--- A week and a half later ---
I have gotten the Workbench working fairly well. Here are some things I've learned for other Newbe's with Workbench's.
1. Repetier Host is the program that will run this printer from your computer. Within this program is Slic3r. Slic3r is a 3rd party program that works well but needs some initial settings to work correctly with the Workbench. Search Slic3r Manual for a good introduction to this program. It will need initial settings. Some of them are below.
- Filament = 1.75mm
- Dimensions(approx) = 300mm x 300mm with a center of 150mmx150mm
- Extruder Temp should be 220 degrees for ABS filament. I think 224 is about the maximum this printer will allow. It's a bit cool for ABS but that's all we get. I haven't tried anything else yet.
The Y Axis of my printer was jammed when I got it. If you look closely you'll see that the control is on the left side and that the right side is just along for the ride. The Y axis support bars are so far apart that the slightest angle between them will cause the axis to bind and the motor to make a grinding noise. I loosened the belt on the right side and liberally greased the Y axis bars with white lithium grease and haven't had a problem since.
This printer has an "auto-level" function but this is a misnomer. It's actually sensing the tilt of the bed and compensating the layers somehow. So you still need to level the bed to the printer as close as possible. However, the auto-level thing works well in allowing the printer to make the first couple of layers because it knows exactly where the build plate is. After running Slic3r for your print, go into the G-Code and add these lines after M107:
G28 X0 Y0 ;home X and Y
G29 ;probe bed
G90; set absolute coordinates
G92 E0; reset extruder distance
G1 Z5 F300 ;move platform down 5mm
G1 X145 Y145 F3000 ; move to back right corner
There is a Z axis probe on this printer. It's located just to the right of the extruders. Before doing a print, lower the bed at least 10mm (down is in the plus Z direction) and then physically PUSH THE Z PROBE down. It is now in a position to probe the bed. When the print starts it will be pushed up, out of the way.
Next, heat the bed up. It is very slow and will take a good 10 minutes or more. For ABS, heat it up to 110. You'll have to figure out the best method of getting your print to otherwise stick to the glass. Bare glass doesn't work.
Now you're ready to print. Hit RUN and keep your fingers crossed. Be prepared for 20 other problems to crop up during the print. To fix them you'll just have to learn all the idiosyncrasies of 3D printing elsewhere.
The good news is that this printer, with the proper set up, does print very well. I'm quite happy with it.
Cheers!