Quotethe_digital_dentist That's crazy expensive just for a bed plate! Why would you go to the expense of milling it down when it's already milled flat? And why wouldn't you just cut it with a band saw or even a jig saw instead of the expense of laser cutting? Why didn't you just have the guy who milled it cut it while he had it on the mill? Yowza! I'm completely anal and it seemed the only rby elwood127 - Reprappers
Thanks, I'll pick up some multi strand wire for it. And yes, the evolution of this machine has been quite the journey. Only real dollar cost has been in the buildplate. All other parts were drawn and printed. The before and after pictures are startling. Between these changes being needed (and addressed) and help from you all it's been quite a fun and learning experience. Thanks to you all.by elwood127 - Reprappers
Only problem is that wires are not accessible on this silicone heater (see pic). They are what they are. An update: with no brim @ 90c I did get a bit of lift in the corners. Typical for this part but a bit more than seen with blue tape. Surface finish is like a mirror. Let part cool to 35c and it pop off by itself. I'm pretty pleased overall. No more Elmers or tape. Am looking forward to testingby elwood127 - Reprappers
Hey James, the shop minimum was $200.00. With milling and laser cutting it came to $250.00. The design incorporates clearance for a standard "hard" heatbed with solder pads and notches for bull clips in case I had to go back to a glass setup. I wondered about the heatbed wire gauge also. I had previously enlarged the wires on my old hard heater because of current concerns. I just checked the wireby elwood127 - Reprappers
You need to read up on our "Digital Dentist's" topic on his latest large heatbed project. I'm sure he'll list it when he reads this post.by elwood127 - Reprappers
Just a note, I'm using a dedicated power supply from a Ham Radio set. It is putting out 35 amps @ 13.8v but loses 1v through the SSR.by elwood127 - Reprappers
Well, this is my latest attempt to create a flat build plate for my cheesy Plexiglass chassis I3. I started with a piece of 5/16" x 16" round aluminum tooling plate.I honed the best side until smooth.Then I had a laser and machine shop in Salt Lake mill .125" off the back side in a 10" x 10" area leaving it .187" thick and had the design lasered from that area. I honed the back to remove most ofby elwood127 - Reprappers
Quoteelwood127 Hey DD, is it true that you have to buy their filament cartridges? Never mind, if all else fails read instructions.by elwood127 - General
Hey DD, is it true that you have to buy their filament cartridges?by elwood127 - General
Well, you were right to a point. Sides came out even but top was lumpy again. The thin wall version came out perfect. Thanks for all of the input.by elwood127 - Reprappers
After I'm done trying the thin wall version I'm going to print the thicker one with all "Perimeter" speeds the same to see if Mr. Wannamaker is right. Large and small perimeter settings were 40mm/sec and 20mm/sec. Not sure what Slic3r considers small but should be interesting to see what happens. I've posted the lamp if you guys want to slice this yourself. Look closely at the print preview andby elwood127 - Reprappers
The original drawing was a very thin wall and though flimsy it always printed beautifully. I redrew it doubling the wall thickness to make it more durable. I noticed in Slic3r print preview that the boundary between the top and bottom is visible. This print was with Cura and though the division line is still slightly visible and there is a tiny ridge at the division line it came out much better wby elwood127 - Reprappers
Printed this twice and got exact same look at the exact same height. I'm going to try again with a fan and see what happens. Have printed many of these in the past with no problems. I'll be back.by elwood127 - Reprappers
Double check your stepper voltages. Go at least .6.by elwood127 - Printing
Quotedeckingman A piece of tube and well trained ear works just as well as a flow meter. Ah, an old (school) fart eh?by elwood127 - Look what I made!
Why, all of a sudden is this printing with two different looking areas (top and bottom). A slight ridge at division line (only on outside). Tried redoing surface of drawing with "Surface from Planar curves" and "Sweep two rails" and "Patch" with the same result. Temps stay consistent throughout print. I'm baffled.by elwood127 - Reprappers
Now now DD, a bit hypocritical don't you think?by elwood127 - General
Tape is great if you absolutely need the part to stick but a bitch to remove (actually dangerous). I like glass and Elmers purple glue stick. Once cool part pops right off. Cleans off with water. Needs to be removed and reapplied every few prints.by elwood127 - General
It's funny, I mentioned that once my printer was about perfect I started diddling around and had to fix it. Not having an issue is somehow kind of a let down. Anticlimactic. Without the challenge your left with just printing. I decide to finish drawing my new 3 point leveling bed. That's your fault by the way DD.by elwood127 - General
I love my Prometheus V2. Never a clog. Knock on wood!by elwood127 - General
I like Rhino 3D. Very intuitive and cheap for students and teachers.by elwood127 - General
If your using PLA a good starting point is 180c on extruder and 70c and if ABS than 230c and 110c. Cura has never been good to me so I use SLIC3R. If you use Repetier than you can reverse direction of the steppers. Also stay low on print speeds to start. 40mm/sec is slow enough for good quality but not to slow. Higher speeds come later once you know your machine. My plexiglass printer instructionby elwood127 - General
Hey all, I did a test setting my Stepper voltages back near the default setting of .55 volts ( Plexiglass I3 w/ Nema 17's). I printed a 1 x 1 x 4 inch tower. The left is the result of the lower setting and the right is at .68 volts. The random ridges are .009 inches above the face and printed at 1.001 x 1.004 x 3.937 (in the good areas). The other is .9995 x .999 x 4.083. Obviously the higher volby elwood127 - Reprappers
This is why spending a ton of cash on a printer doesn't pay (IMHO). You wouldn't have learned a thing had it worked perfectly. I maintain that all hobbyists "should" buy the $300.00 piece of crap (like I did), battle like hell to make it work and then build the dream machine. I recently looked back at my original posts about how to figure out stepper wiring, little did I know that that was the eaby elwood127 - Printing
I bought these 10mm rods. 500mm cut to length and they even sent the pieces that were cut off. No wear on mine. Very happy.. You'll have to contact seller for a link to the 8mm rods.by elwood127 - Reprappers
Nice job man. I hope it holds up. Don't forget to buy an air flow meter to sync your carbs.by elwood127 - Look what I made!
Was having issues with stripping filament. My hob was misaligned per my drawing and new stepper shaft was flexing under pressure from the tensioner bearing. Redrew motor mount .030 forward and put old stepper back in. Not sure which was the culprit but prints like this were out of the question before. High retract prints were impossible. This too about 8 hrs. Back in the saddle again.by elwood127 - Look what I made!
Just a note, my Chinese replacement nema 17 had shaft flex problems under presure. Put the old one back on. No flex.by elwood127 - Reprappers
Funny that this topic came back to life. I recently noticed two issues. One was that the my (new) nema 17 shaft was flexing when pressure was applied. So much that clicking was heard. The second problem was that my extruder mount redesign had the hob gear slightly short of perfect alignment with the entry hole for the filament and the hole in the hotend. This allowed the bearing to go under the hby elwood127 - Reprappers
I finally went back to direct drive because of this problem.by elwood127 - Reprappers