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SoliForum - 3D Printing Community → Solidoodle Discussion → SD3 Y axis under printing?
I give up. I don't know what else to do. V1.2.9 has too many options for me to tweek it, and I honestly don't know much about tweeking a 3D printer.
I am just going to leave it alone for now because it's so frustrating. Everything is so smooth and tight, I don't know why it's acting up. My only guess is that Slic3r is messing with it.
and if you give up, you will never learn how to tweak a printer. taking a defeatist attitude will get you no where. (ie: "i give up") If that is really how you feel, then sell the printer and truly give it up.
Yes, it can seem overwhelming at times, and yes, there are a lot of settings that can be tinkered with, but it is through the tinkering that we learn.
I would suggest that you start by reading the Slic3r manual to learn what the various settings do. (and do keep in mind that there is a stand-alone version of Slic3r that has more options available, so some of the things in the manual will not apply to what you see when using it through Repetier Host)
http://manual.slic3r.org/
Aside from that, ask questions.. LEARN from the responses.
IF you really want to learn this, then put in the time and effort to actually learn it. Yes, you are going to have failures, but we learn from those failures and keep trying until we get it right. Getting things right with a 3d printer is not an "instant gratification" kind of thing. It takes time and effort to really get it right.
2 & a half years ago, I was basically in the same position you are in.. just ask wardjr, LOL. 
the difference is, I WANTED to learn it - I wanted it badly!
Yes, it was a steep learning curve initially, but from reading, asking what I thought were "stupid" questions and taking the suggestions that were given (actually taking the time to read them, and understand what was being said), I learned how to make my printer dance, and dance very nicely. I also learned from things that other people asked about.
I now have 5 printers and can make each one do pretty much exactly what I want it to do, and I even make a few dollars on the side here & there, printing stuff for other people.
I am currently in the process of trying to convert one of my printers into a small cnc engraving machine... and with that, I am kind of back where I started... trying to figure things out - again.. but I am confident that I WILL get there, it is just a matter of time.
There was no bigger noob than me. Don't get frustrated and don't give up. If you're convinced your machine is mechanically right then the problem lies in the Slicer. Also, and I speak from experience. There is no reason steps should be modified, the math simply doesn't add up. Changing steps may fix the dimensions for a particular sized part. The problem is as the size of the print gets larger the steps compound. We are all here to help but heartless is correct, if you don't have the desire there's only so much we can do.
For whatever reason I can't view your previous pictures of the g-code preview. There was an anomaly in there I was going to point out. It was a clear bug in your Slicer.
I give up. I don't know what else to do. V1.2.9 has too many options for me to tweek it, and I honestly don't know much about tweeking a 3D printer.
I am just going to leave it alone for now because it's so frustrating. Everything is so smooth and tight, I don't know why it's acting up. My only guess is that Slic3r is messing with it.
I think part of your frustration is the hype that these printers are plug and play. They are not . Learning to use one takes time and dedication. EVERYONE here including myself had to learn NONE of us were born experts.
If you are using RH and Slic3r is not working try cura or try loading a new or older version of Slic3r.
Take time to learn what each setting does and change one setting at a time.
get the first layer down then go from there.
Take a breather or a break if you need to but as Heartless said give up and you will never learn to use the printer.
Respectfully
Tin Falcon
https://www.simplify3d.com/support/prin … eshooting/
This guide may help you
ship it to me. Ill get it up and going and ship it back for a small fee
Hi,
Thank you for your encouraging words. I agree with all!
The thing is that I am not a fan of 3D printers. I am a design engineer. The printer to me is just a tool. It's cheaper and more versatile than injection molding, casting, CNC maching, sheetmetal bending, etc. So to me the SD3 is just getting in the way of seeing my designs in real life; the opposite of why I purchased it!
The other thing that's frustrating me is that the SD3 was poorly designed and made (sorry to say this: but I don't feel bad for the company for going bankrupt!) It's hard to tweek something with such bad design elements, e.g.: tensions the Y axis by going back and forth and back and forth until the Y rod stays in the middle!
It's like the creators of this 3D printer didn't sit down and plan it. Just like the creator of Simplify3D: I purchased the software, installed it, choose SD3, and it was worse than Slic3r. Why would I pay $150 for a software and choose my 3D printer if I still have to go into the settings and change them; I might as well use the free Slic3r software!
Sorry for ranting, but I am just tired of poorly made products.
And I took your advice: I am back to trying to figure out what's wrong so I can get it working again. 
SD3 and 4s are not the easiest printers to use and don't have the best reputation. That said I was able to Figure things out with the help of folks here and a couple fiends.
If you need a 3d printer for your work you may want to try something like a wanhoa https://www.amazon.com/Wanhao-Duplicato … B01CGB8LA6
But i suggest you get what you have working before you try a different printer.
Like i said earlier welcome to the world of desk top printing . There is a bit of a learning curve.
Dont hold it against simplify 3d every printer and filament will need different settings .
This is a case of wishing i knew your location.
I have a friend that does classes on 3d printers .
https://printedsolid.com/collections/3d … electclass
https://printedsolid.com/collections/3d … g-your-own
So if you are anywhere near Delaware this could be a fantastic opportunity to learn.
At work we have an industrial 3D printer that costs $24,000 and it's amazing! But I can't use it for my personal projects.
I heard the CR10 is amazing and affordable. I am in Toronto, Canada so I had to pay CAD$1,000 for the SD3 (including shipping and taxes), so it's very frustrating and disappointing to deal with so many problems for such a high price.
Anyway, I don't hate the SD3, I think it can be decent. I got to work on it.
The CR10 does have a good reputation but it too is not without issues. Mostly to do with the large heat bed.
Sorry guys, but I have to disagree. There is nothing inherently "wrong" with the design, it was just very poorly implemented. Yeah, in bone stock form, they kinda suck - yes, they would print, but they can do SOOOoooo much better with a little time and effort put into them.
I have 2 of the SD4s - both of which were purchased used. A few upgrades/modifications, and a bit of tweaking and both are incredibly reliable machines now - and quite accurate, too.
From where I sit, you get out of them what you put into them. Take the time to set them up RIGHT (and yes, this means "fixing" the poorly implemented parts) and you can have a very good, reliable printer.
My #1 SD4 - after modding/fixing what needed fixing - has been run for 10-12 hours a day, 7 days a week at times, with pretty much no downtime. I rarely even need to touch the bed leveling anymore (and No, I do NOT use any kind of "auto-level" system - on either of them).
What has gotten these machines to this point of reliability is learning what I needed to learn, fixing what I needed to fix, and upgrading what needed upgrading.
Did it happen overnight? No. It took several months of learning with the first one. The 2nd one was much easier because the learning curve was flattened out by then, but even that one gave me moments of WTF?
I don't care what any company claims - there is NO "plug and play" 3d printer on the market that costs less than $1000. I would be willing to bet that even at the $1500-2000 price point, there are going to be issues to be dealt with.
And even the best 3d printer on the market STILL requires you to learn the software needed to run it, which, in and of itself, can be a challenge.
Just as with any kind of tool - you MUST learn how to use it right.
Heartless is right we can not blame solidoodle for a defective design.
They came on the market on the tails of maker bot. They were attempting to make an affordable durable home 3d printer. The first makerbots and ultimakers were laser cut wood frames the sd frame is metal. Itis easy to look back and see where they faled but lets just build on the success.
Hi guys,
Last night I tried to print something else and it came out pretty decent! I am happy! At least the part resembles the 3D model
Two concerns though:
1) There seems to be this weird "extra" material at the edges (sorry if the description doesn't makes sense, see the attached image.)
2) Two cut outs have tapered walls instead they came out almost straight.
Any ideas? (First point is more important than the second one, I can change the dimensions of the cutouts for the second point, but it would be nice to figure out the first problem.)
Thank you very much! 
What print speeds?
What temp?
What material?
Did you use supports? It doesn't look like it, not a bad thing but printing over mid air around a corner is always going to be problematic. For what that is it actually turned out remarkably well.
Most of what I'm seeing is temp/speed related. Basically the previous layer isn't cooling enough before the next layer is being applied. Consider adding a g-code controlled cooling fan or simply print slower on smaller parts with complicated overhangs such as that one. Also different filaments will bridge/overhang better than others.
"What print speeds?" I don't know, but to me it seemed like it the extruder was moving much faster than usual. Recently I uninstalled and re-installed Slic3r. I copied all the old settings into the new Slic3r install (or that's what I thought). I will check when I go home.
"What temp?" Bed=120", extruder=210"; not 100% sure but I will check when I go home.
"What material?" ABS, 1.75mm
I did print it with support material. This image is of the part after I removed the support material.
fadilee - you are running the stock hotend, correct?
not sure how much of a difference there was between the SD3 and the SD4, but I was getting good results from ABS at about 195-200C on the stock hotend, and 100C bed.
definitely want to check those speed settings, too - it does look like it is running a bit too fast.
Ok, I think I figured out what's going on:
1) Speed was fine. All settings were fine except for Seem Position: Aligned. The messy corner we were seeing is the "Aligned" seam position. I changed this option few days ago and that's when the messy corner appeared. I changed it back to Random.
2) I re-leveled the bed. That improved the print quality dramatically! It was off by just a tiny bit but that can make a very messy start which affects all the other layers! Right now the distance between the nozzle and bed is 0.25mm (I used a feeler gauge).
3) I printed "limits" for the Y rod (see attached image). I am not sure if it's a good idea or not, but so far it's working great! I hated how the Y rod kept moving side to side. I printed a "limit" for both ends, and the limit is adjustable with a screw. I used plastic screws because I didn't know if I used metal screws if they will make a noise; I attached the limits to the printer's body with a double sided tape and it's holding great so far (screws are always an option). I gave it just enough space (1mm in total) for it to rotate freely but not to move from side to side too much. Like I said, so far they are definitely not interfering with the movement of the Y axis. And my last print was much much better!
4) I thought I got rid of the gap between the infill and the perimeter by turning on the "Infill before perimeter" option--while printing the infill looked spot on and no gaps, but after the print was finished and everything looked nice I checked the part and the perimeter separated from the infill (see green lines in attached image of where the wall were separated from the infill after the print).
Thank you guys very VERY much! You are the best! If I can only figure out the separation of the perimeter from the infill, I would be happy with the print quality.
IMHO you may be treating the symptom rather than the cause. The soliwiki divide shows adjusting the pulleys until there is no drift in the shaft. I think there may still be some belt rubbing you need to deal with. And maybe tighten the belts a smidge more after you have the alignment right.
Also check your infill speed and possibly acceleration .
Ok, so now the printer is printing pretty decently...I am happy with it.
I fixed the gaps between the perimeter and infill by adjusting the extruder multiplier. However, when I print a single wall partas per the flow rate tutorial (http://wiki.solidoodle.com/flow-rate), I no longer get accurate wall thickness. Anyway, at least the perimeter is no longer separating from the infill.
Thank you for your help
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