I think your first layer is too high. The filament is not getting squished onto the printbed. You should try lowering your nozzle home position in the Z direction.by macphyter - Printing
The Mendel90 looks like a good design, but it appears to be still in development. Also, I'm just not quite sure I want to build with MDF. The Mendelmax looks very interesting, but there's an awful lot of AL material... it almost seems like overkill. Still, it would be worth it if I can get screaming fast speed out of it. Has anyone posted some numbers regarding the speed they've managed to pby macphyter - General
OK, I've built a Mendel Prusa and I've been getting pretty decent results. I finally feel like I have a pretty good grasp of the whole operation. Now I'm thinking about building a second Reprap. I want a speed machine. I've noticed that the limiting factor of my print speed is rigidity. Once I go past a certain speed, the frame vibrations get pretty bad. I know there are some mods I can addby macphyter - General
I adjusted my power supply down as low as it would go (10.5 V) and I got my bed temperature down to 105-110 C. I'm using the red Prusajr PCB with glass on top. I've noticed that the heat is uneven. Some spots are hotter than others. Close to the end of a test print, I was measuring 105 on one side and 118 on the other side. I read about stuffing cardboard underneath to insulate the heated PCBby macphyter - General
OK, thanks for the clarification. I don't have automated control over my heated bed since I'm using Gen6 electronics. I guess I'm going to have to rig something up.by macphyter - General
So you think my heated bed is too hot? I'll try to adjust it to 105C. When you say "I have my first layer a lot hotter to make it stick" are you referring to the nozzle? Are you running the nozzle at a higher temperature for the first layer? I never thought of that, it sounds like a good idea. How do I configure that in Skeinforge?by macphyter - General
I've had my Prusa working for several weeks now, and I've been climbing the learning curve of Skeinforge. I'm printing ABS on a heated bed with a Makergear hot end. I finally came up with some settings that work very well. I get a nice clean flat surface on the top of flat objects, and I can span voids nicely. However, one anomaly has cropped up recently that I'm having trouble getting rid ofby macphyter - General
I would try inverting the endstop polarity in the Sprinter firmware. If the motors only move in one direction, then the firmware probably thinks that the endstop is closed.by macphyter - Reprappers
I've been printing several calibration objects on my Prusa, and I'd like to know what is the typical method for getting the print centered on the bed? My first print tried to start right at the corner, and there was no glass there. So I used openSCAD to translate the object over to X+100 and Y+100, and then regenerated the GCode file. That worked fine, although at the beginning of the print ruby macphyter - Reprappers
I ordered a set of Prusa parts from Eckertech a couple months ago. I asked some questions first by email and got answers. However once I placed my order, I never got a confirmation of my order. After about a week I asked about it, and got a reply that said they had already been shipped, and they provided a tracking number. The parts showed up the very next day. Incidentally, the parts I receby macphyter - Reprappers
OK, PROBLEM SOLVED!! I read the G-Code docs and learned that the "F" is for the acceleration value. Then I realized that I was loading the previously generated G-Code file that was built before I activated the "Dimension" module. Once I loaded the STL file and re-generated the G-Code, the "E" values showed up. How embarrassing! Now I can go run my first test print and see some actual plastby macphyter - Reprappers
brnrd- Thanks for your advice. I opened the G-code file, and discovered that instead of "E" values, the GCodes contain "F" values for the extruder. I don't know how that happened, but I suspect there's some configuration for multiple extruders going on or something. Does anyone know why I'd be getting "F" instead of "E" for the extruder? I think that explains why I can control the extruby macphyter - Reprappers
Thanks for the tip... I went to "Craft" -> "Dimension" and checked the box to activate dimension, but for some reason I'm still not getting any extrusion during the print run. Is there anything else I can check?by macphyter - Reprappers
Maybe I wasn't clear... the extruder doesn't run AT ALL during the print run. I haven't even started calibrating yet because the extruder motor won't run. However, it DOES run when I click the extrude button. Can you explain "You have to activate Dimension in Skeinforge" in more detail? Could this be why my extruder doesn't run during a print run?by macphyter - Reprappers
Hi guys, I thought I would chime in here. My name is Dennis, and I live in Farmington. I've been building a Prusa for several weeks now. I'm just about ready to do a first print in the next couple of days, so I'll be fighting the learning curve of calibration myself. I just picked up some glass for my heated printbed today. I bought most of my parts from Ultimachine and I've been pretty hby macphyter - Utah, Salt Lake City RepRap User Group
So I have completed most of my Prusa build, everything seems to be working fine. I'm getting ready to calibrate it, so I loaded up printrun/pronterface and did some experimenting. I can move the X,Y, and Z axes just fine. When I push the "extrude" button, my extruder motor DOES turn briefly. I can set the extrude length to 100 mm and the extruder runs for a little while, as expected. Soby macphyter - Reprappers
For what its worth, I fixed it by scoring the ABS surface in a criss-cross pattern with a knife. This gives the glue a rough surface to adhere to. I re-glued it, and it seems to be holding very well now.by macphyter - Reprappers
It looks like the PCB maintains about 105 C @ 12V. You can get higher temperatures by raising the voltage, but its recommended to not exceed 120 C for extended periods in order to avoid damage to the PCB. I have not actually tried this yet, but I've asked about it on the forum, and gotten some replies: RepRap Forum I have not seen a version that supports a thermistor... however there is a veby macphyter - Reprappers
I believe the heated PCBs have natural heat regulation built in. You just turn on the 12 volts and leave it on. As the traces heat up, the resistance increases, which causes the current to go down. It reaches a natural equilibrium, and stays at a somewhat constant temperature. On the other hand, the aluminium beds with the power resistors can run away with temperature, so you need a therby macphyter - Reprappers
In the process of my Prusa build, I recently glued the PLA bushings to my ABS X carriage. I used regular 2-part epoxy like that used on model airplanes, because thats what I had. When I checked it a day later, it seemed to be glued well, but after putting a little pressure on it, they popped right off. It looks like the epoxy bonds to the PLA quite well, but it doesn't bond to the ABS. Can soby macphyter - Reprappers
I'm in the process of selecting a hot end for my build, and I don't understand the pros/cons of 1.75mm vs 3.0mm filament. Can someone fill me in? Thanks.by macphyter - Reprappers
I see this heated bed PCB all over: PCB Heated Bed Printed on the board is "GPLV2", so it appears to be an open source design, but I can't find the design files anywhere. Does anyone know where I get EagleCad files, or Gerber files, or anything for this?by macphyter - Reprappers
I've jumped in and started building a Prusa Mendel. I do electronics for a living, so I started there. I bought a bare GEN6 PCB and parts, and assembled it by hand. I've loaded the bootloader and firmware, and the board is running fine. I was able to connect up a motor, and send GCodes manually from the Arduino serial console to make it spin. I can spin the motor back and forth now. Here'sby macphyter - Reprappers