Tuning Skeinforge for use with Gen6 electronics

[Graham Klyne]

I've created a new wiki page at http://code.google.com/p/pif3d/wiki/Skeinforge_Gen6_Tuning
which has notes of what I've been learning to get my Gen6-powered
Mendel printing.

I've got to the stage where I think the prints are generally pretty
good, apart from sometimes having trouble getting the first layer to
stick properly to the print bed. I still have a couple of ideas to
try, but I think what I've got so far makes a reasonable start point.

#g

[David F. Flanders]

Any pictures of your printer up and running that I can link to on the wiki?!  /dff

[Graham Klyne]

David,

I've uploaded some to the repository area:

http://code.google.com/p/pif3d/source/browse/#hg%2FImages%2F20110605-GK-first-prints%253Fstate%253Dclosed

(There's a .txt file there too)

...

I've also started a wiki page about software tools. It's very skeletal at the
moment, but I think ot could be useful in time (to me, if nobody else :) ).

http://code.google.com/p/pif3d/wiki/SoftwareTools

#g
--

BTW, can you turn off the reply-to setting on the Google group - it's generally
regarded by email experts as bad practice for mailing lists, as it subverts the
sender's intent.

[Graham Klyne]

Another couple of pictures at
http://code.google.com/p/pif3d/source/browse/#hg%2FImages%2F20110612-GK-drive-pulley
... these were taken to show how the default negative "restart extra
distance" value in the Skeinforge "dimension" tab can cause problems
for small fiddly objects like the RepRap toothed-belt drive pulleys.
The better result uses zero for this parameter.

#g
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On Jun 5, 11:05 am, Graham Klyne <G...@ninebynine.org> wrote:
> David,
>
> I've uploaded some to the repository area:
>

> http://code.google.com/p/pif3d/source/browse/#hg%2FImages%2F20110605-...

>
> (There's a .txt file there too)
>
> ...
>
> I've also started a wiki page about software tools.  It's very skeletal at the
> moment, but I think ot could be useful in time (to me, if nobody else :) ).
>
> http://code.google.com/p/pif3d/wiki/SoftwareTools
>
> #g
> --
>
> BTW, can you turn off the reply-to setting on the Google group - it's generally
> regarded by email experts as bad practice for mailing lists, as it subverts the
> sender's intent.
>
>
>
> David F. Flanders wrote:
> > Any pictures of your printer up and running that I can link to on the
> > wiki?!  /dff
>

[Graham Klyne]

I had a minor disaster today ... nearly wrote-off my hot-end.

I was trying to print a pair of frame-end vertexes, with the feed+flow
rates set to 25 (mm/sec?). It seems this was too fast -- at about the
3rd/4th layer, I saw black gunk dribbling down the outside of the hot
end, landing on the print job and solidifying.

On closer inspection, it seems the back-pressure from the hot-end
filament was forcing molten plastic up through the gap between the
brass hot-end and the PTFE/PEEK(?) thermal barrier onto which it is
threaded (this is as Mendel-parts hot end), which was then running
down the outside of the hot-end, and caramelizing on the way, before
dripping onto the workpiece under construction.

Fortunately I was able to separate the hot end and clean out the fused-
in-place plastic with some gentle assistance from a blow torch.

The lessons here:

1. With this particular hardware (Mendel + Wade extruder drive +
Mendel-parts hot-end, the maximum print (feed and flow) rate would
appear to be 20mm/sec.

2. If using a Mendel-parts hot-end, ensure the brass nozzle is screwed
firmly onto the thermal barrier piece. (I think mine may have been
not fully tightened.)

#g
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