CTC Problems or 3D newbie problem.

[JDDIGITAL]

Also when you level, do you notice a right or left extruder grabbing more. For example when you feel the scratching and you gently try to rotate the paper does it seem to grip both extruded nozzles or just one? If just one nozzle is grabbing you may have to level your nozzles. Try to run the leveler 2 or three times in a row and see if it gets better. You said you had a glass plate so I’m not leaning towards a bent heat bed

[adamcooks]

Preheating is correct. You will want to tram (level) the bed at printing temps. Aluminum expands, and the plastic arms that hold the z stage will deform over time and temperatures.

[adamcooks]

Using binder clips also will deform the glass, simply rest the glass on .5mm silicone pads. Amazon sells under the name “gino pad”

[BlackMist]

yes CTC black case… about the leveling…im added to the table a 3mm glass to the table im using the right extruder… and ive already level the extruders using a jig found on thingiverse: Dualstrustion nozzle leveling Fixture by einer_designs - Thingiverse…
I get the two extruders to scratch the paper… both scratch at the left also at the right… but if i level at front… when i get the paper scratching… at the left or right is too tight… if l loosen it i get no scratch ate front center… Ive add the glass bed… to get a level surface to exclude a non level bed…

[BlackMist]

i dont use bider clips… i used blue tesa tape to hold the glass…

[JDDIGITAL]

Did you try repeating the level test back to back a few times. I found this helped me lots.

[JDDIGITAL]

Also brand of blue tape makes a difference. I found the 3m brand works best for me.

[JDDIGITAL]

And a glue stick. Elmer’s. I get the purple one to easily tell if I covered everything correctly

[BlackMist]

So you also use glue stick for pla?! can you provide some printing settings?
thanks.

[Timothy0413]

I’m using 3mm window glass with blue tape. Everything sticks very good PLA and ABS no problems there. Every time I use anything but maker bot desktop it won’t print. Just crashes or starts trying to print while not heated!

[JDDIGITAL]

I never thought about preheating the bed for leveling. Suppose your right though. Kinda a dumb mistake I guess lol

[JDDIGITAL]

Oh yes glue sitck works great. I use stock aluminum bed, blue 3m painters tape and a Elmer’s glue stick applied during heat up. Pla I print 230 - 240 with heat bed of 50-60. BEFORE everyone freaks out, these are what work on the machine settings. Ctc printers have been known to report incorrect temps. So double check with a infrared non contact temp gauge. Also slow your first layer down to 20 - 40. Don’t print above 70 on any part. Machine will work higher for a few weeks but then you will have extruder issues later.

[JDDIGITAL]

Speed is way too high for a .10mm print. Set it to 40 not 90. Print layer height has a comma instead of decimal ( not sure if that matters). And enable print bed heating set at 50

[JDDIGITAL]

Speed is way too high for a .10mm print. Set it to 40 not 90. Print layer height has a comma instead of decimal ( not sure if that matters). And enable print bed heating set at 50

[BlackMist]

hello… the extruders are even ive used a jig that i got on thingiverse… its odd because if i level at the right or left i lose grip at front center… im going to try and level again… lets see if all goes well…

thanks.

[Timothy0413]

Not quite sure what u mean by clear eeprom. Yes I have sailfish v7.7… I’m using cura to slice then saving and using repg to generate X3G. Is that the right way??

[adamcooks]

When the print head crashes it usually indicates incorrect offsets. This can be caused by not resetting the eeprom when going from stock firmware to sailfish. http://www.sailfishfirmware.com/doc/install-configuring.html#x35-910006.4.1 Or cura thinking that 0.0 is the back right corner of your printer. You should be concentrating on getting prints correct with makerware before cura. Cura was not made for our bots, and is really for advanced users. Adding so many variables for a new user is not recommended. Honestly, simplify3d(150$US) is hands down the best slicer, and has gpx built in.

[Timothy0413]

I have been printing with makerware for about 8 or 9 months it works. Just wanted to try Cura.

[RobertPaul]

Hey what’s up welcome to the CTC family lol. Me and my CTC have been to hell and back. We started from the bottom now we here. You’re printing pla so you should be below 205. 220 is so hot that heat creeps upward and softens the pla, making it too difficult for the extruder to feed it. You have ptfe tubes so you should probably print lower than 205. You probably don’t have a third fan for active cooling so you will have to go even lower. I suspect around 185-195. I went the all metal route so I don’t have those issues.

[BlackMist]

ive made some tests… i only can control temp. using the pre heating menu on the print… by soft. its impossible… the glue stick works… the pla stays on the bed… the leveling problem of the bed was the bed arms they weren’t even… But i still cant get good prints…