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Re: cannot slice this file - 10 years ago
Reproduced, I can't slice it at full size, but can slice it when scaled down to 30%, maybe there's a bug where something grows to large or goes out-of-range when trying to process the full sized version? Edit : Am using version 1.0.0RC1by Azrael_UK - Slic3r
Re: Leaky Extruder - 11 years ago
2mm retraction may not be enough, I've been using 4.5mm with reasonable sucessby Azrael_UK - Printing
Re: Custom G-code after extruder hit temperature possible? - 11 years ago
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into that, do a few tests, see if it can get the head moving the way I want toby Azrael_UK - Slic3r
Re: Custom G-code after extruder hit temperature possible? - 11 years ago
OK thanks, I was hoping there was some setting that would do this automatically but if editing the G-code is the only way I guess that's the answer Edit : A thought... Could a suitable routine entered in the "post processing script" be used to combine those two lines after Slic3r has done it's work?by Azrael_UK - Slic3r
Re: Custom G-code after extruder hit temperature possible? - 11 years ago
OK, I figured out how to do that... Insert a M109 S into the startup G-code box and what I want to happen after heat is reached after that Now for the next question.......... Is there any way to combine the G1 Z0.300 F9000.000 G1 X85.050 Y85.230 F9000.000 that Slic3r starts with on first layer into a single command, so it moves all 3 axis at once?by Azrael_UK - Slic3r
Re: New to 3D Printing. Need Help - 11 years ago
OK here's a very (very) over-simplified view of what happens when you print something.... When you design/download something, you wind up with a .STL file which is what's called a mesh file, it basically describes the surfaces of the part(s) you're intending to print. You put that into a slicer program on the PC which converts that description of the shape by dividing it into layers, and workingby Azrael_UK - Reprappers
Custom G-code after extruder hit temperature possible? - 11 years ago
I'm running Slicer 1.0.0RC, I was wondering if there's any way have a short section of custom G-code such that it's run after the extruder has reached target temperature? I tried putting it into the start G-code box but that seems to run after the bed has hit temp but before the extruder is brought up to temperature.by Azrael_UK - Slic3r
Re: Can't level bed on Prusa i2 - 11 years ago
OK this is a bit of an outside chance, but it just this morning happened to me, kept on getting it level over-and-over and it kept going out of true every time I moved anything, was pulling my hair out trying to fix it...... Turns out the threaded rod holding the extruder to the X-carriage had worked loose so it could shift slightly as soon as the motors started moving it with any speed! I'm reby Azrael_UK - Reprappers
Re: Hotend temperature jumps? - 11 years ago
If you've picked a type with a suitable max-temp rating, then yes they're normally fairly good. When they do fail the failure mode is normally either a broken/failing wire (which would look a good candidate here but you say you've checked that?) or a gradual drift in thier value which wouldn't match your symptomsby Azrael_UK - General
Re: Hotend temperature jumps? - 11 years ago
Are the drops a single-reading error? or are they persistant? if they're a single reading it might be interference that can be dealt with by increasing the averaging setting in the firmware. If it's an error that persists over multiple readings then I'm afraid I'm out of ideas and would have to start probing around with an oscilliscope to try to localise the fault.by Azrael_UK - General
Re: Slicer on a microcontroller - 11 years ago
I'd have to agree with savorywatt that slicing on one of the little ATMega or similar MCUs is likely impossible to complete fast enough to work, but have you considered the possibility of permenantly mounting a Raspberry Pi or BeagleBoard onto the printer and using that as a slicing engine. I'm intending on mounting an Rpi permenantly to the circuit board of the large-format 3D printer I'm workinby Azrael_UK - Developers
Re: heat resistor - 11 years ago
When a resistor is rated at "3W" or "5W", that means it's capable of that level of power output, while in free-air, while maintaining it's properties within it's specification. We don't care so much about it staying within a 5% tolerance of it's rated values and are mounting it into what ammounts to a large heatsink, that has the effect of allowing it to survive a much higher power than it's specby Azrael_UK - Controllers
Re: Hotend temperature jumps? - 11 years ago
That does seem like a lot too much variation, mine (36W 12V hotend, Marlin controlling) normally holds +/- 1.2C during printing. It might be worth having a check that all your wiring is solid, and seeing if the firmware has options for smoothing out readings?by Azrael_UK - General
Re: Prints coming out too Large 
- 11 years ago
I've had that issue with settings change not taking effect before too, I think caused by the old settings being retained in EEPROM, the workaround I used was to send M503 ; Read out current settings - to check the new ones arn't in effect M502 ; Revert to "factory settings" I.E. the new ones M500 ; Put those settings into EEPROM M503 ; Verify new settings are now in effect Not sure if this is tby Azrael_UK - General
Re: Drivers / Stepper motors compatibilty - 11 years ago
That's a pretty similar setup to the one I'm running ( in terms of drivers and motors ) they're not a perfect match but they're probably close enough. The A4988 can do 1A without a heatsink, up to 2A with, your motor is rated for 1.7A so with an additional heatsink that should be OK but you will have to watch the motor and driver temperature as the driver is capable of delivering enough current tby Azrael_UK - Stepper Motors, Servo Motors, DC Motors
Re: A few questions from a noob reprapper - 11 years ago
Quoteenrapha 1. I'm starting on my first "Large" segemented piece. this is about 134.58mm x 134.58mm x 168.3mm for this single piece, now this piece ir required to have solid infil and some support printed to it as well. as per ponterface my print is going to take me 19hours total. I'm already 4 hours into and am 25% done. does this seem like a normal ammount of time to do a print such as this?by Azrael_UK - Reprappers
Re: 4.7K Thermistor instead of 10K Thermistor - 11 years ago
This will depend on your firmware, I don't think there's intrinsic any problem with using a 4K7 thermistor for the bed, but you will have to either choose a firmware that has support for that value, or be willing to write your own thermistor table for it.by Azrael_UK - General Mendel Topics
Re: Cost and material usage - 11 years ago
Say an M5x20 bolt? a couple of pence, 10-15 minutes counting the warmup on mine. But if you're interested in printing small bolts remember that you won't be able to print threads that work below a certain ( fairly large ) size, so you'd have to print it blank and use a die to put the thread on.by Azrael_UK - Look what I made!
Re: Quick question: does orientation of motor matter? - 11 years ago
Most firmwares have an option to reverse a motor direction, so fit it however works best mechanically and sort it out in the firmwareby Azrael_UK - General Mendel Topics
Re: Freshly fried stepper...mmm - 11 years ago
Sorry to hear about your fried motor, microstepping is a function of the driver rather than the motor. It's done by the driver supplying the windings with intermediate levels of current inbetween fully on and off to produce a movement less than a full step.by Azrael_UK - General
Re: PLA Not bonding to itself - 11 years ago
IR thermometers are cheap and easy to use but they tend to be a bit inaccurate on copper and aluminium, you could measure the resistance of the thermistor directly and compare it to the reference table the manufacturer produces. The most accurate way is likely to be attaching the probe of a thermocouple meter directly to the hot end with some thermal paste but they can be rather pricey.by Azrael_UK - General
Re: Homing Issues with Printrbot Simple - 11 years ago
I've not used a printrbot myself so I can't speak with any authority on this, but it sounds like the axis direction might have gotten inverted, is there any setting to change that?by Azrael_UK - General
Re: 3M Kapton tape vs. the stuff from Ebay... - 11 years ago
Since kapton was used back on the Apollo missions ( ) and patent is normally 17 or 20 years in the USA, I'm guessing they don't need to worry about that and are just skating around trademark issues. I've been using some knock-off stuff called kaptan tape also from Ebay and it's been working just fine. It's completely unaffected up to 300C, doesn't ignite at 400C and has adequate adhesion to bothby Azrael_UK - General
Re: New Reprapper (Bath) - 11 years ago
Hi Mike, Thanks, It's running a quite modified GEN-7 V1.5 electronics. The main reason for making it is to print parts for my work, support brackets, insulators, that sort of thing. All the stuff with fiddly shapes that are reasonably easy to draw but a pain the ass to make on the milling machine. So far though it's mostly been making upgraded parts for it's self, and it does need a new heatedby Azrael_UK - West of England RUG
New Reprapper (Bath) - 11 years ago
Not sure if this is suitable for this group but if not can the mods please delete New Reprapper here based just south of Bath. Just got my Prussa i2 finally working well after much messing around and starting to design and print actually useful objects! Thought I'd introduce myself to the group and say hello. Name : Steve Printer : Prussa i2 ( but already mentally designing a new one ) Locationby Azrael_UK - West of England RUG
Re: first test but singing step motors any ideas? - 11 years ago
I can think of a few issues that can provoke that sort of effect ( I've had it several times ) A) Something's jamming the axis, check for any obstructions and make sure it moves freely when drivers are off Linear shafts or leadscrews need lubrication C) Current setting on the drivers is too low or too high D) An incorrect frequency setting in the Firmware is resulting a wrong motor drive frequeby Azrael_UK - General
Re: how to calculate path for motor given a series of 2D shapes - 11 years ago
On the turning-on-and-off thing that depends on the type of laser in use. Solid-state lasers are absolutely fine with it so long as the control electronics can handle the start-up transients which isn't difficult. Gas-lasers like CO2 arn't so good at rapid and repeated changes of power, because of the life-time of the plasma in the tube they're not happy being rapidly modulated.by Azrael_UK - Developers
Re: Using fan to help overhang and sharp corners? - 11 years ago
@dragonfly Double-push, offset from each other slightly in the X-direction so they make a small vortex around the head instead of blowing directly at each other. I'm looking at upgrading to this X-carriage soon though cause I'm not satisfied with the stability of the stock one, so that may change the fan arrangement.by Azrael_UK - General
Re: Using fan to help overhang and sharp corners? - 11 years ago
I had a similar problem with sharp (tighter than about 120 degrees) corners on my prints, they came out messy and sticking up too much. In the end the solution I found was to use 2 40mm fans, front and back of the head running all the time at about 60%, except on layer-0 when they're off, and raise the print temperature by 10-20C. Now I'm getting prints with neat, precise corners and no problemsby Azrael_UK - General
Re: Hot end fix or replace? - 11 years ago
Hard to be sure but it looks like it might be a varient on a BHead extruder -by Azrael_UK - Mechanics