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Hi at a recent conference I won an Orion printer and have been playing with it when i can find time.

when the item I print stays in a small area (80mm circle) it functions well and I thought i was learning.

But when i try to scale up and go outside about a 80mm circle i get distortion near the bed at but only on one angle. if I print an item like a ring that stays stuck down even with the distortion the distortion goes away by the time i am off the bed by a few mm but it is worse when i get farther out. A 100mm ring with a 80 mm hole will rise off the bed by 4 mm at 100mm while touching at 80 but only in the direction towards the the extruder.

so in desperation i took off the springs and removed the arms holding the head and rotated it so the layer fan points out front and tried another print last night, The distortion rotated 120 degrees with the head so i am thinking that something on the head or possibly the arms as i may have moved some of them is not correct.

Does anybody have any good ideas where to start?

Btw I have ordered a 280 head and whip to do auto calibrations but it has not shipped yet so i dont want to wait for it to find my problem.


Thanks
Stephen

I know you said it was new but post a pic so we can see just how current it is. for example does it have the plastic ball cup on the arms?

Sorry not near machine right now but yes the arms fit on to plastic balls and have plastic springs holding them tight together

Thanks
Stephen

So I am still looking for help and need to know what info is needed to figure this out
should I take pictures of the machine or of the failed/distorted parts
Thanks
Stephen

stvabb wrote:So I am still looking for help and need to know what info is needed to figure this out
should I take pictures of the machine or of the failed/distorted parts
Thanks
Stephen

Both is probably a good idea, honestly.

So I have been playing and have managed to get a usable print by pushing to the back of the machine away from the problem area, I am going to attach a picture of both good and bad. The bad print has the distortion where the part does not touch the bed as it gets farther away from the centre point. the picture shows it upside down to how it was printed.

I am also attaching a picture of my orion printing another part pushed back so it will print well.

Thanks
Stephen

Does the nozzle semi-uniformly rise relative to the build plate as you move away from the center? If so, it seems to be a horizontal radius issue. Try lowering the value, and see if that helps. If it's not relatively uniform, try adjusting the endstop screws and calibrating the tower heights as found in this video.

Thanks for the quick response

the z height is good at all three towers (I followed that video) I have paper dragging roughly same amount centre and towards each tower the problem shows up as missing plastic inbetween 2 towers but it moved which towers when I rotated the print head 120 degrees

I think (not positive) that each failed print started with first layers on bed and it seemed to get lifted later is that possible?

Thanks
Stephen

Oh i forgot to say the prints are working well when i push them off centre away from where the flaws were happening.

I am now running my 4th usable print, these are custom lens gears for my lenses and I am super happy replacing my old adjustable ones with these solid ones.

Stephen

stvabb wrote:Thanks for the quick response

the z height is good at all three towers (I followed that video) I have paper dragging roughly same amount centre and towards each tower the problem shows up as missing plastic inbetween 2 towers but it moved which towers when I rotated the print head 120 degrees

I think (not positive) that each failed print started with first layers on bed and it seemed to get lifted later is that possible?

Thanks
Stephen

It seems you have some amount of effector tilt, or some other issue. I would check the tightness of the bolts holding the standoffs, and give the assembly a general look over. It's certainly very possible to have the layers pulled off the bed, and it's a typical symptom of poor bed adhesion or an overly cold room/draft with ABS.

It may also be that the glass or heated bed PCB has warped somewhat. if you have a straightedge or a square, I would check it (Note that a cheap wood or plastic ruler is just as likely to be bent, instead buy a reasonable steel rule)

ok tomorrow shopping for a decent small square to check alignment.

but what could be screwy in either the head or arms as it moved when i dissasembled and turned and reassembled the print head

Stephen

If by dissassemble you mean you took it loose from the joints and rotated, it could be that the spacers holding the top plate of the mount on are loose, and that the tension of the bowden tube has rocked the hotend sideways somewhat. It may also be that one of the barbells is warped or not fully seated, giving weird motion on the joints. It could also be that the hotend is not completely tight to the mount plate, and that there is something causing it to be off alignment, either on top of the plate between it and the nut, or below it between the main body and the plate. From the picture, either the angle is weird (and so is my brain), or the left side rear standoff seems to be longer than the front one or the right one.

However, if you took it all the way apart, I'm not sure what there is left to look at there.

Sorry if I was unclear.

when i started having this problem it the distortion was in the direction of the extruder on the right side between the rear and right towers.

as part of my diagnostic I disassembled the arms and the printing head and rotated clockwise looking down 120 degrees when I reassembled the distortion had moved to the front between the right and left towers, so I was thinking it is either the arms or something is not right in the print head.

Thank you for your help
Stephen

If you look at the picture it shows the layer fan is not on the right side like it was when i got the Orion it is now sticking out in the front