About surface adherence, well my best results have been with blue tape (3m paint stuff) and some hair spray (aquanet). But, to have the best adherence on it you have to do the calibration of the X, Y, Z and the filament extruder and modify your firmware so the steps are the correct ones (http://www.instructables.com/id/Calibrating-your-3D-printer-using-minimal-filament/?ALLSTEPS). Z axis must have an offset value, in simplify3d im using 0.85~0.98 depending on filament and quality (low-high) and you will see better results with time.
When you say about plastic parts breaking I don’t understand what you are talking about, but if those plastics parts aren’t the CASE or Bottom of the case, you can print all the other parts with help of one the many printers in this hub (on ABS material is more strong than PLA). I strongly suggest that you research a lot on youtube about how to replace parts. On electronics I haven’t had any single issue so far, but I believe I haven’t use my printer for more than 500 hours (Does anyone knows how to know the number of hours used?).
Oh, and if your vertical walls are wavy, check the tension on X&Y belts. They need to be taught; I used a different zip-tie config than stock so I can tension/retension just by tightening the white zip-tie.
Some things I’ve discovered in getting R1 up and running:
The stock extruder has a Teflon bit in it. If you look at it wrong while trying ABS, it will melt (main reason I upgraded to Hexagon).
Every extruder can be helped with a bit of HBn or WS2 lube (good for 2 months or until I jam it for a diferent reason. It seems that a number of mfrs don’t have their melt-zones defined well, and this causes the print to start perfectly, then it gets too difficult for the filament to feed and the print gets then as time goes on and then stops. If you pause, pull, cut, and restart the filament it can work longer, but only for 20-120 minutes.
Increasing spring pressure helps for PLA. For ABS it might get too squished to move if you put too much force on it.
I also had a problem with the stock hobbed bolt. It always filled up with filament parts… I replaced the hobbed bolt and moved to the hexagon at the same time, so…
And counter-intuitive, but some HBN or WS2 on the teeth of the bolt helps. On my current bolt, if you don’t lube the teeth, they slowly get filled with plastic. After lubing it, not so much unless a jam happens.
After every print job, push/pull the Y axis to min/max. Drawer Slides are not good bearings.
I always use nylon with a cold-pull to unclog extruders – even made a g-code routine for it – applicable to anything that uses marlin g-code: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:965194 1
After a clog, *always* pull the hobbed bolt out and brush it off with a wire brush (I use a plumbers thing for copper pipes – nice fine bristles). And always dust the extruder area with a can of air. Then do the cold pull (because the air might have put some garbage down to the extruder.
The “z stabilizers” that hold the z rods to the case help a lot.
Put a real fuse in parallel with the thermal fuses on the RAMPS board. PTC fuses suck.
I drilled the Wade extruder so I could slip a Teflon tube down from the hobbed bolt to the top of the extruder (cut and fit a few times) – all the world of difference when printing flex.
I’ve always used hairspray (even on ABS or Nylon. Not quite as good on nylon, but if you put a 5mm brim on it, it will usually hold).
Once you’re all done, the most common jams are due to printbed height issues. Check with a dial-gauge and get all 4 corners even.
I finally broke the carriage and the Wade extruder parts (too many prints came loose at high speed I guess); when I left a message about replacement parts, they said it was out of warranty, but I could get replacement parts for $5 each+$5 shipping (done; total $15 thru paypal).
It sounds like your main problems are 1-4. Unfortunately, they’re best remedied by moving to an all metal (Hexagon or, preferably E3Dv6) extruder and replacing the hobbed bolt – not the cheapest upgrades, but well worth it.
This is Braydon, CEO of ROBO 3D. I read through this feedback and we want to help anyone with these issues. Eric, if you are outside of the allotted warranty, we can certainly send you a replacement part at cost to help get you up and running. We have made some HUGE improvements to the product even in the past 6 months due to our amazing customer feedback. We just want to create a product that you all can use, make amazing things, and be proud of, and I think we are there-especially with the R1 plus. With that being said, feel free to contact me directly if you need some additional help. I will be happy to right this wrong with you.
Thank you all so much for communicating here and providing this feedback. I have shared the link with my team and we will work our tails off to help!
Thank you for responding. I have already spoken with one of your service reps. And we have determined that since there are multiple issues at play that I send back the machine to get it overhauled. My concern is it sounded like my machine could have possible been a refurbished machine which concerns me as I paid full price for a new machine, not a used one. If you can double check on this process for me I’d greatly appreciate it. Here is a disposable email address for you to use. Thank you siir.
Ofcourse Eric. I assure you that we would never send a refurbished machine for a brand new model. I will ask my team however to make sure nothing slipped through the cracks. Thank you for making me aware of this. Also, thank you for your business. We will get you up and running shortly so you can 3D Print your heart away.
Well Eric your not alone, I bought my Robo R1 on August 5 2015, and had nothing but issues from the moment I opened the box. Right out of the box it was broken and had to request replacement parts, and when i finally got those mailed to me and started printing I was lucky to get a single print before something else broke. I had the main control board blow out within a few weeks of buying it from overheating, a few broken plastic parts (got the same response to print the replacement parts on a printer that didn’t run). I spent most of my free time on the phone with phone support trying to resolve issue after issue until i just gave up on it all together. In the end I was so furious i was practically in tears with the anger i felt over almost 3 months of fighting this printer (and this wasn’t my first printer i have owned, this was number 3 and had zero issues with the other 2). After 3 months of being angry over all the constant problems I tossed it in a spare room closet and purchased a new printer from another manufacturer, this one has zero plastic parts on it, i made sure that it didn’t unlike the Robo R1. Since changing printers I have had nothing but success and happiness printing parts daily since November. So I feel your pain and just suggest tossing it for something much more reliable and your anger will quickly subside.
Sorry for your experience Bryan. Out of curiosity what printer did you switch to. Since CES Robo3d has gone through some restructuring that I am really not a fan of so my next printer will probably be from somewhere else too.
