Hi!
I have not managed to get a proper print yet.
Currently I have two problems.
After a while (8-10 layers), the plastic stops coming out of the nozzle, and the extruder can not feed. I just realized that the problem might be that when the fan starts working, the temperature drops down to 195-196 (running PLA at 210). Is this controlled by the slicer? Is it normal?
The X/Y axis work at different scales, so e.g. a square LEGO brick gets the proportions 0.75:1 instead of 1:1 (the Y axis becomes shorter). What is the cause? Can I fix it?
1.The print-head fans are working all the time so they can’t lower the temperature. And 190-195° is still enough to melt the PLA. Is the extruder motor working properly?
2. Most probably your Y axis is loosing steps : is the Y axis moving really freely? The 32.8 mm between the two clamps as stated in the manual can be a bit too short. If the axis doesn’t move freely try to move them apart a fraction of a millimeter.
1.The print-head fans are working all the time so they can’t lower the temperature. And 190-195° is still enough to melt the PLA. Is the extruder motor working properly?
2. Most probably your Y axis is loosing steps : is the Y axis moving really freely? The 32.8 mm between the two clamps as stated in the manual can be a bit too short. If the axis doesn’t move freely try to move them apart a fraction of a millimeter.[/quote]
OK, so that is not the problem. The extruder motor seems to work as it should. I can print several layers before it stops.
I thought I got both axis moving freely, but I will give it another go and see if I can get it perfectly smooth. It is not easy to measure exactly with the nozzle and all mounted.
Is it possible that a Y axis not moving free can cause the extruder to clog? I mean, if the nozzle moves a shorter distance than planned, there is less room for the melted filament to spread out onto, causing a higher resistance in the nozzle. Or would the filament till go out?
as shown, the y-axis is wrong in scale and circular features are even more deformed.
It is, however possible to mount the two bricks together as long long as they have their original directions.
What is causing this?
I have checked that the y-axis moves easy without belts (moves end-to-end by just tilting the printer slightly). I have also checke the voltage on the driver boards.
I have also tested to move the printhead around manually, both with the buil-in printer controls and from within Repetier. All distances seems to be OK when doing this.
Try swapping the stepper drivers of X and Y to find out if the problem moves to the X axis.
Then the stepper driver may be the cause.
Also check your steps/mm settings for the Y axis.
Does the nozzle get clogged as the print head starts to move faster (after a few layers?)? That might be because the head temperature isn’t quite high enough as the filament starts to move more quickly through the nozzle. That’s might be down the thermistor not being in exactly the right place?
Do you hear any clicking noises during the prints? Have you made sure the belts are not too tight and everything moves smoothly with no spots of higher resistance?
SOLVED !!!
after checking everything else I decided to switch the X and Y motors. When I dismounted them I actually did a total disassembly and found that one of the M3x4 locking screws had a little burr, stopping it from going all the way down and lock the pulley tight on the motor. So there was a slip in the pulley after all. Impossible to spot unless fully disassemled. After I replaced the screw and mounted everything, it works!
VEL327: this was part of your suggestion, thanks!
biscuitlad: Yes, I sometimes get the problem with a clogged print head. However it has improved when i lowered the temperature from 210 to 200. I will now test the retraction speed/distance of 150/3 as suggested in other posts.
But in general, it looks good. I have managed to print a working Lego brick, and a nice litte Spock from thingiverse.com/thing:516942.
So, total n00b here. I’ve assembled and calibrated my printer and it works just fine, except that there’s no filament coming out at start of print so the “frame”
