Makerfarm Calibration Thread of Grand Proportions

Hey guys, I'm hoping to document for all users (new and old) the tried and true procedures, related calibration item prints, and settings adjustments that helped you fine tune your print quality on your Makerfarm printer, all in one thread.

I'm only going to a post calibration procedure if I actually did it myself, I'm able to give you a parameter to adjust that fine tunes the specific calibration, and that actually had a tangible improvement with my print quality.

I know guides exist for this kind of thing so if you used one that was helpful, please include it! :D

CALIBRATION QUICK LINKS
1. Calibrating Extruder E Steps
2. Slic3r Extrusion Multiplier Calibration

Gonna kick it off right with a repost of my experience of...

1. Calibrating Extruder esteps
I calibrated the Esteps of the Extruder and everything else seemed to already be within calibration.

After downloading the stock Marlin files for my Makerfarm i3v from the build guide, 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. Click the Marlin Firmware Link download found on the Download page in the Makerfarm build guide.
2. Download Arduino IDE (you can use the most up to date version as long as it is a stable build)
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_SETTINGS" and remove the // so it will look like this "#define EEPROM_SETTINGS". 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 "Store Memory" 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!

I'm sure the results can vary, but as a datapoint I found an Esteps/mm setting of 877 was way more accurate than the factory default of 841 for my 1.75mm PLA.

Also note that for the i3v printers you want to download the RAMPS code only from the link in the i3v build guide as gmay3 says. Don't follow the i3v RAMPS build video that says to get the code from the link on the RAMPS part of the MakerFarm Build Instructions page. Turns out those files are intended for the i3 and not the i3v. One key difference is that the latter is configured for a RAMPS motherboard type 34 instead of 33. If you're wanting to use a print cooling fan connected to the RAMPS D9 terminals, that difference will keep the fan control from working.

Looking forward to reading this and keeping up on this thread. Also is there a good place to learn Slic3r better, or is there a better slicer out there that I could learn? I find that the quality of the printed stuff I am printing is ok, but would like to improve it, and want to get better in understanding what I am doing. Right now I am printing things I am getting from other places, and will be really soon taking things I have created in AutoCAD and pulling them into the printer to print. I have just picked up Solidworks, but have not installed it yet, nor started learning it. Looking forward to understanding this all better before I go out and start the large process of building a 2' x 3' printer.

printbus, thanks you're right! It can be found in the build guide on the downloads page, I had an older version of the build guide. I've updated my post above.

Tachout, try this three part guide here --> http://richrap.blogspot.com/2012/01/...tings-and.html

gmay3 thank you very much. I briefed over this real fast (Part 1) as I am at work. First thing I read interested me in the fact that I have never calibrated anything. I just told it to get after it, and started printing. Makes sense. Second is that I can now find out what each part of the program does, and will know much more about the settings. Between this and working towards bed leveling a little more than it is, I am looking forward to this weekend.

2. Slic3r Extrusion Multiplier Calibration
Guide: http://reprap.org/wiki/Calibration
Calibration items: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5573 - 20mm box

So you calibrated the extruder E steps as described above. That process made sure that you tuned the motor to run through the length of filament you asked it to. In my experience, I have been able to get it pretty close but not perfect, but fear not, this is what we're going to do next, fine tune the filament coming out of the nozzle.

So what you are going to do is slice this 20mm box with 100% rectilinear infill. (I printed mine at 0.2mm layer thickness) This is basically a extrusion volume test, since you are filling the whole box up with plastic, there's no room for extra plastic to go like there would be if you were using a 10 percent infill or so. What this test does is print a solid box, so when the print is done you will know that the printer is extruding too much if the top of the box is domed upward. If the box is domed downward you are extruding too little. If the box is flat on top then you are calibrated!

The adjustment to make is in Slic3r to calibrate this parameter is "Extrusion Multiplier". This is probably set at a default value of 1. When I printed this with "Extrusion Multiplier" set to 1, my box I had extruded too much plastic and was domed on top. I changed the Extrusion Multiplier to 0.9, resliced the box, and was able to get a perfect flat top on my box.

If you guys have any questions let me know!
gmay3

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gmay3

2. Slic3r Extrusion Multiplier Calibration
So what you are going to do is slice this 20mm box with 100% infill. (I printed mine at 0.2mm layer thickness)

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I will probably go through the calibration steps later today, as I have rather bad results so far (there are some examples in a separate thread), so thank you for the instructions, this will definitely help a lot.

One quick question, when I set infill to 100%, which pattern should I chose?

DanSilov, looks like we're playing thread tag! haha

Great point! I totally forgot to include this and I will edit the post to include this detail. Slic3r won't let you use most of the infill patterns with 100% infill and you will get an error message.

The infill pattern you want for 100% infill is rectilinear.

Thanks again for pointing this out!

Try adjusting your bridging speed. In Slic3r, I bridge at 10mm/sec. You may also need a fan to blow on the filament as it's extruded while bridging to help cool it off quicker.

I am having an issue when trying to do the EEPROM setting in Ardriuno.
It only lists COM3, and when I try it I get an error saying it cant communicate with device.
Also, in device manager, its listed as RUMBA ATmega 2560 co
But is also has an explanation point next to it.
Is there some place I can download the drivers for it? I assume thats the problem?

EDIT
Nevermind, found the driver here, installed it and it now shows correctly in device manager.
After restarting Ardruino a couple times it then saw COM4, and that worked.

OK,,,,, on to my next issue. haha

Trying to use Pronterface, when i tell it to connect it says....
Connecting...
ánP<n³VBa8&HjF±JOn6«ˆ3ˆHˆHq5ˆj%O~|Y.~D1ˆx)€áF ~«ˆˆHÈxñJsCð^èk6ó-³7—è%)| kmJo·æ
gZƒfÃø

I need to play around more before posting lol
It was baud rate, I had to use 250000

Hope my dumbness helps others at least. :p

Haha no problem, glad you got everything working! I'm sure it will help others, it's very helpful to have a log of steps when things go wrong!

XCopter, I think the first step to bridging would be setting up a print cooling fan. Clough42 has done a 200mm bridging in one of his YouTube videos, which included a print cooling fan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X20j_wKg6A). In my own experiences printing this fan mount, I recommend lowering the z-height on the mounting portion if you have a J-Head hot end. This way, the mouth on the funnel-like part that the fan mounts to is actually blowing on the plastic. I also recommend getting a high CFM, high quality fan, like a Noctua one (even though I think the color of plastic it's made of is absolutely ugly) (http://www.amazon.com/40x10mm-A-Seri...words=40mm+fan). If you're having really bad issues with the print not cooling, you'd probably want to find a way to mount multiple fans to cool your print. I'm by no means an 3D printing engineer, this is just information based on what I've analyzed.

Any advice for getting the belts to the "correct" tension? I've been struggling with it lately, and circular objects I've printed are coming out not-so-circular. I keep hearing how belts shouldn't be "too loose" or "too tight", but I have never found any more detailed description. Do I just pull on the motors until I get the belts as tight as I can get them, or what?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AbuMaia

Any advice for getting the belts to the "correct" tension? I've been struggling with it lately, and circular objects I've printed are coming out not-so-circular. I keep hearing how belts shouldn't be "too loose" or "too tight", but I have never found any more detailed description. Do I just pull on the motors until I get the belts as tight as I can get them, or what?

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I'm in the same boat! I'm about to pull my i3 down for a major service which will include belt tensioning. I have noticed that when I assembled my printer, I ended up with the X-axis motor screws at the distant left hand end of the adjustment slots in the holder. This means I can't adjust tension by moving the motor more to the left.

I saw some designs for belt tensioners on Thingiverse but it think this is the best first step, since we are having problems printing nicely because he belt tension is wrong. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:298142

I'm going to grab a couple of them from the from the wife's laundry-peg bag.

Old Man Emu

Don't. I got a couple of these http://e3d-online.com/Mechanical/GT2...sioning-Spring, and as far as I could tell, they didn't improve prints. Rather, they, being springs and bouncy, ended up leaving bad X and Y bounce ripples on my parts wherever the nozzle changed direction.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AbuMaia

Any advice for getting the belts to the "correct" tension? I've been struggling with it lately, and circular objects I've printed are coming out not-so-circular. I keep hearing how belts shouldn't be "too loose" or "too tight", but I have never found any more detailed description. Do I just pull on the motors until I get the belts as tight as I can get them, or what?

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Yeah I can understand the frustration, there isn't a good way I know of to numerically communicate how tight the belts should be.

This probably will sound as dumb as any other description but I hope it communicates the tension a little bit better. Use the maximum strength of one hand to pull the motor to tension the belt and the other hand to tighten the screws down. Don't use two hands to tighten it or any tools to get the belt tight. I don't think you need to worry about breaking the belt by just using one hand.

As long as you aren't one of these guys you should be fine. :D
Attachment 3222Attachment 3223

I used a spring clamp like this

Attachment 3228 to pull the Y motor back to tighten the Y belt, but I can't do the same for the X motor.

I jokingly thought up a way to communicate exactly how tight the belts should be. But it requires the use of a guitar tuner or something similar. Just pluck the belt and find out what note it plays. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AbuMaia

I jokingly thought up a way to communicate exactly how tight the belts should be. But it requires the use of a guitar tuner or something similar. Just pluck the belt and find out what note it plays. :)

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Haha that's a good idea. If you can play any note on your belts, they are probably tight enough.

hey.

i noticed that my printer wasent properly calibrated for a week ago when i tried to print out things that should get into each other.
i have been done some calibration on my makerfarm printer. i tested to print a cube that is 20x20x20 mm

it came out 22x22x20 mm,

i have set up the wall thickness to 2 lines and they are about .5 wide.

is it so that the printer prints the walls outside the modell or is it the steppers that need to be calibrated.

is the printer adding the outlines on the inaede or outside of the modell? or can i change it in slicer to make to software to generate the walls on the inner side of the modell.

wall (2 lines/.5) + modell (20 mm) + wall (2 lines/.5) = 22 mm

is i thinking right now?

my setup

material: abs
nozzle: .5
ex multiplier: .9
extruder steps 904
ex temp: 225
bed temp: 60 (using fleks3d printbed)
x stepper: .43.9 mV
y stepper: .44.3 mV
z stepper: .44.0 mV
e stepper: .44.3 mv


any advice?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Melzk

...any advice?

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About the only thing you can do in the slicer is change whether the outermost perimeter is printed first or last. If it's printed last, there's a chance that it will be squished to the outside more than if it is the first perimeter laid down.

The XYZ steps per unit are set by the hardware design of the printer and shouldn't require alteration unless something like the number of teeth on the motor pulley changes. Before I changed the steps per unit to fudge the printer, I'd try another slicer for comparison. For example, if you used Slic3r to print this, try slicing with Cura and see if there's a difference.

it was some setting in slicer that was wrong. i found a other config file and now it is 0.1 to small :)

but i have an other problem
how can i get rid of the rippels there is on the 11 and 12,
i dont mean the layer lines, i mean that the layer lines arent aligned ;)

i have played around with the extruder multiplier, filament width (the filament had some diff), micron reselution. seems to bi a bit better when i tried to prit att 400 microns.

http://i57.tinypic.com/20u332h.jpg
http://i62.tinypic.com/t8syh2.jpg

Did you ever get those layers fixed up Melzk?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Melzk

how can i get rid of the ripples there is on the 11 and 12,
i dont mean the layer lines, i mean that the layer lines arent aligned ;)

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It looks like you have Z wobble/backlash. Are your Z rods constrained at the top and bottom? Do they sway as the Z goes up and down?

You might look into using this http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:769057 on each side to see if that gets rid of the ripples. Use one spring and two nuts in each.