What I have learned so far

I was a complete newbie to 3d Printing when I ordered my Solidoodle. I have learned a lot (almost all from the google group, but it is difficult to find previous discussions).

First and foremost, thanks to Solidoodle for making such an outstanding product. I cannot figure out how they can make profit, and that is a testament to their dedication to making an affordable printer. Second my thanks to John for his continuing support for the S2 community. Last and most definitely not least is Ian, who has literally been a beacon of information.

The things I have learned have been some instruction but mostly 'shoot from the hip' tactics that Texans are prone to.

The kapton tape appeared mostly unharmed, except for the screw on one of the two middle screws. After 4 prints it tore off completely. However it has not hindered a single print. 2 minutes before a print ends, I adjust the bed temp to 85, by the time it is done it can easily be popped off either by pliers pulling from the top, or the included tool kit scraper. It isn't like scraping paint. Be careful and test all corners for which is the most loose. With the natural filament you can almost see the parts that are still stuck on thin prints. If it is still at 100 you will bend thin prints and it might not be possible to straighten. If you are concerned about a print not being able to release, unplug the S2 and let it cool to room temp, I've left prints on the bed overnight after unplugging it and they can be removed with a tap. If you are nervous using the scraper on a print, I've used a crescent and pliers to fit the width or length of a print and twist it off. If it has cooled sufficiently it will work great. You might even print a tool off for removing specific parts if you print a lot of one part.

Unclogging the tip I have had to do twice. When it clogs the plastic comes out curved. It almost, and occasionally did, wind around the tip. The first time I completely removed the filament and cleared it using a grill brush bristle. The results are only apparent after extruding 3-5 times manually. I've done this one other time without removing the filament, using a pair of pliers. It worked great. This could be bad, so John may not recommend it.

Every 10-15 prints I acetone the bed. It does help a lot with sticking.

I have found that the best distance for good sticking is almost on the bed. This will change the accuracy of the dimensions somewhat unless you use a raft. I don't print rafts regularly, but for this one purpose it seems invaluable to have at your disposal. I cannot replicate Ian's results with the initial layer. So far 'smooshing' it on the first layer works great. This could be a feed rate issue though. I'm at 2.7 and it does great after the first layer at that setting.

Gluing parts together I have used MEK so far and it means business. A few clamps and 30 minutes and you are done. I am working on some printable clamps for this purpose.

I use skein forge and pronterface, and they do a fantastic job. RepG I use for moving stls around and making them fit on the bed.

Any improvements that can be made to the machine would increase the cost, and I actually look forward to making the few myself.

All in all, this machine is worth it's weight in gold. I am proud to own one!

Edit:

More stuff I've figured out.

Replacing the Kapton Tape is fairly easy. Removal is simple - heat the bed and using the tweezers, peel off. I cooled the bed then and cleaned it thoroughly before applying the new square.

If you've got two people, it's actually almost easy. Remove the kapton from the plastic, and while gently holding the corners, position it over the bed, since it is cut to the exact dimension, one person can put tension between their two corners, and place their end down. Smoothing over with fingers is a breeze at that point. I think I have one very small bubble that I wasn't able to chase over one of  the screw holes.

When I replaced it, it became VERY difficult to get prints to stick. I'm guessing this will increase as some slight wear on the kapton probably helps the adhesion process.

I've also finally started messing with the settings to make prints that need exact measurements come out more accurate. I slowed the feed down to 1.9 in Skeinforge and that seems to be where mine is best at. 2.1 actually seemed to extrude a bit more material than was necessary. I also lowered the hot end temp to 190 and this improved it somewhat as well. However after changing the kapton I had to set it back to 200 to even get the slightest adhesion. With the settings at that point, I got the cleanest prints I had made yet.

When making parts at these settings, if you want an extremely snug fit (making a hole for a circular bolt head to enter, for example) using the exact measurement of the bolt will require a press or clamp to get it in. If the radius is increased by .1mm (.2 total on the diameter) it was possible to insert the bolt head by hand, even if using a fair amount of force. An increase of .15mm should yield a loose fitting connection (if only slightly loose). This is using Sketchup as the 3d modelling software.