Rocketman wrote:"Repetier-Host Solidoodle" is what I am using as software.
I'm glad you're actually getting things working. I'm no expert myself, but here's a Cliff's Notes version of beginner things I've learned, along with the answer to the above:
1) NON-MANIFOLD OBJECTS
Not all objects, particularly ones posted up on sites like thingiverse are printable as is because they have non-manifold vertices, edges, or faces, and you may occasionally create these yourself. Basically, this means that parts of the object aren't clearly defined as an outside or inside surface.
For instance, you can define a cube shaped object with six square polygons, but if there is a tiny hole in one corner, the program can't mathematically tell what the "inside" is because of the hole and sees six squares of infinitesimal thickness instead. If you try to print it, the slicing program may go nuts or just omit some parts of the object. You can also run into problems if parts of an object share faces or edges so that a face is an outside surface for one part of the object and an inside surface for another part at the same time.
To fix it, there are tools like MeshMixer that can display non-manifold edges or faces. Once you identify the bad parts, you can try to patch the problems or delete and rebuild the bad sections.
2) OVERHANGS
Since objects are built from the bottom up in FDM printing, overhanging structures can't typically be printed because the thread has nothing to rest on when extruded. In general, overhangs become problematical if the angle is flatter than 45 degrees. If the overhanging section is short and bridges a gap it can sometimes be supported just by the ends, but this is often not possible. In these cases one either has turn the object upside down to print or turn on the "support" option (in slic3r and skeinforge) which will add scaffolding beneath the overhang that you'll need to cut off after printing.
3) BED HEIGHT / LEVELING
For an object to stick well to the bed, you want the first layer of filament to be squished down onto the bed, but not so much that the head begins to scrape up the layer it just laid down. This can be adjusted using the z-axis screw on left side of the z-carriage at the back and the three leveling screws. This doesn't need to be done by fine measurement, but just by printing one layer of a big box and seeing if the filament looks evenly squished onto the bed for the full range of motion. You typically only need to do this once or if the machine has been jostled around (such as in shipping).
4) BRIM/RAFT
If an object doesn't have enough surface area at the bottom to properly stick to the bed, one option is to turn on a raft (skeinforge) or brim (slic3r), which adds a layer of material at the bottom of the bed so that there is more to stick to. A raft is a grid of overlapping lines, while a brim is a specified width of extra perimeters (in mm) to add around the first layer. A brim can also help the bottom layer from curling up.
5) IN-MODEL SUPPORT
For extremely "tippy" models or ones sharp or rounded at the bottom, you may need to add your own thin fins or supports that are designed to be cut away after printing.
6) CURLING
To minimize curling the bed and print area needs to be kept warm to prevent a temperature differential from cooling the print unevenly. A plexiglass or cardboard enclosure works well and even better than the standard metal case in this regard.
7) PRINTING MULTIPLE OBJECTS
I've personally found that printing multiple objects greatly increases the odds of a print breaking loose, as the print head can hit the print surface when it moves between objects. For instance if you print one cylinder, the head always stays within the perimeter of the cylinder so it cannot ever catch an outside edge. If you print two cylinders, however, it constantly has to transition between the inside and outside of each cylinder and has a chance of catching an edge each time. I think some slicers may have settings that will retract the head between moves, but I've not tried them.
8) SLICING APP PROFILES
Slicing apps like Skeinforge and Slic3r (I believe repetier-host uses slic3r and pronterface uses skeinforge by default) can save sets of settings known as "Profiles". There are two separate official Solidoodle profiles for printing .1mm and .3mm layers in Slic3r. These are tested to be calibrated for the Solidoodle and a particular width filament, and should work pretty well as is. Changing settings in a profile can be useful to fine tune a print, but you can also easily make it unworkable, and not all settings (like layer height) can be safely adjusted on their own independently of the other settings, since things like feed rate, flow rate, layer height, nozzle diameter, thread width, and filament diameter are interdependent.
9) NOZZLE CLOGS
Don't leave nozzle at full temperature for more than 10 minutes if you are not printing. They really ought to put a warning sticker on the print head for this, as it's easy to accidentally do this while waiting for the bed to warm up (which can take 20 minutes) or after you finish printing. If you do, ABS can burn inside and clog the nozzle. If you want to keep the nozzle warm, keep it at no more than 80 degrees C.
To prevent this, I modified the start GCODE in slic3r to preheat the nozzle to 80 and then to full temperature only after the bed has warmed up. I also modified the end CGODE to turn off both heaters after a print is done so I can safely print unattended. Others have done similar custom GCODE. Again, something that should probably be in the standard profiles just for safety but not hard to add.
Hope this helps.
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I currently have a clog and don't have anything the same size or smaller than the filament to push the filament into the hot part so it will come through. Is there a button that extrudes only, or just the down arrow button that feeds new filament in? (By the way my default seems to cool the extruder after all prints without asking).