Total newb here. Any help appreciated. CTC replicator dual. (Page 1 of 2)

If yours is like mine then it came with an SDcard which has an older version of Makerware and ReplicatorG on it. Makerware has a background service called conveyor that prevents anything else from connecting to the bot as long as it is running. You will need to go into Makerware and turn off that service. It is under one of the toolbar options to stop service.

Now open ReplicatorG, connect to the printer and use the manual controls to set the temp to ABS temps. Then use the retract function to back the filament out. Load the PLA at ABS temps to purge the remaining ABS out us the extrude function in the manual controls for this.

The firmware your machine is loaded with assume an MK10 extruder which has a release lever for loading. Most of the CTC clones yes I say clones as there seems to be many that are labeled as CTC but are not CTC use an MK9 extruder that does not have a lever.

ABS temps are too high for PLA so once you start using PLA after all the ABS is purged you will need to lower the temps to around 190 to 210 on the extruder and 60 to 90 on the bed.

Stop using the tape. Go out and get some Elmers purple glue sticks. They make prints stick very well and clean up with a damp cloth. Also Aqua net hairspray works well. You just have to shield everything when you spray it.

You are correct about it using the left. That is considered the primary and is always used. The secondary is only used when a multicolor print is used. So you will need to remove the ABS and load PLA.

You cannot print on the metal plate. it needs the Kapton tape or painters tape over it. Or do Like I did and get a mirror tile or glass and cut it to size and hold it in place with bull dog clips. The you can use glue or hair spray.

Thankyou Carl. The makerware software I have is 3.7.0.148 but I can't find anything that says 'conveyor.

I'm trying to avoid using my computer in favour of using an SD card. Do I have to use replicator G or is there a way I can have more control without connecting my computer to the printer? Currently I can set the temperature of build plate and extruders, but cannot change the temperature of either once the print has started.

I think it is the mk9 extruders... Is there a release for them or should I just cut the filament and tell it to load new filament until it all comes out?

The purple glue sticks are not readily available in the UK but they look similar to pritt stick (although pritt stick is usually white)... I have ordered some elmers but it will take a while to arrive from the US... Do you have pritt stick over there? If so do you know if it is different to Elmers?

In the meantime I am going to get some glass, hairspray and some clips... again any tips welcome.

If we're going through the same thing then I have zero issue with hijacking the thread with useful questions...

I just went to a picture framing shop and bought two pieces of 4mm (double normal picture thickness) glass to fit the platform and some cheap hairspray that I hope has no conditioner or other junk in there. Two pieces of glass cost £4 and the hairspray was £2, if this works I will be pleasantly surprised. The blue tape I think may have been the culprit, the heated plarform melted the adhesive and allowed the tape to curl up with the PLA/ABS. I will post the results tomorrow. If I can get this thing working then anyone can... So far however, I have not

Also to any old hands out there, with the glass is it worth getting some thermal paste (the sort of thing you'd use on a computer heatsink)?

Hi Carl,

I am making do with cutting the filament and just loading new filament at the moment, the gear in the extruders do not seem to go into reverse. It seems fine, I hope I'm right.

After a few wasted experiments I am now wondering something else... Is there flux of some sort in the filament we buy? If not would it be possible to build/buy a machine to return waste plastics back to filament? Is it not a case of simply having a hot pot and the right size nozzle and making sure it cools before it touches anything and deforms.

Ok so further issues...

4mm glass was too thick with platform at lowest and nozzles at highest points. Replaced with 2mm.

I have had a number of cancelled prints due to the unevenness of hairspray on the glass (hardened where it pooled) and therefore giving a false level where the nozzle meets glass. Sorted by estimating an extra half turn on the left sides.

Also hairspray (at least the one I bought) sets hard due to the platform heat and smooth because it is liquid solidifying, so really offers no more purchase than glass, but you can scuff it with sandpaper which seemed to work better. And/or give a quick spritz just after the platform heats up so that it is still tacky for the first layer.

I'm still on PLA. The heated platform temp was set to 70 but the edges turned up again, so I set it to 90 and there was less curling but there may have been other changes that I made having an effect. I think the glass (fabulous conductor though it is) is not having the heat transferred to it well due to the imperfections in the platform and glass. I could easily touch the glass when the platform was heated to 70 which should be uncomfortably high, even when it was set to 90 I doubt the glass was above 60.

Thermal paste is used to connect two good conductors, not connect one good with one bad. I'm considering it because unless the glass and platform have both been made to a super high standard there will always be imperfections between the plate and glass and air is not a good conductor.

Next stop 200 extruder and 110 degree platform, hopefully 70 or 80 degree glass, sprayed and sanded with extra hairspray spritz. After that I think scuffing some aluminium sheet for the platform rather than using glass might be an option. Remind me, why we are using something so smooth when we are trying to get it to grip?

I am dying for this Elmers stuff to turn up, but the due date is early November.

I dont have a CTC, but I do use glass on the build plate. It is not necessary to use thermal paste between the two.

the way mine are set up is (from top down):
     3mm thick glass (mirror actually, held on with hairspray - no clips needed)
     Kapton tape (provides a great surface for sticking the glass down with hairspray) - optional
     Aluminum build plate
     Heat pad
     Insulating material- to help heat move upwards, not out to air space

minor inconsistencies in surfaces are not generally a problem in this application. I can print PLA on the bare glass with bed temp at 60C with no problem, ABS at 100-105C with hairspray.

It does matter what kind of hairspray you are using as well. the recommended type is unscented Aqua Net Extra Super Hold - All Weather (or equivalent in ingredients) in the aerosol can (purple can) - not pump! Pump sprays will not spray evenly enough.

heat bed to about 50-60C, spray a light mist side to side, let it set up for a minute or so, then spray a light mist again front to back for even coverage.

and for what it is worth - hotter is not always better.
Proper bed leveling and first layer height is often more critical than temp

as for this question...

...see the filastruder section of the forums.

No, the edges curl due to uneven cooling. A more uniform temp is better. Surfaces give up their heat faster to the outside air and other surfaces the hotter they are. That's why hot water will freeze faster than cold water. So a cooler but still hot surface will maintain a temp for longer and cool more evenly through the part then a hotter surface. I use 60 on my bed and 235 on my extruders and Glue sticks on my glass and never have lifting with PLA.

Okay, so it's not from the hot plastic that is being applied to a higher layer contracting and pulling up the corner, then warming the room should entirely solve the issue of pulling up. I think the thing I need to find out is what the ambient temperature is (on top of the platform and extruder temp) on a successful build.

It occurs to me that we probably live in very different climates... Today it was 13 celcius (55F) max. It'll be tuesday before I can continue because my pregnant wife is complaining that she has already become a 3d widow.

Any ideas about the stringy print in the pics I posted?

I might try that at some point but the place that it's currently installed is very tight in order to stop the wobbling...

In the meantime I have used a blow heater, PLA, 205/65, and tried a new hairspray and it is perfectly straight. I couldn't ask for better adhesion, but it still failed. The extruder kept moving but no PLA came out for quite a while (I left it running alone). When I came back the extruder was still being moved over the print as if it were printing but nothing coming out the end.

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What hairspray did you use. I hope to get my glass this week, to put on my build plate.

Will look at the 'tent' idea, as my machine is in a garage, and can be a bit windy sometimes.............

I upped the temp because stringy bits were forming on a previous model and the strings would attach to the extruder and pull the model free. I thought the hotter temps would be less likely to stick to the extruder. I'll try lower again next.

The hairspray which worked was l'oreal elnett satin extra strength. I picked it because I know I have seen it around in many places and therefore wouldn't be likely to disappear from the supermarket shelves any time soon. It's not cheap (for hairspray), but it is readily available in the UK.

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I didn't see aquanet available anywhere in the UK so I used some cheap extra firm pound store one first which didn't work. I figured cheap, less extra stuff in it like conditioners etc. I imagine there are cheap ones that'll do but l'oreal came good so I'm probably not going to try others, after all my elmers glue sticks will arrive in november.

Kneel before Zod!

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As a side note... Extra strength hairspray might be too much. I tried to remove the print after cooling and it held so tight that a silver of glass has come away with it.

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I ran it under water to make it more visable. It's definitely an indent.

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