Maybe ANOTHER UNSATISFIED CUSTOMER GERMANREPRAP CRAP X400!

[Dontknow]

Well the other day I had to answer to a THREAD regarding the GERMAN REPRAP X400 3D printer.

I am one UNHAPPY and deeply disrespectful customer of GERMAN REPRAP 3D Printers.

Before going deeper I have to present my self as another member of this FORUM assumed that I HAVE NO SKILLS or little SKILLS on 3D PRINTERS
and of course my BSc as Mechanical Engineering is not a clue of some skills...

Therefore I am a Mechanical Engineer with some success and some more unsuccessful stories to tell regarding my days in Mechanical Engineering.

Now I am owner of 5 x 3D printers + 1x GERMAN REPRAP CRAP ... In the days approaching I am waiting for a big 3D machine... Hopefully working.

My story and sharing so the members may have notice and think twice before they buy. As I believe this is all about Forums sharing knowledge...

I ordered a GERMAN REPRAP through INTERNET for a 2500EURO or 2700EURO I do not remember exactly as there are 2 years before ...

My mistake is that I purchased through internet even I knew no store is in my country. Big mistake for that amount of money after all...As the REPRAP is a community for sharing ...

The Printer STILL IS NOT FUNCTIONING CORRECTLY!.

I have wait so much time and never have before write about my disappointment and all the frustration and problems faced with this GERMANREPRAP till today am writing this post.

I received the box which was very nice bulky and heavy.. I immediately thought .. I choose right //

I start to assemble and gradually I plunged into problems and frustration.

MANUAL"
First of all the MANUAL... It was written in GERMAN and English... You know the easy straight directives where in plain English.. But when you were about to assemble the difficult parts the Manual had GERMAN..
So I had to open a second window and scroll back and forth to the screens with the other screen always in GOOGLE TRANSLATION!!!!.. Translate from GERMAN TO ENGLISH!!!!.

The funny thing is that at the end of every poor English Translation OR GERMAN Words... there was a sentence of asking their customers to contribute and translate their manual... HAHAHHAHAHAHA

PARTS :
All parts were nice and neatly arrange into boxes... The bolts and screws came in two different plastic box cases with labels for each bolt and nut so you could see the manual and identify immediately the corresponding part... Well it is not that I like to be excited or grouchy but still MANUAL AND PHOTOS were NOT exactly helpful.. But OK!! They did it a try! Still you need to smell your fingers to find some parts where goes what... SO I HAD TO SEARCH THE INTERNET YOUTUBE to find more directions from other people they done this!!!...

OOOhhhh!!!!! Did I mentioned that I had a deadline with my company to produce a PROTOTYPE and I was the one who pinch point the investment to this specific printer??

SERVICE:

OK! I had to find a solution to some problems that seemed without solution... It is then when I searched their site for a telephone to communicate or something.. BUT NOTING AT ALL...
Of course TODAY (present DAY) they have a phone call line with a 0.99EURO/minute for actually giving them feedback on their crappy design and asking for some answers.... Ooopss sorry for their time I meant! HAHAHAH

Service happens ONLY through e-mails after they give you a ticket where you have to reply and asking them for your problem within specific time or else you have to apply for a new ticket...

Hmmm!!!! Maybe the problems are too many and the tickets are too many to hold them too much ..

Anyway I asked them and I actually sent a video If memory serves right ...In order to have a couple of days or more a non sense answer...
I was wondering... Are my English understandable or what went wrong?

I decided to go for my self and proceed .. Thankfully after many tries I overcome my first problem.

Then In another problem raised I had to contact again... There they come with a ticket... I asked they replied again something irrelevant with the topic and again I had to make my own tries and tests...

BUT DAYS were passing... And you know how it is... You get busy with real problems in life and your business and have to solve them and leave the GERMAN REPRAP CRAP aside...


Today if you are lucky enough and buy their crappy printer X400 ( I do not know for other models, I can only assume... Still their service and connection with their customer JUST SUCK!!!)

And if you have a problem you can PAY OF COURSE THEIR ROYALTY of 0.99EURO/minute in order to be honored to have a solution for the small amount of 2500Euro or more...

[Dontknow]

SOME OF THE PROBLEMS:

The great problem that even today I am facing with GRR CRAP is that Z-Axis refuses to function... Ok... Actually I made it work but still there are too many issues that I want to rectify and troubleshoot and will make it in order to have a descent print job...

The Steel Plate's Holes were not centered so the Z-AXIS BOLT (Ball Screw) had enough friction and squeezing so the NEMA17 stepper was actually straggling to elevate or move downwards the plate...


The STEEL PLATE that holds the Heating Bed is too heavy in my opinion and the NEMA17 stepper is let's say oriented especially if you are going to print a 400 x 400x 350(mm) part.... Of course the good news are that plate is going down when printing so the gravity will help the NEMA17....

[Dontknow]

I started to troubleshoot the GERMANREPRAP CRAP X400 as the SERVICE tickets were only for asking the weather in Germany...

So when I was about to connect the ARDUINO MEGA with their RAMP 1.4.2 - they call it .2 as every DRIVER output has a parallel connection so you can put 2 motors to each XYZ axis...
to the XYZ motors I made a last inspection for all the wires to be correct , as the manual was not very explainable.... but from all other sources I had gather information...

All wirement was OK.. I switch on the GERMANREPRAP CRAP and upload the REPETIER.ino file... I made all the correct adjustments and asked for a X movement...

CLICK .... CLICL ... CLICK... Hmmmm is my mouse out of function????

Let's try the Y axis... CLICK ... CLICK .... CLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKK./.... WELL YOU RELIZE THE FRUSTRATION... You have so many problems assembling the SHITY PRINTER and when at the end .... the electronics DO NOT WORK...

I ordered for a new SET of ARDUINO AND RAMPS... I put them to the PRINTER... And the X and Y axis moved with some reluctance but moved...
So I realized the problem was with GERMANREPRAP CRAP electronics... I checked the fuses as they use baby car fuses and the 5A fuse which is of the motors was blown... Even today I have not try of the rest electronic is working..

THE Z- AXIS WERE STRONGLY REFUSED TO GO ... And could ONLY MOVE ONLY IF HELPED WITH HAND

[Dontknow]

I could not focus on where the problem is... I checked again the MANUAL and saw again all the videos and info from youtube etc.

Everything seemed to be right... And everything was assembled correctly except perhaps of some bolts that were short or bigger but in places that would not change the outcome... like the plexi glass covers...

So I started to think the NEMA17 is not good enough and cannot deliver the torque...

I thought to put the GERMANREPRAP CRAP into DIET... Yes!!! in DIET... So I f@@@@king to disassembled the whole steel bed... and cut the STEEL PLATE about reducing a 40% in weight without affecting the rigidity...

GUESS WHAT!!!! IT DID NOT WORK... You know , you do not believe a company is so poor in designing to go for a complete RETOUCHE of the PRINTER..And this is where you loose so much time... I should have RIP everything off and building it from the beginning with other materials

..BUT as I MENTIONED.. you just hope there is not that CRAP INSIDE... There should be at least some INTEL INSIDE HAHAHAH

I thought of give a try and change the STEPPER MOTOR... Again ordered a NEMA23 from pololu.com a very strong motor for the application...

I made a nice ALUMINUM BASE and clamped the NEMA23 ... I connected the wires carefully and was about ready to run.

YOUR_CRAP_PRINTER_ON_DIET.jpgNEMA_23_even_not_sufficient.jpg

[Dontknow]

Once more exhausted and frustrated... While all the other problems with daily routine and busy work in my doorstep and the GERMANREPRAP CRAP standing there almost smiling at me and mumbling I won you!!!1 The member in 3dprintboard.com will moke you up and claim you are a NON SKILLED ENGINEERING ..

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA.... I mean you see it is getting personal...

So I had to search every mm or inch if some of you like to id where the problem stands...

Then I looked carefully to see all the ball screws of Z-AXIS.... I realized that on top of the BALL SCREWS there were NO BASE TO HOLD THEM TIGHT and linear or VERTICAL with their BASE as a result the BALL SCREWS when the steel plate was on top... Meaning when is in HOME POSITION the BALL SCREWS had a rather NOT small slope that actually increased the friction and torque needed.. And in case you had not equally adjust the teeths of the ball screws to match all to each other then BAM!!!! you had to much friction...

I bought again some roll bearings and build some base for the top of the PRINTER. so the ball screws have centers and linearity even if the steel plate is on top or bottom of the axis travel...

I noticed after the Z-AXIS was gradually moved or could make some movement from totally frozen Z-axis previously...

Then I thought... There should be also another case that increases the friction... I took off again the Z-Axis motor and belt... and checked for the freedom movement of each ball screw in order to find that the pulleys of each Z-axis was touching the POM plastic base..

Even I had put SPACERS as the MANUAL described... between the Pulley and the roll bearing, still the Ball Screws had a vast friction and could not move easily even by hand...

BUT AS I MENTIONED... YOU COULD NEVER BELIEVE THE POM MACHINED BASE WAS machined wrongly of +/- 1mm to 1.3mm and the roll bearing was actually sitting lower -was plunged = so the spacer produced friction... It was something you could not see or imagine...

Anyway. managed somehow to make some new spacers to put into the POM base and raise higher by 1.5mm the roll bearings and then reinstall the Z-axis Ball screws...

I made a try and the Z-AXIS for first time moved...

[Dontknow]

In all the process I have forgot to many more problems... Mean now I am writing this and after I see the photos and videos I have archive , there coming problems I have forgotten...

Like I had to open ALL THE HOLES from the steel plate with Φ20mm so the ball screws could pass without touching the steel.

I had to shave the plastic holding the steel plate and where actually is the NUT where the ball screws (Z-axis move)... I had to use some glue as one of the plastics was too loose and the NUT went off the plastic pocket too often...

I could not see why a NEMA23 cannot move the Z-axis... and thought the problem was with the DRIVERS A4988... So I ordered new DRIVERS with DUAL trimpots...
able to adjust... I made Ton of experiments with the TRIMPOTS... but still the Z-axis was not move freely...

I even built a second base to put the NEMA17 motor , that replaced . And still want to put the NEMA17 in the opposite side of NEMA23 motor... for some extra torque...

And all that only for the Assmbly... I have note reach in the EXTRUDER where it is a complete FAILURE...

But as I mentioned I have bought NEW EXTRUDERS and NEMA MOTORS TO ALTER THE GERMANREPRAP CRAP and hopefully being able to REMOVE from the LABEL
THE CRAP ...

[Dontknow]

Some more photos!!!! FOR LUCHADOR or what his name is...

[Dontknow]

Some of my 3D PRINTERS... The weird thing is that some of the cheapest 3D printers are working GOOD and are VALUE FOR MONEY

[Dontknow]

...AND YES... I AM BACK AGAIN...

The GERMAN REPRAP, is still NOT functioning...
Well after a very short break of NOT working... GERMAN REPRAP CRAP actually , managed to make it print 2 parts... The one was the ready part of the SD card if memory serves right and the other was one of my parts...

I can say to be honest the quality was acceptable BUT on the other hand I have changed and upgrade almost everything...

ANYWAY THE GERMAN REPRAP CRAP IS REFUSING TO WORK..

Actually the Z- axis is not moving when in gcode... Everything works the X-axis , Y-axis , E-axis but the Z-axis is not moving at all just a very rough noise from NEMA motor... BUT WHEN IN REPETIER MANUAL MODE... The Z- axis works perfectly...

I have to change the .ino file with my own settings...

[PatrickFry]

First of all the MANUAL... It was written in GERMAN and English... You know the easy straight directives where in plain English.. But when you were about to assemble the difficult parts the Manual had GERMAN..
So I had to open a second window and scroll back and forth to the screens with the other screen always in GOOGLE TRANSLATION!!!!.. Translate from GERMAN TO ENGLISH!!!!.

The funny thing is that at the end of every poor English Translation OR GERMAN Words... there was a sentence of asking their customers to contribute and translate their manual... HAHAHHAHAHAHA

thetermpapers translation services can create a high quality content translation from Source Language into Target Language. If you want to read much better content you can feel free to ask for translation assistance here.