3D printers - fun with FDM printers (Marlin-based)

[Martin Wynne]

@Phil G

Hi Phil,

I don't think it would be helpful to break down to even more specific topic subjects, the existing structure is surely fractured enough? The idea is to use the several Search functions to find what you are looking for.

Already we have two main header sections covering the subject:

Plug Track - https://85a.uk/templot/club/index.php?forums/plug-track.34/

covering everything specifically related to Templot plug track.​

​

Within that section I have tried to keep a separation between the actual software and its ongoing development - https://85a.uk/templot/club/index.php?threads/more-plug-track-developments.792/​

​

And other topics covering more practical aspects of making and assembling plug track.​

​

Models, Methods and Materials - https://85a.uk/templot/club/index.php?forums/models-methods-and-materials.11/

covering general workshop topics, including related to 3D printers, laser-cutting, etc, for general modelling and track-building, building own-designed 3D track, and general track construction including but NOT specifically related to Templot's plug track.​

Within those two main sections there are many existing topics and it will usually be possible to find one where a new post belongs. Or if not to create a new topic.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Phil G]

Hi Martin,
I fully understand and respect your position here.
Having said that I would only offer these comments, in the last 48 hours there has been two separate posts both creating new topics, both refencing problems with resin printing of chairs, Which means your attempt to keep the topic treads to the titles you have mentioned, simply is not working. Nor are we keeping the total number of topics under control.

I do think even if you clearly spelled out an area to look for problems, it would not solve all the erroneous posts, I do think it would greatly reduce the frequency though.

Also and this is equally important if you have a clear and concise (problem with *** section) anybody can simply point them to the right place.
Just to quote a comment you made

That must be the tenth time I've written about the importance of vigorous plunge washing for the loose jaw slots. I can't keep repeating everything for the rest of my life.

That is exactly the type of thing I am trying to reduce, by suggesting we should have an area for problems. In the absence of written instructions which will take up too much of your valuable time. All this critical info could be loaded in this proposed area.

Lets be honest here, a side effect of James great videos on plug track, is there are now quite a few new members, all with similar issues and not sure where to access the info there after. All I am suggesting is an area they can easily go to get the answers.
cheers
Phil

 

[Martin Wynne]

Hi Martin,
I fully understand and respect your position here.
Having said that I would only offer these comments, in the last 48 hours there has been two separate posts both creating new topics, both refencing problems with resin printing of chairs, Which means your attempt to keep the topic treads to the titles you have mentioned, simply is not working. Nor are we keeping the total number of topics under control.

I do think even if you clearly spelled out an area to look for problems, it would not solve all the erroneous posts, I do think it would greatly reduce the frequency though.

Also and this is equally important if you have a clear and concise (problem with *** section) anybody can simply point them to the right place.
Just to quote a comment you made


That is exactly the type of thing I am trying to reduce, by suggesting we should have an area for problems. In the absence of written instructions which will take up too much of your valuable time. All this critical info could be loaded in this proposed area.

Lets be honest here, a side effect of James great videos on plug track, is there are now quite a few new members, all with similar issues and not sure where to access the info there after. All I am suggesting is an area they can easily go to get the answers.
cheers
Phil

It's a cold night here. I intend to settle down by the fireside with my book, a whisky, a boiled egg, and a fish-paste sandwich.

Martin.

 

[Hayfield]

Enjoy

 

[Martin Wynne]

@Hayfield

Hi John,

You wanted a Cura profile for the filing jigs. Attached below, layer settings for 4mm/ft scale.

Stringing isn't a problem with the jigs, so I have reduced the retraction in light of recent experience on the Neptune 3 Plus.

Using this profile, a 1:6 vee jig will take about 5 hours for both parts, or 2.1/2 hours if printing only one half.

When I can find time, I'm going to develop a utility to speed up printing of the jigs without affecting the accuracy of the grooves, but it's not done yet.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Phil O]

Hi Martin,
I don't know if this idea would work with the filing jigs, but print a master outer part and then print parts that have "jaws" with the required rail filing angle, this would save time and filament, as the actual thickness of the the jaw would only need to be enough to grip the rail satisfactorily. Possibly some sort of plug and socket would be required to locate the jaw within the master. The nuts and bolts will hold the whole lot together.

 

[Martin Wynne]

@Phil O

Hi Phil,

I've tried some ideas with removable inserts. Generally a dismal failure. The problem is getting the filing face flush all over without any steps or ridges.

The most promising option is to make the business area as a separate full-depth piece which is then screwed on to a holder using self-tapping screws:

The self-tapping screws could be replaced with proper threaded brass inserts and cap screws. But that's pushing up the cost.

Generally my attitude is that the one-piece jigs are fine. The longer the FDM printer takes, the better. It gives me more time to get on with something else.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Phil G]

Hi Martin,
Once again I am having issues with my ender 3, now with brand new hot end fitted
The first print just came off the machine after 8 hours 24 mins printing
Not sure if you can see from the attached photo the very top of the C front filing jig the bit that aligns the rail. Is not fully attached to the body of the print this is the half with the rail printed on it. the rest seems to be fine.

Whilst I strongly suspect its my printer, again. I did wonder if anybody else had seen such an issue?
I also wondered from the picture above, if its possible to only print that key part of the jig? Not sure it is when at an angle such as this one.
To be honest I would rather pay for brass inset screws and cap heads then wait 8 plus hours only to see the business and of the jig had not worked.
cheers
Phil

 

[Steve_Cornford]

Hi Phil,

Sorry to hear that you are having problems.
Did you perform a calibration after fitting the new hot end?
Steve

 

[Martin Wynne]

@Phil G

Hi Phil,

Something seriously wrong there. I've printed dozens of filing jigs on several different FDM printers, and never seen anything like that.

What Cura profile are you using? What filament?

Why did you fit a new hot-end? What went wrong with the old one?

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Phil G]

Hi Steve,
Yes actually I had to do a full factory set and then a full machine calibration, everything tested out fine.
looking at the side of the failed print there seems to be an issue along the full length of that layer, its just bad luck it in such a critical position.
cheers
Phil,

 

[Phil G]

@Phil G

Hi Phil,

Something seriously wrong there. I've printed dozens of filing jigs on several different FDM printers, and never seen anything like that.

What Cura profile are you using? What filament?

Why did you fit a new hot-end? What went wrong with the old one?

cheers,

Martin.

Hi Martin,
The Cura profile is the one you posted to John on the 13th November, the filament is a brand new roll of ESUN PLA + 1.75 black
The hot end is a long and ugly story. The short version it it burned out, (which is why I had some issue's last week, and I was told by my the local 3D specialist shop "not that uncommon", they even call the hot end a consumable part of a printer. I have had it since 2021 and its done a few hundred hours of non plug track related printing, long before I got interested in plug track. Anyway there response was, here is the new hot end replacement kit you can get for exactly this issue. duly purchased and fitted.
cheers
Phil

 

[Martin Wynne]

The Cura profile is the one you posted to John on the 13th November,

@Phil G

Hi Phil,

I have now deleted that one. I suggest you use the profile I posted yesterday:

https://85a.uk/templot/club/index.php?threads/3d-printers-fun-with-fdm.277/post-9472

The previous one includes some aggressive retraction which might not suit your extruder. It worked fine on the Neptune 2S and the Kingroon, but not on the Neptune 3 Plus.

Stringing isn't a problem with the filing jigs, so the aggressive setting was overkill and may not suit all FDM printers.

I know nothing about the Ender printer, so you shouldn't assume any profile I post is suitable for it. I can only test profiles on the actual printers I have here. Any profile I post is strictly 100% experimental -- I don't have facilities to test them on any other printers.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Phil G]

Hi Martin,
Fully understand, will try 5th December version of Cura profile,
To be honest I would strongly suspect the Ender 3 is the issue here anyway. It's a good work horse machine for non precision work, but I have never been happy with anything detailed from it. I spent a lot of money upgrading the thing, duel Z leadscrews, although they are not directly connected, with the kit I got you can't. Linear rails on the y axis etc. Its never been that good.

I will park the damn thing and unbox my Elegoo Neptune 3 pro. As I think I have commented, space and wife dictate its one of the other and not both,

The only comment I would make though, it would be nice if that two part Jig you were looking at was developed a bit further.

Only because it would allow current Cura settings for the body of the jig, and then much finer Cura settings for the key rail holding part of the Jig. Not to mention if you do get a failure, or you ware out the rail holding part. Just reprinting the business end would be quicker and easier. Just a thought
cheers
phil,

 

[Phil G]

Hi Martin,
Just a thought I believe your Neptune 3 plus is really the same machine as my Neptune 3 pro, its just you have a bigger build volume.
If that's the case, could you please post your Neptune 3 settings? As the only thing I should have to change is the x, y, z sizes
cheers
Phil,

 

[Martin Wynne]

The only comment I would make though, it would be nice if that two part Jig you were looking at was developed a bit further.

Only because it would allow current Cura settings for the body of the jig, and then much finer Cura settings for the key rail holding part of the Jig. Not to mention if you do get a failure, or you ware out the rail holding part. Just reprinting the business end would be quicker and easier. Just a thought

@Phil G

Hi Phil,

I've decided not to do that. Templot is my hobby, I'm primarily designing and making stuff which I want for myself. It's free for everyone to use if they wish, but I don't really have the time or resources to design stuff which I will never use myself.

I'm entirely happy with the one-piece jigs, they print fine on all the FDM printers I've tried. Multi-part jigs with holders and inserts would create issues with tolerancing and fits and settings on different printers, all of which is completely avoided by the one-part jigs.

The slowness of FDM printing is not an issue for me. A model railway takes years to build and there is always a job waiting. Having an FDM printer running while you build some wagon kits, or paint the backscene, or make some signals, or whatever, doesn't strike me as a problem looking for a solution.

But everyone is welcome to make changes to the STL files from Templot if they wish.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Phil G]

Hi Martin,
That's fair enough,
I will take this file jig idea outside of the Templot environment and have a play with it myself.

I have earlier this evening unboxed and built the Neptune 3 pro. I have to say I can now see exactly what you mean about the timing belt on the Z axis. very good idea. What I did find odd, is the wheel setting out the box are tighter then on my Ender 3 currently and not inline with previous comments you have posted about correct tension. May I ask did you have to adjust either of your Neptune's out the box?
On the other question I posted "any chance you could post your Cura machine settings" for the Neptune pro? Or are they basically the same when using your latest filing jig settings posted on the 5th?

I have special dispensation to run both machines on the dinner table tonight only, so it will be a very interesting side by side test.
cheers
Phil

 

[Steve_Cornford]

Hi Phil,
Lucky you!
And what are you cooking for dinner?

Steve

 

[Phil G]

spaghetti meat balls, which I had to cook as part of the quid pro quo.
cheeers
Phil,

 

[Martin Wynne]

@Phil G

Hi Phil,

Strange that you have space for a laser-cutter, but the FDM printers have to run on the dinner table?

As delivered my Neptune 3 Plus had a slight vertical wobble on the corner of the bed, needing one Y-roller to be tightened up. The X-axis was very wobbly and needed both lower wheels tightening up.

Elegoo provide the spanner and instructions for the adjustments, blaming handling in transit. Given the substantial foam packaging, I think that's just a cop-out for poor quality control on the factory assembly.

But once adjusted. it's fine. Just tight enough to remove any play, but able to move freely. It should be possible to turn the wheels against friction while the carriage doesn't move.

Yes, use the Cura profile I posted this week. I will post the G-code script for the perimeter priming run later, if you want it. It's the same as for the Neptune 2.

Also the latest Cura profile for the timbering bricks, if I posted it?

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Steve_Cornford]

Dont get your PLA+ filament and your spaghetti mixed up!

 

[Paul Boyd]

Dont get your PLA+ filament and your spaghetti mixed up!

I guess you could at least then eat any failed prints

 

[Phil G]

Hi Martin,
No not strange at all, I have constructed a 1.2 x 0.9 mobile workbench complete with full cover for the laser. Currently my Ender 3 fits on the other side of the laser table, although its not there when laser cutting, as I don't want the electronics getting cover with smoke. The Elegoo is 60 mm taller and the spool has to fit on the top, the ender is side mounted. resulting in Ender will fit inside table cover Elegoo will not.
I only have enough bench space for one machine so Ender will either have to go or move into the garage as storage, That is the sole reason I have persevered with the Ender for so long now.
I will take some photos tomorrow and all will be clear.
cheers
Phil

 

[Phil G]

I guess you could at least then eat any failed prints

well if that were the case I would not go hungry for a long long time

 

[Martin Wynne]

@Phil G

p.s. Phil, I slacked off the wheels on the Z-columns a fraction. You will notice that the brass nuts on the Z-screws are factory-fitted with locknuts, leaving some slight freedom between the nuts and the frame. This appears to be the design intention, relying on gravity to provide the backlash correction. Which works fine, provided the Z-wheels are not too tight. In most printing the Z-axis never reverses, so Z-backlash is not an issue. Just make sure that you never, ever, switch on the Z-hopping function.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Phil G]

I will post the G-code script for the perimeter priming run later, if you want it. It's the same as for the Neptune 2.

Hi Martin,
thanks but no need, I can cut and paste from Ender 3 start G code
cheers
Phil

 

[Phil G]

Have got the buddha test print running now on the Elegoo now, after wheel adjustment. It already looks significantly superior. I already think I will regret not unboxing sooner.
cheers
Phil

 

[Martin Wynne]

In most printing the Z-axis never reverses

Not strictly true with the auto bed levelling.

 

[Matt Smith]

Hi Martin,
That's fair enough,
I will take this file jig idea outside of the Templot environment and have a play with it myself.

I have earlier this evening unboxed and built the Neptune 3 pro. I have to say I can now see exactly what you mean about the timing belt on the Z axis. very good idea. What I did find odd, is the wheel setting out the box are tighter then on my Ender 3 currently and not inline with previous comments you have posted about correct tension. May I ask did you have to adjust either of your Neptune's out the box?
On the other question I posted "any chance you could post your Cura machine settings" for the Neptune pro? Or are they basically the same when using your latest filing jig settings posted on the 5th?

I have special dispensation to run both machines on the dinner table tonight only, so it will be a very interesting side by side test.
cheers
Phil

Hi Phil, I'm new to both Tempot and FDM printing. My weapon of choice is an Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro which I've had for a week, it lives in the dining table for now. I did have to tighten the wheels in the bed (y axis?) as there was a bit of twist. Not done any jigs yet, I might try one tonight, but printed some timber bases, I have been using the version of Cura shipped with the printer. For the last timber base I went with a 0.12 layer height, 99% fill (100% gave me weird numbers of top and bottom layers) 60 degree bed temperature and 200 degree nozzle temperature, no supports and a bed, filament was PLA. It was the best yet, although the wiring channels didn't print too well, don't think I'll use them though.

 

[Phil G]

Hi Phil, I'm new to both Tempot and FDM printing. My weapon of choice is an Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro which I've had for a week, it lives in the dining table for now. I did have to tighten the wheels in the bed (y axis?) as there was a bit of twist. Not done any jigs yet, I might try one tonight, but printed some timber bases, I have been using the version of Cura shipped with the printer. For the last timber base I went with a 0.12 layer height, 99% fill (100% gave me weird numbers of top and bottom layers) 60 degree bed temperature and 200 degree nozzle temperature, no supports and a bed, filament was PLA. It was the best yet, although the wiring channels didn't print too well, don't think I'll use them though.

Hi Matt, welcome.

Thanks for the info on the loose adjustment wheels.
Just as a quick comment or two, I would recommend you go to the Cura site and download the current version which is 5.5.0 that way if you do use any of the great profiles avaible via this site they will be current and will work.
The other comments would be your better off with PLA+ especially if your going to print filing jigs.
lastly you don't need that much infill 50% seems to be a good number. (that make the job strong enough but does not use excess filament.) bed temp is fine at 60 I use that as well, extruder works well for me at 210 when using Esun PLA+ (recommend temp range 205 to 225.) Martin has a view slight lower temps are better for stringing reduction.
cheers
Phil

 

[Hayfield]

I would like to say for all those who are new to 3D printing, my Kingroon was both easy to set up and use. Mainly down to the Patience and assistance from Martin and its one of the printers tested by Martin which he has proven settings for

Switch rail back filing jig which I printed yesterday

 

[Martin Wynne]

@Steve_Cornford @Hayfield

Hi Steve,

Kingroon printer Pro S1 now arrived!

Altway can't be faulted -- ordered Thursday evening with free postage, arrived Saturday morning. What a contrast with Kingroon's own web site.

It is the Pro S1 version. Just a tiny sticker on the box saying so. It's great that this version is at long last available in the UK, because it seems to be the ideal beginner FDM printer for plug track bases. However, it seems to be no longer in production, Kingroon are pushing the more expensive S2 Klipper version. So when the present stock is exhausted there may not be any more.

Compared with John's Kingroon version, the changes are

printing area 200mm x 200mm (instead of 180mm x 180mm)
glass bed fitted
belt tensioners
linear guide on Z-axis (instead of rollers)
double linear guides on Y-axis (instead of single)
filament break detector
integrated power supply (instead of separate)

However, the poor-quality supplied instruction leaflet is for the Pro (non-S1) version, including instructions for adjusting the non-existent Y-axis rollers! Likewise the pictures on the box.

Mine is still in the packaging. It will have to stay there until I can use both hands for assembly.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Steve_Cornford]

Hi Martin,
Glad you are pleased with your purchase.

Mine should arrive Wednesday as spoke with them & deferred shipment until Tuesday, as presently down in Devon visiting grandchildren.
Looks like you were right about the glass bed then!
Let us hope you make steady progress healing.
Steve

 

[Martin Wynne]

Mine is still in the packaging. It will have to stay there until I can use both hands for assembly.

@Steve_Cornford @James Walters

No-one believed it would stay there for long! I managed to get it assembled and running, although it took a while with one gammy arm:

Needless to say I disregarded all the supplied software and settings, and turned the bed over to use the plain glass side with a glue-stick. The supplied instruction leaflet is next to useless, so I disregarded that too. It's actually for the wrong printer.

I set up a custom printer in Cura in order to use my usual profiles, and levelled the bed using a priming perimeter run in my usual way.

The first test piece is excellent, easily a match for the best from the Neptune, so I'm well pleased.

The actual bed is in fact 210mm x 210mm. But the supplied bed clips are larger than they needed to be, requiring 8mm to clear. So the actual usable area is 210mm x 194mm. You could gain an extra mm or two by using ordinary foldback clips instead of the supplied clips. The bed clears the Z-column by the skin of its teeth, so you wouldn't want the clips on the side of the bed, they need to be front and back. Don't put the left-hand front one too close to the corner, or it will interfere with the nozzle when homing. On the other hand, put the left-hand back one as close to the corner as possible, otherwise it will conflict with the bed heater cable connector.

If I'm suggesting this as the ideal beginner's FDM printer for plug track, which at £180 post free I think it is, I suppose I shall have to write up all these assembly and usage instructions to replace the useless ones supplied. For example, unless you know to loosely assemble the M4 T-nuts (labelled M3 in the instructions) in the support block before inserting the column, getting them fixed afterwards will take you hours. No mention of this in the instructions. So lots more writing and explanations to do.

If James does a review of this printer, presumably he would have to follow the instructions supplied -- in which case good luck, and don't expect the resulting timbering bases to be much good.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Phil G]

If James does a review of this printer, presumably he would have to follow the instructions supplied -- in which case good luck, and don't expect the resulting timbering bases to be much good.

Hi Martin,
I accidently picked upon a few reviews of Kingroon printers on YouTube today, whilst looking for something else. The most common theme was overwhelmingly "don't even bother taking the instructions out of the box".
So anybody doing a Kingroon review, should not be worried about being honest about this weakness. Everybody else does nor seem to hold back that's for sure
cheers
Phil,

 

[Martin Wynne]

@Steve_Cornford

A disappointment with the Kingroon Pro S1. The supplied glass bed is not dead flat. It is convex on the plain glass side by about 0.15mm (6 thou) in the centre relative to the corners. This makes it impossible to create timbering bases of constant thickness.

I don't know if this is my one-off bad luck, or if it is warping caused by the process of applying the carborundum matrix to one side, and they will all be the same.

The solution is simple -- use a different glass bed. But that rather detracts from the concept of this being an ideal beginner's FDM printer, and it adds to the cost.

Fortunately the cantilever design allows any over-size glass bed to be used, so it is not difficult find one which fits.

In my case I simply borrowed the glass bed which I use on the Neptune 2S, which is a dead flat borosilicate glass bed obtained from:

https://ooznest.co.uk/product/borosilicate-glass-build-plate/

The advantage of being dead flat is that it doesn't require any clips. It can be attached to the bed plate using ordinary glass stiction with a thin film of soapy water. There is no force involved in FDM printing, so this works fine and in fact it can be quite difficult to remove. This makes it possible to use the full 210mm x 210mm build area. edit: requires firmware mod.


Martin.

 

[Steve_Cornford]

Hi Martin,
I should receive mine on Wednesday so will check the plain glass side.
When I ordered (both times) a glass bed was not mentioned although as you pointed out the illustration did seem to show a thick glass bed.
If convex I will order the borosilicate that you have provided a link to.

Apart from that it sounds like the printer is OK?
Steve

 

[Martin Wynne]

Apart from that it sounds like the printer is OK?

@Steve_Cornford @Hayfield

Hi Steve,

The Kingroon extruder is excellent -- better for plug track than any others I have here, including the Neptune 3 Plus. I now have 2 of them, so the first one wasn't a fluke, they are both the same. Unlike the Neptune, it accepts aggressive 6mm at 60mm/sec retraction, producing with eSun PLA-Plus filament accurate clean square chair sockets with no stringing or zits in the corners. (The Sunlu/Jayo filament is a bit more stringy on all printers.)

So I'm happy to suggest a Kingroon printer as an ideal first printer for an FDM beginner. The cantilever design produces much better Z-accuracy than the low-cost double-column printers with a single-sided Z-screw, and takes up a lot less bench space.

What I'm in two minds about, is whether I prefer the Pro S1 over the smaller lower-cost KP3S 3.0 which John has:

https://altwaylab.co.uk/collections...ingroon-kp3s-3-0-3d-printer-with-meanwell-psu

I now have both here, so I can make a direct comparison.

On paper it's a no-brainer, which is why I ordered the Pro S1. In practice I'm not so sure, despite the obvious advantage of the larger 200mm x 200mm work area. There are several niggles with the Pro S1 which don't affect the smaller version:

○ The X-axis toothed belt is now below the guide rail instead of above it. The result is that the crimped ends hang so low that they collide with the bed clips, and almost hit the part being printed. It's not easy to do anything about this.

○ The double Y-axis guide rails should produce a more stable bed. But only if they are exactly parallel and level. In practice I detected some stiffness at one end of the travel, so I slacked off all the rail fixing screws and nipped them back up gently while moving the bed to and fro. I got it moving more freely in the end, but this hardly makes it a beginners printer. The single rail in the smaller printer runs perfectly smooth and square straight out of the box.

○ The Z-axis limit screw is too long (25mm). Unlike on the smaller printer it locates in a blind threaded bush. It has to be blind because directly below it in the base of this version is the stepper motor. This made it very difficult to screw it down far enough to ensure adequate compression of the bed support springs. I replaced it and its spring with a 20mm panhead M4 screw and lock-nut. Which does a much better job and is easily adjustable to the required height -- I settled on 27mm from the base to the top of the screw.

○ As supplied the X-axis belt was slack -- easily fixed with the tension adjuster, but there is no mention of this in the instructions. The smaller printer doesn't have adjusters, but arrives with the belts already tensioned ready for use.

○ My glass bed was not dead flat, although this may have been a one-off. The smaller printer has a flexible plastic bed.

The filament-break detector is strangely positioned and will work only with the supplied reel rollers on the bench. I prefer to hang the filament reel on the wall behind the printer, so the break detector was unusable. I fooled it with a short length of filament through it. The smaller printer doesn't have a break detector. In practice using PLA-Plus filament I have never had a filament break on any printer, sometimes running many hours, so I'm not too worried about this.

So which printer to suggest? John has shown that it's possible to do good work in 180mm x 180mm, although there's no doubt that the extra 20mm each way is worth having. It is actually 210mm x 210mm bed size, but to use the full area would require a mod to the firmware settings.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Martin Wynne]

@Steve_Cornford

Hi Steve,

Some notes on assembling the S1 which you won't find in the instructions.

1. the very first thing to do is to find the little plastic bag with 2 screws and T-nuts. Assemble them loosely (with the T-nuts the right way round) into the small column support block behind the Z-stepper motor shaft.

2. before you start handling the column, tie the Z-carriage about half-way up the column with string. If you don't do this it will crash up and down the column while you are handling it. I suggest slackening one of the screws in the top plate on the column so that you can twist the string round it. Don't tie it too far up, or you won't have sufficient flexibility in the cable loom while handling the column.

3. when dropping the column into place in the base, waggle the slots over the loose T-nuts which you inserted at 1.

4. supplied are 3 long screws and 3 short screws. You need only 2 of each, the others are spares.

5. the 2 long ones screw into the column from the back of the base. the 2 short ones screw into the column from below. Nip up all 4 first, and then finally fully tighten all of them.

6. you can then tighten the screws in the T-nuts. They are fiddly to get at with the Allen key -- move the bed fully forward.

7. drop in the long Z-lift screw from above. It will likely fall with its own weight through the brass nut on the Z-carriage. Locate it in the coupler on the Z-stepper motor shaft, when fully home it will be flush with the top plate on the column. Tighten the 2 grub screws in the coupler very firmly -- not easy with the fiddly little Allen key made of cheese. There is plenty of room round the coupler for full cap-head screws instead of grub screws -- if I have any problems I shall change them.

8. you can now untie the string from the Z-carriage. It can be easily raised and lowered manually by twiddling the Z-screw in your fingers.

9. check the tension on both toothed belts. They should "twang" when plucked. Use the adjuster knobs as necessary.

10. if you intend to use the filament-break detector, the blue bowden tube fits between the top of the break detector and the extruder. To fit it in the detector, push down on the plastic ring while inserting the tube in the fitting. The other end is a push fit in the extruder. If not using the detector it will need to be fooled with a short length of filament pushed through it to depress the micro switch.

11. for initial levelling I use the paper method at each corner. I prefer to do it without power, moving the bed and extruder head manually. To do this first gently lower the Z-carriage by twiddling the Z-lift screw until you just hear the Z-limit switch go click as it contacts the Z-limit adjusting screw in front of the Z-coupler. (The spring doesn't move, it is to prevent the screw turning.)

12. after adjusting the 4 yellow wheels for slight drag on the paper at each corner, check that the bed support springs are adequately compressed. There needs to be at least 2-3mm of screw projecting below each yellow wheel. If not, you will need to adjust the Z-limit screw lower. I found that difficult to do and replaced it with a shorter panhead M4 screw and lock-nut. Alternatively you could shorten the existing screw by 2-3mm. Lower the Z-carriage again until you hear the click, and repeat the paper levelling.

13. discard and ignore the supplied software and settings on the microSD card in the USB adaptor. Download a full up-to-date version of Cura from:

https://ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura/#downloads

You probably want the Win64.exe installer.

14. to use my suggested custom profile for the timbering bases, you will need to create a custom printer in Cura. The final levelling is done by measuring the thickness of the perimeter priming run at each corner. All this was explained with John in one of the Zoom meetings, and also previously on here with Phil G.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Steve_Cornford]

Hi Martin,
Thank you very much for the detailed instructions.
DPD have received my parcel, so it on it's way.
Last time I checked they had more than 10 in stock

Steve
edited to change DOD to DPD