CubePro Duo, Does this thing actualy work?

[BridgeFactory]

Hi all,

I have recently purchased a CubePro Duo for our office as a small scale backup printer. So far I have managed to get about 2-3 prints to actually work in it and approximately 20 failures.

One of the major problems I have is that parts either shift or pop off of the build platen and basically that's the end of the build.
The second major problem is the parts warping and slightly curling off the platen. When this happens the print head basically runs into the build, melts the material all over the head and as before, the entire print is ruined, not to mention I have to clean a bunch of abs or pla off of the heads.

I very much appreciate that this is not a pro machine by any means, but it should still f@#$ing work!

I was wondering if anyone else out there has one of these and has gotten it to work consistently and successfully? Do you have any tips and tricks?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[carriere4]

When you get it dialed in, the printer is AWESOME. You will need to put in a bit of time, but it is worth it.

1) Make sure you've leveled the print bed with the calibration test print. Take the time to get it right.
2) Make sure you've put enough glue on the build plate to cover the entire build.
3) Select the option to print a sidewalk around the print - this will help with curling.

Hope this helps.

Charles

[soofle616]

Sounds like you're having very typical consumer level 3d printer issues. 3D printing is not a science, it's an art. Every spool of every material from every manufacturer is going to be slightly different than the next which potentially requires adjustments to your settings. Different models will respond differently to those same settings. Some models are simply not printable using a FDM machine. There are a lot of factors involved in getting a good print and if any one of them is not right the printer won't work. This is the main reason why imo these things are just not ready for prime time in the consumer space. People have been groomed to expect their technology to just work but in this case, "it just works" doesn't really happen.

Things to look at/adjust in addition to the items posted above:
speeds and feeds
flatness of the build plate
nozzle temperature (and bed if it is heated, I'm not specifically familiar with that model)
ACTUAL diameter of the filament (not the nominal, you will need to measure it)
Nozzle to bed gap at Z=0 (should be just enough to slide a piece of copy paper between with a bit of drag)

[carriere4]

The CubePro has a heated build chamber - not a heated build plate. You shouldn't have to fiddle with speed and feeds, flatness of build plate (unless you have glue build-up) or the filament diameter (the CubePro cartridges are all standardized).

The nozzle to bed gap at Z=0 is as important as anything - if that isn't right, your print won't come out the way you want it to.

Finally, if you've downloaded a file from thingiverse, don't expect that it will print well. It might be fine, but I've downloaded plenty of files that have not worked. It may not be the printers fault - it may be either a bad file OR a file that has geometries that can't be printed by an FDM printer without major supports (that would then require WAY more post-processing than you want to do).

Please post back and let us know if any of these suggestions help. Good luck!

[BridgeFactory]

Hey all, thanks for the tips. Sadly, I have tried just about everything that you have suggested all ready and still the parts just won't stick down for some reason. With that said, while I don't expect a machine to "just work", I do expect it to be troubleshootable and work properly once you have it figured out. This isn't my first 3D printer and I have not had half the problems with other machines that I'm having with the CubePro Duo.

Anyways, without making this personal:

1. Have calibrated the machine 10 + times in the past month and it's dialed in.
2. Regarding the glue, I definitely have enough on the platen to cover the full build. One of my questions regarding the glue is how much is too much / not enough? Also, how long should the glue set up before the print runs? This process is very ambiguous.
3. For the sidewalk, what are the best setting for the sidewalk to avoid curling? If I check "Sidewalk Perforation" in the advanced build setting, will that apply the sidewalk?

@soofle
Unfortunately most of the settings and factors that you are listing are not adjustable on the CubePro. Speeds and feeds, nozzle temperature, filament diameter are all set and can't be adjusted (that I know of). I've leveled the plate, both on the machine and off.
The Z-gap.....so this could be interesting. I have leveled the z-gap as best I can numerous times and I am starting to notice something interesting. For some reason I can level the left nozzle (to just lightly grab a piece of paper) but it is always looser under the right nozzle when I do. If I calibrate to the right nozzle, the left is too tight.
My thinking now is that possibly the nozzles are not level on the print head itself. Does anyone out there know if I can adjust the height of the nozzles them self on the printhead?

So overall, the big problem now is just that the parts will NOT stick to the platen. Everyone curls and if allowed to run, will run into the printhead.
Thoughts?

[BridgeFactory]

My next plan......
So Ive decided that I am going to machine a new platen out of ABS itself. I will re-zero to the ABS platen and run a test part to see what happens. Theoretically, I am going on the premises that an ABS raft will literally melt to the platen and, with any luck, will not be able to peel. I know this is how the Dimensions machines do it, but they are much higher end so who knows.

Anyways, thanks for your help and if you can think of anything else, please drop me a line.

[carriere4]

I don't know what sidewalk setting would be best for you to avoid the curling issue - I'd experiment with the settings. I think if you turned OFF the sidewalk perforation, that might give you a greater chance of avoiding the curling that has been plaguing you, but it would likely make for more post-processing to remove the sidewalk.

You can certainly adjust the heights of individual nozzles - and you should if they are not aligned. Check the user manual or contact Cubify support for instructions. I can't walk you through it via this forum, but I know it can be done because I've had to tweak my printers settings.

[johnschneider89]

Regarding the glue: make sure that you clean the buildplate (wash off the glue) before every build. Completely cover your build area in glue, let it dry. It shouldn't be liquidy or shiny anymore. At that point it is then ready to print.

[BridgeFactory]

Hey John,
I always wash the platen between builds and sand it from time to time to help with adhesion. I will try your glue suggestion and let it dry fully before running the print.

My task today is going to be trying to adjust the height of the nozzles on the printhead.

[iDig3Dprinting]

You have to get a file from Cubify.com to calibrate your offset jets. This file (select the correct one as there is also a calibration file for the CubePro Trio) will allow you to print out a scale that shows whether your nozzles (jets) are aligned. If not you can align them using the Print Jet Calibration > Offset Jets area of the menu. The calibration process for the CubePro can be quite involved but the information is all in the manual that came with your CubePro. I would suggest steadily working through all the calibration procedures.

If you can get it set up correctly, ignoring issues with problem .STL files, it should give you some good quality prints.