Best Robo R1+ mods

Hello I would like to introduce myself, I have been looking at the Robo3d printer for roughly two years and I finally decided to pull the trigger during Black Friday. I live in Canada so the exchange rate burned through a lot more of my savings than I would've liked, but I am anticipating receiving my R1+ on Monday and am ready to step into the world of 3d printing. I am aware of the risks of the possibility that some prints may fail during the process and that some tasks a printer might not be best suited for, but it is a tool that I believe to be well invested into.

I am attempting to comb through the forums for possible upgrades, and modifications that I hope to purchase later such as the LCD XXL controller, and when I need it possibly a E3D v6 or Chimera extruder (but of course not for a long time.) Also I would like to ask for any tricks/tips that anyone may have regarding print speeds, tempatures, software, and the first things I should address when I recieve the printer. Any feedback is welcome.

Thank you in advance to those who provide feedback,
Brett W

 

Thank you for the quick reply Geof
I understand that speed and temps vary between different types of filament, I purchased both PLA and ABS from the robo3d shop during the sale and ironically received them a week ago (not much use without a printer is it?) I'm assuming that your suggestion against dual extrusion is because of the stability of the printer itself or the fact that you have to print parts, change the control board because the second is already being used, and things of that sort.
What parts/ tools do you like to have on hand?

 

Yes I understand for both, it will definitely be a steep learning curve. I believe I read somewhere that e3ds' hardened nozzles are compatible with the robo's stock extruder but I could be wrong. I was definitely planning on starting with the PLA first and putting my printer through calibration tests

 

Being a recent purchaser myself, the main upgrades I've done have been very limited but I'm having good success with everything from PLA to ABS to PETG. This is what I've done, in order..

- Buy Purple Glue sticks
- Buy Harbor Freight Digital calipers
- Print a PLA oiler (Using Matter Control as a default slicer)
- Print a top-mount spool holder
- Print a Raspberry Pi and Camera holder
- Add a Raspberry Pi with OctoPi and a camera, for remote monitoring/control
- Switch to Simplify3d
- Buy a 10x10 PEI sheet (Gizomodorks off Amazon, included adhesive)
- Keep printing

Even before the PEI I had good success with watered-down gluestick on the glass bed, even for ABS (245/80, no or low fan, no enclosure, ~70F ambient temp) and PETG (247/80, no fan first 2 layers).

I'm still pondering the E3D hotend option, as the hexagon is functional but not ideal, and I want to get into printing Polycarbonate and other things. But so far so good with the bare minimums above. Fan replacement is probably going to be my first upgrade where I have to take things apart..

 

Ok Mark, good to know.

What is your reasoning for having a Raspberry Pi/ Camera? I also will have to look into the uses for OctoPi/ purchase a Pi myself. I'm assuming that it would do something similar to the XXL LCD controller, also which Pi do you recommend? I'm assuming a Pi3 would be the best because it is the most powerful one they have released. I'll also look into a PEI sheet for the robo, I already added the rest of the suggestions to my first modifications I will use.

 

Alright, I'll read up this and see if I will need to implement a Raspicam. Initially I won't be running the printer without me being by it's side but eventually I hope to get it to a point where it could be supervised remotely. I glanced over @WheresWaldo's thread about this awhile ago, I'll have to go over it more in depth.

 

Alright Mark, thank you I saw that thread earlier as well, its no good having a remote system without a way to shut it off if it goes awry.

 

I used a Pi3 on mine - setting it up with camera and all took less than 30 minutes. The main reason I went with Pi over something more closed-ended is to be able to add other things like ambient temp sensors, relay-controlled power (for the emergency remote off capability) etc. I've been too lazy to do those so far, but plan to now that the snow has arrived.

Typically when I'm printing but not in the building there will be someone else who can shut it off for me if something goes horribly wrong safety wise. I try to minimize risk by having the machine on a fire-resistant surface (cement board), away from flammable coverings (curtains, etc) and only using materials I've had good success with in short/medium prints before I try long prints.

 

PEI is your best friend! It is sheet of plastic that you can put on your bed and everything sticks great to it. No glue or hairspray. There are lots of posts on the forms here and some videos on YouTube. Also, on thingiverse there is a cover you can print for the hole on either side of the bed. Once something falls in there, good luck finding it. I hope you love your RoBo


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Interesting to note Geof, I received the printer and it is now operational. I'm printing a few small test prints then moving on to the bigger and badder things. A top spool holder is #1 on the list.