I used to have the same problem with Windows and Linux installs of Slic3r, then they changed it so it did slicing in the background as soon as you loaded the stl file and restarted slicing every time you change one of the settings. The other thing they did was improve the speed of the export, but it is sometimes still pretty slow in Windows. I compiled the source code in my linux machine (insteby the_digital_dentist - Reprappers
I'm relatively new to pronterface, but there are controls for speed and temperature in the main pronterface window. You can set them before you've started printing, but while a print is running they won't work unless you pause the print before making the speed/temperature change. You can't change layer heights from pronterface- that has to be done in the slicing software. Slic3r will let you sby the_digital_dentist - Reprappers
The relatively small difference in price between a smoothieboard and an Arduino/RAMPS is returned a hundred times over by not wasting your time at unporoductive activities like debugging, adjusting, and repairing your printer. Buy cheap, buy twice! To each his own...by the_digital_dentist - Reprappers
When I first built my printer I had computer issues demonstrate to me that computers are a lousy way to control a 3D printer. 3D printing is an unreliable process and adding a computer to control it makes it even more unreliable. I put an LCD/SD/encoder module on my printer and printed from SD cards and got consistent, reliable results. I recently upgraded my controller to a smoothieboard andby the_digital_dentist - Reprappers
I don't know what the guides and bearings have to do with the controller board, but OK... The smoothieboard has an on-line forum, google group, and the developers are frequently on IRC. Getting support is very easy and fast. It is also very well documented. A couple of the other points in favor of smoothie are that the firmware is read from a uSD card on the board, as are the configuration vby the_digital_dentist - Reprappers
When it moves is it smooth or noisy and rough? If it's noisy and rough you've got the motor connections to the driver board wrong or the driver is bad.by the_digital_dentist - Reprappers
Open the gcode and see if there is a G28 command at the beginning of the file or near it. When you sliced the object, was it sitting at z=0 in the slicer? Double check the Z-zero limit switch and mount and wiring to the controller board. Make sure nothing has moved. What error was pronterface reporting? Was it related to the Z-zero limit switch?by the_digital_dentist - Reprappers
Take a look at SmoothieBoard. The AtMega2560/RAMPS combo is getting a bit old, and the CPU is pretty well maxxed out. Smoothieboard uses a much faster processor with more memory and is generally easier to use.by the_digital_dentist - Reprappers
Check the motor current driving the Z axis. Also check the alignment of the mechanism- it may be binding near the bottom and causing the stepper(s) to slip. Also check connection between the drive screw(s) and the stepper(s) in the Z axis. What error did pronterface throw?by the_digital_dentist - Reprappers
If it won't turn at all try reversing connections to one pair of the wires.by the_digital_dentist - Reprappers
QuoteZavashier The digital dentist your printer represents one vision of what a good printer must be. In many ways you're right, and your philosophy about machines argues. It's easy to estimate the cost of your printer, it's realy not the same budget compare to $300 repraps. Compared to yours, some printers will print perfectly for a small part of your overall budget. Heavy structures needs powerby the_digital_dentist - Reprappers
mrn26, I was where you are now about 2 1/2 years ago. I built a machine of my own design using a lot of surplus and scrapped machine parts. I went with off-the-shelf electronics (ATMega2560/RAMPS) because of all the support available in terms of software and other people's experience. You can do it. It is just going to take some time and focused effort. I made a LOT of mistakes along the waby the_digital_dentist - Reprappers
If you're talking about a screw that goes through the side of a ring and clamps it to the motor shaft, it is called a grub screw. The part you have will already have threads for a specific size. You'd better check the part specs.by the_digital_dentist - Mechanics
Yes, they will be polygons in gcode, but the fact that circles are never circles in Sketchup leads to weird drawing problems and holes in stl files. For example, try to move two cylinders together so they touch. Once you're pretty sure you've got it, zoom into the contact area. Unless you happened to get lucky and accidentally connect polygon vertices together, the two won't be touching at a lby the_digital_dentist - 3D Design tools
I like DesignSpark Mechanical. The UI is very easy and it is about 10X more powerful than the free version of Sketchup. Unlike Sketchup, circles are actually circles (not polygons), so it produces water tight STLs with a lot of control over the STL file resolution. You can easily do things like fillet or chamfer edges/corners, draw threads, draw lines, arcs, and circles that are tangent to othby the_digital_dentist - 3D Design tools
Everything is OK until it isn't. I hope you have continued good luck with no one getting injured or killed.by the_digital_dentist - Mechanics
DesignSpark Mechanical seems to be able to do measurements from and edit STL meshes. I just discovered that a couple days ago.by the_digital_dentist - 3D Design tools
It seems best suited to moving objects at low speeds with moderate/strong force but poor precision. Precision could be improved by adding an encoder. You'd need a string pulling in the opposite direction to reverse the motion. Is linear displacement per rev constant? I don't think so. I wonder how long the twisting "string" would last.by the_digital_dentist - Mechanics
Hot ABS likes to stick to Kapton tape with no messy juice, hairspray, or other junk necessary. No cleanup, either.by the_digital_dentist - Printing
There are a number of things to look at. The regularity of the blobs says maybe the drive gear on the extruder motor is dirty (full of plastic powder from grinding filament), or slipping on the motor shaft- check the grub screw(s). Another possibility is that the motor current is set either too high or too low. If the motor gets very hot it is probably too high. If the motor doesn't get warmby the_digital_dentist - Printing
I got one of each for my printer and then had to put them together. The E3D V6 I got uses a small teflon tube inside the heat sink and a tube retainer at the extruder interface that sticks up about 1 mm. The first problem I ran into was that collar of the hot-end was too wide for the groove in the BullDog's foot. I used a small file to put a couple flats in the E3D mounting collar so it wouldby the_digital_dentist - Mechanics
Nope. Typical. The extruder is working hard continuously throughout the print. You usually need to run the motor close to rated current to get sufficient torque to do the job. Running near rated current gets you near rated temperature rise. If you're concerned about it you could try turning down the current a little at a time and see when the extruder stops working properly, then bump the cuby the_digital_dentist - Mechanics
OK, a lot has happened in the last couple weeks. I installed the SmoothieBoard and DSP driver/32V supply for the Y-axis. I had some problems with the Smoothieboard at first but they were solved by replacing the uSD card that came with the board with one purchased from Walmart. The machine has been cranking out beautiful prints running up to 100 mm/sec. I've been redesigning/building a replaceby the_digital_dentist - Mechanics
Steel balls will chew grooves into aluminum very quickly. Look into something like this: You can often find used ones for reasonable prices and they are much more precise than round rails.by the_digital_dentist - Mechanics
Over-engineering is what I do: http://mark.rehorst.com/MegaMax_3D_Printer/index.html Are you able to get quality prints with the extruder "secured" that way?by the_digital_dentist - Mechanics
OK, in spite of hundreds of people asking, and thousands of these things being sold, no one has provided dimensions that would let you design your extruder carriage, check fit in your printer, etc. Until now. Here are the base plate dimensions, modeled as closely as I could with a caliper and a scale. The model is as complete as I intend to make it. Dimensions have been checked andby the_digital_dentist - Mechanics
8mm threaded rod is less likely to get/be bent than 5mm. Motors can get hot when operating for long periods. That includes the shaft. I think ABS would be better, but PLA might be OK depending on how much current you run through the motor. I edited the file for 5mm and 8mm shafts and M3 grub screws. The shaft holes are just a little oversized so that when they print they'll fit the shafts tiby the_digital_dentist - Mechanics
If you know someone with a printer, I can send you an stl file of a shaft coupler. Give me shaft diameters, lengths available for grub screws, and overall length of the coupler and I can send the stl. As an alternative, I have an rsdoc file of a design that I can send you if you use DesignSpark Mechanical (it's free!) and you can make the necessary changes your self. You can see a picture of tby the_digital_dentist - Mechanics
There's a lot to consider here but the answer is pretty simple... The motor driver probably does microstepping. Microstepping isn't as precise and torque is lower compared to using the motor's native full steps. In the X and Y axes the extruder moves continuously so the microstepping helps keep the motors running smoothly. In the Z axis you're normally just bumping the X axis up by 50-200 umby the_digital_dentist - Mechanics
The new driver and smoothieboard are in and connected along with the 32V supply on the Y-axis. Result: the DSP controller, power supply, and higher torque motor throw the Y-axis around like it isn't even there and the thing wails like a banshee! The print bed is an aluminum plate stood up by three screws at its edges making it a perfect, harsh resonator. I'm still doing some tuning and tweakinby the_digital_dentist - Mechanics