1 Topic by Trevor.James

  • Trevor.James
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Topic: Newbie looking for advice

Hello,

I have been lurking these boards occasionally the past few weeks as I eagerly await the arrival of my Solidoodle 3.  Checking the delivery post in the general forum I find that somebody who ordered their SD3 January 3rd received it last week.  Since I ordered mine January 6th, I am hopeful that mine will be coming soon as well.  Once it arrives, I plan to use it primarily to make stuff like this:

thingiverse.com/thing:34829

I already tried something similar a while ago here:

trevorjames.4t.com/robot.html

It has been a few years since then and I would like to get back into this, but this time with 'high tolerance' 3D printed parts for the entire piece instead of hand cut, crudely riveted pieces made to low tolerance.  I also want to print out stuff like this below because... why not?

thingiverse.com/thing:45316


But on to the main point of this post:

I have been looking over the reviews and mod on this forum it is clear that while Solidoodle tries to make a good product, they didn't get everything perfect.  And there has thus been several mods made, and discussed here.  This is understandable as Solidoodle is a small, new company with limited resources and it is hard for the few people working there to compete with the creativity of 100s of users who can create new parts at the push of a button.

To that end, I am wondering if anybody can provide me with some advice as to which upgrades would be worthwhile.  For example, I see people talk about new pieces such as this:

soliforum.com/topic/1265/jigsaw-replacement-mk4

Is it worth printing these parts and replacing the originals?  I am not interested in upgrading parts merely for the sake of saying that I did, but if there are obvious advantages to this, it would be worth my time.  I would rather spend a few weeks tweaking the machine and getting it to work perfectly with good tolerances than take 'decent' results because I didn't want to spend the time getting everything just right.

Thanks in advance for your insights.

2 Reply by justsomeguy (edited by justsomeguy 2013-03-02 07:04:21)

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Re: Newbie looking for advice

If you are lucky, just an extruder fan.  If you have banding in your prints, search for Z Axis pre-load or anti-backlash.  One of those solutions will likely offer some banding relief.  Those are the only things I would worry about out of the box and are also the most likely to make a dramatic difference in your print quality.  Your problems or preferably interests will lead you to other mods to do.  I would also recommend reading all of Ian Johnson's blog.  Good luck.

3 Reply by ronsii

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Re: Newbie looking for advice

I think your last sentence sums it up pretty good smile because if you start changing parts and whatnot when/if you have problems it will just be more confusing... however it wouldn't hurt to make some of your first prints replacement parts like pulley supports, extruder parts, etc... that way if you do break something you will be ready to change the part and continue printing.

As far as designs go I think SD has put together a fairly good design for the price and while not completely indestructible or perfect I would buy another one funds permitting.....Hmmm... well looky there I seem to have enough money in the bank right now smile

4 Reply by tealvince

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Re: Newbie looking for advice

In my opinion, these are what I would do (in order of importance):

1) Thumbscrews - these are cheap and easy and make leveling the bed much easier.

2) An enclosure - after dealing with a few prints curling up and flying off the bed, you'll realize this is a necessity.  A cardboard box works fine, but you'll probably want to upgrade to plexiglass/acrylic/polycarbonate at some point.

3) Z-axis preload - again cheap and easy but greatly improved random (non-periodic) banding.  I recommend the preload (spring loaded) instead of jam nut versions of this fix, as it won't overload or jam the z-motor.

Other improvements, like a fan, improved extruder, etc, have their benefits but require a bigger investment in time.  I'll hold off until you find yourself needing them.

5 Reply by Rincewind

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Re: Newbie looking for advice

I would also consider glass plates to print on and make sure you have some Kapton tape at home.

6 Reply by lotw_1

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Re: Newbie looking for advice

I don't have mine yet and not sure when or if I will, but I would have to agree with the thumbscrews for leveling the bed.  Better heated bed that is more evenly heated,  since using a cheap lead screw add the leads few nut/spring mod automatically. Spend a little time making up a good setup, calibration, and troubleshooting guide (will cut down on problems later).  Easier nozzle replacement with easier replaceable parts since I see clogs and heating issues in here quite a bit.

7 Reply by Rincewind

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Re: Newbie looking for advice

lotw_1 wrote:

Easier nozzle replacement with easier replaceable parts since I see clogs and heating issues in here quite a bit.

I would say as soon as you have everything running print a Mk3 or Mk4 extruder and keep it somewhere, so if you have to take the jigsaw apart you can as well replace it, but don't change it until you really need to. Clogs and heating problems are relatively common, it's true, but not an everyday matter, they are just very apparent on the forum.

I had to clear a nozzle clog recently after four months of usage, and it was just a matter of unscrewing the nozzle and placing it in acetone for a few hours. No taking apart the extruder or even removing the hot end. Of course if you are unlucky the parts might be too tightly fit together, or the clog might be in the hot end, and then things get a bit more complicated, but I would say it's not the most common failure mode.