Repetier host (Page 2 of 3)

I have my X and Y steps tweaked now such that the cube is coming out at about 10.05 in both directions, and I increased the feed steps a bit, up to 105.  I also added a five second delay between layers which has really helped with the overall shape. I'm getting very close to having this printing like I want, but I have four issues remaining that I could use some input on.

1. One of the four corners is still coming out a little flattened, the other three are nice and sharp.  In the bottom right picture, it's the bottom right corner.

2. The top fill isn't as solid as I'd like, there's some gaps.  Perhaps my extruder temp is a little low?  I have RH106 set up to start the extruder and bed at 240/70, then drop to 235/50.

3. There's a "foot" for lack of a better term around the base of the piece.  You can see it pretty well in the left picture.  Is this also perhaps a function of temperature?

4. Finally, the height of the block, "Z" is only about 9.35mm.  Do I just need to tweak the Z steps per mm in the firmware as I did with the Y until I get close to 10?  Could this be related to #3 at all, perhaps it's sagging down/out a bit for the first few layers?  When I increase the Z steps, do I also need to increase the feed steps per mm?

As soon as I get this working correctly I'll screenshot all my config tabs to share.

I just wanted to note that using soliryans info posted above I got The latest repetier host working with my press.  Now I can use CURA to slice instead of slic3r.  I printed (2) 3 hour jobs yesterday with much better results and no jams.

I don't think I'd go much higher but what about the z offset as part of the auto level.  I am not familiar with how that all works but there must be a way to set the height past just using first layer height.  What I am saying is how do you set the nozzle height to the bed for the first layer?

This would have to be on the g-code for the auto leveling sequence of Z offset in slicer.

Warning to anyone adjusting the steps/mm in Repetier Host. 

Lowering the Steps/mm on the X axis will result in the probe not deploying, which can lead to a Z crash when attempting to probe the bed.

I'm experiencing both of these issues, regardless of using Slic3r, cura, or Simplify 3D. 

I've tried slowing the infill rate, which may have helped a slight amount, but still doesn't result in a solid top layer.  Maybe the problem is due to not printing an entirely solid piece, but shouldn't I be able to use 20-50% infill for most of the piece and still have a solid top?  (The third piece, printed with Simplify 3D, had an extruder jam, and didn't finish, so the small tower never got a solid infill.  but the two shorter "steps" completed, and as you can see, they still have gaps, rather than a solid top.)

In regards tot he Y axis, I had tightened the bets on the stepper/shaft due to major backlash, but I still seem to have a small amount.  All of my parts are withing close tolerance on the X and Z axis, but the Y axis is consistently .5-.6 mm smaller, regardless of whether it is a 10mm part or a 30mm part.  This indicates some type of additional backlash, I believe, but I'm not sure where.  You can see this effect on the Concentric circles, which have flat spots on the front and back.

I have adjusted the extruder stepper to reduce moire... it didn't help with the top layer much.

Any ideas?

I really wish I had a Press at my disposal.  What I can tell you is most of your issues appear to be mechanical in nature.
I would focus on the Y-axis and proper alignment of those belts.
If you are using Slic3r you can change the extrusion width for different things like the top layer so you may be able to decrease that width (tool path) and see if it helps with the top of your print.

Check your RH and slicer temperature settings and be sure you are selecting the correct profiles.

Sadly, I think you hit the nail on the head with the Y-belts.  After further examination, the tension on the Y-belts seems very loose, and I could find no way of adjusting it without having to potentially completely disassemble the printer. 

I am seriously considering seeing about a refund.  I know it was an inexpensive printer at $399, and I'm happy to tweak and adjust, but the plastic design of this printer seems to make a lot of that difficult or impossible. :-(

I'm going to open a support case with Solidoodle about it's inability to print real circles (and the fact that I found that one of the side panel mounts is broken.), but I'm feeling a bit discouraged at this point.

That answers my question I was about to ask, I downloaded the RH software for Mac and only noticed the profiles for SD 2 and SD3, guess I will download the Windows version and hopefully run it via Windows 8.1 via Bootcamp on the Mac

Thanks for answering my question before I asked

Lets see

I've been trying to run Repetier Host in Mac with these settings, and for some reason the filament seems to just end up curling over and bunching into a big wiry ball around the nozzle. Sometimes it'll get a little bit of traction on the bed, but that might more be a result of how thick it starts to bunch up at the end, though.

I've also noticed that sometimes the wheel that drives the filament extrusion just doesn't even start spinning at all until a couple seconds into the print?

For reference, been printing at a .3 mm height. Same settings on Soliprint has absolutely no troubles at all. Already tightened the grub screw on the extrusion wheel, and there's no thumping coming from there. Any ideas?

After giving up, I heard that the older RH version that Solidoodle added the Press profile too was working well for people...but people running Windows. So as a last ditch effort, I spent last night dual booting my Mac and installed Windows 7 on it with the Solidoodle RH host. I then printed the same calibration cube as with my previous RH attempts (detailed previously on the thread) and the results were far far better (see pics attached below).

The brim got a little messed up and there was an issue with one or two loops in the walls, but since I was only getting a mess before it's a dramatic improvement. I might just stay with Windows for a while since I'm fortunate enough to have a dedicated machine for my Press, but once I feel adventurous again I will try moving over all the various settings to the latest RH version on OS X and see if that gets the job done (which logically, it should). I the meantime, if anyone is interested in seeing the settings my Solidoodle RH is running (both printer settings and Slic3r) let me know and I can post that information.