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Troubleshooting For Newbs

Discussion in 'General 3D printer talk' started by Crash, Dec 6, 2012.

  1. Crash

    Crash Moderator Staff Member

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    This is my first print. Not sure where to go from here. LoL

    Actually, I had Slicer set at the defaults for 3mm filament. :D Attached files [​IMG]
     
  2. Crash

    Crash Moderator Staff Member

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    Changed the parameters for 1.75mm with layers at 0.2mm. Tried again and I got what's in the pic. Progress!

    Note that bit of curl in the lower left side? Didn't purge the head before starting. Also, I have been using hot-end temps at 200 degrees. Started getting a "clicking" sound from the extruder, so I bumped the temp up until it stopped, ending at about 206 degrees. Note that this is PLA I am using. Attached files [​IMG]
     
  3. kram242

    kram242 Administrator Staff Member

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    Nice job Mike! Really good prints for your first :doubleup:
    A couple ideas that may help: 206 is really to high for PLA and I would suggest around 185 to 190 depending on the PLA manufacture. You may need to turn up the current for your extruder. You can do this by setting your temp to say 187 and then extruding with the extruder up away from the table so that it can come out easily. Set your extrusion speed to around 300 and the extrude length to 10-20 mm.
    If you are getting clicking you may need to turn the pot up for the current. If you extrude OK there but then get clicking only when its printing. You may need to adjust your overall speed. You can adjust the feed rate slider to find what works best and then adjust your slicer settings to reflect that.
    Hope this helps Mike
    Awesome job Bro! :good:
    Mark and Trish
     
  4. Crash

    Crash Moderator Staff Member

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    Okay, at least I'm getting a little closer. :D

    The filament that I am using was a free sample by Ultimachine. It is supposed to be PLA, but I am wondering if it is, in fact, ABS. It flows the best from the nozzle at 200 degrees and I could only get it to stick to bare glass if the bed was at 75-80 degrees. If I put hairspray down on the bed, it worked nicely at 55 degrees. I guess it could be some variations in my thermistors reporting actual temperatures incorrectly, though.

    Pictured are all three of my attempts today and I really think the third one is great compared to the first two.

    Thanks to Mark for giving me some insight as to how Repetier works. I'll try to continue on with the fine tuning tomorrow. I'm gonna pick a different shape to work on, though. These things remind me of orange Starburst, and I HATE orange Starburst. LoL Attached files [​IMG]
     
  5. kram242

    kram242 Administrator Staff Member

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    Mike thats a great improvement! I am not sure if that is PLA or ABS the first one you did (on the left looks like PLA because of the shine) but the one on the right and middle both look like ABS to me (matte finish look)
    Sometimes you can tell by bending a piece as long as the PLA has not adsorbed too much water from the air it should be brittle bend it and see if it snaps. ABS you will have to bend back and forth several times before it comes apart. Also ABS stinks when you print with it and PLA smells (to me) like hot syrup :D
    You may want to check your that you have the correct thermistor values in the firmware. You can see what thermistors were sent with your electronics and then choose them in the configuration.h file of the PhlatBOT firmware(they are at the beginning of the file) re-upload the firmware to the Arduino and you should be good to go.
    Let us know how you make out Mike. If you want to call tomorrow and go over it more your more then welcome and we can do to help. I know once you get this you will be putting together and awesome easy to follow tutorial on how to get these 3D printers singing and we are looking forward to that! :good:
    I am looking forward to your
    Mark and Trish
     

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