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Printing issues ...
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I want to extend my sincere thanks to all the kind forum members who responded to my request for help. Being able to depend on the generous assistance of those more knowledgeable than ourselves is what makes forums like this so valuable.
I will be sure to provide the same level of help to these kind members when they in turn ask for it.
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DGC PartWorks
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Repetier
I've been using an older version of Repetier with my original Mendel (not Mendel Pro, not Mendel Prusa) and now I'm setting up a newer machine with the latest version, but I'm not sure of everything that is necessary.
My current setup:
Repetier v0.74
Slic3r and firmware current to the Repetier version
Windows XP
My new setup:
Repetier latest version
Windows 8.1
Do I need to change the firmware
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DGC PartWorks
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Repetier
Just for the record, it's more than just concern about the limit switch failing. The connections, wiring, circuit board traces and internal circuitry associated with the limit switches could fail as well, causing loss of limit protection. These additional failure points will almost always fail to the open condition, so if you use a normally open configuration the system will interpret these fai
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DGC PartWorks
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General
Assuming that you do in fact have the extruder calibrated properly, you might see this problem if the z axis is closer to the bed than the system thinks it is. This could be caused by the Z home switch being too low, or the bed not being level (if you see the problem in some places but not others). In slic3r you can try adding .1 or .2 to the Z offset to see if it helps.
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DGC PartWorks
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General Mendel Topics
The main function of heat sink compound is to fill in tiny imperfections in the surfaces that are otherwise in close contact. At the microscopic level, even an apparently flat surface consists of a lot of peaks and valleys, and so two such surfaces placed in direct contact are actually only truly touching in those places where the peak on one side meets a peak on the other. Heat sink compound f
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DGC PartWorks
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General
To point out a technical inaccuracy that might otherwise serve to confuse and misdirect future readers.
Why are you offering information about technical subjects you obviously don't understand?
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DGC PartWorks
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Reprappers
Switches have no polarity, so reversing the contacts should not be expected to have an effect.
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DGC PartWorks
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Reprappers
I've seen strange, unnecessary moves at times from the gcode created by slic3r.. try creating the same model just a tad bigger or smaller and see if it jogs the algorithm away from the problem point.
Another thing that mucks up extrusion sometimes is too much retraction. I have mine turned off completely and the temp low as possible and it works better for me that way.
Also, it looks like you'
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DGC PartWorks
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General
OK, I wanna live in Australia now... sausages and a sex party?? I'm sooo in!!
BTW, I hear that Obama prints polycarb on a Mendel without a heated bed... Now THAT's leadership!
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DGC PartWorks
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General
Good to see some more experimentation. I've wondered how machined knurls would work...
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DGC PartWorks
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General Mendel Topics
Many good suggestions above for the actual lubricant, but to ensure long term survival and performance of the bearings and ways don't forget the importance of keeping dust and debris out. Frequent cleanings and possibly wipers or seals of some kind will help to keep your machine from grinding itself to death.
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DGC PartWorks
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General
I had a similar issue with and I found a setting in slic3r for the minimum size move that will trigger a retraction. I set the size to 10mm (it had been set at 2mm) which is larger than most of the infill moves but not larger than the typical jog moves and that greatly improved the situation.
I would like to see a separate switch in slic3r to turn off retraction altogether during infill and sti
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DGC PartWorks
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General
It's also important to consider that when you print with a lower layer size, you are creating a wider width of bead. For instance, if you're using a nozzle with a diameter of .35 mm you will have a bead size with a cross-sectional area of a .35 mm circle. If you print with a layer height of .1 mm you are squashing that bead down in height, and it will increase in width. The cross-sectional are
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DGC PartWorks
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General
Well, not to beat the issue to death, but using lead screws need not add any appreciable mass to the system. The mass of interest is that which is being driven, and the vast majority of that (in a 3D printer as well as in machine tools) is in the carriage itself, not the lead screw. The acceleration load of the screw is limited to rotating it, which is not a big deal since they are small in dia
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DGC PartWorks
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General
To say that an inkjet printer has the same accuracy requirements as a precision milling machine is simply incorrect. I guarantee you that no decent machine manufacturer would tolerate the amount of multi-axis vibrational instability or the lack of structural stiffness that is present in an inkjet printer.
Suppose an inkjet printer prints a line and the head deviates from a perfect path by +/- 0
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DGC PartWorks
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General
Couple of quick thoughts...
On entering this program, how much of one's idea would suddenly become owned and controlled by others?
Why would it be beneficial to one's home country to build a business in China?
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DGC PartWorks
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General
There are inherent limitations in belt drive systems for the simple reason that there are inherent limitations in any kind of system that could ever be conceived or produced. The only reasonable approach to engineering is to understand that there is no such thing as a perfect solution and that the choice between options is a matter of weighing the inevitable tradeoffs that each option presents.
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DGC PartWorks
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General
A main concern of mine regarding belt drive systems on repraps is the accuracy of the printed toothed pulleys. The ones I've seen (including those on my Mendel) suffer from several issues: hole too big for shaft causing pulley to be off-center, hole itself off-center causing the same issue, inconsistent pitch diameter caused by differences in tooth size/shape, and vibrations caused by poor mater
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DGC PartWorks
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General
I think the best long-term solution would be an extruder that works with pellets/reground waste. That way you wouldn't need to re-extrude into filament form before you could re-use your old stuff.
I've seen some posts/blogs devoted to such efforts but the technical problems are harder to overcome than it originally appears.
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DGC PartWorks
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General
I agree, it sounds more like something is binding and causing the system to flex when it extends to the right side, then as it moves back the system unflexes as the binding force is relieved. Kind of a generic explanation but I don't have your machine in front of me to study. I'd look for something that impedes the axis movement and causes the linear energy to strain and flex the structure.
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DGC PartWorks
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Printing
Yes, it would definitely not be possible with standard slic3r output...
So, it sounds like you're saying two things:
[1] Although the bead that is being drawn across the gap is cool enough and stiff enough not to droop, it's still warm enough and soft enough that if it was disconnected from the extrudate coming from the nozzle, it would fall. [2] The beads drawn across next to each other over em
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DGC PartWorks
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Printing
Just based on the resistance of the heatbed alone, I'd say there is definitely something wrong.
12v / 3.5ohms = 3.43A
12V * 3.43A = 41W
so even with full voltage the current is nowhere near the 11 or 12 Amps considered minimum for a bed heater.
For comparison, 12V @ 12A = 144W. To achieve this you would need a heatbed resistance of 1 ohm (12V / 12A).
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DGC PartWorks
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General
Just to play devil's advocate, let me ask a question...
Suppose you are starting a bridge, and when the bead has extended halfway across the span, you stop extruding and pull the nozzle away. Wouldn't you have a single strand sticking out into thin air? Assuming that it has been cooling and stiffening as you extruded it, wouldn't it be able to stand on its own?
Suppose you then did the same t
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DGC PartWorks
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Printing
Thanks for the input, Tom. I hadn't heard of or seen any such bridges being done, but I thought it was worth asking about directly.
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DGC PartWorks
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Printing
LOL - I had to think about that for a minute to catch on...
Translation for Americans: grub screw = set screw
Ahh, separated by a common language
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DGC PartWorks
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Printing
I'm just wrapping my brain around bridging (printing unsupported material) and I'm wondering if all bridges need to be straight.
Would it be possible to use bridging to print the object in the attached image? Obviously in this particular case the correct approach would be to print it upside-down, so the 'bridge' became the 'base', but just for the sake of learning about the limitations of bridg
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DGC PartWorks
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Printing
So, in thinking further, I wonder if bridging setup changes affect the entire layer where a bridge occurs or if it is confined to the bridge only.
Logically, it would seem to be preferable for such things as temperature changes, speed changes and the use of a cooling fan which may be required for making bridges to only be active when the actual bridge is being printed. When other parts of a lay
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DGC PartWorks
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General
Thanks for the explanation and the examples. It's good to know that there are techniques for creating unsupported features without always relying on some form of support material. I can still see cases where a vault would be useful, particularly as it would not require any special setup, tools or finely tuned parameters.
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DGC PartWorks
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General
After considering the options I will probably go with the Printrbed mostly because it is already wired, connectorized and includes the thermistor sensor necessary for temperature control. I will probably get a standalone power supply to drive it as well, since it's hard to be confident of the ability of a standard ATX supply to handle the load.
I'm gonna spend more time printing with PLA in the
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DGC PartWorks
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General
The power rating given is output, not input:
12V * 12.5A = 150 W
20A would mean 240W so the 320W and 400W models would be more than sufficient.
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DGC PartWorks
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General
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