Hi, After periodically monitoring a print over an 8 hour period I turn my back and the printer stops with 30 minutes to go. I have a stalled hotend with a heated mass of goo around it and the cooling fan still running. Pronterface cannot communicate with the printer - it says it is disconnected. This is the first print I have attempted of this duration. It was running from SD-Card so USB commuby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, I have decided to attend TCT+Personalize on the 1st day (30th September) on the basis that any after-show meetup is more likely to take place on that day. I expect to arrive around 10:30 AM and will be present all day. Regards, Neil Darlowby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, I have not looked at the code for that display type. Does it actually use the LiquidTWI2 library? I am currently on holiday and away from a suitably large screen and keyboard but if you can wait a few days I will take a look at what is happening. Regards, Neil Darlowby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, I believe what you are looking for is a product called SILWELD manufactured by Everbuild. Regards, Neil Darlowby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, Before replacing the thermistor I would check this is not a problem elsewhere. Disconnect the thermistor from the terminal block and measure its resistance directly. This will identify whether the problem lies at the hotend or elsewhere. Regards, Neil Darlowby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, Information relating to my fork of Marlin can be found in this thread. There is the additional requirement that you must use Arduino-1.0.6 to build the firmware (newer versions result in compilation failures). Regards, Neil Darlowby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, I am only familiar with Marlin on the Mendel90 but I can offer the following suggestion as to what might be happening. Your Z endstop is positioned at the top e.g. 203mm and Sprinter knows to move upwards when homing. It appears, to me, that Sprinter thinks the Z home position is 0 when it should be e.g. 203mm. You do not state whether normal Z movement is correct or if the printer attemptby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, I buy regular 2mm glass from my local glass merchant. For PLA I just use a Pure White Vinegar wipe before each print and for ABS I use ABS juice. Both of these hold the prints adequately without them being too difficult to remove. I am tempted to try PEI film but all my regular sources are from the U.S. and very expensive. In the U.K. you have to use specialist suppliers and ask nicely forby neildarlow - Mendel90
@bastard: I know some of last year's attendees met up for a meal afterwards. There are places to eat nearby I believe. Perhaps the same can be done this year. Regards, Neil Darlowby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, The TCT+Personalize 2015 Show is a two-day event being held at the N.E.C., Birmingham, UK on 30th September and 1st October 2015. I am presently undecided on which day to attend and am flexible if anyone else is intending to visit and would like to meet up. I am looking forward to quizzing RichRap about his SLA printing experiments. Regards, Neil Darlowby neildarlow - Mendel90
@danlad1631 The E3D-V6 is rated for temperatures as high as 300C. An all-metal hotend is the preferred solution for materials printed above 250C which a conventional J-Head cannot do. At 250C, and below, the J-Head is good for a variety of materials including flexible ones. A significant number of people have seen jams with the E3D hotends when using PLA which don't appear to happen as much witby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, I always exit Pronterface before powering-down the printer. This assures the existing port is closed. Do you have other Arduino-based hardware connected to your PC? That has been known to cause all sorts of unusual effects when attempting to update firmware. Regards, Neil Darlowby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, If you had working start GCode in one version of S3D, and an update has broken it, It is probably best that you ask in a forum specifically aimed at S3D. Regards, Neil Darlowby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, Ignoring the adhesion aspect of these tests, can you measure the thickness of the surrounding skirt and assess any changes in its width between the print runs? I am trying to determine whether this is an extrusion variance instead of a mechanical effect. I don't often print multiples or repeat prints so I cannot say I have seen similar effects but it sounds like an intriguing problem. Regaby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, It is in the file scad/x-end.scad and you want the module named x_idler_bracket_stl. Regards, Neil Darlowby neildarlow - Mendel90
I've taken a quick look at what is involved in generating a JSON configuration file and I do not like the thinking behind it. All of the printing parameters are hard-coded into the JSON file. This means that everyone who has their own preferred printing profiles would have to create one of these files. As far as I can see, there is no easy way to tweak settings within the Cura GUI which makes thby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, If you are currently using Cura you may wish to hold-off from installing the upcoming update. It has been extensively re-written and the ability to easily configure custom machines has been removed. In order to support non-Ultimaker machines a configuration file (in JSON format) must be created and installed. Unless someone creates this file for the Mendel90 you will not be able to continueby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, The Cura start GCode takes the extruder and bed temperatures from the profile. If you have not set them they will default to 0 and no heating will be applied. Rotating objects in Slic3r is done on the plater. You can drop objects and use the buttons on the right to rotate, mirror and scale etc. You might need to put Slic3r into Expert Mode but I'm not sure about that (I always run in Expertby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, In Cura you can create machine definitions. Attached is a screeshot of my Mendel90 definition (it is taken from Cura-14.12.1 but later versions are similar). Printing objects one-at-a-time on the Mendel90 is not very practical due to the cooling fan shroud which gets in the way. You are better printing all objects at the same time and making adjustments to reduce any stringing. Regards, Nby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, The version of Marlin distributed with the kit will not build under Arduino-1.6.5. You need to use Arduino-1.0.6 for both nophead's and my Marlin firmware. Regards, Neil Darlowby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, I found my Z-screws were wobbling at the top and devised the following method to reduce/eliminate this when I had to replace my Z-couplers: Move the Z-axis so that the nuts are at half the vertical height Loosen/replace the Z-couplers but do not full tighten the screws Loosen the Z-motor mount screws Loosen the Z-rod upper clamp screws Tighten the Z-couplers after checking orientation of theby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, Can you print the object from SD card? This will isolate a communication problem. If it still fails then perhaps Simplify3D is sending some GCode that confuses Marlin. Trying with another slicer would isolate that problem. Beyond that you would need to check the hardware out for e.g. bad usb cable connection if printing over USB or poor power supply to Melzi connections. These are speculatby neildarlow - Mendel90
Quotenophead I don't know where the common recommended temperature of 185C comes from. Even natural PLA is very viscous at that temperature. I have seen specifications for the various formulations of PLA e.g. 4043D etc. with 4043D quoted as printable from 160C upwards and 4033 printable from 190C upwards. Apparently 4043D is not sold into China so any filament originating from there is likely 4by neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, The brass nuts are threaded onto the lower end of the Z-screws before the Z-couplers are fitted. It is done this way to save the effort of screwing the nuts all the way down from the top after fitting the Z-couplers. The X-ends are lowered onto the nuts afterwards. Regards, Neil Darlowby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, Your pictures would show the problem better taken from the side view but I am guessing you may have used the Y-rod clamp instead of the Z-rod one. The Y-rod clamp is shorter. Regards, Neil Darlowby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, The bed is adjusted to align parallel to the X-axis. This is why it is not actually a levelling process. The build instructions should get you somewhere near level when you assemble the X-axis onto the Z-screws. Regards, Neil Darlowby neildarlow - Mendel90
This is a recurrent theme here. It can happen on Windows 7. The usual recommendations are: Power the PC and printer from adjacent power outlets Use a short USB cable Print from SD card Install a Raspberry Pi running OctoPrint and communicate using WiFi Solutions (1) and (2) can be considered standard operation. Solution (3) involves a little more effort but is reliable. Solution (4) involves addby neildarlow - Mendel90
@yiancar The simplest solution is to use the recommended diameter filament. I recently worked with someone who switched a Prusa i3 from a direct drive to Bowden extruder and he had so many problems he was forced to revert. The cost of buying new filament is less than the time wasted in correcting such an occurence. Regards, Neil Darlowby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, Can you try disabling all temperature control features in Repetier Host and make those settings in your GCode? I am suspicious that Repetier host is maintaining the temperature independently of your GCode. Whenever I use Slic3r I set the extruder and bed temperature to zero to disable its heating control function. Repetier Host may require similar action. Regards, Neil Darlowby neildarlow - Mendel90
Hi, I should add here that my fork is not currently using the latest code. There has been heavy development on Marlin recently which has led to some breakage at times. I have decided to hold updates to my firmware until I can be sure that the mainstream Marlin is stable. As cdru mentioned Z probing works satisfactorily. For a sturdy you might need to adjust some of the mechanical settings. I bby neildarlow - Mendel90