Hello.
I’ve had my K8200 up and running for a week or so. Have started printing some parts and I am quite happy with the quality. There is some minor issues (print bed not flat, I have a piece of glass on order to fix this) and my layers seem to be out of alignment. It’s difficult to explain so I have uploaded some pics.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2nobe1HZXsEOV9CTlRwZ2hlNzQ/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2nobe1HZXsEUVVtM1piejQ1RGs/view?usp=sharing
The reading I’ve done leads me to believe this is a ‘z’ axis issue (layers not the same thickness) so I have ordered the parts required to carry out the ‘z’ axis upgrade detailed here.i60.tinypic.com/jv4rph.jpg
Am I on the right track? Or is there another underlying problem causing the layers to shift/miss-align?
I’ll be hugely grateful for any advise you may offer.
Kind regards.
Justin.
Okay. Some updates.
Glass arrived today, but don’t think I’ll bother with it for now. I spent some time (frustrating for the most part, but worth it) flattening the bed by hand, and making some fine adjustments to the height. Then I roughed the surface slightly with a scotch brite pad and increased the bed temp slightly. My prints now stick very well (only tested PLA so far) and I no longer have any problem with the corners lifting or prints dislodging from the bed. Winning!
Next I played around with printing test cubes and making slight adjustments to layer height and I’ve managed to improve the appearance of my prints (and confirmed that it is indeed a ‘z’ axis issue in the process). My upgraded ‘z’ axis hardware arrived tomorrow, so I’ll post the results once I’ve installed the new parts.
I also realised that I have not as yet carried out the update to the firmware (I must have missed this step in the instructions in my eagerness to start printing) so I will find a tutorial, and carry this out asap.
Cheers,
Justin.
You can find the instructions for the firmware up grade here
http://www.k8200.eu/manual/printing/?c=007
Use Arduino software 1.0.6 from here
https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/OldSoftwareReleases#previous
Higher versions Arduino do not work.
Thank you for the links.
I have been busy designing and drawing (learning to use sketchup) some custom parts to mount my new ‘z’ axis parts in an inverted arrangement. Before I carry out any rapid prototyping of these parts I will carry out the firmware upgrade.
I’ll post updates as I complete each stage.
Cheers.
Justin.
