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Somewhat New to 3D Printing Have Some Basic Questions

Discussion in 'General Questions' started by Sheila Griffith, Oct 18, 2017.

  1. Sheila Griffith

    Sheila Griffith New Member

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    My C2 is only a few months old but it hasn't been as stellar a machine as hoped when I decided to upgrade from my New Matter 3D printer. Having heard read some positive reviews and comments online I was hopeful that spending the extra money would assure a smoother print, experience, and better service. Sadly, none of these things have happened yet.

    Issues with print bed adhesion have been a major headache, a touchscreen that has blacked (or whited whatever the case may be) out on me because if SD card malfunctions, a filament sensor that has never sensed, are just a few of the issues that have plagued me with the use of this machine.

    Which leads me to some questions I hope this community can help with:

    1. Geof from the forums was great in helping with some hints about how to remedy the print adhesion issues. Although his recommendations have helped somewhat i mistakenly purchased and cut a sheet of PEI but now am not certain it is possible to use PEI on the unheated C2 print bed?

    2. I'd also like to learn design but don't want to put the time and effort into getting comfortable with a good program that i won't be able to afford to continue working on for more than a little while. I currently have access to the full Autodesk 360 but is only a one year subscription. My understanding is this is one of the more complex design programs. To get into design would it be worth my while to purchase Simplify 3d Now to learn on or should i stick to free apps initially?

    3. Is there a way to quickly and inexpensively fix the non working filament sensor?

    4. Is it worth investing in, and cost effective to replace the print plate in the C2 with a heated boriscillate one?

    At Geof's suggestion in another post, I am attaching photos of 3 small pieces i recently printed showing the z-height adjustments I've made as well as one showing the single piece indicating the most recent adjustment (the single piece was at the highest setting and may have been too close since the piece was very difficult to remove). I'd appreciate all feedback on my questions as well as whether or not i should increase the distance from the extruder now by lowering the z-height level of the plate.

    Thanks for all the help and suggestions shared in these forums, they have been invaluable.
     
  2. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    Yes you can, all materials benefit from heat though. I'd recommend wiping it clean with iso alcohol and scrubbing it with the green side of a kitchen sponge (the yellow with the green scruffy side) then clean again. Buildtak is another solution for cold beds. Wipe it clean with iso alcohol as well. They must be very very clean. A finger print can prevent adhesion.
    Fusion is a design software. Simplify 3D is a slicer that slices the designed models for printing. Fusion is free for hobbyists and enthusiasts that make less than 100k/year (basically its free). I'd get use to modeling that way for mechanical items. As far as Simplify 3D everyone has an opinion on that. Mine is that it works great. Use the free slicers until you they dont work for you anymore (they may never stop working for you, there are alot of members that use the free slicers without an issue).
    Yes, call robo and demand a replacement sensor be shipping to you :D You are still under warranty I'd assume, even if your not tell them your issue and they may very well give you a replacement anyway.
    I dont believe anyone has done that yet, it would be quite the undertaking being new. I'd recommend waiting until there is another member that has successfully done it. it will void all warranties you may have.
     
  3. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    There have been noises about replacing the bed, but it is so small that it is hardly worth the effort.

    One comment I have is that it appears you are printing a bit too hot just based on what the prints look like.
    A temperature tower is a good idea to help you find the best print temperature for your filament or experiment with some small (DePrime is a good example) test models until you get the print temperature dialed in.
     
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  4. Sheila Griffith

    Sheila Griffith New Member

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    Thank you both very much. All of these suggestions were very enlightening, especially for a newbie. The remark about contacting Robo3d to send a new sensor really was interesting because i mentioned that it wasn't working when they sent me the new SD card and they only told me to disconnect it in Octoprint so it wouldn't bother anything. I will definitely be contacting them again now as you suggest. I hope this time they will replace it and not just pass it off with another disconnect it comment.

    Thanks again and have a great day!
     
  5. OutsourcedGuru

    OutsourcedGuru Active Member

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    1. Bed adhesion:

    Run the LCD menu's fine-tuning wizard, printing line after line on your print bed and slightly adjusting the z-offset.
    Next, if you're using Cura, you might consider slightly adjusting some of the slicing options. On mine, I get MUCH better adhesion if I double the first layer of the raft from 0.3mm to 0.6mm.

    Also, learn to abort early and save yourself some filament. I rarely print an entire part due to a first-layer problem. I hit CANCEL, tweak something and then start over.

    You may want to print the spiral test from the included gcode files while testing adhesion. It will save you in time and money.

    2. I'm still slicing with the free Cura software. And I'm designing in Autodesk Fusion 360. From what I understand, there are ways of continuing to use that for free after the first year.

    3. Quickly/easily? Not really. I'm working on a mod now for that which is here. You could ask Robo for a replacement but they know that they have problems with their design.

    4. I'm also working on the design for a replacement bed but you would first have to investigate upgrading the power adapter since it wouldn't have the wattage for that. Fortunately, the Robo board has everything for that built in minus the cabling of course.
     
  6. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    You are under warranty and a part died. They owe you a replacement :)
     
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  7. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    This. 100%. Let us know if it doesn't happen
     
  8. Sheila Griffith

    Sheila Griffith New Member

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    Sorry to take so long getting back to all of you for the tremendous help you all have been but i was waiting to be sure i received my new filament sensor which has only just arrived.

    Now for the question of the hour since Robo3d never seems to include any information with their parts, can anyone give me step by step instructions on how to install it? I am attaching a photo of it because i requested the optical sensor and believe that is what i received but truthfully i am not 100% sure it is.

    Thanks again.

    Sheila
     

    Attached Files:

  9. OutsourcedGuru

    OutsourcedGuru Active Member

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    For crying out loud, then sent you a blade switch. That's "fail" in a ziplock bag. I'd love to tell you how to replace yours with this but they're being 200% ridiculous on this. The blade isn't wide enough to do the job right and about half the time just slips past the present filament in the switch, panics and thinks that you have a run-out condition.

    See this thread and this for more information. Read a little further down in the first thread for Waldo's post to see what an optical switch might look like; there's a gap of some kind in the middle in the microswitch part.

    I know you don't want to here this, but a blade switch is just more pain and suffering.
     
  10. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    @OutsourcedGuru try to refrain from stating an opinion as fact. There are many many units, not just robo, that use microswitches as a runout sensor with few to no issues...including an insane amount of DIY runouts dating years back.

    @Sheila Griffith i have not pulled my unit apart that far but it appears there is a servo motor that needs removed to get access to both screws that hold the runout sensor in place, it will take me some time to get into it far enough to document, but I'm willing to do so if you need ?


    @mark tomlinson @WheresWaldo ?
     
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  11. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    There are at least two different styles of switches "in the wild" I have seen for the C2 alone. I presume it is much the same on the R2.
    I will grant you that both styles I saw were a bit overly complex for the job ... The one our own @Ziggy did (long ago moderator/admin, Marlin contributor, etc. before he stopped showing up here ) was a good example. Simple mechanical switches (similar to what has been used in arcade cabinets for decades) are fine and last a really long time.

    Even @danzca6 had a project showing how to build one: http://community.robo3d.com/index.p...unout-sensor-frs-upgrade-to-robo-r1-r1.17128/
     
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  12. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    No way around having to remove the stepper motor to remove the filament runout sensor. Just how they built it. No way to exactly know what is used without removing it.
     
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  13. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    I believe it's two Phillips head screws. I had the left one out hoping but there's a 2nd behind the stepper :(
     
  14. OutsourcedGuru

    OutsourcedGuru Active Member

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    I am a fan of microswitches; the issue is with the blade variety.
     
  15. OutsourcedGuru

    OutsourcedGuru Active Member

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    On the C2?

    To remove/replace the runout sensor, you begin by removing the crown piece of plastic at the top of the printer, then the entire back of the printer which reveals the two screws which hold the sensor onto the back.
     

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