Things to keep in mind

Hey All!
First, and foremost I just wanted to say sorry if you feel that I have been, or the RoBo team have been a tad inactive recently. I’m going to do my best to make sure I am on the forums as much as I can, and helping you all out. If you have issues, need replacement parts, or anything please post in the Technical Support area, or send me a personal message.

Getting your printer!

One issue that is widely known, and the RoBo team is working on is shipping. A small percentage of printers have been arriving either broken, damaged, with missing parts, or not working. Please don’t panic! If there is any damage to your printer, or any parts are broken during shipping we will replace those for you! Just shoot us an email, post in the technical support area, or send me a message. This also goes if you feel a part is missing to your printer.

When you first get your printer, we strongly recommend you read the getting started guide that now comes with your printer in paper, if you cannot find it, or it did not come with your printer, an online version is available here. We also strongly recommend that you watch the Getting Started video, Spool Holder installation video, and the Software getting started video. Those videos may answer most of your questions, and if they do not feel free to ask a RoBo3D Team member, send us an email, or start a new thread! Remember, your question may have already been answered on the forum. Please remember to use the search button on the top right to search for questions you may have.

First time using your printer!

When you first get your printer, prior to plugging your new RoBo3D in, we recommend that you go over a few basic settings. First, please make sure your printer is adjusted to the proper voltage. This can be located on the back of your printer. I also recommend making sure the printer is switched to the “Off” position prior to plugging your printer in, or connecting your USB cable.

Also, it is good to do a quick inspection of your printer before plugging it in. Make sure no parts broke in shipping, your X and Y axis belts are tight, no wires came loose during shipping, and nothing is broken.

Additionally, please remember the following. All printers may be calibrated slightly different. Depending on the brand and kind of filament you are using, you may not get the best results with the recommended temperature settings. You may need to adjust your print temperature. We recommend doing this in increments of 5ºC.

How to get the right temperature:

If the print temperature is too high you will see more than the normal amount of strings between parts of your print and you may notice that the extruder leaks out a lot of plastic while moving between separate areas of the print. If this happens to you, you should try to lower the temperature by 5ºC until the extruder is not leaking so much material.

If the print temperature is too cold you will either see one of the following:
The filament is not sticking to the previous layer and/or you are getting a rough surface
You will get a part that is not strong and can be pulled apart easily.

In either case, you should increase the temperature by 5ºC and try again until you get good line segments on every layer and have a strong part when done printing.


First Print Notes:

• We STRONGLY recommend that you print with PLA first, and do not attempt to use ABS until you are satisfied with your results with PLA. ABS deals with many more variables, higher temperatures, and more time to get printing right. Until you feel you have a good handle of the printer, and are comfortable with the printer, we suggest for all of those not familiar with 3D Printing, to stick with PLA.
• For PLA, we recommend using a print temperature of 195ºC (+/- 5ºC).
• For your first 5-10 prints, we recommend doing solid objects, objects without complex overhangs. Simple objects like the 15MM Calibration cube, Mr. Jaws, or the 5MM Calibration Steps.
• Do NOT set the temperature of your printer higher than 230ºC. Setting your printer higher than 230ºC can permanently damage parts of your printer.
• If you cannot connect to your printer, maker sure it is plugged in (Both power and USB), the printer is switched to the "on" position, and that you the correct COM port selected (And proper drivers installed).
• You should not have extensions or hubs in between the printer and your computer. They can cause problems as well printing. Please only use the provided cables.

When things go wrong:

Bellow are issues, that appear to surface the most. Please click on the issue that best describes the issue you are having for more information.

We are working on writing documentation for dealing with the following issues. Please check back soon for more information, and fixes. But in the meantime, please look throughout the forum for answers as they do exist.

“My motors will not move”
“I cannot connect to the printer”
“My prints will not stick to the bed”
“My printer will not put out any material”
“Sections of my prints look melted or squished together.”
“My heated build platform is not working, or shutting off mid print”
“My print appears to be slipping”


I hope that this post has helped clear up some issues you may have had. I am working on more documentation and instructions. If you have any ideas, feel free to send me a message. All requests, please message me, and not post in the thread. If you feel there is something that needs to be covered that has not yet been covered, let me know and I will be sure to add that.

Kind Regards,
Harrison Valner
Team RoBo 3D
Think Great. Create Great

 

Thank you for the post Harry. One thing to add on the settings side. We are working with Repetier now on a custom built repetier host with ideal settings already uploaded. It hopefully will be done next week or the following week. We will post it for everyone to upload-that way your settings will already be ideal settings at printing high quality, medium quality, and low quality. We also figured out the right z calibration techniques with the software that will be posted too. Stay tuned RoBo 3Ders!