Got Issues, possibly shipping damage, misalignment, lots of wipe.

[Grimm Redemption]

We just received our CubeX Duo.  We were worried because the box looked a little crunched on the bottom. (the shipping guys don't have the best reputation with being gentle on packages).  But we moved forward, taking it out of the box, inspecting it.  When we plugged it in, nothing happened, but when we took a look underneath, the adaptor was unplugged from unit, as you can see in this picture here.  I manage to get it plugged back into it's port, but my 1st real question is: Is this suppose to be "smashed" down on top of itself like this? 

Anyway, we moved on and tried a print:  The build said it would take 11:18.  9 hours into the print I had to cancel it (it wasn't even half way done according to the printer).  I'm not sure how, but the print became misaligned (twice) over night.  The print had not slipped or moved from the glue spot, so it was a problem with the print head alignment.  This is suppose to be a skull (around 3 to 4 inchs).  I allowed the CubeX Software to add supports in for itself (which was wayyy too many).  2nd Question: What causes this to misalign in the middle of print? Is there a way to fix it?  And then lastly. My 'wipe catcher' was full of filament.  I dumped it out next to my print on the table and took a picture. Is this amount of 'wipe' normal?

 

I joined this group because you guys really seem to know what you are talking about, and I don't see too much troubleshooting on Cubify's website for this kind of thing.

[Grimm Redemption]

I'm going to try to fine tune the settings.  The firmware was v1.06 and after pulling a lot of hair out, I got it to update the firmware to V1.07.  I've been researching more about what I can do to fix these issues myself. But still any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. 

[Grimm Redemption]

As you can see from the image below, I tried another print.  This time it didn't get ANY of the layers aligned.  I spent way too much money on this ting for it to be giving me this kind of crap. I was using a file that CubeX provided, a braclet....and well you can see for yourself.  I am very very upset with CubeX.

[Peter Gregory]

Unfortunately, the quality control on a new Cubex leaves much to be desired.

There seems to always be something wrong that needs fixing right out of the box.

I had a damaged touchscreen and couldn't activate until I got the replacement.

The stand-offs should be straight up and down - not at angles.

Looks like the box took a pretty heavy drop and the impact smashed the bottom flat - causing the stand- offs to skew.

That being said, the damage seems cosmetic - it looks like you have it functional.

Once it finishes the first layer and starts the second, it will not wipe the print head again for the reset of the print.

Are you printing using both heads?  One for the part, another for supports?

If so, it will home and wipe each layer as it switches from the first head to the second.

Print the skull using only one print head.  Use the same material/head for the part and supports.

It will not have to swap out heads each layer and wipe.

I've seen other posts where the print jumps in the middle of a print.

I've had a print that turned out like the leaning tower of Pizza, all layers were at the wrong offset.

All instances I've seen with offset layer occurred with white PLA (Don't know if it is something with the material settings or a coincidence)

If every print does this, I'd say it got damaged and the stepper motors are skipping steps due to friction on the X/Y axis.

Any chassis noise while it prints?  Is it slamming into the walls when it homes? 

The X/Y sensor magnets may be recessed and the internal position gets off each time it homes. 

However, the first print looked OK up to the point of the offset, so I think it is another problem.

I've never heard of this problem from people using KissSlicer.

I've heard several complaints about this problem with Cubex slicer.

I'd suggest downloading KissSlicer and print some small test prints using the free version.

[CubeX 3D Printman]

Another user had a similar problem, The layer stepping could be caused by a loose pulley on the stepper motor for that axis. There is a setscrew to secure the pulley on the motor, but if the setscrew is slightly loose, it will start to skip.

I'll have to search for that post.

Rick

[Grimm Redemption]

I did use only one print head during the skull print, for the supports, the raft, and model.  And it wiped after every few layers.  My z-gap is exactly where it needs to be, and the print pad is level. I made sure the wipe blade height is correct as well, but I did notice that the print head is almost sitting directly on top of the wiper blade. When the wiper stick comes by it ends up catapulting the glob of filament off the blade to Zeus knows where....

I downloaded the calibration file from Cubify and printed it out.  This is what I got.  My white is in Print head 1, and Red is the 2nd.  I checked the pulleys and they all seem to be tight.  It's not hitting the walls.  It does make a noise while it's printing, kind of like a semi truck on idle, but that's usually when it's printing a bunch of little lines. When doing the long lines it seems to just make the normal mechanical whirling sound.  I've been 'tinkering' with this all day and at my wits end.  And I really really really appreciate the replies.

[CubeX 3D Printman]

Grimm,

Peter had another good point. Due to your shipping impact, check by hand, if the carriage moves easily on the rails in all direction. It should be smooth without restriction / binding. If you move it too fast the rails might chatter, but that is normal. Move it at a slower speed and make sure it does not have and "tight" spots.

On my cubeX I took the plastic housing cover off to expose the frame and then aligned all the rails so the frame is all square and the carriage moves freely. The rails are secured with set screws. They are a little hard to find. I used a good straight end allen driver (less likely to strip than the ball end) since the set screws might be very tight. Also used a tape measure to get everything squared up.

Also make sure the drive belts have good and even tension on both sides.

Don't give up on the cubeX. It can do quite nice prints once aligned properly. I had mine since April and it took some figuring out, but have done now over 360 prints with it.

It's for sure was not plug and play as advertised, but with my setup now, it works quite well.

Check out the cubeX blog and you might find some useful info. http://cubex3dprinting.blogspot.com/

Once you get it set up and more familiar then you can also can use other slicer software to get better prints and use other brand filament.

Rick

On Wednesday, January 1, 2014 2:21:31 PM UTC-8, Grimm Redemption wrote:

[Grimm Redemption]

First of I have to say that your blog has been my main help reference for a lot of issues.  Secondly it does appear to be binding on the rails. There is a lot of restriction.  It's not so bad side to side.  If I do this kind of tweak will void the 'warranty'?  I'm going to try to square it up.  The set screw are on the bottom of the circular 'connectors' in the corners right?

You guys are extremely awesome for helping me.

[CubeX 3D Printman]

Yes, the set screws are on the circular corner pieces. Check for the hole / setscrew right below where the rail goes into the corner piece. Note, the left back corner piece has also a set screw to hold the y-axis sensor in place. It is good to check if that set screw is snug (don't over tighten that one because you could crack the sensor if tightening too much). Several users (including me) hat the sensor come loose and move at one point and when it homed, it crashed into the back wall because the sensor was pushed in and did not sense early enough.

Usually it is more likely to have binding in the front / back direction because the rails are spread far apart vs. the two closely spaced rails for the side to side movement.

It won't void the warranty if you do repairs. Cubify seems to be very good about warranty and sends replacement parts if you have any issues or broken pieces. definitely send them the pictures of the damages so it is on record and tell them about the issues you are having.

Thankfully this user group has helpful users.

I am working on a trouble shooting guide that list common issues or problems and how to possibly fix them. What I have seen, most issues are due to poor factory assembly / calibration and quality control, and also due to shipping damages.

Rick

[bikejunky98]

Print man, were you able to align the z rails? I am getting binding there.

[CubeX 3D Printman]

The z-rails are ok. I took out the 4 screws that mount the black z-spindle nut to the horizontal plastic cross bar in the back, so I can move the z-plate up and down and check for smooth movement.

[Grimm Redemption]

Well.  It's not out of square. The Y-axis sensor seems to be alright.  I doesn't crash into the back.  All the belts are tight. We contacted CubifySupport and they had us check the stepper motor chip voltages and all those came back correct voltage.  Could the problem be with the CubeX Software?  Can someone provide me with a small test .cubex file to find out of my CubeX Software is the culprit? I have downloaded the KISSslicer and I'm trying to set it up so I can use that, but this is all really new software to me and I've got a huge learning curve to catch up on.  I have half a mind to send Cubify a bill for my time spent trying to 'fix' a product that was sold to me as a functioning machine.

Kind Regards,

April 'Grimm'

[CubeX 3D Printman]

Hello April,

Attached is a file created with cubeX software version 1.07.

It is just a little test cube.

It is for jet 1 and PLA.

Make sure you have any PLA filament loaded for jet 1.

Copy the file onto the memory stick and then print it.

I doubt that the stepping is related to a file error, but you never know.

Does the print carriage move smooth in the xy direction?

Is the layer stepping consistent or irregular?

Rick

[bikejunky98]

Hi,

Does anyone have recommendation for aligning the frame? I attempted to align the z rods. When I loosened the set screw in the upper left rear corner for the top cross bar there was a loud bang like a bunch of stress was relieved. Now the y axis is super smooth... but the z still has binding. There are wear marks on the z rods, and I'm getting a slight walking action between the two bearings on z on long moves. Any suggestions would be appreciated!