Unresolved noob user/printer

So i had just received a beta version of the R1 from my cousin to play with. I believe this version is PLA only. I had purchased a roll of PLA from Amazon (Hatchbox 1.75mm Black PLA 3D Printer Filament - 1kg spool - dimensional accuracy +/- 0.05mm) to play with. Reviews seemed decent so decided to try as first roll to play with and get to know the printer.

Originally i had tried using the side mount for filament spool but sucks butt for feeding so i printed a mount that fits on top of the R1. print wasnt perfect and was difficult to put together. like it feels like slight dimension's were off?

Also been experiencing issues with the bottom layer not staying together or corners lifting. I had maybe found a solution to that while browsing through the forums and maybe its to turn off the fan. My printer does NOT have a bed warmer as the bed is acrylic/plexi and not the standard glass ones ive seen. So in order for my printer to start printing, i have extruder temp set at 210 and bed temp at 0.

ive tried printing to only acrylic and putting a layer of blue painters tape for easier removal and it seemed like it wasnt that good. ive read here and there that people use hairspray for some solution of abs and acetone but i rather not spray my bed with acetone as it would melt the acrylic LOL...

Also i had found out my printer does not have auto leveling. (oops? totally thought there was) but i had used a smaller bubble level and leveled it pretty good. but iunoe how "accurate" that could be Lol... I've seen videos of how peoples R1 have a 9 point leveling system and what not but i think mine only touches 3? Also after this whatever process it does (apparently cousin said all printers does that 3 point whatchamacallit), i find that my printer moves to the far right to the point of making a racketing sound like its tryin to go farther before it starts printing.. im pretty sure it shouldnt do that but im not sure why which results in some prints being off center or off bed.

ive had issues lately with the print extruder scratching the top layer of a printed layer causing the print to go all over the place.

something i realized recently was that the print extruder when extruding filament.... is a bit high. like the filament falls down instead of printing down? there was some guide to printing i found here that showed that... not sure how to fix that height?

im using stock firmware with the latest MatterControl. I've tried using slic3r but im not sure what that does .... XD

Sorry for my long and probably super confusing post. I'm typing this up at work during a slow time. Hopefully my experience will be as enjoyable with the community and this printer as i had hoped for.

 

Well the Beta PLA only model is pretty limited. You set the print height by adjusting the metal screw that contacts the switch. Doesn't have autoleveling or a heated bed.

A bubble level won't tell you the squareness of the bed, just how level it is relative to gravity. You'd need someone like a dial indicator for adjusting the bed squareness.

 

yeah thats how its leveled atm. i dont know what else i can do aside from that

 

The term "Leveling" is a bit of a misnomer. Imagine that you set your printer up on a book on one side. Now the printer is seriously off level. You wouldn't try to adjust the bed to be level.. The adjustment is to get the horizontal rails and the bed to be parallel. As the printhead goes side to side, it wants to fly at the same height over the bed. Same thing when the bed moves front to back. I don't yet know how to make that second adjustment. (also noob.) It really should have been called "squaring". When ideally squared, moving the printhead in all three directions would make three of the edges of a perfect cube.

For the left-right travel you want to put a piece of paper on the bed, and move the head side to side. There should be a slight drag on the paper all the way across. If not, then turn the left or right Z axis screws till it is right. BE CAREFUL. The bed is scratchable. I have a glass bed, but still I am very careful not to damage it in any way.

I resolved my adhesion problems by carefully setting up my Z axis so that the first layers are a little squished. When you remove the print from my bed, there is almost no line between the threads. In some places it completely disappears. You will have different results since you don't have the heated bed, but maybe that will help. Patience and reading helps much.

Good luck! I've been wanting to buy a printer for years, finally jumped in and not regretting it a bit.

 

i didnt know the bottom can be flat XD mines always been threads XD thought it was like that. time to mess with printer more !

 

yeah i saw that page T_T need to tweak !

 

the prints are sticking to an extent.. just corners lifting up... glass > acrylic?

im plannin on tryin hair spray since i dont have glue sticks at home (lol... i have superglue and 2-part epoxy ! XD)

yeah i want something to help remove better.

 

Aqua Net Extra Super Hold is working here on glass. UPC 067990600115

 

why specifically that one?

 

It has certain co-polymers in it that bond well to plastics like PLA and ABS

 

oohh iccc !

 

so after messing with the settings a little, i printed out the calibration cube. overall, looks a lot better than the one before messing with settings.. fairly square and no lifted corners. i still cant get the 1st layer to be clean and line-less like pictured in printsolid.com but its slowly getting there.

then i tried printing the z-axis brace for the rods on top... and there comes the 2nd picture... what happened?! too hot? cuz i turned off the fan completely and it helped on the lower layers... but like what.. not even 1/2 way up, its going all funky...

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:126873 - this is the one i tried printing

ideas?

 

If that's PLA you absolutely need a fan. Though for printers with the Z rod that runs to the top of the enclosure you don't need the stabalizers, print these instead: https://www.dropbox.com/s/p2qplbikfsjs1vm/rodcap.STL?dl=0

 

oh thought it would help XD will print those. rod cap? so it doesnt go too far up?

 

If the top of your lid looks like this, you put the rod cap on top of the rod (capping it ) then when you put the lid back on it'll stabilize things

 

i just looked under the cover.. theres at least 1-2" space for each rod before touching the top.. dont think a cap would be enough

 

Ok it's hard to know what version people have. The stabilizers are a good idea then