Just got your printer?? Things to keep in mind

I'm in the process of trying to get the 1st layer to stick properly and will go through all of these tips and let everyone know how it is going. Hopefully soon!! bed seems fairly level so I expect I will be able to print the leveling shims before I hit any big issues.

 

I have had variable sucess getting the first layer to stick Blue 3m Tape seems to work with the heatbed and a little hairspray on top. Now it seems as though my problem is the extruder hitting the layers of filament or it sticking up to much and then running into it and dragging it all over the build platform. I have tried different heights. Continuing to play with it until I get it...

 

Thanks for the reply I have already seemingly got it working pretty good just now seeing your post you are correct. I am printing a cube from another thread ditched the 3m tape and lowered the extruder and adjusted the zstop accordingly. Its almost done and looks very good thus far. Thanks again I am looking forward to getting a quality model print done soon

 

Good advice - thanks! I've been having better luck recently with sticking and am pretty consistent, but have now made 4-5 1/4 cubes that started getting stringy partway through. I've cleaned the hobbed bolt and took apart the extruder checking for clogs. Once I get that back together, I'll try again and see where I stand.

 

splk3, If you have had to clean your hobbed bolt a few times get a new on from ebay. No mater what you do it will keep coming back to haunt your prints.

 

ok - I will try it out - I ordered one and its somewhere in my "lab"...I was hoping they were making the new ones better, but I'll definitely swap it out and see how it goes.

 

Hi,

I got my ABS+PLA printer a few months ago but have only just gotten around to setting it up. I went through the "gifted" PLA trying to get it to print as smoothly and amazingly as the above image, to no success. My printer came supposedly fully calibrated, but seeing as how the extruding filament was not sticking to the glass, I tried to resent my Z height using the business card method.
I recently received some ABS filament. Now I know that this is probably jumping into the deep end before learning how to swim, but it's all I've got at the moment. No matter what level I set my Z axis to, the filament that is extruded just bunches up and does not stick to the heat bed. I have put blue 3M painter's tape on it, ensured it's clean for each attempt, and heated it to the recommended temperatures for ABS - ie 100 for the first layer and 90 for each layer after that. I was able to print the 15mm cube ok, but I physically had to hold down the melted filament for the first layer. Can you please tell me what the best method would be to get the heat bed perfectly level (as I have read this is required), even though the printer came fully calibrated? Also, is there some other kind of tape that allows the filament to grip better?

Thanks

Rusty

 

Hi,

I got my ABS+PLA printer a few months ago but have only just gotten around to setting it up. I went through the "gifted" PLA trying to get it to print as smoothly and amazingly as the above image, to no success. My printer came supposedly fully calibrated, but seeing as how the extruding filament was not sticking to the glass, I tried to resent my Z height using the business card method.
I recently received some ABS filament. Now I know that this is probably jumping into the deep end before learning how to swim, but it's all I've got at the moment. No matter what level I set my Z axis to, the filament that is extruded just bunches up and does not stick to the heat bed. I have put blue 3M painter's tape on it, ensured it's clean for each attempt, and heated it to the recommended temperatures for ABS - ie 100 for the first layer and 90 for each layer after that. I was able to print the 15mm cube ok, but I physically had to hold down the melted filament for the first layer. Can you please tell me what the best method would be to get the heat bed perfectly level (as I have read this is required), even though the printer came fully calibrated? Also, is there some other kind of tape that allows the filament to grip better?

Thanks

Rusty

 

Hi Rusty,
I just started printing in ABS a few days ago, and I've gotten excellent with Elmer's purple non-toxic glue stick applied in a thin layer over blue painter's tape. This allows the print to stay stuck on the bed without popping off or warping, but it isn't too hard to get off once the bed's cooled down. The ABS will sometimes stick to plain blue tape, but it isn't very reliable, at least with my filament/tape combination. Also, what speed are you printing at? I've found with both PLA and ABS that on prints with sharp corners or small areas protruding off to the sides, lowering the first layer speed drastically improves first layer adhesion. (I think in Slic3r you just set the first layer speed to X% of the speed for the other layers.) You may not need this with the glue stick, but my printer blew a fuse before I was able to find out for sure, and I haven't gotten a replacement yet.

As for leveling the bed, try Tesseract's bed levelers. I know several members here have used them successfully: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:125626

 

Cyrus, try ditching the tape and just use the glue straight on the glass. Works for me.

 

OK, thanks, I'll try that when my fuses get here. Darn USPS...

 

Hey everyone,

Thanks for the advice. I've had mixed results with the elmer's glue on the 3M tape. I might try glue straight onto the glass.
I am definitely NOT getting flat lines on the prints. The lines are tube-like and messy at times. I now have a problem where the extruder and the heat bed are not heating up at the same time. They used to do this, but stopped about a day ago. Now I am unable to print anything. Either the extruder heats up, or the bed, not both. After a while they will start cooling down as well without any intervention from me.

Repetier-Host V0.95f is also telling me, when I start up, that there are commands waiting even when both the computer and the printer have been switched off over night. I can not find any information on the Repetier site about how to purge commands. Is there some kind of G-Code I can insert so that after each job is killed all pending commands are purged?

Here are a few pictures of what I am currently dealing with. Please not that as soon as I started up today and connected to the printer via Repetier-Host, it believed the extruder was 2600 degrees.

 

Thanks tesseract. When my printer is capable of moving again I'll lower the Z axis to make it closer to the glass.

Right now I can not power up the heat bed or the extruder. The fuse at the power switch is intact, and when I power on the 3D printer it makes a humming sound and I can hear a fan spinning on the side opposite to the USB input. There is a yellow light behind the USB input but no command I send to the printer initiates the heaters or moves the extruder in any direction. Could this be related to the poly fuses?

 

Don't worry about the non communication issue. I determined this to be Cura installed at the same time as Repetier.

 

Unfortunately uninstalling Cura hasn't fixed the printer's ability to only heat up the extruder OR the heatbed.

 

I've uninstalled and reinstalled Repetier Host and it appears to be capable of heating both the extruder and the bed simultaneously now.

 

Ok, I've elevated the printer using some of the packing foam which came with it. I'll try to get a fuse to replace the 11A, but I was wondering is this the type of 14A fuse you are referring to?

http://au.element14.com/littelfuse/16r1400gh/fuse-ptc-reset-16v-14a-radial/dp/1825127

FUSE, PTC RESET, 16V, 14A, RADIAL
Holding Current: 14A
Tripping Current: 23.8A
Initial Resistance Max: 0.0064ohm
Operating Voltage: 16V
Series: POLYFUSE
PTC Fuse Case: Radial Leaded
External Depth: 3.5mm
Fuse Terminals: Radial Leaded