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45 days in... going strong, but it has been a journey.

Discussion in 'Show and Tell' started by Jeff Mercado, Apr 20, 2014.

  1. Jeff Mercado

    Jeff Mercado Member

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    This is lengthy but I would have appreciated a post like this when I first received the printer so I am dropping it in here. I am now on day 45 with the printer, up and running, and I am almost through my first spool. It has been a positive experience for the most part, but I had some bumps in the road. I ironed them out quickly and I think I am almost to the home stretch (consistent results, minimal tweaking) to solid quality prints. I will outline my experience so far in the event it helps anyone who is jumping off, and fully recognize I am a total noob with little experience.

    Out of the box, it was reasonably well put together (the Z-stop switch was right, in the ballpark for being calibrated (end/stop switches worked and homing got to within a couple millimeters etc). No loose fasteners. I couldn't get it to extrude on the setup (Repetier) and after an hour I realized the wiring to the extruder was installed in reverse so the gear was turning the wrong direction! Forum search solved the problem an I reversed the wires on the ramps board. Off to the races. Rough homing, manual "dynamic" leveling on the perimeters got me to producing some decent prints.

    Had globbing and excessive stringing (temperature - PLA I am using 195/185) and that got a little better as I tuned in the temp, some slicr settings, and actually used 1.81mm for the filament which was my way of reducing the output (measured 1.78mm). I used 3.5mm retract, and a couple other things I won't mention since I am sure my methods are not ideal. I had warping using PLA but heating the bed to 50 deg bed on painters tape solved that very effectively. I am printing in a cold basement. First prints were a top spool holder (warping experienced on first one, then solved never to warp again) - works great, and the Z axis supports which made a world of difference in quality. I printed the holder for a dial indicator and can get the x axis level to .002 in 30 seconds which I do every couple prints since I use the "dynamic method" of tweaking the Z rods on the perimeters as the print starts. After about 10 other prints, I got my first clog. Forums helped, identified it as a cold clog, purchased .012 guitar wire for $2 and cleared it out from the bottom pushing it through the top. Clogged again after a print or two and I couldn't even pull the filament out... I tried to turn up the heat and pull it but no luck. Tear down of the extruder was next. The filament was jammed in the PTFE tube. Pulled the tube, not cracked but appeared worse for the wear. I wonder if I torched it by turning up the heat earlier? In any case cleared it, cleaned it (actually had black PLA in the tube partially melted on the sides near the bottom which you can see through the semi transparent PTFE. A hot air gun "softened it up" and I was able to get it perfectly clean with the .012 wire and reinstalled the tube and extruder. Back to the races... a couple prints, another clog. I was able to clear the next 3 or so from underneath with the guitar wire and no dissasembly (E wire I think but it is .012) but it was clogging every 3rd print or so. I had the extruder off the machine 3 times in a week... the plastic at the top of the extruder was now "torn up" a bit from the retaining screws and I had to turn the extruder around and mount it from another angle to get it to securely mount.

    Off to the e3dv5 out of frustration. Within a week it arrived. I suspect a new PTFE tube would have done the trick, and the print quality was OK if it would just stop clogging! I printed the fan mounts for the ramps board to active cool it, and the front mounted cooling fan to accommodate the new hot end. The hardest part was rewiring just taking the wires out of the wrapping and running them to the ramps board. Melody Bliss' instructions (thank you!) and the e3d build instructions got me up and running. It took me about 4 hours to build the new hot end, rewire, calibrate it and flash the firmware. I bet I could do it in 2hrs now that I know what I am doing. I used furnace cement (Home Depot) on the hot end for the thermister (but did not bake it in the oven... we'll see if I regret that). The part that made me most nervous was flashing the new firmware. I don't do Arduinos, but the step by step instructions and a little logic enabled me to get the latest firmware. I don't have an LCD so I got a stripped down version where I changed the temp to 330 and the thermister to 5 on the .h file tab in the Arduino IDE. It worked with minimal effort (I tried the LCD/graphics file at first but it gave me errors). As an aside, I chose to do all this "the hard way"... I didn't take the printer apart fearing messing something up so I re-installed the hot end and wiring while the machine was together. Would have been faster if I took it apart but the double sided tape on my vertical mounts and fear of messing it up motivated me to try it without dissasembly. No major issues. I tapped the 12v power and ran a couple wires not connected to anything yet up the harness as I plan on installing some LED lighting and don't want to unravel those harnesses again.

    All in all I am very satisfied with the printer. Knowing what I know now, I would have gladly paid $100 more for aquality hot end, vertical stabilizers, and a real spool holder but I knew I was getting into a "tweaking required" experience. I know, this is meant to bring 3d printing in an affordable unit, but that was the only real negative experience I had. I would not have turned up the temp on the hot end hoping to be able to soften the filament on the first or second jam as I think that ruined the PTFE tube causing me my troubles. Time will tell if the e3d hot end gives me issues, but it is printing now and coming out great. I expect no issues. I did not request a new tube fearing I would be right back where I started, but who knows. Many people have no problems with the stock hot end.

    Patience, logical troubleshooting, and reading the forums for the expertise and experiences of others has been invaluable. All my problems were outlined or assisted by the forums. I have gone from complete noob to being able to design and print my own objects. My last bit of advice is get used to the tool chain, and experiment. I have tried sketchup (not a fan of the free version), learned blender barely adequately, and love netfabb to clean up a .stl for print. I have started using Autodesk 123d desktop version to create objects, export to .stl, using their meshmixer to add vertical supports, clean in netfabb, then slicr3 from within Repetier. All free software. The software was equally challenging to get comfortable with as was the printer but really...45 days and I am minimally proficient... for anyone coming right out of the box, be patient, each problem you come to may seem like a giant wall at first, but for each of mine it was a relatively small and easy fix/adjustment... I just needed the knowledge, and THAT comes from reading the forums and experimenting. Good luck! For me, I am still on painters tape and PLA but getting ready to open up the Auqu Net and try my hand on the glass... once I master that... I'll dip my toe into ABS. One thing all these minor hurdles did for me in hindsight... give me confidence and knowledge. I am ready for the next hurdle, I just don't know what it is yet! I was getting ready to install the bed leveling prints I made (purchased the springs) but am looking at MatterControl and perhaps that will render this upgrade obsolete. Once I ensure the e3d is working as expected without jams I'll probably switch to MatterControl. I have not printed anything real large so I don't know yet the degree my bed is out of level on Y and haven't checked with the dial indicator, I have not noticed that it is.

    One last comment. I was relocating around the time my printer was to ship and the Robo3d folks were very helpful and accommodating to ensure I knew exactly when it would arrive so I could ensure it went to the right house/state. All things considered, they are quite helpful. I know there have been some bashing in this regards but my experience was positive. I expect that if I asked for another PTFE tube it would have come right out.
     
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  2. AxisLab

    AxisLab Well-Known Member

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    Great non biased right up. My story is pretty similar, no clogging problems But I did have a small issue and they were very quick to help out. The service and the forum are huge plusses for a machine in this price range.
     
  3. Jeff Mercado

    Jeff Mercado Member

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    Update on the E3D hotend. I have run about a spool total through it in 4 different PLA colors from different suppliers. Only issue I have had was the temp I was using 195ish would cease feeding occasionally causing me to stop and clear the issue. It was easy to see the hobb bolt was spinning. I would clean/brush/vacuum that, crank up the heat (250ish) and feed the filament back down and it would smoothly go out. After about the third time, I just started using 220 and it cleared up all feed problems with no appreciable consequences like strings/blobs. I don't know if the temperature is truely different than what I had with the stock since the thermister and mounting of it are different. I didn't test it with the laser temperature gun (wish I did before taking off the old). Last couple prints I have started in the morning, headed off to work, and they were done with quality upon my return (don't recommend this, but indicates the consistency and confidence the new hot end has provided). The old issues with blobs, and strings is now almost completely gone, and bridging seems to work better as well. I am now printing on the heated bed all the time. Almost no lifting/warping noted. Purple Aqua Net and heating it to 70 for first, then dropping it to 55. I couldn't be happier with the performance now. Last print I completed with 6 parts on the bed all at once. No issues. Old hot end I wouldn't dare due to the stringiness. I have gone from blender to Auto Desk 123D and find that suits me fine. I would like to be a pro on Blender but the learning curve and my less than complex needs drove me to the simplicity of 123D. Next step in my journey is to change over to Matter Control. I have noticed a little warping in the bed now as I have used more and more of the bed on single prints, so I am hoping that may solve that very minor issue. Once I get that dialed in... I'll go to .1mm, then ABS awaits! I print at .2 now almost everything.
     
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  4. Jeff Mercado

    Jeff Mercado Member

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    I did have to tighten my X axis belt. As it was visibly shaking the head slightly when making fast back and forth moves (usually on fill patterns) which created wavy horizontal internal lines for a cm or so on the change in directions. Very easy to snip the zip ties connecting the belt, tightened it 2 notches, and re-ziptied them. I am not printing fast, which would exaggerate this effect. I have used MeshMixer with success to create vertical supports. I have had less luck using slcr3 for supports.
     
  5. Jeff Mercado

    Jeff Mercado Member

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    OK, a couple more problems have cropped up.... First, summer.... and its humidty. My basement is around 50-60% humidity. I developed significant problems on a roll of filament. I think I found my solution. I purchased a Eva-dry ($23 on Amazon) silica gel dehumidifier. It is like a desiccant package on steroids and when it absorbs too much moisture the beads turn color. You just plug it in over night and it "bakes" the moisture back out. I purchase some airtight storage containers but even 2gallon zip locks will work great.. I was going as low as possible though (Sterilite 20QT -see through $60 for ) and a humidity sensor ($10 on Amazon). I can now store the filament safely and keep it from mopping up the summer humidity. I have the humidity down to 15% in there with this set up. I also purchase silica gel beads (1 quart - $16 on Amazon) and printed a slotted box to place about a cups worth in there. They also change color. To recharge these you bake them in your oven at 240 degrees for three hours and back in the box they go. Nice to know you can maintain teens on humidity this way for storage. Either the Eva or the beads should work just fine for you! I have read threads from others who have tried to bake the filament.
     
  6. Jeff Mercado

    Jeff Mercado Member

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  7. Jeff Mercado

    Jeff Mercado Member

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    A month ago I had some clogging problems associated with the hob bolt. The forums pointed me to a bolt with a concave grooved portion to better hold the filament. It took a couple weeks to get it, but install was very easy and those occasional feed issues were resolved. When it did happen though with the E3D, there was no problem just pulling the filament out, cleaning the burrs on the hob bolt, clipping the end of the filament, and re-feeding it into the hot end. Hallelujah! I think the bolt was $7. Install was from the right instead of from the left in the extruder section.
     
  8. AxisLab

    AxisLab Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, I've never had clogging issues but the bolt was such an easy and cheap fix, I swapped it out early on anyway.
     
  9. Jeff Mercado

    Jeff Mercado Member

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    The E3D head has been going strong for a year of infrequent use. No additional clogs, and clean extrusion. I have recently invested in Simplify3d software. While an expensive investment at $140, I found the support functions in the software to be as advertised. Before this software I worried about objects with significant overhang, and many stl files made me shy away from them accordingly. I am new in S3D, but so far it has greatly increased my confidence in ability to accomplish them now. It was a very learning curve, and the UI is intuitive like no others so far. For me, it was well worth the investment. I had a small issue with the head not being secure enough and slightly moving during printing but tightening it down seems to have worked. The E3D fan mount for the extruder causes some rattling noises so I have printed another in hopes it is a tighter fit eliminating this noise, but functionally it has been a great modification. I keep my filament in a dehydration box so no issues there. I have put my printer up on 3dhubs and have helped a few people out locally for prints. I still need to master an acceptable program to generate stl files for desired projects. I have been using 123D so far and that has worked well for arduino enclosures etc so far. My latest purchase was a sainsmart graphics controller to decouple the printer from the computer. It was around $50, but I see them on ebay for less than 20! So far, it was an easy installation, and I haven't had a lock up which in the past caused about 1 in 4 failures of long/large prints before due to usb/computer issues. I guess the only thing I wish I had was a truly level bed or acceptable bed leveling capability. I have one of the original Robo3Ds so I don't have a bed upgrade but maybe that would be my next improvement. I didn't explore matter control for bed leveling. I have not attempted, nor would I expect to be successful, at a very large footprint print. I am very happy with the purchase however and as long as the user forum stays active, would encourage anyone on the fence to jump into the 3D printing experience. The prints are now almost always successful, anything from thingiverse, or simple designs from me, are almost always successful. If you are into quad copters or other DIY hobbies that would benefit from this technology, I would highly recommend it.
     
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  10. Jeff Mercado

    Jeff Mercado Member

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    Oh yes, one last thing not mentioned above. I use 500 for the acceleration settings now and that makes for a smooth print without rattling the fillings out of the teeth of my printer. I have set it in the setting s of the firmware, but you can do it other ways according to the forums on each print, or in Gcode modification. I set it in the firmware so it never needs to be messed with again. That being said, I have yet to update to the latest firmware to allow babystepping but now that I have the LCD working, I think I will do that very soon to stop the z twiddling required to get the first layer just like I want it for optimal and even adhesion. Happy printing!
     
  11. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Yea, the original acceleration defaults were a little 'aggressive' you can certainly calm and quieten it by backing those down and not really impact the overall print speed significantly.
     
  12. Jeff Mercado

    Jeff Mercado Member

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    I have finally jumped in with two feet into auto bed leveling. I liked Ziggy's design but didn't want a servo. I see them being a little twitchy and a fail point over time so I thought a simler approach would work for me. It was harder to design and implement but I like the simlpicity of the design. Just got it working with help from Ziggy who I remixed off of. He helped me with the firmware, but now that I have done this, I feel so much more confident in firmware, Gcodes, and printing larger objects.
    http://community.robo3d.com/index.php?threads/auto-bed-leveling.1590/page-3
     
  13. Jeff Mercado

    Jeff Mercado Member

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    My printer has been running perfectly for quite a while. I have added a mod for bed leveling without a servo, and that had been the best mod I have implemented. Since installing, my printer has laid down perfect first layers without twiddling rods or messing with firmware. It has been literally a upload and print solution, no fails for many months.
    Tonight my printer failed. I use a LCD to print from SD card. When trying to preheat for ABS, the heat bed read zero (and it felt like the bed was not heating). I troubleshot the problem by measuring the resistance of the thermister on the bed at the ramps board connections and it read as "open" showing no resistance. A visual inspection under the heat bed showed a broken wire. I took off the 4 bolts (7mm) holding the heat bed to the frame to get better access to the connections of the wires, and resoldered the connection. I am sure I will have to get back in there in the future but this fixed the problem. Hope this helps anyone else with a similar problem. test1.jpg
     

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