Solidoodle Workbench

[Tonesy]

I have also purchased a Solidoodle Workbench and have found MANY items that need to be corrected before the machine will print. Along with the Y-axis slide being locked up I also noticed the drive shaft along the top back wall (that drive the y-axis belts) has no way of retaining itself. What I mean is the shaft is just straight and can be pushed out of the bearing either way. This was remedied by two locking collars, one on each side inside the frame. Getting the correct software was a whole other ordeal. The XP software wouldn't communicate with the machine so I had to use a newer computer with Windows 7 to finally get that to work. Once the machine would jog I tried a print and found that the x-axis carriage when going to the home position interferes with the bed supports (where the z-axis screw drives the bed up and down). I made a sketch of what I saw and sent to Solidoodle and asked how to fix this without having to grind a notch in the z-axis bed bracket for the x-axis to clear....what a shocker! No reply from Solidoodle yet........I am giving this a few more days and then asking to return it. I guess I am spoiled by the first Makerbot I received that came out of the box and was printing parts a few minutes later. Yes this is cheaper, but with all the time and frustration, I am not sure its really worth it.

[ClintKC1972]

Thanks for sharing your experience, Tonesy.

I just got home from work and checked my Workbench. You're right, the drive rod for the Y axis is not fixed in place... I can push mine left and right inside the sintered bronze bushings as well (even though I've noticed zero lateral movement during operation). A person could purchase two 8mm split collars to prevent this, if it became an issue... as it sounds like you did.

My X-axis carriage does not interfere with anything, but I can see why yours might. I have noticed that the Y-axis will only travel far enough to put the nozzles about 1/4" in from the rear edge of the glass build plate. (So I am losing a print area of roughly 3 square inches and a volume of about 36 cubic inches.)



However, my Y axis will also travel almost 1/4" past the front edge of the bed... so I could modify the bed position forward [whatever that exact distance is] and regain that print area.



Now, here is why I think your printer's X-axis carriage might be interfering with the Z-axis bed supports. In the picture below, I've drawn a red arrow to show a small raised boss that is located on the back side of my Y-axis carriage. This boss protrudes 0.291 inches, which is ALMOST exactly the distance that I'm losing in print area. My guess is that either my printer is an 'updated' version, or the raised boss on your printer has somehow been broken off.



I say this because if that boss was not there, the Y-axis would be allowed to travel rearward another 0.291 inches before hitting the limit switch... which would CERTAINLY cause my X-axis carriage to interfere with the build plate support. As you can see in the picture below, my X-axis carriage clears the bed support bracket... but not by much.



You'll also notice (2 photos above) that I drew a light blue line that indicates the front face of the left Y-axis carriage. It is not flat at all, so I'm assuming this was the bottom side of their 3D print... which obviously curled. The back face of the left Y-axis carriage (or the "top" of their 3D print) is perfectly flat, less the boss. This is why I don't like that Solidoodle included 3D-printed objects to be part of their design. And yes, I'm assuming that the misalignment caused by warping is what causes the Y axis of these printers to 'stick' upon arrival. (At least that's one theory.)

At any rate, I do plan on keeping my Workbench and working out all of the issues myself. (Which is my only option, since Solidoodle seems to have zero customer support.) I will be demanding a refund of my SoliCare purchase, because I no longer desire to pay for this sort of "service"... if you can call it that, at all.

But thanks so much for pointing these things out, Tonesy... much appreciated!

I have also purchased a Solidoodle Workbench and have found MANY items that need to be corrected before the machine will print. Along with the Y-axis slide being locked up I also noticed the drive shaft along the top back wall (that drive the y-axis belts) has no way of retaining itself. What I mean is the shaft is just straight and can be pushed out of the bearing either way. This was remedied by two locking collars, one on each side inside the frame. Getting the correct software was a whole other ordeal. The XP software wouldn't communicate with the machine so I had to use a newer computer with Windows 7 to finally get that to work. Once the machine would jog I tried a print and found that the x-axis carriage when going to the home position interferes with the bed supports (where the z-axis screw drives the bed up and down). I made a sketch of what I saw and sent to Solidoodle and asked how to fix this without having to grind a notch in the z-axis bed bracket for the x-axis to clear....what a shocker! No reply from Solidoodle yet........I am giving this a few more days and then asking to return it. I guess I am spoiled by the first Makerbot I received that came out of the box and was printing parts a few minutes later. Yes this is cheaper, but with all the time and frustration, I am not sure its really worth it.

[Tonesy]

Thanks for sharing your experience, Tonesy.

I just got home from work and checked my Workbench. You're right, the drive rod for the Y axis is not fixed in place... I can push mine left and right inside the sintered bronze bushings as well (even though I've noticed zero lateral movement during operation). A person could purchase two 8mm split collars to prevent this, if it became an issue... as it sounds like you did.

My X-axis carriage does not interfere with anything, but I can see why yours might. I have noticed that the Y-axis will only travel far enough to put the nozzles about 1/4" in from the rear edge of the glass build plate. (So I am losing a print area of roughly 3 square inches and a volume of about 36 cubic inches.)



However, my Y axis will also travel almost 1/4" past the front edge of the bed... so I could modify the bed position forward [whatever that exact distance is] and regain that print area.



Now, here is why I think your printer's X-axis carriage might be interfering with the Z-axis bed supports. In the picture below, I've drawn a red arrow to show a small raised boss that is located on the back side of my Y-axis carriage. This boss protrudes 0.291 inches, which is ALMOST exactly the distance that I'm losing in print area. My guess is that either my printer is an 'updated' version, or the raised boss on your printer has somehow been broken off.



I say this because if that boss was not there, the Y-axis would be allowed to travel rearward another 0.291 inches before hitting the limit switch... which would CERTAINLY cause my X-axis carriage to interfere with the build plate support. As you can see in the picture below, my X-axis carriage clears the bed support bracket... but not by much.



You'll also notice (2 photos above) that I drew a light blue line that indicates the front face of the left Y-axis carriage. It is not flat at all, so I'm assuming this was the bottom side of their 3D print... which obviously curled. The back face of the left Y-axis carriage (or the "top" of their 3D print) is perfectly flat, less the boss. This is why I don't like that Solidoodle included 3D-printed objects to be part of their design. And yes, I'm assuming that the misalignment caused by warping is what causes the Y axis of these printers to 'stick' upon arrival. (At least that's one theory.)

At any rate, I do plan on keeping my Workbench and working out all of the issues myself. (Which is my only option, since Solidoodle seems to have zero customer support.) I will be demanding a refund of my SoliCare purchase, because I no longer desire to pay for this sort of "service"... if you can call it that, at all.

But thanks so much for pointing these things out, Tonesy... much appreciated!

OK So I took a picture of my Solidoodle and you can see that once the Y limit switch is depressed the nozzle is right at the edge of the bed. BUT what I do see is you limit switch lever seems to be slightly bent out, which would stop it sooner. Trust me this isnt a bad thing (to avoid hitting the bed support). What I think I will try today is to bend that limit switch lever out slightly so the y-axis doesnt move back as far. I agree printed parts shoudl not be the way to go on this machine. With the quantities they have sold you would think a decent investment of injection molds would be more efficient with regards to speed, quality & manufacturability.

[Tonesy]

I have successfully printed a part! Although not perfectly round (it was supposed to be round) it was a complete printed part. They have a tutorial video on the SD website about tensioning the belts to improve the roundness, but I was unsuccessful in improving the roundness.

I did bend the y-limit switch out and the x-carriage now clears the bed supports.

STILL NO SUPPORT FROM SOLIDOODLE!

[Tonesy]

I have successfully printed a part! Although not perfectly round (it was supposed to be round) it was a complete printed part. They have a tutorial video on the SD website about tensioning the belts to improve the roundness, but I was unsuccessful in improving the roundness.

I did bend the y-limit switch out and the x-carriage now clears the bed supports.

STILL NO SUPPORT FROM SOLIDOODLE!

Anyone out there reading this please be advised the Solidoodle customer support SUCKS! I cant say much more for the quality of the machine either. I have put in three requests over a 7 day period and nothing. The Repetier software isnt slicing correctly. The parts look like crap. I have spent days trying to get this Workbench to work right and still no success or support from Solidoodle. I am returning the machine....that is if they even reply to my request to return the machine. Extremely frustrated with this company!!!

[ClintKC1972]

I am keeping my machine, because I see it as a foundation... a semi-completed project by Solidoodle, at best... but still a foundation to work on.

Yes, their customer support is worthless. SoliCare is worthless, so I've asked for a refund on that service SEVERAL TIMES, still with no answer from them. Good luck trying to return your machine, Tonesy.

I do hope you understand (from a previous post of yours) that Repetier-Host is simply a host for the machine to connect to. It does not control your print quality in any way. Skeinforge or Slic3r are the programs you need to be tweaking, not Repetier-Host. (Both Skeinforge and Slic3r are included with the installation. (I'll try to post the settings I'm using, soon.)

Thanks. Hang in there, man... I know it's frustrating.

[ClintKC1972]

I'm an engineer by heart. I design, machine, and assemble tools for a living. I know good tools when I see them, and the Solidoodle Workbench is pretty much what I expected, for $1300... a work in progress. 3D printing has not nearly reached its end in history, but the Solidoodle company perhaps has (after their appalling service and PR during this generation of printers).

However, I'm a thinker. I love solving problems... and yes, I love helping people.

So I've started a fully-accurate 3D model of the Solidoodle Workbench... not to reverse-engineer it, in any way (because the design could be much better, by all means)... but to help me create accessories and upgraded parts for the machine. I'm doing this for myself, of course, but am happy to share it with all Workbench owners. I'll not share my 3D files, but I will share my accessory and upgraded parts ideas on this forum, to anyone who is interested.

It's still a work in progress, but here are some preliminary images:





I'm using TurboCAD v16 to create this model, instead of Solidworks 2014... as I'm very proficient with TC16, and have no need for parametric parts since this is simply a 3D model of an existing machine (not a design of my own, where parametrics are always nice). At any rate, I hope to complete this 3D model soon, so I can start designing the Lexan enclosure that this machine desperately needs for heat control... minor build surface relocation prints... CNC machined Y-axis carriages... et cetera.