Qidi Tech 1 - Replicator 1 clone

[wirlybird]

New Humidity controlled filament dry storage with dehumidifier. Holds 8 Rolls.


[IMG][/IMG]

[DaveB]

Looks very good W, what did you use for the dehumidifier?

[wirlybird]

Got it off Amazon. Came across a couple articles and they really liked this one so I got a few. Price was ok and they plug in to recharge.
The bins are great - ZipLock with seals on the lids.

[wirlybird]

Found a lot of spool are a little to wide for the stock QIDI holders so I made new longer ones with new end caps. Work like a charm.

[IMG][/IMG]

[hydrocarbon82]

Are you guys able to get the thin supports to stick to the bed with PLA? I am unable to get them to stick to the original plastic bed (w/ or w/o glue), blue tape, or even kapton - 40 and 65C bed temps tested, blower both on and off. I need to print a raft, and even then the support edges curl up. Are the rolls of PLA it comes with just that poor quality? I have some PETG I'll be trying later, but I'm trying to figure out if it's a setting issue before using the good stuff.

Also, when adjusting the "first layer" extrusion speed & printing a raft, does that print the raft slow or the 1st layer of your model slow? I've turned mine down to 25 mm/s to see if it helps.

[RetroCreo]

I use the Microswiss conversion on my Qidi and it works fine. I have made a couple deviations from Microswiss instructions.
1. I used a small amount of teflon tape on the threads of the tube that screws into the hotblock to prevent the leakage I was initially getting.
2. Microswiss instructions suggest a small amount of filing of the cool block hole that the extruder tube goes through. You don't want to do that.
3. I do use the heat sink compound on the extruder tube going through the cool block.

Your extruder mount conversions have been intriguing me for awhile now.
How would a downward cooling fan preferably a cage style fan attach to it?

You defeated the purpose of having an all metal hot end by wrapping it in teflon tape. The purpose of removing the ptfe tube with having an all metal hot end is to reach higher temperatures above 240*C. The tape will melt at higher temps and produce noxious gases.

[jfkansas]

You defeated the purpose of having an all metal hot end by wrapping it in teflon tape. The purpose of removing the ptfe tube with having an all metal hot end is to reach higher temperatures above 240*C. The tape will melt at higher temps and produce noxious gases.

The amount of tape he used isn't enough to create enough outgas to do any harm. That said it does negatively affect the way the filament melts and should not be needed. If installed correctly there should be no leakage.

[wirlybird]

Agreed on the leakage and Micro-Swiss addresses leakage in their instructions.

The amount of tape he used isn't enough to create enough outgas to do any harm. That said it does negatively affect the way the filament melts and should not be needed. If installed correctly there should be no leakage.

[hydrocarbon82]

I'm not sure if this has been done before, but I decided to change the mobo cooling. The original fan is a 40x10mm fan running 24vdc, my guess is 8-10k rpm. That's less than 10cfm of airflow and roughly half is distributed over the stepper motor heatsinks.

I replaced it with a 80mm fan as 12vdc, it's powered by a mp1584en converted set to 10vdc (blue device). It could be adjusted from 1.5v to 23v when connected to the main PSU. I have a thin 80x15mm fan on order that will fit w/in the lower shield, but for now it's rigged with a ADDA 80x25mm fan pulled from a Lian Li case.

Airflow is increased significantly, but more importantly it's nearly silent!

http://imgur.com/a/nDlHs



I also flipped the power switch assembly so the cord doesn't block the switch from the side. I had to remove all the rear screws and roll holders but it was well worth it.

[jfkansas]

Most that know what they are doing with this printer just remove the fan all together as it isn't needed. But it doesn't hurt to have it I guess as long as it is near silent. There are better uses for that power source though... Long story short, Makerbot was powering a 3.3v regulator with a 5v source and they tried to fix it with a fan. The fan didn't fix it and it was never removed. The Chinese copied the board during that time and the fan just moved on over. Makerbot probably used a higher quality 24v fan and it wasn't as noisy. All the clones use loud obnoxious fans.

I'm not sure if this has been done before, but I decided to change the mobo cooling. The original fan is a 40x10mm fan running 24vdc, my guess is 8-10k rpm. That's less than 10cfm of airflow and roughly half is distributed over the stepper motor heatsinks.

I replaced it with a 80mm fan as 12vdc, it's powered by a mp1584en converted set to 10vdc (blue device). It could be adjusted from 1.5v to 23v when connected to the main PSU. I have a thin 80x15mm fan on order that will fit w/in the lower shield, but for now it's rigged with a ADDA 80x25mm fan pulled from a Lian Li case.

Airflow is increased significantly, but more importantly it's nearly silent!

http://imgur.com/a/nDlHs



I also flipped the power switch assembly so the cord doesn't block the switch from the side. I had to remove all the rear screws and roll holders but it was well worth it.