1

Topic: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

Hello,
is there any way to calibrate xy axis without taking the belt off? solidoodle's wiki page instruct taking the belt and stuff off....
i am only 1~.5 mm off... :-( it doesn't justify for the trouble...  is there anyone with a guide to calibrate xy without messing with belts? (and mess with grease)

Solidoodle2 with Ceramic tile heated bed http://www.soliforum.com/topic/2544/my- … eated-bed/
"1kg should last for an while" is a lie!

2

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:84795 This is always my last step for finishing off a calibration.

SD3 w/ mods:
Glass bed with QU-BD heat pad upgrade, threadless ballscrew w/ 8mm smooth rod, spectra line belt replacement, lawsy MK5 extruder, Lawsy replacement carriage, E3D hotend, Ramps 1.4 w/ reprap discount controller, DRV8825 drivers, 12v 30A PS, Acrylic case, Overkill Y-idlers, Filament alarm, Extruder fan + more.

3

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

nice, that page leads me to the tutorial... i will try to get rid of that .5mm differences

Solidoodle2 with Ceramic tile heated bed http://www.soliforum.com/topic/2544/my- … eated-bed/
"1kg should last for an while" is a lie!

4

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

I'm trying to calibrate my axes and started using the write-up you linked to.  Before I even got to the axes My extrusion was way off. The steps/mm were originally set at  138 and I calculated them to be around 7.  When I adjusted to seven it was way to little.  Could someone tell me ball park what this value could be.

Another issue I'm having is that the filament oozes out on its own ruining any measurements i take, any advice for this?

Thanks

5

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

twoseams wrote:

I'm trying to calibrate my axes and started using the write-up you linked to.  Before I even got to the axes My extrusion was way off. The steps/mm were originally set at  138 and I calculated them to be around 7.  When I adjusted to seven it was way to little.  Could someone tell me ball park what this value could be.

Another issue I'm having is that the filament oozes out on its own ruining any measurements i take, any advice for this?

Thanks

If your measurements and math are correct you should come to apx what you need. My default X/Y steps per mm were 88.

E3D-v4 Hotend, MK5 carriage with round plastic wire conduit , 3/16" tempered glass,  Well nut, SureStepr SD8825 1/32 Extruder Driver, PowerEdge 2650 500W PS, QU-BD heated bed, circuit board fan, hinged plexiglass enclosure with plastic tray top. Other than that mostly stock SD3

6

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

Were you measuring filament going in or coming out?  Extruder steps usually come to around 110.

7

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

Were you measuring filament going in or coming out?  Extruder steps usually come to around 110.

There's my problem. Thank you.

8

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

Mmm... are you guys talking about x y or e?
can someone give us a screen or better... type out values for the x y e steps

Solidoodle2 with Ceramic tile heated bed http://www.soliforum.com/topic/2544/my- … eated-bed/
"1kg should last for an while" is a lie!

9

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

This was discussing E (mine calculated to 106, stock extruder).

Not at home to check the other steps, sorry.

Don: Folger Tech 2020 Kossel Rev A + Borosilicate + Snow Effector
        Davinci 1.0 + Repetier : Filastruder
        SD3 + RAMPS + Lawsy Carriages + E3D + Borosilicate + ... : Cupcake

10

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

This is my EEPROM configuration's Steps per mm
X 88
y 87
z 2268
e 105

Solidoodle2 with Ceramic tile heated bed http://www.soliforum.com/topic/2544/my- … eated-bed/
"1kg should last for an while" is a lie!

11

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

my x and y are good now, however when i print with 20% fill, I am getting signs of under extrusion. leaving gaps in solid plane.
First layer is solid and no gap... but final layer has gap in it... :-( i am wondering if it's because the 20% from under laying layer that caused the gap. not sure what else to change next :-(

Solidoodle2 with Ceramic tile heated bed http://www.soliforum.com/topic/2544/my- … eated-bed/
"1kg should last for an while" is a lie!

12

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

you can always tweak your fill settings in slic3r.

Check the print settings Tab -> Advanced -> Extrusion Width -> Top Solid Infill ... you can make this 110% or .5  if you are having trouble with gaps in the top layer.

SD3 w/ mods:
Glass bed with QU-BD heat pad upgrade, threadless ballscrew w/ 8mm smooth rod, spectra line belt replacement, lawsy MK5 extruder, Lawsy replacement carriage, E3D hotend, Ramps 1.4 w/ reprap discount controller, DRV8825 drivers, 12v 30A PS, Acrylic case, Overkill Y-idlers, Filament alarm, Extruder fan + more.

13

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

oh yea... this brings up another thing... does nozzle size matter when it comes to trouble shooting gaps? 
and when did solidoodle switched to .4 from .35 nozzle?  I set mine to .4 but is my nozzle .4? who knows...
and i was thinking, if my extrusion rate is corrected... shouldn't the extruded amount also be the same regardless the nozzle?
i really don't want to change the top solid infill... cause that sounds like a "defeat" to me...

maybe i should measure my extrusion rate... with longer length.. I only measured 3cm.. maybe i should try the whole 10cm so this way the error rate is smaller.
I guess I will also check my Z... by printing out a cube to measure height and check my wall width and such.. maybe after all these... I will accept my defeat :-)

Solidoodle2 with Ceramic tile heated bed http://www.soliforum.com/topic/2544/my- … eated-bed/
"1kg should last for an while" is a lie!

14 (edited by Gomisan 2013-08-18 09:55:54)

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

Can I bump this a little.. what is the nozzle width supplied with the latest Solidoodle 3's? The settings in SlicR are .40mm, but considering mine seems to be leaving some gaps.. is it perhaps .35mm?

15

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

Nozzles are .4mm on SD's shipped since about May I think... definately any with a printrboard are .4

If you have gaps - then check both your extruder steps-per-mm and your extrusion multiplier .. bump it up .01 or .02 and see how it goes.. or use the Flowrate % indicator mid-print to see... again only 1% or 2% should be required (i.e, 101, 102...)

16 (edited by Gomisan 2013-08-18 23:53:58)

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

Thanks Adrian, I've done flow rate stuff but I think it's more likely my Y steps need to be calibrated. It's always a gap on the same Axis. If I do a square one edge the fill doesn't meet the perimeter, if I do a circle, that same side doesn't quite touch.

Anyway, all I can do is do each calibration and eventually I'll hit upon the one that is affecting it.

Also.. on the Solidoodle site is says:

the precision of the printhead in the horizontal plane (X-Y direction) is about .011mm (about 2300dpi). However, this number is a little superflous because we are extruding ABS plastic through a relatively larger .35mm nozzle,

http://store.solidoodle.com/index.php?r … duct_id=79

So where does it say they use a .40mm nozzle?

17

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

They started using the .40 a couple months ago... they just haven't updated the website.

18

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

and just how do you tell?

19 (edited by elmoret 2013-08-19 00:26:54)

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

Extrude into air, measure with calipers. 0.35mm nozzles extrude at around 0.42mm.

20

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

Ok... thanks I'll check that. That's exactly the wall width I got doing a single walled cube. But I'll try measuring the raw extruded material.

21 (edited by adrian 2013-08-19 02:22:11)

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

Gomisan wrote:

Ok... thanks I'll check that. That's exactly the wall width I got doing a single walled cube. But I'll try measuring the raw extruded material.

Don't confuse a printed wall with an extruder into thin air using the manual tab extrusion... One is volumetrically controlled to deliver the wall width specified in the slic3r config and the other is just dumping filament out the nozzle and allowing it to naturally expand as it cools...

i.e, you can make a .4 nozzle print .42 or .48 or even .6 walls...

At the end of the day - I think you'll be just chasing your tail.. its pretty much a certain that any printer shipped since May has a .4mm nozzle - thats all they stock now. You'd be far easier just using calipers to measure the nozzle hole than guessing based on the expansion of an extruded thread... But either way... its highly unlikely you have anything other than a .4mm nozzle given when you ordered your printer and since you have a printrboard... Feel free to Skype Solidoodle or ask on the IRC Channel.. but you'll most likely get the same advice as above directly from Solidoodle too...

22

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

Thanks Adrian, like I've mentioned, I'm just working through and trying to eliminate things as I calibrate my printer. I'm getting really nice prints except for this one particular problem. It seemed to make sense to me that if my nozzle was smaller than what the code thought then it may not be moving it quite far enough.

23

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

Extruding into air I'm getting a thread at .51mm .. onto the next step.

24

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

Hi All,

Looks like I am reviving an old topic here, but would like to know if Raven or Gomisan was able to eliminate the .5mm dimensional size issue using the nickle calibration? I am only able to get either the inside or outside of the calibration to be accurate with the x y steps. If the inside is perfect, the outside is too large. The suggested solution of dialing down the extrusion multiplier isn't good, because I would be going below 90%. The e-steps are well calibrated to begin with as well.

Also, even with much adjusting/ aligning /lubricating the belts and pulleys, stepper voltages, acceleration and jerk setting, as well as eliminating looseness in the print head, circles print out of round- diagonal to the x y! I would appreciate knowing if anyone else had these problems when calibrating the x y with a solidoodle 2.

Thanks for all the help everyone has provided already - I learn so much from this community!

25

Re: Is there an easy way to calibrate XY without taking the belt off

If you are looking for perfect circles and all else is calibrated focus on the y-axis drive rod.  Been covered many times, search for the "how to print perfect circles" post by user Adrian.  To give you an idea of some options.

Printit Industries Model 8.10 fully enclosed CoreXY, Chamber heat
3-SD3's & a Workbench all fully enclosed, RH-Slic3r Win7pro, E3D V6, Volcano & Cyclops Hot End
SSR/500W AC Heated Glass Bed, Linear bearings on SS rods. Direct Drive Y-axis, BulldogXL
Thanks to all for your contributions