operators guide ?

[MakerBot Space]

Hi All,

I could use some input. I'm trying to come up with a process for
operating the "MakerBot" for me this is how I do it but I'd love
detailed steps of how "you" do it.
For me -I fire up my Bot - 'Lucky 13' - Power the motherboard
Boot my PC
open up Replicator G
in Replicator G I open the control panel and to a preflight check
test X axis making sure the +/- moves as expected
test Y axis making sure the +/- moves as expected
test Z axis making sure the +/- moves as expected
I move the Z axis to 0 set my jog size to 10mm
I then move the Z axis +30 - 40mm from 0
I set the temp to 225 and move my pointer to the Extruder motor speed
field, this starts the heater
I wait for the heater to get to temperature and leave it for about 3
min.
I then set the speed to 255 and click forward. If all goes well I get
a good extrusion
if not I reverse the Extruder and wait for the filament wait to come
out and cut it off to a clean end.
then if I have problems I increase the them by 2 degrees at a time
until I get a clean extrusion

I stop the motor by setting the speed to 0 and clicking stop
close the control panel
open the file I want to print
check the temps in G code -usually set them to 230
open the control panel and hit -Z 3 times to get the head back to 0
I disengage the steppers and make any adjustments by hand
close the control panel
hit build
wait for the head to move up and test extrude
clean the test extrusion with pliers and hit the confirmation button
I then wait for the raft to start and make any height adjustments by
hand to get extrusion to stick and archive an appropriate thickness
then I sit back and wait for the results

is anyone else doing things differently?

Thanks
Brandon

[Mark Cohen]

I do things simpler:

1-Start the PC
2-Start the Cupcake. Wait a few seconds.
3-Start ReplicatorG
4-Open Control panel and set temp to 230 and heater to 120, select stop and
type in 255 in the speed.
5-Disable steppers and manually center the extruder and enable steppers and
jog the head 30mm above bed.
5-Since my filament is removed when I finish, I insert the filament and run
it for a few seconds not to hit the cold barrel. Just so it grabs. My
fingers are at the base of the filament where it goes into the plastruder so
I can feel how it moves.
6-I wait till it hits about 210 and then set forward and have it extrude for
a few seconds. Then clean up extrusion.
7-Manually lower the head almost to the build surface. Set zero and enable
steppers.
8-Wait 5 to 10 minutes.
9-Run s3g from file.
10-About when it starts to print I manually move the head up or down a bit
till I get a satisfactory layer printing.
11-I will remove blobs or things that will pick up with very sharp tweezers
or clip them.

Hi All,

Thanks
Brandon

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[Andrew Plumb]

I'd take issue with your "increase temperature by 2 degrees at a time" approach. If you're unable to get a clean extrusion under manual control at 220C then you either need to focus on (re)calibrating your thermistor and heater PID settings or figure out the properties of the material you're trying to extrude 'cause it's definitely not ABS.

Andrew.

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Me: http://clothbot.com/wiki/

[Protonite]

Enable the steppers and wait for 10minutes is a bad idea!
As long as you have your steppers enabled, your motors will get a
constant current applyed, basically to hold them in place and not
allow any movement. Your motors will run hot pretty fast, and heat
kills/weakens the magnets inside your motors until they basically
totally fail!
If you ever checked your z-axis for example, while processing thru the
gcode, your z-steppers only get enabled for the time the axis moves,
and get disabled directly after that. (you dont need a high torque
from the motor to hold the z-axis in place, friction is our friend
here)

So, my advice here: ALWAYS DISABLE the stepper drivers after you've
done some manual adjustements over the repG control panel!

[Mark Cohen]

My motors never get hot. They are just barely warm. Always. The normal
configuration for skeinforge when you are using the heated build platform is
for it to wait ten minutes and then run. I am just doing the same thing
manually. There is very little energy needed to hold the motors in place. As
a matter of fact that is what happens when they are powered up. That's why
one of the tests to see that your motors are working is to see that they do
not move when power is applied. They are designed to work this way. If your
motors are getting hot then you need to lower the power to them by adjusting
the pot on the stepper boards. My experience is that the z axis locks after
the first few layers.

-----Original Message-----
From: make...@googlegroups.com [mailto:make...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf
Of Protonite
Sent: Friday, June 04, 2010 5:00 PM
To: MakerBot Operators

--

[Mark Cohen]

I take that back. I just tried the Z axis half way through a build and
it is not locked. You are correct. The Z motor is cold, but the X
motor is only warm.

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[Nils Sundstrom]

π-bot goes through these steps.

1) Turn on Computer
2) Start ReplicatorG
3) Center the build platform,
4) Set Zero
5) Raise to 20-40mm
6) disable Steppers
7) Set temperature to 160 (Running PLA)
8) Wait till it gets to temp, 
9) Set Feedrate to 220
10) feed a little, Stop
11) let it ooze a little.
12) repeat steps 10 and 11 till I get a nice clear noodle
13) While it's still extruding plastic hit Build (I have no startup in gcode it just starts printing the part)

On 10-06-04 9:10 AM, MakerBot Space wrote:

Hi All,

I could use some input.  I'm trying to come up with a process for
operating the "MakerBot"  for me this is how I do it but I'd love
detailed steps of how "you" do it.
  

.....

[degroof]

Mine goes like this:
1. Power up Makerbot
2. Start ReplicatorG
3. Open control panel
4. Set temperatures
5. Load a gcode file
6. Wait for heater(s) to warm up
7. Center build platform manually
8. Lower nozzle to the bed
9. Start build
10. Adjust the Z crank until the first layer sticks properly
11. On the second layer, raise the Z crank a bit to compensate for
squishing the first layer