Qidi Tech 1 - Replicator 1 clone

[KludgeGuru]

This will fix the blob issue:

Left:

; **** Replicator 2X start.gcode ****
M73 P0 ; Enable build progress
G162 X Y F3000 ; Home XY maximum
G161 Z F1200 ; Home Z minimum
G92 Z-5 ; Set Z to -5
G1 Z0 ; Move Z to 0
G161 Z F100 ; Home Z slowly
M132 X Y Z A B ; Recall home offsets
M135 T0 ; Load right extruder offsets
G1 X-130 Y-75 Z30 F9000 ; Move to wait position off table
G130 X20 Y20 Z20 A20 B20 ; Lower stepper Vrefs while heating
M126 S[fan_speed_pwm] ; Set fan speed
M140 S[bed0_temperature] T0 ; Heat buildplate
M134 T0 ; Stabilize bed temperature
M104 S[extruder1_temperature] T1 ; Heat left extruder
M133 T1 ; Stabilize left extruder temperature
G130 X127 Y127 Z40 A127 B127 ; Default stepper Vrefs
G92 A0 B0 ; Zero extruders
M135 T1 ; Load left extruder offsets
G1 X-100 Y-65 F9000 ; Move to front left corner of bed
G1 Z0.3 F6000 ; Move down to purge
G1 X90 Y-65 E24 F2000 ; Extrude a line of filament across the front edge of the bed
G1 X100 Y-65 F180 ; Wait for ooze
G1 X110 Y-65 F5000 ; Fast wipe
G1 Z1 F100 ; Lift
G92 A0 B0 ; zero extruders
M73 P1 ;@body (notify GPX body has started)
; **** end of start.gcode ****



Right:


; **** Replicator 2X start.gcode ****
M73 P0 ; Enable build progress
G162 X Y F3000 ; Home XY maximum
G161 Z F1200 ; Home Z minimum
G92 Z-5 ; Set Z to -5
G1 Z0 ; Move Z to 0
G161 Z F100 ; Home Z slowly
M132 X Y Z A B ; Recall home offsets
M135 T0 ; Load right extruder offsets
G1 X-130 Y-75 Z30 F9000 ; Move to wait position off table
G130 X20 Y20 Z20 A20 B20 ; Lower stepper Vrefs while heating
M126 S[fan_speed_pwm] ; Set fan speed
M140 S[bed0_temperature] T0 ; Heat buildplate
M134 T0 ; Stabilize bed temperature
M104 S[extruder0_temperature] T0 ; Heat right extruder
M133 T0 ; Stabilize extruder temperature
G130 X127 Y127 Z40 A127 B127 ; Default stepper Vref
G92 A0 B0 ; Zero extruders
G1 X100 Y-70 F9000 ; Move to front right corner of bed
G1 Z0.3 F6000 ; Move down to purge
G1 X-90 Y-70 E24 F2000 ; Extrude a line of filament across the front edge of the bed
G1 X-100 Y-70 F180 ; Wait for ooze
G1 X-110 Y-70 F5000 ; Fast wipe
G1 Z0.5 F100 ; Lift
G92 A0 B0 ; Zero extruders
M73 P1 ;@body (notify GPX body has started)
; **** end of start.gcode ****


Both:


; **** Replicator 2X start.gcode ****
M73 P0 ; Enable build progress
G162 X Y F3000 ; Home XY maximum
G161 Z F1200 ; Home Z minimum
G92 Z-5 ; Set Z to -5
G1 Z0 ; Move Z to 0
G161 Z F100 ; Home Z slowly
M132 X Y Z A B ; Recall home offsets
M135 T0 ; Load right extruder offsets
G1 X-130 Y-75 Z30 F9000 ; Move to wait position off table
G130 X20 Y20 Z20 A20 B20 ; Lower stepper Vrefs while heating
M126 S[fan_speed_pwm] ; Set fan speed
M140 S[bed0_temperature] T0 ; Heat buildplate
M134 T0 ; Stabilize bed temperature
M104 S[extruder0_temperature] T0 ; Heat right extruder
M104 S[extruder1_temperature] T1 ; Heat left extruder
M133 T0 ; Stabilize right extruder temperature
M133 T1 ; Stabilize left extruder temperature
G130 X127 Y127 Z40 A127 B127 ; Default stepper Vrefs
G92 A0 B0 ; Zero extruders
G1 X100 Y-70 F9000 ; Move to front right corner of bed
G1 Z0.3 F6000 ; Move down to purge
G1 X-90 Y-70 E24 F2000 ; Extrude a line of filament across the front edge of the bed
G1 X-100 Y-70 F180 ; Wait for ooze
G1 X-110 Y-70 F5000 ; Fast wipe
G1 Z0.5 F100 ; Lift
G92 A0 B0 ; Zero extruders
M135 T1 ; Load left extruder offsets
G1 X-100 Y-65 F9000 ; Move to front left corner of bed
G1 Z0.3 F6000 ; Move down to purge
G1 X90 Y-65 E24 F2000 ; Extrude a line of filament across the front edge of the bed
G1 X100 Y-65 F180 ; Wait for ooze
G1 X110 Y-65 F5000 ; Fast wipe
G1 Z1 F100 ; Lift
G92 A0 B0 ; Zero extruders
M73 P1 ;@body (notify GPX body has started)
; **** end of start.gcode ****



Take the above and put it in the start script for each mode (Left only, right only, both)


Works perfect for me. Now does a line across the front then prints.

I copied this code and it works except the head moves too far to the left and grinds a little bit. This causes the axis to be off which shifts my prints to the right on the build platform. If you look closely at my pictures in the previous post the parts are not centered on the platform and the far right one is right on the edge of the plate.

I'll need to look at the script and adjust how far to the left it moves the head.

[rcleav]

I copied this code and it works except the head moves too far to the left and grinds a little bit. This causes the axis to be off which shifts my prints to the right on the build platform. If you look closely at my pictures in the previous post the parts are not centered on the platform and the far right one is right on the edge of the plate.

I'll need to look at the script and adjust how far to the left it moves the head.

I also tried it and had the same problem.
It was written for an older machine that doesn't have the cooling fan on the left side of the extruders for print cooling.

[Syd_Khaos]

Syd_Khaos, maybe you should try printing from USB. Also I've been copying both the .code and .x3g files to the SD card.

I may have to try this, was kinda trying to stick to just SD cards. My PC is on the opposite side of my house from the printer.....theres a good 150ft+ gap between the two.

Are you having to do anything with the gcode file in the printer menu? Like apply it before ya start the print or something like that.

Really hope I can get this thing going today.

[rcleav]

It's not recommended to rely on the USB on long prints. If the the computer goes to sleep or crashes it will kill your print.
I also have a Astroprint setup which also uses USB and if the wifi drops out it kills the print. So I don't rely on it and only use it for video monitoring the print.
S3D generates both the Gcode and .x3g but you really only need the .x3g file on the sd card.
I only print from the SD Card I've to many failed prints with USB connections.

[Syd_Khaos]

Im about to try and squeeeze the printer into my office/gameroom.

This may not sound like much, but my office is about 2/3 the size of normal bedroom. Has my PC set up, big office chair, loveseat style 1/2 couch, 2 big file cabinets, and a Playseat evo with G27 and X45.
Getting that stuff in there was akin to messing with a rubix cube lol.

Gonna see if I can get it going hooked into USB, then go back to SD once everything is working properly.

[KludgeGuru]

I also tried it and had the same problem.
It was written for an older machine that doesn't have the cooling fan on the left side of the extruders for print cooling.

I briefly looked at the Gcode and it looks like changing this line will fix it to account for the cooling fan.

G1 X-130 Y-75 Z30 F9000 ; Move to wait position off table

Probably change the X coordinate. I'll have to play with it tonight to find the right value.

[Syd_Khaos]

Ok, got the machine set up in my office.

Still having issues with plate leveling, but its close enough that I want to try a print. Still needs work though.

I have S3D open and its talking to the printer just fine. I tell it to print 20mm test cube via USB. Same thing I was getting last night, the extruder heats up and then its just waits.

I think there is an issue with the heatplate or its temp sensor. The plate reads 100-104c no matter what. I have not turned the heatplate on EVER in the life of this machine.
I think this may be why its not starting a print, the machine info says it needs bed temp of 60c. But since it thinks the plate is 100c (and its not, its cool to the touch) it wont start the print.

[rcleav]

Ok that does sound like a problem with the heat plate. Check the connector on the back of the heat plate. If that's good take the bottom off and check all of the connections to the board.

[Syd_Khaos]

Ok that does sound like a problem with the heat plate. Check the connector on the back of the heat plate. If that's good take the bottom off and check all of the connections to the board.

Kinda starting to think this is the origin of the leveling issues as well. With the extruder over the rear most mount I can get the gap perfect. But the front 2 mounts still have a gap thats to big...like the plate mount is maybe bent a bit.

I can check all that by taking the bottom panel off yes?

[TankCmdr]

I started printing the sample file that came on the SD card. I'm using the blue PLA that came with the printer (Blue PLA + White ABS came with mine). I have the older extruder head (no additional cooling fan) and the 7.2 firmware.

I leveled the plate and started the print. It set the extruder to 220 and the heated bed to 40. It appeared to be building a box by laying down a rectangle and then extruding diagonal lines to create a solid bottom. The front was coming out really nice with smooth parallel lines, but the rear left wasn't so clean. The extruded plastic seemed to be melted and patchy - it kind of looked like a relief map of mountain ranges. I could see raised thicker blobs of plastic with valleys of minimal plastic in between. It seems to have corrected after 3 or 4 layers and now is cleanly laying down a honeycomb interior structure. The sides look pretty good.

Any thoughts on the initial layer in the rear end of the build plate? Could the plate be too hot or not level enough? I noticed the build plate vibrating when laying the second layer in that area. I'm thinking the vibration may be due to the nozzle catching on the high points of the rough initial layer.

Any experts that can give me some thoughts before I make my second print later tonight? I used the built in leveling function - maybe I should manually place the head when leveling? Maybe I should run through the level procedure multiple times to ensure that the last adjustment doesn't simply break the earlier plate adjustment?