mixed feelings about the printer

Having a problem? Post it here and someone will be along shortly to help
Post Reply
jarekdadej
Plasticator
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Apr 02, 2016 5:09 pm

mixed feelings about the printer

Post by jarekdadej »

Ii would really like to like the printer but i have mixed feelings about it. Calibration is a big pain, after hours of calibration and making sure the towers are square to the bed and eliminating any 'vertical twist' in the towers i got it to print ok. Unfortunately after few days i started having problems again with heated bed not being level. Calibration process again. That has happen few times after that i have started keeping log on how much printing i do. Discovered it wasn't amount of printing throwing off calibration and 'squareness' of the towers but the heat cycles. When i kept the printer going non stop for few days all was ok, it only when i turned it off for a night when i had no projects to print and printer cooled off and then the next day heated up again for the next print all adjustments made to the towers were no longer there. I print mostly in ABS so bed temps are around 100C
Next thing i have discovered after making my first bigger print is that the bed "between towers" was lower that in front of the towers except the front along X axis. Back to squaring towers? NO AVAIL. X and Y towers are closer to each other than X-Z and Y-Z. "Unsolved Mystery".
Lastly i have been having problems with connection to the printer and loss of control, only thing that helped was cycling power,and no its not my computer, i have simplify3d, MatterControl and repietier host on my laptop, pc and two MS surface devices and loss of control followed all software and devices. Thought maybe its the win 10 drivers so i installed Octopi on the raspberry pi - same thing. Maybe its the USB cable? Tested one i have for the DaVinci 3D printer - same thing. Re uploaded the firmware to the printer - no help.
I am slowly starting to give up on the printer and contemplating selling or giving it away and get something that i can actually spend more time making designs and printing than making the printer print.
bubbasnow
ULTIMATE 3D JEDI
Posts: 1064
Joined: Fri Aug 02, 2013 4:24 pm
Location: Dayton, WA

Re: mixed feelings about the printer

Post by bubbasnow »

If you end up giving it away and in Utah I'll take it off your hands.
Xenocrates
ULTIMATE 3D JEDI
Posts: 1561
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2015 2:55 pm

Re: mixed feelings about the printer

Post by Xenocrates »

It really is too bad you're having such issues with the printer.

I've only occasionally had calibration issues, and most of mine have been pretty quick fixes. What sort of environment is your printer in? I know Mhackney used to have issues because his was too close to a window, and so the starting state was different sometimes.

That also almost sounds like an issue with the EEPROM not saving properly, if it only had issues after being shut off.

As far as the X/Y/Z location issues, I know that there exist compensation methods in the firmware. It sounds like there's an angle issue. (Not in the verticallity of the towers, but in their radial angle around the center) I think that if you were to carefully measure it and adjust the offsets in the firmware that may help, and that the carriages may be at a slightly different location relative to the T nuts.


The communication issue is usually due to an interrupted signal, such as having other USB devices using the same controller (Very common in a laptop), or a processor that doesn't have enough spare cycles to always listen. You could potentially drop the baud rate to help with this, but make sure it matches on both, or you'll get garbage (Ask me how I know....). You can also print from SD cards rather than USB.

Best of luck with the printer. Whatever you do with it is up to you, but if you have problems, we're here to help with them.
Machines:
Rostock Max V2, Duet .8.5, PT100 enabled E3D V6 and volcano, Raymond style enclosure
Automation Technology 60W laser cutter/engraver
1m X-carve router

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi
01-10011-11111100001
User avatar
Eaglezsoar
ULTIMATE 3D JEDI
Posts: 7185
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2012 5:26 pm

Re: mixed feelings about the printer

Post by Eaglezsoar »

This forum is a wealth of information concerning alignment and calibration.
One of the best ways to search is to enter site:forum.seemecnc.com calibration
The word calibration can be whatever you are searching for.
I use the Google search toolbar to enter the above.
I wish you the best in your problems with your printer.
“ Do Not Regret Growing Older. It is a Privilege Denied to Many. ”
nebbian
Printmaster!
Posts: 175
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2015 12:31 am

Re: mixed feelings about the printer

Post by nebbian »

Stay with it, you'll work it out in the end. You might feel discouraged now, but the information exists out there to get you treating it like an appliance -- something that just works when you want it to, and spends the rest of its time sitting there powered off.

If I was handed your printer, here's what I'd do:
1) Ensure that EEPROM is turned on, and that you're saving your calibration settings to eeprom after adjusting them.
2) Run the delta calculator here: http://escher3d.com/pages/wizards/wizarddelta.php This will take care of the "X and Y towers being closer to each other" issue. The calculator will give you some tower angular offsets to plug into Repetier.
3) Print and install my "Z Bend Z Sensor" located here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1517363 This means that the printer calibrates itself as far as Z height is concerned, before every print. I seriously can't imagine printing without one now.
4) Install a PEI sheet on the build surface.

Do you have an SD card interface for the printer? If so then you're way better off printing using the SD card, I've found that to be a much better solution than printing over USB.

Good luck with your printer :)
User avatar
Windshadow
Printmaster!
Posts: 526
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2015 6:35 pm
Location: Mid Coast Maine

Re: mixed feelings about the printer

Post by Windshadow »

nebbian wrote: 3) Print and install my "Z Bend Z Sensor" located here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1517363 This means that the printer calibrates itself as far as Z height is concerned, before every print. I seriously can't imagine printing without one now.
Wow thats impressive work. :ugeek:

Don't take this the wrong way but I think i will wait for the SeeMeCNC auto calibrate upgrade kit that looks to be not too far in the future. 8-)

Adapting your system to my RMaxV2 and its Rambo controller (that i expect to change to a Delta later this year) is a bit far out of my skill set but I highly respect the work you have done.
tiffann
Plasticator
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu May 05, 2016 6:06 pm

Re: mixed feelings about the printer

Post by tiffann »

I feel your pain. I got the rostock max v2. my issues are with the software. seemecnc sent me a preloaded board. I got the printer to work. but would not print. so I shut it off. the next day nothing works lcd display screen wont come on. no lights come on the Rambo. running the sketch I get time out again. so I think the printer is ok its all the hardware mother board and power supply is worthless. I plan to upgrade every thing even the extruder I plan to upgrade. I spent 1k was hoping it would be a good printer. I waited a few years to buy one because of teck wasn't up to par.
geneb
ULTIMATE 3D JEDI
Posts: 5362
Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2012 12:47 pm
Location: Graham, WA
Contact:

Re: mixed feelings about the printer

Post by geneb »

If no lights come on the RAMBo, it's not getting power. Either because you've got a wiring problem or you've blown a fuse.

The power supply nor the RAMBo is "useless".

g.
Delta Power!
Defeat the Cartesian Agenda!
http://www.f15sim.com - 80-0007, The only one of its kind.
http://geneb.simpits.org - Technical and Simulator Projects
dajay23D
Printmaster!
Posts: 83
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2015 11:04 am

Re: mixed feelings about the printer

Post by dajay23D »

simply put, 3D printers are not there yet. Not user friendly. It requires a lot of work and continued maintenance. Remember when computers were first invented? Well, i feel like it's in that phase at the moment w/ 3D printers where people have invented it and got it to work, but still working on mainstreaming them. I'd say probably in another 10 years, it could be more user friendly. I haven't heard one person mention they bought a new 3D printer, set it up within an hour and printed consistently for 2 years w/out any issues. At work, we have 3 pro printers all worth over 200k each and they all have problems. Imagine you paying that much and have those problems...=o. It's the same problems we post on here; calibration, material, support, consistency..etc. One particular machine, 3D systems pro jet gives us headaches after headaches. It constantly goes out of calibration after 1 or 2 prints. We always have to call the field tech to come in and they don't even know what's going on besides replacing parts. Afterwards, it goes out of calibration, AGAIN. It's great when it actually prints something. The other thing is, the wax support that it has takes forever to remove, but that's a separate topic. I'm actually learning to operate all our machines currently.
For the OP, you just have to be patient and continue tinkering w/ it. In some cases, if you get decent prints, leave it alone and print and work on the software side of it. One of the things I realize that I'm doing is that i'm not leaving the printer alone at times due to me chasing perfection. I feel like my 1st prints were better than they are now...lol.
User avatar
DeltaCon
Printmaster!
Posts: 616
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2015 5:01 am
Location: Wessem, The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: mixed feelings about the printer

Post by DeltaCon »

3d printers are not mainstream at all. Some brands like to market them mainstream for obvious reasons. A car is mainstream. Lots of BMW drivers need the manual for figuring out the navigation "joystick" in their dashboards. BMW markets that as easy to operate too. I doubt very much that 3d printers will ever be mainstream. much like a train is no competition for a car. To be able to go where you want, a train is useless. If you want a 3d printer to print what you want you will need to design. I think more than getting the technique mainstream (all components are already pretty mainstream!) people will not want to design so they will need to go by train and order their 3d parts elsewhere.
I am DeltaCon, I have a delta, my name is Con, I am definitely PRO delta! ;-)
Rostock V2 / E3D Volcano / FSR kit / Duet 0.6

PS.: Sorry for the avatar, that's my other hobby!
Post Reply

Return to “Troubleshooting”