(Part 2) Top products from r/FixMyPrint

I run a campus makerspace with three MakerBots, and I feel your pain. It's been a year since we got them, and we've only just NOW (read: within the last month) figured out how to cut down on about 95% of the warping. Lots of the solutions here seem like they come from folks who aren't too familiar with MakerBot printers and the true shittiness of the flex build plate grip surface. For reference, our machines are used by a campus of about 10,000 students, so the machines are running 9 hours a day, every day.

First, I'd agree with some of the folks on here about throwing the machine out the window. If you're within the 30-day return window, return yours. They are absolute garbage, and if it wasn't for the $250 restocking fee that MakerBot charges after that 30 days, I'd return my three MakerBots in a heartbeat. Both the extruders and the build plates for the Replicator+ are truly awful. The proprietary MakerBot Print software leaves very little in the way of customization, so you can't really expect to even modify some of the slicer settings to test out what some of the folks in here are suggesting. At any rate, you should still print with a raft, because of the lack of a heated build plate.

MakerBot Customer Support, in their infinite wisdom, will typically recommend the following things over and over. I've spent more hours on the phone with them than hours at my job, and I'll preface this by saying none of their solutions worked in the long-term for any of our machines:

1. Blue painters tape is the go-to proposed solution by lots of folks. Don't bother, it just peels off as the plastic cools and shrinks. Likewise it scratches so easily, you end up replacing it weekly. In the specific case of MakerBot Replicator+ beds, blue painters tape doesn't stick for very long to the intentionally rough buildtak surface of the build plate, as opposed to with other smooth glass or PEI build plates.
   
2. Wiping build plates with isopropyl alcohol between prints to get rid of fingerprints and dirt. Never had a positive effect on our printed part quality.
   
3. Using helper disks is the solution most often suggested by MakerBot Support. Helper disks (referred to by someone here as "mouse ears") just warp off as the print warps, and pull the print up with them. They never worked for us, and did little to prevent warping or curling, even if we placed upwards of eight helper disks around the model.
   
4. Adjusting orientation to minimize surface area sticking to the build plate. On your model, try rotating it so the slimmest edge sits on the plate itself to create less surface area touching the flex build plate itself. This actually sort of works, but not consistently. Sometimes, it's not an ideal solution if propping up the model on a long edge creates tons of new supports.
   
5. Manually adjusting the z-offset height to be closer to build plate. This one, like adjusting the orientation, helped slightly but not in the long run. You're basically smushing more filament into the build plate if you lower the nozzle, which might help. But be careful not to scratch your build plate. Move down in small increments at a time and test.
   
6. Adjusting initial temperatures and slowing down the initial raft and first layer, and turning off the fan for the first few layers is another solution. Not a bad habit to get into, even if it doesn't work with MakerBot printers. Set the initial fan speed from 100% to 0%.
   
7. Avoiding twisting the flex build plates at all, in order to prevent hard-to-detect warping effects. These plates were supposed to be a novel, flexible way to remove printed parts but they have a tendency become permanently warped over time, leading to uneven build plate surfaces. Instead, use a spatula carefully and don't put too much force at all on the build plate.
   
8. Replacing the build plate entirely. A manager at MakerBot admitted over the phone that they ended up having no idea that the flex build plates were so bad, and warped so readily, and he said that they were slowly learning that the build plates were essentially a "consumable" just like filament. Meaning you can expect that if you're twisting them (even a little) to remove prints, you'll be replacing that flex build plate regularly. Another gold star for the MakerBot equipment quality control department.
   
   
   Now, the solution that worked miracles: try buying gaffer's tape. Another redditor recommended it, and we purchased this gaffer's tape. Since then, not a single print has failed due to warping issues. We can spread objects across the build plate with little regard for orientation or arrangement without much issue. Granted, on extremely large prints that take up the entire print volume, we might see a slight (maybe 5% at the corner, warping up about 1 or 2mm from the plate) warping issue, but it's nearly perfect compared to before. The same gaffer's tape strips I placed down for the very first test at the beginning of April are still sitting without a scratch on the build plates, so you can bet it doesn't peel or get scratched up easily either.
   
   I can't understate the amazing value of gaffer's tape.

Warping is caused by uneven cooling. As the top layers cool, they shrink and pull on the lower layers. The trick is to minimize the difference between the extruding temperature and the ambient temperature in the chamber. For ABS at 240c you want the chamber around 80c, but any heat helps. This will cause everything to cool more gradually and evenly, reducing the chances of warping. Increasing the heated bed temperature can also help for the same reasons.

I put two 4ohm 50W power resistors on a cpu heatsink to make a small heater, but if I were doing it again I'd just make one of these things blow into the chamber. My heater is 72W, that one is 200W.

Unless you are printing PETG, or the paper you choose is a different thickness, or if it's swolen from humidity.

Paper isn't the best tool, among other things it varies in thickness, a set of feeler gauges (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BYGIR4) is a much better tool for this.

But I have completely quit using it. I now print out this link https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2187071 and, as it's printing, manually adjust the bed screws until it's printing with uniform squeeze out and the print looks good. This works great for printers without automatic bed leveling like mine.

I've got a couple more questions.

First off, I looked your printer up real quick and the images I see online are different from what's shown in your video. So first question would be if you've got any more details about the printer, and where you got it from. Is it an old model, refurbished, bought off e-Bay, etc.? Or did you just take the frame off the printer or something?

Second, would it be possible to get a couple more pictures? I'd be interested in getting a close-up of the printer board, the leadscrews, and both X and Y belts if possible.

You may have some versions of stuff criss-crossed. Since the Robo R1+ on Amazon is sorta different from what you've got, there's a decent chance that it's using different leadscrews with a different pitch which would cause these problems. If you're using firmware meant for one model on a different model then things won't work out right. Also, if it's a refurbished or ancient model then there's a chance there could be other hardware issues at play.

Can we a get a closeup of the first layer only? It will help if we can get a really good look at the size/shape/texture of the first layer extrusions.

Tape and glue and everything can work, but it's always been a huge hassle for me. https://smile.amazon.com/BuildTak-Printing-Build-Surface-Square/dp/B00MN5X304 might be worth a little money. In my experience that printer does just fine with buildtak and a hot bed, as long as you have your nozzle height dialed in and the bed leveled. It might be worth $20 just to remove the surface material from the equation.


As for the nozzle wiping bit, that's a huge pain in the ass. If you're up for learning a little g-code (it's not hard), I recommend changing your pre-print g-code to move the nozzle directly onto the bed during the heatup phase, this keeps the goo in and makes your life a lot easier.

Also, you should change your skirt distance to about 15mm. The point of the skirt is to prime the nozzle. Moving the skirt away from the part will increase the skirt path length, which means more priming, which means you won't have to restart prints after a bad start as often.

This happens for me when the air temperature in my printing room goes below ~22C.

I thought I was going to need a heated enclosure, but I ended up putting a small heater in the room, and it raised the temperature by a couple of degrees and fixed the issue for me.

I hear printing a brim can also help, but I've never tried it.

Not that I recall, but I bought a pretty early version of the Monoprice Maker Select when they dropped the price a few years ago, and the glass bed was one of my first additions.

The mod isn't difficult. I had a 16"x24" piece of window glass cut into four 8" squares. They did it at the hardware store (Lowe's iirc) for no extra charge.

The squares lay on the bed using four 1" (or so) thermal pads. I bought a sheet of the stuff from Amazon and just cut what I needed. It occasionally tears, so I replace it a couple of times per year. Using the thermal pad eliminates the need for binder clips or something more elaborate to hold the glass on the printer's bed.

The Z-Stop adjuster I used is so old that I probably wouldn't use it today. Just search Thingiverse and pick one you like. There are some nice designs out there.

Here's the process I would follow:

1. Install the z-stop adjuster and raise it all the way up.
   
2. Adjust the bed so that you are at the mid-point of the adjustment screws
   
3. Put the thermal pad on the corners of the bed
   
4. Put the glass on the thermal pad
   
5. Adjust the Z-Stop so that it activates just before your nozzle hits the bed
   
6. Level the bed like you normally would - by adjusting the four screws at the corners
   
   ​

Ive always used 210 so I thought I'd be good. It looks like you're right though, at 210 it constantly leaks out. At 181 or so it stops.

I did buy the cheapest nozzles ever. After 2 more hours and a dozen more failed prints I'm starting to think they're just crap. Shoulda known at 70 nozzles for 11$ lol.

TUPARKA 70Pcs 3D Printer Nozzle... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WTB47N7?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

So this was PLA printed at 198c (amazon.com/dp/B00J0GO8I0). The print was a "success" in that the catapult works. It loses its springiness after a bit though.

I also used the increased tolerance version

You don't need a micrometer, just calipers with a wheel lock and 3 points after the decimal is fine

https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-01407A-Electronic-Digital-Stainless/dp/B000GSLKIW/

Thanks for the ideas. Here's more info:

Printing in a closed garage, no windows.

Printer is shrouded with a photo light cube to keep temp and eliminate drafts.

Material:PLA

Print Temp: 195C

Bed Temp: 60C

Thanks I'll try bumping up the temp a bit.

The color is a bit weird because of the lighting, but it's just this common filament: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01092XXD4/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_kFv4Db1J16DN1

I am also using a Anet. the A8[ with this Sensor.] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008FZC8F2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)


I was also [following this video] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-TwWfUzXpc) But several things didn't work right.


I shall try what you did right now and see what happens.

PLA: specifically this one

Any ideas? I've only started using this in the past ~3 weeks and surely have a lot to learn. I've tried to review many of the guides referenced here and (so far) not found a likely theory for the cause of this.

It doesn't happen on every print and doesn't happen at the same spot, but at least on this print (the screws for feet on a Wanhao Duplicator, which my MakerSelect v2 is a clone of) the print has failed on at least three attempted prints. I was usually printing 0.06mm layers with from 10% to 50% infill. All trials have led to the screw snapping right off the base.

I can offer other details, but here's what I know:

• Printer: MakerSelect V2
  
• Filamant: pretty standard PLA
  
• model: wanhao duplicator riser feet
  
• software: Cura 3.0.3 (I rotated the model 90 degrees so the bolt points "up" the z-axis for printing, otherwise no changes)
  
  Thanks in advance for any help!

It looks wayyyyy too hot based on that picture. Get a temperature sensor gun thing and measure the actual temperature at the nozzle - I wonder if the temperature control is broken and it's actually heating up as much as possible. I guess you could also try doing like 150° or something else that should barely melt the plastic and see if that changes it.

Possibly. It has more to do with moisture clinging to the outside of the filament. Nylon actually absorbs water, so you need to keep it super dry all the time. PLA is the least affected of common materials, but it will still suffer performance issues because of this.

My advice is get an airtight container/box and get a big pail of desiccant off of Amazon. Dump a bunch into the container so you have about an inch of desiccant on the bottom. Then just put your spools in their and keep it shut unless you need to get a different spool out. This can recondition material over the course of a week as well. Nylon would probably need a professional dryer of some sort, similar to what injection molding companies use to dry their plastic pellets before using them. I haven't had to dry nylon yet, but I would think that's what you'd have to do.

Don't cheap out on the heated bed. Youre running serious power through these and you don't want to burn your house down because of a cheap bed.

Get a genuine MK2 or MK3 PCB heatbed (not from China). Those can be wired for both 12V and 24V.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MK2B-PCB-HeatBed-Heat-Bed-RepRap-3D-Printers-12V-24V-Wiring-Thermistor-/251980529712?hash=item3aab35c030:g:8QAAAOSwt6ZWUydd

3.2A isn't even enough for such a heatbed by itself. I'm surprised your printer is even running with that thing (assuming that the heater for your hotend alone can sometimes pull ~2A depending on the rating).

The power supply you linked seems weak too. I'd shoot for a 350-400W supply to be on the safe side. Operating a power supply close to its limit isn't really desireable for these LED supplies.

http://www.amazon.com/Switching-Power-Supply-Router-S-400-24/dp/B00XTHPYMK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452850033&sr=8-1&keywords=24V+400W

I took your advise and reseated all the connections in the printer but while i was doing that I noticed that the set screws (Look at last picture) on both the x and y motors were missing, I know this is definitely a problem and am going to go get more today but would this cause what I am seeing on my printer?