Solved Frustration...complete noob needs help please!

I bought a Robo r1 in February of '15. When I first got it I unboxed it, set it up, and did a few initial prints. The prints were ok, but lacking in what I would call 'density'. They were brittle and there was quite a bit of honey combing on the bottom and I was a bit disappointed. I tried reading up on the problem, made adjustments, and nothing seemed to help. Life got really busy after that I didn't have the time to mess with the printer much after that until recently.

I finally set up the printer again in my classroom in hopes to get it running again (also thinking I could get a tech savvy student to help me out). I set it up, installed the latest MatterControl software, up graded firmware, and wanted to do a calibration print. It didn't work. I assumed that I had a jam in the nozzle (which I did) so I cleaned it out. After that I extruded some of the filament (abs) and it came out fine. I restarted the print and again, nothing comes out. I pause, lift the z axis, press the extrude button, and filament again comes out. Restart the print and nothing.

I pulled the filament out and it looks like it is being chewed up by the hobb bolt during printing and is not being extruded, but when I lift adjust the z-axis off of the bed the filament flows out. I've tried adjusting the bolts and springs that hold the filament in, but short that didn't do much.

I've read many threads trying to solve the problem, but half of them are really technical (for this complete noob anyway) and the other half, I've tried and it hasn't helped. I don't want to waste anyone's time, but if you have any suggestions or videos a guy could watch that you,be found to help, I would appreciate it greatly. Everything I've searched and found isn't really helping me at this point. Thanks.

 

I wonder if your Z offset is so close to the bed that it doesn't allow for flow when printing. If you have it at temp and are able to extrude while up in the air, it seems to me that might be something to check out.

 

That is one thing I've tried to do, but I am unsure if I successfully changed the offset or not. I went into MatterControl and changed what I thought was the z offset, but it still didn't work. There is a more than good chance that I didn't change the right thing though. Is there a thread or a troubleshooting thread I could look at that would help me find where to do that in MatterControl? Thanks for the reply. It is greatly appreciated.

 

Yeah the newer version added preset buttons and what seems like multiple places to set z offset. Confusing if you ask me. I don't use MC on a regular basis so I don't know off the top of my head. You could save the gcode (sliced file) to your hard drive and open up the file in notepad++ or something similar. You can then search fro M565 and see what it has after the Z parameter.

Also...you said you upgraded to the latest firmware. Can you verify what firmware you used?

 

Thanks for the response. The firmware says: ROBO3DR1V3

I exported the gcode terminal to a .txt format, opened it, searched for M565 and nothing came up? Maybe I have the wrong thing?

Thanks again for all of the help.

 

Ok. I'll see if I can figure out how to do that and then get back to you. Thanks for your help and patience.

 

nope that kind of explains your issue. Without having the M565 command you are printing flat on the glass. I just installed the latest MC and they look to have changed it around...again. No M565 command defined for some reason on the startup gcode.

Goto Settings and controls, change from Basic to Advanced about mid screen using the dropdown. Select Printer, then Custom G-Code. Under Start G-Code you will see that they don't have the M565 command defined. Add a line just before the G29 command that says M565 Z-1.0. I put a code snippet below the picture for reference. You may have to adjust the Z value to get the first layer just right, but this will be a start.




G28 X0 Y0 Z0 ; home all axes
G1 Z5 F5000 ; lift nozzle
M109 S[temperature] ; set the extruder temp and wait
G28 X0 Y0 Z0 ; Home Z again in case there was filament on nozzle
M565 Z-1.0 ; z-offset setting
G29 ; probe the bed

 

Ok. I finally got filament to extrude during the print cycle. Yay! I have the z offset set to 1.0mm and filament is lining the hotbed.

Now I'm having trouble with the filament sticking to the hotbed. The printed object is moving all over the place. I sprayed hairspray on the hot bed, but it doesn't seem to be working. Is tape the better way to go with this?

Thanks again for all of the help!

One other thing...how thick should the first layer be? Could it be I don't have the nozzle close enough? Could that be why it isn't sticking?

 

right...you need to adjust the z offset value. I would maybe go down to M565 Z-0.8 and see how that is from what you are describing. You can always go further if needed. Below is a good writeup about the first layer.

https://printedsolid.com/blogs/news/37035715-get-your-prints-to-stick-check-your-skirt

 

BTW, tape is a pain, stick with hairspray...pun intended.

 

Ha! Thanks! I'll read the article, adjust the z offset again, and see what I can work out. My frustration is slowly lifting...for now.

 

I hear you...can be frustrating learning something new. Just got to get it calibrated and you will be printing all day long.

 

One thing - Matter Control DOES NOT act like other slicers with respect to Z offset. In other words, it does not, certainly not in my case, behave the way Mark indicated above. This is one of the reasons I had so many issues with my initial printing. In Matter Control, the more negative (bigger negative number), the closer to the bed the nozzle gets. Again, your mileage may vary, but this was absolutely the case on mine. I was very confused. It's also why I love S3D - it behaves the way others have said it should.

Bottom line is - if you try going more negative and find out you aren't extruding because you are too close, it's probably a MC thing and you should back off of those numbers.

One of these days I promise I am going to make or take a video of Matter Control for Newbies/Dummies. Lots of things not the same or work the same way or in the same location in MC as they are in other slicers. I learned the hard way...

 

Absolutely Mark. Very good point. I would have probably thrown in the towel if it wasn't for you, Geof, and Danzca!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

yeah looks like MC got rid of the macro buttons that I saw the last time I installed. That's why I just deal with straight g-code and leave the wizardry of software alone. Cura is a nice free upgrade.

 

After slicing an object with MC, and opening in Notepad++ or similar. You will need to search for zOffset and not M565, it will be located at the bottom of the file. For some reason, there is not a M565 command in the gcode. Attached is an image where you can change this number.

Don't quote me on this but I believe in MC a positive number moves the extruder away from the bed and a negative moves towards the bed. If you decide to use the M565 in your starting gcode, then it will be opposite unless MC somehow changes it again. More negative moves the extruder away from the bed whereas a positive number will move it closer to the bed. It may not even accept it and still use the Z-Offset preset. Its hard to tell since the two different numbers are still present in the gcode, when I inserted the M565 in the starting gcode.

I don't use MC but have it installed to help with troubleshooting.