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JohnFox

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Posts posted by JohnFox

  1. I would suspect the Z bearings if you saw the bed drop. I think the balls locked up in the raceway, then suddenly released again. It's a bit involved but if you can undo the bearings, try sliding them up and down the pillars. They should move smoothly but mine had frequent lockups. Changing the bearings solved the problem.

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  2. Does this problem only occur after 10mm? It sounds like a problem I had, caused by a problem with the Z axis bearings.

    Have you ever put any oil onto the Z axis pillars? If you have, then possibly the balls in the bearings are trying to slide rather than roll. This causes the bearing race to lock up and jam, resulting in the Z axis error.

    Try and clean the pillars so there is no oil at all. Then with the power off, raise and lower the print head a few times, trying to feel if there is any sudden friction.

    I eventually bought some new bearings, cleaned everything and it fixed the problem.

  3. Not used PET but had some success with PLA, the key thing was to make the objects solid. Normal walls up to 3 layers thick with conventional 20% infill always leaked, once I moved to solid objects - no leakage. Be aware though that some fluid could seep into the Z axis layers.

  4. Is there anything coming out of the nozzle at all, just wondering if it is blocked?

    Is the nozzle getting hot, you could touch it with a piece of filament to check? A heater problem would prevent any extrusion and cause the results you are seeing.

    The extruder may not be perfect but it's not that bad.

    Are you running default settings? At this stage, I would really keep to machine defaults. A brand new machine should be able to run the supplied PLA perfectly well without any need for changes. Again, may not be perfect but not far off.

  5. Depends on wether the hole is horizontal or vertical. I suspect that your hole, if printed vertically would come come out about 7.8mm, ( at least on my printer ). I have a lot of holes to take 3mm bolts and routinely print them with 3.2mm diameter to get a perfect fit. Horizontal holes are more accurate but the tops of them are a bit distorted when the gap is being bridged.

  6. Stepper motors do run hot. I would avoid dropping the current, there is a danger of them missing steps. I was surprised that UM2 allows changes to the currents, you could easily get very unexpected results.

  7. I sometime get that, I can see the bed flexing a bit as the head moves along - not sure about its significance.

    No need to recalibrate the bed, that is only for the 1st layer, after that the bed moves down the correct amount each time and is not affected by the initial bed height.

    If the robot comes out OK, then you are all set to go.

     

    Hi Guys,

    I have just done the test print of the Ultimaker Robot and it came out great! However, whilst printing I think the nozzle is just hitting the tip of the plastic as it prints a new layer. Is this normal or should I calibrate it with the nozzle slightly higher?

    Thanks in advance.

     

  8. Only use PLA filament, ( quality grade ).

    Use the glue stick provided to stick the object to the glass. You will probably need a 'brim' round the objects to keep them in place.

    0.1mm layer height gives the best quality in a reasonable time.

    Use Cura in X-ray and layer mode to see if your design is sound.

    Start small.

    Use this forum - there are some really helpful and knowledgable people on it.

  9. Just done a test print at 0.3mm - it's quick!

    Quality and strength as expected - poor, starting to see gaps between the layers. Not possible with ABS, it would warp and delaminate. Worth doing with PLA if speed is the only issue.

    Certainly explains the original posting about lack of strength.

     

    I see your point - your image shows a layer height equal to the nozzle width.  That's why Cura doesn't recommend layer height > 3/4 of the nozzle width (.4mm nozzle means .3mm layer height max).

    But if the layer height is too small you have a problem also - so .05mm layer height isn't going to carry enough heat to melt the layer below.  I would think a .2mm layer height would give you the most melting without worrying about air/contact.  The bead of plastic being laid down would be pretty close to rectangular.

     

  10. The amount of heat is going to be the same assuming constant extrusion but the area of contact between the upper and lower layers is going to be minimal at large layer height. The top layer is going to be a series of cylinders rather than 'squished' on the lower, the only points of contact being the top and bottom of the cylinder. The top layer of a raft works in a similar way so it is easy to peel off.layers.jpg.3fc5b1a1fb86c3aba6d433a46c6416ba.jpg

    How do I get images a bit smaller?

    Does anyone know the nozzle diameter of the Replicator 2x that jjl is using?

     

    I would think that a thicker layer would bond better because there is more heat stored in that thicker trace going down on top of the layer below.  You don't have to melt the entire layer below - just the top surface.

    I also found that printing at 255C was hot enough to cause a nozzle clog and if I print that hot I need to speed up my printing a bit.  It was more than a nozzle clog - it was the bottom 10mm of filament that turned into a cooked glob that would not melt.

     

    layers.jpg.3fc5b1a1fb86c3aba6d433a46c6416ba.jpg

  11. The problem has just gone away.!!!!!

    It cleared after I did the screenshot of the browser - crazy.

    I guess something with my Safari and Mac

    Sorry.

     

    Hi @JohnFox,

    Thanks for sharing this issue. Could you share a screenshot and your exact browser version, OS and OS version? Thanks :)

     

  12. If you have a gearbox between the motor and the plastic, that will act as a thermal break.

    I was using stepper motors which can get quite hot.

    If you are using bearings, then stick to PLA, it's quite tough material, print 0.1mm for strength.

    ABS is stronger and easier to smooth but I have had so many print failures due to warping that I have abandoned it.

     

     

    ColorfabbXT may be a good alternative. Its easier to print than abs.

     

    So this exactly http://colorfabb.com/xt-black

    ? Or did you mean something else?

    What about Easyfil ABS?

     

    At 10rpm, PLA should be fine, the rollers won't be moving that quickly. You must use grease on the moving parts as the friction between PLA surfaces tends to be quite high. Silicone grease would be good for this, ( or the green grease that Ulitmaker uses ).

    What motor will you be using, make sure that doesn't get hot? I use nylon washers between the motor and mount on my pumps, acting as thermal breaks.

    ABS would be a better material but it can be a sod to print.

    Ball bearings will be used. I have thought about nylon or PTFE spacers, also thought about a cooling fan

    Motor will be https://www.servocity.com/html/10_rpm_precision_gear_motor.html

     

  13. No wonder the object is weak, at 0.3mm layer thickness on the UM2 with a 0.4mm nozzle, the layers will hardly bond. It's just like a raft, peals apart easily. For any strength at all you must get each layer to weld to the one below. It won't matter what infill you choose, if you don't get the layers to bond in the first place it will be weak.

    Try 0.1mm on the UM2 or use a larger nozzle.

    Also 240C may not be hot enough for ABS on the UM2. The machine default temperature is 260C.

     

     

    I printed on the makerbot with 110 C bed and 230 C extruder and on the ultimaker I used 105 C bed and 240 C extruder unenclosed. Both were printed at .3 mm thickness and about 60 to 70 mm/s speed. As a rule of thumb I use higher infill percent for a stronger part so I assumed that a part filled completely would have take more to break than a part only 15% filled in. I was just confused why the 15% infill part the makerbot put out was harder to break than the 100% infill ultimaker part.

     

  14. At 10rpm, PLA should be fine, the rollers won't be moving that quickly. You must use grease on the moving parts as the friction between PLA surfaces tends to be quite high. Silicone grease would be good for this, ( or the green grease that Ulitmaker uses ).

    What motor will you be using, make sure that doesn't get hot? I use nylon washers between the motor and mount on my pumps, acting as thermal breaks.

    ABS would be a better material but it can be a sod to print.

  15. JFB_3090st.thumb.jpg.f16e79f5459b73d46ca4e1be772398f6.jpg

    Any ideas as to what could have caused this?

    The box is standing on its end, base towards you and the square holes were at the rear of the printer. Both sides were the same, sloping inwards towards the rear of the print. The front is reasonably OK but with a slight overhang at the top.

    PLA, 0.1mm layer, 210C, printed quite slow. An 11 hour print.

    It's certainly not in the original model or is it seen in Cura. The top of the object, ( the part that sticks out ) is the correct size, the sides are sloping inwards.

    Not seen the effect before and the current print looks fine.

    JFB_3090st.thumb.jpg.f16e79f5459b73d46ca4e1be772398f6.jpg

  16. It is either the nozzle blocked or the filament has got tangled.

    Before stripping the print head use the 'atomic' clean up of the nozzle as the first approach. That should clear any junk. If the nozzle stays blocked, then I use the shaft end of a 0.4mm drill bit into the nozzle hole. You have to heat the nozzle to about 200C to soften anything in there, then gently push the drill end in. Once it is in place, slide it up and down to clear the hole. You will have to wrap some tape around the drill to stop you're self getting burnt. Take car and don't break the drill.

    I use the machine default temperature of 210C for all my PLA work.

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