Soliprint failure (Page 2 of 3)

I found the power issue. It was the end of the LED strip touching the chassis. 12 volt dc was going to it. Yes, it is a brick type power supply.

Also found the usb port listed as com13 in the pc.  Made the shift in RH but no change. What is the firmware on the printer likely to be if it was using the solidoodle operating parameters? Perhaps that is it? I see there is a setting for that in RH.

How do I reprogram / check the firmware/software of the printer?

I have tried to use the software from solidoodle but it does nothing. I load it onto the computer, click on the icon and nothing happens so I have uninstalled it.

what board does it have?

Here is a better image and the reset is the black jumper near the processor that says BOOT. Your is missing the jumper as it should be if it is running.

LOL, close enough - it is very obvious to us that is the Solidoodle Printrboard, Rev E

not the best board out there, but not the worst, either.

ok, so lets back up for a minute - the printer COM shows up in Device Manager, correct?

but you can't seem to get RH to connect?

Do this - go into device manager (with printer powered on so you can see the COM port)
Right click on the device and select "Properties"
that will open a new window, in that window, click on the "Port Settings" tab - take a screen shot of that window
You may need to adjust some of the settings in there - #1 being the "bits per second" setting... that setting needs to match between the printer's firmware, the computer COM port and RH settings.
Most likely the firmware is set to 250,000 bps - that said, the computer and RH both need to be set to that rate. (RH calls it Baud Rate, but it is the same thing)

I am including a couple of screen grabs for you so you can see what I am talking about (i run win7, so yours may look a little different) I have highlighted the relevant bits in a red box.

Device Properties

RH Printer Settings

as a side note - if you click on the "advanced" button in the Properties window, you can change the COM port to pretty much anything you want, as long as it does not say "already in use".
I have mine set up on specific ports so that other devices can not "steal" the port when they get plugged in.

(and yes, I have my baud rate turned down - it works for me)

So.

Spent a little time cleaning it and getting it to slide properly without chattering. Lubed up the rails with some PTFE spray. Heated up the bed. Seems fine. (It came with a piece of glass on the bed...is that to stop the plastic sticking to the bed)? Heated up the extruder and withdrew the small piece of filament left in there.

Hit the home button and the X axis puts the nozzle out to the left of the bed. Is there a solution for this? Pic shows the issue. I looked for an assembly fault but can't see one.

Also, upon pressing home on either the X or Y axis and then pressing either 10 or 50 mm creep, the head drives to the far end of the rail. What is that about?

I looked for the crack in the print head and it is the clear perspex. It has fractured to the left of the drive motor cutout, where the material is thin, as a result of the prior owner putting too much pressure on the filament in an attempt to get it to flow filament.
It looks like the system is comprised of four seperate sheets of perspex. Can these plattens be bought or printed?

I will do a test print in the coming days.

Sooooo excited!!!

yeah, what Kronikabuse said.. need to adjust the settings in Repetier Host. I dont think you need to actuall invert the axis settings, but you do need to set things up correctly.

under Config > Printer Settings, there are a bunch of different tabs...
the "Connection" tab you are now familiar with

Next is "Printer"

then "Extruder" - side note here - your max extruder temp is going to be about 245 - NOT the 295 you see here - I have an E3D v6 hotend on mine which allows me much higher temps.

then "Printer Shape" - this is the one we want to start with.

Because you have an SD3, you can pretty much copy the settings you see here - except the height - mine is shorter because of the stabilizing brace I use. Yours should easily reach 180-190 on the Z axis with no brace on it.

Solidoodle uses "Max" endstop settings vs "Min" for both the X and Y axis
(X = left/right movement or width, Y = forward/back movement or depth, Z = up/down movement or height)

When homed the print head wants to be in the right rear corner, with the bed all the way up.

Once you get things moving in the correct directions, you can figure out the actual usable height by setting the Z axis number higher & using the manual controls to lower the bed - go slowly (small increments) near the bottom until it wont move down anymore... the number shown at the top of the manual control screen for the Z position will be the bed's location.. round it down (lower number) to the nearest whole number and use that as your Z axis number in the "printer shape" configuration.

After you get things moving correctly, there will be the matter of "leveling the bed" - this is not about using a spirit level to make sure it is level with the ground, btw - it is about making sure the bed is the same distance from the nozzle all the way around the bed.
The glass is used to help make sure you have a nice flat surface on which to print.. the thin aluminum bed plates tend to warp over time.

this one should work for you... https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:47561

when you home all, you want the Z axis to be at zero - nothing else.
You may need to adjust the screw for the Z endstop...

Before you do that - move the bed down a little - 5mms or so, tighten the bed adjusting screws down to about half the spring travel at all 3 positions.
Turn the end stop screw down (end that hits the endstop lower) a little - home the Z axis - move the printhead out over the middle of the bed somewhere & get an idea of how far away the nozzle is from the bed.
Move the bed down so the screw is no longer touching the endstop switch...
Adjust the end stop screw up in small increments and repeat the above until you get very close to the nozzle - if you have a piece of card stock, use that to test how close you are, place it on the bed, under the nozzle - when the nozzle actually touches the paper, but you can still pull it out easily, you are close enough with the endstop adjustment - it is now time to adjust the bed screws.

To adjust the bed screws - home all axis... move the print head forward & to the left so it is near the front right bed screw.. you dont need to be directly over it, but close.
take a strip of standard copy paper & place it under the nozzle, adjust that screw until there is just a very slight drag on the paper when you try to move it. You don't want it too tight, but you don't want it too loose, either - it does take a little practice to get it right.

When you think you have that one set, repeat the procedure at the other 2 screws (if you can't get the strip of paper between the bed & nozzle, then tighten the screw until you can).
When you think you have all three set, re-home everything and then verify that all 3 are still at the correct spacing.

The first time I tried to do this, it took me several tries to get it right, so be patient and take your time. Check your work by homing everything, then testing again.

to give you an idea of what I am talking about...

card stock could easily be a business card, a matchbook cover, a postcard you get in the mail, even a greeting card... just something that is thicker/heavier than standard paper...

It is very common for the thin aluminum plate to warp over time from heating and cooling cycles. This is why many use the glass on top, to help level things out, but depending on the amount of warping, even that will not help eventually. Sounds like yours is at that point

My 1st SD4 had the exact same problem and yes, I did eventually replace it with a thicker piece.
The silicone heating mat is glued to the underside with the fiberglass matting over that to help keep the heat where it needs to be.
As you can see in this picture, the silicone mat is smaller than the aluminum bed... the outer edges will never get to the same temp as the center (this is also a part of the reason the bed warps - uneven heating)

If you are serious about getting into this hobby, I am going to suggest this - purchase this: https://www.printitindustries.com/colle … -8-heatbed and get a thicker piece of aluminum (3-4mm thick or about 3/16") to replace the current bed. Don't even bother with trying to remove the heater and stick it on another piece of aluminum. you will need to drill and chamfer 3 holes in the new aluminum for mounting purposes - use the old bed for marking placement.

I purchased one of the above heaters when they first came out and I absolutely love it. It is faster to heat up, it gives more even heating across the ENTIRE bed including at the edges, and the company is owned by several of the guys from this forum with the intention of helping people like you and I get, and keep, our Solidoodles running in tip top shape. I liked it so much, I purchased a second one for my second SD4.

my current bed setup looks like this at the edge...this is a lot of thermal mass to heat up - especially the 3/16" aluminum. The Hale heater handles it in short order..

with the old silicone heater it used to take 20-25 minutes to heat the bed to 100C for printing ABS, and the edges never got hot enough to be able to use the entire bed... the Hale does the same in under 10 minutes from dead cold (in the winter months about 15C) and with no insulation under it - and - all the way to the edge so I can now use the entire bed, not just the middle.

No, the Hale heat bed is not cheap, but to me, it is worth every single penny. I actually use my printers to make a little side income printing stuff for other people as well is printing my own stuff. The Hale heater has more than paid for itself several times over now by being faster and giving more complete & even heating for larger prints.

I am presently downloading FreeCAD to try out. It looks like it is well supported for tutorials, which I will need!!

You can also try Tinkercad. It is web based basic geometric shapes that can be added or subtracted to make desired models.

ah, yes, an Aussie - that does make things a bit more difficult.

bed temp would depend on the material being printed - for PLA, 60 would be fine. the issue of the filament just peeling up from the bed (as if being dragged up by the nozzle) is from the nozzle not being close enough to the bed. Like I said, it takes a bit of practice to get it just right.
You want that first layer to be more flattened out.

As for the "override" issue, if you are using Slic3r from within Repetier Host - open the configuration window by clicking on the button (remember, I run an older version, so yours may look a little different)...

Once that is open, click on the Filament Settings tab at the top, and set all the Temperature settings to 0 - this gives you full and complete control over temp settings in the Manual Tab of RH. If there are temperatures defined in the configuration settings, they will override the manual settings.

Also note that you can create and save as many filament profiles as you want here. Once calibrated, it is simply a matter of choosing the correct profile for the filament you are using from the drop-down menu on the Slicing tab.

I go into further details about how to properly calibrate your filament in my blog posts located here:

https://northwoods3d.weebly.com/blog/fi … ion-part-1

and here:

https://northwoods3d.weebly.com/blog/-f … coming-out

If what you have is PLA, it probably needs a good drying out if it has been open for any length of time. PLA becomes very brittle once it is saturated with moisture.

There are multiple ways of doing this, but a good, cheap way is a 5 gallon bucket with a lid, a cheap metal work light (the kind with a metal "hood" that takes an incandescent bulb), a small fan (computer fan works great) and some desiccant... place the spool of filament and the desiccant inside the bucket, along with the fan set up to help circulate the air. Cut a hole in the bucket lid big enough for the light fixture to just cover and place on top. turn on the light & the fan and leave it overnight at minimum.
The incandescent bulb will warm the air (i would use no more than a 60w bulb - 40w would probably be fine), the fan circulates that warm air over & around the filament, driving the moisture out, and the desiccant will absorb the moisture. (this will also work for ABS and any other filament you may find yourself playing with)

Another alternative is a food dehydrator if you have one of those lying around. Same concept.

For CAD programs, there are a lot to choose from out there.
Take a look at Design Spark Mechanical for one.
My personal favorite is no longer supported, but is still available - 123D Design from Autodesk - it is a solids based 3d modeling program, is super easy to use, and gives excellent results when exporting .stl files.