Printer purchased: Oct. 20, 2015
Replaced with Ender 3 Max Neo printer - 9/28/23
In late Sept, attempted to start printing an object...
The MatterControl(?) slicer and software to feed the model to the printer was no longer compatible with Windows (damn Windows auto upgraded to Windows 11...). Attempted to reload slicer, and the latest version available on the web site was also not compatible with Windows 11. Attempted installing Cura slicer. Was able to download and run the software.
Attempts to print resulted in Z-axis problems. The print would start, but at each change in printing, the Z-axis would go up 10+mm... Possibly a complete reload of the printer firmware would resolve this (the hardware seemed to still be functioning, unless a limit switch was causing eratic behavior...).
By this time, it was clear the Robo 3D 1R printer was no longer supported. The decision was made to puchase a new Ender 3 Neo Max that would hopefully work more reliably and would print larger objects.
Start G-Code:
G28 X0 Y0 Z0 ; home all axes
G1 Z5 F5000 ; lift nozzle
M109 S[temperature] ; set extruder temp
G28 X0 Y0 Z0 ; Home Z again in case there
G29 ; probe the bed
G1 Z5.0
End G-Code
M104 S0 ; turn off temp
G1 X10 Y200
M84 ; disable motors
Cancel G-Code
G28 X0
New Robo 3D 1R Plus delivered 10/23/15.
Ordered basic printer, plus 1KG blue PLA, 1KG black ABS, and 1 roll 6" wide Kapton tape
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12/29/18 Update:
Printed ABS Card Holder (4.3" x 2") with following settings:
Extrusion Temp: 250C
Bed Temp: 105C
Z-offset: 0.5mm
Bed covered with blue tape, and then Elmer's glue stick
Also set fan at 25% power, and no fan for first 30 layers (not sure this did anything at all...)
Printed PLA Card holder (4.3" x 3") with the following settings:
Extrusion Temp: 225C
Bed Temp: 65C
Z-offset: 0.5mm
Bed covered with blue tape, no glue.
Filament changing issues:
Discovered that extrusion nozzle can be removed by:
Raise print head as high as reasonably possible.
Back out but DO NOT REMOVE screw under front of print head, centered - use grove to line up phillips screwdriver.
Rotate aluminum retaining bar piece to right and back.
Extruder drops out...
Seems to possibly work best to REVERSE out filament, and remove it BEFORE turning off machine. Otherwise - especially with PLA, filament will break off down inside the extruder head, and have to be removed by dropping the head.
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After Homing and Leveling - Printer head should be RAISED before moving to start the print.
This is done by inserting the following G-code in the run:
G1 Z5.0 ## This tells the printer to "move" the Z-axis 5mm (up)
To insert this in the MatterControl configuration:
Start the MatterControl program
Go to "Settings"
Open the settings for the specific material (i.e. "ABS")
Select "Printer"
Select "Custom G-Code"
In the "Start G-Code" sequence, the G-code will have an entry for: G28 X0 Y0 Z0 - to home the head
Then G29; to probe the bed
After the G29 (at the very end of the code) - add the line
G1 Z5.0
The above will raise the head before the print starts, so that the head doesn't dig into the tape or bed as it moves across.
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NOTE: 1KG package of PLA has approximately 330m of 1.75mm PLA filament.
1KG package of ABS has approximately 400m of 1.75mm ABS filament.
Set up printer, and started printing with the 5.5" diameter calibration circle.
Bed: 50C, Extruder: 210C, blue tape
PLA 1.75mm filament
Default printing speeds.
Printed with no problems at all.
Printed "keymindy" design
Bed 50C, Extruder 210C, blue tape, PLA, defaults otherwise.
Printed with no problems!
Print cost:
0.8m filament =~ $0.08
print time approximately 13 min.
Printing termbox01 box baseplate design
Print cost:
approx 30m of filament, at about $.08/m =~ $2.50
print time approximately 5hr.
Bed 50C, Extruder 210C, blue tape, PLA
Note - lots of stringing on flat plate layer. May need to drop extrusion temp some??
Trying dropping temp down to 205 for extrusion temp after first 2 layers.
Print completed with no problems!!
Printing wall6_2
Print cost:
approx 16m of filament, at about $.08/m =~ $1.28
print time approximately 3.5hr
Bed 50C, extruder 205C, blue tape, PLA
First layers a little rough, but not too bad. Dropped bed temp to 45C.
Right hand hole "wallowed out" - probably from accidentally having 2 holes very close to each other overlapping a bit.
Corrected design, and trying again. Otherwise, print did fine.
Printing wall6_2
Same as above, but fixed hole, and bed temp set to default of 45C. (still too hot?)
Printed with no problems.
At this point, I stopped the next print to lubricate the Z-axis, as it was making a LOT of noise.
DANGER!!!!
There is NO limit sensor for the non-homed side of the Z axis!!!!! (or apparently for the x or y!)
MANUAL MODE IS VERY DANGEROUS!!!!
There can be a HUGE delay between mouse clicks on the manual control buttons and when the printer responds!
Since there are NO LIMIT switches on the non-home end of travel of any axis, it is EASY to be a little too enthusiastic hitting the movement keys, and queue up a BUNCH of motion in any direction - causing the head to CRASH into the platform, roof, or anywhere else!!!!
DANGER - In MANUAL MODE - EVEN THE HOME LIMIT SWITCHES WILL NOT STOP TRAVEL (CRASHING) OF THE HEAD!!!!!!
When I attempted to lubricate the z-axis, due to the above issues, I accidentally ended up crashing the head into the roof - which pulled the X-axis cable out, and then crashing the head into the platform - which caused both z-axis limit switches to be knocked out of place or at least out of alignment.
First problem I encountered was that the z-axis would now go UP, but would not go down. This was resolved by putting the z-axis limit switches back in place on the left and right hand screws.
Next, the machine wouldn't home, and the x axis wouldn't move at all. I finally figured out where the x-axis cable was plugged in - restored the connection, and after resetting was able to get the printer running again.
Now attempting to print box top part. This is a 6" x 6" x 1/8" thick square, with 4 holes in it.
PLA, bed set to 45C, extruder set to 210C. Hmmm... need to update default temps.
COST: approximately 23m of filament ($1.84 @ $.08/m). Print time expected to be about 3.5 hours.
First layer was VERY stringy - may need to drop bed temp even further.
Completed, but had a few rough spots on top.
Started another wall6_2.
Extruder 205C, bed 35C
REPLACED filament with new roll. This head is SOOO much easier than the Bukobot to get set up with new filament!
New filament is the darker shade of blue.
Print completed without issues.
Printed keyCalli
Extruder 205C bed 35C, blue tape.
Print time: appx 13 min, filament: .9m
Filament broke early in the print (2-3 layers?) - so print FAILED..
Removed blue tape, attempted kapton tape - but it wrinkled up too much. Ended up going with blue tape.
More difficulty getting filament to feed this time...
Eventually got it to load, and then printed.
Note: When loading filament, click "release" on the manual menu and turn the gears to get the filament started. If you use the extend and retract buttons, the printer will try to retract the filament that was pushed in, when the printer starts back up again.
Finally got a good print of the key chain.
Printed bustest01 11/7/15
Extruder 205C, bed 35C, blue tape with Elmer's glue stick
Filament had broken off at the print head during the week, so needed to be re-threaded. Pre-heated extruder, fed filament, and started using large plastic gear, and all went well!
On previous print, it was hard to get the print loose from the base, so this time I tried using the Elmer's glue on the base. Still challenging to get off, and I really hope I don't have a problem scratching the bed with the putty knife!!
The test was printing a "hole" for a 1/4-20 nut. I oversized the hole by at least .01", which seemed sloppy with just the micrometers and the nut. But once printed, the hole was not big enough. The "width" of the hexagon was right (.45"), but the height was only about .45" instead of the expected .48".
Added 9 x 9 x 3/32" glass to printer bed - taped on with blue tape. This is primarily so I don't scratch the plastic bed plate trying to remove objects.
Currently printing PLA objects at 30C, with extrusion temp of 205C, and that seems to be fine.
Printing holes for 1/4-20 nuts:
Hexagon width set to .45, height to .5, depth is .23" This allows enough clearance that nut can be forced into hole.
Use .28" diameter clearance hole for 1/4-20 screws. This may still need a little more width if you want the screws to fall through.
Printing small plastic gift boxes: (base)
Box is 4" x 3", by 1" tall. Wall thickness is 0.10".
Estimated cost: 2hr 33min print time - 13.4m filament.
Attempted printing lid with inset groove in bottom to fit box rim - but the support inserted by the printer was too difficult to get out to be practical.
Will try printing two part lid with insert guide to fit on bottom of lid. Insert will have 2 pegs for alignment guidance.