MakerFarm 8" i3v build

[1stage]

I wound up buying this pack of four 1/4" cork tiles at Lowe's...

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?productId=4747227

I'll test it at 275 F with my soldering iron first.

Should be fine: nice and light, and generally flame retardant. We use a set of cork pot/skillet holders when we have a buffet, and they seem to work fine... no scorch marks.

[1stage]

The cork tile works great. It was easy to cut to size, cut out the nut holes, and put in place. I opted to NOT use the adhesive tabs that came with it, as the nuts fit snuggly in their holes and keep it in place.

I'll probably be able to use the other 3-1/4 pieces of cork tile to use as sound dampening pads under the printer and power supply.

[gmay3]

I'm done with the build! It took me a little while to get the bed leveled for the first time. My problem was that I was trying to fit too many cork sheets below the heat bed for insulation and it just couldn't be pressed down enough. After removing one, it worked like a charm. I am very happy with my first print of the calibration cube. I've set all my steppers to .39 (+/- .01). I'm very happy with the speed that it was able to print and the only thing I need to work out it getting it a little more calibrated if possible. My cal cube was printed with .2mm layers and it seems like every 3rd layer of so was just slightly off so there is a more obvious layer look to it.

It took me about 15 hours to build and I am extremely happy with this kit the print quality of my first print!

[1stage]

Yes, I thought the spacer was a cushion, when in fact it's really more of an insulation piece for the bare plywood of the bed.

I too had to use only one of the cork sheets. Two was WAY too thick.

On a happy note, I was able to use the other pieces of cork to sound-dampen the base of the i3v.

[gmay3]

OOo that's a good idea! I just used some cardboard and a piece of cloth but i think cutting a custom cork bottom would be must more aesthetically pleasing!

I've printed a cube at .2mm layers at 10% infill and half of the extruder parts at .4mm layers at 30% concentric infill. I think Colin printed them at a lower layer height maybe .3mm. I think I need to calibrate my extrusion as done in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Wb...rgO21NNFSd6q6Q

My 24mm calibration cube came in at about 24.2mm and only the top to bottom measurement was almost right on 24mm +/- .02

Are there any other calibrations I should be doing?

[gmay3]

I just did some printer calibrations yesterday. I calibrated the Esteps of the Extruder and everything else seemed to already be within calibration.

Colin provided me the stock Marlin files he used and I edited the configuration.h to allow me to save current settings into the EEPROM so everytime the printer powers on, the new calibration values are saved.

I had a little trouble editing the configuration.h to enable the EEPROM saving option from the i3v LCD so I just wanted to describe how to do it in case anyone was also thinking about fine tuning their printer.

1. Ask Colin for the Marlin files he used on your i3v. (I'd be happy to give you the original files too if you don't want to bug him!)
2. Download Arduino IDE (you can use the most up to date version)
3. Copy a backup version of the Marlin files so you can preserve the original files and edit your copied version.
4. Open up Arduino IDE and click open, navigate to your Marlin Files folder and click on the .pde file. There should only be one. The IDE prompt should come up with a window that says this file can only run in some specific folder and asks you if you'd like it to create the folder for you. Click yes and the .pde file should open in Arduino IDE.
5. Go back to the folder that contains the Marlin software and check out the new folder inside that IDE just created. In order to edit the configuration.h file, you're going to need to select all files outside the new folder that should only contain the .pde file right now. Cut and paste all the files you selected into the new folder that contains the .pde.
6. Close the Arduino IDE program window and reopen the .pde file. When it opens you should have new tabs right above the editable text field, mainly look for configuration.h.
7. Click on the configuration.h tab inside your IDE window and do a Find (cntl+f) for EEPROM.
8. Look for "//#define EEPROM" and remove the // so it will look like this "#define EEPROM". All this does is remove the // which will disable the line of code after those characters. This re-enables the EEPROM setting ability inside the LCD menu.
9. Click the check mark in the top left corner of Arduino IDE. It should compile after a minute or too. If it says that you are all good and there are no errors plug a usb cord from the RAMPS board and plug that into your computer.
10. Verify that the LCD is powered up and then in IDE at the top go to Tools>Boards>Arduino Mega 2560.
11. Click the arrow icon next to the check icon to compile and send the edited software to the RAMPS board.
12. This might fail once if Arduino IDE is pointed to the wrong COM port but it should automatically fix it self after the first failure.
13. Wait for it to finish, verify no lights are flashing on the RAMPS board and power cycle your RAMPS by unplugging the usb cord and turning off the printers power supply if you turned it on.
14. Check to see that the EEPROM setting worked by going to Control in your LCD menu and check to make sure there is a "Save Settings" in that menu now.

Now that you've enabled the EEPROM settings in Marlin, check out this video where ZennmasterM provides a great tutorial of how to calibrate your extruder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Wb0i0-Qvo

If you have any problems let me know!

[1stage]

On a similar note, I was having minor problems with a SketchUp model that was causing Slic3r 0.9.9 to crash, so I took the plunge and installed the new 1.0.1 stable version. It's great! Solved my "blah blah blah couldn't create the array blah blah blah" error I was having.

Also, I tweaked the Slic3r config file so that the first layer is 0.20 versus the 0.35 that Colin had it set to. I'm already mashing (per Colin's recommendation) the first layer of ABS very close to the glass to prevent delamination and first layer warping, so I figured the adjustment would help. It did. I can now print and walk away without worrying that the first layer is going to pop loose and drag across the glass, but I also get a more manageable stream of ABS on the first layer. I use the Garnier Fructise approach (hate working with acetone and dissolved ABS slurry due to fumes), so I can clean the platen easily with Windex after each major print... also, it cleans up EASIER when the bed is warm, believe it or not.

Another thing I've been doing is brushing on a quick coat of acetone to a finished printout. This solves some minor issues:

- fix minor, single layer delaminations (I use a small clamp to squish these back together if they're too wide)
- melt away stray strings/whiskers
- lock down "harp/piano string" top layers
- keeps thinner, "skyscraper" pieces from breaking loose along a horizontal plane

It also leaves the piece a bit shinier with almost no loss of detail. This is safer and easier to manage for me than the risky "acetone vapor" approach. When I printed and installed my spare extruder parts, I was able to use petroleum jelly on the gears without worrying about it seeping into the layers and possibly cracking. This almost eliminated the "whitening" I noticed happening on my original gears from the strain of the extruder and drive wheels grinding together.

I also printed out some M3 "Leia" nut traps and glued them to the bolts on the under side of the bed. I used carpenter's wood glue and made sure it dried before using.

Next up, the prototyping project I'm working on: a case for a GameCube Portable my son and I [aka, me, mostly] are making.

I'm using a Magma 3.0, but am looking for the best option for a dual extruder. Any recommendations?

[RobH2]

3dnoob, looks great!

1stage, I also thought the cardboard was sketchy so I looked up what else could be used and the reprap wiki recommended using cork sheet as an insulation. I want to say the thickness I have is closer to 1/8" or maybe 2.5 mm. I haven't gotten to that stage yet but I'm hoping its works!

I took some cardboard and spray glued a space blanket to it. The space blanket is super thin and reflects some crazy amount of the radiant energy that strikes it (like 97%). I have the space blanket pointing up so any heat that radiates down gets sent back up. My bed heats quickly and easily goes over 110 if I need it to. I'd read that some people were having trouble getting it to 110. I think this would help them. After about 6 months the cardboard is just fine. I don't think it's a fire hazard but don't quote me on that. The blanked keeps the cardboard cool. That's just my experience. If you burn a hole in your desk don't blame me...lol....

I'm sure cork will work great. Maybe cork with "space blanket"?

[old man emu]

Because I'm such a miser, I put some thin cork sheet under my heated bed, and stole some aluminium foil from the kitchen to put between the heated bed and glass. Seems to work OK.

View from above.jpg


OME

[diro]

Just ordered to Australia. Took a bit of a hit on shipping but still worth it and don't really have options due to size

Look forward to the build in 2-3 weeks!