Cura, M3D Micro, maybe even MicroPrint, and nothing works!

[macguiver 0]

Hey guys, i just recently got my new Micro M3D printer and have been churning out prints of embarrassing quality for about a week now. After being frustrated with rafts that are too thick to separate, prints that go all whiskey-d**k halfway through, and just general tom-f**kery i started exploring other options for slicers and print software. I landed on Cura (15.04.3), and all the reviews and this community seem to tell me that was a good decision.. except, nothing will print. The core problem is when i dump out the gcode and bring it into M3D spooler i get either an "invalid gcode" alarm or a "cannot cold extrude" alarm (paraphrasing the alarms). I've tried the little robot that comes preloaded in cura, as well as two other small prints that i've already printed and know the stl file is good. I've tried manually telling the spooler to heat up to PLA temp and it does it - and then as soon as it's up to temp the heater switches off and throws the cold extrusion error.

I tried using MicroPrint (201509301800) to send the gcode to the printer, but it's 100% non responsive - it seems like its having difficulty communicating with the printer, but throws no errors. I tried running some calibrations and it just sits there holding it's pud looking at me like i'm supposed to know what its doing. I read that you need to unload the M3D spooler so that it's not hogging the comm to the printer, so i've done that (in several different order of operations, actually i did these things in all the different orders you can do them in with no change).. I should probably mention i'm running on a mac. I do have windows workstations that i'll be moving to for a more permanent print solution but none that are available currently.

I just want to print stuffs that resemble things, and less like my 2year old sons jagged sick poops. That's maybe an exaggeration, i think we all know the quality of the micro M3D printer and i just want to get something a bit more-gooder as a stepping stone to buying a real 3D printer

any advice you can provide would be hella appreciated. thanks in advance you fantastic bastards.

[SandervG 1,521]

' i think we all know the quality of the micro M3D printer '

You do know you are on an Ultimaker forum, don't you?

What printer profile do you use when dumping out a gcode?

You need an optimized profile for your specific printer otherwise your bound to run into problems.

Without having seen your prints (don't know if you are dealing with a software or hardware), I think part of the problem is buying one of the cheapest 3D printer around.

[nallath 1,124]

"invalid gcode" is an firmware issue.

"cannot cold extrude" is probably caused by weird firmware. It could be caused by Cura as some times of printer don't want a set temperature g-code before they start printing. Try selecting different printer types (UMO should work) to see if that helps.

[tinkergnome 927]

 

@macguiver, you should probably better ask the Micro 3D Fans. They have a "ready to use" Cura profile for you.