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TAIG CNC - Z axis getting bound | So inside the Z axis is a brass component that is connected to the threaded rod (lead screw). This brass component has 3 screws and depending how tight / loose, determines how much it will bind up. You of course don't want it too loose otherwise the enclosure will "jump" off of the track at times. In my case, the two screws were too tight. The way I determined how tight to go was taking the entire Z track off of the back, tightening both screws just to the point of binding and then backing off 1/2 turn on both. |
How important is it to move the printer's controller board outside of an enclosure? | It depends on what kinds of prints you make, and especially what kind of materials you want to use.
Certain materials (ABS especially, but also PETG to some degree) will print much better if the entire build area, which usually includes the printer chassis and controls, is enclosed to protect from drafts and allow a much higher ambient temperature.
If you print often with these materials, and the control board is included in that enclosed area, you will significantly reduce the life of the electronic components, especially the capacitors on the board1.
On the other hand, if you print mainly with PLA, which is not as susceptible to issues requiring an enclosure, and prints better with an ambient temperature closer to room temperature, you can put the electronic controls wherever you want.
1 See especially this excerpt from the section on "Premature Failure":
Electrolytic capacitors that operate at a lower temperature can have a considerably longer lifespan. |
What do you call this effect in 3D printing and how can I remove it? | What you see on the outer surface is called "zits and blobs".
These small imperfections you experience are "zits" (larger ones are referred to as blobs). As the extruder needs to start and stop as it moves around during a print, it is difficult to create a seamless joint, so the over-extruded filament represents the location where the extruder started (or ended) printing a section of the outer perimeter of your print model. Sometimes it returns to the same spot in a single extrusion run, in other cases the perimeter is constructed of multiple sections.
It is possible to do something to minimize the effects depending on the slicer you use, but the general solution is to prevent too much plastic being deposited at either the start or the end of that seam. E.g. incorrect retraction settings may cause too much plastic to be extruded at the start, and pressure build-up in the nozzle may cause an excess of plastic to be extruded, both lead to the imperfections you experience. First you have to find out which of the two effects is happening with your prints. Once identified, you can play with settings like retraction, priming, and coasting to counteract on these imperfections. A more detailed description can be found here.
Edit:
Please read the addition posted in the comment by @Trish; the comment describes that this may also be related to over-extrusion! |
Proper way to power down a FDM printer | [TL:DR] - If you can comfortably hold the nozzle with your fingers, you are good to go
In order to understand how long one should wait, it is important to understand why one has to wait.
All modern consumer-grade FDM printers have their printing head made of two assemblies: the cold end, where the extruder stepper motor is located and the filament must be in solid state, and the hot end, where the filament is actually melted and pushed through the nozzle.
Between the two there is a thin-walled length of pipe called heat break, whose purpose is to keep the two separate and make difficult for heat to reach the cold end by conduction.
However, the heat break is not "watertight", and heat also transmits via the convecting motion of air and IR radiation, so the cold end is actively cooled (most commonly with a fan).
The reason you want to wait before switching off the printer is that you want to keep that fan spinning until there is no chance for the heat to creep up and melt the filament in the cold end.
If the filament were to melt in the cold end, the extruder would clog and you would probably need to disassemble it.
In order to make sure the cooling happens, you have to make sure that your G-code tells the printer to stop heating the nozzle, after the print is done.
All slicers that I know of have a specific configuration setting called "end G-code" or something similar where you can manually insert the code you want to execute at the end of each print. The part relevant to your question could look like this:
M104 S0 ; turn off heating block
If you want to get fancy and your hardware has a beeper you may also try:
M109 S60 ; wait for nozzle temp to drop to 60 °C
M300 S300 P1000 ; make a beep sound
Typically "end G-code" has other stuff too (move the head out of the way, switch off the heated bed, disable the idle hold of the steppers...)
Just make sure to move the nozzle away from the printer as your first action: you don't want the hot nozzle to linger idle above the print and ruin its top layer! |
How do I set my Z offset? | So the new silicone buffers raised the bed by 5 mm? When this happens, you should raise the endstop also with 5 mm. Else the printer will go down to the Z endstop that is effectively 5 mm below the level of the bed. I guess the buffers cannot be compressed by 5 mm, so you need to move the endstop up to the level your buffer compression is in reach of.
No software offset will work (for your current setup: homing on the bed surface does not work as the switch need to be triggered prior to having any offset in play) other than a hardware change or compression of the buffers of 5 mm. It would only be possible to use a software offset when the nozzle homes off the bed surface (next to the bed). The only thing you would have had to do is add in your start G-code:
G0 Z5 ; Move the head to 5 mm
G92 Z0 ; Call this Z = 0
If #define Z_SAFE_HOMING is enabled, you should comment the line in the configuration file to make it home Z at the homed X, Y position.
I will not go into all G-codes, details are read on the G-codes Wiki pages and Marlin firmware G-codes, these won't be able to help you out unless you fix the homing on the bed surface. Currently, you need to do a hardware fix, your endstop is below the surface level of the bed. Alternative is to remove homing Z above the bed surface and redefine the Z offset. A hardware fix is a better solution, and if you manage to print a fancy Z endstop holder and counterpart with a screw you will be able to level the bed more easily.
E.g. M428 can set an offset, yes, but, it needs a reference; that reference is the homing reference or the current position. The current position of a printer that is just turn on is meaningless, it can be everywhere in the print volume. So you need to trigger the endstops first, that is not possible when it is not reachable (without compressing the bed). |
Z motor not moving during auto home | Alright, I have figured everything out with the help of #reprap IRC community.
Issue #1 - Z axis not moving during zero. Just as tjb1 suggested the issue was that it thought it was hitting the endstop, I needed to invert the logic of the endstop within the configuration.h
const bool Z_MAX_ENDSTOP_INVERTING = true;
Issue #2 - No Heated bed controls. The issue resided with the configuration of the heated bed within the configuration.h. The bed was not defined correctly(I do not have the solution for this one as I found a pre-configured configuration.h for the Monoprice maker Select and after loading the firmware it worked
Issue #3 - The extruder motor would not move. This was the biggest issue and came down to it being a cheap RAMPS/Arduino. E0's pinouts were not working properly so I took off the driver and wiring from E0 and put it on E1 then altered the pins_RAMPS.h and swapped the values for E1 and E0 pinouts. after reloading the firmware the extruder then moved fine.
#define E0_STEP_PIN 36
#define E0_DIR_PIN 34
#define E0_ENABLE_PIN 30
#define E1_STEP_PIN 26
#define E1_DIR_PIN 28
#define E1_ENABLE_PIN 24 |
But ... skateboard bearings have OIL in them, and oil is ... bad? | Typically, oiling a filament would mean to use a vegetable based or non-petroleum type of lubricant, possibly even PTFE (teflon) or silicone. Those materials will not damage PLA filament.
Oiling filament is not the haphazard application of lubricant, however. One drop on the filament sponge guide will last a rather long time and should be given sufficient time to distribute itself in the sponge, helping it along by alternately squeezing and releasing the sponge.
Ball bearings of the type you've described will not have oil, unless otherwise modified by the user/owner. The bearings are packed with grease which will not leak out under normal circumstances. Running the bearings at high speed will cause the grease to thin a bit and perhaps drip or if hot enough will "sludge up." If your bearing grease turns to sludge, the bearing has already gotten hot enough to melt out of your plastic fitting.
For spool holder applications, you can clean the grease from the bearing with a suitable solvent (denatured alcohol, acetone, soap and hot water in a pinch) and expect little impact on the drag. The spools rotate at such slow speeds and under such small load that the bearings alone will work nearly forever. This recommendation is void in dusty environments.
With respect to oiling the filament, it's not a bad idea to have a sponge dust catcher that has no oil just as the filament enters the last open location. My bowden extruder system is nearly enclosed and the sponge sits at the very edge of the spool, while a direct extrusion system would have the sponge at the entry to the extruder gears. |
Best way to deal with Resin Printers in your living space | One of the options you have would be to create a negative pressure in your working area. This would be accomplished by installing a fan with the flow direction to the outside. The inside portion of the fan should have ducting that terminates near your printer. You could place your printer in something elaborate, or in something as simple as a large cardboard box and attach the ducting to the box.
As the fan operates, air would be pulled from an open window elsewhere in the room and travel into the cardboard box. It would carry fumes from the printer to the fan and out of the building.
I have a CO2 laser which generates large amounts of smoke. Part of the installation includes a powerful blower not placed in the window, but with ducting from the machine and to a panel in the window frame. I used scrap plastic to make a baffle that accepted the ducting while blocking the rest of the window.
Squirrel-cage blowers provide powerful airflow but you may not need something as expensive as a laser cutter blower. A boat bilge blower might be sufficient to provide clearing airflow for your printer.
Additionally, a small bilge blower such as that shown above will use smaller diameter ducting, which would be easier to find and less expensive. The bilge blower in the picture provides for an in and out attachment, while the not-really-a-laser-cutter blower in the picture does not. A true laser cutter blower has ducting attachments for input and output.
One characteristic of this type of clearing system is that outside air will possibly change the temperature of the room/building. During the winter, the rest of my house got noticeably cooler while the exhaust fan was operating. |
How to tell if PLA temp is too hot/cold | Too Hot
If you're printing too hot (with any filament, not just PLA) you're going to see stringing and blobs/oozing because the material is getting runny and exiting the nozzle in an uncontrolled manner. Because it's uncontrolled, you will also likely see artifacts showing up in your prints.
You might also see your filament burning. Instead of coming out of the nozzle as whatever color it should be, it will look brown or discolored because it was overcooked.
If your bed is too hot, you might start to see "elephant's feet" where the lowest layer(s) are being heated to the point of becoming soft and the weight of layers on top of them are pushing down, causing that layer to "pooch out."
You might also have problems removing the print from the print bed's surface because the plastic has seeped into the details of the print surface and hardened, essentially welding the part to the surface.
Too Cold
If you're printing filament that is too cold, you're going to run into an issue where the material being pushed into the hot end is not getting melted sufficiently. This means that pressure will build up in the hot end that can't be released through extruding material through the nozzle. If you've ever tried to pipe frosting using a bag/tip and the frosting was too thick, you'll know what I'm talking about.
When material is being fed into the hot end but not being allowed to flow out of it, something has to give. That thing is your extruder. It has a wheel with little teeth on it to grip the filament and feed it into the hot end (or bowden tube which leads to the hot end). It can exert a certain amount of force on that filament. When the hot end's back pressure builds to the point that it becomes greater than the extruder's force, it will start skipping.
Imagine trying to push a large, heavy object. Your feet will begin to slip as your the force of your exertion overcomes the friction between your feet and the ground. That's what will happen to your extruder. It will make clicking/clunking noises as the extruder unsuccessfully tries to push the filament through and the friction between the teeth of the gear and the filament is overcome. This is called grinding.
If your bed is too cold, you simply just end up with problems getting the print to adhere to the surface.
Warping
In your particular case, you're describing warping. Remember from physics 101 that cold things contract and warm things expand. Your print bed is warm, and so, too, are the first layers that are near it because the bed's heat is transferring up into them and keeping them warm.
Obviously, your active (topmost) layer will also be a bit warmer as it as just come out of the hot end. However, in general as you move higher up away from the printed bed, the printed layers get colder. Because they are getting colder, they are undergoing thermal contraction.
This creates a thermal gradient where layers go from greater thermal expansion to greater thermal contraction. The combination means that the bottom of the print will start to curl up (away from the expansion and towards the contraction).
This is not an issue with your printing temperature. It's a problem with your ambient temperature.
The easiest way to fix this issue is to put your printer in an enclosure. This isolates the air immediately around the printer from the rest of the air in the room. Because your heater's bed and nozzle are throwing out a lot of heat, they will heat up the print chamber quite a bit (mine typically runs over 30 degrees celsius, even in the dead of winter).
Because the ambient temperature in the print chamber is so much warmer than the outside air, that temperature gradient is much, much smaller. As a result, warping will stop becoming a problem. |
Dimensions off on final part | Yup that is what happens. It is simply the plastic cooling and shrinking. It will happen on just about any printer. 0.3mm on a what 40mm part. That is 99.3% on target.
There are some great blog links about it,
and here is a Stack overflow where I talk about it more in detail.
The only mitigations I can think of is
1) use a hear chamber.
2) use a SLA 3d printer.
I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure your designs have good tolerances. |
Prusa i3 Stopping midprint | There's really no telling why that happened if you weren't there to observe it.
A possibility is a temporary power outage, which would stop and reset the printer without any trace of it having happened. Even if there was not a power outage, maybe there was a temporary dip in power that caused the power supply to be unable to supply the required voltage (or perhaps the power supply was of poor quality to begin with and suffered some issue that caused the voltage to drop).
Another possibility is that you were printing via a computer, and the computer rebooted during the print. If this is not the case and you were printing via an SD card, maybe the SD card became corrupted and the printer read some invalid G-code and reset itself (though this latter case would probably come with some indication of a fault on the LCD). |
Compensating for smaller extruder gear | If you change the extruder wheel for a different sized wheel, you need to calibrate the extruder to make sure that if you ask to extrude 100 mm it actually extrudes 100 mm. This answer on the question "How do I calibrate the extruder of my printer?" describes how to do that.
It is not required to flash your firmware. The G-code command M92 can be used to set the new amount of steps for the extruder. The Monoprice Maker Select has a Melzi control board that is running Repetier firmware. This G-code command is supported by Repetier firmware.
You need to be able to connect a so-called terminal to your printer. Applications as Repetier-Host, Pronterface, OctoPrint, and probably many more have so-called terminals where you can interface with the printer by sending command to it when the printer is connected through USB (please mind the communication speed of the board, called Baud rate, these are not the same for all boards).
Sending M503 will report the current settings for M92, e.g.:
M92 X100.00 Y100.00 Z400.00 E100.00
Extrude 100 mm without the hotend attached so you can measure the amount that is extruded. If that is 80 mm you need more steps $ \frac{100\ mm}{80\ mm} \times 100\ steps/mm = 125\ steps/mm $
You now need to send M92 E125 and the new steps are set. Use M500 to store the setting.
You could also change the flow extrusion parameter in your slicer, but it generally not good practice, it is better to fix the printer rather than adjusting in the slicer. However, if you do want to fix it in the slicer, as mentioned in the comments, you can also add steps setting in the start G-code script: "To get around flashing the new values to the ROM, you can add this to the machine settings in Cura under "Start Gcode" this way it will append your values at the start of every print.". Note that other slicers have similar functionality. |
Safe way of disposing resin | Resin is notoriously hard to handle, especially as exposure to air and light can and will cure it over time. The uncured resin is a hazardous material.
Handling hazardous waste
The rules for safe disposal can - generally speaking - be broken down to this:
make sure the hazardous material can't contaminate water or food sources
make sure the hazardous material won't be touched or ingested accidentally
This means (for example for acids) that they are neutralized (to pH 7) and then handled as chemical waste.
WHY?
Why go all these lengths? Let me explain with an example from Germany: The city of Leverkusen is the main site of Bayer. They produce pharmaceutical and chemical products there, which includes a lot of chemical and hazardous waste. Bayer knows how to handle waste, they handled 541000 metric tons globally in 2015. Most of the following information comes from Germany, and is in German, but I do provide my sources.
For the remains of pharmaceutical product production at Bayer in Leverkusen around 2007, the process, as I was told on a tour to the fabrication plant, was generally speaking this: The nasty stuff got neutralized and reacted in ways to make it inert, the resulting sludge got dried and incinerated to destroy most toxic compounds. The remains were bagged in thick plastic bags that were carefully stored with a catalogue of what was stored where in a dedicated chemical waste landfill with (iirc) 3 independent groundwater protection systems, covered with a thick plastic sheet, then with a several meters thick cover of carefully constructed layers of dirt, clay, cement, more plastic, gravel, and rock to protect the rhine and the ground-water. Today, this process is done by the Currenta in a similar way.
In the past, the landfills were less secure: the old landfill that was started by Bayer in 1923 in Leverkusen. It was used by Bayer, the local population and (for some time) the IG Farben. It was finally closed in 1965, contains 65000000 tons of waste, of which approximately 15% is residues of chemical processing (~1 million tons). Nobody ever cataloged what had been stored where in these times, one just knew that it was filled south to north. It had to be pretty much re-engineered in the 1990s and brought it to match the (then) current landfill standard, for example with a 38m deep cement wall: Checks had found that nobody knew anymore where what materials were stored and that residues - among them possibly LOST - had found their way to the surface. These chemicals threatened to get into the Rhine and the water supply at some point. It also lead to a case of public domain and following demolition (for public health concerns) of a group of houses that had been erected on one part of the closed landfill.
You see the length people go to keep you safe from chemical waste: LONG.
Now, how do we fix the problem at hand both safely and effectively?
Getting rid of small batches of resin
The basic rules of handling hazardous waste (the two bulletin points) tell us we should take a two-step process:
find a temporary storage solution (e.g. storing in a safe container)
decide on a process that can get rid of the stuff in a safe way.
How could one fulfill the target number 2? I came up with three options:
re-cycle the unused resin from the print-tub back into the resin for later prints of the same color/resin.
find a specialist to take care of the uncured waste ( => give it to the waste disposal center in a clearly marked container)
make the material non-hazardous and allow disposal through the home-waste ( => curing)
Your local waste disposal service might charge a fee for taking care of your resin, but your problems end when you hand it over with old paints or other chemical waste. Check out who provides these services and what laws, rules and regulations apply for small batches of resin and paints.
A different kind of specialist that would take the resin could be a maker or artist that plans to use it in their own SLA/DLP printer.
Making it inert could be done by curing with only sunlight, without the need of much special equipment or chemicals in a very well ventilated area and make sure nobody touches it: pour the resin into a (disposable) mold like a cardboard box or yogurt cup. If you can't have a well-ventilated place, storing the resin in sealed transparent plastic or glass container (plastic bottle or marmalade glasses) in sunlight can cure the resin very slowly over time. Note that it will take quite some extra time, as such containers do filter out some of the 400 nm light that commonly cures the resin.
The resulting resin chunk can be handled like any plastic block once thoroughly hardened through: Use it for other projects, as a paperweight or dispose of it through the normal waste.
tl:dr;
Until you have chosen a method to get rid of your resin, keep hold of it in a sealed container.
You might find a local maker or artist that would like your resin.
The best way to get rid of resin wastes without curing it yourself is handing it to a professional waste disposal service. Check your local laws, code and regulations about it.
Curing it allows disposal through the normal garbage cycle. |
How to execute firmware command from gcode | As your color is based on the temp reading, as far as I know, there is no G-code to read a temperature and push that value to another command.
The way you can do it is:
Static color change - use same method as you are setting to white
Intercept firmware temperature reading function and push that value to led module |
What filament material is safe to use as in-wall housing (US)? | I haven't tested the commercial "blue boxes" used to hold 120/240 V electrical outlets, switches, and splices to see how they behave when heated. As such, this argument is based on intuition, which is intrinsically flawed as a logic device. Never-the-less, I think the no extruded molten plastic (FFF) 3D printing filament will work.
The purpose of the junction box is to contain an overheating connection or switch and prevent it from causing a fire in the wall. Any FFF filament will have a melting point below the ignition point of wood, and would therefore flow away from the overheating point. It seems that any thermoplastic with a "normal" melting point would have this problem.
You might look at UV polymerized printing resins, such as are used in the Stratasys Objet, Form Labs, and Prusa SL1. These printing processes aren't constrained to use plastics that can be melted or heat softened. Because the polymerization can involve more aggressive crosslinking (polymerization) that FFF materials, they have the potential to be good for a higher temperature.
As an example of a high-temperature, non-melting plastic which could perhaps have an analogue in SLS resin, polyester "casting compound" is cross linked by a methyl-ethyl-ketone-peroxide catalyst to form clear solid. 24 hours after the polymerization starts, the solid does not melt under the influence of a hot air gun. I tried to melt it and it would not melt. It slightly softened, but the plastic cup I had cast it in was dripping away -- but the polyester was not melting.
I looked through the Stratasys materials and Form Labs materials and did not see a much higher temperature material. |
How to fix evenly spaced vertical print pattern | The fact that these are all perfectly spaced, and don't mirror the edges of irregular prints, makes me think it's definitely not ghosting. That said, I can't see the Y direction on either print, just the X direction, so this all assumes it's only happening in one direction.
One thing to think about: Your motors have typically 2 opposing coils, and they get activated by taking 4 steps: (North, off, South):
N/o
o/N
S/o
o/S
If these are spaced out exactly 4 steps apart, that would imply that one of your coils is either underpowered or overpowered on the motor controlling that direction's movement. That would lead to your motor torque dipping and increasing, leading to slightly uneven print speed. This is 100% speculative and might be a goose chase since you've got 4 X/Y motors and it seems to happen in both the X and Y axis. The chances of having that many motors exhibit the same deficiency is astronomical.
That said, I've got little experience with multiple motors per axis. Another thing you might look into is whether the motors are fighting each other at all. If, for example, the motor-side pulley isn't aligned exactly the same way on both X motors, or the motors get out of sync with each other, because of the way the motor's holding torque falls as you get away from a full step position, you might find that one motor is holding the other back slightly, or pulling it forward towards the nearest full step. Again, this is all speculative, but it might be worth looking into. You can typically figure out the full step location by killing power to the machine and letting the motors settle into a full step on their own without the belts or other drive mechanisms attached. I'd unhook the belts, kill the power, get the motors settled (with a bit of a nudge if necessary), and then see if your belt perfectly settles into both pulleys in that location. You might find that the belt teeth don't quite line up on both pulleys, and the only way I can think of that would fix that specific problem is spinning the motor until it matches, or even physically relocating the motor closer or farther relative to the other on the same axis.
YMMV, best of luck. |
Painting Text on Model | You don't provide any dimensions or sizes, but...
Assuming that the text is sufficiently elevated from the rest of the model, you could use a firm solid (as opposed to soft and spongey) roller, of an appropriate width.
This should enable you to paint just the text without getting paint on the rest of the model.
If the text is small and in a "valley" or groove, then a narrow roller would be required, in order to avoid the surface either side of the text.
If the text is not on a flat, or smooth surface, then a small diameter roller might be required.
If you can't find a tiny paint roller, you could jerry-rig one using a paper clip and a roller wheel from an old cassette tape |
Do all 3D printers allow the printing of flexible material? | Not all printers are suitable to print flexible filament. E.g. 1.75 mm filament printers with a Bowden extruder/hotend combination will not work (you may have more luck using 2.85 mm filament, which is stiffer because of the increased diameter). For 1.75 mm filament you require a direct drive extruder, e.g. with the stepper mounted onto the hotend, even then some additional guide parts need to be printed to make it work. This also depends on the amount of flexibility of the filament, some are more flexible than others.
E.g. Ultimaker 3D printers use 2.85 mm filament with a Bowden setup. They also sell a flexible filament that can be printed with these printers. Even for direct drive extruder printers like the Anet A8 (a cheap Chinese Prusa i3 clone) inserts exist (e.g. this or this one) to even better guide the filament to prevent it to buckle. |
Tevo Tarantula home offset | By adjusting/calibration of the center of the bed you will automatically find the correct offset values.
This is explained in detail in this answer to the question How to center my prints on the build platform?. |
Auto physical bed leveling? | Automatic bed levelling is not magic; it still requires you to level the bed properly (as level as possible). The upside of automatic bed levelling is that it compensates for small deviations like a slightly slanted surface or a (somewhat large) dent in the surface (as long it is probed and can be digitized by the firmware). It will keep the nozzle at a distance to the bed that it maintains proper distance to the bed for the filament to adhere properly (first layer adherence is key for successful prints). The slight imperfections are smeared out over about 10 mm (set in the firmware), this way you do not need transformations for the whole print (so if you deliberately make the bed very skew, the print will follow the Z axis, not the direction perpendicular to the bed).
While systems to level or align the bed exist, it is not very practical and expensive as it requires more parts, that is why it is not commonly used. Apart from the suggested printer in this answer, printers with e.g. 4 ball screw Z movement lead screws exist (mostly printers for companies, not for use at home); ball screws are way more expensive, but also way more accurate than trapezoidal lead screws. A low accuracy is preferable as such systems generally have no guiding linear rods (as that would mean that you fix the plane/alignment of the build platform!). |
Are Makerbot Smart Extruder nozzles swappable? | Yes, you can change the nozzles with the 5th gen line printers, although it's not recommended or supported by Makerbot. You're on your own if something goes wrong with an aftermarket nozzle. Here's a swap video from Fargo3D: https://youtu.be/vL80bslk9vw
I would recommend "mk8" Makerbot Replicator 1/2/2x style nozzles, since these will be similar dimensions to the original nozzle. Ebay has lots of cheap ones, or P3-d and Micro Swiss are popular options for premium Makerbot mk8 style nozzles. But you should be able to use any standard M6 male thread, ~2mm ID nozzle (such as from E3D, because the Smart Extruder Z homing routine will compensate for nozzle length.
When you change the nozzle, you're also going to need to change the slicer settings. Do not use default settings with a different nozzle. Smaller nozzles will require significantly lower print speeds, and larger nozzles will require wider extrusion width. You can create a custom profile in Makerbot Desktop to do this, or use a 5th-gen-compatible slicer like Simplify3D. |
Will my Duplicator i3 be able to print this hole in the vertical wall without infill? | The answer is yes. However I notice that some knowledge is missing due your comments.
The walls of the part is formed by 1 or several lines, this lines are called shell.
The Infill is the part that fills all within the walls or shell; you can set the infill by 5% to 100% depending in how strong you need the printed part or set 0 to get an empty shell.
The printer can be able to print any part, but some areas will need supports, this suports is a kind of outerfill to support areas that could overhang basically walls with 45 degrees or less, this support can be easily removed from the final part |
Are there printers that don't have thermal runaway protection? | At the time of this writing (March 2019), many (if not most) cheap printers from the Far East are not delivered with Thermal Runaway Protection enabled as Marlin had this feature disabled as default for a long time (it was for certain so in April of 2018).
I know that Anet printers (A8 from experience) and the Creality Ender-3 printer (experience from another member) come with TRP disabled in the firmware when shipped from the factory. Thomas Sanladerer did a test on his machines and found that it was disabled on the Creality CR-10, Anet E-10 and A-8 had it disabled while the Mini Fabrikator v1 did have no Mintemp/Maxtemp but Thermal Runaway. Even the quite expensive BCN3D Sigma R17 had it disabled in April of 2018 on default.
Among the printers that come with Thermal Runaway Protection enabled are the PrusaResearch builds of the Original Prusa i3.
To test if it is enabled on your printer, you could disconnect the heater elements prior or during printing, see this answer or the process explained in Thomas Sanladerer's Video above or from the start of his safety tutorial:
How to test if TRP is active on my printer?
To test if thermal runaway protection is enabled on your printer, you
can disconnect the heater element of the hotend or the heated bed. You
can disconnect the heater element while the printer is cold (before
start) and also when the heater element is heating up. No heating of
the nozzle will take place, so after the period defined by the time
constant set in the firmware, the printer will halt if thermal runaway
protection is enabled. Power down the machine and reconnect the wires,
it is not advised to put them back in; when the printer halted, you
should power down or reset the printer anyways. If the printer did not
halt, power it down as quickly as possible. |
BLTouch missing build plate on levelling | Tiny Machines firmware is based on Marlin firmware. Note that I personally am more comfortable using the original sources than a fork or copy from another derivative source. Using a derivative means that you will have to wait a second development commitment to post new features and bug fixes.
A similar reasoning is applicable using premade hex files opposed to compiling the sources yourself.
There are 2 things (related to the bed X, Y positioning) you need to be aware of when using a Z probe. When using the probe you must ensure that the probe deploys on the bed during probing.
First, define in your firmware that the probe can only deploy in the center of the build plate. In e.g. Marlin firmware this is described in the configuration.h; you need to enable Z_SAFE_HOMING:
// Use "Z Safe Homing" to avoid homing with a Z probe outside the bed area.
//
#define Z_SAFE_HOMING
Second, you need to define a confined bed area for the sensor to deploy, this is described in question: "How to set Z-probe boundary limits in firmware when using automatic bed leveling?".
Note that flashing an existing firmware does not guarantee anything, the used firmware from Tiny Machines (or e.g. from TH3D) try to simplify the firmware configuration for you by adding additional specific settings/constants (#defines), underneath the waterline all sorts of things are then handled for you. Personally I'd like to be in control and do the modifications myself. If the probe position you use is different from the probe position used in the pre-build firmware you will not be able to use this firmware safely. We can check this: e.g. in the Tiny Machines firmware there are 3 predefined positions for the sensor, in the sources itself none is active (see below), so it is not known which option is used for compiling the hex files they made available:
//#define CREALITY_ABL_MOUNT //Using creality ABL mount
//#define E3D_DUALFAN_MOUNT // Using HD Modular mount as above with 2 5015 blowers and sensor on the right
//#define E3D_PROBEMOUNT_LEFT // Default is probe mounted to the right for E3D. Set this to invert.
When you define one of these options above, the probe position can be read from:
#if (ANY(ABL_BLTOUCH, ABL_EZABL,ABL_NCSW) && ANY(HotendE3D, HotendMosquito))
#if ENABLED(E3D_DUALFAN_MOUNT)
#if ENABLED(E3D_PROBEMOUNT_LEFT)
#define NOZZLE_TO_PROBE_OFFSET { -63, 5, 0 }
#else
#define NOZZLE_TO_PROBE_OFFSET { 63, 5, 0 }
#endif
#else
#define NOZZLE_TO_PROBE_OFFSET { 32, 5, 0 }
#endif
#endif
You will see that the E3D_PROBEMOUNT_LEFT and E3D_DUALFAN_MOUNT need to be active (you see that E3D_PROBEMOUNT_LEFT is embedded in the E3D_DUALFAN_MOUNT option, this cannot be correct...) to get a probe offset of (-63, +5) which is close to your probe (60 mm to the left and 6 mm forward translates to (-60, +6)). This is exactly why I use the Marlin firmware from the main source code, not a simplified derivative (which in this case is not accurate and unknown what options are used in the pre-build hex files).
Please note that the original Marlin sources also maintain configuration files for many printer types, e.g. the CR-10S is also listed in this overview. |
Should black high temperature ABS flow in direct sunlight? | Are you sure that this is ABS? (Since it is already trash, you can make a fire test. It should [correct me if i'm wrong] produce black smoke) Some ABS can becomes soft at already 80°C.
Just for fun I measured the temp of my gray sofa that was directly in sun light: It was over 70°C. So it could be possible that the sun light already was enough to weak the black ABS. Also the ground is interesting. Some idi**** room mate puts my black ¿abs? alarm clock on a metal windowsill because he want to know the temps there in the direct sunlight... the alarm clock becomes deformed :(
Probably white and/or coated ABS would be better. Also a inner rod would help against deformation. |
Could I 3D print an airbrush? | The problem with this I see is that the PLA takes and holds paint super well. I have painted it with acrylic a lot and it works great for models you want painted after printing.
I know next to nothing about airbrushing, but it seems to me like keeping a printed airbrush clean for re-use would be a big pain. It looks like they make the pro airbrushes with some kind of stainless steel most likely for the non-sticking purposes of re-use, which PLA just won't have.
That being said, don't be afraid to model it and try! I would make a suggestion that you switch to ABS and then do a vapor bath on the result to smooth out the material and possibly make it easier to clean excess paint out of. |
Build plate cools during print | Your bed is obviously capable of heating up, so I would double check your cable for any kinks, cuts, blow-outs, or general connection issues both where your machine rests during warm-up and Z0 where your machine begins printing.
Most likely there is a poor connector or kinked/cut wire for the build plate.
If that doesn't appear to be the issue, I might also suggest checking your power supply. I've heard of other similar machines' power supplies not being quite strong enough to support two extruders AND a heated bed. |
What are the effects of backlash from a geared stepper motor used to drive a filament extruder? | During normal extrusion backlash has no effect.
During retraction you can perfectly compensate by increasing retraction length slightly.
Backlash cannot be taken into account for pressure advance, but unless it's a lot, it should not cause issues: pressure compensation is a second order effect and does not need to be tuned super accurately to produce results.
One degree does not seem to be enough to cause problems. |
X and Y axes don't move after upgrading to TMC2100 drivers | Steps/unit also must be modified. In my case these values made the printer run silent and smooth.
#define DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT { 100, 200, 6160, 884 }
I set Max feed rate and Max acceleration as below:
#define DEFAULT_MAX_FEEDRATE { 300, 300, 5, 25 }
#define DEFAULT_MAX_ACCELERATION { 300, 300, 100, 10000 } |
Do printer controllers take inertia into account when interpreting G-code into movement instructions? | Stepper motors "want" to keep their position as they are told to by the firmware, therefore they do whatever it's needed (accelerate and brake) to follow the orders they received.
The question is: is the firmware telling them to move/accelerate/brake faster/harder than they can? if yes, they won't keep up (because of inertia and much more) so you'll see artefacts. If not, they will follow the orders exactly (well, mostly, but it's not important now) and no distortions will be there.
Whether they keep up or not is up to you: you are setting their power (the motor current) and you are telling them how fast/hard to move/accelerate/brake. If you push them too much, the motors will try... and fail to keep up. That's why you have max acceleration, speed, jerk in the firmware and in the slicer.
Additional info: even if the motors keep the position as they are told to, the motors have no knowledge of anything past them: belts, leadscrews, and so on.
Imagine the X axis belt (which connects the motor to the printing head) is made of an elastic band: the motors will be where you order them to be, but the inertia of the printing head will stretch the elastic band and the printing head will NOT be where you expect it to be.
It is again up to you to reduce the max acceleration to a value below what the motors could be able to do, if needed. Motors are often not pushed to their limit also because other factors cause issues before the motors fail.
How to know how much to limit the acceleration and speed? the only way is trying. |
Possible 3D printer nozzle jam? | What you are looking at is the top of a Makerbot MK10-style hotend. It appears that the filament has snapped off at the entry of the heat break at the top of the cold end. The image below shows how the hotend is constructed, from top to bottom, brasss nozzle, heater element block, heat break (with PTFE liner, or not if it is an all metal hotend) and the cold end cooling block.
You indeed have a jam if an increased temperature cannot push the filament out. What you can try is to heat up the hotend (above the normal filament printing temperature, e.g. 10-20 °C higher; a too high temperature can cause filament to carbonize) with the feeder stepper removed pushing a 1.5 mm drill bit from the top of the heat break and see if you can push the obstruction out. If you have a fine needle or a specific nozzle cleaning tool, you could try from the nozzle opening. If not, you need to take the hotend apart and need to consider to buy some spare parts (at least a new PTFE liner if present), this is usually more simple than cleaning the small parts. If it is ABS filament you can use acetone to dissolve the filament, but for PLA/PETG there are no simple solvents.
The image below shows an exploded view of the assembly. |
Is SD2209 the same as TMC2209 stepper drivers? | From what I can tell, the SD2209 is not a clone of or another name for the TMC2209, but is a board with a TMC2209 on it setup to be used as a drop-in replacement for other stepper drivers. See e.g. this SD2209 a drop-in replacement for Pololu style drivers: |
Delta Printer: Slighty incorrect print alignment on the build plate | I figured out that the reason is probably a slightly translated slider construction. Instead of using a proper centered slider as shown in red, I used a slider construction like illustrated in yellow. When all sliders are translated on each tower like this, the print should be tilted by the same amount. This seems to have no influence on the general shape of the object. However, for my next printer I will use a proper centered uni-body slider. |
Is a dual extruder a reasonable choice for all-purpose printing | Not an expert by any means but I can’t see any reason you couldn’t use one half of a dual extruder. The benefits of not using one though would be decreased extruder weight. Especially given that this is a direct drive so there will be two stepper motors I believe. Reduced weight means faster print times and a reduction in certain print artifacts such as ringing etc.
Short answer, if your only ever going to need one extruder probably avoid a dual but if you want the flexibility this should work when a single extruder is required. |
Adhesion issues using AmazonBasics PLA | Answer taken from OP's question
****Fixed it!****
Reset bed height to clear nozzle by 0.04 mm. Printed on raft. I appreciate the answers. |
Slicer/Printer Origin | Depending on what kind of printer you have, the build table origin and slicer origin (0,0) are usually either the front left corner, or the center of the build plate. This can be changed by the end-user in most open-source printers. There is no standard or requirement for a particular origin location. The important thing is merely that the slicer and printer coordinate systems match, so parts actually come out where your slicer thinks they should.
In practice, it's usually quite easy to tell what's "front" in your slicer's build volume. When you open the program, the bed usually appears as it does when you stand in front of your printer. It is rarely an issue.
In terms of difficulty removing prints from the bed, a removable build plate is an excellent solution. Plastic has a higher coefficient of thermal expansion than most build plate materials (like glass), so throwing the print+plate in your freezer will generate large separation forces and help remove the part for you. Non-removable build surfaces are a deal-breaker for most serious 3D printer users I know. Either don't buy such a printer, or add a removable plate yourself. |
Casual under-extruding on Ender 3 (don't know what to do anymore!) | You may have a problem with the nozzle heat setting being too low for the flow rate, which is directly related to the travel speed.
As a background, when you're printing fast, the stepper motor driving the extruder has to move filament more quickly. That's obvious, but what is overlooked often is that the heater may not be able to move heat quickly enough to keep up with the filament.
Consider increasing your hot end temperature by five degree steps until you observe that the under-extrusion is resolved.
Some colors and brands of filament require adjustment in hot end temperatures. I'm currently printing with silk-like PLA. The filament I usually use prints at 210°C while it was necessary to turn up the temperature to 225°C to prevent nozzle clog.
Not yet viewed in my inbox is a YouTube subscription notice regarding "calibrating your hot end:"
YouTube hot end calibration
I suspect it may be of value to you in your current situation. |
Weird ripping and warping of ABS print | Looking at the infill pattern visible through the tears in the top layer, it looks as if you have unreliable extrusion on the infill layers also.
The solid fill layer is lifted and torn, so it is unlikely that one or two more layers of solid fill will make the result better. In my experience, bumps lead to taller bumps and print failure.
These diagnostic steps have helped me:
Print a 3 layer solid fill version, the top surface should be smooth and free of bumps;
Print a single layer version, it should be smooth, well attached to the print bed, of even thickness, and a good surface for the next layer.
Given your results, I am suspicious that you may have one of these problems, which I've listed in the order of likelihood:
Partially blocked nozzle
Excessive drag from the filament supply, such as a spool with crossed filament which jams itself, preventing unwrapping;
Extruder feed roller slipping (perhaps full of dust), often a side effect of 1 and 2;
G-code error dropping the temperature;
Bad heater or thermistor, perhaps intermittent short of the thermistor, causing under heating even though the "average" indicated temperature is correct.
Printing gliders is a cool application. It shows off the weight advantage extrusion 3-D printing can deliver. Nice. |
Printer Crashes at the Beginning of a Print | I see a couple likely culprits for a hardcrash like this
problems with the power supply. If the power supply does not provide enough voltage an/or current to the board, this can lead to a lockup of the board.
temperature issues of the board. If the board overheats, it could fail to execute properly, leading to abort. make sure that the board is not overheating.
faulty firmware. recompile your firmware and reflash it.
faulty board. |
Marlin NOZZLE_TO_PROBE_OFFSET with glass | You can define the probe offset (or better the trigger point to bed level distance) in the array definition of NOZZLE_TO_PROBE_OFFSET, but it is not the usual and logical place to do that. Instead you position the probe higher than the nozzle and define the offset later when calibrating the bed level. A positive value is a positive offset, Z+.
This answer is intended to be a more generic answer for Z-offset determination. The question is not clear on what kind of Z-probe is used. In case of a touch (or an inductive or a capacitive) probe, a probe trigger point defines how far the probe needs to be from the bed level (the sensor is always placed higher than the nozzle). This trigger point is a measure for the offset and used to determine the distance of the nozzle to the bed print surface (using the offset). Correct installation is trivial, as is the determination of the nozzle to trigger point definition. For a touch sensor, the probing element is either stowed, fully deployed, or pushed in during leveling up to the point that the trigger point is reached and the probe stowes the rest of the pin, see figure:
The M851 Zxx.xx offset is determined by lowering the nozzle beyond the trigger point until the nozzle hits a sheet of paper. If the stowed position to nozzle distance is used, the distance is too large and the nozzle will dive into the bed on printing. A similar sketch for inductive/capacitive proximity probes can be drawn. |
Prusa XI3 not printing correctly with Repetier Host | In order to try a short answer even though you already found a change to Cura helped the issue. With that additional info we can conclude that your printer per se is working fine. To me, if the plastic is curling up to a ball, it seems that you are either having
a wrong temperature set
wrongly calculated e-steps, volume calculation (filament diameter) or multiplier in the firmware
additional first layer parameters are off (height, offset, extrusion)
You can try to set the extrusion multiplier just to test if it is a simple miscalculation. |
Ender 3 Pro with BLtouch + BigTreeTech Auto level not compensating | Again another nightmare for 3d printer users - it took me days to figure it out.
My Ender 3 bed was warped in the middle. I got a glass bed, which helped.
I installed the BLTouch and used the Ender 3 Pro firmware. It gives you the options in the menu. I also added the G29 code to G-code.
But it's not perfect. I needed to manually adjust the Z-probe. |
Direct vs Bowden Extrusion when printing in temperature fluctuating environment | I don't think your temperature based explanation makes sense. This looks to me just like a first layer smashed against the bed, possibly too much due to nozzle being too low, followed by underextrusion when there's actually the right amount of space to extrude into. If you have fewer than 3 top layers or less than 0.6 mm of top layer thickness, you will almost certainly have an underextruded top like this just from the first top layer sagging into the space between the infill lines. Since the walls look okay, this is my best guess; if the walls looked bad too I would suspect poorly tuned filament diameter/E-steps-per-mm. Also check that your infill is not too sparse; more than 4 mm or so between infill lines gives a lot of room for top layers to sag into and may increase the number of top layers you need.
I see you added in the comments that your layer height is 0.1 mm. At such thin layers, you probably need at least 5 or 6 top layers; the first 2-3 are expected to sag and not fill the space. |
Extruder/nozzle keeps clogging up | I can see from the photo that filament melted and frozen thicker inside extruder. This is the problem and not the clogged extruder. This thick part produce a lot of friction and actually diameter grow until the print finally will stuck. Basically I had the same problem and I could guess that you are also using Bowden setup. The length of this built thicker part is actually corresponded to your retraction length setting in your slicer (the default value in Cura is unreasonably big like 6.5 millimetres). I solved the same problem by decreasing retraction settings to about 2-3 mm. Just try it and I am sure you will not have this problem again. |
What triggers Marlin's "Click to resume..."? | To answer your question directly, this action (Click to resume...) is triggered by a buffer overflow of the Marlin firmware that is caused by the repetitive sending of M105 command by Ultimaker Cura (without checking the result).
This problem is a reported problem and fixed in the next release of Ultimaker Cura (please do note that as of posting this answer, the 3.6 Beta release is available for download). It appears to be a communication problem between Ultimaker Cura 3.4+ and 1.1.8+ versions of the Marlin firmware and has to to with polling of the temperature (M105). The link above also states it is fixed in the 3.6 release (which is the next release) as the fix has been integrated in the main code base.
This describes the problem:
To update the temperatures in the monitor, Cura sends M105 pings every
2 seconds. It seems that if this is done during a print without
waiting for an OK from the printer, the serial buffer on the printer
may still overflow eventually (causing Marlin to complain/pause).
and this describes the solution:
During some operations, such as preheating, the printer responds to
new commands with echo:busy. While it is busy, it does send
temperature messages, but these are not prepended with an ok,
because the ok is supposed to show that a command was received and
executed. So the two patches I wrote do the following:
the pattern matching no longer looks for ok messages, but looks for
temperature updates (this fixes the temperature updating while the
printer is preheating)
once the printer has said that it is busy, stop
asking for temperature updates until the next ok is received (this
prevents the serial buffer overflowing while preheating)
Old answer centered around the firmware (based on the text of the OP, no photo with the actual error message was added yet):
The text click to resume print cannot be found (with case insensitive search) in the latest sources of Marlin 1.1.9 down to Marlin 1.1.6. This means that you are using a different fork, an older version of Marlin or the message is not displayed as such.
The text message Resume print can be found, and is part of the message constant MSG_RESUME_PRINT
#define MSG_RESUME_PRINT _UxGT("Resume print")
But, this cannot be found in some sort of a concatenation using MSG_RESUME_PRINT! |
Does anyone know the thread size (pitch and lead) of the Anet A8's lead screw? | I have the Anet A8, I confirm the threads are Tr8x8(p2). This is explained as "Tr" for trapezoidal thread followed by the nominal diameter in mm. The digits after the "x" denotes the lead of the screw (how much does the nut advance per revolution). The value between the brackets "p2" denotes the pitch. This means that the screw has 8 (lead) / 2 (pitch) = 4 starts.
More information on threads is found on Wikipedia. |
Marlin firmware function call location for menu commands? | This function is called by the g-codes M125 and M600
I could find ADVANCED_PAUSE_FEATURE defined in configuration_adv.h and called in Conditionals_post.h, trice in Marlin.h, referenced as needed for M600 in Marlin_Main.ccp and mentioned 2 times.
In Marlin_Main.ccp it also declares the function pause_print in line 6482 to 6571. Its start and end are these:
static bool pause_print(const float &retract, const point_t &park_point, const float &unload_length = 0,
const int8_t max_beep_count = 0, const bool show_lcd = false
) {
if (move_away_flag) return false; // already paused
#ifdef ACTION_ON_PAUSE
SERIAL_ECHOLNPGM("//action:" ACTION_ON_PAUSE);
#endif
[...]
HOTEND_LOOP()
thermalManager.start_heater_idle_timer(e, nozzle_timeout);
return true;
}
This function does define the pause state, and relies on the ADVANCED_PAUSE_FEATURE in some cases. But what calls it? Simple enough, both calls are in the same Marlin_Main.ccp that defines it. The calls are in the functions that are used for filament change:
gcode_M125line 8534 (Save current position and move to filament change position)
gcode_M600line 9939 (Pause for filament change: "M600 X Y Z E L") |
Anet A8 Installing second extruder without changing board | That is not possible without changing to a different printer main board. The Anet A8 board has 4 integrated (A4988) stepper drivers, one for X, one for Y, one for Z and one for E (extruder 0).
Both Z steppers are controlled by a single stepper driver (they are wired in parallel to the single Z stepper driver), there is nothing to free up nor is there to configure in Marlin without replacing the main board. |
How to draw kossel delta corner in fusion 360? | I attempted to create your drawing but discovered that an important set of parameters is missing. You have to have either the intersection point of the legs (73.34) from each side or the angle between the legs (73.34) and the base (106.41) to create construction lines. Once you have either of those items, you can construct the remainder of the design using offsets, radii, etc.
More accurately, one other missing item that would be required to complete this design is the placement of the holes at the top (12) relative to some other feature of the design.
Having taken on the challenge of your drawing, I've found that it is necessary to surrender. The angles or the intersection point are critical and without them, no solution comes to my alleged mind.
I have also discovered one additional datum missing. The distance of the bottom truss and the thickness of this truss would be required to provide a more certain solution.
One the flip side, I've found alpha-tech3d.com which appears to include similar parts, rotated 180° with what appears to have all of the necessary data. |
Is hot glue suitable for FDM printing? | You could mount a hot glue gun to a 3D positioning frame, but you would immediately notice the following:
Hot glue sticks are fat, so you lose a lot of precision for each feed/retract increment. I.e., it's a lot harder to get precise feeds with a fat stick because the stick size is so much larger than the nozzle.
Hot glue sticks are short, so you would to create a filament to spool the stuff or come up with a glue stick feeder.
Hot glue melts at 120 °C and common plastics such as nylon melt at much higher temperatures. So hot glue would make an AWFUL structural part like a stepper mount. Even PLA barely deals with stepper temperatures. Note that temperature tolerance is irrelevant for costume parts.
Hot glue is soft, which makes it a great glue, but not very stiff for, say, making parts for a 3D printer. However, the parts might be fine for use only in costumes, etc.
But, if you then used your 3D glue printer to dispense glue for gluing stuff together, well...that might be valuable. :D |
How to I assign an imported STl file to a variable, polygon, or otherwise manipulate it? | One can create a module to import the respective STL files.
module bring_it_on_1() {
import("c:/user/models/egg_on_face.stl");
}
translate([-10, 20, 0])
bring_it_on_1();
Other modifiers can be used and will act on the STL file appropriately. |
File from Blender is different in Shapeways's preview | Double-check that your model is solid (i.e. watertight). Holes in the mesh, or (as other's mentioned in the comments) or problems with thickness can cause those issues. You can use Netfabb's Cloud Services, or download the free version of their app. There are other model repair services, too. |
StoneFlower3D - how to pause a print? | The extruder is connected to 3d printer mainboard as a stepper driver.
That said it is not using standard stepper motor output, but it is fed directly from CPU digital pins.
Please see OP reference manual.
The extruder has theability to self-feed (load filament) - so that is the reason of kit/printer switches - see pic 1.
Then pausing a print to feed the clay tank need to be executed from printer (pause print) and then operated locally in the kit mode.
if get your comments well - pic below gives an overview how to connect it to rams - see manual for details |
How bed leveling is achieved without table screws? | Prusa uses 9 marker points in the bed that are sensed with an induction sensor to determine the X, Y and Z position. Any deviation for skewness or bed level is compensated through the software. Please do note that the bed is pretty level to begin with (by design).
This is precisely described here, please check the video.
Note that Marlin Firmware (which is basically what drives the Prusa printers) has skewness compensation implemented. This is implemented in the configuration file, and found under header Bed Skew Compensation. You basically print a square and measure the diagonals and insert these measurements into the configuration file. Prusa printers do this automatically by using the measurements of the marker points. |
BOSL2 alignment precision problem in OpenScad | from Revar Desmera:
The attach() module by default overlaps the attached with the parent by a slight amount (0.01). You can do attach(RIGHT,overlap=0) for an exact alignment.
The overlap is so that CGAL correctly can union shapes.
and the attach() documentation :
Attached objects will be overlapped into the parent object by a little bit, as specified by the default $overlap value (0.01 by default), or by the overriding overlap= argument. This is to prevent OpenSCAD from making non-manifold objects. You can also define $overlap= as an argument in a parent module to set the default for all attachments to it. |
How to create tappered thread in OpenSCAD? | If your math and OpenSCAD skills are superior to mine, you may be able to make use of the OpenSCAD Metric Nut, Bolt & Threads Library located here:
OpenSCAD Metric Nut, Bolt & Threads Library
It uses various means to generate polygons about a radius and includes the formulae for partial revolutions. It is presumed in the design that the center of rotation for the generated polygons is constant. I looked over the code for outside thread and could easily determine the radius references.
With proper coding, you could generate a variable radius based on the height of the cylinder at a specific point and achieve the tapered effect you require.
I expect that you'd have to reduce your desired radius by a fraction, say 0.05 mm in order to embed the thread forming polygons within your tapered cylinder.
If you aren't a strong coder, disregard this answer. |
P3Steel v4 w/ 20x30 cm bed, or 2.5.1 w/ 20x20 | Go for the P3Steel v4 (20x30). The extra print area is worth it. There is a Polish supplier, Printo3D, on eBay that has the cheapest frame, and parts - cheaper than the Spanish supplier. That is where I got mine from. See Frame Prusa I3 P3Steel v 4.0, 300mm x 200 mm, which costs around £80.
This kit uses 10 mm smooth rods for the Y axis:
Smooth stainless steel rods:
2x Ø8x385 mm for X-Axis
2x Ø8x320 mm for Z-Axis
2x Ø10x520 mm for Y-Axis
Threaded stainless steel rods:
2x M5x300 mm
With respect to the Y-axis carriage, the steel carriage does add a lot of weight/inertia, you are correct. This may or may not be an issue, depending on your steppers motors that you choose1, and their torque. That said, the 3 mm steel print bed/Y-axis carriage, is ridiculously heavy, and it would be most wise to substitute it for an aluminium, plywood, or some other lightweight solution.
Apart from that the 3 mm steel frame is fine and as solid as a rock. There are a number of aluminium 20x30 print beds/Y-axis carriages available on eBay and Amazon. A thorough search should reveal a few. There are also composite Y-axis carriages, I found a supplier in the Ukraine, tehnologika_net, who, last year, had a number of different types at a reasonable cost - in fact they were the cheapest that I found.
As an aside, I built mine sourcing all of the parts separately. It was a bit of a task, but an educative one. The process certainly made me understand the ins and outs a lot better than purchasing a ready built, or complete kit, 3D printer.
I have written up some blogs regarding the kit that I purchased, see P3Steel from Poland – A tale of despair, dismay and woe. Ignore the depressing title, it really isn't that bad.
See also Heatbeds. At the bottom there are some links to various alternative Y-axis carriages. However, some of the links/items may no longer be available.
You may also find this question of mine useful, Z axis top brackets, of P3Steel, differ between v1.x/2.x and v4.
There are a number of modifications to the standard P3Steel, that may well be worth considering. In particular, you should note the Toolsen Edition MK2, see P3steel toolson edition MK2 (in German), and P3steel - toolson edition. I have written about these, and more, see P3Steel version 4 modifications. In summary, these are:
Bowden extruders
Endstops
Endstops by Toolsen
Optical Endstops by Toolsen
Idlers by Toolsen
Extruder by NWRepRap
Lead screws
Aluminium/Composite Y-axis carriage
1 I got the Rattm 17HS8401 steppers. See RepRapWiki - Nema17. The recommended steppers are high torque:
Kysan 1124090/42BYGH4803;
Rattm 17HS8401, and;
Wantai 42BYGHW609
However, motors close to NEMA 17 size, with approximately the
following specifications, can also work:
1.5A to 1.8A current per phase
1-4 volts
3 to 8 mH inductance per phase
44 N·cm (62oz·in, 4.5kg·cm) or more holding torque
1.8 or 0.9 degrees per step (200/400 steps/rev respectively) |
Can't print anything! Is this heat creep? (Detailed explanation & Photo) | This sounds like nothing but a bed leveling (distance from nozzle to bed) problem, though you may have introduced other problems disassembling the hotend. It's normal to have material oozing and bunching up before the print starts; this is why you start printing with a priming line or skirt.
Clean the bed well with isopropyl alcohol, level it (paper method at Z=0 or feeler gauges at Z=0.1, I prefer the latter), then fine tune with a leveling test print. If you're still having problems make sure the PTFE tube is tensioned against the nozzle right inside the hotend. Having any gap will make for all sorts of problems. |
Power OctoPi from printer | What you are looking for is called a "buck converter" or a "step down module". These literally cost about half a buck/Euro a piece. These converters convert a high voltage into a low voltage, the better ones are able to draw 2 to 3 Amps, which is required for stable operation of the Raspberry Pi.
If you have an old computer power supply of a decent brand (probably not as you refer to a kit/assembled printer, but added for completeness), you can even use the standby 5 V line out and switch the power supply on using a relay to short the green wire of the PSU to ground. This is how I use it on one of my printers.
Note to power the Raspberry Pi through the micro USB port, to not bypass safety features. |
Generating mold from stl file of the 3D drawing of the object | You can also bring the model and a big box into slic3r, align and orient them (enclose the model in the box), and do a subtract modifier, leaving a hollow where the two intersected. You probably want to do this twice, for a top mould and a botom mould. I've done this, but I don't see any instructions online for it. :(
EDIT: Unfortunately, this would be very tedious. It's much easier to use meshmixer or another publicly available program to subtract one stl from another.
In Slic3r, using another stl as a modifier has no effect unless you are also printing that second stl (normally from another head). So you would have to manually remove all the gcode for the second head. Sorry for the bad advice. |
Details of Marlin's feedrate calculation | Feedrates are not 4-dimensional, and yes this makes them a bit inconsistent. But physically the 4-dimensional speed would not make any sense - for example, slowing down the E axis while speeding up the X axis would not maintain the same "overall speed" in any meaningful sense.
So, feedrates work differently for:
Moves with a nonzero X, Y, or Z component: the feedrate is an ideal, desired speed in 3 dimensions, possibly limited by the max feedrates of each axis (including E) individually, as well as their acceleration profiles.
Extruder-only moves where X, Y, and Z components are all zero: the feedrate is an ideal, desired speed in one dimension: the E axis, and may be limited by the max feedrate and acceleration profile for the E axis. |
Noise cancelling Chiron Y-axis | Have you tried a concrete tile for garden with foam below it?
Check https://www.cnckitchen.com/blog/reduce-your-3d-printing-noise-with-a-concrete-paver
The same is on
Frequencies at 200+ Hz should not get to the neighbours, the walls and floor will absorb them. Lower frequencies are transmitted much more (see the video).
Try that, it's super cheap, and if not enough let us know for further help. |
Ender 3 Marlin - Incorrect temperature | When you have updated to Marlin, you were supposed to configure it carefully. This is maybe laborious and sometimes difficult procedure, but very important. Basic guidelines are described in Configuring Marlin official guide.
I assume that you obviously did it, at least in some part to enable BLTouch.
You should review the Thermal Settings section and update it with valid thermistors types for bed and hotend in Configuration.h:
#define TEMP_SENSOR_0 1
...
#define TEMP_SENSOR_BED 1
The list of available predefined settings (numerical identifiers) is just above these #define macros. The optimistic assumption is that you know that hardware details. Popular value is 1 for EPCOS 100k (older repraps) or NTC 3950 100k, but there are many examples of troubleshooting and advices on Internet. For more exotic temperature sensors you should set value 1000 and specify own details in Configuration_adv.h.
If all these settings are correct, then possibly your thermistor is faulty. There is always a chance of coincidence with some damage unrelated to last upgrades. You can follow these instructions to verify it. |
Are 3D printed gears applicable for industrial use? | Survivability of parts is a very tricky topic, because a lot of factors go into it. While ABS is a common industrial plastic for molding, FDM introduces quite different challenges that can impact the time a piece lives. I can't estimate a lifetime for you, but I will illustrate why we can't estimate it for you, giving you things to think about in your design process:
Problem 1 - What's the printed internal part geometry?
FDM introduces boundries in 2 (r,z) dimensions . Not just the z layers above each other do have boundries that can and will become plane of failure, each layer consists of one filament1 that was deposited side by side to itself. These neighboring pieces (distinguishable by r in cylindrical coordinates) have a boundry that is not of the same strength as staying on the same piece and following it around (and changing ψ) a solid chunk of ABS (as you would get with molding). under stress, these boundries can crack. If you want to force your piece to have such a fate just to see how it looks: mount a 0.4 mm nozzle in a machine calibrated for 0.35 mm and run a 0.35 mm sliced print - it should be easy to crack it apart into a long snail of filament. Or declare your filament to be 3mm in a 1.75mm machine. The Horrible underextrusion and lack of pressure against already deposited filament makes it possible to unravel the whole filament at times.
Problem 2 - What is the intended use?
Use is not the same as use. Yes, it might sound unintuitive, but depending on how a piece is used, stress on the part is different. Let's take the same two gears. We put one of them in a hand mixer and a superlight drone. In the mixer it will spin rapidly against medium to tough loads (depending on dough) over medium periods (the timeframe here is usually minutes at max) of time. In the drone it will have considerably less load, but it will spin for much longer, maybe up to hours if the pilot is very capeable and the batteries last. In both cases wear and tear will be quite different.
Problem 3 - What determines strength?
Strength of the part is not only determined by the filament used, it is ALSO determined by tons of other variables. Print orientation. With enclosure or not. Humidity during print. If the surface of the part is sealed or not after the print. If it was postprocessed somehow to increase capabilities. If the piece is printed hollow or solid. How long did it cure or harden after the print... There are so many variables, that each guess would be quite wild.
Problem 4 - How to get the lifetime now?!
You can't guesstimate the reliability of a product from its design and makeup only. That is why design departments create prototypes: To rigerously test the products. This is how they learn how safe or sturdy their product is. They make prototypes and purposefully put them under various kinds of stress until they break. For gears this involves spinning them in a gearbox for hours nonstop until they break, force them against a blokaded gearbox till they break, run the gearbox dry, hot or freezing, and also under other very destructive conditions. Part of this destructive test is an accelerated life time test that, just like other tests in this stage, tries to find out the maximum parameters it is useable with. A common test for hand mixers apparently is to run them 2 minutes against some gooy substance, then stop some time before repeating.
1 - For the math inclined: the filament can be represented as a function in cylidrical coordinates, f(r,φ,z)=r(ψ)*φ(ψ)+z(ψ), where ψ the path-parameter of the filament - or in other words the length already traveled. To some degree, a G-code is generated by first creating such a function and then creating the tool path from this. |
Route to transform 2d image (depth map) into a curved bracelet (and STL file)? | This may not be your cuppa tea, but if you're willing to learn to use OpenSCAD or already know how, there's a Thingiverse post that appears to directly address your objective.
Correction, this particular post on Thingiverse consists of a series of Python files, of which I have zero experience/qualifications. It may still be of value, if you are Python capable.
Another resource that is strictly OpenSCAD is from Eric Buijs, a rather talented 3D design person. His YouTube channel has a number of useful tutorials for both OpenSCAD and Solvespace. This video in particular describes applying a flat object to a curved one using OpenSCAD, resulting in a lithophane.
As I created this answer, I did not re-watch the 12+ minute video, but I recall how he explains clearly how the program dissects the surface into a number of flat panels and then superimposes the image on each segment. From this presentation, I suspect one could expand to a full cylinder. |
reducing cross-sectional area | Based on your link in the comment, the cross-sectional area is the one on the X-Y axis (horizontal). The least area, the least material there is "pulling up" (curling) the layer when the plastic cools down.
When it comes to your specific question:
if I were to print a rectangular prism, would I want the long side of it printed in the vertical direction or parallel to the print bed?
...the answer is not as simple as "long side vertical", as you want both little warping and strong parts and the two may be better achieved by differen orientations.
Personally I would base my choice on the intended application: as the difference between the Z and the X+Y axis is their behaviour under load is substantial. FDM artefacts are anisotropic: they resist very well to compression along the Z or tension along the X & Y axis, but are weak along the same axis if you invert the direction of the force applied. Again: this difference is not marginal but substantial.
Keep in mind that "area" is actually "printed area", so you could have a model with a large footprint but a small printed area (think to the bottom of a Tour Eiffel model, or to a pipe standing up).
Were I to experience warping or poor adhesion with a specific model, I would reduce the cross-sectional area in the model (by adding relief cuts and/or cavities) or in the slicer (by decreasing the density of the infill) or would tackle the issue fror another angle, for example by switching the bed material (some specialised surface with good adhesion for the type of filament in use) or creating the object I wanted with an assembly rather than in a solid piece... But again: it would be a second-order consideration for me, and I would worry about it only if the problem were actually manifesting for that specific model.
For example: say that I were to print the head of a hammer. I would print it with the surface that hits the nail parallel to the printing bed so that the compression force resulting from hitting a nail would be along the Z axis. The link of a chain? Flat on the bed, so that the pulling forces from stretching the chain would be aligned with the X and Y axis. |
Upgrading to higher torque extruder motor creality ender3 | So the 'obvious' answer to this problem is to run a slower print speed, so it isn't so much as a case of information being missing, as there being a non-trivial trade off between speed, quality and cost.
Using the E3D products as examples, a double length NEMA17 can indeed deliver twice the kg×cm as a standard one, and a slimline a little less. E3D suggest that 'standard' A4988 drivers are capable of supplying 2A, but this is right at the limit of their performance (and you would certainly want to consider heatskinking/forced cooling).
E3D also list a standard stepper motor with a 5.18:1 reduction gearbox. This should give a good 4x increase in driven torque, and if you can find just the gearbox, that might be the cheapest option. You don't need such a high reduction, but this is limited by the physical size available.
In the absence of any better specs, a physically similar motor might be a good reference. You can check this by comparing various parts from different manufacturers. Regardless of the current capacity, more torque generally means a larger sized part. |
Two 12 V heater elements in series in a dual hotend | No you don't want to do that.
A 12 V 30 W heater has a resistance of about 5 Ω (2.5 A on 12 V). A 24 V 30 W heater is about 19 Ω (1.25 A on 24 V). Placing two 12 V heaters in series means about 10 Ω, for 24 V that means that the current is 2.5 A, similar to a 12 V circuit, the power will be 30 W for each heater. So it appears that this should work.
But, the problem is that being in series, both the hotends are heated. This is not beneficial for the unused core which is prone to ooze filament and can cook filament if not used for a long time (long stand-by high temperature). Typically, unused printing cores go to a lower stand-by temperature when they are not printing. Also it would be more difficult to have filaments of different temperatures in the hotends. Furthermore, which thermistor would you use? A hotend cools down by melting filament, the temperature drop is measured by the thermistor results in the control logic adding current to the heater to compensate the loss in temperature. If you only use one thermistor (basically, from a firmware configuration perspective, the setup is similar to having a single heater in a single hotend and having the filament being changed) and using the other core (without a thermistor) to extract filament, the temperature drop will not be registered and as such not controlled. There is no default firmware solution to use 2 thermistors in a "single" heating element (in this case strand of heating elements), this will probably require some modding to the source code of the firmware.
You could test this setup, but I would not use it for a long time. |
CubePro Alternative Slicer | As far as I understand, the CubePro 3D printers use their own format: .cubepro or .cubex.
It appears that a:
.cubepro file format and found out that it only does a Blowfish ECB encryption of the .bfb file
This implies that you need to find a slicer that outputs .bfb tool path files (similar like G-code files) and a tool to encrypt the tool path file. The dubious CodeX tool and this alternative can do that for you. |
Help diagnose Z-banding | This differs from the traditional banding as observed from Z wobble induced banding as e.g. explained in this answer.
Your banding patterns clearly seem to form diagonal bands, this is most probably a combination of the lead and the full rotation of the stepper. The most logical explanation is that the layer shifts as a whole in X-Y direction (when seen against the print height, this movement is concentric seen from the top). This means that the next layer is positioned over the previous layer in a concentric pattern. This hints to some sort of defect in your X/Y-plane assembly and should be investigated further.
This is difficult to visualize, but this sketch shows the issue for some layers:
This could be related to the belts of the X and Y-axis, play on the drive pulleys, non-straight lead screw, guide rods with play, play in general, Z-stepper alignment to the threaded rod, etc. Considering the amount of Z-wobble fixes shared by the unofficial MP Select Wiki, the best place to look for is the Z-stepper to lead screw coupling. |
Will lowering print temperature help warping? | I can't address polycarbonate specifically, but can provide a general overview of the higher temperature filament considerations.
Printing on a raft means that the adhesion temperature of the filament is accomplished. This temperature is the factor to be considered if you are thinking of dropping the printing temperature. If you drop below recommended minimums, you risk losing adhesion to the build plate and also inter-layer bonding. That alone means one should use caution when dropping printing temperatures.
Printing with a raft usually means the model's individual parts have such a small footprint that they would not remain bonded to the build plate. Rafts are also used on printers with an uncertain planar surface or irregularities in the surface. That's not applicable to this question, generally speaking.
Your question about contraction being proportional to the amount of cooling is perhaps misdirected. One could consider that the printing temperature is a manufacturer specified value and the cooled temperature would be generally considered room temperature. Room temperature would be addressed as a range, rather than a single value, but even as a range, there isn't going to be a big percentage of variation in the calculation involving the print temp/room temp.
My experience with the higher temperatures is more related to the volume of material per cross section (in all three dimensions). A printed model of substantial height with a relatively small horizontal cross section (think cylinder) is likely to have much less distortion in the x/y plane and greater distortion along the z-axis. The mass of filament cooling in the z-direction generates greater force than the smaller mass on the x/y axes.
Another factor in such thought processes is that layers are on the x/y axes and the strength of the extruded plastic is more homogeneous through the nozzle, while the z-direction creates inter-layer discontinuities, making warping and delamination easier.
I've found that I can reduce (but not eliminate) warping and delamination if I am able to maintain chamber temperature for longer periods and reduce temperature slowly. Unfortunately, I have a semi-enclosed printer and the heat loss is dependent partly on the ambient air temperature. A fully enclosed heated printer with auxiliary heating under some form of control may give you the best results. |
Evidence of a warped build plate? | It looks like your first layer is way too close to the bed. The printer is trying to squash the plastic down very thinly, resulting in inconsistent extrusion. You will likely see better results if you move the nozzle away from the bed a little bit. Increasing the thickness of the first layer might help as well (this is a setting in your slicer).
Keep in mind that if you're trying to print (e.g.) a first layer with a thickness of 0.05mm then a 0.025mm variation in the height of the build plate will result in very strong variation in the thickness of the extrusion on the first layer; in some places it will only be half as thick as in other places. If instead you used a 0.2mm first layer, then the 0.025mm variation barely makes a difference. |
Standard Settings for AnyCubic Printers? | Times are not dependant on the printer but the resin. Please look at the resin's label, which should have recommended settings. |
Problems with Z step | as per base of the pink printout it looks like the bed is far below the nozzle (level the bed)
to check the Z steps/mm setting, the best way will be to home it, then from menu move Z by 50mm and check with a ruler or meter traveled distance.
then using a formula (requestedMove/measuredMove) * currentSteps set new value in to Z steps/mm setting. After that repeat the exercise until you will get no difference. |
Steel versus MDF/Aluminium Y axis plate? | I have not used MDF for building a printer before; but, I have used it for other projects. It has the advantage of being very flat (initially); but, it has a LOT of issues with moisture. It is basically just a compressed slurry or water-based glue and sawdust. If you expose it to humidity or water it will swell like a sponge. I would not consider it for anything that requires a dimensional stability. For that, Aluminum is your better bet.
Regarding the material properties of AL vs MDF, here is a good comparison:
Note that while MDF has about 1/4 the density of AL, it has a MUCH lower Elastic Modulus (1/17 of AL) For the same thickness, it MDF is MUCH easier to bend than AL. Also note the strength to weight ratio of AL is also better.
Even at twice the thickness, my calculations indicate that, for the same load, 6mm MDF would deflect about twice as far as 3mm AL. Also when AL exists its elastic region it becomes plastic (bends) where MDF breaks.
Another aspect to consider is flammability. There a lot of heat sources around an FDM printer and if you are planning on a heated bed, there is one right there under the bed. Where MDF is hard to ignite, it is flammable and does not respond to heat well. On the other hand, AL can handle temperatures over 1000 degC and is a great thermal conductor for a bed heater.
I would definitely choose AL over MDF for you printer bed.
Another option to consider it is using a bare PCB (like FR4). The material is really strong (it is fiberglass), is relatively inexpensive, and is fire resistant (hence the"FR" in the name). Some commercial printers use FR4 for their print bed. One disadvantage is that is can sometimes develop a curl and there is really no way to get it flat again. |
What effects does the non-carthesian coordinate system have on the Part-design process for printing with a belt printer? | The first and most important design consideration is the overhang. Normally, when designing a part, you would make considerations based on the fact that gravity will act on the part from the "bottom" towards the top. As a result, when I am designing a part, I am always mindful of the fact that anything which protrudes outside of the intended printing base will be subject to "overhang" forces. Therefore, based on the layer height and nozzle diameter, there is a limit to the maximum overhang angle that can be serviced by the printer. Just as a side note, printers that co-extrude dissolvable supports, do not have overhang problems.
Additionally there are structural considerations with the laminations being at an angle, especially with holes that are intended to have heat-set inserts. Normally, when applying an insert the pressure is perpendicular to the layers. However, depending on where the hole is needed and how the part was printed, the inserting process could promote delamination of the layers and early part failure. It could be even worse with holes that are being threaded subsequent to printing.
Because the first few layers are going down at an angle, the layer adhesion will be unknown.
At design time, all you would need to do is keep an eye on those overhangs. I'd start all models on a plane that was at a 45degree angle. That way I can see the effect of having it being printed on its side rather than perpendicular to the bed.
"The first 3D-printed boat, 'built' by the world's largest 3D printer" was also printed with the nozzle at an angle to the bed; and that seems to have worked out well. |
How can I decrease the thickness of a wall in an STL file? | The process is rather simple:
import your model into either a modeling software (e.g. Blender et al.) or a CAD-program (e.g. fusion360, Design Spark Mechanical et al.) that can import and export STL.
if needed, convert the STL into a useable model with your chosen program's functions or switch to edit mode.
select inner walls and extrude them the desired amount.
export as STL again. |
Why is the bottom of my part not smooth | Your nozzle is too far from your bed. The first layer isn't squished down sufficiently, resulting in these gaps. If your first layer looks like this, you should cancel your print and adjust the bed. Alternatively, you can adjust the initial height of the Z-axis in G-code (for instance, G0 Z-0.1 followed by G92 Z0, which should be appended to your start G-code).
You can also try increasing the first layer height or the first layer extrusion multiplier. If you increase the first layer height, you will probably still have to adjust the bed slightly to bring the nozzle closer, but the thicker your first layer the larger the window where you get a good first layer.
Increasing the extrusion multiplier will effectively stretch the first layer to be thicker (and thus the model will come out slightly too high) and thus isn't necessarily a good idea, though some people find that a slight increase (to for instance, 110%) makes the first layer slightly more forgiving (but this also increases adherence, making parts harder to remove - there is a very fine line between getting good first layers and having your prints stuck permanently to the bed). |
Printed part auto-eject (automatic part removal) | While the "best" method is probably unanswerable since it would be based on very specific requirements and subject to change as soon as a better method were devised, here are some feasible methods to auto-eject 3d printed parts.
Some of these are methods that I've considered for my personal use, others have been mentioned by others and added for helpful reference. Some have been done, others have not (I think), but all of them are feasible.
Scrolling Conveyor-type Bed:
In this concept, parts become dislodged from the print surface as it is deformed around a roller in the process of scrolling to the next position. Scrolling bed designs must make allowances to prevent parts from lifting up the bed material which becomes an issue especially with warp-prone materials. Note: This is the basis of the Automated Build Platform (ABP) originally designed (as far as I can tell) by Charles Pax and later covered in several patents by Makerbot Industries.
Deforming Bed:
In this concept, the bed is mechanically deformed when the part removal temperature has been reached. This deformation dislodges the part which can then be easily swept off of the bed by an arm or similar mechanism. (As far as I know, this concept has not yet been demonstrated.)
Articulated Segmented Bed:
In this concept, the bed is comprised of several strips. Slightly lowering a portion (let's say half) of the strips would separate them from the part, then slightly raising that portion would separate the part from the remaining strips. (As far as I know, this concept has not yet been demonstrated.)
Eject and Replace Bed:
This method ejects the entire bed surface along with the finished parts and then receives a fresh print surface for the next print. This method would likely still require intervention to remove parts from used print surfaces and then return them to the clean stack. (As far as I know, this concept has not yet been demonstrated.)
Plow:
This method mentioned by Fred_dot_u and AllanL uses a specially designed plow arm to sweep parts off the bed between prints. This method has been effectively demonstrated in this video by New Valance Robotics Corporation that was mentioned by AllanL (thanks!).
Issues using print head to eject parts: While this method has been tried, and demonstrated (see below), it has some challenges/drawbacks.
Typical FDM/FFF 3d printers are not designed to apply significant force behind print head movements. While a printer designed specifically for this purpose could be built, using a typical printer in this way is extremely likely to cause the stepper motors to loose steps and result in loss of position accuracy unless parts separate very easily. (however, position could easily be regained by zeroing via limit switches between prints.)
In addition to skipping steps, mechanical issues such as ratcheting/skipping belts or unwanted frame movement could result from even moderately stuck prints.
Examples of pushing or ramming parts off of bed:
While using various parts of the printer to push parts off of the bed may not be an ideal solution, it may be an adequate solution for specific circumstances. Here are a few demonstrations of the "ramming" method.
Ramming parts off with frame and moving bed like this.
Ramming part with robust print head like this.
Ramming easy to remove part with print head like this.
Interesting question. I hope this helps! |
What makes a good PLA filament? | General characteristics of a "quality" filament:
Manufactured to a "high" dimensional tolerance. Measure the filament in several places along it's length and check for consistency. I'm pretty happy with filament that has less than 0.05mm difference between its thickest and thinnest diameter.
Lack of impurities. I've never had a problem with impurities (that I know of) but I've heard and read about it. Finer nozzle diameters will be more susceptible to clogs caused by foreign matter in the filament.
Good packaging. You already mentioned it, but good packaging is a sign of a reputable filament supplier. It should be sealed in a fairly "air-tight" bag with a desiccant to keep it dry.
Technical information available from manufacturer. Quality filament manufactures tend to provide information about their filament's characteristics and other information such as optimal settings, etc.
Good reputation. This one isn't necessarily fair to newcomers, but there is lots of information online about the reliability and quality of various filaments. In this case, google is your friend. (Keep in mind that there will be plenty of complaints that result from poor settings/skill and have nothing to do with the quality of the filament.)
I hope this helps! :-) |
Where to find z coordinate in G-code for delta printer | It isn't hidden at all. It's just that the Z-axis position only changes with each layer change, so the Z coordinate is only passed at layer change. On line 17 of your example G-code, it starts the first layer at Z=0.5mm:
G1 Z0.500 F7800.000
The next time you should expect Z to appear is on the next layer. |
Hotend doesn't maintain temperature | Safety First
Let's look at the graphs. First: you should swap firmware for one that has Thermal Runaway, as, as it is, running about 15 minutes with 28 K less than the printer is ordered to work at is a clear indication that there is no Thermal runaway protection in place - it should have tripped over that long ago! But there is more!
Problem
But this graph and the lack of Thermal Runaway Protection also are typical for printers that have a design flaw: If the airflow from the part cooling fans or the coldend-cooling fan (that's the fan that always runs) brushes over the heater block, it cools it. This limits the achievable temperature.
Luckily, such is easily remedied in one of several ways:
Changing the airducts for ones that does not hit the heater block
Adding a silicone sock around the heater block
Kapton-tape and ceramic wool can be used to make a heater-sock too
Adding an air-shield in the shape of a bit of tinfoil can redirect the airflow away from the heater block, but make positively sure it is mounted Fire-Safe and can't be lost into the print! |
Bed and nozzle temperature jumping | Since the terminal temperatures never exceed the setpoints, there's no apparent potential for disaster. Whether it's due to missing readings or to some sequencing of power (current) applied to the bed vs. the hotend, it really doesn't matter.
If you have a similar graph of the temperatures over an hour of printing and you see signifcant anomalies there, that might be of interest. |
What is the MightyBoard 1280 IO used for? | If you check the Mightyboard RevE files on Thingiverse (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:16058/#files) you will find the schematics and PCB files (.sch and .brd) for the version of the board used in Replicator 1s and (with some minor mods) most clones. The Atmega 1280 IO header section is a bunch of breakout pins for debug functions. There are eight sets of signal/5v/gnd groupings. Four of them are currently driving debug LEDs that show flash codes for particular firmware failure modes. The other four are unused as far as I'm aware.
The ninth and tenth pins shown in the schematic are located on the opposite end of the board, near the 8U2 chip, to give some hacking access to that chip as well. (The 8U2 handles USB comms and firmware flashing the Atmega 1280.)
If desired, you can build your own firmware using these pins for other purposes, such as signaling to external equipment. But building Sailfish is a little more difficult than just running the latest Arduino IDE (for compiler stability reasons) so the vast majority of Mightyboard users never bother modifying their firmware. |
First layer looks weird and print fails | A new day, a new nozzle, an old result!
EDIT
The success was a one off. The problem remains!
Heat on the heated bed seems to differ a lot in different areas. Just using my hands to feel it since I have no IR-camera. |
Anet A2 3D printer suddenly will not home X and Y | I have experienced this a few times, usually this is related to the end stops.
If your end stops are somehow triggered (e.g. short circuit or cable broken; depending on the setup), the steppers will not home (as they think they are at the limits already) and only advance forward. Please look into the end stops of X and Y. Use a multi-meter to measure them and trigger them manually.
Alternatively hook up your printer to your computer with a USB cable and download a printer utility/application that can interact with the printer (e.g. Pronterface, Repetier-host, OctoPrint, etc.) and go to the terminal interface and send the M119 instruction to see the status of the end stops. |
Problem with Marlin 2.0.5.3 / BLTouch upgrade with Sovol SV01 | I think I might have found it - PID problem (heater has a PID loop). Standard values are 32/3/85 (P/I/D). Just watching the temperature, I noticed there was a lot of overshoot.
It appears that to continue after a temp wait, it must stay within some limit for a period - don't know either number. But, presumably, it wasn't.
There is an autotune PID gcode - M303 E0 S200 C8 says 'autotune extruder 0, at 200 °V, looping 8 times. Ran that and I could see it getting better on each iteration. Unfortunately, didn't manage to find a way of seeing what it came up with, and could not get the result written back to E2P either (M500).
So, resorted to tried and trusted techniques - fiddled with it. In the end reduced P to 20.0 and I to 2.0 - and it started printing. |
Stepper does not move smoothly | Fixed. One of the two was movign in the wrong direction. Problem solved! |
What happens when I print a 0,6mm thick wall with a 0,4mm diameter nozzle? | I'd say you should experiment with Slic3r
it can manage extrusion in very sophisticated way
it can overextrude if you need a line wider than actual nozzle size
as same as it can underextrude if needed
it can even change extrusion continuously while extruding one line
here are simple examples
i use mattercontrol
take a look here - this is the same object the same layer and the same settings
please notice - this object has wall thicknes exactly 2 times nozzle diam
here is what i get with
native MatterControl slicer engine which gives this slice
and Slic3r engine which gives this slice |
Y-axis slipping causing failed prints | A thudding noise is usually a belt slipping through its end-restraints. A clicking noise is usually a stepper motor missing a step. Seized bearings could be the cause. |
Ender 3 V2 auto homing | I figured this out...
It was a firmware issue. I went to Creality's Forums
and found the appropriate firmware and now it auto homes as I would expect it should. |
Should I Opt For Linear Rails With Belts OR Linear Rails With Ball Screws For A Cartesian Style Printer? | In many years of building printers I only used ball screws for the Z-axis, and even then only for larger Makerbot and Ultimaker style designs that had a heavy platform.
Even for the Z-axis, a good thick trapezoid screw with the right anti-backlash configuration is often enough because most printers are light and most slicers only print upwards.
Modern belts are also very accurate, and if they are not load-bearing, and you stick to good closed-loop ones, they can be incredibly stable over time.
I tended to base my X-Y configuration around the available sizes of good quality closed-loop belts, and sized everything else to be compatible. |
How to unclog a clogged extruder? | I'm sure this is not the best solution, and if you have some ethyl acetate you should try that before going "the hard way".
Ethyl acetate is a solvent for PLA, so if you soak the extruder into it PLA should melt and free the extruder.
That said, this is the "hard" solution that worked for me.
You'll need:
A drill
A 1mm drill bit
A 1.5mm drill bit
Insert the 1mm drill bit into the drill. If your drill has a setting to reduce the drilling speed, take this to the minimum speed. If your drill doesn't have such options, you'll need to push the drill button very gently.
Put the drill bit on the pla block (be sure to not touch the cooling block, you might ruin it). Start drilling at the minimum speed and push very gently, until you get a side-to-side hole on the PLA (you know it because you feel no resistance at all while pushing the drill).
Take the 1.5mm drill bit and repeat the same operation. At this point my PLA block literally exploded (now I have some broken PLA inside my room, don't know where) and the extruder was finally free.
I hope this helps someone. Please notice that you need to be very gentle in order to avoid breaking parts of your extruder, but if I managed to do it, you can do it too ;)
As previously said, if you have ethyl acetate try soaking the extruder into it to make PLA dissolve before trying this. Try this solution only if all other options didn't help. |
How to check if filament sensor is ok? | You could try out this Arduino sketch and see if the Arduino can find the sensor on the bus, but I'm fairly certain that the chip has developed a fault and stopped responding to I²C commands, hence the error, or it's giving a value that's outside the limits set in the firmware.
I'd also recommend getting in touch with Prusa Research, they have very good support and can tell you what part you need for your machine. |
Very low strength of HIPS prints - Why? | It might. If HIPS is a single material with consistent properties, it might have a narrower temperature range. Online references suggest up to 240 °C. Try that, then 245 and 250 °C. Maybe higher. |
Printing a building from its laser scanned exterior point cloud | Yes there are similar algorithms, but (afaik) not as ready to use programms.
I wrote a bachelor thesis by my own, where i converted poind cloud datas of scanned surfaces into contour octrees. This based on the work of Laine (https://users.aalto.fi/~laines9/publications/laine2010i3d_paper.pdf) and the approach of using sparse voxel contour octrees, but instead of using polygons it used point clouds.
This way was intended to get fast, good approximated results for visualizing.
But there may be also other slower and more accurate algorithms.
Btw. this question is not good placed in the 3D printing forum, because it is a question about data conversion. |
Unknown issue affecting print quality | A very helpful page for troubleshooting common errors is: Print Quality Troubleshooting Guide - Lines on the Side of Print
It seems like your problem is inconsistent extrusion or temperature variation. From the photo you posted I guess that you use a big diameter nozzle. Keep in mind that your extruder might not be well equipped to deliver such a large amount of plastic consistently. This most likely is a problem with the heating capacity.
You can try to lower the speed even more to give your extruder more time to heat the plastic. |
Prints are mirrored in X-axis and inverted in Y-axis direction | For most Cartesian printers, the homing position is at the front-left corner of the build plate. End-stop switches can be at either end of each axis (and even both), but the firmware must be configured accordingly.
A common arrangement is to have end-stop switches at X-min, Y-min and Z-min positions. You will see this on pretty much all budget printers, but things may be different on high-end machines. For the Y-axis on a cartesian machine, this mean placing the end-stop switch at the rear of the printer. A CoreXY machine on the other hand has the Y-min sensor on the front left corner.
So, unless your intentions were otherwise, you have simply got the Y-axis end-stop switch in the wrong position. For your design, it should be at the back of the printer, triggered by the bed in it's most backwards position. You will also need to reverse the direction of the Y-axis stepper motor, do that +Y moves the bed towards the operator (like you have it now).
If you want to have the end-stop switch at the front of the printer for some reason, you will need to re-configure the firmware accordingly - it is an Y-max sensor in that position! |
Resin prints pulling away from build platform | It's difficult to tell from the image, but one aspect of resin printing that you want to consider when placing a model is the cross-sectional area for each layer. You'll see prints that could be printed flat on an FFF printer being placed at an angle on a resin printer.
This orientation presents a smaller cross-section and thereby a smaller amount of force applied when the bed lifts and peels the model from the bottom of the vat.
If you have the ability within your slicer to scrub through the layers, observe the general area created by the slicer for each layer.
If you tilt the model even a few degrees from level, you'll reduce the forces involved.
It appears that you've used a "priming" layer on your bed, the initial layers of resin ostensibly provided to reduce the problem you're experiencing. That's a good start, but the rest of the model is generating enough peeling force to ruin the print. |
Mains powered heatbed safety | The most important thing is the following: make sure that any exposed metal surfaces of your printer are properly grounded. This includes the frame if it is made of metal, or the aluminium plate you might use as your heated bed. In the event of a fault, having the metal surfaces grounded protects you from getting shocked when you touch the printer. If any surfaces are aluminium, be aware that the oxide layer that forms on aluminium does not conduct very well, so make sure that you get a good connection.
You should consider adding a thermal fuse or bimetallic switch to the heated bed so power gets cut in case the bed overheats (to protect against the relay failing closed or firmware errors).
In principle, if the wires used are thick enough (capable of carrying at least 16A), then there is no need for a fuse. Assuming you are in a normal European household, then the mains line will already have a 16A fuse. If your printer connects to the mains using a IEC C13 connector (kettle lead, very common) then you should have a fuse rated (at most) 10A somewhere because this is the maximum rating of the connector. For a very small amount of added safety, you could use a lower-rated fuse instead (for instance 7A) but this is not required. Your heated bed can draw up to around 5A so you can't use a fuse lower than (or equal to) that. If you are indeed using an IEC socket to connect your printer to the mains, then it might have a fuse holder (or try to find a socket that does).
Your image suggests two possible fuse positions. It would be advisable to place the fuse near the live/hot connection, but as European power sockets are non-polarized, this is essentially a moot point. |