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General discussions. For specific printers / electronics / fabrication methods / softwares, please see other sections.
Re: Printable y-axis carriage - 12 years ago
Had a problem with printing my carriage, it is under 200mm but is a tight fit on the printer bed. I have redesigned my end stops to get the maximum bed now and will try it without the skirt.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Printable y-axis carriage - 12 years ago
Solved the problem of mounting the hotbed onto PLA - just bought a 100 m3 screws made from nylon 66 which has a melting point of 265 degrees C.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Printable y-axis carriage - 12 years ago
Yes my y-axis rods are under the threaded rods too.The lowest you can have your y carriage is limited by the print table clearing the y-axis idler at each end on the threaded rods and this is a shade over 20mm, probably 25mm to be safe. I like the idea of that raised z-motor mount to clear the print head motor but I would worry about the wobble it might make. The obvious way to get more height woby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Printable y-axis carriage - 12 years ago
That sounds quite efficient Gary, I am keen to reclaim as much of that height as I can. Thanks Dust for pointing out the unsolvable problem of printing something larger than the print area . My first attempt does not go wide enough to take the hotbed heater directly (I am using a printerbot one that looks like a pcb) but it does do several of the other things I wanted to do so I will print itby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Printable y-axis carriage - 12 years ago
I'm working on a printable y carriage for a number of reasons. First of all I want to improve the positioning of the LM8UU bearings and so make the y carriage move smoother and improve accuracy. I also want to lower the y-carriage deck height and thus gain some more z-axis printing envelope plus it is a good opportunity to improve the print table levelling system. Finally I want to make more of tby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: PLA colours (colors) and print quality - 12 years ago
Printing in yellow PLA today - smooth stuff.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Getting Started In Rotorua - 12 years ago
There is a time-lapse video on youtube I made when I assembled my Mendel Prusa, might give your students an idea of how it all goes together. Link here:by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Printing unsupported material - 12 years ago
Thanks Gary, it is a steep learning curve but this is the best way to learn - ie maximum cock-ups. I will adjust my fill and perimeters as you suggest and it make sense, if the perimeter is thicker the inside is just some added bracing. The top and bottom layers are set separately on Slic3r so I will set them to 3 as well then it's well-wrapped.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Printing unsupported material - 12 years ago
Got it sorted although 30% fill bothers me so I might increase that. Still on 2 perimeters and a layer height of 0.2 which means it takes a while to print. Increasing fill density will futrher increase the time taken but these things have to be strong. The brown one is straight off the plate by the way, no trimming yet, no need to anyway. The bridges look like they were printed the other way upby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Printing unsupported material - 12 years ago
So fourth set came out much better. Two of the four links printed slipped on the hot bed but even they had near perfect bridges. Settings on this final print were 0.2mm layer height, 2 perimeters, 3 solid layers, 30% fill and probably mist critical - 0.35mm nozzle.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Printing unsupported material - 12 years ago
I'll try that, slowing to 30 that is. I'm printing at 185 but my fan isn't as efficient as it could be. I just discovered my nozzle was set to .5mm instead of 0.35mm following the Slic3r upgrade this morning so that will probably make a difference too Anyway, print 3: I increased perimeter to 2, and changed the fan to always on. Slightly less sag. I think the next print with the correct nozleby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Printing unsupported material - 12 years ago
Second print, bridge speed 60, eveything else the same. No noticeable difference.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Printing unsupported material - 12 years ago
So now I'm printing a small part for a cable chain which has a bridge at the top. This was done with bridge speed of 30, fill 50% and 1 perimeter. Fan and hotbed on.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Printing unsupported material - 12 years ago
OK that was a waste of time, I stopped it before it could get too far along. Adding support material means it adds extra PLA strips in every hole and crevice it can find so you end up with heaps of extra material to snap out then trim with a razor. So I've gone back to no support, 1 perimeter, 50% fill and slowed the bridge speed down to 30. The fan and hot bed are both on.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Printing unsupported material - 12 years ago
Just to make it interesting I also updated my Slic3r to version 9 this morning and set it up to print the same piece with 1 perimeter, 100% fill and ticked the "add support material" then went out for five hours. Unfortunately the latest version of Slic3r by default turns off the hot bed after the first layer so at some point in the morning, about the fourth layer by the look of it, the piece sepby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Printing unsupported material - 12 years ago
I think I need to play around with the bridging settings in Slic3r - speed it up a bit, aim the fan a bit better. I also printed this with about 80% fill and three perimeters I think so I will try 1 perimeter and higher fill.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Printing unsupported material - 12 years ago
What is the trick to printing unsupported parts or spans? I printed out a spare x-axis idler this evening and it is useable but the two bridges from the uprights to where the pulley bolts on are a bit ugly and a lot of the PLA just sagged.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Getting Started In Rotorua - 12 years ago
Thank you, very nice.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Getting Started In Rotorua - 12 years ago
Thanks for that, I have seen both types advertised on fleabay so that explains that. The motors I am using are the 50mm long ones so probably the safe option. The z axis could probably get away with two of the shorter ones as it is less load than all of the other motors plus there are two of them sharing that load. I have noticed my y-axis motor runs the hottest so obviously that one is doing theby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Getting Started In Rotorua - 12 years ago
When you say depths do you mean how fat the motors are? I thought a Nema 17 described the torque and hence the size of the motor. "Ithinkthatmaybe" - I like your Y-axis mount, any chance you could post it as an STL file somewhere?by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: christchurch meet and greet - 12 years ago
Wow, it aint going anywhere is it? Interesting how they are all the same as you say and yet all so different too. Your extruder looks interesting, what type is it?by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: PLA colours (colors) and print quality - 12 years ago
Hot bed up and running today and a noticeable improvement in printing. I am building a reel holder for multiple rolls of PLA and the end caps are about 100mm in diameter and previously the four end caps I had made all warped slightly and a couple of them snagged the printer. This evening I printed out a perfect un-warped end cap in the troublesome brown and it looks amazing. So some colours shriby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Ramps? Printrboard? or what? - 12 years ago
Printrboard also has 1/16 micro-stepping, dual head support plus lcd, onboard sd card and fan output. It also runs with Marlin or Sprinter. The only downside I can see with Printrboard is the built-in stepper drivers so as long as you don't blow them no worries. Actually they only support one printer head on the one I have but I read they are offering an upgrade add on for it soon.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: PLA colours (colors) and print quality - 12 years ago
This week I got in some awesome yellow PLA which I haven't printed with yet, but with it they sent me some samples of ruby, clear, white, black and a new one called IMPLA which is a tougher version of white. I have tried all of the new colours except the IMPLA (I'll save that for something needing toughness) and the black and white are excellent, and the clear and ruby are almost as good. I am stby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Ramps? Printrboard? or what? - 12 years ago
That makes sense. Looks like Sanguinololu is the best of both worlds then - cheaper than the Arduino/ramps but with replaceable stepper modules. The Printrboard I am using is also arduino based and they reckon the fastest but I don't think there would be much in it, the mechanical limitations are going to be the same for all of them. Cost-wise probably the cheapest is Printrboard then Sanguinololby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Ramps? Printrboard? or what? - 12 years ago
Thanks, and Ramps is an arduino shield with stepper modules?by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Ramps? Printrboard? or what? - 12 years ago
Is Sanguinololu a single board plus stepper modules or is it a shield for an arduino etc ?by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Ramps? Printrboard? or what? - 12 years ago
It would be good to set them up and run the same code and see how they compare. Printrboard is an all-in-one like the Gen 6 but has heatbed and SD on the board. As long ans the stepper drivers keep working these type of boards are cheaper and simpler from what I read.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Ramps? Printrboard? or what? - 12 years ago
Just spotted this on fleabay - looks like a bargain but I'm unfamiliar with ramps/arduino combo as I'm using Printrboard. Printrboard is also Arduino based but is an all-in-one board with integrated stepper drivers. What other electronics are you guys using and what firmware do you run with the ramps/arduino setup? I assume they all run with Pronterface/Slic3r software.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: PLA colours (colors) and print quality - 12 years ago
That sounds like the brown problem I was having. I increased the feeder tension and it worked a little bit better but it still globs out and catches the head. I have gone back to sky-blue and it is printing perfectly again. I might also have something to do with how much it warps - ie brown might warp more than the blue and as I still haven't gotten my hot bed working it may go away when I sort tby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group