Is Prototype quality possible?

The simple/quick answer is yes, most RepRap style printers like the Robo can be configured to do this.

The long answer is that getting there may not be simple or quick. You are going to need to do a fair amount of experimentation to find the settings that work best. Print speeds, filament temperatures, cooling (and by all means make darn sure your extruder is calibrated). You are going to have a lot of work to do if you expect glass-smooth sides all the way around on any FDM machine under $20k. If that really is a requirement you need to look at SLA or DLP. Those can rock out absolutely perfect models on all sides.

(support material with Nylon is dependent on the blend. It can be a non-starter if it is a flexible one since most flexy materials make generation and use of supports non-workable. Model around needing supports if you need materials with flex. Stiffer nylons are not a problem, but the temperatures are funky to get dialed in. You MAY be better off with something like Alloy910 which I like to call a FauxNylon, it has much if not all of the normal nylon properties, but it easier to print. I really like Alloy910)

 

I spent about 3 months experimenting with every flavor of nylon I could get (thanks @Printed Solid and others).
The choice of opting for alloy910 was not a trivial one
I still use other nylon blends on occasion, but generally for the elongation properties, not overall strength.

 

Smoothness is not really a property of the filament itself.
PET and PETG tend to have a glossy finish

PLA, ABS, Alloy910, etc. can all print smooth finishes. I would say that the special ones like woodfil or stone are harder to get completely smooth, but still they can be pretty smooth.

What is hard to do is to eliminate layer lines. Even with the lines visible the print surface can be butter smooth, but you will never eliminate the lines completely.

What I was getting at before is that yes you can get s smooth finish. I have one configured to where the visible lines are NOT something you can feel on the surface, but you can visually see them.


Frankly, with the R1 you might be fighting the Z ribbing issue. Consider the leadscrew update or an R1+ (which already includes them).
There are a number of threads on here discussing the Z ribbing problem in detail. I have the upgrade on the one Robo I consider my detail machine (0.25 nozzle). I did not do it on the other one where I have the volcano and a 1.0 nozzle That one is for banging out quick models.

 

I can give you an S3D profile if you want.
The extruder settings are custom to each machine. Just follow this video and see where you get:

 

P.S. If you are using the EEPROM to store settings you will need to clear it and then re-save them once you do the extruder calibration or it will continue to use the old numbers.

http://community.robo3d.com/index.p...pdated-but-look-what-it-does.7402/#post-64611

 

Painting alone may not remove the visible lines, you may also need to use a filler of some type and/or sanding, which you have already mentioned you are not interested in doing. But any painter will tell you that you cannot mask imperfections in the surface with paint. So if you are looking for smooth both visually and to the touch, then look at technologies that @mark tomlinson mentioned in an earlier post.

 

I'll attach it here after I get home and have a chance to dig it up. Nothing really fancy just a smaller nozzle, smaller layer heights and slower speeds

 

Exactly correct. It is an R1+

 

@KTMDirtFace I looked at the firmware before with @danzca6 and found no functional difference between the lead screw firmware and what robo called V2. He even found a section that is incorrectly coded and might cause issues in certain circumstances. The only significant change was that Robo added a function to auto-start printing the file robo~1.gco if found on the SD card. Hardly a worthwhile 'upgrade'. It is still Marlin 1.0.0.

Basically what @mark tomlinson said applies, the R1 w/lead screw and the R1+PLUS use exactly the same firmware and there are no differences. Personally I just wouldn't use R1+V2, stick with the original lead screw firmware for both printers.