First print-- issues with tallthin.g from the SD card...

[Jules]

Okay, i posted the guide - it's in the Getting Started section. give it a quick read-through and do the calibrations and you should be good to go. (Or at least get started.) there's really not that much to this, the machine makes it very easy.

[minusbacon]

Thanks a ton Jules! Will read shortly.

I'm getting super pissed with this thing.

I'm trying to print this-- http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:910216/#made

Printed almost perfectly last night using the suggested settings with extruder at 220 temp, but I couldn't separate it from the raft. So I thought I'd try again today without the raft. First try started well. Came back ten minutes later to find a large glob of filament on the hot end being taken for a ride. Then I try again without the raft. First layer there are multiple spots where the extruder stopped extrusion to move the end, which left a few mm of filament sticking up in the air from the bed.

I then tried it three more times with the same result-- multiple areas on the print bed where the extruder stopped and left a few mm sticking in the air in a couple places on the first layer. Each time I tried different settings-- temp 205 - 220, extruder multiplier at .88 and .89. Even tried setting the speed to 40 - 50% underspeed. Same issue every time.

I don't understand how it printed basically perfect last night but today it's a fail.

[jsc]

What do you mean you have a few mm stuck up in the air? Can you take a picture?

Is a piece of filament that has been laid down coming up? You need to do something about bed adhesion then.

[Jules]

Read the guide before you continue trying to print things from Thingiverse. You need to get things calibrated correctly, and get the correct bed adhesion method, because whatever you are using now is not working well enough.

From your description (because i can't see it) you either have a bed adhesion problem, or an incorrect gap, or both. I know it's boring as hell to have to print little calibration squares with a brand new printer, but doing that for a day or so to get the calibration correct is going to save you weeks of time in figuring out why your prints keep failing. (trust me, I know! )

[Jules]

....I bet your hotend isnt' exactly 90 degrees from the bed. I bet it's rotated in the holder ... check that.

Also, there's a setting in S3D's options to go to mm/sec. It's a much more practical unit for 3D printers.

Thanks for mentioning this insta.....i was wondering why my measurements had also been varying between sides lately, and didn't realize my hotend had shifted around during my last Z-stop adjustment. Duh!

[minusbacon]

I bet your hotend isnt' exactly 90 degrees from the bed. I bet it's rotated in the holder ... check that.

Also, there's a setting in S3D's options to go to mm/sec. It's a much more practical unit for 3D printers.

Rotated in the holder? I just checked it. Put my fingers on it to see if it'd move in any direction. Feels solid to me, not loose. Seems 90 degrees from the bed.

Are you talking about the metal tip itself or the piece it's mounted in that is wrapped in black thermal tape? (at least that's what the rubbery black part with fabric/fiber on the sticky side seems like to me)

[Jules]

I bet your hotend isnt' exactly 90 degrees from the bed. I bet it's rotated in the holder ... check that.

Also, there's a setting in S3D's options to go to mm/sec. It's a much more practical unit for 3D printers.

Rotated in the holder? I just checked it. Put my fingers on it to see if it'd move in any direction. Feels solid to me, not loose. Seems 90 degrees from the bed.

Are you talking about the metal tip itself or the piece it's mounted in that is wrapped in black thermal tape? (at least that's what the rubbery black part with fabric/fiber on the sticky side seems like to me)

Turn off the machine. Pull the little black rubbery cloth thing off of the heater block. The thermistor and heater wires need to be sticking out to the right, as you face the machine. If they don't, loosen the screw slightly, without letting the nozzle fall out, and rotate it until they do, and the heater block runs parallel to the metal holder above it. Tighten the screw and put the cover back on.

[minusbacon]

I really want to level the bed. I attempted the paper between the hot end and bed thing but to me that just seems like guessing. It SEEMED fine but if I raise the bed to the Z stop and eyeball the head/bed gap, it seems larger on the right side of the bed. I bought a dial indicator so I can be sure the bed is leveled perfectly. Problem is I can't successfully print a damn mount for it. So I have no way to actually use it at the moment.

Anyone use a dial indicator to level their bed? Any recommendations on using it without being able to print a mount? Or any recommendations on a mount to try to print? There are a couple on Thingiverse but I'm not sure which to try.

[minusbacon]

Turn off the machine. Pull the little black rubbery cloth thing off of the heater block. The thermistor and heater wires need to be sticking out to the right, as you face the machine. If they don't, loosen the screw slightly, without letting the nozzle fall out, and rotate it until they do, and the heater block runs parallel to the metal holder above it. Tighten the screw and put the cover back on.

Seems right to me, but I'm new at this.

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[minusbacon]

What do you mean you have a few mm stuck up in the air? Can you take a picture?

Is a piece of filament that has been laid down coming up? You need to do something about bed adhesion then.

Pretty sure adhesion isn't the problem. The pieces that stick up haven't even been laid down. Here's an example...

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This happens when it stops extruding to move the head to another area of the print. The piece doesn't get laid down properly. This happens regardless of end temp, bed temp, extrusion multiplier, or print speed. The stranger thing is it only happens most of the time. Monday I had two basically successful prints. Tuesday I tried printing one of Monday's successful prints again using the exact same settings I used Monday. Tried the same object four times. Each one had pieces like this up in the air.