You are not logged in. Please login or register.
SoliForum - 3D Printing Community → Solidoodle Discussion → Getting Started
Thanks Manx 
sorry about the no pic Rocketman I was in an office frenzy trying to get orders packed and payroll done among a hundred other things... up til 1 AM getting things straightened out... but all is well now Hope that pic helps you, I was going from memory... and well you see how that works
i wanted to share with everyone the a great tool for the 3d printer this is a #2 paintes knife with a rounded in but its very thin and flexable perfect for getting under an itemwithout ripping or cutting the kaftan tape.
Good thinking!
Thanks for the screen shot. As for cleaning the platform someone suggested using Acetone. Is that a fairly toxic chemical? I have my printer in my living space and does not have very good circulation. Should it be safe to use, and how does it effect the properties of the plastic? If I made a cup would it still be food safe?
And how do I find how to adjust the Z-limit switch tab? Customer support suggested I do that assuming that my platform is not as it should be (and in any event I don't know what normal looks like, or if the difference would be too subtle for me to detect).
How easily can the kaftan tape rip? How expensive is it to be replaced?
acetone will eat the shit out of plastics of all types strangely enough your body makes it do not mix with peroxide it will explode
kaftan tape can be ordered from solidoodle you can find it on ebay in large rolls go for a large roll or print on glass
If you put a few drops of acetone on a paper towel and then clean the kapton, it will not be enough acetone to hurt you. That said, I started out cleaning the kapton before every print, but now I rarely do it. I print on glass with hairspray (a different solvent involved).
These plastics are not really food safe: you should read about that separately. The acetone wipe is not the issue.
The Z limit switch is on the back of the printer. You should read up on the entire procedure. Solidoodle should have this explained clearly on their web site.
Thanks for the screen shot. As for cleaning the platform someone suggested using Acetone. Is that a fairly toxic chemical? I have my printer in my living space and does not have very good circulation. Should it be safe to use, and how does it effect the properties of the plastic? If I made a cup would it still be food safe?
And how do I find how to adjust the Z-limit switch tab? Customer support suggested I do that assuming that my platform is not as it should be (and in any event I don't know what normal looks like, or if the difference would be too subtle for me to detect).
Also if it matters my test object that I downloaded to hopefully try the printer out is near spherical. I'm not sure if that is typically tough to accomplish without it rolling away or having trouble getting started at the base of it?
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:32445
compound_j74.stl
If you put a few drops of acetone on a paper towel and then clean the kapton, it will not be enough acetone to hurt you. That said, I started out cleaning the kapton before every print, but now I rarely do it. I print on glass with hairspray (a different solvent involved).
These plastics are not really food safe: you should read about that separately. The acetone wipe is not the issue.
I thought ABS was food safe. In the intro video for the printer the guy that invented the thing was drinking out of a "hurricane cup" he made using the printer so I assumed at least for room temp liquids it should be as safe as bottle plastic.
Things that don't have a flat side to lay on the bed can be difficult. It's best to start out with something simple like a cube, so ir is easy to see if you get the expected result. If there are problems, you want to be sure it is related to the printer, and not just a challenging STL so start with an easy one.
How do I center the extruder? I just followed most of the instructions for manually leveling the platform, but towards the end of the video it says to center the extruder, and I don't know if I have a button for that strangely enough.
IMO everyone should stop using acetone and start using hand sanitizer instead. I get the same result with both, and now my hands are always germ free. I think you could drink from an ABS cup. Legos are ABS and kids put them in their mouths for years.
Legos are ABS and kids put them in their mouths for years.
The problem isn't the plastic, it's the deposition method. FFF leaves tiny creases and crevices that trap bacteria.
Also you're extruding through a brass nozzle that has lead in it. Probably not a big issue though.
I'd worry most about how pure the ABS is - who know what it comes in contact with in China.
Ok I tried to do a print of a flat snowflake, and I waited until the extruder was 195 and the platform was 105 (it took a good 15 minutes to get that hot), and still after leveling the platform it didn't stick at all, and it said the job was over even before the extruder went anywhere near the outer range of the platform. It just messed around in the middle and moved back to the corner and stopped. I think my printer is retarded or something.
Ok, and now I tried to print a simple cylinder and it built up about halfway and now it is dragging the bottom half of the model on the side of the extruder as it is trying to work on the top half. Something is really wrong here.
Ok, and now I tried to print a simple cylinder and it built up about halfway and now it is dragging the bottom half of the model on the side of the extruder as it is trying to work on the top half. Something is really wrong here.
When you have problems like this you should post a pic with the message so we can see what your talking about.
Also have you done calibration lately, leveling the bed, setting z limit, etc?
Rocketman, go through the items on this page first. Clean the build platform, enclose the build environment (cardboard if you have to) and give it another shot. If you're still having trouble come back with specifics and pictures and settings so we can help you efficiently. This is complex tech so there are many things that can cause the same result so it's hard to help you with what you've provided already. We're a helpful group, just help us help you out. Don't get discouraged, we'll get you up and running.
Rocketman, go through the items on this page first. Clean the build platform, enclose the build environment (cardboard if you have to) and give it another shot. If you're still having trouble come back with specifics and pictures and settings so we can help you efficiently. This is complex tech so there are many things that can cause the same result so it's hard to help you with what you've provided already. We're a helpful group, just help us help you out. Don't get discouraged, we'll get you up and running.
Good advice. The more information we have, the easier it is to troubleshoot things.
Rocketman wrote:Ok, and now I tried to print a simple cylinder and it built up about halfway and now it is dragging the bottom half of the model on the side of the extruder as it is trying to work on the top half. Something is really wrong here.
When you have problems like this you should post a pic with the message so we can see what your talking about.
Also have you done calibration lately, leveling the bed, setting z limit, etc?
Yes I leveled it. I don't know what setting a z limit is though.
In post #8 of this thread --->http://www.soliforum.com/topic/252/bed- … at-prints/ you can see the 'z' screw just left of the models head on the back of the SD printer
Ok, and now I tried to print a simple cylinder and it built up about halfway and now it is dragging the bottom half of the model on the side of the extruder as it is trying to work on the top half. Something is really wrong here.
What you're seeing is pretty common.
Check the width of the first layer of filament that gets laid. It should be fairly wide and well-squished into the bed so it sticks well. You can adjust this either by loosening up the z-axis limit switch a turn or two (to move up the zero position) or perhaps by loosening the three screws holding down the bed (which can easily be done from below if you glue some thumbscrews to the screw tips).
A third option is to simply adjust your print settings to add a raft (if using skeinforge) or a brim (if using slic3r) so that the model has more surface area to stick to the bed.
A last thing to check is to make sure your print settings aren't extruding too much plastic. This can happen if you have the slicing app set to too small a filament size. Skeinforge and slic3r also have fudge factors you can adjust to reduce the flow of plastic. If too much comes through, the extruder will tend to catch on extra blobs of plastic and knock the print loose midway through a print.
Don't worry. Handling and preventing issues like this become second nature very quickly and are much rarer once you find profile settings that work for your machine and filament.
I just assumed I'd be able to work with all the defaults that the software comes with, flow rate and all. I have nothing that resembles an engineering degree in my 125+ credit hours of college so I don't even know which way to change what under what conditions. The pictures attached are the best I've been able to get out of this thing after the week or so it took to get the drivers to run the printer at all. For as best I can tell this printer is only good for keep chocolate hot. I was hoping I could make models that others might want to purchase to make a business out of it, but I can't even print what amounts to a freaking hockey puck.
It still doesn't look like the first layer is right. Have you seen this page at the official wiki? http://wiki.solidoodle.com/first-layers … e-z-offset
level bed + adjust Z.
Yes, I have leveled it and played with the little screw thing in the back. Both the screw driver and screw bit itself were too long to fit in there so I was forced to use my fingers to try to turn it. How close to the platform is the extruder supposed to be? Is there some kind of test someone could run? Maybe 5 post-it sheets or something? And how can I make the extruder place itself over the platform as if it is about to run, but not start printing anything so I can adjust it?
Which turn brings them closer together?
Is there a conservative way of making models? I'd prefer accuracy to speed.
Could the extruder be too close to the platform or is really close to it ideal? Also should I try bringing the heat up somewhere over 200 on the extruder to hopefully make the plastic less stringy and more apt to stay down?
SoliForum - 3D Printing Community → Solidoodle Discussion → Getting Started
Powered by PunBB, supported by Informer Technologies, Inc.
