I'm new to moldmaking and casting. I've seen examples of making metal objects from 3d printed plastic ones, by either printing a plastic mold and using a metal alloy with lower melting temperature than ABS or the "lost ABS/PLA casting" method by using sand molds. But in either case the resulting metal object is not hollow, and for slightly large objects it gets too heavy and expensive. Is there aby jaques - Casting and Moldmaking Working Group
After talking wit someone else with this problem, we noticed the X carriage wasn't glued properly. The left side had little glue/epoxy that didn't hold it at all. Here I have removed the extruder, hotend, motors and belt from it. top view: bottom view: left side: right side: Again, the left side wasn't glued properly, so it just came off. Left part of the carriage: (Horrible qualiby jaques - Printing
Seems like more SD4 owners are having this problem: At this point these are the problems I can think of: Quote Mechanical problems 1) Problem with the motors (unlikely to be 1. underpowered for what it is intended for, unless everyone else owning a SD4 hasnt noticed this, 2. all 4 of us having faulty motor(s), odds of that are also extremely low) 2) problem with the rods (still bending?) or pby jaques - Printing
QuoteSrek What Andrew said. Missing steps would result in parts of the circle being offset Arent these offsets?by jaques - General
Quoteromels33 Im not really sure what that other bearing is doing there (the one marked with the red arrow). I don't have that on mine. Also, it doesn't look like it is attached to anything, except for the rod itself. Probably wouldn't hurt to try and take it off, and see what happens. I took it off and it didn't affect the print. I noticed that without it, the back rod got a little bend on the lby jaques - Printing
Quoteromels33 Since you said you tightened all your belts, have you also made sure that the Y motor pulley is aligned straight with the pulley right on top of it? Yes, I have. I will try it again though. QuoteAlso, make sure that your "Y smooth rod" (the thinner one that sits horizontally on the back of the printer) is properly aligned. If you take off your side panels, and slide your Y axis bacby jaques - Printing
This is how it is printing right now: basically like this I've tested and adjusted the stepper chips while the printer is on, but not while printing. The support page of Solidoodle says to aim for 1 Volt for each motor chip, which I've done. Completely out of ideas what else might be the problem.by jaques - General
Thanks for the info. This is the problem I'm having: here's a video showing the extruder printing circle and a close up of the y motor at the same time.by jaques - General
EDIT: Here are photos of a circles. This is after I adjusted the stepper chips. And did the belt calibrations again. Looks same to me. here's a video showing the extruder printing circle and a close up of the y motor at the same time.by jaques - Printing
Thank you for the help. Well if less powerful PSU might cause it to lose a step (or few steps?), that sounds like it might cause the problem I'm having.by jaques - General
Thanks. How should I use the data from the spreadsheet to help me? To me the extruder head also seems to go a bit higher than it should before the "peak" and a bit lower when drawing the circle from top to bottom respectively. Or maybe its lower than it should be in the middle.by jaques - Printing
Thanks. Can less current result in it starting to turn later in time than it should have?by jaques - General
QuoteRobA No, it is clearly x axis backlash. Im asking this because Im a newbie: if its an x axis backlash it means the problem is with the x belt or motor? Quoteor flex in the attachment point of the belt to the x carriage Those holders seem to be as tight as I can get them too. Quoteor a loose gear on your stepper that walks back and forth slightly on the shaft when changing directions You meby jaques - Printing
What happens when a stepper motor doesnt get enough current? I suspect my chinese PSU is not powerful as it claims to be, as during printing my led lights flash and fan speed slows down. Will not enough current cause the motors to not run at all, or run at slower speed? I have this artifact on my prints wich happens when the motor stops (powers off? ) and starts again (to rotate the other angle)by jaques - General
That's a very good explanation, and something I was thinking about myself before. However, I've made the belts as tight as possible (more causes binding) and as loose as possible. Results are the same. I also don't notice any slack on the belts while printing those parts. I've also printed the same circles at 50% and 150% speeds with the same results, if this helps. Could it be a power supplyby jaques - Printing
Solidoodle uses a 8x8 inch fiberglass sheet. Its not thin.by jaques - General
Thanks. Im not sure either. Doesnt any other printer have a fiberglass mat glued to the bottom of the bed for insulation? This is the case for Solidoodle 3 and 4.by jaques - General
thanks, but I forgot to mention that the glue ive seen used and what im looking for doesnt harden and acts more like a two sided duct tape, so you can replace the mat later by just pulling it down.by jaques - General
Whats the glue that sticks the fiberglass mat to the bottom of aluminum bed plate?by jaques - General
I have a Solidoodle 4 and have this issue. Might be a problem not specific to this printer other users here might recognise and know the solution to. The extruder makes sharp turns at 5 oclock and 11 oclock. Red dots in this illustration, The printer prints this circle counterclockwise. Red dot 1 in this image is when the Y motor has slowed down and started rotating the opposite direction (toby jaques - Printing