One thing I didn’t consider when I started out designing my own repstrap is the adjustment process. It turns out that getting one of these printers tuned up and printing well is quite a tough project — and I’ve got a trashcan full of ABS to prove it!
Actually, now that I’ve done it once I think the process will be much easier in the future.
Today was the first day that I was able to make some acceptable looking prints. Here’s a pic:
The prints are 20mm x 20mm x 10mm, with a 5mm round pocket.
A couple notes about the prints:
- I used the maximum extrusion flowrate (255), which required a feedrate of ~48mm/s. At this speed, the printer is really flying!
- I was able to get great results without a raft by using double sided carpet tape on the build surface. Not sure how it will work for larger prints, but the bottom surface finish is really nice. I’ve got nothing against rafts — I was just looking for a way to speed up my test prints.
- Some of the initial problems I was having I tracked down to bugs in the Skeinforge code. Enrique was awesome about responding to my bug reports, and quickly posting the fixed code — nice job Enrique!
The square rings are test prints I made to calibrate the single filament wall thickness. For me, this was the key to getting the printer working well. I can post more about the process if anyone is interested.
Here is a video of the printer in operation: