1

Hi all,

I’ve bought a ctc bizer “1” dual extruder printer. Today I’m doing my first print and I have some problems. I hope you can help me:

Now I’m printing using a single extruder (right) with PLA (not the included pla, i’ve bought BQ pla on amazon).

1 . With ReplicatorG and even with Makerbot Desktop, the printer create a sort of “bed/base” and then start to print my object on this basement. How i can eliminate it?

2. During the print i got some problems: as you can see in the attached images, the 2 cubes show a definition problem in the angle and the other one has irregulary faces. And the second object is very irregulary.

Can someone give me an help to setup correctly this printer? With my old prusa i3 I got better prints.

Thanks in advance for the attention.

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1 Like
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I’m trying now, in the meaning thank you very much for your suggestions. :wink:

3

Hi there,

1. the bed/base is called Raft and you can disable it from settings (in Makerbot)

2. at the first look I think maybe your temperature was to high. What temperature did you use? Try lowering the temperature (195 degreee maybe?) You have to try a few times until you get it right.

What speeds did you use? maybe they were a little high also… I never go higher than 80mm/s

Here comes another problem, the CTC does not have active cooling and the layers don’t have time to harden. Try to install one, there are many options you can find on thingiverse.

I hope these advises will be helpful for you.

Br,

Catalin

4

You need to go into settings and turn off the raft ( that is the base it’s printing on ) . It looks like you are printing too hot and/or fast for PLA. Turn the temp down to about 200 and the speed down to 40 until you are more comfortable with the printer and settings.

5

Happy to help. FYI, makerware works fine however almost none of the defaults are ideal for the CTC out of the box so expect to alter the settings quite a bit as you get familiar with it. However, once you get it dialed in it will almost certainly meet or exceed your Prusa in print quality and speed.

6

Hey,

the thing under the model is called a raft. Its used to get better adhesion on the build plate. You can disable it in your Slicer. Whats your temperature? Can you show me your settings?

Best regards,

Henrik

1 Like
7

Hi, thank you very much for suggestion.I’m looking for a compatible object on thingiverse. The program suggest 230 for the extruder and 110 for the plate (my plate is without the glass, “only” with kapton strips). I’m trying with low printing speed.

8

For PLA try to lower also your bed temperature 60-70 deg.

9

Hi all, after disable the raft i can’t print. The printer does a long line on the border of the plate and this line is ok but when start to print the real object the pla doesn’t attach to the plate. I have tried different temperature from 180 to 230. It seems with higher temperature pla attach better to the blu tape but it can’t finish the first layer that it detach and all the pla melt on the extruder.

Now i try to re-do the level calibration.

any suggestions?

10

Hi, i’ve disabled the raft. my temperature are 110 for the bed and 230 for the extruder (printing PLA). speed i’m trying 90mm/sec. Before it was 150

11

You’re still printing way too fast. The print move speed (when it’s moving but not extruding) can be 100 or 120 however the first layer should be set to 10-20 and than 30-50 thereafter. Are you using the simple settings or the advanced? Use these settings: Hot end: 200 Bed: 70 (110 only for ABS!) Layer height: .2mm First layer speed: 15mm/s Print speed: 40mm/s Move speed: 120mm/s If you are still having bed adhesion issues go through the bed level process again. Instead of allowing space for a sheet of paper between the bed and nozzle, let the nozzle just touch the bed in each location. That will squish your first layer down better.

12

hi, thanks for the help. i’ve tried your settings but nope. i can print only using the raft options. Without the pla doesn’t attach to the surface and it melt all around the extruder. my printing surface is tape on hotbed.

I’m thinking to change the surface with the classic glass plate, removing the tape… any suggestions is very appreciated

13

Hi Memphis,

I have noticed (on my CTC) that the gear on the right extruder stepper motor has hardly any teeth on it, They all look worn and rounded. This means that the filament is not being extruded at the correct speed and is sometimes intermittent.

As I have also learned with my CTC, diagnosing the cause of problems can be hugely frustrating and in my case, fruitless.

I hope you solve it,

Sam.

14

Hi - i have a ctc dual and had a lot of trouble setting it up initialy it up coz i thought i was using abs when it was in fact pla, pla does not like a hot print bed , in fact ,printers designed for pla dont have a heated bed - but i have my bed set at 50 deg which gives better adhesion , but if you go over that the pla wont cool down quick enough , extruder temp should be no more than

220 deg - at these temps i get good prints - and print slow - better to wait longer than have to bin it

3d printing has a very steep learning curve , take your time , you can learn a lot by reading these

forums - good luck

15

I’m struggling with the same problem. have you solved it yet?