First print :-)

[gfeliksdal]

Ah ok, the latest version in placed in the forum is the good one. I see in your screenshot above that you used skeinforge instead of sfact. That means that one of the settings is incorrect of the sfact setup.

[daveinhull]

Hi Guillaume,

Ok, so I cleared everything and downloaded the older version, I copied the two profile directories to the installation directory as required and I set up the folder references to the ones stated in the manual (I realise I had not explicitly pointed to the profile subfolder of the SFACT folder, which I have now done). I now have options for the different folders on the slicer menu. I can also now slice and it doesn't come back with an error about not finding the gcode.

However, I select the normal quality and tried printing the test piece and it was rubbish, a mess!

I'm really now sure what I'm doing wrong. Could you send me just one SFACT profile that I can use to get a good print with using SFACT?

I am using Slic3r and can print almost anything in good quality - why can't I do the same with SFACT???

Thanks
Dave

[Aztek1701]

Hi Dave,

Just a thought, I had issues with profiles as well though mine just wouldn't select them. Might be worth selecting the repetier host folder then deselect read only and apply to the sub folders. Don't worry when its finished, it will still look like they are read only. (Windows feature) when done try running repetier host as admin...

It did take me a while fighting with it before I got it to work. In the end I'm still not 100% sure what I did to get it to work.

Hope this helps... kenny

[daveinhull]

Hi,

Thanks Kenny, I think I eventually got the SFACT profiles but........still not good prints.

The first picture is of a component I printed using Slic3r which is pretty good apart from some z-axis wobble (think I need a new z-axis bolt). The second picture is of the partial results (before I killed the print) of the same component using the SFACT (Normal) profile - really bad.

Anyone got any ideas what's gone wrong or could someone give me some info about the profile (not just the names) so that I can actually compare setting to see if I've got the right versions.

Many thanks
Dave

Slic3r.jpg (48.71 KiB) Viewed 396 times

sfact.jpg (59.46 KiB) Viewed 396 times

[daveinhull]

Hi all,

I think the problem is with a lot of z-axis wobble and in fact the stepper actually missing turns (I can hear it struggling at times). So I undid the bottom z-axis mount and ran the motor up and down and there stepper wobbled a lot. Took the z-axis bolt off and rolled it along a table and sure enough there is quite a bit of variation, probably ab out a mm.

I got another bolt from B&Q and made sure it was absolutely straight, fitted it and then tried again but still a lot of z-axiz stepper wobble - can't see where the problem is now although the z-axis slider and the z-axis bolt do not look parallel, maybe the z-axis slider is out of align with the frame - think I read something about that in another thread, about making sure the slider and the frame are straght and aligned - in can only be out by about mm.

Would that make a signficant difference to the z-axis wobble?

Thanks
Dave

[satoer]

I had the exact same problem. Try to clamp the z stepper motor with a clamp solid to the beam. And remove the bearing on top. Do you get better prints?

[Aztek1701]

Hi Dave.. could it be the bolts that mount the z axis arm to the slider?. When I did the bolts up tightish on mine the thing locked up. I ended up shimming behind the arm between the slider and the mounting point. I think the arm many not be absolutely flat so when the bolts are tight, it distorts the slider and locks the bearing.

Good luck with it.. Kenny

[daveinhull]

Hi,

Thanks for your replies, good that it's not just me

Hi Dave.. could it be the bolts that mount the z axis arm to the slider?. When I did the bolts up tightish on mine the thing locked up. I ended up shimming behind the arm between the slider and the mounting point. I think the arm many not be absolutely flat so when the bolts are tight, it distorts the slider and locks the bearing.

Good luck with it.. Kenny

Yes I noticed this as well and ended up just leaving them rather loose but the weight of the y-axis stepper and plate does seem to keep it fairly steady although I'm not too happy knowing that the bolts are't tight - they may even shake out over time

I had the exact same problem. Try to clamp the z stepper motor with a clamp solid to the beam. And remove the bearing on top. Do you get better prints?

I haven't tried that but have ended up loosening the four stepper motor bolts that hold it to the bottom mount so that the z-axis stepper motor can wobble, leaving the plate fairly steady. If I tighten everything up tight, the z-axis stepper has a real difficult time (and can sometimes miss steps) moving the plate up, down is OK but we've Mr Newton to thank for that

I tried to upload a short, < 1MB .mp4 video of the wobble (is there another video format that the forum will allow?) but it won't let me.

I'm now getting another problem repeating and that is the filament stops and the print just prints nothing for hours over night. I have tried printing a couple of components of 250 and 512 layers (6 and 11 hours, so over night of course) everything starts great, but after 130ish layers in the first case (about 3 hours) and 425 layers (about 8 hours) the filament wasn't being fed through anymore. I had problem with the reel being next to the printer (the filament just kept getting tangled up) so I mounted it on a pole above the printer (like in your design) and then tried to print the mounts you provided (this was the 250ish layer print that stopped). I'm not sure what is happening because, obviously, I'm not going to sit and watch it for hours. It does seem however that it is still getting slightly tangled on the reel, i.e. other turns of filament overlapping with the current turn of filament being pulled of the reel and this may be causing it to eventually get too tight for the feeder. Thoughts?

Thanks
Dave

[satoer]

I discovered that the wobbling of the Z stepper motor results in something the call "Layer smash". a repeating bulging of layers.

[daveinhull]

Hi,

I'm travelling at the moment but have been thinking about the z-axis problem and some of the tests I was doing.

I remember that I saw black 'dust' (probably filament related from the plate holder part) lying on the bottom frame near the z-axis stepper. I also recall that the z-axis stepper makes much more noise and wobbles more while at its highest level. I'm thinking that the alignment between the stepper motor, the plate holder part with the nut in it and the top z-axis bolt holder is not aligned. Consequently, as it goes up it starts forcing the plate part against the z-axis bolt which starts to grind the part. This would explain the 'dust', the wobble, the noise and the missed steps (if its grinding it will struggle).

When I get home I will remove the top bearing completely (as previously suggested) and see what happens to the bolt as the plate moves up and down.

I did try to adjust the vertical plate slider against the vertical frame to make it straight and in one case to allow it to find its own position while the bolt was moving up and down - but this didn't seem to do the trick, although it was being done while the printer was on its side, e.g. laid on the z-axis, so it may not have moved as representatively as when it is in the vertical (upright) position.

Any thoughts? Could any of these z-axis parts been modified recently?

Dave