If you are running Sailfish on your Qidi Tech you should be using this version of RepG
replicatorg-0040r33-Sailfish
Found here https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:32084/#files
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If you are running Sailfish on your Qidi Tech you should be using this version of RepG
replicatorg-0040r33-Sailfish
Found here https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:32084/#files
Anyone know anything about the upgraded 2016 version of this printer? Getting ready to pull the trigger on it from ebay. This will be my first printer.
hi guys,
im a new user of this qidi tech,
ive got mine yesterday and print some 3Dbenchy, the elephant and some random stuff
for now i am very2 happy with this printer
next , i'm trying to print bigger object which took 8 hour
but , the print stop extrude at my 50% job
the machine is working but no extrusion happen at my right extruder , it is seem to clogged/block
i try to unload and load the filament but still there is no extrusion happen.
i use PLA 230C extruder - 40c heatbed
can someone help me to overcome this problem ? thanks
Having a huge issue with curling today and last night. Everything I print in PLA or ABS has a corner or edge that curls up. Have tried adjusting heats a bit, cleaned a reprepared glass a couple times. I can not for the life of me tell whats causing this.
I am hearing some audible creaking from my y axis, on the left side of the machine. It could also be the extruder slipping.. Maybe 220c is too low for my black abs, and the extruder cant push the filament through... Then again i have no indication of under extrusion. Must be noise in the bearings or carriages. Anyone else notice that?
Hi Guys,
So I order the Maghold Build Platform and the Glass from McMaster and the PET Tape from Amazon. However the Aquanet spray cannot be shipped to me in Asia as they not ship outside US. Any idea what chemical to look out for the hairspray or any hairspray will do?
Thanks.
Heat your extruder up and then remove the nozzle with a 9mm wrench.
Hold the extruder hot block with pliers when doing this. Be Careful it's hot.
Pull the nozzle off and then the PTFE tube.
Turn the printer off
Clean out the PTFE tube and or the nozzle. I use a heated small drill bit and the finest piano string.
Put it back together cold. Heat the printer backup and while holding the Hot block tighten the nozzle.
This is just just a quick how to description there are several Youtube videos that cover this just search Flashforge, CTC or Makerbot Dual extruder clogs.
The reason the purple can Aquanet works is its the all weather formula. In order to make it such there is a polymer compound in the spray.
There is a bonding agent in the hairspray that sticks to the glass, and the print sticks to the polymer compound in the spray. Any hairspray using a polymer should work, and is typically found in 'all-weather' or 'max hold' hairsprays. Go to the store and se if any hairspray sold says all weather on it and try it out.
Also try to find one that is unsented, it will probably smell better when heated up.
2016 Qidi Tech is on the way. Just ordered from ebay. Should be here next week!
sygyzy, I was looking at the corner clips for 1/8" glass and I believe that these ones should work:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:537595
They only go half way up the 1/4" glass so they should work for the 1/8" glass too, have you tried them?
I went ahead and redrew them anyway and increased the slot size to fit 6-32 screws. It can sometimes be difficult to get Metric screws around here, they should still work with M3 screws but you may need a washer. These should work for 1/8" and 1/4" glass as long as your glass is the same size or a little larger than the aluminum plate. If your glass is smaller then they won't work.
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1463521
I'm not having the greatest luck with my build plates. The Maghold plate was slightly warped which was making it difficult to level it to my nozzles. It is a little high in the middle so I can either move my nozzles closer and risk scraping in the middle or a little further away and I end up getting curling on the edges due to not enough smash on the first layer to get it to stick. I didn't really notice it at first since I was printing smaller models but once I tried larger ones I started having problems. I've contacted the vendor and I'm sending it back for a replacement. In the meantime I'm printing on some 1/8" glass that I got from Home Depot. This gave me a good excuse to model up some new corner clips. ;) I was able to cut the glass myself and it is working well.
I've decided that I like how the plastic sticks to the glass better than the PET tape. I've ordered some of that 3M adhesive transfer tape and I'm going to try to mount the 1/8" glass to the spring steel so I can magnetically attach the glass to the Maghold plate. I really don't like using the corner glass clips. After every heat cycle they are coming loose and I have to keep re-tightening them... maybe I need some lock washers on them. Hopefully combing the glass with the Maghold plate will work.
hi guys , i would like to ask the specific printing parameters for this machine ?
are there any establish parameters which we can get the best printing ??
such an example
if had try an error ,
to get fast print with good quality
i used 90travel speed, 230-110 abs tempreature
layer heigh 0.3 , 2 shell and infill of 10%
and it come out great,
it will be benefit to us if we got the data to print the best quality - and fastest print with recommend parameters ,
thanks , sorry for the english
I just noticed my printer's x-axis rails are completely crooked. It took me a while to notice this because I've been printing very small parts, but once I tried printing something large and square, it started printing out like a parallelogram. One of the first things I printed was that 10cm cube, and I don't remember that printing out in that shape so I think this has happened since I got it. Could this have happened when the print head was jamming into the corner due to the bad gcode start script. It did sound as if the belt was skipping teeth. Either way, what is the easiest way to correct this?
Hey Kludge,
I am using my MagHold plate now. I love the convenience of it, and am so glad to have gotten away from messy Acetone/ABS glue to hold my prints down. I do notice that the white BuildTak surface (I was shipped white not black) is not perfectly flat. There are bubbles that I cannot press out. In addition, I believe my MagHold plate is also slightly warped (and there are a couple knicks/gouges in it). The middle is in fact higher than the corners. Maybe this is the nature of aluminum build plates, and the only solution is glass? How are you keeping ABS adhered to the glass? Temps? Glue?
Thanks
Yes it can happen. You need to loosen the x axis pulley grub screws and realign the x axis so it is square to the y axis. Then tighten pulleys up again. Make sure you use some thread lock on the set screws.
It is easier to do this adjusting with the side panels off.
I actually haven't printed with ABS in about a month. My wife mentioned that the basement was starting to stink so I switched to just printing with PLA until I get my fume extraction closet set up. When I did print with ABS I was just using the hairspray on glass which seemed to work well. I think I was at about 100-105°C on the bed.
Not sure if I'm going to send the MagHold back since yours is the same way. I'll try the glass on top of it first, my adhesive tape should be here tomorrow.
I haven't taken a true flat edge to it yet, but just speaking from my experience leveling the MagHold plate, it does appear high in the middle and low in the corners. I prefer ABS for its light weight and toughness. Most everything I build is functional parts that may be subjected to adverse environmental conditions.
Regarding the cable chain you printed for the Qidi, did you notice any issues with the stepper motor bolts applying to much pressure to the cable chain mount? I printed mine in .3mm layer height with 20% infill, and it seems weak around the eyelets for the bolts. Worried that I might crush the eyelets when I torque down the stepper motor bolts to fasten it.
Subscribed! Hey guys. New to this forum but have been printing on a CTC Dual for about a year now. I've gone through a set of extruders already and have upgraded to the Mk 10's, added the Y-axis pillow blocks, added a FlashForge glass bed, LED lighting, and am using Simplify3D. I've printed a little over 5000 meters of Hatchbox ABS filament so far. My CTC churns out awesome prints but I'm looking at buying a second printer to ease my print production schedule. I had narrowed it down to the Qidi when I found this thread. Great thread! It confirmed what I was already thinking which is that the Qidi is the way to go. I'll pull the trigger on that purchase today. Thanks again.
Here is quick update on my 12mm rod upgrade. The 12mm rods are installed and I've been printing on them for a few days. They work and the platform seems more steady while printing. There is definitely less side to side movement. I haven't noticed a huge increase in print quality, the quality wasn't that bad to start with and it is still pretty good. I tried to do a before and after test print but it looks about the same, not sure If my test print was the right structure to see a different.
So was the upgrade worth it? I only spent about $45 on the upgrade. It was kind of a pain to disassemble the entire machine (I had to do it about 3 times to get the adapter parts designed right). It was kind of fun to do so yes I think it was worth it, at least for me. I'll try to get the parts posted to Thingiverse in the next week or so, maybe somebody else can do it and figure out better test structures to test before and after.
Here are some pictures:
Bearing adapters (Also designed a new shim for 1/8" glass to fit the new bearings)
Attachment 9151
Bottom adapter
Attachment 9152
Top adapter
Attachment 9153
I upgraded my CTC to 10mm from 8mm rods, and while the wobble was gone, the print quality only was improved near the top 10-14cm of the print, the first 10cm you wouldn't know the difference. Seems the bed wobbled worse during print when at the bottom of the machine printing max height.
I am really interested in these printers now, I can't say I've seen anyone complain about bad service and for the price, gee, you can't really go wrong there can you.
Firstly, thanks guys for the advise.
I tried looking at local forums didn't manage to get any info on this.
Thanks, I was looking around shops and did find some hair spray with polymer compound in them. Will try one of them out.
This is the thing I couldn't find. All of them had fragrance added. No unscented ones so far.
I have yet to receive any of the build platforms I ordered, but using the stock blue plate I am kinda getting the hang of getting builds off. I found using the long tools in the iFixit Kit to be very helpful in slowly prying off the build. :)
Just got some yellow ABS, and no matter what I do it clicks as it feeds through the machine. This happens on both left and right extruders. Have cleaned nozzles and PTFE tubes.
Any ideas?
is this a different brand from what you have used in the past?
I hear different colors even from the same mfg. can have slightly different temp settings.
Also check the Dia. of the filament.
Should be ok but how does it compare to the black ABS?
Ok, I found the issue. Was a clog just after the feed gear and prior to the PTFE tube.
I have a new issue that is far worse now. To clear the clog I had to remove the spring loaded arm (that holds the smooth feed wheel) and when I did a little brass tube fell out. I did not see where it came from, nor can I see any obvious place for it to go.
Working on the left side, it seemed to come from upper right of the mount arm, but not sure.
Hey Guys,
I am wondering on the bed leveling, if I am doing it right.
So we have do it all manually right? So I use the utilities to bring the print bed up then I manually move the extruder (right extruder) right over the front right wing nut and adjust it till a business card slightly touches the tip. Then I move the extruder over to the left wing nut and adjust the same way and then do the same thing at the back wing nut.
I read that we need to disable the stepper motors while doing the leveling? Do you guys level the bed before every print?
Thanks.
After starting the leveling process you don't need to do anything but move the extruders around to several points. Front Corners, Rear Center, Rear Corners, Left middle, Middle and Right Middle.
I use the 'Home Axis' command for leveling. Gets the machine to the same point, but also zeros out the axis.
When you level the plate make sure you are leveling to the nozzle you intend to use for the print. Start with the nozzle over the front 2 mount screws. Once ya get it nice n level on those 2 move to the back mount. Once the plate is showing level over all 3 mount screws you should check a few other places on the plate, depending on the print. If its a smaller print check the level in a few spots around the center of the plate. For large prints check dead center of plate and a few random spots around the edge.
You should check level between prints, but typically I only have to relevel my plate every few prints. This can change depending on what you print, you will get a feel for it. Doing a long print with complex shapes (causing the extruder trolly to make lots of rapid changes) has a much greater chance of unleveling the plate than printing a small box would for instance.
Stepper motors, by nature, will free-spool when not being told to move. Once you use 'Home Axis' or the leveling command and it comes to rest you should be able to move any of the steppers by hand without an issue.
One last tip...something that got me when I first started printing. DO NOT let your hand rest on the wingnuts while you check the level. Adjust the wingnut and REMOVE you hand then check the level, rinse and repeat ya. After a while I realized I was putting a bit of upward pressure on the plate when leaving my fingers on the wingnut without noticing.
Kludge! I love what you did here. Looks very professional! I assume disassembly is limited to the rear panel? I am interested in attempting this mod as well, but am more focused on pertinent issues, such as a flat build plate.
My MagHold aluminum plate, much like yours, is in fact warped. The middle front being the highest point, followed by the middle back, and the corners being the lowest points. I checked this with multiple test prints, and a couple stainless steel flat edges. I am currently unable to print across the entire build area without having poor adhesion (if any) on the sides, and a severely squashed first layer in the middle. I have sent a request for a replacement, but worry this is the nature of aluminum. As I heat the build plate the warping gets worse, but still noticeable even at room temperature. This is really unfortunate, because I believe the MagHold idea is by far the most convenient and enjoyable improvement to hobby grade 3D printing... I just don't know if the aluminum can be kept from warping... :(
That brass thing is a pivot bushing for the arm.
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:857200
There is a video of it on this item. Can also print these much better feeder plastics while you are at it. :-)