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General discussions. For specific printers / electronics / fabrication methods / softwares, please see other sections.
Re: Adding a fan - will it improve print quality? - 12 years ago
Ah that makes sense, does it need to be 60 degrees allthe way through? as it gets taller the upper layers will be cooler anyway.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Adding a fan - will it improve print quality? - 12 years ago
Yes I reckon that is right, the heated bed would only be useful for the first couple of layers, after that you may as well turn it off. I think the whole idea is to quickly cool the filament to harden it up and stop it being distorted by the drag of the printer head. Just had a look at Slic3r's settings and it has a temperature setting for the bed followed by a temperature setting for the firstby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Adding a fan - will it improve print quality? - 12 years ago
My printer always prints anticlockwise so as long as it was ducted and aimed behind the printer head I think it should work . It is working better now just with the weak fan aimed generally in the direction of the work. It wouldn't be hard to make a shield to surround the print head say 10mm away from it to keep the breeze away.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Adding a fan - will it improve print quality? - 12 years ago
Yes it's a horrible colour - I'll use it up on sturdy, utilitarian prints How do you get a photo to show in this forum?by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Adding a fan - will it improve print quality? - 12 years ago
Well the fan is helping even with the little one I'm running. I bought another one tonight on the net which will shift a bit more air but for now this is helping.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: PLA colours (colors) and print quality - 12 years ago
Might be my setup too I have increased the layer height to 0.4mm and it has fixed the print head catching so I might just use it up for quick projects and use the nice stuff for precision. I need to make the Z-axis limit switch a bit more accurate and set the head better. What is the relationship between print head height and layer thickness? do you need to adjust z-axis height to allow for thby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
PLA colours (colors) and print quality - 12 years ago
So far I have bought some sky blue PLA as well as some chocolate brown PLA from a popular NZ supplier. I have been printing a lot with the sky blue and it is a real joy to print with for a noob - flows clean and smooth and printed products look nice when finished. I haven't got my heated bed running yet by the way. Anyway, yesterday I started printing with chocolate brown and it is a lot harderby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Adding a fan - will it improve print quality? - 12 years ago
I am using Pronterface with Slic3r and in the slic3r setup you can specify the fan details which include the number of layers at which they start to work. As you want the first layer to stick, by default the fan comes on after the first layer. There are also setting to slow it down depending on the print speed, not sure if this is actually done or just a useful feature that might be used one day.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Adding a fan - will it improve print quality? - 12 years ago
Thanks, I am printing a couple of adjustable mounts for a pair of pcb fans and will try them out in a few positions hanging off the x-carriage belt clamps. I got the code working to run the fans so I'll mount them and see how it goes.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Adding a fan - will it improve print quality? - 12 years ago
I'm using PRINTRBOARD electronics which has a fan output but unclear on it's polarity, voltage or available current. I don't suppose anyone reading this knows the details of this output? Update: the supplier has just advised it is 12 volt and the positive terminal is closest to the rest button if anyone else reads this later on.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Adding a fan - will it improve print quality? - 12 years ago
Subject says it all really. So when printing small delcate objects it looks like it would help to have a fan close to the hot end to cool them rapidly to help the structure hold together - it also looks like it is better to print multiples of small items so the hot end has something else to do while the line you have just printed cools down. Is anyone using a fan mounted close to the hot end toby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Start/end g-code - 12 years ago
So I tried this and if I start from cold it tries to prime the hot end before waiting to start printing. I guess I will need to manually start the hotend then click print (I'm using pronterface) when it is up to temperature. I don't suppose there is g-code to start the hot end and wait for it to heat up before continuing is there? Pronterface is so slow to start anyway, it seems to sit for 3 or 4by Wired1 - Slic3r
Re: Mendel Prusa build - 12 years ago
Yes it isn't ideal but my thermistor is a few days away and I am impatient It is working OK but I am changing the tape for every print.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Start/end g-code - 12 years ago
Thanks Deux, just what I was looking for. I'll give it a whirlby Wired1 - Slic3r
Start/end g-code - 12 years ago
Tried searching for this but cannot find the answer so noob question... I want to add some startup g-code to lift the hotend up and squirt a bit of filament out before starting the perimeter line. It is always the first few lines that come out thin or inconsistent and I reckon a quick blast will get it working better. Is there a list of g-code commands somewhere or does anyone have an example ofby Wired1 - Slic3r
Re: Mendel Prusa build - 12 years ago
Bought some of the Scotch Blue tape today and it looks like a better version of what I was using. In one of the photos below you can see the sellotape brand tape was lifting at the front slightly. Still came out OK but the one I am printing now should be better. Last night I redesigned the bracket as a two part thing which i printed today. I reduced the layer height to 0.3 and added z-axis liftby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Mendel Prusa build - 12 years ago
I have been using Sellotape brand painting masking tape- the purple one which is about 3 day from memory. It was just a roll I have in the shed and it works very well. I just ran out tonigh so I will get another roll tomorrow of the widest one I can find as the joins are the ripple spot.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Mendel Prusa build - 12 years ago
Nah, they look look like they have a high build area but apart from that I can't see the advantage - other than artistic merit i guess. I think the basic prusa is a good place to improve like better resolution. Redesigned my Spool clamp so that it snaps in place over the top bars and printed it out tonight. I went octagonal this time and it isn't as clear as hexagonal for sideways printing. I gueby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Mendel Prusa build - 12 years ago
Bloody awesome, now what to make next?by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Mendel Prusa build - 12 years ago
Thanks Gary, I adjusted it to that and it is already printing better. This evening I designed a new part for the machine to take the PLA spool above the top two bars then printed it out and it is not bad for a first print. I have since realised I need to alter the desing slightly so that it can be slotted on rather than the way I made it but it was really just a test print anyway. As soon as it cby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Mendel Prusa build - 12 years ago
Yes it seems to be correct he way it is going. The only reason I thought it was wrong is that Pronterface has the nice big graphic display with +X going to the right. The other two axis agree with it's layout. I managed to make some changes to the firmware today. It seems the version of Printrboard I am using is newer than the information on the reprap/wiki page and they ahve changed a few thingsby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Mendel Prusa build - 12 years ago
The electronics arrived this morning so I spent the day wiring up all the micro switches and motors and connecting up the Printrboard. I fired up Pronterface at about 6:00pm and the Y-axis motor was not happy. This turned out to be a missing connection to one of the four poles when I extended all the motor cables. Second test and all three axis are moving freely although the X-axis appears to beby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Reprap pro mendel - 12 years ago
Dust Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Don't forget about the tax man, anything over > about $300nz (and they include shipping in that) > they charge you import duty > %15 The IRD will collect the GST if it exceeds $50 so at 15% that means a total spend of $400 is the threshold. I bought my Prusa from Makerfarm and bought it in two lots to stay under tby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: NZ Reprap Parts Sourcing guide - 13 years ago
What size and thickness of glass should I get for a v2 Mendel Prusa? I have read both 225mm x 200mm and 225mm x 225mm.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: NZ Reprap Parts Sourcing guide - 13 years ago
Anyone got a source for the Molex KK type connectors for the stepper motors to the electronics board? The connectors go from the motor cables to the .1" pitch headers on the pcb.by Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Mendel Prusa build - 13 years ago
Finished the frame assembly today, took about 4 hours start to finish. I'm impressed with the printed parts I got from MakerFarm, no skimping on printing height there. The kit had more than enough of everything needed to assemble the printer and the only thing I had to buy was a 1.5mm allen key for the pulleys. I managed to over-tighten one of the pulleys and damaged it but ti will work long enouby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Mendel Prusa build - 13 years ago
The printed parts arrived this morning so a great way to start the weekend. I had already bought the threaded rod and SS rod so after unpacking the box of goodies I got straight into cutting the rods down to size. The kit I bought comes with the printed parts plus all the hardware and the printer bed. It still needs the motors, electronics and a power supply and I bought some used motors off ebayby Wired1 - New Zealand RepRap User Group
Re: Repetier failed to initialise - 13 years ago
Yes you are right I think it was a missing service pack. I reset the computer to factory before I started and it took a day to update itself. Today it is running fine so all good.by Wired1 - Repetier
Repetier failed to initialise - 13 years ago
This has got me stumped. I loaded Repetier Host onto my desktop running Vista and it all works as expected but when I loaded it onto my workshop computer - an old Dell Dimension running XP - it won't run but comes up with the message "The application failed to initialize prpoerly (0xc0000135). CLick on OK to terminate the application." Is this program too new to run on an older computer or have Iby Wired1 - Repetier
Re: Whats the best 3d design tool for me? - 13 years ago
I've just learned to use HeeksCAD in a couple of days and it is open-source/free. Probably a bit limit4d for some but it is fun finding ways to do clever things with it. You can save in a variety of formats including STL.by Wired1 - 3D Design tools