CTC Dual- great results after several essential Mods...

[Raymo]

Folks,
Thought I'd share my findings on the CTC Dual...

I finally have good consistant results from this puppy but I needed to make several essential modifications.

Essential mods/fixes
Glass Bed- use any hair spray for adhesion
Replace thermistor on heated bed- mine was ‘off’ by 30 degrees
Replace thermocouples on head- mine were ‘off’ by 40 degrees
Replaced filament extruder with adjustable tension, this ensures constant filament feed. Set correct tension when feeding at maximum (use feeder change function), too tight is just as bad so find the sweet spot.
Added front part cooler with 40mm x 20mm 24v fan, reduces droop and sag
Replace belt tensioners with non-spring type, reduces backlash
Add pillow block bearings to front and rear rods
Replace Z axis rod ends- make sure Z bed is not ‘rocking’ left and right
Check there is absolutely no play or slippage where belts connect to the carriages, add shims if necessary to get a tight grip on the GT2 belts.
Add Sailfish Firmware

Non essential mods
Replaced bearings with oil impregnated brass type- less noise
Replaced white drive cogs (X and Y) with aluminium type (with grub screw), reduces backlash
Added Bowden feeder- eliminates ‘pull’ on head
Added x axis cable holder, looks better!
Add internal LED light strips… easier to see prints in progress

Slicer settings: S3D or Slic3r (I have best results with S3D)
Print “Inside out” for best surface results
Measure extruded filament diameter and set in slicer
Use retraction: 1mm
Restart distance: -.1mm
Coast: 0.1mm
Print with skirt to clear feeder
Infill, 10% overlap
120% extra width
Print with lowest temp possible to achieve good bridging
Keep retractions to a minimum
Use aligned start points where possible
Allow reduced speed printing for small segments


Hope it works out for you all...

here is a short vid of my end results....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0Xa-TqmTNA

Ray