Vacrin
9
Hey Eric,
If its your Y-Axis latch that broke, i’ve had the same problem. I printed a few extras after it first happened just incase it happened again. Here is the link to the file from thingiverse Robo 3D Y Axis Cable Tensioner by Fichthorn - Thingiverse .
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Sorry to hear your having so many issues. If your PLA is clogged there is the “atomic method” for unclogging it. Some light googling should tell you how. Alternatively you can buy some 1mm thick copper wire from lowes to thread down the hotend to push out the stuck plastic (my method).
The y axis is spot on, thank you for that link.
In my few emails that went through & back from robo3d they suggested using the allen wrench that came with the system to thread down the port while it’s hot, then let it cool off and remove it to pull out any clogs. This hasn’t worked yet so your method might be a better option.
As crazy as this sounds…
To clear a clog, bend a paper clip out, heat it until red hot with a lighter, stick it in the topside of the extruder, wait for it to cool, pull it out. This cleared my clog. The other thing to do would be to season the extruder by dipping 3" of the filament in cooking oil.
Vacrin
13
Actually I do this too, it works really well for removing clogs.
Defyus
14
One of the first things I did was purchase simplfy3d software. The stock software is great for beginners but support options suck support is close to impossible to remove. I also upgraded to e3d extruder and printed a boden direct drive to feed my filimant to extruder rather then use the stock feeder located on the extruder base. All the modifications helped with quality and taught me more about my 3d printer. Also try printing medium and high. Low quality never seems to print properly.
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It’s set on medium, and no need to buy software yet as it still just needs a successful print for me to have confidence in upgrading. Trying to clean the head atm via youtube
Yeah, my Robo that I bought in April of this year has been dead since July as well, I’ve slowly been replacing the electronic components as they have failed (because naturally the first thing that failed wasn’t covered by the “warranty” so I never bothered with followups–the glass bed was shedding slivers of glass when cooling after a print and I was told that it was due to the print material adhering too hard to the glass rather than flaws in the glass, which was BS). Every time I’d replace a component, another one would die (rotated through all of the stepper motors, then the previously mentioned bed, then the Arduino–not the RAMPS, the Arduino beneath it–now the power supply has died and I’m replacing it).
Overall, my experience with the Robo has been one of “Should have returned it at the very first problem in exchange for another one/a refund” because it seems like once things start to fail it’s like a lemon of a car. It never ends.
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Are you using matter control as the slicer? also i tried a variety of hairspary the best one is aqua net. Since they have the acidic substance in them. Make sure you clean your glass first then use the spray. Regards, David
Just got off of Skype with the tech at robo… Due to all the issues we’re shipping it back so they can replace parts, clean out the extruder, do some test runs with it to make sure it works. He did admit that they refurbish machines fyi. Not surprised but personally i’d rather have a new one, especially due to the plastic fatigue which is the only reason I can think of for all 3 areas of breakdown. Thanks for everyone’s help so far.
3 Likes
n23d
19
For clearing clogs I use a piece of fine music wire (a 0.010 inch guitar string ) Cut it 6 inches long and put some slight kinks spaced a few mms apart in one end of it. Using manual control raise the printhead up 3 inches or so to give yourself some room. Turn on the extruder heater. Open the clamp and when the temp gets to about 150 pull the filament out. This will remove most of the plastic from the extruder. Trim off the end of the filament back beyond the grooves left from the hobbed bolt and throw it away. Now when the extruder gets to temp 200+ use some needle nose pliers to feed the wire into the nozzle. It may take a bit to get the wire to go in that little hole. Once in use the pliers to push it up until you can grab the wire where it comes out by the hobbed bolt. Now use the pliers to pull the wire through the nozzle. The wire will push any clogs up out of the nozzle and the kinks will kind of sweep any bits of plastic left in the heater block and cold end out. Wait till the wire cools and clean off any plastic bits clinging to it set it aside to use next time. Reinsert the filament and attach the roller clamp with the screws and springs.
n23d
20
Eric,
What slicer program are you using and what are the slicer parameters you are using?
Extruder Temp?
Nozzle Diameter?
Bed temp?
Layer height?
Infill Percent?
Can you attach your G code for review?
Printer setup files?
Pictures of failed Prints?
There are many ways in which prints fail Pictures help.
I know this may be tricky to figure out, but READ THE THREAD before asking questions that have already been answered multiple times.
Defyus
22
You can also goto a local vapr shop and buy a roll of 30guage kenthal wire.
1 Like
n23d
23
I did read the thread and re read the thread and what I see is that Eric has not been able to print a good part on his Robo3d machine. He asked Robo for help and got an unsatisfying answer. He has prints that do not stick or have thin weak walls. He has a clogged extruder for which I sent my $0.02 worth of solution which is different than anyone else’s. He also has broken printer parts that he asked for STL files and was provided a link by Vacrin . He got suggestions on better materials sources and contacts and ways to contact Robo tec’s. Robo finally agreed to repair, replace or refurbish the unit and he is shipping it back. As far as I can tell the printed parts quality issue has not been solved. Getting a new machine might do the trick however If it does not then part of the problem may be in the slicer settings. There are many settings in the slicer programs that can affect how well parts stick and how thick and strong the walls of the part turn out. I have had similar issues that Eric is having and found some of them to be slicer settings related. Where in this thread has he answered the above questions about his slicer settings? If there is a different thread related to this one I missed it.
One of his posts says he used the Medium detail settings in Matter Control, the other says he had slightly better results with RepetierHost but it still ultimately failed.
Slicer settings are largely irrelevant though if he’s still dealing with things like broken Y-belt clips and other parts that were damaged but not obviously broken until closer investigation.
For bed adhesion with pla I simply use malt vinegar or cider vinegar to clean the glass, no mess it sticks every time and it smells like fish n chips!
i heat the glass to 60 c and wipe it down with a small amount of vinegar on a lint free face pad, allow about a minute to dry before hitting print.
Aside from parts breaking ( gutted for Ya there) your other issues sound like a partially plugged nozzle… Causing rough weak walls and perimeters, I have found with the cheaper heads from China that the Teflon tape often extends to far into the chamber and little pieces heat up and break off causing minor clogs, I disassemble all new hot ends and generally re do the terrible job they did in the factory.
hopefully you get your machine running
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Eric, I have a robo rd r1 and yes the first thing that happened to me was the communication between my computer and the printer stops and that gave me half prints. So, I bought a power usb hub (v 3.0) and it work for several months but after a few firmware updates start it again. Now I have a power usb hub (v 2.0) and it works without any issue, I have been printing with it up to 26 hours (http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Port-USB-power-adapter/dp/B00DQFGJR4/ref=sr\_1\_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1442412466&sr=1-3&keywords=usb+power+hub+2.0). Tip: I use simplify 3d as slicer, for me is the best option.
About surface adherence, well my best results have been with blue tape (3m paint stuff) and some hair spray (aquanet). But, to have the best adherence on it you have to do the calibration of the X, Y, Z and the filament extruder and modify your firmware so the steps are the correct ones (http://www.instructables.com/id/Calibrating-your-3D-printer-using-minimal-filament/?ALLSTEPS). Z axis must have an offset value, in simplify3d im using 0.85~0.98 depending on filament and quality (low-high) and you will see better results with time.
When you say about plastic parts breaking I don’t understand what you are talking about, but if those plastics parts aren’t the CASE or Bottom of the case, you can print all the other parts with help of one the many printers in this hub (on ABS material is more strong than PLA). I strongly suggest that you research a lot on youtube about how to replace parts. On electronics I haven’t had any single issue so far, but I believe I haven’t use my printer for more than 500 hours (Does anyone knows how to know the number of hours used?).
Hope this information is helpful.
2 Likes
thormj
27
Oh, and if your vertical walls are wavy, check the tension on X&Y belts. They need to be taught; I used a different zip-tie config than stock so I can tension/retension just by tightening the white zip-tie.
