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General discussions. For specific printers / electronics / fabrication methods / softwares, please see other sections.
Re: mysterious button on reprapdiscount smart controller - 11 years ago
Under marlin on my prusa i2. Its an emergency stop switch. It immediatly stops the stepper motors in case it overuns a stop switch or in other ways could damage your machine. On my prusa i2 one of the z motor wires came loose and started to twist in the frame. Using the stop switch prevented a lot of damage. You then need to reset the controller to free it up. I think its hooked up to an inturby gordonendersby - Reprappers
Re: Need help buying Prusa - 11 years ago
I recommend building from scratch, source the components locally if you can and follow the guides on the reprap forum. I did it for a prusa i2 and really enjoyed the learning experience working out what i needed and how it all works together. Gordonby gordonendersby - General
Re: Multiple fan connections - 11 years ago
In the firmware you can specify what D9 is used for, either extra hot end or controlled fan. Those 2 pins are directly connected to the ramps grnd and 12v supply. Theres no logic applied to them. If youve got 12v supply connected the pin will be at 12v. Gordonby gordonendersby - RAMPS Electronics
Re: Brown (burned) spots on white material - 11 years ago
Ive had this recently with some white abs. It was material that had stuck to the extruder nozzle previously and got on to the nice white printed abs. Clean the outside of your nozzle and the block once in a while. I find some acetone on cloth when the nozzle is hot removes some of it while some needs scraping off. Also remember any colour filament you have recently used is going to look quite dby gordonendersby - Reprappers
Re: Multiple fan connections - 11 years ago
If you plan to use an atx power supply with your printer then you can use any of the 12v or 5v with or without a switch to power fans, lights or webcams as needed. Gordonby gordonendersby - RAMPS Electronics
Re: infill problem - 11 years ago
Have you tuned the stepper drivers. Otherwise im sure someone else will be along soon wiyh ideas. Gordonby gordonendersby - Printing
Re: infill problem - 11 years ago
Id suggest checking your extrusion steps again and maybe if they are correct try increasing the extrusion multiplyer. Have you set the filament size and nozzle size correctly in the slicer? Gordonby gordonendersby - Printing
Re: Z axis artifact - 11 years ago
I found when my prints suddenly get rough its because something is loose or wearing out. I recently had to replace my print bed bearing holders because they had cracked and were causing movement and bad prints. another time my extruder body cracked where it bolted on and caused movement in the hot end. Its worth working your way around your printer looking for wobbly bits or play where you dontby gordonendersby - Printing
Re: I Found a good way to make closed loop GT2 belts - 11 years ago
Its got to be a lot easier changing gear ratios with a belt and the ability to tension it properly. Thinking about it thats got to be the killer benefit. Just change the drive pulley smaller or larger to get just the right gear ratio for your motor. Gordonby gordonendersby - General
Re: I Found a good way to make closed loop GT2 belts - 11 years ago
My extruder motor gets warmer than the other motors but not so hot as to effect the gears. All of my printer printed parts are abs though which has more heat resistence than pla. Ive done well over a hundred hours on my last extruder without problems of heat. Would have been longer but the extruder body was badly printed and split so had to replace it. At the same time i changed to a slightly beby gordonendersby - General
Re: I Found a good way to make closed loop GT2 belts - 11 years ago
Whats the advantahe of belt over gears? The herringbone gears i use mesh really well with no slop on my extruder. Theres hardly any wear that i can see in the hours ive printed with them. Gordonby gordonendersby - General
Re: Corner Of Print Has Rounding-off Issue - 11 years ago
Try using a desk fan over the whole print bed first. Ive been reading that these cowls are too precise. They only cool at the point of extrusion. If you think about it you want the material to continue to cool after the nozzle has passed as well. Gordonby gordonendersby - Printing
Re: Corner Of Print Has Rounding-off Issue - 11 years ago
When ive seen this on my own smaller items. Its usually because its not cooling quickly enough. I bet that corner gets the nozzle on it twice so stays hotter and sags. Try slowing down the print and more cooling. Or alternatively print more than one so the print has better chance to cool by moving to the other object before getting back to that hot spot. Gordonby gordonendersby - Printing
Re: parts - 11 years ago
Those arnt m8. Theyre imperial sizes not metric. M8 means 8mm diameter usualy 1.25mm thread. Easy to find over here in the UK and europe. You need to ask your suppliers for metric sizes. Gordonby gordonendersby - Reprappers
Re: SainSmart LCD Smart controller Button Use - 11 years ago
I just selected the correct version of the display in the firmware and uncommented the line that selects that display. There was no option, that i saw, to change the action of the button. Gordonby gordonendersby - Reprappers
Re: SainSmart LCD Smart controller Button Use - 11 years ago
Its working fine. Its an emergency stop button. If something is going seriously wrong with the printer, for example the hot end being forced into the bed. You can press the button and everything stops. And yes you have to reboot the board to start it again. Gordonby gordonendersby - Reprappers
Re: Motors not moving - 11 years ago
Without the endstops your motors may not move depending on how they are set up in your firmware. The best way of hooking the endstops up is so they stop the motors if they are triggered or fail in some way. It may be that as you havnt hooked the endstops up the firmware is assuming theyve been triggered or failed. If you have endstops to hand hook them up and try again. Otherwise try turning theby gordonendersby - RAMPS Electronics
Re: Question for moderators - 11 years ago
Good idea. Could i also add the question " what have you done so far to try and solve it". Not been printing for very long myself but have noticed the same questions asked over and over again. I get the impression that a lot of questions are knee jerk reactions and are posted before they have tried to think it through or reaserch it for themselves first. Gordonby gordonendersby - Printing
Re: 6mm glass too thick? - 11 years ago
If you are in a country with an ikea store. They sell 20cm square mirror tiles. 3mm thick. They fit on the mk2 heated bed on my prusa i2 perfectly. I use them with a layer of kapton on top. Theyre incredibly flat and strong and only £6 for 4. Picked up some more for a friend this morning. Gordonby gordonendersby - General
Re: ABS delamination from heatbed - 11 years ago
Ive found you need to keep the heat up through the whole print. I use 110deg bed for larger prints. Have you tried adding a brim around the print, it helps to keep the heat in the part and helps it stick to the plate. Also maybe try keeping the heat in by enclosing the printer to keep the heat in. Mzybe a large cardboard box to try it. Ive also found kapton tape has given me better bed adhesion.by gordonendersby - Printing
Re: Changed hotend, now layers are off. - 11 years ago
Are you cooling the fins with a fan? sorry read again you have a fan. Also i would have thought a pla mount would not be up to the heat. Maybe abs would be a better bet. Ive used the aluminium grooved plate with both my j-head and new hexagon hotend. I thought it would also act as a good heat sink to keep the cool end cool. These were both with the extruder on the x-carriage. Gordonby gordonendersby - Printing
Re: Costs - 11 years ago
I built a prusa i2 for less than £300 but have played and improved it since then. But no problem building the basic machine for less than £300. Gordonby gordonendersby - Reprappers
Re: Marlin - extra hot end temperature measurement - 11 years ago
Having a seperate safety monitoring system makes a lot of sense. Well done. Ive installed a smoke detector above my work area as a basic precaution. Gordonby gordonendersby - RAMPS Electronics
Re: hollow lock set screws for jhead - 11 years ago
You havnt tried searching for "grub" screws yet have you? Its what i know them as. Last time i ordered some they were easy to find. Loads listed on ebay fro european and uk sellers. Gordonby gordonendersby - Reprappers
Re: Glossy or matte - 11 years ago
One cooling fan working better than the other? Ive recently found variations in how well the fans work even when buying 2 from the same supplier. Seems some need more power to get going than others. Maybe they even run at different speeds. Ive got to changevthe cooling fan i use for pla at the moment as it doesntvwant to start at a low speed. Gordonby gordonendersby - Reprappers
Re: Inconsistent extruder - 11 years ago
Do you clean the hobbed bolt regularly? Ive got a little wire brush and a compressed air canister to clean mine. Gordonby gordonendersby - General
Re: Connecting print and extruder fan - 11 years ago
My extruder/hotend cooling fan is connected to the 2 pins next to the fuses. It gives a constant 12v while the printer is powered. Ive got an all metal hot end with a tiny fan strapped to it. So the cool part of the hot end stays nice and cool. For cooling the print ive got a fan connected to D9 and enabled in the firmware.by gordonendersby - General Mendel Topics
Re: Need a crimp tool - 11 years ago
Got the crimp tool today and it does the job. The jaws are changeable. The two anvils cover the pc molex power supply size crimps and the smaller pin size crimps. It does a reasonable crimp. I couldnt pull the wires out. It feels heavy and solid. All the hinges are tight its not sloppy or misaligned. I dont know if it would survive in a profesional environment but its certainly good enough for myby gordonendersby - Controllers
Re: Need a crimp tool - 11 years ago
It should have a "w"like profile. I use what im told are called japanese connectors when working on my motorcycle and the die is exactly the same just bigger. The smallest crimp on that ratcheted tool is small enough for the pc molex power connectors but not small enough for those tiny dupont ones to fit the pins on the controller boards. This tool should have the same "w" die shape but be a degby gordonendersby - Controllers
Re: Need a crimp tool - 11 years ago
Im in same boat. Thats a good price ive seen them at 3 times the price. Ill grab one as well. Gordonby gordonendersby - Controllers