Qidi Tech 1 - Replicator 1 clone

[wirlybird]

I am having some serious issues.

Had a print mess up few days ago..made a mess. As a result my left side is unusable...probably have to replace the heating core.

Now I can't get right side to print. Will be fine for few hours then stop extruding material. Have done everything. Changed driver, changed the stepper, cleaned everything, even tried with a new nozzle/ptfe tube. No matter what I do it will print a few hours then stop feeding materials.

I am stones throw away from getting rid of this thing...maybe getting a I3 clone.....

edit:
Could sell this one for $600-700 and get 2 I3 clones. If the hype is real about that new raptor stuff from MG what is point of working in ABS anyway right? I just don't know what else to do here. I have literally tried everything I can think of. I have slept maybe 8hrs in the past 4 days. Have wasted around 800grams of material. Nothing works!

I feel your pain!! I just had a melt down also.

Are you printing from SD card or USB? If SD card, it might have an issue. I have read that some cards do not work well for this application.

My first thought is overheating. Does it happen at the same point in a print like height? Maybe a cable is failing or something else and loses connection at a certain position?

When it stops feeding has the motor shut down? If so, at that point can you test for voltage from the cable?

Just random thoughts.

[wirlybird]

It is super light but it does not dry.
You need a lube that will dry. I use a light high-temp silicone based lube that dries in about 2min. If you use something that stays 'wet' you will get tackyness.

Got it! That is probably exactly what is up and could be causing some issues.

Do you have a brand you use or have heard is good?

[wirlybird]

Things are looking up. Got a bunch of emails from Flexion and aside from offering a full unconditional refund they said they would really like to get everything working correctly. They want to have their stuff working right for as many machines as possible and the QIDI with S3D is fairly new to the game.

I can see the potential and am very pleased with the response now from them. I think with their eagerness to get it going we can kick this thing into high gear and look forward to flexible materials and high temp extruders.

[Syd_Khaos]

Got it! That is probably exactly what is up and could be causing some issues.

Do you have a brand you use or have heard is good?

I use 3-in-1 brand all-temp silicone lube. I it to the rods with a lint-free cloth, and then move the gantrys around to work it into the bearings.

I do print from SD card. Using full sized normal cards, never had an issue with em. Have 3 cards I use, and have been using during all this.
It does not stop at same place in the print each time. Just seems to be anywhere from 6-10hours into a print or so.
I have tried everything I can think of....anyone wanna buy a used qidi lmao =/

[jfkansas]

It is super light but it does not dry.
You need a lube that will dry. I use a light high-temp silicone based lube that dries in about 2min. If you use something that stays 'wet' you will get tackyness.

No you don't want dry lube for linear bearings. You want a grease that will slip by the shields and provide good lubricant for the bearings. I tried all kinds of lubricants early on including dry film wax lubes. All were very loud when running. A good grease was the best and quietest. Mechanically my printers are almost silent, except for stepper songs.

This is the grease I use on everything, but I do thin it out a little with 3n1 oil. You don't want it to be runny just thinner.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pro...p-grease-14-oz

[wirlybird]

I use 3-in-1 brand all-temp silicone lube. I it to the rods with a lint-free cloth, and then move the gantrys around to work it into the bearings.

I do print from SD card. Using full sized normal cards, never had an issue with em. Have 3 cards I use, and have been using during all this.
It does not stop at same place in the print each time. Just seems to be anywhere from 6-10hours into a print or so.
I have tried everything I can think of....anyone wanna buy a used qidi lmao =/

Ya never know --- if the price is right shipping etc. --- I have extra parts! QIDI is making a deal on a new one maybe.

[DaveB]

I am having some serious issues.

Had a print mess up few days ago..made a mess. As a result my left side is unusable...probably have to replace the heating core.

Now I can't get right side to print. Will be fine for few hours then stop extruding material. Have done everything. Changed driver, changed the stepper, cleaned everything, even tried with a new nozzle/ptfe tube. No matter what I do it will print a few hours then stop feeding materials.

I am stones throw away from getting rid of this thing...maybe getting a I3 clone.....

edit:
Could sell this one for $600-700 and get 2 I3 clones. If the hype is real about that new raptor stuff from MG what is point of working in ABS anyway right? I just don't know what else to do here. I have literally tried everything I can think of. I have slept maybe 8hrs in the past 4 days. Have wasted around 800grams of material. Nothing works!

Syd,
I had a similar problem w/ the feed process stopping during a print. In my case it would either stop for a layer or two before continuing, or go away for .5 inch of height at a time or so such that I ended up with an airy birds nest of a print. In my case, the ultimate cause was the poor alignment of the top hold down manifold/plate.

I wish I knew what the right name was, but its the piece that sits on the top of the extruder, traps the extruder mechanism in place, and guides the filaments into the top of the extruder feed path, it's held in place with two looong screws. The problem is compounded because a) the extruder filament release lever actually sticks out higher than the top of the stepper motor surface, and b) the heat sinks that support the other end of the top plate are actually much lower than the top stepper motor surface. How much the filament release lever sticks out also depends upon how it was positioned when the feed mechanism hold down screws were tightened.

I corrected my problem by doing three things:

First, When tightening the screws that hold the extruder feeder gear mechanism onto the feeder stepper motor I shifted the feed mechanism downward (toward the build platform) as much as possible. This reduces the top plate's interference with the top surface of the filament release lever.

The second thing I did was to put a shim below the top plate over the heat sinks. This shim rests solely on the area on top of the heat sinks and effectively raises that upper heat sink surface to be level with the stepper motors. This levels out the top plate and I think it reduces the offset stress the top plate was applying on the filament release lever. My first version of the shim was about 6 business cards thick, I eventually ended up printing one and gluing it to the bottom of the manifold/plate.

Third, when tightening the two bolts that hold that top plate down, I used two drill bit shanks to line up the top plate with the filament feed path. Get it dead centered on BOTH. If you have replaced the top plate with a custom one, make sure that it's filament feed holes and the hold down bolt holes actually line up correctly, MANY of the manifold designs out there do not. Some are up to .25 INCH off.

Regarding the MG Raptor filament, It is indeed very resilient, and I find it prints more like MG ABS than MG PLA, but I have had problems with it jamming in the QiDi feed mechanism.

[wirlybird]

No you don't want dry lube for linear bearings. You want a grease that will slip by the shields and provide good lubricant for the bearings. I tried all kinds of lubricants early on including dry film wax lubes. All were very loud when running. A good grease was the best and quietest. Mechanically my printers are almost silent, except for stepper songs.

This is the grease I use on everything, but I do thin it out a little with 3n1 oil. You don't want it to be runny just thinner.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pro...p-grease-14-oz

Excellent, tractor supply is down the street!

So thin enough to be somewhat fluid but it won't drip off your finger? I imagine just a few "drops" on the rods? Also for the Z threaded rod?

[Syd_Khaos]

Nope...the top plate is something I have checked and rechecked...even have a little jig made for lining it up when screwing it down.

I am honestly thinking of selling it and getting an I3 and mini kossel. Idk...Im just at my wits end with this machine.

[jfkansas]

Excellent, tractor supply is down the street!

So thin enough to be somewhat fluid but it won't drip off your finger? I imagine just a few "drops" on the rods? Also for the Z threaded rod?

Yes everything, x/y bearings, Z bearings, and lead screw. No you don't want it to be fluid at all, just a little thinner. Smear some on all the rods then work the gantry back and forth. It will build up in little grease boogers on the bearings, spread that around and work it back and forth some more then wipe the grease boogers off.

It is kinda hard to get to but I try to put some in between the bearings on the exposed rods.