Solidoodle Calibration Requirements

They insist that they do a test print on every unit before it goes out and that, therefore, it is calibrated when it leaves the factory.  I find it a little hard to believe that all of the ways mine wasn't calibrated and needed modding or calibration could all have come from a little jostling when shipping.

I found it pretty surprising that I couldn't even approach a successful print without an enclosure and a glass bed, for instance, and while they insist they can do prints with a stock machine, they don't even try to explain what's different about their environment and tests that lets them do what so many of us can't even approach.

A likely candidate for most of these problems (tip hitting the print, print lifting off etc...) would be improper Z-tab calibration. It is common for the Z-tab to be knocked out of alignment in shipping, and many users have trouble aligning it the first time.

Most of this would be solved by achieving better adhesion. Some adhesion tips:

1) Insure that your Z-tab is properly calibrated http://wiki.solidoodle.com/first-layers … e-z-offset
2) Insure that your print bed is achieving proper heat (85-95)
3) Make sure that cooling sources (fans, air conditioners) are not pointed at the print surface
4) Failing all of this, try lightly sanding your Kapton tape. This increases surface area and helps adhesion.
5) Failing this, apply a sticking agent. Many of our users prefer to use:
    a) Hairspray (aquanet is a favorite)
    b) Glue, including mucilage based solutions
    c) ABS glue (ABS dissolved in acetone)
6) You may also want to clean your bed with acetone prior to printing, removing any dirt that could be affecting the print.
7) Many of our users enjoy the performance upgrades that setting a small pane of glass on top of the print bed can give. Heat is transferred very evenly through the glass, and it is cheaply obtained. You may want to consider this.

You will not need to do any soldering. The only "physical" change needed is to calibrate the heat bed.

The rest is in software (code and/or configuration).

    Mats

I saw the video on leveling the heatbed, seems simple in the video. I am going to make a cheap enclosure (magnets and Plexiglas or something), and the glass bed seems super easy.

I think my biggest problem will be time because work and all. Haha. I told my fiancée to be prepared to lose me for a few months after I get my 3D printer AKA Solidoodle 2 pro.

I'm in about the same place as you, I'm primarily a software guy.  Comfortable installing video cards, capable of tuning up a lawnmower, etc. but not at heart a tinkerer nor familiar with the lingo for 3D printers.  I do own a soldering iron but I'm nowhere near as savvy with it as the guys around here, and not comfortable enough to use it any time I have to get near the circuit board.

After a bit over a month with my SD3 I've been able to print a fair number of good stuff and do a few of my own designs.  I've done a bunch of calibrations and been frustrated a lot early on with instructions about "make sure it's not too loose or too tight" (so hard to get people to realize that that kind of instruction only helps if you already know how tight is "just right"), but I've been able to muddle through.  I haven't had to use the soldering iron (though as of yesterday, I may be getting to where I might have to).

So don't despair.  With only a bit of luck and a fair supply of tenacity I think you will be able to make it work.  I am hoping that, in time, I'll be positioning myself to be able to help with people of our tech savvy levels.  There is a wealth of material out there, but it's really not written or organized towards us -- so hopefully I'll be able to point you to the right bits, having found which ones are right the hard way.

Someone from Brooklyn lied?  C'mon, that's crazy talk.

Seriously, I'm running into the same problems.  I've spent two solid weekends and several other days calibrating the thing.  I'm still nowhere near close to printing a decent circle.