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http://reprap.org/wiki/Laser_Cutter
Re: What kind of grease for threaded rods? - 11 years ago
I use PTFE lubricant since I had some for another project. Works great for me.by sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Shorted my ramps, possible fix? - 11 years ago
Sounds like you blew the voltage regulator on the Arduino. When you connect the USB it gets +5v from there, but when a power supply is connected, it gets +5v from a voltage regulator powered by the +12v from your PSU.by sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Banding problem - 11 years ago
I don't think that is your problem since the banding is too consistant with your prints. We know that you can get decent prints by printing in "spiral vase" mode, so maybe we should look there. Spiral vase mode causes the Z axis motions to be gradual rather than having discrete layer changes. Maybe it has something to do with acceleration or Z feed rate? The Z motors may be missing steps duriby sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Banding problem - 11 years ago
Do you think maybe the nozzle is bumping into the extruded infill and causing the glass print plate to slide slightly on the print bed? Now that you removed the screws on your Z motors, do they move when moving the Z axis? Also from looking at your machine, the Z lead screws appear to be constrained at the bottom. If that's the case, they shouldn't be.by sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Banding problem - 11 years ago
I can't remember where I read it, but someone else was having the same issue and it turned out that the printbed was constrained too much and not allowed to expand as it heated. Since it was "bang-bang" temperature controlled, he'd get patterns like that every time the heat would switch on or turn off since the glass would expand and contract upward/downward rather than laterally. After switchiby sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Infilling Layers taking 4-5 hours on simple model, dimensions slice incorrectly - 11 years ago
I just sliced that object in 10.835 seconds using Slic3r 0.9.10b (75% infill). It takes about 100g of filament to print with those settings though.by sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: OMG, My PLA filament was actually ABS! - 11 years ago
Quick test: If it dissolves in acetone, then it's ABS.by sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: How do you tell it's ABS or PLA? - 11 years ago
I order from them all the time. Every time the free samples have always been PLA.by sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: First completed calibration cube - 11 years ago
Another thing people often overlook when having over/under extrusion problems is Z steps/mm calibration. If the gcode tells the machine to move up 0.22mm for the next layer and the machine only moves up 0.1mm (for example), it will look like it's over-extruding. It's best to configure X, Y, and Z steps/mm using calculations rather than measurements.by sheck626 - Reprappers
Simple mechanical question - lead screw alignment - 11 years ago
Simple question here. I've recently made some upgrades on my I3 which include, among other things, the x ends, x carriage, extruder, and hotend. I'm using a 4 bearing x carriage with much sturdier x ends and a j-head mkv-bv (direct from hotends.com). The problem is that before the upgrade I could use a jig to align the lead screws with respect to the print bed so the X smooth rods were perfectby sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Jamming with brand new J Head!!! LOL - 11 years ago
I'm on my second j-head here and I can tell you that no fan should be needed when printing with ABS. I've had really bad results when trying to print ABS with a fan.by sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Jamming with brand new J Head!!! LOL - 11 years ago
I'd look into your filament possibly being contaminated.by sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Do I have a jamming issue? - 11 years ago
Your extrusion width should not be the same as your layer height. Think about it, if width=height then the extrusion is cylindrical. That means that you get the absolute minimum contact between layers so it's almost gauranteed to delaminate. Even 0.56/0.4 is a bit low. I'd try 0.66/0.3. As far as the extruder failing towards the end, check your filament path into the extruder and make sure tby sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Do I have a jamming issue? - 11 years ago
I would suggest heating the hotend up to 130C and then manually pulling the filament out. Hopefully that'll get it just hot enough that any contaminants in the nozzle will be pulled out as well. After that, you need to get a fan ASAP and you need a filament cleaner, even if you just zip-tie a piece of lint free cloth to the filament right before it enters the extruder. As for the fan, it's notby sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: please help me diagnose this problem - 11 years ago
It looks like a stepper driver is overheating and going into protection mode. Let us know how it works when you print with the new current setting. Otherwise, try putting a fan on your electronics. As for the retraction issue, it's just something you have to experiment with. Retraction speed is sometimes more important than retraction distance (faster is usually better). If you want to increby sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: What does it take for melted plastic to stick to another plastic? - 11 years ago
It depends on the plastic. PLA doesn't seem to care if the previous layer is still hot, ABS does. That's one reason why people generally use a fan with PLA to cool it quickly whereas they try to eliminate airflow with ABS (even so far as to build a chamber around their machine).by sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Help Please. Bad Prints With Prusa Mendel - 11 years ago
PLA needs a fan to cool the thermal break on most hotends. Without it, the PLA in the thermal break melts, expands, and then causes a jam.by sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Help Please. Bad Prints With Prusa Mendel - 11 years ago
Do you happen to have a fan blowing on the hotend?by sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: How To Quick Heat A Bed - 11 years ago
That sounds like quite a process to begin each print. It seems that those PCB heatbeds do not perform consistantly. I have one and can heat to 110C in about 10 minutes with no insulation underneath it at 12 volts yet other people report taking much longer to heat.by sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Glass thickness - does it matter much? - 11 years ago
1.75mm dollar store picture frame glass.by sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Where to find hi temp borosilicate glass? *Facepalm* - 11 years ago
I use cheap (dollar store) picture frame glass. No problems here. If one eventually breaks then it'll be cheap and easy to replace. As long as you heat it evenly, 110C is not *that* hot.by sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: new build lost USB connection - 11 years ago
I've found that the USB-RS232 chip on the Arduino is highly suceptable to EMI. If an electrical load is switched on close by (regardless of what outlet it's plugged in to), you'll lose the connection. It really sucks when you're in the middle of a print and someone switches the window AC on and the print just stops. It stops printing, mind you, but the firmware is still running since the heateby sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Extruder Calibration - 11 years ago
No, plastic should not "drip" from the nozzle (although it will probably ooze a bit). If it does, your temp is too high. As chris33 said, you need to make sure your retraction settings are right for the hotend you're using and print at the lower temp.by sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Hairspray, Glass, and PLA - 11 years ago
If you try painter tape again, make sure to clean the surface with 90% isopropyl alcohol. I think finger prints prevent the PLA from sticking.by sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: 100% infill causes jams - 11 years ago
It may be that your nozzle is partially clogged since the smaller oriface (as opposed to the standard 0.5mm) makes it more prone to clogging. Make sure you have a piece of lint free cloth zip tied to the filament right before it enters the extruder. I don't think the shape of the infill has anything to do with it unless you're over extruding which you've already ruled out. Then again, it couldby sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Hairspray, Glass, and PLA - 11 years ago
After struggling with PLA on glass, I decided to try 3M blue painter tape as others have done. It works. No waiting for the bed to heat up and no waiting for it to cool down, just press print and go and the part is ready immediately after the print. The part can be removed with a razor blade (carefully), but if you rip the tape then who cares since it is dirt cheap and takes only seconds to reby sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Z axis is homed until starts the print. - 11 years ago
The print starts at your first layer height setting plus any Z offset that you may have defined in Slic3r (it's in the "printer settings" under "general"). It should not start the print at the "home" position.by sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Warping on big parts - 11 years ago
As I understand it, the problem with ABS is that hot plastic will not stick to cold plastic. The layer being deposited has to heat up the previous layer before it'll adhere. Airflow from any source is detramental to that. A method I have yet to try is to print a "skirt" around the object that extends in the Z direction throughout the entire object to act as a barrier for airflow. Other than tby sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Filament feed through barrel and nozzle - 11 years ago
Any hotend that uses PTFE as a support is bound to fail. I ordered the mixshop extruder kit when I was building my Prusa I2 and even with all my inexperience I could tell it was a bad design and probably wouldn't last long. It lasted about 3 prints before doing exactly what I thought it would do. Luckily, I already had a j-head to replace it with when it failed. Mind you, I was printing PLA wby sheck626 - Reprappers
Re: Bad prints, is it slicing parameters thats causing it - 11 years ago
If it's ABS, I'd suggest setting a minimum layer time to about 45 seconds in your cooling settings. Skeinforge allows you to also lower the extrusion temp which you should do as well. I've printed objects perfectly with ABS at single digit mm/s speeds. I haven't found a lower limit to the speed you can print ABS at. With PLA, you need a fan since it degrades if it's kept hot too long and PLAby sheck626 - Slic3r