Brook Drumm I am in a bit of bind being out here in Hawaii. I would like to send my Metal Plus 1412 back for SPA treatment but shipping to Hawaii is extravagant! I don’t have the original shipping box, so I will need to order one. So just shipping the empty original shipping box ($20) to Hawaii is $240. Then I will need to spend another at least $350 each way to and from CA. So that’s a total of about $960 to get the SPA treatment. Does this make any sense? I might as well get a new printer?
That’s horrendous! I agree! Shipping a flat box is $240? Say it isn’t so. I think it’s better to first help you diagnose the problem to evaluate how we can help from afar. We have scheduled live chats and Skype calls before. Maybe this is an option.
Brook
Thanks Brook, how do I proceed to contact for chat or Skype?
I sent my Printrbot Simple Metal in for this service a few weeks ago. When I sent it, there was no USB connection being established through either my Macbook or a Raspberry Pi running Octoprint. I tested using 4 different cables. This was working and printing for the past 2 years without issue until recently, so I thought a tune up and repair would be worth the money.
My printer was returned quickly, with two test prints, and some paperwork. The tech emailed me and assured me the USB connection worked for them. I set up my printer and I still have no connection. There is also a new dent on the kapton tape (heated bed) that was not there when I shipped it off to Printrbot. I am also surprised that dented kapton tape was not replaced as part of the treatment. I also found an SD card left in the slot on my Printrbot. This had a autog file on it. This leads me to believe that test prints were printed via SD, and perhaps not printed via USB.
I am in contact with the company currently, but up to this point I am not impressed with the “service” provided on my Printrbot.
I’m happy to send. We laptop- sounds like an embarrassing mistake. Also, we do both: connect through USB since calibration requires this to check settings and then test print. Then we do a long Print test w auto start file so we don’t tie up computers. If we said it connects to our computers, I assure you it does. The sd card in there was also an oversight, but no harm done I should think. We have a checklist we go through and don’t send it back out until all boxes are checked. It includes connecting and printing via USB and auto start so we check everything.
How would you like us to follow up, besides some free kapton?i assume the connection problem is computer or OS related. We can’t really check this since we don’t have your computer. But we have windows and macs that we can check if we have the same version of os to verify that version can connect or not. I know both Mac and windows have made changes from time to time that does confuse past working setups.
Brook
So I finally got the USB to read on both my Mac and Octopi setup.
Now I am running into issues with the Y-axis responding oddly. When I try to home it, it only moves back a couple mm at a time each time I push the home button. It then slams and grinds into the back of the range of motion. When I try to move it via the Y- or Y+ buttons on Cura, it is not very responsive.
I am using Cura 15.04 on a Macbook. I cannot get the printer to print now because it is not assuming the right home coordinates.
I am just bummed that I sent my machine off to have it fixed and when it came back, I had to flash the firmware just to get my computer and Pi to see it, and now I am having trouble calibrating it. I trust that things were done properly at Printrbot’s factory, I would just expect that my machine worked better after spending money on a maintenance service.
I hear you. But we fix the machines and the user is on his own with the software. There are soooo many variables with software versions, operating system versions… we simply can’t guarantee it will work on your computer. all I can tell you is it worked fine on our MacBook here at the factory. No trouble connecting at all.
If you reloaded firmware, check that all your settings in m501… check And double check all your settings there. Be sure your width, depth and height are correct (x,y,z)
Brook
Yup, checked m501 and the x,y,z axes are all correctly set. Endstop switch on the y axis is unresponsive. Z-axis controls were backwards.
I will keep working with it.
Do you guys offer any trade in programs?
Thanks for the response.
What are you wanting to trade in?
Bd