Sounds like you are getting really good adhesion with the PEI sheet. How hard is it to get the finished part off the sheet?
Also, how many layers are you using for the brim?
Anyway, keep it up!
Sounds like you are getting really good adhesion with the PEI sheet. How hard is it to get the finished part off the sheet?
Also, how many layers are you using for the brim?
Anyway, keep it up!
It is FAR more difficult with this new sheet than it was the last one. I've run 5 or 6 things since I installed it, and actually broke a part trying to get it off the board cold. It seems like the sweet spot is bed temp around 30C, which is strange. The first sheet I had installed, with the bigger air bubbles was awesome. Print would finish, it would cool off, and the parts would separate naturally. I bought the exact same sheet from the exact same place, same marks on the wrapper and everything, and it's like cemented on now(except during that jointed fishing lure print...)
Since I installed this new sheet and releveled, I've noticed my brims and supports are much stronger than they were before. I'm not sure why, nothing else has changed, except I made my brim smaller. I was at 8mm, I'm now at 4mm. I know I don't need to use it on every print, but I do. It's especially handy with small pieces, like supports for overhangs. After I ruined 3 autolevel sensor holders, I figured out the supports for the arm were tipping over because there really wasn't much material at their base, so I turned on brim in my slicer and it just stayed on. I like that it primes and cleans the nozzle. Sometimes there are some bubbles or some burnt bits that come through, and it's nice to get them out of the way in sacrificial plastic. It's also fun to punch all the parts off a sheet, like making a model.
Printer Settings for 1.75mm PLA
I have stopped my 10 minute preheat before every print because I was getting a lot of oozing. I also used to use a minimum of 20% infill, and have cut back to 12 for most things. If I know I need some extra strength I push it up to 80%, but 12 has been strong enough for most parts while being faster and slightly more economical than 20.
I may try turning the bed down to 50C again with this new sheet to see if it helps removal. I might also go back to an 8mm brim, uses a little more plastic, but the outside edge tends to curl up when it cools at that size making it easier to get the spatula under the part.
I would like to update the holding power of the new PEI sheet. Last night I said that even when cool some parts were a problem to get off. True at the time, BUT that was as soon as the bed hit ambient temp, not necessarily cool.
A quick wipe with an alcohol swab, and an ambient room temperature around 50F, the prints come off easily once everything cools off for a little bit. I have noticed if there's 20 or so minutes from the time I hear the printer shut off till when I actually go check on it, things come off easily, but it is rather cold in my house currently.
While this is all well and good, I can't seem to successfully print multiple pieces at a time. I can usually get a successful print if I download a file and it already has multiple objects, but for some reason if I try to multiply and place multiple objects, like say wheels, they screw up, so I'm stuck doing them one at a time.
I'm presently printing a better inductive sensor holder. I've already modified my configuration files, and am ready to compile my new firmware.
I have to snip my Z endstop cable and attach its connector to my probe, flash, and if I do it right, will have autoleveling.
Why the late night push? I've discovered a bow in my heatbed. I could have over tightened something when I rebuilt it all the other day, but I've been extremely careful about that. It's slight, maybe .5mm, but it's enough to screw things up. Even after fixing a layout, I was having problems with a print. So I took my handy level guide and tested, and there are just mainly a few little bumps that throw it off, but the center is noticeably higher than the edges, and I haven't found a better way to compensate.
I'm setting the firmware up to mesh measure the flatness of the bed, compensate, then fade out any compensation in the first centimeter of height. I may tone that down after I see how long it takes and get the results from my flatness tests, but it's nice to have the option.
I did specifically buy a 5v probe. It should run right off the current Z end limit switch, but I may have to port in 5V from my power supply and connect a switch circuit. This is one of those times I wish I was better with a multimeter, but there is a pretty good how-to guide available on the wiki.
Marlin firmware is pretty interesting. It can be used with everything from 3d printers to CNC routers to robots, and has an impressive GCode library. What I really like is how detailed and simple to understand the creators have made everything. Just scroll through the configuration file and adjust the settings it tells you based on your printer. On top of the ready made configuration files for several different brands so you only need to adjust for custom probes or situations.
Misc. Notes
Molex black +red =5V
Black wire from sensor to z limit plug
Blue to black molex
Brown to red molex
So the probe is installed, and didn't catch fire. So that's good.
I finally tracked down some software to send gcode straight to the printer, also good.
Setup my offsets, ran my grids, everything checked out.
Won't even initialize the sd card, strange. Try to print over USB, slams the nozzle into the bed, then resets itself.
Strange.
I'm done pouring over code for now, it's been a long night.
May actually have to dump everything on reddit or GitHub or Facebook and have someone walk me through it, because I really don't know what I'm missing at this point.
I made it work all by myself! Apparently sleep deprived Rev is really good with C++, a language he never actually learned.
Auto level is finicky. I'm still not positive is how is supposed to be, but it works. I do need to dig up my soldering iron to clean up some of this wire hacking.
Now, if only I could make it recognized the SD card again so I don't have to tie my laptop up when I'm printing.
Oh, and fine tune the jerk and acceleration settings. Think they're running twice what they should be.
The more I use this phones camera the more I hate it.
So this is what I was talking about in the post above. I'm running the exact same settings as I was on the stock firmware. I know this because I had to copy them in about 50 freaking times. Honestly, I can't tell you which is with stock fan and which is the round one, they look about identical.
I posted on faceache about it and am awaiting replies while looking for a new computer that doesn't have facebook aids. Response has been confusion to this point. Seems like a bunch of things wrong at a time, things that are setup to be right. I personally think my Z offset is off for the level sensor, which will make this a game of fighting over less than a millimeter. So no big update, just wanted to get a picture up to better explain the problem, even if it is a crappy picture.
Good news everyone! The machine and I have reached a compromise. I won't make it wear the heavy auto level sensor, and it will compensate for the not so perfectly flat bed anyway.
Buried deep in a German forum, back in 2013, I found a workaround. For being the "information age" useful information is really berkeleying hard to find.
I'm testing some smaller prints now, but after I sleep I'm going to start rather large print, so I'll get to see for sure how well this workaround works.
In case anyone has been pushed away by my experiences, don't be. Aside from the DOA power supply, all real problems have been user created. While it's difficult fixing while recording, I could probably walk people through the weird parts over Skype. I also have all the files, which was fun enough trying to find, readily available on my computer to save you the research time I had.
I still don't have a functional sd card slot, but I've started reading about octoprint, a Raspberry pi setup to enable Wi-Fi, so I can just stream my print files. Costs something like $25 to buy all the parts, but a damn DuPont crimp tool is another $22.
RevRico said:....for being the "information age" useful information is really berkeleying hard to find.
LOL, you are spot on with that comment, Sometimes finding the right information can be frustrating.
Large prints were successful. Sorry, no pictures yet. This is a secret project.
I've learned some things and noticed some others. Seems after every 5 prints or so I need to run the leveling program again as well as wipe down the PEI sheet with rubbing alcohol. Not a big deal, but I'm curious why is gets a little out of level.
Today I realized just how helpful that firmware I don't to get install was. I was about 60% through a 5 hour print, and went to check on it, and it was halted. Thermal overrun control kicked in, something the stock firmware is missing. My thermistor had wiggled itself loose from the hot end and was causing massive temperature fluctuations. Stock firmware that could have caused a fire, this custom job shut everything down and doubled the fan speeds.
Finally, I suspect this is just digging I need to do in cura or just try another slicer, but I haven't found a good way to do supports. My options are either everywhere or just touching the bed. I need something a bit more selective, I'm honestly afraid of breaking some parts getting the supports out.
It's pretty nice you have a properly working printer though. This was a good winter project. I'm trying to figure out something to do though that will involve all the stuff I bought last year, printer, welder, plasma, foundry, just having trouble in the creative department.
In reply to RevRico :
In regards to re-leveling the platform, I think it may have something to do with how much effort it takes to remove a part once its printed. I also need to re-level the platform, especially if I have to fight to get the part unstuck.
In reply to Doc Brown :
I've really come to love the mesh bed leveling that marlin firmware lets me use. Takes about 4 minutes, and custom sets a 5x5 grid over the print area. I'm going to start on bed holders now that I have a good height for my Z limit switch and bed.
Anyway, live always wanted to know how a rotary works, and since I haven't gotten one yet in the secret Santa game, I decided to make my own.
Four simple parts made for an easy print, I even mixed up the colors to make it mow learning oriented.
then the crank slides into the back of the chamber and magic spinning triangle goes on.
finally, the eccentric snapped in allowing everything to move.
Sorry, don't really have enough hands to record it in motion yet, but it really does work!
Single port intake, double exhaust? Or something all together different?
So what software did you end up using for your machine?
I've been trying to get an orphaned Makerbot Cupcake CNC working, and am having one hell of a time with software. At least I think the software is the problem at this point...
Supposedly Printrun/Pronterface is the preferred host from what I've been told, and Slic3r for the g-code. But I can't get Printrun/Pronterface to run on my computer (Linux). I can get Repetier to run on my computer, but it doesn't seem to want to connect to the printer.
In reply to paranoid_android :
I went with vanilla marlin on the printer. Bugfix 2.3.5 I think. Aside from the lack of native sd card support(I don't have the memory on my chipset), it's been running well. I still need to pick up a pi3 for octoprint support, so I can quit having my laptop tethered to the machine.
On my windows laptop I run cura, whatever the newest version on their website is, and found some anet specific settings to change.
I can't remember what the program I used for running straight gcode was but I can check that out tomorrow. Everything is in the room next to my kids bedroom, so I can't get in tonight. May have been pronterface actually.
I haven't messed with repetier. It was even harder to find information on than marlin when I was looking, but it seemed like everyone using it liked it.
I'm really glad I made the jump to marlin, there was an anet a8 that hit thermal overrun on stock firmware and burned up on hackaday last week.
It's going to sound dumb, but make sure your cable and/or memory card are good. I went through 2 memory cards and at least 2 USB cables before I found good ones. Really really strange behavior like jamming mid operation or randomly scaling on one axis is most likely cable or card.
I have this same 3D printer, with varied results.
There are some things it has printed so perfectly that I cannot imagine they print better. Vase mode on some complicated designed prints VERY well. My main complaint is that I have issues with larger parts curling and coming off of the bed around the edges, or that parts with overhangs seem to end up in pretty bad shape. Other than that, no complaints. I've printed about 150 pieces with it, most of which I'm shocked by how well the quality is.
Bah, most of the pictures are gone.
At least my notes and links are still here. The laptop I ran everything from died so I didn't want to have to start completely over again.
Printer and plastic have been sitting idle for 2 years, and I finally moved it to the new house today. Still don't have octoprint or a pi, but I need to use this thing the cut down on my silicone expenditures.
I just hope some of my rolls of plastic are still good, the room they were in, not all vacuum sealed, had wild temperature and humidity fluctuation.
I would doubt they are. PLA gets real brittle with age. You can try drying it out with a couple bare lightbulbs in a tupperware tote?
In reply to Mr_Asa :
I'm going to give that a shot, and maybe dump a bag of rice in too.
I've got um... 9 rolls of pla and one of abs. 4 of the pla were opened the whole time.
I'm really hoping to go exclusively to ABS because it's considerably easier to smooth the surface of, but I don't know if there's been any software updates or some better hardware made available to make that easier. I forget what pulled my attention away from this the last time, but now I'm trying to make money with it, so it's probably going to explode
Make sure you figure out something to deal with particulates in the air for ABS. An enclosure with a filtered vent or something
So this thread is over 2 years old, I guess there have been some major changes in quality and price point and features that are available on new machines.
Or What to look for in a new machine? (knowing what you know now)
In reply to bentwrench :
No major changes in the sub $300 range. Bunch of tweaks for reliability.
Check out this thread for a more recent printer thread https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/budget-3d-printer-build-and-mods-ender-3/163476/page1/
bentwrench said:So this thread is over 2 years old, I guess there have been some major changes in quality and price point and features that are available on new machines.
Or What to look for in a new machine? (knowing what you know now)
Me personally? I just went shopping for machines. I'd probably go the same route I did to be honest, for a first one. I'm probably going to buy another one just like it soon.
Sub $200, 9 inch cube printing area, bit of a learning curve, but fully customizable.
I would probably look for a friend or maker space with a water table or plasma table and get a metal frame cut for extra stability, and skip straight to octoprint with a pi cam from the get go, but otherwise I'm good with it.
Sure there's easier machines to use, but they also have a lot of compromises, being cost, printing area, printing type, or parts availability. The Anet A8 is like the J body of the printer world, not great, but the price reflects it, and you can make it better in every way with time and a little money. They've also sold a million of them, so there is a community. Not always English speakers, but a community.
For ABS, I'm going to try printing in a cardboard box to start with, to try to keep heat up and particulates down. I'm probably going to need to better insulate the bed though.
I reserve the right to come back to this post after I get the printer running again. I may change my mind after I use it. Hoping to have it setup by tomorrow night, but the child may interfere, and I don't know if my laptop is powerful enough to handle Cura, if it isn't, I have a location problem to solve.
Well the good news is everything works.
Fan 1, which exhausts the side of the nozzle, not the cool the print, is noisy as hell. I cut the screws that hold it in for some reason and now it's vibrating like mad.
It's missing printing the brim and first later or two. Goes through the motions, doesn't *seem*to be going too far down, but after about the third layer it starts printing fine.
I may have screwed up a layering setting when I set cura up, I need to experiment.
The thermistor wire at the extruder is extremely loose, and I suspect will fall out again. No set screw or anything so I need to figure out an adhesive.
But it's printing as I type, so I'm taking that as a good sign.
Edit, it was both. Going to far down, damn that's a hard one to fix, and a problem in cura.
Double edit: hey idiot, when you can't remember in the morning, use this as a starting point
M206 Z-0.2
Holy crap this thing is printing better than I ever remember it.
I was doing so so with my 20mm darts, but I just printed something considerably larger, and it's perfect. No later variation, no running, no problems at all even under a magnifying glass.
Well. I retired the anet temporarily because I can't be bothered to figure it out right now, I need to be printing.
I replaced it with a $190 Longer LK4. 20 minutes from opening the box to printing the first piece. A little whistle that came preloaded on the SD card. A little bit of excess on some overhangs, but otherwise, fantastic print quality.
It came with its own slicer program, which looks like a reskinned simple Cura, but I like it so far. My big gripe is you can't see dimensions on the preview, but that's also a design flaw on my part for the models.
Wait, that's upside down.
Anyway, all aluminum frame, came 90% assembled, just had to put on the x axis gantry and plug in some wires, and mount the roll holder and touch pad. Yes, touch screen, very nice and well sorted.
It's stable on the old table, it's quiet as hell after the first layer, and I already have it running a 10 hour print.
Compared to the setup on the Anet, this is remarkable. I SHOULD replace the micro SD card sooner rather than later, I just have to find a spare.
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