I just installed a heat bed on my PrintrBot simple metal, and while it stopped the warping, my prints still come off the bed in the middle of printing.
I tried using hair spray, but that didn’t seem to make a difference. I’m using Kapton tape, and the heat bed temperature is at ~100C.
Should I try lowering the default Z axis start level? What else can I do?
If it’s not adhering it’s most likely that the z calibration is off. I don’t think they come perfectly calibrated, shipping and setup is enough to throw it off.
As far as I know, I think the stock simple metal maxes out at 80C for the heaters bed, which is inadequate for ABS(?)
Make sure you clean the base with acetone before the print starts. Also, check to make sure the temperature isn’t set to go down after the first layer (it would be in your slicing program). You should also check the thickness of your filament and the thickness of your fist layer (max out the first layer, should be the same thickness as your nozzle). The nozzle (z calibration) should be the thickness of one piece of paper off the heat bed.
If you do all this and you still have an issue, might have to add surface area or a brim to the part.
@Ishaan_Gov I think that is the official temperature, I can get mine up to 95 at the most.
@Robert_D_Attile I did not know that part about the acetone, thanks! I’ll try that.
I’ll also try re-calibrating.
Chamber?
@paul_wallich What?
Also, how do I re calibrate the auto leveling Z axis probe? No matter what I try, it always starts too high. I tried doing the M212 and M500 commands but those didn’t have any effect.
@Nicholas_ScarabCoder , did you add a G29 command to your start G-code?
Kids these days and their fancy auto leveling…
Yeah, it’s got a G29 command.
Oh my goodness, I just realized that I was off-setting it upwards instead of down…
It works
Sorry for all the questions, but I’m really learning from this.
Is there a way to manually set the Z level, then set that to the default start for prints?
@Nicholas_ScarabCoder
Sorry, do you have an enclosure, or are you printing in open air?
And: once you’ve got the right offset for the Z, you should be able to save it. m501 to report, m500 to save, or is it the other way around?
Oh really? 500 sets the current pos as the home pos? That’s interesting, I had no idea it did that. Thanks a lot!
Also, I am printing in open air, though I am considering building a wood-and-glass case.
@Nicholas_ScarabCoder
No, M501 displays the current offsets stored in non-volatile memory (and a bunch of other stuff) M212 alters the volatile versions, and then M500 stores the altered values in non-volatile memory. There’s a bunch of stuff on this both in printrbot help and in the forums. Please don’t just take my word for it.
Ah, that’s what I thought. I don’t suppose there is a way to manually move the head/bed and set that as the home position?
You can do a G92 coordinate override–go to the position you want, and then you can set G92 X0 Y0 Z0 E0 (depending on what axes you want to override)
@Ishaan_Gov That’s perfect, thanks SO much!