wikisi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > This calibrating thing is pretty tricky stuff. I > can get close, but.. I don't think I can get the > nozzle to just a papers width from the bed. Does > it HAVE to be a papers width? It won't work with a > slightly larger gap? Give it a try. It depends on if you like how it turns out and as long as you don'tby grog - General
To get a 'thing' to print, check out Thingiverse. There are thousands of things uploaded there. It will get you going and you can use those for inspiration and guidance for what will work well on your printer. If it came loaded with 3mm you will need to use 3mm with it unless you make modifications to the extruder. The nozzle where the extruded filament comes out isn't affected by the diamby grog - General
So if an object says I need to print with support would I just activate support but not have a file?by grog - Skeinforge
Gary has some sample info for Skeinforge posted: . Obviously, these settings may or may not work for you. I advise only changing one setting at a time so you can tell which one was responsible.by grog - General
Helpful hint for start files, add an E0 to the end of that G92 string. In case you did any test extrusions this will reset the extruder also.by grog - General
Could someone please post a sample of a support gcode file or give some advice for what to enter in it? I promise I searched and I find a lot of references to support and how to activate it, but not what to put in the file. Thanksby grog - Skeinforge
Do you need to treat the entire length or just the first bit? Does the oil cause any problems with layer adhesion or leave any buildup on the hotend? I will put in a vote for Brian's J-Head hot ends. I have one and it has been working great with PLA without needing to treat the filament before using. It hasn't needed any adjusting and worked right away on installation. I haven't tried it withby grog - Plastic Extruder Working Group
No matter what object I have Pronterface/SFact skein, it tells me it used 0mm filament. But then it prints fine. It also claims something is going to take ~57hrs but really only takes ~20min. I don't get the Oops, can not read floatRetraction Distance (millimeters): False error though. Is there a value for Retraction Distance on the Dimension tab for SF? Mine happens to be 1.0, but I'm notby grog - General
glrra19 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > i have an orca 3, ardunio, pronterface. > i can extrude when its just sitting there by > pressing the extrude button > but as soon as i try to print something it just > dribbles out a little then nothing. > it allways says: "2.0 mm of filament used for this > print" i can't see how this could > possibby grog - General
The default in SF is for DC motors. For stepper moters try setting the feed and flow to 25 each. When doing test extrusions I found that the firmware settings were also too fast, so it just kept chewing up with filament rather than feeding it smoothly. I thought I needed to set the speed higher since I wasn't getting enough filament to feed through. But I actually needed to back the speed inby grog - General
What kind of motors are you using for the extruder, steppers or DC? What are the Feed Rate and Flow rate on the speed tab of SF/SFact?by grog - General
I'm not in front of the computer I use to control the printer, but in Pronterface I just click the Load File button, choose the .STL file I want and Pronterface generates a GCode File. The window on the right shows the progress and when it is all done skeining the file it is ready to print. Are you on Windows?by grog - Skeinforge
Since I'm still learning the printer setup I haven't looked at changing to Slic3r yet. In the Pronterface window I set the feedrate to 100mm/s and the hotend could keep up no problem. When I tried changing the Pronterface settings it didn't seem to change anything. I needed to change the SFact settings and re-slice the item. To re-slice, click load file and choose the STL so it goes throughby grog - General
For the Z axis binding. We had that problem on our Prusa Mendel. I needed to make extra sure to have the threaded rods square and parallel. Also added some lubricant, Boshield. My understanding is WD-40 and oil will attract dirt and/or get gummy over time.by grog - General
Depends which LED is lit up. There are 3 red and one green on that board and it might just mean it is getting power. Red LEDs are very common on electronics. You won't normally see LEDs that change colors, especially surface mount.by grog - General
How about one more suggestion? For our printer we have Gen 6 electronics so can't support the heat control from that. We're working on setting up an arduino board with a thermocouple to control the heat. Don't have it fully assembled yet so we can't say how it will work. Some people like to change teh heat after a few rows, so this won't do it (at least not as far as we can figure out so farby grog - General
I don't have a start.gcode file in that folder, just an example file. I'll put one in. I assume there doesn't need to be any header info since the gcode for an item just starts right in with codes. It didn't occur to me that doing test extrusions, to make sure it was feeding correctly and such, would carry over an extrusion length into the printing of an item. I noticed the progressive E numbby grog - General
I'm entering G92 E0 before each print and haven't had a huge retraction at the start of the print. I'm willing to enter that manually until I get a start.gcode file setup. I would still be curious as to what other settings you put in a start file. On to the next issue. And I found the blog post about how turning off Activate Limit so it would get from home to the start of the print in a reaby grog - General
brnrd Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > In the alterations folder under skeinforge, edit > the start.gcode file to include a G92 E0 command > to set the extruder to 0 before the print starts. > Alternatively, you can issue the command from the > host before sending your print. I don't find a start.gcode file in the alterations folder. the only filesby grog - General
I have a Prusa assembled and working and am in the process of calibrating. I've printed a few items and it works ok. I did the 0.5mm Thin Wall posted by Coasterman (thing 5573) and it printed ok, if you ignore my settings being off. I did some changes to calubrate, loaded the stl so it would generate a new gcode file. Now sometimes when it starts printing it does a really fast and long retracby grog - General
Assuming you're in the US, Fastenal carries 3mm bolts and nuts. I'm lucky that I have several local to me. They don't stock 3mm in the store nearest me, but they can order them in from the warehouse/distribution center to the store and I don't have to pay shipping. Otherwise, McMaster Carr carries. But you have to buy in packs. I've ordered from both places many times and have always gotteby grog - General
Sublime Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > It would be best to try printing at 20mm/s > constant and see if that improves things. At > 20mm/s it should have plenty of time to cool. > Could you please clarify which setting would be at 20mm/s? There are so many it is hard to be sure I'm thinking the same one as you. thanksby grog - General
PLA or ABS? If ABS and you are there when it is printing, what about putting in some sharpie markers to color the filament? But I'm thinking the slacker way - and since I don't know how to do the programming to get it to pause. Then you wouldn't need to change the filament again when the snowflake(s) is(are) done.by grog - Printing
We turned up the current to the Z motor and applied some lubricant to the threaded rods (not WD-40). The Z axis now moves! Just have to reverse the wiring for most of the plugs. Not sure why the Y axis moves as expected (assuming the diagram in Pronterface is representative of reality) but the others all need to be reversed. Now to attached the wiring to the hot end and see if it heats. Thenby grog - General
Got Pronterface and needed apps installed. Set the baud rate. We can now get all of the motors to turn. Whee! So we need to reverse the extruder wires, but no big deal. The Z motors will turn if not attached to the rods, but when we tighten the coupler they buzz but won't turn. We tried turning by hand and it seems easy, but I don't know if the motors think it is too much load. The motors aby grog - General
bryanandaimee Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Have you double checked that the baud rate is set the same in SFW as in firmware? >Do you know what the firmware baud rate is? Don't know how to check. >In Pronterface do you get it to connect, but not move or does it not connect at all? My mistake, we didn't try Pronterface yet. We tried RepSnapper and thby grog - General
Yes, the endstops are connected and the flags are attached. Firmware, didn't modify was preloaded - Arduino Bootloader and Sprinter Firmware.by grog - General
So we have a reprap Prusa almost all assembled. Just need to make the wire connections to the stepper motors and opto sensor permanent and connect the resistor and thermistor to its wires. We’re trying to do the x y z tests and we can’t get it to do anything. I’ve tried to find a troubleshooting guide, but what I’ve been able to find have been to address parts moving in an unexpected way, poorby grog - General