Re: 5th Gen, things i've learned to make it work great! or How I learned to stop being let down by my 3k investment...

[Samantha]

Really interesting, thanks for sharing! We've had a lot of lifting/warping issues so I'm going to check out your tip on the lexan and see if that helps. 

[David Ballard]

thanks, i am really interested in the PRINTINZ plate and the differences it will have.  i'll post when i get it and print a bunch on it.  i have had about 85-100% stick on the lexan depending on the model

[Michael Carmenaty]

Nice!!! David

Its funny now I'm having the lifting issue with some larger prints.

I had to scrap 3 prints. 1 hour into a print came back to it and it started to peel. 

I had notice from day one the print head would make a small hole through the Blue tape and eventually you could see the glass build plate.

So my guess is its homing on the glass no the tape

I'm going to give the Lexan a try. 

So from what I read and some what understood is:

You have the Lexan as you build plate to help with the prints sticking better.

For the Z axis homing.

I need to first

1. Add Lexan

2. For leveling the build plate add piece of flat metal. So the nozzle wont punch a hole or warp the lexan.

3. Then in the custom profile and bedZOffset. So here you put the thickness of the plate (if the plate is 2mm thick) add to bedZOffset -2.0

4. Once that done run the gen5levelerskinny.thing

5. Now i just have to check that all corners are stuck to the build plate.

Correct? :)

Also hell yeah you can put my information for the oil tank.

Thanks man

[mastawee]

The edge curling or lifting is probably due to under extrusion in portions of the print. The latest version of their extruder that is just getting shipped is running smooth and got rid off all my curling issues. Some are having luck with the printed filament lubing cup model that lubes the filament before it goes into the extruder.

[mastawee]

Homer errors and Heat Rise Watchdog errors are bugs in firmware 1.3. Roll back to 1.2, they say they will have an update in the coming week.. don't cross your fingers on that. Wifi support will be affected rolling back as well as connectivity fixes from the app to printer..

Adjusting the roof and floor thickness will also clean up the top and bottom of square objects. You can also set the dynamic speed for inner shell layers as well.

On Friday, August 29, 2014 3:30:56 PM UTC-7, David Ballard wrote:

i have a 5gen and only a couple weeks into using it.  I'm posting this because in the past couple weeks i've been scouring the web for improvements and fixes.  after 90hrs of build time, i started suffering from the extruder issues we all know about.  it took 2 wk to get a replacement extruder from MBI and was ready to get back to it since the first prints were pretty amazing and i was very excited.  here are some things that NOW (so far) almost 200 new extruder hours of build without ANY issue.

in no order of priority:

1. Filament holder- it's neat to have a filament holder built in, but the design is not great and adds a huge amount of friction that the extruder is trying to pull through.  build a friction free spooler for one or more reels.  i used this from thingverse, a steel rod and some hangers i found on thingverse.  it's mounted under a LACK ikea shelf.  i've since added a foam 'brake' to let the reels gently spool but not unwind.  I'm not very concerned about moisture, not too humid here and we are burning through the filament and an inline dust cleaner.

2. Leveling plate- 1.3 seems to have better leveling, but sh$@ier homing, so i leveled it in 1.3 and redid it a couple times and it thought it was still level, then backleveled to 1.2 because with 1.3 i was getting premature homulation, (thats a joke, not a slur).  when people say to level your plate frequently that is not great advice, once it is leveled its leveled unless you yank on the plate or do something like punch it.  i used the file attachment on this post to check the leveling, force your 5gen to print it at 10mm/sec ( am sorry i cant find attribution for it i didnt make it) adjust as necessary in small increments until you stick all the way around.

3. Build surface- starting with the blue tape had some decent luck once it all was level.  i also tried the purple washable elmers gluestick, which was in my opinion superior to the tape and also way cheap.  the blue tape was only a 1-4 time use for me before i messed it up.  the gluestick was GREAT for adhesion. it was a little messy. things popped off of it without issues.  the blue tape frequently stuck to the prints and i had to then get the blue tape off the prints.  i read a post somewhere when someone mentioned the PRINTINZ plates and lexan.  i went straight to Home Depot and got a 8x10 piece of LEXAN for $3.97 and some scotch double sided thin tape.  i taped it to my glass plate and ran the test level stl.  everything stuck all the way around, GREAT ITS LEVEL and it stuck.  i've since run about 25 prints on it and not had one lift up, including these few with no rafts and at .1 and .2 res.:

 

 

 

I've ordered a plate from PRINTINZ to see the difference between it and the Lexan surface.

3. Homing- i had very little luck reliably homing with 1.3, all of the first couple weeks of prints were done on 1.2 and homed fine, then the extruder pooped out.  with the new extruder i've found with 1.3 it would home and think it was in place, but always many MM high.  so for me i put it to 1.2 and it homes perfectly.  the 5th Gen rams its hot nozzle into the print bed where i already see a deformation in the glass plate, it also then burns through your tape if you are using it.  Z wont home correctly after many prints.  in this homing madness i was talking to wayne at PRINTINZ (which i am not affiliated with nor do i gain any compensation-just found them this week and in a back and forth about his 5th gen plate we worked together with a german chap he was already working with on making things better for the 5th gen).  here is his posting on his blog that i helped work up and test out, and i'll excerpt it if you dont want to go there.

If you have tried the stock print surface or use a different surface with the Makerbot 5th Generation printer, you probably discovered that the homing sequence makes the 180°C nozzle touch your surface, slowly deforming it print after print. This makes homing less and less accurate over time. There is a work around for this problem and it's worth understanding it to take advantage of the superior capabilities of the PRINTinZ plate made for this machine.

When the machine runs its normal homing routine, just before printing, it homes in X and then Y and then raises the bed up to touch the pre-heated nozzle tip. With the PRINTinZ plate, or even blue tape with the stock glass plate, this will leave an impression and inaccurately set the Z zero after time. You can watch the homing sequence here.

This solution relies on touching off in Z against a thin metal block or other object of known thickness. Let's call that thickness Z_offset .

Start by setting the amount measured for Z_offset as a negative (-) "bedZOffset" in the Makerbot print profile in millimeters (ex. "bedZOffset": -3.0,). Place your metal object in the center of the bed and start the print cycle (be sure it will let the nozzle hit AND be seen by the LED). Try to clean off any extruded filament from the nozzle tip before it touches the metal block. Let the homing process complete its 2 part homing process. When the printer returns to the "FINAL HEATING" position, remove the metal block from the bed.

An important point to remember is that the offset does NOT affect the initial anchor. This will be much too high and extrude in the air - just like the machine measured it. The offset starts to take effect AFTER the anchor is printed. Wait for the real print to start. Note also that you may have to adjust the value entered for Z_offset slightly to get good results. This method reportedly works well using firmware version 1.2, and with 1.3.0.131 (as of 8/28/2014).

Special thanks to Patrick Kapsch and David Ballard for developing this solution.

That's my Lexan build plate and a close to 3mm aluminum stock.  i have -3.2 as my zbedoffset and it is right on.  HOMING SOLVED!  20 or so prints and not one off.

4. Custom Profiles- the default settings for Mister 5th gen are good for the novice, but offer very neutered control of the printer forcing you into custom profile land.  here are some things that i change in making custom profiles that work without making the extruder work too hard and for me improve print quality, a fast sh**ty print isn't much good to most:

"layerHeight": 0.20,

sets .1 for high, .2 for std, .3 for low

"bedZOffset": 0.0,

sets the reverse offset if you are using a 'homing block' this is set in mm so get a caliper and measure your offset object and make it negative, for me it's:  "bedZOffset": -3.2,

"doDynamicSpeed": true,

this slows down the extruder on sharp turns, i've seen TRUE to give some finer results but can give buldging sometimes on slow down parts

"numberOfShells": 2,

sets the # of shells you want

"infillDensity": 0.1,

sets the % of infill, ex. .1 is 10%  1.0 is 100%

"doRaft": false,

if you do or dont want a raft, i am now mostly not using a raft with the Lexan even for small vertical objects with little surface like these at .1 resolution:

"doSupport": false,

if you want support TRUE OR FALSE

I SET THESE ON ALL PROFILES- ive found that the default 90mm/s is way too fast for the extruder- some may have better luck, but slowing things down is helping me.

-----first layer is important if not printing with raft, you have to go slow at finer resolutions on layer 1 or it just wont stick in my experience.

"firstlayer": {

            "feedrate": 10,

  "infill": {

            "feedrate": 70,

  

  "insets": {

            "feedrate": 70,

5 EXPERIMENTAL- Extruder Preventative Measures-  in one of the above photos you see a little green thing on my extruder.  a friend made this thing and we are testing it out. so far without any ill effects, zero air prints or under extrusions, no 'CLICKING'  or 'FILAMENT JAM'.  i've put almost 200hrs on this new extruder with this mod and it could be a placebo, but i know my 5GEN is running night and day!  i will post info about this if he's ok with it.

that took about 2hrs to put together and if that 2hrs helps ANY 1 5GEN owner, it is worth it.  i considered posting to many different posts but it made sense to compile this- i believe it is STICKY worthy.

here's more of those Corkasauruses you saw starting out earlier, still sticking!

once again i am a new user who just got this device and i feel much happier about this purchase than i did 2wks ago when it quit working...If you feel i've given any inaccurate or harmful advice let me know kindly.

if you have any questions feel free to contact me, but to my real email, i may not check this thread vigilantly-  ALSO if you got this far, congratulations and thank you- i'm not just printing funny little items- we've prototyped some really big 35hr build items that you should see on the shelves in a couple mos!

dave

David C. Ballard
Principal, LABTOPIA FARMS
dave at labtopiafarms.com

[David Ballard]

hi mastawee, what would you concider  the latest vercion of extruder?  i got my replacement last friday...

[Ryan Carlyle]

Great tips, thanks David!

On Friday, August 29, 2014 9:30:15 PM UTC-5, David Ballard wrote:

the STL FILES, ATTACHED as zip.  hopefully ending the frankenstien,,,

[TobyCWood]

You CAN edit a post that you have made. I have that turned on. If there is consensus that this thread needs to be retained at the top so new members can find it please tell me and I will "pin" it. However, I would prefer you add a post to the Basic Practices thread already at the top group. This way we do not have too large a group of pinned threads.

[Ryan Carlyle]

I agree that this sort of thread should be easily accessible, but we're already getting overloaded on pins. How about one "Helpful 5th gen threads" pin that links to all the good threads?

[Ryan Carlyle]

Totally agree it's a good post. But 8 stickies fills the entire page when viewing on a mobile device or a non-fullscreen browser window. Which makes it harder to tell if there are new non-stickied posts to read  :-)

On Sunday, August 31, 2014 9:18:08 AM UTC-5, David Ballard wrote:

toby i am still having a hard time figuring how to edit, it is not an option, not a big deal. and ryan, thanks i think it should be a sticky, there are only 8 right now and i really think this one is valuable

[TobyCWood]

Interesting... I click on a post I wrote (it shows as "me") then click on the pull down on the right and the "Edit" item shows in the menu. Anybody else???

[Steve Johnstone]

Hi Toby,

I've just had a look and these are the options I get.. it would be great to be able to edit posts as I'm dyslexic and my is awful -  

[TobyCWood]

Try now...

[Steve Johnstone]

Working great now Toby, thanks.

[Jetguy]

Here's what I've learned about the 5th gen mini:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/90025904@N04/sets/72157645551747492/

 

Step 1 - Junk the frame and entire motion system.

Step 2 - Install the motors, extruder, and electronics into the already proven Core XY frame. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:252041

Step 3 - Mod your "smart" extruder. https://www.flickr.com/photos/90025904@N04/sets/72157645441994041/

 

Then, and only then do you now have a quiet and smooth printing 5th gen that is far more reliable and prints with far better quality than stock..

Finally, a semi reasonable noise level https://www.flickr.com/photos/90025904@N04/14410422547/

 

 

On Friday, August 29, 2014 6:30:56 PM UTC-4, David Ballard wrote:

i have a 5gen and only a couple weeks into using it.  I'm posting this because in the past couple weeks i've been scouring the web for improvements and fixes.  after 90hrs of build time, i started suffering from the extruder issues we all know about.  it took 2 wk to get a replacement extruder from MBI and was ready to get back to it since the first prints were pretty amazing and i was very excited.  here are some things that NOW (so far) almost 200 new extruder hours of build without ANY issue.

in no order of priority:

1. Filament holder- it's neat to have a filament holder built in, but the design is not great and adds a huge amount of friction that the extruder is trying to pull through.  build a friction free spooler for one or more reels.  i used this from thingverse, a steel rod and some hangers i found on thingverse.  it's mounted under a LACK ikea shelf.  i've since added a foam 'brake' to let the reels gently spool but not unwind.  I'm not very concerned about moisture, not too humid here and we are burning through the filament and an inline dust cleaner. 

here's that filament 'brake' low tech but works great! What i like about this setup is the filament spools directly into the 5GEN almost center.

This involves adding a small reservoir on top of your extruder that has a cotton ball in it (good for getting dust off filament) but also has a couple drops of canola oil in it.  this seems to keep the extruder from 'CLICKING' and failing to draw the filament through causing 'FILAMENT JAM' or just air prints.  you should read the whole thread and understand it but the broad points include, printing the cut and top, adding a cotton ball and some drops of canola feed your filament through and load it into mister extruder.  do not go crazy with the oil, just a couple drops does the trick.  

this is the last thing i wanted to post to my thread.  it may be placebo, but i know my extruder has been working longer than 2 times the first without issue, about 200hrs of new prints.  attached are the stl for the 2 files. print them .3 mm 2 shell/100infill (at least thats what i did), face them both as they should be to the ground.

read below....

Michael Carmenaty

Aug 14

Hi Guys!!!
Well after having the MakerBot for about 2 months its been nothing but headaches.
First week I had the printer was working perfectly. Then it all went down hill from that point on.
I think there sample prints are small and not complex so I'm guessing that's why the prints came out prefect. 
Anyways Problems from the beginning
- MakerBot Desk Top was not working correctly, I could not get any part to export the file so I can save it to a USB and print that way.
- MakerBot Service is Horrible. I did get some help but it would take them a week to 2 weeks to get back to me.
- When I tried printing large parts that would almost cover the entire build plate. The corners would peel up making the part not flat/straight
After I had fixed all the issues above. I said: finally I should be ok now to print usable parts here at work. NOPE!!!!
The biggest problem now I have is the feeding of the filament.
I don't know if the new firmware for the printer has messed up something in the programming of the smart extruder.
First I was getting a small jam were the extruder started knocking and no Filament was coming out. So I just did the unload process and reloaded the filament.
Filament was coming out of the nozzle. So I continued my print and monitor it for the first couple of minutes. It was printing ok, left it alone came back the next 
morning print was half way done. DAAAM!!!
I was searching on the web and found that most people have replace there smart extruder for a new on from MB. But what surprised me was that they had replaced it 3 time?!?!
I said the hell with that so I opened the extruder found lots for grinned down filament inside. So I just went head and cleaned it up. Its very simple to open just need to be gentle not to brake the tabs There was a filaments inside that was not letting the new filament feed through. So i just just cut it. Put everything back together. 
Ok so loaded the new filament. Success came out the nozzle. So i did a quick print to see if everything was ok. It was printing fine. BUT....
5 minutes into the print the knocking came back AGAIN! it was not feeding Correctly
So I did this about 6 times open, clean, print, fail. I said what is going on contact MB. Still waiting on there reply
So did more research. Found out some one suggested Olive oil or baby oil on the Filament.
It makes sense to lubricate the filament that way when it enter the heating element and nozzle the PLA will not stick to the walls.
I figure Ill try this one more time if this dose not work. I'm sending it back. SOB!!! its worked.
But I think this is a temporary solution maybe if MB does another Firmware. This issue might be fixed just on firmware alone. 
OK so this is how I started my discovery and ended up with something everyone with a Makerbot 5th Gen can use if they are running into this problem
So I got Air tool oil this is what i had at the moment just so i can try it out to see if it works.
I put a small amount of oil on a paper towel. I exposed the filament from the guide tube and wrapped it around filament.
Then I got a paperclip just to hold the paper towel around the filament.
So as the filament is being fed through the Smart Extruder its also getting a thin coat of oil.
























Ran a test print which was the Bracelet sample. SUCCESS!!!
No skipping, No knocking, No Ghost or air print.
So I went ahead and designed the oil reservoir

































The Idea here is this will sit on top of the extruder were the filament is fed through.
I printed these out. Using the MakerBot when i had the paper towel :)













Here Is a quick test fit. Perfect!! 





















So no just need to add cotton inside the reservoir & then add a couple of drops off baby oil
No need to fill the entire reservoir of oil. you don't want it to leak through the bottom and into the extruder.
The cotton will add like a wick keeping the oil inside 

































Here is the Final look :)



















































So now if you hear the knocking start to come back. just add a couple of drops into these slots.
No need to take the cap off. I used this bottle and filled it up with baby oil



























Well hope this will help anyone out there that having this issue. I figure I make this topic. The MakerBot groups have helped me a lot. Some of the tips and trick I used to get my makerbot going were form these These groups 
Sucks MBI support sucks. If they would make there support stronger. They could be one of the best companies out there. 
I will put the files on for this oil reservoir I made on http://www.thingiverse.com
I anyone want the STL files let me know i will be glad to give them to you.
Here is more information on how PLA works.
http://www.matterhackers.com/articles/how-to-succeed-when-printing-in-pla

again i haven't had any issue since using this- only that my prints have been reliable.  this has worked fine for me and printing error free so far well beyond when the first extruder jacked up.  here are some trivial prints- i cant post some for client reasons, but these are fun and show .1 .2 .3 all with this 'lube' method and on lexan:

Use at your own risk but i have not had anything negative using this mod so far...cheers!

dave

[Jetguy]

Note, a key aspect is NO FIRMWARE OR SOFTWARE changes were required to do that mod. No soldering, nothing.

The only change was that I had to flip the pins for each motor in the sockets to reverse the motor direction

Simply reorder the pins from 1234 to 4321 on each motor.

 

Since homing is simply ramming the axis until it hit the physical ends of the motion, no endstop wiring or switches is required.

It's doesn't get much simpler, 3 motors and the extruder.

<a style="margin-right: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" onmousedown="this.href='https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-TIAY3XUSGhs/VAE1em_9E0I/AAAAAAAAh4s/vQK98TrDUAo/s1600/IMG_20140824_123443_563.jpg';return true;" onclick="this.href='https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-TIAY3XUSGhs/VAE1em_9E0I/AAAAAAAAh4s/vQK98TrDUAo/s1600/IMG_20140824_123443_563.jpg';return true;" href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-TIAY3XUSGhs/VAE1em_9E0I/AAAAAAAAh4s/vQK98TrDUAo/s1600/IMG_20140824_

...

[Jetguy]

The fuzz all over that print and the hundreds of weak spots and marginal extrusion are just uncalled for. You paid nearly $3k and unfortunately are not even getting $1k printer output.

.

On Tuesday, September 9, 2014 10:26:01 PM UTC-4, David Ballard wrote:

Here's a pretty interesting print that ran for about 35hrs, the printer has been running pretty much non-stop without any issues since for almost 2 wks now.  i hope it keeps up.

dave

[David Ballard]

only looked at it briefly before heading out but dont see any underextruded areas, it's pretty solid.  those actually look if you could see it closer like blobs pulling off where the extruder moved to another spot.  maybe thats the retraction thing you mentioned somewhere else.  i'm still working on getting good custom profiles set.  things are looking better as i'm tweaking them. the neutered control that you have over this machine and their slicer you have to use is definitely frustrating.  i'm also wondering if lowering the temp a from the default 215 might help on something like this that has so many short moves.  i've seen this clear filament be stringy compared to any of the coloured filament i've used.  all the other coloured ones dont do this thats why i think a lower temp for it to tame the ooze.  there's more work to be done but at least i dont have air prints or clogs.  

cant do much about the purchase, but i can say it's nearly half paid for already with what we've been doing with it as well as prototyped some of our consumer product ideas that are now off to injection moldmaking for mass production.  the next printer will be definitely something more versitile and proven.

if you have any profile tips that might be helpful with a model like this, like feedrates, retraction, heat that would be great!

thanks

dave

[Jetguy]

The problem is, you cannot use another slicer and those giant lines on all of your round prints----- that's never going away and is baked into the system.

You want proof? OK, same object and settings, printed from makerware one on a Replicator Dual machine, one on the 5th gen mini. Should be obvious which one is which, the one with the lines just like your pics above is 5th gen. Left clearly shows the same lines and artifacts that obviously are not in the STL since Makerware sliced it for the Replicator Dual and that print is fine.

When you guys figure out how to solve that, then we can talk about it not being a paperweight.

Again, it's NOT that something printed. It's the fact it in NO WAY is it correct. It has strange artifacts that are ONLY present in ALL 5th gen machines.

On Friday, September 12, 2014 12:30:55 AM UTC-4, David Ballard wrote:

hi wanted to share some more prints.  like i mentioned after moding my operation of the machine detailed above it is really good as far as i am concerned.  i have not had a print failure or any extruder issue.  i give very much thanks to michael Carmenaty for posting his solution- it works great for me!  i am upset about the mb software that is neutered and you have to make a million profiles to print, just for a quick print with zoffset which i do to protect my plate i should just have a tab in there to do that.  also the slicer is not great but its all i got as an option...

also i made another $250 today printing some architectural stuff that shapeways quoted as 325 and 1 wk turnaround...i have a happy client.  and the clear is way oozier than anything else i've printed...

thanks! dave  

You paid nearly $3k and unfortunately are not even getting $1k printer output.

 

[David Ballard]

howdy jetguy you didnt ask how this was printed...  this was printed at .3mm res so it will be rough.  the  model is not from a really great program and gives poor resolution..  the print is solid and sound.  im not sure really what your problem is, you sound like a kid real bitchy between halo games or something...  

i am here to try to help post and find information to improve my prints with this machine, i cant go back so quit talking about that.  you seem to have a real big opinion of a printer you dont even have.  

i agree, the slicer is for shit, but the only way to get to this printer, im going to try to send the same through PSCC14 and out as a makerbot file and see the difference (which is the only option now)

this just popped out at low res as intended:

maybe if there are tips like i asked about retraction rates, feed rates, or other profile things i asked you about that may be good to try maybe do that, i'd realy appreciate it.

from your left and right bad and good images, i print in .1mm res prints that look like you're right image on those curved round tops...

let me know what you think, i'd be glad for some profile tips.

thanks!

dave

[Dan Newman]

On 11/09/2014, 10:17 PM, David Ballard wrote:
> howdy jetguy you didnt ask how this was printed... this was printed at
> .3mm res so it will be rough.

It's not the layer roughness we're referring to: it's the vertical banding.
Something which other 3D printers struggled with and then resolved maybe 4
years ago and then again 2.5 years ago after acceleration was introduced.

> i agree, the slicer is for shit,

And that vertical banding isn't a slicer issue: it's a printer firmware
issue. MBI got it wrong. And having worked with their firmware devs
in the past, I don't have much confidence they will get it right on their
own. They didn't in their Rep 1/2/2X firmware until they adopted the
Sailfish core (of which I'm one of the authors). And even then it was
a bit of a struggle to keep them from repeatedly breaking it (i.e.,
they didn't fully understand the code).

Dan

[Dan Newman]

On 11/09/2014, 10:37 PM, Dan Newman wrote:
> On 11/09/2014, 10:17 PM, David Ballard wrote:
>> howdy jetguy you didnt ask how this was printed... this was printed at
>> .3mm res so it will be rough.
>
> It's not the layer roughness we're referring to: it's the vertical banding.

The vertical banding in your two mostly translucent prints: it's the facet
edges in the STL's polygons being accentuated. Poor handling of accelerated
printing. The print would most likely look better if printed without acceleration.
(Of course, that also means slowing things down more.)

This same accentuation of the polygon edges is occurring in the print on
the left in the photo Jetguy shows. Since the edges form a pattern of
concentric circles, that's what you see rather than the vertical pattern
in your prints. But, it's the same underlying problem: poor handling of
accelerated printing.

Dan

[David Ballard]

on my .1mm prints i am not seeing this but for .2mm  vertical banding and above i am seeing this

On Friday, September 12, 2014 1:37:42 AM UTC-4, dnewman wrote:

On 11/09/2014, 10:17 PM, David Ballard wrote:
> howdy jetguy you didnt ask how this was printed...  this was printed at
> .3mm res so it will be rough.

It's not the layer roughness we're referring to: it's the vertical banding.

[Dan Newman]

On 11/09/2014, 10:50 PM, David Ballard wrote:
> for vertical banding, you mean where it starts each layer and leave that
> thing there?

That's the zipper and there's only one. And MakerWare is lousy about it and the MBI
devs refuse to do anything about it. They have a patent on the technique they use and
will not consider other techniques, even if they do a better job for certain situations.

I'm referring to those vertical "lines" visible running up the sides and for which there are many.

Dan

[Joseph Chiu]

It's the "scalloped" bands that run vertically.  Bad acceleration performance leads to unsmooth movement that causes that.

I also see a few other issues in your other print. Mind you, these occur with other printers, too.  But a well running printer would not have these issues (or it would be less noticeable).

On Sep 11, 2014 10:50 PM, "David Ballard" <labtop...@gmail.com> wrote:

for vertical banding, you mean where it starts each layer and leave that thing there?  yes i am not a fan...

On Friday, September 12, 2014 1:37:42 AM UTC-4, dnewman wrote:

[David Ballard]

thanks joseph and dan, thats really helpful to know and look deeper.  i have my profiles running slower than default already. i am still messing with dynamic, but it gives bulges on stops. it seems to be an unknown with this 'smarty extruder' to then work around.  slowing things down even more might be the next thing to try, 

i really appreciate the helpful comments you guys have made, i am starting out and all i know is i've got this damn thing able to make prints 24hrs a day, now its time to drill down to the quality!

thanks for the input!

dave

[David Ballard]

thanks again joseph for taking the time to look at this- i need to get a couple more printers as this seems to have taken off for us- what would you recommend?   i have seen many different opinions on stuff like zyyx and others.  what is your opinion?

dave

[Andrew Aurigema]

There is a Star Trek Barbie ???   :_)))))))  

You paid nearly $3k and unfortunately are not even getting $1k printer output.

[David Ballard]

yeah with phaser and tricorder!

sweet!

[Andrew Aurigema]

ok way off topic so please forgive,  did you guys know that there is a new web based  Star Trek being made.  And now a motion picture.  The trailer to the movie is the best 22 min of ST ever made.   

 Star Trek Continues - Space: The Final Frontier...

[David Ballard]

hi dan as for this zipper thing- is that a mb slicer thing?  i dont like it for sure- is there a workaround for this as you know?

[Dan Newman]

On 13/09/2014, 3:24 PM, David Ballard wrote:
> hi dan as for this zipper thing- is that a mb slicer thing?

There's always a "zipper". Different slicers hide it differently. One
common and effective means that folks have used since 2009 or '10 is
to have each new layer start at a different position in the XY plane.
However, with makerbot desktop, you have no choice: you have to use
MakerBot's method which isn't very good but they like it since they
got a patent on it. AND, you're locked into to using makerbot desktop
with a Gen 5 printer. So, using another slicer isn't likely a choice.

Dan

[kayvan kolahdoozan]

Hello everyone,
I have a 5th gen desktop and a 5th mini printer but I have several problem with these printers ( smart extruder ).
when I bought makerbot printer , my first smart extruder clogged after 6 or 7 prints so I open it and resolve the problem and order 1 smart extruder to have reserve, after about 5 prints my first extruder making clicking noise during the print and the extruder does not extrude enough filament while printing so my object had crack and gaps and finally extruder stop extruding filament completely ! so I change the extruder  and my second extruder had this problem from the first print (it doesn't extrude enough filament so the object had rarely good quality) until it starts to have clicking noise and stop extruding during the print, please note that when I unload and load the filament usually there is no problem and when the extruder stops extruding and I press the pause and reload the filament, extruder continue extruding and after a few it will stop extruding!
so as I have an Unopened replicator 5th gen mini I use mini's extruder and after 4-5 prints I faced to the problem again,so I tried these 3 extruder on mini printer and get same result !
I am really upset and angry about this and I don't know what to do with this problem ,if I buy new extruder I think I will have this problem in maximum 10 print so I have scrap my 2 printers?????
I read some where maybe can improve extruder working with profile in makerware (like : feed diameter,feedstockmultiplier or ...) or may be the problem is because of profile?
have anybody this problem?

what is your Idea????

[LaKeshia Darden]

Hi, David,

Could you send/or post the .stl file for the container you designed (for the oil)?  Great idea!  I couldn't locate it on thingiverse.   

[Jeff Davis]

The one I uploaded is called. Gen-5 PLA oiler

[LaKeshia Darden]

Thanks, Jeff, I'll try your design. I hope this works.  I just received my 3rd extruder (it may be my fourth).  And so far, it is working much better than the previous two--I figured this may help it stay that way.  I know that there are mixed reviews on this method, and I understand why, but at this point--I'm willing to try anything.

Sincerely,

LaKeshia

[Jeff Davis]

All I can say is it works for me! And I've had no issues for months and months of printing

[scott spencer]

I have a fix 

On Friday, August 29, 2014 at 7:48:24 PM UTC-4, Samantha wrote:

Really interesting, thanks for sharing! We've had a lot of lifting/warping issues so I'm going to check out your tip on the lexan and see if that helps. 

OK Guys I have an easy fix for Lifted Prints. I don't have to print with rafts anymore. Now dont fall out of your chairs but it will cost you $3.59.. yes that's it 

http://www.target.com/p/elmer-s-washable-all-purpose-school-glue-sticks-4-pack/-/A-16941567#prodSlot=medium_1_5&term=Glue+stick 

yup Glue Stick.. it works like wonders and there are no repercussions from it. 

I have printed over 500 hours with it. It's FantaSTICK.. lol (pun intended)

Let me know if you have any other questions 

[routr71]

Simplify3D supports the Makerbot 5th gen machines (https://www.simplify3d.com/software/supported-printers/).  I've been using it with great success to get around all the silly limitation that MB Desktop seems to impose.  While there are still some mechanical issues with the 5th gens that you can overcome, having software that actually gives you the freedom to fully control the machine has helped a lot.  Plus I was just completely fed up with the MB slicer, it has lots of issues.

There's already preconfigured profiles in S3D for the 5th gen mini, replicator, and Z18, so setup is really easy :)

[John Schneider]

I second Simplify3D. It's a really really nice piece of software. We've tweaked a few things with raft and support settings, but have it now so that supports and rafts are super easy to peel away. With the most recent update they even added honeycomb infill, which was the my biggest gripe about S3D.

[routr71]

I could never go back to MB desktop at this point.  You just get used to all of the options that S3D gives you.  I had one or two major requests with the old 2.2 version of S3D, but they answered those (and more!) with the 3.0 update.  It was a massive one!

It still cracks me up that MB desktop won't let you change things like forcing you to use a raft or graying out other options just cause you didn't pay the extra $1500 for their higher end machines.  Glad I don't have to deal with that joke anymore

[John Borlaug]

Minus 15600 bucks?- Maybe those arte the ones Sam's club is hopefully selling!- yepper- very scary!:D

[Brandon Pomeroy]

It still cracks me up that MB desktop won't let you change things like forcing you to use a raft or graying out other options just cause you didn't pay the extra $1500 for their higher end machines.  Glad I don't have to deal with that joke anymore

FYI, all settings for all MBI printers (including the Mini) are adjustable. It's true that you cannot disable the Mini's raft from the GUI, but creating a custom profile allows you to easily work around that.