1 Topic by presstong

  • presstong
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Topic: I really want to print something...anything with a Workbench

Can someone please help me figure out what I am doing wrong?   

This is our first 3-D printer at my office and we could really use some guidance on what I am doing wrong.  I tried the hairspray idea on the glass on top of the print bed, but it still gets drug around.  As it prints the Z-Table doesn't move down so the filament melts on to the extruder as the printer just prints out basically a ball of filament that looks like a cat got a hold of a ball of yarn--doesn't look like anything that it is supposed to be doing like its printing in the manual control picture window. 

This is what I am currently doing, and its not working...

1.  Turn Printer On
2.  Connect
3.  Heat Extruder to 215 and Print Bed to 105
4.  Load STL file, center it
5.  Slice with Slic3r
6.  Run Job when heats are correct

These are what my screens and settings look like, in case the problem is there:

Slic3r Screen-
Print Settings = Solidoodle 0.3 mm
Printer Settings = Solidoodle Workbench
Filament Settings
Extruder 1 and Extruder 2 = Solidoodle 1.75 mm

Manual Control Screen:
Heat Extruder
Speed mm/min = 100
Extrude = 10
Retract = 10

Speed Multiply
Feedrate = 100
Flowrate = 100

Printer Settings:
Port = Com3
Baud Rate = 115200
Stop Bits = 1
Parity = None
Transfer Protocol = Autodetect
Receive Cache Size = 63
use ping pong communication is UNCHECKED

Printer:
Travel Feed Rate = 4800
Z-Axis Feed Rate = 200
Default Extruder Temp = 215
Default Print Bed Temp = 105
# of Extruders = 2
Park X=336, Park Y=305, Z-Min=50
All boxes are CHECKED

Printer Shape
Printer Type = L_Cartesian_Printer
Home X, Home Y, and Home Z = MAX
Print Area--
Width = 305
Depth = 305
Height = 300

2 Reply by wardjr

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Re: I really want to print something...anything with a Workbench

Just a shot in the dark here.  What calibrations have you done in particular what are you doing for the z height and extruder calibrations?

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3-SD3's & a Workbench all fully enclosed, RH-Slic3r Win7pro, E3D V6, Volcano & Cyclops Hot End
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3 Reply by presstong

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Re: I really want to print something...anything with a Workbench

Solidoodle sent me an email where it had me do a M851 and G29.  That is all I have done on this

4 Reply by warnweld (edited by warnweld 2015-03-18 00:43:25)

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Re: I really want to print something...anything with a Workbench

i know with the hair spray issue, you need to use a strong hold hairspray of good quality. i tried some cheaper brands that did nothing at all and when i washed them off the glass heatbed they became quite soapy, but the expensive hairspray didn't. i also noticed that some of the cheaper brands have water in them. don't compromise on the quality of the hairspray, or try using kapstan tape. i also heat my bed to 115 deg. and turn off the fans for the first 2 layers.

5 Reply by grob

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Re: I really want to print something...anything with a Workbench

warnweld wrote:

i know with the hair spray issue, you need to use a strong hold hairspray of good quality. i tried some cheaper brands that did nothing at all and when i washed them off the glass heatbed they became quite soapy, but the expensive hairspray didn't. i also noticed that some of the cheaper brands have water in them. don't compromise on the quality of the hairspray, or try using kapstan tape. i also heat my bed to 115 deg. and turn off the fans for the first 2 layers.

AFAIK, there is little information available on what makes different types of hairspray better or worse than others when used as an bed adhesive for FFF 3d printing. Current anecdotal evidence (e.g. these forums) suggest that there are significant differences between brands/types, but it doesn't seem to correlate with price at all: for example, "Aqua Net" is recommended by many, yet is very cheap. I have personally tried two brands, and found the second (unfortunately slightly more expensive) type worked a lot better.

The merits of each build surface are widely discussed (perhaps unhelpfully so!), but even with the amount of time I spend trawling the net about these kind of things I still really can't point you to anything conclusive. So at present anyone's opinion is pretty much as good as anyone else's.

My personal experience has shown that hairspray (once I tried a couple and found a good one) on glass has been much more effective than kapton on glass, for a heated bed printing ABS under otherwise fairly similar conditions - which leads me to my main point, which is:

Stick with the hairspray, don't bother with Kapton.

SD3. Mk2b + glass, heated enclosure, GT2 belts, direct drive y shaft, linear bearings, bowden-feed E3D v5 w/ 0.9° stepper
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6 Reply by AZERATE

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Re: I really want to print something...anything with a Workbench

grob wrote:

Stick with the hairspray, don't bother with Kapton.

+100
*Grab some Extra Super Hold Aquanet (purple can), but traditional Aquanet will still help.
*Evenly spray the glass surface. Do not soak, just evenly cover it.
*You can choose to apply several coats to the bottom of the glass if you want to avoid using binders. Binders will limit your print area and warp the glass to the aluminum bed as it changes face.
*Slap the glass/mirror back onto the bed.
*Heat the bed up all the way up and cool three times. By then, then surface is cured...not too tacky, not too hard, and if you chose to spray the bottom, it would have adhered wonderfully.

There is no reason anyone should be forced to use kapton as the "go-to".

When I first got my printer and was learning, I cheaped out and got some $2 bottle instead of $3 for Aquanet. Once I made the switch, it was night and day. It all comes down to acrylates copolymer (citation needed on exact chemical), since it bonds to plastic and is found in Aquanet.

Printit Mason and Printit Horizon printers
Multiple SD2s- Bulldog XL, E3D v5/v6/Lite6, Volcano, Hobb Goblin, Titan, .9 motor, Lawsy carriages, direct Y drive, fishing line...the list goes on
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7 Reply by jagowilson

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Re: I really want to print something...anything with a Workbench

Funny, aquanet super hold is like $1.70 at Walmart here! Cheaper than the glass by 40 cents or so!