51

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

mconsidine wrote:

This is probably a stupid suggestion as I haven't had to deal with a clog.

But if the needle tip is stuck, would some WD40 and thicker wire (closer to .3mm, if it's a.35mm nozzle) pushed down from the top work to pop it out?

Matt

That's why I keep thinking I need to take off the hot-end, so I can get to the top.  But with all the warnings I've gotten about that, I want to wait for Solidoodle Support to tell me if they think it's time for that.  Of course, we're not talking about just the possible broken-off needle tip but also the clog.

52

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

OK my problem is solved.

I disassembled, and here is what I found... ( in attachment).  No wonders it could not get in or out...

It sure isn't that hard to disassemble, reassembling is something  else...
   - A few cracks in the acrylic,
   - At first, I switch 2 acrylic layers...
   - lots of stress.

But my printer is now running again...

And the mk4 is already made... :-)

Post's attachments

clog.jpg
clog.jpg 1.05 mb, file has never been downloaded. 

You don't have the permssions to download the attachments of this post.

53

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

adrian wrote:

Interesting article, with tips I mostly concur with:

https://www.matterhackers.com/articles/ … ing-in-pla

This article is great -- it's pretty much what I wanted this thread to turn into.

That said, if I ever get my SD3 working again, I don't expect to try PLA again for a long, long time.

Solidoodle support says I need a new hot-end.  Not sure why taking the hot-end off and putting it back on is too challenging for me, but taking it off and putting a new one on isn't, but sure.  My plan now is to take it off, see if I can clean it when it's off -- worst case is I trash it, middle case is I can't clean it, both with the same result, and best case is I can clean it.  If I can't, I have to order a new one (and at that point, decide if I should order a different one like this one or this one, and if I'd be able to figure out how to mount it), versus buying one from Solidoodle.

The best part is that Solidoodle blamed this on using filament that wasn't sold by them, and strongly urged me to never use any filament that didn't come from them.  Yes, seriously.  They have five colors, when they're even all in stock, and of all the filament I've bought, the only ones I've ever had fail to print were two out of the three I bought from Solidoodle.  And they cost $59 shipped.  I understand the concern that they can't support what they don't know, and I know there's cheap filament out there, but in a community where essentially no one is even using their printer as sold because it's nearly impossible to get a successful print of anything more complex than a test cube without mods, to try to insist on using only official filament would be kind of ludicrous even if they offered reasonable filament-buying options.

54 (edited by adrian 2013-06-29 01:10:43)

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

SD support can be.... interesting.

Well, too bad your personal experience with PLA went so poorly. I and lots of other people around here print happily with PLA, HIPS, Soft-PLA, Polycarbonate.... the list goes on.

I wonder why peoples experiences differ so greatly with things like this... maybe it gets overcomplicated/overthought, or maybe their printers are just completly different somehow/way.... But its interesting how some printers seem to work, and others seem to go from problem to problem which must be frustrating as hell when you see how other people seem to be working just fine doing the same thing.... makes one wonder what exactly the real delta's are here between printers/process... anyway, 'nuff philosophical interludes....

55

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

After having many clogging issues with my SD2 extruder, I replaced it with a J-head and am so glad I did. The main design flaw of the SD supplied extruder is an inconsistent inner barrel diameter ( my theory of flaw anyway). The Teflon guide tube in the peek is close to filament diameter, but then once past this, the chamber widens out into the threaded brass tube, which is about twice the filament diameter at least. This column fills with melted material and the overall melt chamber is quite large. This allows melted plastic to remain in the column and not necessarily make it into the printed part. It hangs around and bakes...and bakes, and becomes hard and brittle and eventually some little bit floats into the not well defined column of molten plastic and tries to get pushed through the nozzel. Sometimes it gets out, and then sometimes...

The J-Head design has an inner column that is the filament diameter all the way through to the nozzel opening. The melt chamber itself is short. This allows most of the filament in the peek to remain solid and act as a well fitted piston pushing all the plastic out the nozzle. The added benefit of the short melt zone is that there is less oozing of material, and less retraction is required. I have not had a clog yet. Changing material is a piece of cake, as all you have to do is start warming the extruder and then gently pull on the filament from the top. When the plastic has just started to melt at the bottom of the column, it just pops out in one piece from all the way to the nozzle opening. You can see the shape of the nozzle interior on the filament end when it comes out. No plastic remains in the extruder, so no purging is required.

The J-Head fits right into Lawsy's mount too.

56

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

I am definitely intrigued by the idea of using this opportunity to make an upgrade.  On the other hand, I'm far from confident I'm knowledgeable enough to actually assemble Lawsy's mount and set up a J-head.  If someone could point me to some really thorough directions for assembly and wiring, I might very well change my mind about that, but what little I've seen so far mostly presumes a  lot of knowledge I don't have.

57

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

Hunter,
This has been happening to me for two months and I cannot figure out for the life of me how to correct it. I have been talking to solidoodle and have posted here about it at this. Search Morty and you'll find my thread with pictures.

I am now a pro at taking apart the acrylic, unclogging the PEEK and reassembling. It's getting to the point where the main mounting screws are getting stripped. I even bought a complete extruder replacement already assembled because I was having trouble with the original fan as well, but that one had the same problem. So you don't need to replace anything.

ABS printing works fine. I've also gotten great PLA prints including no problems sticking to the Kapton or glass, but it will randomly bunch up above the PEEK without warning. It could finish a print or it could bunch up halfway through the same piece. It doesn't matter. At this point I agree that it must be a design flaw that is compounded by the type/brand of filament. I am using Makerbot PLA . I have not switched brands yet but besides that and maybe replacing the flawed design with an aftermarket mod as suggested, I don't see any other way to correct the issue. I just don't think it's a setting you can tweak.

What brand of filament are you using?

58

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

where did you buy your J-head? all of the places I have found stateside are out of stock.

mm2tts wrote:

After having many clogging issues with my SD2 extruder, I replaced it with a J-head and am so glad I did. The main design flaw of the SD supplied extruder is an inconsistent inner barrel diameter ( my theory of flaw anyway). The Teflon guide tube in the peek is close to filament diameter, but then once past this, the chamber widens out into the threaded brass tube, which is about twice the filament diameter at least. This column fills with melted material and the overall melt chamber is quite large. This allows melted plastic to remain in the column and not necessarily make it into the printed part. It hangs around and bakes...and bakes, and becomes hard and brittle and eventually some little bit floats into the not well defined column of molten plastic and tries to get pushed through the nozzel. Sometimes it gets out, and then sometimes...

The J-Head design has an inner column that is the filament diameter all the way through to the nozzel opening. The melt chamber itself is short. This allows most of the filament in the peek to remain solid and act as a well fitted piston pushing all the plastic out the nozzle. The added benefit of the short melt zone is that there is less oozing of material, and less retraction is required. I have not had a clog yet. Changing material is a piece of cake, as all you have to do is start warming the extruder and then gently pull on the filament from the top. When the plastic has just started to melt at the bottom of the column, it just pops out in one piece from all the way to the nozzle opening. You can see the shape of the nozzle interior on the filament end when it comes out. No plastic remains in the extruder, so no purging is required.

The J-Head fits right into Lawsy's mount too.

59

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

downeym wrote:

where did you buy your J-head? all of the places I have found stateside are out of stock.

I got it from Ultibots.

You will have to update the firmware for a higher max temp, or the extruder will shut down. The thermistor is mounted in the heater body, and not directly on the nozzle head like the SD head, so a higher temp is set for ABS and PLA. I use 215 for ABS and 205 for PLA.

60

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

Lawsy's mk4 is pretty self explanatory. you will need to find and print one of the retainer designs for the hotend, because stock mk4 lets the hotend just float around where it wants. will get some inaccurate prints. with retainer in place, its locked down solid.

should have probably printed the mk4 parts in ABS before you started messing with PLA, because PLA can and will cause the exact kind of clog you show. PITA with jigsaw, no problem at all with mk4. lol

if needed i can print a set of mk4 parts for you along with a retainer and snail-mail them over.

61

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

morty wrote:

Hunter,
This has been happening to me for two months and I cannot figure out for the life of me how to correct it. I have been talking to solidoodle and have posted here about it at this. Search Morty and you'll find my thread with pictures.

I am now a pro at taking apart the acrylic, unclogging the PEEK and reassembling. It's getting to the point where the main mounting screws are getting stripped. I even bought a complete extruder replacement already assembled because I was having trouble with the original fan as well, but that one had the same problem. So you don't need to replace anything.

ABS printing works fine. I've also gotten great PLA prints including no problems sticking to the Kapton or glass, but it will randomly bunch up above the PEEK without warning. It could finish a print or it could bunch up halfway through the same piece. It doesn't matter. At this point I agree that it must be a design flaw that is compounded by the type/brand of filament. I am using Makerbot PLA . I have not switched brands yet but besides that and maybe replacing the flawed design with an aftermarket mod as suggested, I don't see any other way to correct the issue. I just don't think it's a setting you can tweak.

What brand of filament are you using?

im using sain-smart  PLA and Octave ABS, so far only clog ive had with either has been my fault for trying to pull the soft PLA out the top of the extruder at too low a temperature to switch back to ABS.

62

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

Hi Guys...

Wanted to share this  PLA issue with you all.

I bought some clear PLA, and Orange PLA form a local vendor, and was happy with the results, even though I have yet to tinker with my SD3.

I put in another order of PLA, this time Blue, so I could print a Blue TARDIS for a frinds birthday.

First time I tried printing, the PLA warped at the bottom, and popped off the bed.
Second attempt, almost got done, then the same issue.
Third attempt, 75% threw the print, then moved cause it popped again.

For my own curiosity, I loaded the Orange PLA, and the print came out flawlessly!
The images of the prints are attached. Spoke to manufacturers, and they claim the pigment is the issue, and that I should print at a lower temperature.

So, is there a way to bypass Repetier Hoast, as it will only allow me to print at 180?
Also, I have a feeling this is just a load of BS, cause no matter what I print withy the blue filament, it comes out warped. I think I got a bad batch of filament!

Right now I am printing at 195 - tip, and bed at 90

Any ideas on the matter would be appreciated.

-Skyler

Post's attachments

photo copy 2.JPG
photo copy 2.JPG 125.57 kb, file has never been downloaded. 

photo.JPG 105.33 kb, file has never been downloaded. 

You don't have the permssions to download the attachments of this post.

63

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

From upthread: To disable the cold extrusion limit; add M302 to your start code and/or execute it directly.

64

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

the temperature for the filament material can be set in the slic3r configuration on the filament page, but Solidoodle has some custom start-up code that overrides this setting. They automatically set the extruder temp explicitly to 195 on start-up.

you can edit this start-up sequence pretty easily though. In the attached example, I have mine set to 205, but if you change these to 180, you will get the desired effect.

Post's attachments

temp.jpg 112.38 kb, file has never been downloaded. 

You don't have the permssions to download the attachments of this post.

65 (edited by Hunter Green 2013-07-03 18:49:57)

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

I think I may have successfully assembled the MK4 I printed earlier.  My X/Y calibration isn't perfect, some of the holes didn't want to align with the holes on the stepper motor, but I was able to make it work.  The PEEK fits in quite snugly, too.  When my replacement PEEK and hot-end arrive later in the week, I should be able to finish and determine if this is going to work.  Or at least work well enough to print a new MK4 or MK5!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/1045007_681067015240980_1268914899_n.jpg

66

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

just a quick note, unless you already tried to home your x axis... but i don't see a screw sticking out the side to trip the x axis limit switch. without that screw, when you home it, or start a print and it homes automatically, it will jam against the side and make horrible noises until you can hit the kill switch. haha! i know because it happened to me!

nothing special, just take one of the extra leftover screws from the jigsaw and handthread it in the little hole sticking down on the right side of the mk4. be sure to screw it in enough to get your carriage over near where it was. you want the tip of the extruder about even with the side of the heated bed. if you leave the screw out too much it homes too far over and ends up jamming the other side when it makes movements to the extreme side of the build area. lol

67

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

It's in there, you just can't see it at that angle.  Thanks, though.

68

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

So for the people who are successfully printing with PLA can you so kindly post the slic3r setting(s) you are using and what item(s) you are using (e.g. glass, blue tape, heated/non heated bed) and anything else that may help everyone here in this thread wanting to know more about printing with PLA. Thx!

In addition, i though I should ask this for more expericenced people using solidoodle/3Dprinters, how is that the MakerBot Replicator2 can print PLA w/out a heated bed (only uses thick acrylic bed)? I also noticed the temperature of the nozzle goes to 225 deg. Could this be a case of the types of extruders being used with the soldoodle and makerbot. Would buying an E3D help the solidoodle2 print PLA without the hassles discussed in this thread?

69

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

elefort wrote:

So for the people who are successfully printing with PLA can you so kindly post the slic3r setting(s) you are using and what item(s) you are using (e.g. glass, blue tape, heated/non heated bed) and anything else that may help everyone here in this thread wanting to know more about printing with PLA. Thx!

In addition, i though I should ask this for more expericenced people using solidoodle/3Dprinters, how is that the MakerBot Replicator2 can print PLA w/out a heated bed (only uses thick acrylic bed)? I also noticed the temperature of the nozzle goes to 225 deg. Could this be a case of the types of extruders being used with the soldoodle and makerbot. Would buying an E3D help the solidoodle2 print PLA without the hassles discussed in this thread?

The E3D helps with printing all types of filament.

Printit Industries Model 8.10 fully enclosed CoreXY, Chamber heat
3-SD3's & a Workbench all fully enclosed, RH-Slic3r Win7pro, E3D V6, Volcano & Cyclops Hot End
SSR/500W AC Heated Glass Bed, Linear bearings on SS rods. Direct Drive Y-axis, BulldogXL
Thanks to all for your contributions

70

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

wardjr wrote:
elefort wrote:

So for the people who are successfully printing with PLA can you so kindly post the slic3r setting(s) you are using and what item(s) you are using (e.g. glass, blue tape, heated/non heated bed) and anything else that may help everyone here in this thread wanting to know more about printing with PLA. Thx!

In addition, i though I should ask this for more expericenced people using solidoodle/3Dprinters, how is that the MakerBot Replicator2 can print PLA w/out a heated bed (only uses thick acrylic bed)? I also noticed the temperature of the nozzle goes to 225 deg. Could this be a case of the types of extruders being used with the soldoodle and makerbot. Would buying an E3D help the solidoodle2 print PLA without the hassles discussed in this thread?

The E3D helps with printing all types of filament.

I have an E3D on my SD3, prints PLA as easily as it prints ABS. The side benefit of using a different hot end is you can set slicer for the actual temperature as that's what the board is reading, not the 20 to 30 degree difference of the stock hot end. To print PLA with the E3D on my printer I use 220 to 230 degrees nozzle temp (actual) and print onto a 3mm piece of borosilicate glass on top of a QU-BD 8 inch silicon pad mounted on a custom cut piece of G10 that replaces the stock aluminum bed. The bed temp I set to 90 degrees and use the same hair spray stickum that I do for ABS. I have never had an issue with PLA not staying put and perfectly flat for the duration of the print job, only thing I do have to do is let it cool before I try and remove it as it's still soft enough to distort the piece if I try and remove it right away, probably due to the enclosed build chamber that typically reaches right around 100 degrees F during a print job.

71

Re: Guide to printing PLA on a Solidoodle

For me on my SD2, a temperate of 165 seems to work best for me, much less blobbing or no blobbbing while still no holes. I use a glass bed and a bed temp of 75. I really like PLA over ABS most of the time.

Tammy
Solidoodle 2
E3Dv6 Hotend, MK5 v6 version, Glass Bed, Anti Z backlash slop nut, SureStepr SD8825 1/32 Extruder Driver, makeshift breakaway plexiglass case; . L-Cheapo 3.8 Watt Laser Attachment w/Custom built enclosure
From Buffalo, NY, USA