Folgertech FT-5 (Page 2 of 4)

actually, I am awaiting a replacement part at the moment.

the hotend mounting block i got was apparently drilled wrong and does not align properly with the where the filament comes out of the extruder (has a mk9 extruder that i really dont like - but that is a completely different issue, lol)
Anyway, the filament doesnt feed into the hotend properly so kind of on hold at the moment...

I did manage to print a 25 x 25mm test cube, and it looks promising enough...but until parts arrive...

what was the estimated ship date when you ordered? Mine was actually shipped the day before the estimated shipping date.

lol, yeah, you have a couple of weeks yet.

the good news is I got my new hotend mounting block today. Comparing the old one with the new one, there is a difference between them... a couple of minor dimensional differences, but when added together, they were enough to cause issues

now to get it installed and see how well things line up

hopefully I will have some time to mess with it this weekend. Been crazy busy at work & I am dead tired when I get home - just no energy to do much of anything.

Try living in Texas.. Days are already breaking over 100..

Know what all y'all are feelin'...heat index of 105 in SC these days!

Hey Heartless,
How is the extruder attached to the rail. I figured it would just be some linear ball bearings but in the instructions it looks as if the mount just slides on the extruder aluminum beam? No bearings at all? Could you please confirm this as I wanted to buy a E3D titan extruder and want to make sure I can still mount it.

Thanks,
    Don

Well, got the replacement hot end mount installed - things line up much better now, so that is a plus.

On the minus side, the PCB heat bed is terribly warped right out of the box - so bad in fact that it was pretty much impossible to level the bed properly...

Even using binder clips to clip the mirror tile I use as a print surface to the PCB did not help much... all I have managed to print so far is a 25mm test cube...

So, the other half stopped at one of our local metal shops and picked me up a piece of 3/16" aluminum plate 13" x 13" and as flat as possible for standard plate material. Cost was $12

there are 8 screw holes in the PCB - all were marked on the aluminum and drilled out on the drill press. I also had to carve out recesses to allow room for the solder joints for the power wires - these were lined with kapton tape to prevent possible shorting (the top of the bed also has a layer of kapton). 

the PCB and aluminum were bolted together using the center holes on each side, then longer screws and heavier springs were installed at each corner for leveling. The stock leveling springs are tiny...

I still need to adjust the Z endstop, and level the whole works before testing, and I may need to increase the vref for the Z axis a little to handle the added weight, but I think this will work... it is definitely flatter than it was! LOL

Regarding Z, the farther away from the motors the bed is, the less critical the need for good alignment.

Assuming there is some positional adjustments at the base for the location of the Z screws, you could try loosening the mounts a bit and then bringing the bed down, then tightening the screws. 

I would think switching to MAX positions would do it...but it's been awhile since I messed with my endstops.  They have been my achilles heel

Don't worry, you have until the end of the month to get it right. That's when I should be receiving mine and you will have it all figured out for me :0 lol
Just glad to see someone getting it together and running.

well, it is finally up and running, and running pretty well, if I do say so myself...

I ran a larger calibration piece last night to gauge the steps/mm for the axis - needs just a little tweaking, but not too badly overall - within 0.3mm at the worst.

the only thing I have calibrated so far has been the E steps to make sure I am getting the right amount of filament in.. and tweaked the vrefs a little.

decided to try something taller today - part of an RC plane wing...

short video here: https://www.facebook.com/northwoods3d/v … 270454152/

and a progress picture

the two lines going up on the left side are from a hole in the model for inserting a CF rod for stability when assembled.

I am seeing a little bit of filament pull artifacts on the side farthest from the spool - really need a better spool holder/location for this beast - but overall I am quite happy with how well it is printing with very little calibration.

current main speed setting is 80mm/s and using my old Prusa print settings for most everything else. 0.3mm layer height, 3 perimeters, 3 top & bottom, and 10% infill

yes, that is the stock hotend and extruder - it works ok, but i hate the design (fan & heatsink in front of the feed gear - cant see what is going on). Until I can come up with a better alternative for cooling the motor I am kind of stuck with it. I want to eventually swap the hotend out for an E3D volcano setup and I want to be able to see what is going on with the feed gear... I guess I got kind of spoiled on that with the SD4s. lol

I do not plan on doing any of the "add-ons" on this machine. CNC is far to messy for in the house. If I want CNC it will be a completely separate unit out in the garage. Same pretty much goes for laser - a separate machine...

This machine will be a dedicated 3D printer - period. I even eliminated the plug-ins at the E head - everything is direct wired. To be honest, I was not real impressed with the connectors they sent to be used for swapping tool heads.

One person has already had a problem with the heater connector they send in the kit (posted just this morning). IF you plan on getting/using the different attachments - better connectors are a MUST! Especially for the hotend heater cartridge. Several have swapped in XT60 RC battery connectors already. I think they are a very good choice for this application - the wires get soldered to the connector halves and the connection between the 2 halves is solid and firm, yet they are small enough to not be in the way or too heavy.