New MakerBot Replicator 2X looking for advice on getting started! :D

[Chris Craft]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to 3D printing but I am very passionate and excited about it.

I'd love some advice on getting started with the MakerBot Replicator 2X.

I've printed a few items, so far so good, but nothing perfect.

Any advice on how to best calibrate the machine or how to get the best prints?

Once I get a good feel for things, I want to return the favor to the community, and create something on my blog for others, so any help is greatly appreciated!

Chris Craft

http://chrisjcraft.com/

[Damian Gto]

You can always check out my site: http://makerbotwiki.com/

To start with you must level the build plate. The best way is to use a dial indicator, but you need to print out a holder for it. I use this: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:86841

You must heat up the build plate to 115 degree, use the preheat option in the LCD display.

Then you start the leveling script, also in the LC menu.

Follow the guide and use a feeler gauge with 0.15mm. This is just to get a good starting point and also see if the build plate is flat.

If you do not have the dial indicator you use a 0.10mm feeler gauge instead for the instruction bellow.

 

Then start the guide one more time, but this time you will cancel it as soon the build plate and the nozzle has moved to position. You can choose any of them, but make sure you cancel the script before it will finish.

Now you will put on the dial indicator.  You can move the extruders free to a position that you can mount the dial indicator holder.

Now you go back into the LCD and find the JOG menu. Here you will use the X and Y axis only. Do not use the Z axis.

move the carriage to a point over the left front screw. Watch out so the dial indicator not hit the frame.

Check the distance now with a 0.10 mm feeler gauge and make the adjustment so it will be 0.10mm gap between the nozzle and the build plate.

Move the dial indicator probe to the exact spot that the nozzle was that you did measure. This is very very important.

Now when you are on that spot, do zero the dial indicator. Now you got a reference.

Now use the JOG options to move the carriage on all the screws to start with and make sure the dial indicator now is zero over the screws.

Go over them a couple of times to make sure they are good. Make sure your build plate is still at 115 degree( it should be that).

After this your build plate is level.

Go over the build plate on the corners and the middle to check how good your build plate is. It should not be much different, it should be max 0.05mm different.

If its way over that then you need to contact the MBI for a replacement, MBI say they have a totally flat build plate now. I will soon get one new, for my others is warped, even if they are very little warped).

After this you print out this: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:80227  or http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:70939

If all is good then they will be fine, but it also depending on your slicer, I think you should use makerware to start with. After all its very  good and its MBI own software.

[MadReasonable]

I agree with Damian that a level (trammed) build plate is critical, but disagree with using a dial gauge.  I just use a .1mm feeler gauge at the three leveling screw points.  Then I print a leveling print like Damian's (or just watch the first layer of my print) and adjust the screws based on where I feel the layer is too thick or too thin.  I don't have to do this often, but I have Bottlework's aluminum arm upgrade.

Also, for most ABS prints you will need to use some sort of adhesive on the build plate.  I think most people are using ABS slurry spread thinly on the HBP.  Most of the plastic parts in your printer are also ABS plastic so watch where you get the acetone.  You can literally dissolve your printer.  As Damian recommended in another post, a cheap brush works very well to spread the slurry in a controlled way.  I found some crappy 2" paint brushes at my super-market which work perfectly.  You can make ABS slurry by putting ABS filament or scraps into a bottle of 100% pure acetone from your pharmacy.  You'll want to experiment with the viscosity to optimize spreadability and hold.  I like mine to be as viscous as cooking oil.

You're going to run out of Kapton sheets eventually.  You might want to find a new supply as MakerBot doesn't sell the pre-cut sheets.  They only sell a narrower tape which can't cover the HBP in a single strip.  A better solution which will be cheaper in the long run would be to get a piece of borosilicate glass plate to print on.  I needed to sand-etch mine to get the ABS slurry to stick to it.

When you pick models off Thinigiverse, be aware that many models have geometry issues,  You may need to run the mesh through something like netfab to fix it.  I personally fix everything manually in Blender.  It gives me a much cleaner mesh that is more easily modified should I need to change something.

[Chris Craft]

I think I have it close. This is how it looked after it cooled. Up until then though it was perfectly flat.

I did have the back left part of the first loop of the circle not stick perfectly. Did some straight lines instead of a smooth circle.

Working on the left extruder now.

[MadReasonable]

Wow, was this supposed to be a single, solid disk?  You should not have gaps between the plastic lines...  Some of that could be from tramming your build plate too far from the nozzles, but I'm afraid that some of that might be something more serious.  It might just be a loose a loose belt.

Could you link or attach that model?

[Damian Gto]

This is not good.

the level on the build plate is off.

Thats why you see it start to stringing on the right lower part. Im sure the nozzle is to far away.

This is something that is easy to level with a dial indicator.;-)

[Chris Craft]

I go ahead and order the dial gauge, sounds like it could be useful for me.

I was trying to build the following:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:39430

Interactive Build Plate Levelling - Print Aid

[Damian Gto]

I used that to in the past. But I never got the printing good when that looked good. But after I got a dial indicator my printing start get much better. I can also fine tune the distance in the software where I can change the z-offset.

[MadReasonable]

On my printer 180 degrees is about .1mm so I can get a quick tram by very lightly touching the nozzle to the plate at each screw and then backing off by half a turn.  It's not great but it'll probably be better than what you have going on right now.