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Printing issues ...
As a first time 3d printer but long term linux user i ended up using cura both frontend and slicer.
Works well with latest marlin and ramps 1.4 on prusa mendel i2 i built from scratch.
Im still in the process of experimenting and tuning but was able to print something that
was in one piece and useable from the off with this setup after initial step calibration.
Its attention to detail that count
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gordonendersby
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General
Im wondering then how that ethos fits in with my printer as i built from scratch generally following the reprap instructions.
I havnt built from a kit of parts where the software can make guesses on settings.
I like to make things interesting for myself so didnt go for a kit.
In the process ive learnt a lot more about the components and the what, why and how they fit into the printing process.
S
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gordonendersby
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General
Im asking because I get the impresion that cura hides a lot from you.
I didnt know if there are more things you can tweak in sic3er or skienforge to get really good results with print quality.
Unless of course cura is only exposing you to what you really need and the others expose stuff thats not neccesary.
I realise the other slicers also cover cnc and other gcode uses.
I do like the simplicity
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gordonendersby
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General
Ive scratch built a prusa mendel i2 and its all working.
To get off the ground and printing i was recomended that cura was easy to use.
Ive been using it but i think im not getting the best out of the printer or getting it tuned in as well as i could with cura.
Ive had steady improvements. But still having problems with adhesion between layers with pla that makes the things im printing brittle an
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gordonendersby
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General
How about a domestic cooker hood.
Some are designed to be without an outside vent.
Gordon
by
gordonendersby
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General
You might not realise, but its 5cm of filament in to the extruder.
So when you calibrate you measure whats going in to the extruder not whats coming out of the nozzle.
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gordonendersby
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General
New mega fitted and stepper drivers.
Im now back to just before where i was when it all started to go wrong and i had the problem with that print.
Few more test and calibration prints to do.
A 10mm cube came out .12mm short today and about .2mm over on the x and y axis so a little more tuning to do.
Hopefully i can get that part printed soon and it will be better quality.
Gordon
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gordonendersby
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Printing
I had a look at the mega more closely.
Theres a black component marked m3 by the dc jack that wasnt fully soldered to the board.
It wasnt making full contact with the pad.
I soldered it back on but it kept tripping the power supply.
Looks like the regulator is toast now.
Suffering from withdrawal now, havnt tried to print something for days.
Hopefully ill have the replacement by Thursday.
Gordo
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gordonendersby
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Printing
I tried with a laser thermometer but the kapton tape and shiny metal wont let me get an accurate reading.
I then tried the thermocouple that came with my multimeter and it showed what i was expecting.
Difficult to hold steady and hard against the hot end but it does work.
Laser thermometers need a nice matt surface to work well.
Gordon
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gordonendersby
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RAMPS Electronics
I made a boo boo the other day.
I was printing from the sd card all well and good.
For some silly reason i plugged in the usb cable which caused the arduino mega to reboot.
Which obviously stopped the print. 4 hours into a 6 hour print.
Is it possible you caused the arduino in the ramps kit to reset by starting an application that causes the usb to disconnect/reconnect.
Or the usb lead came loos
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gordonendersby
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General
Youve probably commented the decleration for that variable ratherbthan changing the value.
Gordon
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gordonendersby
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Printing
That article is a good find.
Very intetesting.
Im using 8mm x 1.25 stainless a2 threaded rod and nuts for my prusa i2 lead screws as i thought they may be better quality as they dont have to be treated to resist rust so no coating of zinc. They do feel smoother to the touch if you wind them through your fingrrs compared to zinc coated mild steal.
With a small dab of lithium grease the seem to do
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gordonendersby
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Reprappers
Ive got an prusa i2 ive recently built with a running fan.
In marlin where you select how many extruders and whether you have a heated bed or not.
Theres a code, i think 33, for extruder, bed and fan.
Sorry havnt got a copy of the firmware to hand to post up the section.
Then you can connect it to the ramps board via the screw terminals.
Worked out of the box for me with cura and i could adjust
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gordonendersby
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General Mendel Topics
Interesting, but you have to swap out the motor with the whole extruder setup.
Mind you being able to swap in a milling head for pcb production appeals.
I think it would be more efficient to swap out the J-head itself for changes in filament size or tip size.
Cablec onnectors of the correct rating would be a good idea. Also handed and locking.
Ive got pc power supply molex connectors in my parts
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gordonendersby
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Printing
Ive been wondrring if theres a way to swap out the smaller nozzle for a larger one for bigger prints.
Its a j-head with one piece heater block and nozzle.
Some kind of quick release extruder and carriage would be useful.
Another modification to think about later.
Ive got other problems at the moment.
Looks like the arduino mega in my ramps 1.4 controller is failing now.
That or all my stepper c
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gordonendersby
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Printing
Had anothrr go with everything cooled down.
Couldnt wait till tomorrow.
I really think ive got some defective hardware now.
Double checked the power supply. All voltages good. Plenty of power to run it.
Z axis is stuttering the driver isnt the problem as i swapped it out.
Now the extruder is not always turning.
Something is slowly breaking down.
I think i need to replace the cheap arduino mega.
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gordonendersby
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Printing
Tried larger wall thickness no real chang.
Been at it for about 4 or so hours and my prints are getting worse.
Even if i go back to original settings.
My z-axis has started to stutter sometimes.
Theres nothing binding.
The drivers arnt overheating, motors are cool to touch.
Tried swapping out z axis driver but still stutterd.
Everything wss runn9ng smooth 4 hours ago.
Maybe the arduino mega is g
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gordonendersby
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Printing
Ok,
Tried again this time with the 15mm cube.
0.2 layer
Temp 210c
Height was still short by 1.05mm over that 15mm height print.
So temp hasnt effected height.
So double checked everything was tight and got the verniers out again.
Checked z steps again. Pretty much spot on. 0.03 over. I cant measure any finer.
Checked extrusion and that was spot on. 20mm for 20mm. Id taken a lot of care with tji
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gordonendersby
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Printing
Thanks,
Few more thing to check.
Ive done the z steps and got it pretty much spot on.
Used verniers and checked more than a few times when i was putting the values in the marlin firmware.
Also tuned the power for the steppers. Motors dont get hot and the heat sinks on drivers stay below 43c.
I dont seem to be missing steps.
Would The height vary with temperature of the hot end?
Because the 10 m
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gordonendersby
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Printing
Thanks for confirming that ill give it a go.
Ive been finding out that my .3mm nozzle will be great for detail once ive got it tuned.
But it takes soooo looonggg to print.
Gordon
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gordonendersby
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Printing
Thanks for the reply.
yes its pla.
The head is nice and tight ive got one of the aluminium j-head holders sanwiched between the x-carriage and the wades extruder.
Itsba good tight fit in the bottom of the extruder as well.
The x-carriage on lm8uu has no play that i can feel and all the belts are tensioned.
I have tensioners on both belts to get them tensioned properly.
I did have some movement in
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gordonendersby
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Printing
Hopefully someone can give me a few pointers.
Im printing this bracket for my daughter, to hold the lamp in her moth trap.
Ive attached an image of the printed piece.
The desighn isntvright yet this was the first print to test the design.
Its got no strength in the print.
It splits horizontaly esily.
It looks like the layers arnt fusing fully and leaving ridges/lines on the sides.
Prusa i2 w
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gordonendersby
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Printing
Should i be looking at support structures?
will they also anchor overhangs so they dont curl up?
Thanks
Gordon
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gordonendersby
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Printing
Hi,
Ive been trying to print the spool spindle for this filament holder.
Ive printed the hub with no problem
Im now trying to print the spindle but the thin part at the tip as it rests on the bed will not stay stuck to the bed.
Everything else ive tried to print in the last few days has stuck to the bed without any problem.
I think its because it has a small area at the tip in contact with the
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gordonendersby
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Printing
Im currently tuning my mendel i2 and getting closer to a good print.
Ive been printing the test objects and fine tuning the settings.
And getting better results daily.
Ive even printed a few bits to improve my printer like a filament guide and some bed screw adjuster thumb wheels.
All completed and useable.
One strange thing.
If i print 2 objects on the bed at once the print quality reduces dras
by
gordonendersby
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Printing
Im currently tuning my mendel i2 and getting closer to a good print.
Ive been printing the test objects and fine tuning the settings.
And getting better results daily.
Ive even printed a few bits to improve my printer like a filament guide and some bed screw adjuster thumb wheels.
All completed and useable.
One strange thing.
If i print 2 objects on the bed at once the print quality reduces dras
by
gordonendersby
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Printing
Sorry double post trying to avoid being called a bot by the forum.
Gordon
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gordonendersby
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Reprappers
I settled on the mendel i2 because it was easier for me to find parts and relatively cheap to build.
No woodwork, which i dont get on with, except for the bed base.
Ive built my base machine for less than £300 which is cheaper than most kits.
Also made a few basic improvements, such as supported z axis screw and metal screw to motor clamps.
Metal 20 tooth drives for the gt2 belts. Ramps 1.4 with
by
gordonendersby
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Reprappers
Hi, another newbie here going through similar problems allthough on a prusa i2 ive built myself.
With a similar j head.
Ive just started to get mine to print but was experiencing the same problem.
It looked like the filament was sticking and not extruding enough during a print.
It turned out to be the cool tube leading down to the hot end getting too warm because Cura was not turning on the fan
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gordonendersby
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General Mendel Topics
Im in the process of building a prusa 2 with what looks like the same ramps kit.
Ive had a lot of problems with the plugs i made up to go on the pins on the ramps board.
I used dupont housings with properly crimped wires.
They dont seem to make a very good positive lock on the pins.
Ive found myself having to use some long nose pliers to push individual wires and crimped connecters home in
each
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gordonendersby
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General Mendel Topics