1. Got a question or need help troubleshooting? Post to the troubleshooting forum or Search the forums!

Success?? with NinjaFlex or other flexible

Discussion in 'General Questions' started by Guy Compton, Oct 16, 2017.

  1. Guy Compton

    Guy Compton New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2015
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    1
    Retiring my Solidoodle and Robo3D R1 Plus for the R2.
    It was a huge pain to get these both to print correctly with NinjaFlex.
    Has anyone attempted on the R2 and was there any modding required?
    Usually just slow speed 6/8ms and retract disabled help with flexible.

    Any thoughts??

    Thanks
     
  2. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2015
    Messages:
    6,757
    Likes Received:
    2,339
    Havent done ninja on the R2. Would suggest trying something more like reg ole TPU or some semi flex. The hexagon has a heck of a time with flexibles and the direct drive extruder isn't optimal (even on the R2) for it but its possible it will work.

    Solidoodle! R1+? Retired! WHHHAAAAAATTTTTT lol
     
  3. Guy Compton

    Guy Compton New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2015
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    1
    Thanks for the response, maybe I shouldn't say retired but UPGRADED.
    Solidoodle was ALWAYS a temperamental PITA.
    R1 was amazing once the minor bugs were worked out.
    The part I'm prototyping needs to be very flexible. (Plus I bought 4 rolls of NinjaFlex).
    I will post progress.
     
  4. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2015
    Messages:
    6,757
    Likes Received:
    2,339
    That would be great, please do. Also make sure you use glue stick on the bed otherwise the ninja will fuse to the pei :D
     
  5. Guy Compton

    Guy Compton New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2015
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    1
    I will, thanks
     
    Geof likes this.
  6. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2013
    Messages:
    23,912
    Likes Received:
    7,338
    The R2/C2 should be slightly easier to make this work on, but ... still going to need to be printed slow and hot. The feed is less problematic, but still not optimized for that sort of filament.

    I always opt for SemiFlex if possible since it is just an order of magnitude easier to print and still quite flexible.
     
    Geof likes this.
  7. Gary Boyce

    Gary Boyce Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2016
    Messages:
    118
    Likes Received:
    23
    I printed Cheetah flex on the R2. I don't have any ninjaflex to test with. The cheetahflex was printed @ 50mm/s. I made insoles for my wife's shoes.

    Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
     
    supercazzola likes this.
  8. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2013
    Messages:
    23,912
    Likes Received:
    7,338
    I doubt you can do NinjaFlex that fast ;) SemiFlex maybe.
    Still -- experiment. Each of the flexibles is different and SemiFlex is still very flexible and much easier to print than "NinjaFlop". SemiFlex is more like a stiffer rubber and NinjaFlex is a super soft rubber.

    The only printer we were unable to print flexibles of any type on was the delta printer we have, but it has a 4 foot bowden feed so ... no surprise there.
     
  9. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2015
    Messages:
    6,757
    Likes Received:
    2,339
    Cheetah (as guessed by the name) is designed to be printed fast. Ninja- 4 -10 mm/s lol.
     
    supercazzola and mark tomlinson like this.
  10. Warp Norman

    Warp Norman Member

    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2017
    Messages:
    73
    Likes Received:
    30
    If the R2 ever gains popularity, maybe Flexion will build something for it. With my Flexion on my Creator Pro, I print up to 65mm/s with Ninjaflex depending on the print. Typically we run Ninjaflex around 45-50mm/s
    Problem the R2 has is the long path from drive gear to nozzle. It's about 4 1/2". My Flexion is about 1 3/4"
     
    Geof likes this.
  11. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2015
    Messages:
    6,757
    Likes Received:
    2,339
    @Warp Norman flexion is a good extruder (really one of the only ones) for flexible but going off history even as popular as the R1+ was (and they sold a crap load of them) aftermarkets dont really get into the Robo much/if at all :D You could certainly design it though! :D Would be a good project for that section of the R2 subforum :D
     
  12. Warp Norman

    Warp Norman Member

    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2017
    Messages:
    73
    Likes Received:
    30
    I'm thinking it would be a good winter project.
     
    Geof likes this.
  13. Braxton Piwonka

    Braxton Piwonka New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2017
    Messages:
    10
    Likes Received:
    4
    Hey guys, quick question for anyone willing to help out a beginner.. I had a nightmare overnight PLA disaster clog that required some serious disassembly and cleaning, so I figured; I might as well just do the teflon feed tube mod for flex filament while I've got it torn to pieces.. Well, All went well on the mod.. but I may or may not have lost the little feed driver tension thing cover in the process.. Is there some way that missing that could oddly be affecting the drive? I printed ninja flex one time (the first attempt) and was actually amazed at how good the results were, but since then, I just get the hobbed driver thing spinning and spinning and can't get the ninja flex to make it's way out of the nozzle.. I know I'm probably doing something stupid, but I'm getting pretty frustrated! lol I upgraded from a cheaper BIBO machine that printed every filament I ever tried but mechanical problems and china time zone support led to me sending it back and upgrading to the R2.. I love everything else about it, but... This.. Not so much! lol Thanks in advance!
     
  14. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2013
    Messages:
    23,912
    Likes Received:
    7,338
    There is no PTFE tube mod for the R2. There is no room to add one really. The extruder is mounted directly on top of the hotend with a minimal path and really no room to add the tube between the two. Unlike the GregsWade on the R1 series, the R2 is a much shorter direct feed path. I am unclear on exactly where the tube would go to add any real value. As you can see in this picture (same extruder for C2 and R2) there is no open area for the filament to feed:
    [​IMG]
     
  15. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2013
    Messages:
    23,912
    Likes Received:
    7,338
    I think on the C2/R2 the best bet is to run the flexible filament at the hot side of the band and really slow.
    I have not yet had time to try NinjaFlex on the C2 (and I already have the modified R1s so I usually would print it there).
     
  16. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2013
    Messages:
    23,912
    Likes Received:
    7,338
  17. Braxton Piwonka

    Braxton Piwonka New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2017
    Messages:
    10
    Likes Received:
    4
    Thanks for the responses.. I already did the tube mod.. even though there is very little room and seeming need for it, but with ninjaflex, before having done it, it would pour out of the side of the hobbed bolt area.. after the mod, it's worked perfectly..

    Update from earlier, I FINALLY FIGURED IT OUT! All it took was a little lubrication to get it flowing and it was on from there!

    I will say everyone is right about slow and hot! I couldn't go faster than around 15mm/s main speed and have any kind of luck.. But at that speed and 220C it printed very well in my opinion! I'm super pumped and now there isn't any part of this machine I'm not a fan of!
     
    mark tomlinson likes this.
  18. Braxton Piwonka

    Braxton Piwonka New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2017
    Messages:
    10
    Likes Received:
    4
    I guess that tiny space between the feed hole below the bolt and tension spring didn't quite peak high enough between them to keep the "ninjaflop" as you call it from escaping! lol But with the tube, it's been flawless thus far.. It's done, so I guess there's not a whole lot of point questioning whether or not it was a good idea! ha!
     
    mark tomlinson likes this.
  19. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2013
    Messages:
    23,912
    Likes Received:
    7,338
    Good job.
    If you need flexible rather than floppy SemiFlex* is awesome :)
    That is our default flexible any more.



    *I think they substituted Cheetah for that name, but essentially the same material
     
  20. Michael1275

    Michael1275 New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2017
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    How did you add the tube to your R2? did you drill it out to make space for it? Could you maybe add some pictures? I am trying to do a senior project here at school that requires us to use some material that is a lot like NinjaFlex and am having issues. Thanks!
     

Share This Page