typical makerbot, i regret the purchase everyday. the z18 is way overpriced for its limited capabilities… pffft pla only!
SE+ is also overpriced garbage that lasts a few months at best, I’ve replaced it 4 times so far, I sent the last one off for repairs over 2 months ago to Objective3d here in Australia. was told it isn’t repairable (error was it didn’t stop the build plate raising up when it does its z axis calibration at the start of every print), they haven’t sent it back and are completely ignoring me.
To top it off they have no clue whats wrong with it.
I made a custom glass build plate topped with 3m blue tape and made a jig that holds a dial indicator allowing me to level the bed within a couple micron accuracy. I can print an object the full size of the bed Raftless but you also require Simplify3d to achieve this.
sorry to rub it it but just printed this cr 10 cost of two m bot replacement extruders… feel your pain ive the 5th gen also the smart extruders + are really not smart there customer service also sucks and is a long winded process
I have 3 Smart Extruder + on 3 separate Makerbots and they all work perfectly, the one thing I’ve noticed is that sometimes when trying to load filament it ends up inside the SE+ mechanism and not through the nozzle. The best way to make sure this doesn’t happen is to straighten the filament and cut the end off before attempting to feed it in.
The original smart extruder also seems to work decently if your using makerbot filament, using aftermarket filament is a no go with this one (it will jam alot!), but I have had some success with an original SE and PET filiment.
i find the best way to have no issues with the m bot is to leave it in the corner under the dust cover myself they also just about to bump there spares up to by 20% its not like there cheap anyhow incase u havent had the heads up on that. … click click crunch on every start up :'l
I noticed that you mentioned Simplify3d to control your makerbot, I have a Replicator 5th Gen but cannot get Simplify3d to connect or control the MB through USB cable at all. I have setup S3D with the required MB firmware.
Or are you perhaps outputting .stl files and running through a USB stick or SD card ? Any advice you could give would be most appreciated! thanks
You can use simplify3d to output sliced files for a USB stick. This is the best way since Simplify3d is not yet supporting newer firmwares. Simplify3d will output a .makerbot file.
yeah mate, just export to usb and walk it to the machine. Simplify3d really steps up the game on the makerbot Z18, there just isn’t a comparison to mb desktop.
