Folgertech Prusa I3 Acrylic, First print questions.

Hi,
I have finished the construction on my printer, set up the software, and am ready to try a print. My main question is, can I print directly onto the PCB heatbed? Or do I need to cover it with painters tape?

I wouldn't print directly on the PCB board it should come mounted on the underside of an aluminum leveling plate in which case you can put blue tape on it. If there is no aluminum plate best thing to use is a glass plate on top of that PCB using binder clips to hold it to that heatbed. The bed needs to be level at a distance of 0.1mm from Z home. I use school glue to hold my prints on glass without heating the bed when using PLA or PETG

Mine didn't come with an aluminum plate. I think I will try putting blue tape right on top of the heated PCB board. I am having a little bit of a problem getting my z axis set correctly. When I am setting the z-axis end stop i want to set it based on the surface i am going to be printing on correct? So If I am going to print on blue tape on the heated pcb, then I put down the tape, then do the bed leveling procedure? I am just having a hard time with the z-axis.

Any help would be great, as the folgertech manual could be a little more clear.

Why risk screwing up your heater for $12? [smile.amazon.com]

This is some heavy duty glass that conducts well. You can spend even less by finding a mirror at one of the WalMarts of the world or get a piece of glass cut at Home Depot! You'll be glad you did. Then throw the painter's tape away and get a can of the cheapest hair spray you can find. Heat the bed to 70 and you will have no problems. No raft or brim needed!

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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]

I have a sheet of borosilicate glass, I am just afraid to use it until I am comfortable going through the bed leveling procedure. I am afraid I will smash into the glass and break it. I tried my first print, and things didn't work out like I had hoped they would. Can anyone point me to a guide for setting up my z axis end stops, and bed leveling?

You can avoid crashing the nozzle with a simple procedure: Home the axes, then turn the printer off or disable the motors and move the X and Y axes around by hand, visually inspecting the clearance. This won't ensure an optimum layer height or bed adhesion, but it will prevent crashes and printer damage.

I'm going to order my Prusa kit soon, so I can't offer any model specific guidance there.

very simple put the glass on the bed and move extruder (x axis) carriage to home the nozzle should come down beside the bed in this position you now home z down slide the carriage to the bed if nozzle is too low it will be stopped by the edge if you have springs put the bed down and slide carriage onto glass and adjust springs in each corner to this height then go back and adjust them paper thickness between glass and nozzle. IF the nozzle is too high at home readjust Z axis end stop micro till you can get the bed level all 4 corners if stuff dont stick nozzle too high if too low extruder clogs and clicks

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rwt

OK I tried to print another test cube, and got the same results, it just strats clumping up. I am using ABS filament, and I am not sure if I am using the right temps, or what. Like I said, this is the folgertech Prusa I3 acrylic frame kit. I am using the default settings that were recommended in their software setup guide, and used the firmware provided by them. I temps are 230c for the extruder and 100c for the heated bed. I tried twice to print with the blue painters tape put directly on the heated bed, neither print worked.... at all. It immediately started globing up around the extruder. I am going to attempt to to try again with the my glass surface put down, and hairspray sprayed on it, later tonight when I get home from work. Any pointer on what temp I should set the extruder to? Also, I will record the attempt, so I can post a link so maybe someone else can see what I am doing wrong. Thanks.

Temps are in the right ball park. There's a lot of variation between different brands and colours of abs, so all you can do is experiment and see what happens. Try printing the first layer slowly, 15mm/s, with decent width say 0.7mm.

Blue painters tape is for PLA, and really just for unheated beds. Your temps seem like a good place to start. Try hairspray with glass, and if the hairspray isn't working well, try glue stick.

You might also check your bed height/level. That's real important for first layer adhesion.