Partially Solved Terrible Prints- Z-axis printing too small

Just to start with I am not new to 3d printing and have quite a bit of first hand experience. Out of the box the Robo did not work at all, (found out later that the power supply had come unplugged from the switch during shipping) and after I fixed that, it wouldn't print anything even close to decent. I haven't had problems with the print sticking at all.
Currently I use Cura as my slicer and I've modified the marlin Pid values for my machine.
For some reason I can't get my prints to work. I started with a 20x20x10mm calibration cube, and on the x and y axis was perfect, but the z axis turned out to be about 5mm.

I tried another,and another, all were too small:
A 20x20x20mm cube (supposedly) which had terrible print quality :
After fiddling with the settings some more, I tried another print, but my computer crashed and I lost it, although it was looking better than the others:

It never printed one that good again
I moved on from cubes and tried a filament oiler, which I had to cancel due to bad print quality

After the last print I was disappointed and losing hope. I tried to make a filament stand, and that's where I really saw a major problem. The stand is supposed to be 15mm tall, and I printed one that worked on a makerbot, but the one printed on the Robo was about 5mm tall when it "finished" according to Cura. The example on the top is full size (printed on a makerbot) and the one below is off the Robo:

I made a video explaining everything, and I hope it helps shed some light onto what's happening:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qw1wvxg4cbonr2p/VIDEO0043.mp4?dl=0

I do have M8 rods and I have the proper esteps defined.
My starting gcode in Cura:

Please help in any way!
Thanks,
Jacob
Ps: Sorry for the long post and the many pictures.

 

Might be a skipping steps / overheating issue on the RAMPs board. Check to make sure the small fan underneath is blowing. Another good test would be to just use tell the printer to move up in the z direction 50mm or so. And then measure how far up the x-carriage went and if it was able to do that smoothly.

Another possibility is that the z stepper driver is out of tune, but I would check all of the other stuff first.

 

The overheating is not an issue- I have made feet for the printer, and it gets plenty of cooling. I will try the movement test as there is quite a bit of squealing and shakiness when the z axis is moving. I ordered some lubricant that arrives today and I will try that out to see if it helps
I am still not sure what is causing the poor print quality and bad extrusion. I will try using a different slicer to see what the difference will be.

 

I'd double check your firmware's steps/mm even if you think they're right. If you go into MatterControl EEProm settings menu does it show the right values? Mine and a few others seem to have been flashed with the wrong firmware, with Z values for 5/16 rods instead of 8mm. I believe it should be 2560. Otherwise, a movement test is certainly a good idea.

 

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions!
I did fix the z height issue (small victory! ). I put some synthetic lubrication on the rods and that seemed to help quite a bit. The squealing went away completely, and the shakiness/movement in the rods has diminished. I printed a 20x20x20mm calibration cube, and all three axis were perfect!

As you can visibly see, that still leaves the bigger problem of print quality.
My settings:
Slicer: Cura
Filament: 1.75mm white PLA
Extruder temp: 210°
Bed temp: 70°
Layer height: 0.2mm
Speed: 40mm/s
Retraction: ON-40mm/s
Cooling fan: ON
The first layer of filament lays down on the platform nicely, I haven't had issues with sticking. I did season my extruder once, and will try to make an oiler (if I ever get any prints! ). I calibrated extruder esteps, so it's not over/underextruding.
Is my extruder temperature too high? Too low? Any ideas to help please share with me as I am not sure how to deal with this.
I have an E3D V6 print head and a graphical LCD screen on its way in hopes that those upgrades might help the print quality.
Could the issue be partly the slicer's fault? Should I try out repeteir host, kisslicer, slic3r, etc?
Let me know if there are any suggestions!
Thanks for any help,
Jacob

 

Looks like a possible clog in the nozzle/heatbreak which isn't allowing it to extrude properly. I just had this issue. Switched hotend to a spare E3D V6 and my problem was solved. I would either take the hotend apart and let it soak in acetone overnight then clean it. Or wait until you get the E3D v6 and swap it and see if that solves it.

 

Try calibrating your extruder as well.

 

He said he has calibrated his esteps.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll try to clean my extruder and see if that helps.
Thanks,
Jacob

 

That also looks like sever z-ribbing...

 

Na that's just a case of under extrusion. Season it again and maybe print a bit hotter

 

Definitely not z ribbing. There may be some z ribbing. But there is such a severe extruding issue that we won't know until that is fixed.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, I will try again!
I made a filament oiler in the hopes that it will help

My v6 arrived today, as did the lcd panel. I will assemble and attach them, then I'll try yet again!
Thanks for the ideas,
Jacob