printer leveling

[geneb]

While technically true, it's not going to be THAT big of a difference. It's good enough for the task being performed.

g.

[KAS]

I was just taking for granted when he mentioned the melted PEEK. He's showing 210c on the thermocouple, if it's 30(ish)c off that might explain the melted PEEK.

[geneb]

the temperature difference won't be that high - when I check mine there's typically only a 3-5 degree difference between what the thermistor is reading and what the thermocouple reads. Maybe I'm just lucky.

g.

[gaexcalibur]

totally agree with you gene I am typically about 5 degrees off once I get everything dialed in I was measuring between the .5mm brass extruder hot end and the aluminum housing just to get in the ball park so I do not know why I melted the peek. here is a good question how bad would it be to make an aluminum peek with wider fins say 3/4 and have the fan blowing air on those would that be bad I ask because I am at work and could make up that piece before I go home as I have the material on hand along with a lathe. just asking see if it might be worth it.

[geneb]

Give it a shot. Can't hurt.
Just remember, the PEEK section is the /cold/ section of the hot end. It needs to be actively cooled so heat creep won't clog your hot end.



g.

[gaexcalibur]

ok well i was going to post a picture of my new hot end but the web will not let me so anyway i have machined a new one so i will try it this week. if all else fails i have some very high temperature plastic coming this week that will work and not melt unless the aluminum gives way first. so i will let you know what happens.
here's hoping

[gaexcalibur]

well i can tell you all if you put an all metal peek you are going to add a larger fan then standard, something much more powerful so my all metal peek is a bust i have some high temp plastic on its way so i will remake my peek section once i get it this week. so another week no printing, what a pain

[gaexcalibur]

ok so i have a new hot end, leveled the printer and restarted printing. now i am back to an old problem that i still cannot understand. the attached picture tells the tale, i was printing a small owl as a simple can i print test and at 71% it skipped about 1/4" over. i was not there so my question is what could cause this because this happens to me all the time and i would love some ideas as to what it could be.
thanks

[IMBoring25]

There are several possibilities for that if you don't see it happen. Either one or more motors skipped or something skipped mechanically.

Motor currents could be too low and not driving enough or too high and leading to overheating. Something could be binding in the mechanism. Cogs or belts could be slipping. It's also possible the nozzle is hitting the print, either due to curling or a blob of ooze, and causing the motors to skip steps.

[gaexcalibur]

well back to problems again, it works its level but anything over 1" tall it skips and the print goes to hell so i have checked the everything i can think of and no idea so my only idea is the belts are too worn has anyone had this happen??

[Xenocrates]

I recall Mike had an issue sorta like this, which he solved by flipping the belts over. Wasn't much visible wear IIRC, just slightly rounded teeth and softening profiles on them.

[gaexcalibur]

well maybe worth a try as right now short is in, in fact short is all i got so i will try this weekend.
here is hoping

[gaexcalibur]

well gave up threw the lemon in the trash will try again in a few years with a different printer. Being a CNC Professional these thing really do not work as they are supposed to work.

[Xenocrates]

Having worked with professional CNC's, yes, the Max is more effort to work with. It's also a fraction of the price. Seriously. A used servo amplifier (Not even the motor itself) costs almost as much as the Max. If you want it to work like a professional CNC, you could pay for it. A lease on a printer that would behave like you expect is a bargain at 500$ a month. These are hobbyist/enthusiast machines, and are built to a price point. They are less than half the price of alternatives like the Taz 6. I'm sorry that it didn't live up to your expectations, and that it didn't work well for you. Obviously other people have had fewer issues (Myself included), and more consistency. Perhaps lemon is the best term, as lemon laws concern individual cars where there are chronic unfixable issues. Certainly you experienced something like that (Although Seeme never did get a chance to fix it, since it would be impractical to ship back and forth, and expensive to send a tech out to fix it)

I'm sure that had you put a listing up here, someone would have taken it off your hands for at least some money. Many of us appreciate challenges. I might have offered you something beyond shipping if you would dis-assemble and send it over here, since I'm looking for a demonstrator of delta geometries for the college and conventions, and would rather not move my printer yet (As I don't have auto-calibration). If you can rescue it, perhaps putting up with it for a bit longer to try and get something back by selling it here. Unfortunately, I doubt the dumpster will leave much in good shape to even attempt a rescue if it's been there any time at all.

[geneb]

So how many times did you contact support about the issue you were having?

g.

[gaexcalibur]

quite honestly I cannot recall as the very first time i had a problem i called and was referred to the the forum for answers, which is ok if that is the official way they company is handling things fine. as you know i have posted worked and tried to make this machine work. i even took this to the dreaded engineers both electrical and mechanical only to have no way of working it repeatedly. I could make it work for a single print but never more than one and never without leveling it first. I tried a couple of printers from friends and they just work... yes the occasional nozzle plug, yes some very minor problems but absolutely nothing compared to this. so i moved on, simple Cartesian printer no delta and bang the little thing just works, reliably again and again. I can build a model, slice and print without leveling the bed every time, once in a while sure, takes 30 minutes tops more likely 10. so far it is working far better than the rostock. Ok i cant print super tall but hey at least it prints. so seemecnc support, if it was for me what everyone else seems to say it is i would probably have a working rostock. for me i guess because my problem was so common i was sent to the forum, again and again, but i guess it was not so common as it never got fixed

[gaexcalibur]

finally found a solution on accident. i was working on turning the parts from my rostock to a 3d printed reprap and i discovered that one of the 20 gear teeth provided by see me is actually an 18 gear tooth. this was in all likely hood the entire problem with my rostock, cannot level the bed and make anything work with the wrong number of teeth on your belt gear. once i changed it out the reprap worked so i may have to go back and revisit the rostock this weekend, see if that may fix its problem, for now i am back to two printers working even if one is a kludge, food for thought, somebody else may have gotten a bad gear for their stepper on the way

[Xenocrates]

finally found a solution on accident. i was working on turning the parts from my rostock to a 3d printed reprap and i discovered that one of the 20 gear teeth provided by see me is actually an 18 gear tooth. this was in all likely hood the entire problem with my rostock, cannot level the bed and make anything work with the wrong number of teeth on your belt gear. once i changed it out the reprap worked so i may have to go back and revisit the rostock this weekend, see if that may fix its problem, for now i am back to two printers working even if one is a kludge, food for thought, somebody else may have gotten a bad gear for their stepper on the way

That is the Damnedest problem. I have to say the odds of it seem so vanishingly small that I would have considered it impossible if not for the evidence from you and the very strange symptoms. Best of luck with your printers, however you end up configuring them.