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General discussions. For specific printers / electronics / fabrication methods / softwares, please see other sections.
Re: Printable mini lathe - 12 years ago
Thanks Tmives. I think I'll experiment with it anyway - even if progress is slow. Does anyone have advice on what Slic3r settings to use - e.g., for the chuck? Is it worth printing this with 100% fill density - or is that a waste of filament? Is this largely guesswork? And if so, would a 40% honeycomb fill be just as good?by dslc - General
Printable mini lathe - 12 years ago
Hi all. I have seen Sublime's design for a printable mini lathe on thingiverse - - and am quite impressed. It looks to me like it could be used for brass hot-ends and similar jobs. Have any of you built one? If so, any feedback? I'd like to try it, but it's a big enough project and I don't want to get stuck half-way through. There are 2 or demos of it working on Youtube (e.g. ), but other thaby dslc - General
Re: Heated bed - need to be turned on for entire print? - 12 years ago
Thanks guys. All useful info. My query was due to the fact that my ATX power supply was struggling while powering the bed, rather than cooling down the bed to remove the printed object - but that's a good point also. Anyway, the Gen7 electronics has a separate power connector for the heated bed - so I hooked a 12 V SMPS to that, and it seems to be working much better. Leaving the bed heat tillby dslc - Reprappers
Heated bed - need to be turned on for entire print? - 12 years ago
Does the bed need to be maintained at an elevated temperature for the entire duration of a print in order to prevent warping? Or can it return to normal / room temperature after the first few layers?by dslc - Reprappers
Re: Gen7 with Rostock delta bot? - 12 years ago
Well ... If I go ahead with the build, and if I try the Gen7 with it, I might report back on how I get on .by dslc - Next Wave Electronics Working Group
Gen7 with Rostock delta bot? - 12 years ago
Hi all. I am considering building a Rostock printer at some stage, and am wondering if any one has tried using the Gen7 electronics with this. My primary concern is that the Rostock printer requires a modified Marlin firmware at the moment, as - the last time I checked - it was difficult to get Marlin up and running with a Gen7 v1.3 board. I would probably be using a Gen7 v1.4 board in this casby dslc - Next Wave Electronics Working Group
Re: Soldering wires on hot-end? - 12 years ago
Good advice as always folks. I think I'll re-do it using crimps instead. The only place I can find high temperature solder is Radionics and it's very expensive. Unfortunately my resistor is cemented in using car exhaust putty, so swapping it out isn't an option. Thank you. P.S. NumberSix: The clothes-peg springs are holding up well on my idler .by dslc - General
Re: Soldering wires on hot-end? - 12 years ago
Thanks for the advice. The leads on my resistor protrude about 1cm from either side of the hot-end. I'm only printing in PLA at the moment, so am not too worried, but might take a closer look before I starting printing in ABS. Cheers davidby dslc - General
Re: Gen7 - can't read thermistor values - 12 years ago
Thanks Markus. I changed the firmware parameters to use PINA2 instead of PINA1 for the extruder thermistor - which is an option because I'm not using the heated bed right now - and it seems to be working a lot better now. (I noticed one or two funny things which I might elaborate on later though.) Obviously I'll try to investigate why the default pin isn't working if time permits. As an aside ..by dslc - Next Wave Electronics Working Group
Soldering wires on hot-end? - 12 years ago
Forgive me if this is covered or answered elsewhere, but I'm a bit uncertain about the wiring on my hot-end. On my last hot-end I used bootlace ferrules to connect the power resistor, but - due to thick leads on certain power resistors - I find this can be quite tricky. So I have soldered the wires this time. Thing is ... I'm a little concerned that I should be using a higher temperature alloy.by dslc - General
Re: Gen7 - can't read thermistor values - 12 years ago
Regarding thermistor readings .... What would be the symptom(s) of a broken analog input pin? I have my Teacup firmware configured to read the extruder temperature on PA1 (the default), and am using the standard ECOPS thermistor that comes with the J Head hot-end. The resistance of the thermistor itself seems to be changing as expected, but the voltage on PA1 is staying at around 5 V (i.e. the vby dslc - Next Wave Electronics Working Group
Gen7 - Molex connectors - 12 years ago
Hi all. I have a question about the Molex connectors for the power supply on Gen7 v1.3 board (connectors marked "CONN2" and "CONN3" on this schematic). The headers on the board itself are ones I got in a components package along with the other connectors. I'm connecting an ATX power supply to these connectors, and have experienced a lot of frustration trying to attach/remove the cables. They areby dslc - Next Wave Electronics Working Group
Re: Springs - 12 years ago
Thanks for the info guys. I think I'll try your suggestion to begin with NumberSix.by dslc - Reprappers
Re: Springs - 12 years ago
Thanks. Unfortunately McMaster only accept credit cards, however. Looking at the Radionics catalogue again, I found this: . It has OD 9mm, ID 8mm, and a load of 33 N at minimum length. Would this be too wide for an M4 screw, or could it work? Previously I had thought it is good to have the inner diameter of the spring just marginally larger than the diameter of the screw, but this is hardly esby dslc - Reprappers
Springs - 12 years ago
Springs for extruder idlers - anyone make their own? I recently switched to Greg's Wade reloaded extruder (i.e. Jonas' version). It uses M4 rather than M3 screws for the idler - hence I need different springs. I haven't found springs of appropriate diameter and spring constant from the usual suppliers though (e.g. Radionics, Farnell) - or maybe I just amn't using the right search terms. I cameby dslc - Reprappers
Re: Reprap for robotics? - 12 years ago
Jesus ttsalo it was just a question. Lighten up. @Billy: that's pretty neat! @Polygonhell: that makes perfect sense. Thanks.by dslc - General
Re: Reprap for robotics? - 12 years ago
Of course Billy. I was just referring to robots in a wider sense. (Thanks for the reminder though.) Yes, Cameron, I don't think they were the most informed comments either. Also, although I have no experience with CNC milling machines, I imagine a Reprap can probably handle more complex geometries also?by dslc - General
Reprap for robotics? - 12 years ago
Hi folks. This is a slightly vague issue I'm raising, but was just wondering what people thought of these comments from random machinists/robotics hobbyists I found while searching for Reprap-related info. I would also be interested in any general comments people have on using Reprap parts for robotics parts. Take this quote from a guy over on buildlog.net for example: Quoteguy on buildlog.net Iby dslc - General
Re: RepRap parts in Ireland? - 12 years ago
I ordered parts from NumberSix earlier this week - as my own Reprap is currently out of commission - and can offer highly positive feedback. Not only are the parts themselves (PLA) very impressive (considerably better than I expected), he also had them printed in a very short timeframe - and posted the next day. So I can highly recommend his service. And the price was very reasonable! Davidby dslc - Ireland RepRap User Group
Re: Open Learning Ireland - Sunday 3rd June, Exchange Dublin, Temple Bar - 12 years ago
It turns out that the PLA filament I ordered hasn't arrived, so I'm very low on filament. Since I have very few decent prints already, my demo might be a bit of a let-down. Oh well ... Anyway, even if my Reprap demo is not as good as it could be, there's going to be a lot of other cool stuff going on on Sunday - including a bike workshop, sitcom / comedy workshop, hardware hacking / arduino, "ciby dslc - Ireland RepRap User Group
Re: Belt tension and general issues with print quality - 12 years ago
Hi Greg. I appreciate the advice. I'd definitely be interested in learning about your Z stop adjuster. Trying to set my Z-min opto-endstop at just the right height has been quite frustrating.by dslc - Reprappers
Re: Belt tension and general issues with print quality - 12 years ago
A slight diversion ... I tried printing something larger (since, as NumberSix mentioned, small objects can be challenging), and chose the guide for the three-jaw chuck on thingiverse (again, authored by Sublime). It didn't come out symmetrical so I guess the steppers were missing steps, but other than that I'm reasonably happy with the quality. (There was a slight lift at one of the cornersby dslc - Reprappers
Re: Belt tension and general issues with print quality - 12 years ago
Had a quick look at this and I think your diagnosis is spot on nophead. Will look into the solution you outlined as soon as I have time. @NumberSix: I forgot to mention ... I think I sorted out the wobble on my hot-end (just tightened some screws). Now that you mention it I might need to double-check it, but I think it's fairly sturdy. Thanks for the help guys. Will try your suggestions and getby dslc - Reprappers
Re: Belt tension and general issues with print quality - 12 years ago
Everything you've said there makes sense NumberSix. I'm going to run the next few prints at 185 degrees. Before I try the tests you outlined, I thought it might be worth showing two videos which demonstrate the issue I'm having with my belt tension and stepper motors. (I meant to upload something like this yesterday but ran out of time.) As regards friction or sticky points on the y-axis ... Iby dslc - Reprappers
Re: A reprapper in Dublin - 12 years ago
Hi again Ivor. I have posted details about some of the issues I'm having (plus print/temperature settings and a video of a test print) in another thread, here. I hope you don't mind but I won't re-post them here - to avoid duplication. I've had a look at your blog by the way. Stunning prints! davidby dslc - Ireland RepRap User Group
Re: Belt tension and general issues with print quality - 12 years ago
Changing the fill angle when generating the gcode (i.e. in Slic3r) seems to improve things considerably. See photo of subsequent print below. This is with a 45 degree fill angle - all other settings the same. In retrospect, I can see a potential cause for the problem. Initially, I was printing with 0 degrees fill angle, 0.4 fill density and a rectilinear fill pattern. So, plastic was being depby dslc - Reprappers
Open Learning Ireland - Sunday 3rd June, Exchange Dublin, Temple Bar - 12 years ago
Hi all. This is slightly off-topic, but I thought some of you might be interested. Open Learning Ireland are hosting an open-day this Sunday, 3rd June, at Exchange Dublin, Temple Bar (Dublin). I mention it here partly because I'm provisionally scheduled to demonstrate my Reprap printer there. The organisers have assured me that poor print quality will be overlooked - which is just as well in myby dslc - Ireland RepRap User Group
Belt tension and general issues with print quality - 12 years ago
Hi all. I'm having ongoing print quality issues. Even when printing at low speeds (circa 20 mm/s) there are still anomalies in the prints. Have tried changing belt tension, half-stepping vs. 1/8th stepping, adjusting the current using the trimpot on the stepper board, etc.. These changes have yielded marginal improvements, but I'm still disappointed. See photo attached for example. The gap you sby dslc - Reprappers
Re: A reprapper in Dublin - 12 years ago
Hi Ivor. Appreciate the feedback! The opto-endstop I'm using for the Z-min is giving me headaches (it's difficult to get it to stop at exactly the right point). That's not the worst problem though (I can bypass the homing procedure at the start of prints and just set the coordinates manually). I noticed earlier today that the wooden mounting piece I'm using to mount my hot-end to the extruder cby dslc - Ireland RepRap User Group