Re: [MakerBot] Thingomatic calibration and problems

[joe...@gmail.com]

Congrats! The ToM is pretty much as good as the replicator except for the print size limit...  The seam is fairly common.  20.8 on a 20 cube seems okay, though a bit on the large side.  The gooey tip is because the layers are building up faster than they can cool down to stay in place - that can be compensated for by slowing down using the minimum time per layer in the cool plugin, or by slowing down your print overall.

Where are you? There might be a 3d group that you could visit!

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

---

On Jul 31, 2012 5:06 AM, James Avery <djame...@gmail.com> wrote:
Hey,

I'm sorry to ask such a broad question, but our lab has recently been donated a Thingomatic by an old post doc and I am trying to get all the settings sorted out. However, much of the information I can find is either based on outdated versions of ReplicatorG or Skeinforge, or focuses on the newer machines so I'm not exactly sure what the procedure is to fix the problems we are having. 

Could you please suggest the correct procedure to calibrate the Skeinforge/GCode feed settings with the calibration cube? The one we printed looks fine except there is a sort of "seam" around one corner - im guessing where the z height is changed. The size is also 20.8mm square rather than 20mm. Additionally, when the model tapers to a tip at the top layer the model melts into a blob! It doesnt happen if we print a few of the same model so print head doesnt stay in the same place. 

Which of the eleventy billion settings do you suggest that we fiddle with and hone in on the correct settings? 

Thanks very much!

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[Jack Chen]

Had the same problem with a Thing-o-matic that I jrecently built from a kit that had been sitting around for about a year with a Mk6+ extruder.   I am using ReplicatorG (0037)

Was able to resolve my problems with help from MakerBot by simply switching to Skeinforge (35) - [Legacy] as my GCode Generator instead of using Skeinforge (50).  Skeinforge (35) was the last fully tested GCode generator for Thing-o-matic.  Select Skeinforge (35) under the GCode pull-down tab. 

Just use the "Print-O-Matic" dialogue that pops up when you click "Generate GCode" with standard parameters.  Print-o-matic overrides a number of the settings in your slicing profile anyway so no need for a lot of adjustment to get started.  Make sure you have the correct slicing profile selected for your machine.

If you are using a 3mm filament...reduce to 2.94mm as a fudge factor. 

Best of luck!

- Jack

[James Avery]

Hey, 

Thanks for getting back so quick! I just noticed the post about adjusting the "jitter" to make the Z axis change artefact less obvious. I guess part of the problem is that the variability in prints mean its difficult to separate what are the limitations of the machine and what are the limitations we have introduced by not having it set up properly! 

That makes sense about the printing time, changing the minimum time per layer sounds like it would have less effect on the print quality, is this correct? 

Also, what calibration prints do you recommend other than the cube? There are so many on thingiverse, often with little info about what to do if it isnt coming out ok, would you recommend a particular one?

I'm in London, so hopefully there is a group somewhere!

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[James Avery]

Hey,

Thanks very much! That sounds like a good thing to try out. I'll give that a shot and see if that fixes things. I especially like the part about not having to adjust too many settings

These things are real time sinks arent they! Fun!

On Tuesday, 31 July 2012 16:54:00 UTC+1, Jack wrote:

Had the same problem with a Thing-o-matic that I jrecently built from a kit that had been sitting around for about a year with a Mk6+ extruder.   I am using ReplicatorG (0037)

Was able to resolve my problems with help from MakerBot by simply switching to Skeinforge (35) - [Legacy] as my GCode Generator instead of using Skeinforge (50).  Skeinforge (35) was the last fully tested GCode generator for Thing-o-matic.  Select Skeinforge (35) under the GCode pull-down tab. 

Just use the "Print-O-Matic" dialogue that pops up when you click "Generate GCode" with standard parameters.  Print-o-matic overrides a number of the settings in your slicing profile anyway so no need for a lot of adjustment to get started.  Make sure you have the correct slicing profile selected for your machine.

If you are using a 3mm filament...reduce to 2.94mm as a fudge factor. 

Best of luck!

- Jack

On 7/31/2012 11:36 AM, joe...@gmail.com wrote:

Congrats! The ToM is pretty much as good as the replicator except for the print size limit...  The seam is fairly common.  20.8 on a 20 cube seems okay, though a bit on the large side.  The gooey tip is because the layers are building up faster than they can cool down to stay in place - that can be compensated for by slowing down using the minimum time per layer in the cool plugin, or by slowing down your print overall.

Where are you? There might be a 3d group that you could visit!

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

---

On Jul 31, 2012 5:06 AM, James Avery <djame...@gmail.com> wrote:
Hey,

I'm sorry to ask such a broad question, but our lab has recently been donated a Thingomatic by an old post doc and I am trying to get all the settings sorted out. However, much of the information I can find is either based on outdated versions of ReplicatorG or Skeinforge, or focuses on the newer machines so I'm not exactly sure what the procedure is to fix the problems we are having. 

Could you please suggest the correct procedure to calibrate the Skeinforge/GCode feed settings with the calibration cube? The one we printed looks fine except there is a sort of "seam" around one corner - im guessing where the z height is changed. The size is also 20.8mm square rather than 20mm. Additionally, when the model tapers to a tip at the top layer the model melts into a blob! It doesnt happen if we print a few of the same model so print head doesnt stay in the same place. 

Which of the eleventy billion settings do you suggest that we fiddle with and hone in on the correct settings? 

Thanks very much!

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[Joheinz]

James, you are a lucky guy:
https://london.hackspace.org.uk/ -- these folks should be able to
help or get you in touch with someone.

Markus


2012/7/31 James Avery <djame...@gmail.com>:

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[Jack Chen]

Try these for calibration testing...

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5573

My "0.5mm thin wall" square tube  was a droopy mess until I switched from Skeinforge (50) to Skeinforge (35)...

With Skeinforge (35) with basically default settings it came out beautifully!...neat layers just like in the photos.

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[Joseph Chiu]

Well, it partly depends on what your concerns are -- for example, I personally wanted to make sure circles looked like circles, instead of 'squished', and so I made this to quickly test as I adjusted my belts: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:18709 

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[James Avery]

I'm having problems using the Cool plugin, it seems that when the minimum time per layer is increased, the slow down in the print head causes too much material to be extruded. Do I just lower the extrusions flow rate for the whole build? or is the a better way of doing this?

Cheers