I am very new to 3d printing, but rapidly discovered I can’t print using both heads in Replicator G so I downloaded Makerware Desktop. Everything hooked up and connected right away, but the printer refuses to get close enough to actually print the first layers on the build platform. I dug around and found that there is supposedly an adjustment that can be made for the Z offset of the build plate which lead me to printer properties. The properties cannot be set from Makerware which lead me to another thread that said to adjust the properties in Replicator G.
The trouble now is what setting do I adjust to fix this?
Again the trouble I have is that when I start to print the gap between the extruders and the build plate is too great for any material to be laid down. Help would be greatly appreciated. I have been properly leveling and printing successfully in Replicator G with prints that do not require support so it is not sourced in the leveling of my build plate.
Have you checked your Z end stop to make sure it didn’t get moved? It could have come loose and moved down a bit so I’d start there. How big would you say the gap between the nozzle and the print bed is? (In mm) Your hotend could have gotten pushed up a bit also, are your nozzles level with each other?
I think RepG defaults to something like a negative Z adjustment of 0.05mm. I don’t know it’s been a while. Makerbot desktop expects you to tram (level) your bed a bit closer. There is a Z offset in your firmware which you can adjust via the LCD. Be careful with those negative values though because you could run the nozzle into the bed. (I’d stay well under a layer height worth of negative and ideally it’d be the width of the paper you used to tram your bed.)
I never used Makerware Desktop, so I really can’t answer to that program.
Your first step is to level the build plate on the printer itself (without software involvement). On front panel, in Utilities, choose Level Build Plate. The printer will position the heads at the center of the build plate. Manually move the heads over the adjustment screws and adjust with a piece of paper. YouTube videos show this procedure.
After leveling, try to print some of the samples that came on the SD card with your printer. If they print alright, then the printer is leveled and ready.
I have used the Replicator G that came with the printer, but I actually researched software before I had decided on my printer and I bought Simplify3D. Arguably the best program out there for slicing and prepping 3D prints. Simplify3D is everything you are looking for. A bit complicated at first, but you can get started easy and add feature complexity as you want.
If you want to continue using ReplicatorG, make sure you tell it that your machine type is “The Replicator Dual (Sailfish)”, otherwise it won’t know that you have 2 heads on your printer.
