So I've had the Wanhao i3 for 2 weeks now, and here's an update and some questions!
I've done some mods (listed below) and the quality of my new 3Dbenchy is a lot better, but there's still a couple of major problems that are doing my head in.
Work done...
- PID tune
- Blueprinting (as best as I can get it)
- Y axis alignment
- E-step calibration
- Acceleration & jerk
- Higher Z end stop
Mods done...
- Glass bed
- Thumbscrews + spring cups
- Diicooler fan shroud (running at 70% because high fan speed seems to be cooling the hot end too much)
- Z brace (but no Y braces, all printing attempts failed so far in different stages)
- Octoprint
- Control box cooling
The problems are firstly I still have a lot of trouble with first layer adhesion. This is compounded by the fact that I just cannot get the bed to level properly - the front left/rear right screws are very loose, while the front right/rear left screws are all the way inAnd yes I'm sure the X gantry and Y rods are square.
The second problem is that for prints that are larger than the 3Dbenchy, such as when printing the Y braces, often time the whole print gets knocked away by the nozzle half way through! Even when using a brim! I think it's maybe caused by vibration from Y axis movement? Or probably layers not stacking well so it's higher than expected?
Any help please?
EDIT - Also some curling/wrapping around the corners, which is already much better after fitting the Diicooler, but it still happens rather frequently.
Blueprinting (as far as I know) just means making sure everything is square.
Yea I think bed levelling is the biggest issue, but I just can NOT get it to level properly! When I adjust one corner, the others go out of whack
I'm using glass with nothing added on. I wipe it with a microfibre cloth before every print.
I print in PLA and these are my usual settings -
Extruder 210c (also experimented with 200c)
Bed 65c (also experimented with 60c)
Fan 70% (also experimented with 50%) off for the first layer
Nozzle 0.4mm
Layer 0.2mm
First layer 0.3mm
Line width 0.4mm
Shell 1.2mm
Retraction 4.5mm @ 40mm/s
Speed print=50, travel=100, first layer=25mm/s
Then use either 8mm brim or 1 round of skirt depending on the model
Yes I understand the procedure but look at this,
Front left = as loose as it'll go
Front right = as tight as it'll go
Rear left = as tight as it'll go
Rear right = as loose as it'll go
You see, I can't even make sense of it!And I'm sure the pane of glass is flat.
I did have a look at the BLTouch but and I WANT IT BAD but to be honest it's quite a lot of hassle, having to replace the Melzi with RAMPS and print out various mounts/adapters etc. I just can't justify any more big mods until I can at least print something out without 50+% failure rate!
Yes I understand the procedure but look at this,
Front left = as loose as it'll go
Front right = as tight as it'll go
Rear left = as tight as it'll go
Rear right = as loose as it'll go
You see, I can't even make sense of it!And I'm sure the pane of glass is flat.
I did have a look at the BLTouch but and I WANT IT BAD but to be honest it's quite a lot of hassle, having to replace the Melzi with RAMPS and print out various mounts/adapters etc. I just can't justify any more big mods until I can at least print something out without 50+% failure rate!
Can't Wanhao help you at all?
Clearly something isn't flat or square. Did you buy it assembled? If so time to get the tools out and strip it down and rebuilt it i think.
Could be the male connector above the 40mm fan. That's what my problem was anyway.
Interesting announcement from Prusa printers today. Currently backing a 2 material solution on kickstater, now got to decided whether to go this way instead, lol.
MULTI MATERIAL UPGRADE
http://prusaprinters.org/original-prusa-i3-mk2-multi-material-upgrade-release/
Would need to but yet another printer for this option, or stick with my kickstarter option and upgrade my NFire1 delta?
Kickstarter - The Prometheus System
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...tem-intuitive-multi-filament-3d?ref=user_menu
James.
They both look very good. Wonder if E3D will do something so the V6 doesn't fall behind?
Just seen the price of a Prusa i3 MK2 kit and the upgrade. They are now in the Big Box territory.