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Accessory Header pinout for Sanguinololu 1.3a? - 11 years ago

Hi all - I am using Sanguinololu 1.3a and am interested in adding a cooling fan control. I heard one can make a simple mosfet switch to turn the fan on via the PWM pin. Is there a pin layout diagram link somewhere out there that describes all the pins on the accessory header? Thanks! Rob

by rtrahms - Sanguino(lolu)

Building a larger Prusa Mendel - 11 years ago

Hi - I have built and currently use a Prusa Mendel i2 for all my 3D prints. I am starting to print parts for a second Prusa, and was wondering why I couldn't increase the scale of the second Prusa Mendel. I think I would just use the same printed plastic parts, but I could get longer threaded rods, smooth rods, and a larger bed. Am I missing something, or can this be done? It sure would b

by rtrahms - General Mendel Topics

Super-fast (and sticking) PLA - how is this done?? - 11 years ago

This video is almost magical in how fast the extruder lays down PLA with incredible speed. It also seems like the Z=0 height is a little high. I have not been able to achieve this speed (or adhesion with such a Z=0 height). Any comments? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmmIAJbNhH0 Thanks, Rob

by rtrahms - Printing

Re: Blobs! - 11 years ago

I have a working theory that this is a bed-leveling issue. I do check levels regularly (four corner method, etc), but I releveled once more and things seem to be much better (no blobs). The theory goes, if the bed gets "out of level" even by a little bit during the print, then plastic will be squished outwards and cause a blob. My heated bed is suspended above the metal plate by four springs i

by rtrahms - Printing

Re: Blobs! - 11 years ago

And I forgot to mention my retraction is set to 1mm. I am playing around with this parameter now.

by rtrahms - Printing

Blobs! - 11 years ago

Hi all - Fully calibrated Prusa Mendel I2, 3mm filament, slic3r. I have been printing many parts, and most come out okay. I do get occasional blobs that seem to accumulate in certain areas of the print, and cause problems with upper layers. Image attached. Anyone had similar issues? What is the cause? As you can see, most of the print is okay, just certain sections have this seemingly rando

by rtrahms - Printing

Re: Extruder too hot? - 11 years ago

Hi - Not sure I follow. Are you talking about the way the painters tape is laid down? If so, I wasn't aware front to back was important - the extruder is moving in all directions. What I did find (check other posts) is that I had two mistakes. First, my filament width had not be set correctly based on actual filament width measure (I just had 3mm in as the parameter). Second, my glass plate

by rtrahms - Printing

Re: DUH! Be sure to measure filament thickness!! - 11 years ago

Attached is my latest print sample. I am extremely happy with the precision! Also, another (supposedly obvious) item I missed while trying to have more precise prints was having enough firmness in the registration of the glass plate with the heated bed. My glass plate was held on by two large clips - I have now come to realize that THAT IS NOT ENOUGH. There was a little wiggle if the extruder

by rtrahms - Printing

DUH! Be sure to measure filament thickness!! - 11 years ago

Hi all - I have been posting my steady progress toward clean prints, but was puzzled in the way my printer always appeared to have excess plastic. I have 3mm wide PLA that I use. I calibrated everything, but forgot to adjust this value in Slic3r. I just left the default 3mm value. Oh my. After measuring my filament thickness with a caliper, I found that it was actually 3.3mm. This would exp

by rtrahms - Printing

Extruder too hot? - 11 years ago

Prusa Mendel i2, Wade Extruder, GT2 belts & aluminum pulleys (great, btw) Fully calibrated X,Y,Z & E motors 3mm PLA Slic3r 200C first layer, 190C every other layer Very precise, but do get the occasional BLOB which is annoying (see the pic). Any suggestions here? Thanks in advance! Rob

by rtrahms - Printing

Re: Excess PLA on first layer - what am I doing wrong? - 11 years ago

I think the following made this situation quite a bit better: 1) Raise the Z=0 level a bit, not squashing the first layer so much, in combination with 2) Going a bit slower on the first layer (10% speed instead of 30% speed) to make sure the PLA takes to the bed without moving around. So far results are promising! Less excess overlap. Thanks all for the feedback! Rob

by rtrahms - Printing

Re: Excess PLA on first layer - what am I doing wrong? - 11 years ago

@demetris - That is exactly what I thought it was, and what it looks like - going sideways and overlapping/interfering with the neighbor lines of plastic. As many know, the reason for the squishing is to have good adhesion to the print bed. This is definitely a first-layer phenomenon. @konwiddak - That's an interesting question. I calibrate between runs, so the extruder is hot, but not 200C.

by rtrahms - Printing

Re: Excess PLA on first layer - what am I doing wrong? - 11 years ago

One other thing - I am using 200C for the extruder on my first layer, and 180C on all others. In the interest of turning over all stones on this puzzle, I am lower the temp of the extruder at steps of 5C and retrying to see the results. Stay tuned.

by rtrahms - Printing

Re: Excess PLA on first layer - what am I doing wrong? - 11 years ago

Correction: My extrusion width (using Slic3r) was set to auto. I am running another print with 0.5mm explicit width and 0.3mm layer height. Pic uploaded soon.

by rtrahms - Printing

Excess PLA on first layer - what am I doing wrong? - 11 years ago

Hi all - My Prusa Mendel i2 prints are steadily improving, thanks to all your advice - thank you! I now have machined pulleys and GT2 belts (BIG improvement there), and have fully calibrated X, Y, Z and E. Still have excess plastic on my layers though. Thought my E calibration was off, but that does not seem to be it. Thought it was the fact that I was using 200% infill on the first layer... n

by rtrahms - Printing

Re: What is going on with this print? - 11 years ago

Okay, I am getting noticeably closer to a precision print - very exciting. I have calibrated all motors (including E-steps), and prints are better for it! I am thinking my e-steps are a little low because of the following phenomenon: exterior surfaces look great, but interior ones look like they don't have enough filament. Look at the attachment. Is that what is causing this? If not, what?

by rtrahms - Printing

Re: What is going on with this print? - 11 years ago

Hi all - Here is the latest. As I was going through the Triffid Hunters Calibration Guide above, I noticed that instruction was to have 95% infill while using the calibration model. My setting was 25%. For a SMALL part. Here are some pictures of my print using 95% infill as suggested (to start). Wow - very nice. Apparently small parts need a higher infill percentage. That may be obvious

by rtrahms - Printing

Re: What is going on with this print? - 11 years ago

Thanks for the input! This is definitely getting me on the right track. In reviewing my parameters, I did a few things: 1) Recalibrated my extrusion steps/mm setting in sprinter 2) Found that I had my extrusion multiplier set to TWO (whoops) when it should be around one. 3) Reduced my post-first layer temps to 175C ext/ 55C bed. Doing these yielded a much improved result - take a look at the

by rtrahms - Printing

Re: What is going on with this print? - 11 years ago

More info on my settings: Layer height: 0.3mm Ext width: 0.48mm

by rtrahms - Printing

What is going on with this print? - 11 years ago

Prusa Mendel i2 Sanguinololu/Sprinter 3mm PLA filament 0.5mm J Head extruder Heated bed slic3r No fan (yet) First layer: 200C ext, 80C bed Other layers: 185C ext, 60C bed I have been struggling a bit with more precision printing, trying to determine what could be affecting print quality. Example: I printed three gear spools, and while the general shapes turned out well, the gear definition and

by rtrahms - Printing

Re: Getting a PRECISION print - what parameters affect it? - 11 years ago

Thanks all for the great suggestions! I will let you know how the investigation into these areas goes! Rob

by rtrahms - Printing

Getting a PRECISION print - what parameters affect it? - 11 years ago

Hi all - - Prusa Mendel I2 - Repetier Host - 3mm filament/0.5 mm extruder I have been running a number of parts, all successful, but somewhat coarse in their precision. When I try to run a part like one of the gear wheels for the printer, the teeth are all munged together in a big cylinder. Small features like holes are also not as crisp. I have read about calibration exercises, and have the

by rtrahms - Printing

Re: Prusa Mendel I2 - Turning on extruder heater trips ATX supply - 11 years ago

Nevermind! Found the problem - wiring mix-up in the extruder cable. Crossed wires led to a short before current even got to the extruder hot end. Swapped them and now the extruder heats up properly!

by rtrahms - General Mendel Topics

Prusa Mendel I2 - Turning on extruder heater trips ATX supply - 11 years ago

Hi all - I have built a Prusa Mendel I2 (with Sanguinololu) from a kit, and included is an extruder assembly. Everything works (motors, endstops, heated bed, etc), but the moment I turn on the extruder heater the ATX cuts out. I thought it might be my old ATX (350W), so I bought a new beefier one (500W) and the problem still happens. The ATX comes back after shutting off for a few minutes. Has

by rtrahms - General Mendel Topics

Re: Prusa Mendel Kit: What is this part?? - 11 years ago

Hi Bob - That's what I thought. It has some pretty beefy wiring, and looks like a big ceramic resistor. The thing is, I am not sure what to do with it. I took a picture of the current extruder I have from the kit, which looks pretty much plug and play... This heater cartridge might be a replacement for all I know... Possibly related to this, I am having issues turning on the extruder heater

by rtrahms - General Mendel Topics

Re: Prusa Mendel Kit: What is this part?? - 11 years ago

Mystery Item Image

by rtrahms - General Mendel Topics

Prusa Mendel Kit: What is this part?? - 11 years ago

I have built a Prusa Mendel Reprap, but cannot for the life of me know what this part is. I already have an extruder assembly, and a heated bed. What is this?? Thanks in advance! Rob

by rtrahms - General Mendel Topics

Printer communicates with Repsnapper but not RepRap Host - 11 years ago

Hi all - I have built a Prusa Mendel I2 printer with a Sanguinololu board, and have successfully tested control of the movement of all motors using the Repsnapper binary. My host computer is Win7 using USB as COM4 with a bitrate of 115200, no issues. The problem is I cannot get RepRap Host to control the motors in the same fashion. The console debug log says I am connected, but I do get a num

by rtrahms - RepRap Host