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Topic: New with printing, had issues with SD2, in over my head?

I am very new with 3D printing. I picked up a few SD 2s’ as a barter swap.
Two worked and one was a parts system. I traded off one of the working ones and kept the parts one and the other working one.
The inital setup went well, I printed some basic trinkets, then the power aupply died.
I aquired a server PS online and now that powers my SD2.

I printed a large dice tower and it was great!
Then the jams started. First above the hotend neck, below the extruder wheels, it was a traffic jam of PLA.
This happened a few more times before a jam down in the hot end I was unable to clear.
From the parts machine I installed the other hot end.
The print quality was terrible, it was leaving little globs of PLA instead of lines, it looked like morse code.
I tried turning the heat up from 185 to 195 then I got another jam between the hot end end extruder wheels. I really do not want to pull the extruder housing apart again...

Am I over my head with this printer? It seems to have gone off the deep end?
I have looked at the Lawsy extruder housing, would this make clearing jams easier and faster?

I do not have money really to out into the machine, which is why I bartered for it. However, it seems according to posts, the E3D hot end fixes jaming issues. Is the mini version just as good?
And would the mini need the firmware modified like the big E3D? Not sure I trust myself to not mess it up.

Should I cut and try and find a more novice friendly printer if I can, or is there hope for this one?

http://soliforum.com/i/?LbFN8kn.jpg
http://soliforum.com/i/?1Qhex6r.jpg

2 (edited by Tin Falcon 2018-07-08 11:48:07)

Re: New with printing, had issues with SD2, in over my head?

relax take a breath . or ten get some  sleep clear your head.

read here this will help you troubleshoot your prints.
https://www.simplify3d.com/support/prin … eshooting/
also read here
http://www.soliwiki.com/Main_Page


I really do not want to pull the extruder housing apart again..

.
it is a pain but sometimes the only way to clear a jamb. At least now you have some experience.

I am not an sd2 expert I have an improved sd4.


Looks like you are experiencing major heat creep. I see no cooling fan on the extruder and no heat sink.

an e3d would be the way to go. a lite works fine and seems you do not want to mess with firmware to change temp settings.


If you could just screw a e3d lite heat sink into your existing  heater block and add a fan you would be golden.
not sure it would work .

The other option is to get rid of that pice of wood and add an aluminum block in its place then add one of these with a fan.
https://www.folgertech.com/products/ext … usa-i3-kit

bottom line is you need to keep the extruder cool . otherwise you are tryng to force hot plastic into your hot end as you  can see this dos not work.

Should I cut and try and find a more novice friendly printer if I can, or is there hope for this one?

That is your decision , IMHO there is hope for that one. but a lot of depends on your engineering skills and tools and materials available. 

where in the world are you

Soliddoodle 4 stock w glass bed------Folger Tech Prusa 2020 upgraded to and titan /aero extruder mirror bed
FT5 with titan/ E3D Aero------MP mini select w glass bed
MP Utimate maker pro-W bondtech extruder
Marlin/Repetier Host/ Slic3r and Cura

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Re: New with printing, had issues with SD2, in over my head?

Yes, you have some MAJOR heatcreep happening there... and it has been my experience that SD machines with stock hotends need to be set much "cooler" than what one would normally use... for PLA, I was running mine around 160-165C (ABS was in the 190-195C range) - this is most likely the reason for your heatcreep & clogging issues.

the stock hotend is a known source of issues on the Solidoodle line of machines... all of them
the acrylic extruder parts are also problematic - and is the reason they went to aluminum parts on later machines.

the E3D Lite6 would be fine for most uses.. and is very budget friendly. (there is no "mini" however)
I would also recommend either printing (as soon as you can do so) or purchasing, a Lawsy MK5 extruder assembly to get rid of that acrylic. Yes, it would be a big improvement.

you can get the extruder assembly here: https://www.printitindustries.com/colle … 5-extruder
the E3D Lite6 is available in "kit" form here: https://www.filastruder.com/products/lite6
or, reach out to Print It Industries for more info on getting one that is fully assembled and ready to install.

SD4 #1 & #2 - Lawsy carriages, E3D v6, Rumba controller board, mirror bed plate, X motor fan, upgraded PSU & Mica bed heater
SD4 #3 - in the works ~ Folgertech FT-5, rev 1
Printit Industries Beta Tester - Horizon H1

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Re: New with printing, had issues with SD2, in over my head?

Thank you Falcon. The stock heatsink is there, I took the picture square in so it can not be seen, the fan is there too.
How exactly is that pulling off heat from the hot end anyhow.

If I jump in and buy the lite, are there firmware settings posted for the lite? I seem to find the full E3D posted many times. And should I still do the almnium plate and heatsink?

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Re: New with printing, had issues with SD2, in over my head?

Thank you Heartless, I found a link to a place that prints the Lawsy for around six dollars.
That extruder assembly looks like it would make working on the printer much easier.

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Re: New with printing, had issues with SD2, in over my head?

If I jump in and buy the lite, are there firmware settings posted for the lite?

https://e3d-online.dozuki.com/c/LIte6

https://e3d-online.dozuki.com/Guide/Lit … 27?lang=en


.

And should I still do the almnium plate and heatsink?

Depending on how you E3d mounts to the Lawsey  the aluminum plate may have some benefit. As far as the heat sink the E3d includes a heat sink . So no additional heat sink required.

Soliddoodle 4 stock w glass bed------Folger Tech Prusa 2020 upgraded to and titan /aero extruder mirror bed
FT5 with titan/ E3D Aero------MP mini select w glass bed
MP Utimate maker pro-W bondtech extruder
Marlin/Repetier Host/ Slic3r and Cura

7

Re: New with printing, had issues with SD2, in over my head?

So I dove in head first and ordered the v6 lite along with some silicone socks, Lawsy’s extruder mount.

My chip is the 1286-AU, it looks like this is the process I need to use?
http://www.soliforum.com/topic/7917/e3d … rintrboard

And plug in the values from the E3D site?

Can I splice the the fan lead to run both the extruder fan and and heatsink fan? Or does each need their own 12v supply?

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Re: New with printing, had issues with SD2, in over my head?

Can I splice the the fan lead to run both the extruder fan and and heatsink fan? Or does each need their own 12v supply?

splicing should be fine just watch your polality

Soliddoodle 4 stock w glass bed------Folger Tech Prusa 2020 upgraded to and titan /aero extruder mirror bed
FT5 with titan/ E3D Aero------MP mini select w glass bed
MP Utimate maker pro-W bondtech extruder
Marlin/Repetier Host/ Slic3r and Cura

9

Re: New with printing, had issues with SD2, in over my head?

misterjgm wrote:

So I dove in head first and ordered the v6 lite along with some silicone socks, Lawsy’s extruder mount.

My chip is the 1286-AU, it looks like this is the process I need to use?
http://www.soliforum.com/topic/7917/e3d … rintrboard

yes, that is the procedure for flashing the Printrboard

And plug in the values from the E3D site?

yup, all you need to change really is the thermistor table value and the Max Temp - and for the Lite6, you probably really dont even need to mess with that one.

Can I splice the the fan lead to run both the extruder fan and and heatsink fan? Or does each need their own 12v supply?

you can do that just be aware of polarity as TF mentioned. personal preference - i run mine separately, that way if one fails, it wont kill the other one.

SD4 #1 & #2 - Lawsy carriages, E3D v6, Rumba controller board, mirror bed plate, X motor fan, upgraded PSU & Mica bed heater
SD4 #3 - in the works ~ Folgertech FT-5, rev 1
Printit Industries Beta Tester - Horizon H1

10

Re: New with printing, had issues with SD2, in over my head?

I had the same issues when I first got my SD3, the guys at PrintIt were a big help, and got me upgraded to a Lite6, and its a precision machine with PLA. I primarily print things for miniature gaming, so I run it at a pretty high detail. If they recommend it, and you can afford it, take their advice. The SD2 is a solid little machine, and I am currently updating the one I have to be like my SD3, with one exception, It will be running a regular E3D instead of a lite6.

3D Systems Cube, Hacked for Bulk Filament
Monoprice Replicator built from kit
Solidoodle 3, E3D Lite6, Rumba Upgrade
FT-i3 Mega, Looking for Dual Extruder Mods

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Re: New with printing, had issues with SD2, in over my head?

you can do that just be aware of polarity as TF mentioned. personal preference - i run mine separately, that way if one fails, it wont kill the other one.

running a separate wire has its advantages, and the kit comes with plenty of wire

Soliddoodle 4 stock w glass bed------Folger Tech Prusa 2020 upgraded to and titan /aero extruder mirror bed
FT5 with titan/ E3D Aero------MP mini select w glass bed
MP Utimate maker pro-W bondtech extruder
Marlin/Repetier Host/ Slic3r and Cura