Help needed with 3D printing - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: blueskull
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 04, 2015, 02:30:21 am
content: Hi,I have some problems with our lab's MakerBot Replicator 2X. When I tried to print this file (STL attached), it clogs its extruder, and eventually shat itself.It even had not start printing the model itself. It failed when attempting to print the raft.Is there any way I can make it work? I (probably) need a raft, because some structures are hollowed. With a raft, I can easily peel off the supporting material.FYI, it is the JTAG and USB test jig for my audiophile DAC project. It holds the test jig, DUT, and an Analog Devices JTAG controller together.Bo

author: georges80
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2015, 05:31:24 am
content: You have to align/level the print bed - that is critical or you'll get no where. A fellow where I was consulting made a jig to hold a gauge so you could then zip the head around to all the corners of the bed so it was pretty easy to adjust/level it. I let him do the adjustment and then the markerbot replicator could actually print (most of the time). After a bunch of print jobs it needed aligning again but I had finished with my projects.You also need to spray (cheap hair spray works) the glass bed so that the extruded plastic sticks firmly to the bed.Beyond that the home level 3d printers are a pain in the rear end. I'd compare them to the very early early days of inkjet technology where you spent more time unclogging the print heads than actually printing...When you get it all right, then you can actually get a pseudo decent 3d print, relatively speaking. Printing large gaps will be an issue, I've managed maybe 1/2" wide openings, but they won't be perfect... The PLA is pretty crappy since it deforms at pretty low temperature - useless if you ever wanted to print something that would sit in a hot vehicle in the sun etc. ABS needs a heated bed so has its own issues, but at least has a somewhat higher temperature resistance.cheers,george.

author: Artlav
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2015, 10:16:38 am
content: What do you mean by "it clogs its extruder" and "eventually shat itself"?If the extruder stopped working by literally clogging, then it's not the model's problem but a printer problem - you need to fix the extruder.I made three 3D printers since 2009, with 5 different extruder models, and i never had any extruder clogs during operation - it's an abnormal event that points at assembly or quality issues.If it gets unstuck from the build bed, then you either need to have a heated bed, or cover it with something sticky for the plastic.For ABS heating bed is mandatory, and sticky stuff is kapton tape washed with acetone.

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2015, 04:24:13 pm
content: clogged extruder may means:1) under temperature: the abs is still solid at the extruder tip2) over temperature: the abs feed line far above the tip is stucked/jammed with semi molten/deformed/mutilated ABS.if you can see oozing at the tip, the problem maybe 2. if not, probably its 1.