Solved Another newbie+first impressions/feedback thread

Hi, I'm new to 3D printing, and just received my R1 on Monday. So far I've only been able to print 1 thing off successfully (a guitar pick, and even then there was an issue with my model) and overall I'd say I'm having a frustrating experience. I'm hoping that I can get some help, as well as give some feedback that (hopefully) will allow Robo3D to improve the design of the R1 and make it a better experience.


As for hardware: I was surprised that it arrived with no damage, from California all the way to Michigan. The only real shipping issue I think I had was that it appears that my black PLA is not properly sealed (it looks like the end was not properly melted/pressed).

Overall, it seems well built, but my true "quality" issue is that of design. Particularly, some things seem like they weren't thought through, refined, or tested (some of these issues were in Barnacules Nerdgasm's review, but don't seem to have been addressed, save for the hotend) . The wiring is quite atrocious, the auto-level sensors hop out of place during auto-leveling (these should probably be connected to the smooth rods) , the ports are too indented (particularly the USB) and awkward (sideways power port, upside-down microSD slot!??), the inside is not sealed off (I dropped the microSD card and a piece of filament into the gaps near the microSD slot and the hole that the print head wires go into and had to unscrew the base to get them out), and the screws near the power port don't have threaded holes (instead just a nut on the other side) meaning if you unscrew it you need to take the bottom off to tighten it.

As for what's so bad about the wiring: the auto-level sensor wires were wrapped around the threaded rod (I think they were backwards, flipping them around fixed the issues), causing the wire bundle to get pulled under the auto-level sensors (which, then hits/drags on the print bed). One auto-level sensor has soldered connections (which is.... undesirable) while the other has connectors (which, one of these popped off along with the sensor during auto-leveling). The wire bundle from the print head is zipped to the top, below the screws so it's not really easy to unscrew it (likely, taking it out would likely be 1-time, a plastic clamp would be better).


What I'm trying to print from:

OS: Windows 7, 64 bit

Installed software: jre-7u67-windows-x64, arduino-1.0.5-r2-windows, serial_install, MatterControlSetup-1.1.4 (plus whatever .NET install it wanted)

Printer firmware: Whatever is most recent, I updated it once (thinking it would fix my issues) and now Mattercontrol is stuck on "Checking device firmware" forever.


My main issue: Mattercontrol.

My first print was printing PERFECTLY (PLA, around 200 celsius for the nozzle, straight to the bed heated at 70 celsius, no adhesion issues, a little trick I got right from Matterhackers) UNTIL it randomly stops and extrudes a big knob endlessly.It's a seemingly random issue, as my first print stopped at about 2/5 of the way through, 2nd print completed without it, and 3rd print failed on the 1st layer. Searching around, this seems to be a common issue fairly recently, and the only known solution I found was "print from SD".

Well, funnily enough, that's where my next issue comes in. When I try to export models to the microSD card, many models give me an "unhandled exception" (and something about JIT), while other models seem to endlessly send (or at least way too long), and if I cancel it seemingly is on the SD card (partially?) if I import from it. This INCLUDES the library models supplied by Robo3D, or at least the whistle I tried (which had the "unhandled exception" issue).

So those are my main issues, if someone could tell me how I can fix exporting to SD, I would appreciate it. I'd like to get back to printing


Also, another thing I don't like about Mattercontrol: No Linux support (Matterhackers said "coming soon" about 6 months ago). I have moved on from Windows (It just seems much too slow, like my computing power is being wasted), and I can design a model in blender, slice/resize in Slic3r, all in Linux, but can't print from Mattercontrol in Linux (other print software doesn't seem to be well supported, either). I'd imagine there are more like me as well, considering that 3D printing has a sort of "maker" community that is more hands-on, likely with a demographic more likely to use Linux than say.... dentists or accountants. I'm not sure how much Robo3D talks with Matterhackers, but maybe this is something that should be assisted, if possible.

 

Well, if I don't use Mattercontrol, I might as well try and get it working on Linux. I was having trouble at first thinking it was the baudrate, but I looked more into it and found that I needed to be in the group that owns ACM0.

Repetier (on Arch Linux, on my desktop): It's ugly and uses mono, but I got it connected! Haven't tried printing yet, but I'll have to try and get all the settings dialed in.
EDIT: Nope, Repetier doesn't respond to commands. 6 commands waiting....

Cura (on Ubuntu 14.04, on my laptop): It's quite comfortable (the layer view is amazing), and really fast! I'm in the dialout group (what ACM0 is owned by), it knows a printer is there, but it just doesn't seem to want to connect.....

It'd be really helpful if it is possible to get setting files for Repetier Host and/or Cura. I'm not exactly sure of all of the values, especially past the bed size. Repetier wants printhead ranges, and Cura wants the size of the print head.

Well, it had crossed my mind, but that's something I'd rather not do (upside-down microSD slot indented in a large hole where it can easily be dropped is not fun, particularly on the side by a wall). I'll keep it in mind as a last resort. Do you know if it supports multiple files? That wouldn't be so bad if this is the case, especially for prints I know should turn out.

 

Sorry about the double post (you can't edit posts after a certain time?) but I have progress.

I fixed the auto-level/limit switch problem. Turns out, the switches were too high on the nuts. I loosened them and moved them all the way down (they were just below the top when I got it), and now no more annoying spinny switches pulling wire. Is it just a build error with mine? Seriously, all I had to do was move the switches down, likely where they should have been!

I'm printing from the microSD card with manually placed files. Yes, it does in fact load and can print as many files as you put on the card. Although, I've got to say it's quite annoying that there's no time estimate or progress note (like "waiting for extruder to heat to X" or "auto-leveling"). I'm not sure if it's completely level or not (could auto-leveling be messing it up somehow?), but in my most recent print, it was dragging on the very edge (making a noise, somehow printing alright, but this was when it had done quite a few layers) and I now notice an arc scratch in my bed. I don't suppose there is an easy way to fill these?

I was trying to print something larger, and half was way too thin. My build plate was not level, likely because I was using mattercontrol's level feature rather than the R1's. I'm surprised it didn't fix that? I manually turned the threaded rods which more-or-less fixed it. Also, now it does 6-point leveling, is that correct?

I think I have the settings pretty much good. I was printing out a circle, and it was printing really nicely. It gave me a really bubbly feeling (I was also drinking soda at the time, it could have been that) and made me think "Wow, this is my thing!" (either meaning what I'm good at, or my object). So to sum it all up, I'm (hopefully) past most of the major issues and now mainly need to mess with the slicing settings a bit to get the desired quality/print time I'd like. Plus making models that print well.

I'm getting a nice glossy bottom coat from printing directly on a heated bed, too.

 

Update on this thread: Most of my issues are now fixed.

I'm now printing on Linux, on my desktop using Arch. One day I sat down and decided to get it working no matter what. I had some different software, broken in their own ways. My solution was to slice using Repetier (I suppose I could use stand-alone slic3r for this, but I guess I like Repetier's 3D view and fixing model issues) and then print using Pronterface.

I also fixed a firmware height issue thanks to Mike Kelly. Now the gantry moves up and down much more quickly.

Switching from mattercontrol did indeed solve most of my issues. Everything is much faster now, and because it's all in Linux, I don't need to reboot and thus can much more quickly make changes.

So far I've made 4 table spacers (cylinders roughly 175mm tall, 75mm wide, and with a 50.70 hole in them) in order to put a stabilizing shelf on a simple table I made (just got a tabletop from menards, and 2 2" dowels and cut them in half for 4 legs) sliding them on was very satisfying! Currently making my own shade... printing out a converter to mount radial bearings in the common square shade mounts. Will post pics (in some other thread) when both projects are finished.