Author Topic: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod  (Read 31980 times)

Offline PeterE

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #25 on: March 25, 2016, 06:47:15 AM »
Bill,

Could you find an answer from this ATX PSU rebuild description from reprap? It helped me at least.

http://reprap.org/wiki/Choosing_a_Power_Supply_for_your_RepRap

/Peter
Always at the edge of my abilities, too often beyond ;-)

Offline BillTodd

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #26 on: March 25, 2016, 11:26:42 AM »
Thanks Peter,

I've just hooked the5Vsb into the VCC pin and it now powers Marlin and allows me to power down the 12v from the menu :)

Bill

Offline BillTodd

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #27 on: October 28, 2018, 04:55:12 PM »
Never let it be said I rush projects...

A belated update: 2017 I got busy with work so only got to play printers towards the end of the year. I managed to set the machine up to the point of printing , well, a mess.  I replaced my home-brew extruder with a Chinese one , only to find out the problem I was having was simply one of temperature !

The first attempts to print were bugged with Y axis problems : The Y axis slideway (PEEK on anodised ally)  kept sticking so i resolved to replace it with a rolling bearing.

October '17 I got involved with a year long project at work (still ongoing!) but finally today, I found time to mod the axis with the bag of China's best plastic rollers :

And now I have my first ever successful print  :nrocks:

It's a simple bezel for a OLED display (I chose it because it is small and ready to go)

« Last Edit: November 05, 2018, 05:03:39 AM by BillTodd »
Bill

Offline RotarySMP

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #28 on: October 29, 2018, 03:00:12 AM »
Nice work.
Best regards, Meilleures salutations, Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Cu salutari
Mark
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Offline BillTodd

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #29 on: October 29, 2018, 03:42:08 PM »
What happened??? --- calling 3d print experts

After two successful prints (one over night  - pecil holder dog from Thingyverse), the extruded filament does not want to stick [edit] extruder seems to work ok when open but clicks and seems to stall when trying to print onto initial layers

suggestions please (I'm just trying increasing the temperature a bit)

Bill
Bill

Offline efrench

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #30 on: October 29, 2018, 10:01:21 PM »
Extruder stepper clicking means it doesn't have enough torque to push the filament through the nozzle.   You may need to clean the nozzle.  The tensioner on the extruder may not be set high enough.  The filament may be out of spec (wide spots), etc., etc.

I'd recommend printing a temperature calibration object (There are several on thingiverse).


Offline BillTodd

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #31 on: October 30, 2018, 05:01:56 AM »
Thanks. I'll swap out the nozzles later and report back  :bow:

   
edit[]  That's fixed it  :D looks like the other nozzle had a burr around the hole ,I guess that after hours of pniting the burr colapsed and blocked the jet slightly.
« Last Edit: November 10, 2018, 03:03:59 PM by BillTodd »
Bill

Offline WeldingRod

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #32 on: October 30, 2018, 08:38:25 AM »
Yeah, clicking is losing steps or skipping the drive wheel.  Causes, in rough order:
Low temp
Clogged nozzle
Too close to bed on the first layer
Bowden tube problem

And very.least likely, exotic heat leak issues causing the filament to soften and swell in the cold part of the extruder.

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Offline BillTodd

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #33 on: October 30, 2018, 04:27:37 PM »
Thanks for the help guys.

I'm beginning to think that the dog print was a fluke
so far apart from the afore mentioned nozzle issue, I've had the motor pully come loose on all three axes , the nozzle leak and drop blobs of snot allover the shop and because the nozzle is a tad longer than the old one , it has engraved my building plate with a banana.

edit: but hold your breath, its just printed the four paws of another dog so fingers crossed.....
« Last Edit: November 10, 2018, 03:04:52 PM by BillTodd »
Bill

Offline ddmckee54

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #34 on: November 01, 2018, 10:14:05 AM »
Bill:

If you are a complete Noob  to 3D printing, and it sounds like that's the case, here's a couple of suggestions that I wish I would have had when I started:

1) If you don't have Home limits installed on this thing, do it now.  Zeroing the nozzle to the bed can be enough of a pain in the Tukus under normal conditions, no reason to have to do it every print.

2) Nozzle leaks, I used to get them all the time too.  I found this method of installing the nozzle on YouTube.  With the nozzle and the heat break removed from the heater block, chase the threads with a 6mm tap.  (You don't HAVE to do this, it just makes your life a little easier.)  Install the nozzle, just finger tight - no need to wrench on it yet.  Now back the nozzle off 1 flat.  Install the heat break, all the way in until it bottoms out on the nozzle but just finger tight.  Now get out the wrench and tighten up the nozzle.  Since I started using this procedure I haven't had any nozzle leaks.

3) Zeroing the nozzle and leveling the bed.  These are VERY important to getting a GOOD first layer.  If you don't have a good first layer your odds for a successful print aren't great and they just keep going downhill.

I use a Post-It note to set my initial nozzle height, I got a boat-load of them a few years back.  With my shaky hands I can't read my own writing any more so I have to use them for something.  Anyway, set your Z-axis Home limit so that that the Post-It note will just slide between the print bed and the nozzle.  You should be able to feel the resistance as you move the paper.  I'm not going to tell you that you need the sticky part up and away from the nozzle because we ALL know that - now.  You'll need to go through this procedure EVERY time you mess with the nozzle or move the hot-end in any way.

Once you've got the initial nozzle height set in the Home position move the print head to various locations on the print bed, at least the other 3 corners, and level the print bed to the nozzle's Home position.  Check it with the Post-It note, you'll want the same resistance as you had at the Home position.  You'll either use the leveling screws, if you have them, or you'll have to shim the print bed to get it level.  This may require several iterations, check nozzle height at Home position, level bed, check nozzle height at Home position, level bed...  You get the picture.

Try a test print to see if you got the nozzle's Home position correct, you MAY have to tweak it to get it set correctly.  You'll know when you got it right, the filament will firmly adhere to the print bed.  If the nozzle is too close to the print bed the filament will smoosh out around the nozzle.  Yup, smoosh is an official 3D printing term.  The sweet spot for the correct nozzle height is really pretty narrow.  Too close and it smooshes out, you get great adhesion, but your print height will be off and you'll spend a lot of time cleaning up the flash.  Too far away and you get poor adhesion to the bed, your parts have a better chance of warping, and you might not get complete fill between the filaments of the first layer.

Long winded, but I hope this helps,
Don
Too many irons, not enough fire.

Offline BillTodd

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #35 on: November 01, 2018, 10:32:47 AM »
Thanks Don ,

yes a noob indeed, 4 successful prints, countless failures..

I've just installed and confired Marlin 1.1.9 - iwas running 1.1.0 rc3 ..

I have home switches and have just set the Z correctly . ( I keep getting 'error too far' when i set home offsets , even though the x and y are zero and Z is only 0.3 ???  0,0,0 is cntre of platform)

The bed is reasonably level , i will clock it and adjust when i take it off to add a heater.

I been chasing my tail to find a 'Thermal run away error' that turned out to be ( cross fingers) a loose PSU enable connection.

Ill try your nozzle fitting technique  My chinese extruder seems to have been threaded with a hammer!
Bill

Offline ddmckee54

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #36 on: November 01, 2018, 12:22:23 PM »
Couple questions:

What type of filament are you printing with?  I'm using PLA, because it's less sensitive to ambient temperature changes it doesn't need a heated cabinet for the printer.  With ABS a heated cabinet is ALMOST a requirement.

What are you printing your first layer on?  I print on blue painters tape because it's so simple and I've always had good luck with it.  Others swear by the glue stick method and many others will recommend the hairspray method.

Don
Too many irons, not enough fire.

Offline BillTodd

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #37 on: November 01, 2018, 02:23:58 PM »
hi Don,

printing with 1.75mm pla onto masking tape (painters tape US?) seem to stick fine if I get a good initial layer.

So far the prints are staying flat without a heated bed plate (had one lift when the temperature was too high-215°C)

I'll have to fix the nozzle leak before I can do anymore, just trying to summon the will to go out into the cold/wet garage to get the necessary Allan key.

Bill
Bill

Offline WeldingRod

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #38 on: November 01, 2018, 03:51:18 PM »
Two... make three-ish tips:
Support your bed at three (and ONLY) three points on stiff springs.  Use a screw to push the bed down onto the spring.  This makes the bed angle easy to adjust and provides some "oops" compliance.  Bonus points: use long socket flat head screws!

Put a dial indicator or test indicator on your head, and use that to set the bed.  Use the screws above.

Heat your hot end to temperature before final nip-up.  You usually have three, thermally mis-matched materials in there: Aluminum, brass, and stainless.  Thread load varies a LOT with temperature.  It would help if folks used brass heater blocks, but nobody does.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk


Offline BillTodd

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #39 on: November 04, 2018, 05:07:04 PM »
OK levelled the bed , but may need to make something stiffer / flatter later.

I'm getting problems with larger prints lifting , pulling the tape up or just not sticking

Need to solve this as I have a cunning plan....

[edit] odd this should be an animated gif (mod's any reason the uploads no longer work??)
Bill

Offline AdeV

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #40 on: November 04, 2018, 05:56:06 PM »
Hmm, it looks like a steampunk time machine?  :scratch:

 :)
Cheers!
Ade.
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Offline BillTodd

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #41 on: November 05, 2018, 05:16:42 AM »
Hmm, it looks like a steampunk time machine?  :scratch:

 :)

Well, I suppose it is sortof.. It's an125 year-old steam engine design by BeuchampTower (http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/POWER/tower/tower.htm) . It was one of the first engines that I animated for Doug's site and have wanted to build one ever since. Machining one on the gear  I have would be a major problem but , with the advent of 3d printing it should be relatively easy .

Bill
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Offline BillTodd

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #42 on: November 09, 2018, 03:16:11 PM »
Added a heated bed , which seems to work ok after a bit of tinkering. 

It managed a long over night print ok (-ish, stil the odd blob of black snot from somewhere) of a de walt battery adapter.

But, two attempts printing the first part of my engine (the large circluar seperator plate) have failed after 3 hours with a 'bed thermal runaway error ' - I don't think that this is the actual problem but a consequence of power failure again  PITA!
Bill

Offline BillTodd

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #43 on: November 09, 2018, 06:25:39 PM »
aarrrggghhhh!!!!

Just tried to print the same model again, this time i got to it as it stopped - temperatures were fine , the motors were stationary while the x& y numbers on screen changed so....

Is there anything in g code that can stop the motors or swtch off the power?
Bill

Offline efrench

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #44 on: November 10, 2018, 12:03:19 AM »
None that the slicing software would put there.

Offline AdeV

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #45 on: November 10, 2018, 05:27:31 AM »
Does the machine have limit switches? If so, is one of those playing up?
Cheers!
Ade.
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Offline BillTodd

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #46 on: November 10, 2018, 07:19:03 AM »
Does the machine have limit switches? If so, is one of those playing up?

The machine has the switches from a previous life, but I don't think they're actually connected . I will check Thanks
« Last Edit: November 10, 2018, 03:07:22 PM by BillTodd »
Bill

Offline BillTodd

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #47 on: November 10, 2018, 07:23:55 AM »
None that the slicing software would put there.

Any that might getin via a bug or otherwise?  Come to think of it, would the main printing process know if the 12v rail just disappeared?   

May be I'll disconnect the PS_on signal (hard wire it on) and tey again.
Bill

Offline efrench

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #48 on: November 10, 2018, 01:30:16 PM »
LinuxCNC gcode is pretty simple, so looking for any kind of a stop or pause code can be done with a search for "M".  If any "M"s are found, check the docs to see what it does.

Offline BillTodd

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Re: Homebrew engraver to 3D printer Mod
« Reply #49 on: November 10, 2018, 02:53:21 PM »
Thanks guys,

Decided I'd spend the afternoon extending the Z range (as I need the extra height to print my engine parts)

Got a little greedy, made the extenders too long and the nozzle wouldn't reach the bed  :Doh:

Fortunately, the weather here is silly warm for the middle of November  , so was able to fix it after dark - in a T shirt in my unheated shed!.

Bill