calibration of motors

[wildideas1]

ok we are up and running and have tried 3 prints and 2 failed and 3rd is in progress, not bad so far but needs tweaking. as material extrudes it seems to build up to much and extruder then pushes material around. need help here? 2. any one have good motor configs for mach3. 3. would like to be able to print fast like i saw seeme guys printing today on ustream.

[johnoly99]

Hey wildideas, John here. The first thing I would look at is your motor tuning, and make sure your steps per are correct. To verify they are, grab a pair of calipers or indicator or some other really accurate measurement tools, and go to the second to the last tab in Mach at the top of the screen. There is a tab that has a big green screen. In that screen, go to the left side, most of the way down, and there is a button to set steps per. When you click on that, it will ask you which axis you want to calibrate. Choose the one you want to calibrate. It will then pop open a window and ask how far you want to move. First take a precise measurement between two sturdy points on the machine. When you enter a movement (usually at least 1 inch) it will move in the positive direction. After you have taken a good measurement, enter how far you want it to move and press enter. It will make a movement based on the current settings. Then it will ask you how far did it actually move? Make another measurement between the same points you measured and enter the difference. Mach will calculate the actual steps it should have moved and ask you confirm if you want to accept the changes or not. Repeat that for the X, Y and Z axes. For the extruder, take the nozzle and Teflon liner out of the hot end, and cut a piece of filament about 6" long or so. Make sure it's fed in the pinch rollers well, and use that to calibrate the A axis. This is one of the MOST critical, along with the Z, for getting good prints.

Hope that helps you out! But, we're here if you still need it

[wildideas1]

can you explain the extruder calibration a bit more. am i measuring 1inch of downward travel like other axis just material instead?