But then you loose bed space... Thanks for sharing!

Is anybody else using a method that doesn't loose bed space? Or at least not much?

Losing bed space isn't often a problem. I've only very rarely printed up to the size limits.

---

See my blog at [moosteria.blogspot.com].

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UltiFix

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animoose

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UltiFix
Well, I have been printing like crazy and been having a ton of fun! Here are some pics... Planning to attach a 40mm fan to the extruder once it arrives.
Oh yeah, how are you guys attaching the glass to the bed? I have ran my hotend into those stupid black clamps.
[imgur.com]

I use the black clips, and then I adjusted the end stop position so that the home is inside them. I also changed the printer config to tell it the bed size was a little smaller so the head won't run off the other side.

But then you loose bed space... Thanks for sharing!

Is anybody else using a method that doesn't loose bed space? Or at least not much?

I do the same thing. I was worried about losing the space at first but after fighting with keeping from hitting the clips I just found it easier to move the end stops. Like animoose said you almost never need all the space anyway.

---

Newbie with Folgertech 2020 i3.

Quote
msaeger

Quote
UltiFix

Quote
animoose

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UltiFix
Well, I have been printing like crazy and been having a ton of fun! Here are some pics... Planning to attach a 40mm fan to the extruder once it arrives.
Oh yeah, how are you guys attaching the glass to the bed? I have ran my hotend into those stupid black clamps.
[imgur.com]

I use the black clips, and then I adjusted the end stop position so that the home is inside them. I also changed the printer config to tell it the bed size was a little smaller so the head won't run off the other side.

But then you loose bed space... Thanks for sharing!

Is anybody else using a method that doesn't loose bed space? Or at least not much?

I do the same thing. I was worried about losing the space at first but after fighting with keeping from hitting the clips I just found it easier to move the end stops. Like animoose said you almost never need all the space anyway.

Ditto here as well. I had one print where the skirt caused the X carriage to bump up against the end stop. I had to pull the skirt up as soon as it was printed because the part would have overlapped where the skirt was forced to be printed due to the end stop. Otherwise the part itself was within the printable area.

I've toyed with the idea of rigging up some other clips, like some of the other commercial printers have, but I decided it wasn't worth the time it would take for the additional 10mm I would get. Besides, I'd like to go to a 200x300mm bed in the future, so I will give myself the needed travel when I do the v-slot Y axis upgrade this weekend.