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| Building a 3D Printer, RepRap Mendel Prusa2 by craynerd |
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| ChrisC:
Hi Chris, Your build is coming on really well, your first print is much better than the first print I did when I built my Prusa! As Alex has said, the initial Z height is quite critical, it is also crucial that you get the print table parallel to the plane of the X Y movement. Which slicer are you using with Pronterface? I moved to Slic3R from Skeinforge a few months ago, and have found it a great deal better. Which ever one you are using I would suggest you set the Z home position as Alex has suggested, and then use the Slicer software to tweek the Z offset. In the case of Slic3R there is a Z offset parameter under the "Printer and Filament" tab, in Skeinforge it is in the "Bottom" tab. You need to be able to set the Z height to an accuracy of perhaps 0.1mm or better. Chris |
| ChrisC:
One other thing I meant to mention; a small fan directed at the printing table makes a huge difference to the print quality. Ideally it should be directed at the point where the printing is taking place. The idea is to quickly cool the molten plastic before it starts to slump. It is particularly important for small features. The best results can be obtained with a fan which can be turned on and off during the printing, but even a fixed fan makes a big difference. You don't need very much air flow; obviously too much will cause cooling of the hot end. Chris |
| raynerd:
Hello one and all. Chris, I`ve set the height OK and my prints are sticking but I think my z axis is not vertical to the table but slanting back and to the right. Here is my bad attempt at yoda: |
| ChrisC:
Hi Chris, Your Yoda isn't too bad, it always takes a while to get things calibrated. Setting everything square is a bit time consuming, but one advantage of the Prusa is that you have plenty of degrees of freedom. I normally start by choosing one of the Y axis bearing rails as a datum and then setting the second Y axis rail parallel and the X axis perpendicular to it. You can then use a large square to set the Z axis perpendicular to the plane of the top of the two Y axis bearing rods.... it is more difficult to describe it than to do it, but I'm sure you know what I mean. I apologise if I'm stating the obvious. The shield print on your Yoda shows that the table isn't level, you can see it is much thinner at the bottom of the photo than at the top. The Z height and table level are about more than just getting the print to stick, if you are too low you will notice that the first few layers tend to bulge out a bit. If you aren't already using it I would strongly recommend that you use Slic3r (www.slic3r.org) as a slicer, it is much easier to use and understand than skeinforge (it is also slices very much faster than skeinforge). Boring calibration cubes are the best way to make progress with print quality. I saw on another thread that you have just got your hands on a Raspberry Pi, so I expect the Prusa is taking a bit of a back seat at the moment. I'm following your experiences with the Raspberry Pi with interest. I've got my Prusa Air working, I'll post some photos when I get a few spare minutes. Chris |
| DavoDavo:
I just found this thread, I'm fascinated with the concept and will be following with interest. Whether I'll ever build one myself is doubtful but I find it all so interesting watching the build progress. :drool: Good work and keep the pics coming. |
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