1 Topic by ads5053

  • ads5053
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Topic: diagnose my problem please.

Hello

So, my printer has been idle for a couple of months. I finally got my computer working and hooked it up to print an awesome rubber band gun.

So far the retraction seems for be off to me. I got a lot of drips when traveling in non-print areas. The first lay goes on very inconsistent. towards the front it will add the first layer extremely thin. The blue filament is almost 100% transparent its so thin. Than mid print the layers separate and the printer starts printing a thin string lines that i can snap without a lot of force.

Not sure what to do here. When i hit extrude 10mm or 100mm it does that exact amount.

I run a glass plate with hairspray.

2 Reply by ronsii

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Re: diagnose my problem please.

Got any pics? also what printer is it? what temps are you running at? where is the filament from?

Sounds like you may have a partial clog....

3 Reply by ads5053

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Re: diagnose my problem please.

Ok. 

Sd3

Temp are 200 and 95.

I'm using octave black abs.  I think this filament is the worst.  It's brittle and prints horribly.  So I got another brand called sains something blue abs from Amazon.  Much better quality but still no quality prints. 

I ran a guitar string in the nozzle and I don't feel any buildup. 

No pics atm at the office.

4 Reply by ronsii (edited by ronsii 2014-01-15 03:43:20)

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Re: diagnose my problem please.

Yeah, black filament form just about anyone is usually the worst as it can contain all the leftover crap they can't put into other colors as it would show.

When you have the hotend extrude into air if there is a clog it will curl as it comes out of the nozzle otherwise it will extrude straight down, if it is not a clog then you probably just need to adjust some settings or calibrations... speaking of which have you done any of the standard calibrations?

http://www.soliwiki.com/Main_Page#Calibrations

Oh btw pics help immensely smile when you get a chance.

5 Reply by ads5053

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Re: diagnose my problem please.

Ok pics are here. Here is a semi failed print of half of my pokeball attempt.

PunBB bbcode test

PunBB bbcode test



Only thing i didn't run is the dial indicator. My mounting bracket magnets are missing. So i used the playing card method and went by hot much resistance i felt. I think all 3 screws are about even.

Notice the horrible leakage with the blobs and the section that is extremely thin.

6 Reply by Photog

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Re: diagnose my problem please.

Food for thought. Shouldn't the extruder steps be calibrated to what comes out of the nozzle, not what goes in? Makes more sense that way...

My SD3:  Clear plexiglass case, case heater, X axis stabilizer, Z axis stabilizer, thumb screws, filament guide, heatsinks on all motors, extruder fan, controller fan, heatsinks on motherboard, Y rod pillow block, USB and Power on/off switch, fully calibrated including trimpot tuning. Am I missing anything?

7 Reply by ads5053

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Re: diagnose my problem please.

I did the straw trick.  Where you  mark 100mm on the filament and see if it extruder that amount.  It's on the soli wiki I'm just going to keep recalibration it. This printer has been a big pain since June.  Maybe just maybe I can get it going.

8 Reply by Photog (edited by Photog 2014-01-16 18:04:29)

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Re: diagnose my problem please.

ads5053 wrote:

I did the straw trick.  Where you  mark 100mm on the filament and see if it extruder that amount.  It's on the soli wiki I'm just going to keep recalibration it. This printer has been a big pain since June.  Maybe just maybe I can get it going.


I have mine so precisely calibrated with E steps that I can extrude 350mm and it will pull in that exact amount into the extruder on the dot.

But however what I noticed is that.. the E steps setting, EVERYONE ends up with the same setting after calibration. Which means I think that maybe the SD is designed to over-extrude by the makers of solidoodle and we shouldn't be calibrating it. After all, the SDwiki is run by people on the forums not people that make the thing.

I mean if "calibration" was a matter of fixing flaws.. why would everyones SD be flawed the same amount from the factory and not just "calibrated" by the assembly team before shipping...

My SD3:  Clear plexiglass case, case heater, X axis stabilizer, Z axis stabilizer, thumb screws, filament guide, heatsinks on all motors, extruder fan, controller fan, heatsinks on motherboard, Y rod pillow block, USB and Power on/off switch, fully calibrated including trimpot tuning. Am I missing anything?

9 Reply by ads5053

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Re: diagnose my problem please.

Mine is extruding exactly the right amount but the prints are absoluetly horrible. I don't know maybe ill just sell it and get a makerbot or something. I already have a full time job lol. Seems like a spend a lot of time tweaking and fixing the printer with little success.

Although the black filament was a waste of money. The blue filament is better but still pretty bad.

10 Reply by ggunners

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Re: diagnose my problem please.

My SD2 Pro was over-extruding by default. Once I adjusted the input amount (extrusion stepper) to extrude the correct amount, there were gaps between each vertical layer (perimeter).

That's when you have to calibrate the flow rate (Wiki calibrations) by printing one of the open squares that has a single filament side and measuring with calipers. My understanding is that these flow rates may change for each filament you have and even over the life of the filament depending on how it ages. And the flow rates change depending on your layer height .3, .2 or .1 or any other height.

From the Wiki:

When you are printing at .3mm layers, a good Width over Thickness Ratio is 1.4, 
meaning the thread is 1.4x wider than its height.  This would be .42mm, and if the flow 
setting is right, the printer should be delivering threads at this width.

You need to change the RH settings as it says to .42 width for .3 z height and the filament multiplier.

Go through the process in the wordpress entry and things will start coming together.

So I've done 4 of the calibrations so far. Level the z bed, calibrate the extrusion stepper, calibrate the flow rate and adjust the belts (to make circles out of ovals). I am getting much better prints now. There is no obvious z wobble at this time on my SD2. The only thing left for me is PID tuning for calibrations.

Now onto understanding how to make changes in RH for specific perimeter heights and the more curvy prints.

Hang in there, it takes awhile to start feeling like you have a clue. smile -- ggunners

SD2 Expert stock, ABS fume fan,
XYZ DaVinci 1.0 stock ABS, Simplify3D
QUBD Two-Up PLA, new 3D printed X gantry, Y idler, flex z coupler, extruder mount, E3D Lite