Advice for the newbies

So I have been printing all day and here are a few things that Ive found that really make a difference in print quality.

1. Nozzle distance from bed. I have been using a .05mm feeler gauge between the bed and the nozzle.
2. Level, level, level!!! I spend at least 20 minutes leveling the bed before each print.
3. Slow speed for the first layer. Ive noticed much better quality at printing the first layer at 30%. Then 75% for the next 2 layers and 100% for the rest of the build.


Any other advice you wish to share with us 3d printing newbs???

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Originally Posted by dollarz81

Any other advice you wish to share with us 3d printing newbs???

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Opinions vary... But the first layer always goes done clean with Auto Bed Leveling.... :)

So the auto bed leveling stop switch replaces the z stop switch?

Yes, it can. Or you can keep your z stop switch as an emergency backup.

Changing to KentDixson's Z-endstop, Clough42's cooling setup + print cooler, and using the glue stick for bed adhesion, has solved all of my big problems. I'm sure I'll find smaller ones, but I've made significant improvements with those modifications.

Measure twice, slic3 once! :)

On this same line. the Makerfarm 10" build instructions were recently updated, so that is good. Has links to fan shrouds, newer endstops to print. Show the non PC power supply also, very helpful! My question is that I am going to be using a Linux laptop, and would like everyones suggestion on what to use for slicing. I read that Repetier is really good with Cura, but doesn't run as well on Linux? I thought I would throw this in here rather than start a new thread as this is a newbie question.

I run Ubuntu Linux on my laptop, and I slice with either Slic3r or Cura, depending on mood.

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Originally Posted by Roxy

Opinions vary... But the first layer always goes done clean with Auto Bed Leveling.... :)

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As a newbie I will confirm this. As anal as I thought I was, and tried to be with manually leveling my bed, the ABL code by Roxy has shown me a new level of not only the first layer, but the entire print as a new level of print quality. The difference in having the machine and programming do the heavy lifting a far as ensuring both adhesion and print quality is honestly dramatic. It is definitely worth the effort to get it working. I would be shocked to not see this incorporated in new Makerfarm printers in the near future. I works better than manually leveling and is repeatable form print to print. It doesn't get rid of the need to get your bed close to level manually, but it seems to refine the leveling to a point that I can't do by myself. And you only have to get it working correctly once, then it's on cruise control. Once you get it working the first time, it just continues to work.

Like Drone said, the ABL stuff is fantastic. Once you square everything away, you only need to periodically recheck the bed level to continue to assure great prints (from the bed leveling perspective). If you move the printer or do any modifications, you will want to relevel the bed plane. This is easy to do with a few G29s and the print bed matrix as a guide.

Roxy's G29 T comes in very handy for this. :)

Where does one start to get a auto bed level setup going?

zennmasters blog has a great step by step guide with videos included