Printrbot Talk Forum

by **motorfiets** » 2015-Jan-Tue-08-Jan

Need serious help!

Would someone be willing to walk me through setting up my Printrbot Metal Plus?

I am new to 3d Printers with some knowledge of Makerbots.

The setup instructions online are HORRIBLE...

Thanks,
Ben

**Sponsor**

by **RetireeJay** » 2015-Jan-Tue-09-Jan

I assume you can get over the fact that "Step 1" links to an instruction labeled "2", etc...

The pictures of Repetier Host shown in the document you attached are for a Mac. If you have a Windows computer, it looks like this.

Repetier106HomeScreen.PNG

When it says "Go to the Print Panel to give the following commands: Heat on, Home X, Home Y, Heat on..." what they should have said (for Windows users anyway) is
"Go to the Manual Control tab and click on the following icons: "Bed Temperature On" (the little waffle iron), "Home X" (the little house with an X in it), "Home Y (the little house with a Y in it" and "Extruder Temperature On" (it's underneath the Bed Temperature). The icon to turn the motors off is the one at the extreme left of a series of round buttons that then say "P 1 2 3 4..."

by **motorfiets** » 2015-Jan-Tue-11-Jan

In Slic3r what are all my parameters?

I'm fairly new to printers and could REALLY use some help.... all the print's I've made won't work... and I have no idea how to set the autolevel even following the instructions...

Also... should I use Cura instead????

Stupid forum won't let me include a link!!!! :evil:

Google search: How to configure Repetier settings for BEST Printrbot Simple print

That's what I need!

by **PxT** » 2015-Jan-Tue-11-Jan

motorfiets wrote:In Slic3r what are all my parameters?

Slic3r has built-in help for all the settings. Hover your mouse over any checkbox or input field and it should popup some help text. You can also check the manual for more details on any setting.

I'm fairly new to printers and could REALLY use some help.... all the print's I've made won't work...

Please be more specific. What doesn't work? Can you post a picture so we can see what is going on? Use the attachment feature here in the forum.

and I have no idea how to set the autolevel even following the instructions...

If your printer came fully assembled then the offset should already be configured, there's not much left to do. Otherwise, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpmgI4OGldw

Once you have the offset figured out and saved, it's just a matter of putting two commands at the beginning of your Gcode (typically done in Slic3r):

Code: Select all: G28 X0 Y0 Z0 G29

by **RetireeJay** » 2015-Jan-Tue-12-Jan

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=8862
viewtopic.php?f=113&t=3757
viewtopic.php?f=113&t=4454

by **motorfiets** » 2015-Jan-Thu-08-Jan

OK... little bit of an update...

1) Do I do raft's or not?
2) The PLA doesn't always stick the the plate.... I use blue painters tape and a BUNCH of glue stick glue... Once it prints two or three layers it will work fine but just starting out it just smears up into
a ball on the tip of the nozzles. More times than not the "brim?" comes out think and thin. When printing the raft or the part the edges pull up and are globby (Not sure the right word... seems like they ball up at the edges)

Printrbot tech support is worthless... They say use Cura Software because it has profiles preloaded.
problem however is when I do the auto bed leveling setup... I can see half the screen... it's some internal textbox error that doesn't wrap the text.

So... question for all of you.

Do I use RepitierHost or Cura?
and then if RepetierHost... which slicer do I use: Slic3r or CuraEngine?

by **wd5gnr** » 2015-Jan-Thu-09-Jan

My limited experience with PLA is that you should use blue tape (wash down with alcohol) OR glue stick but I haven't found the need to use both.

Is it possible your Z calibration is not correct? I use Repetier and you will probably find CuraEngine easier to start. There are one or two things I print that either Cura doesn't do right or I like the control better from Slicer. But for most things they are pretty close to equal.

Globby makes me think your temp is either too high or too low. Do you have your start G code set up in either Cura, Slicer, or Repetier? What are you using for your X Y and Z calibrations there? What are you using for E? Have you calibrated E? That step is very important depending on your extruder type (which is?).

So in your slicer there is a G code section where you can put start and end gcodes. You should be setting your calibrations there and if you tell us the details of what you have there, maybe we can help. Have you tried different temps?

It is always a struggle to get started. A lot of interrelated variables. But you'll eventually get it and then it is easy.

by **Mooselake** » 2015-Jan-Thu-10-Jan

Repetier-Host vs Cure, Slic3r vs Cura, not to mention the other alternatives, is like a religious argument. There's many opinions about which is best.

When you're starting out it's best to just pick one and stay with it, and don't worry about the slicer and host of the week. I use R-H and slic3r most of the time, and it's a popular starting point. Once you figure out the basics and quirks of your printer then you can (and should!) experiment, but until you can get mostly successful prints there's too much you have to learn, and what's "best" is just a distraction. Don't be one of the many 3Ders whose bot ends up in the back of the closet.

Same thing goes for mods, wait until it prints well before going for better. Occasionally there's a busted part, but PB is getting pretty good; ask questions here and use the warranty if that happens. Tinker later, spend that money on a spool or two of high quality basic filament instead.

OK, off the soapboxes. It takes 4 if you're a moose.

Kirk

by **motorfiets** » 2015-Jan-Thu-10-Jan

Only reason why I considered going to Cura is that they have a a preloaded "all setup I assume" profile for the Metal Plus in Cura.

by **thawkins** » 2015-Jan-Thu-11-Jan

motorfiets wrote:Only reason why I considered going to Cura is that they have a a preloaded "all setup I assume" profile for the Metal Plus in Cura.

I think the profile in cura is for the original plus, not the metal one. I use Cura and i dont see any metal profile, the setup wizzard mentions a printrbot plus, but not the metal one, and it does not have the autoleveling commands in the start scripts.

by **motorfiets** » 2015-Jan-Thu-11-Jan

Are you sure you have the latest version?

by **Mooselake** » 2015-Jan-Thu-11-Jan

<long discussion deleted>

If PB helps you get started with Cura (which is supplied by a competitor

) then by all means use that as your starting point.

Lots of the basics, like getting the carriage and bed aligned properly, initial head clearance, the physical properties of your filament, and the whole bed stick thing, are separate from the slicer settings. Sometimes the universe lines up right and it works out of the box; for the rest of the time we're here. Have fun, it'll be worth it.

Kirk

by **Mooselake** » 2015-Jan-Thu-11-Jan

Back to the original question, with the power off, check that both ends of the X carriage are the same distance from the base (so it tracks parallel, use the length gauge on your digital caliper, and turn just one screw to adjust it), then use a thin auto feeler gauge or even a piece of copy paper, and make all 4 corners have the same amount of drag (this is the so-called bed leveling). Lay a good straightedge across each diagonal and check that it's flat and not warped (a few warped beds have escaped the plant). Auto leveling doesn't really work that well.

Rafts came about in the old days, before having a flat aligned bed was understood. Getting the above set right means the head to bed distance is the same everywhere and they're almost never needed anymore.

Kirk

by **thawkins** » 2015-Jan-Thu-13-Jan

motorfiets wrote:Are you sure you have the latest version?

Ok, I have 14.10, it appears to have been put in 14.12 reading through the source code, but its just 6 numbers that set the size of the bed and the printspeed and filament size.

by **JonS** » 2015-Jan-Sun-19-Jan

thawkins wrote:
motorfiets wrote:Only reason why I considered going to Cura is that they have a a preloaded "all setup I assume" profile for the Metal Plus in Cura.

I think the profile in cura is for the original plus, not the metal one. I use Cura and i dont see any metal profile, the setup wizzard mentions a printrbot plus, but not the metal one, and it does not have the autoleveling commands in the start scripts.

Cura 14.12.1 has a profile for the new Metal Plus.

I too switched from Repetier to Cura to get up and running with my Metal Plus quickly. I tried briefly to get Repetier working, but couldn't seem to get the bed coordinates right. After trying to like Cura for a while, I bit the bullet and bought Simplify3D. I rather hoped they'd have a profile for the Metal Plus, as it's listed as compatible on their website. Unfortunately, they only have a few Printrbots (Simple, Jr, ...?) in the configuration wizard. It didn't take me too long to get Simplify3D set up for the Metal Plus though, and now I have dual extruder printing working on it.

by **motorfiets** » 2015-Jan-Tue-22-Jan

PISSED THE F*** OFF!!!

This 3D printer is a piece of junk!! Setup has been IMPOSSIBLE!!!

Does anyone have a PHONE NUMBER to someone at printrbot?? Very close to returning this POS!

by **dsegel** » 2015-Jan-Tue-22-Jan

Printrbot is a very small company; they don't have any telephone support staff.

If you'll be patient and address your issues one at a time I'm sure you can make this work. But keep in mind that the hobby 3D printing industry is still in its early stages, and I don't think any 3D printer company offers a product that just "works" out of the box. Printrbot makes a great product that is well-supported by the community, and they offer spare parts as well, which is something that most others do not.

If you don't get answers here, try http://help.printrbot.com/answers. It's still a community run forum, but it's not as big as this one and your questions are more likely to be seen. If you do post a question, try to be clear and only ask one question at a time.

by **motorfiets** » 2015-Jan-Tue-22-Jan

I've spent countless hours watching every last layer and all I get it crap prints! What makes all this worse is that I promised parts to customers and now my printer is down!!??!??

by **motorfiets** » 2015-Jan-Tue-22-Jan

My issue is I've asked over and over again for a step by step setup of RepetierHost and Slic3r.... but NO ONE has been able to help me with that... I even tried to set everything as default... no luck!

Cura doesn't work for me... it drags the tip across the plate and I can't see half the auto level screen.

I would absolutley love to keep my machine but I need someone to help me set it up!

I tried over and over again to setup the bed level height - Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't... I can't print anything lower than .4 layer height because while printing the first layer the head moves across the part it catches on the part and pulls the hole part up.

Does anyone have a spare hot end extruder they would be willing to sell? I NEED to get parts out the door!

by **ktfergus** » 2015-Jan-Wed-14-Jan

Hey motorfeits, I'm pretty new to this but I'll offer what advice I can. I had a tough time getting my bed height calibrated, until I physically raised the probe about two turns up( before that, I could never seem to get the hot end low enough). In the setup, they supply you with that black plastic spacer, but I found my probe needed to be just a hair higher, when my hot end touched the bed. You might have a similar issue, only in reverse. Also be sure to check the set screws on the z axis coupler (they take an M1.5 allen), one of mine was loose when I got my machine.

As for Repetier, are you running Windows or Mac? I'm on Windows and I'll post some screen shots of a typical print, if you'd like.

by **motorfiets** » 2015-Jan-Wed-14-Jan

Screenshots would be lovely!!!

I've already found numerous bolts loose... :-(

What settings are you using in slic3r?

by **ktfergus** » 2015-Jan-Wed-19-Jan

As I've said, I've only been printing for two weeks so I'm far from being an expert. If anyone with more experience sees anything wrong or missing in the steps below please chime in, I'm still learning as I go...

(This is all based on a Simple Metal with an unheated bed)

When starting a print I open Repetier, which in Windows looks like the screenshot RetireeJay posted above.

I usually click the "Home" button from the "Manual Control" tab. If everything is calibrated correctly it should center the board and lower the hotend just about all the way to the bed. This way, when the bed auto-levels the probe doesn't have to move too far down.

I then load my part; a cube I've printed to check demensional accuracy.

With the part loaded & proper positioned and scaled (using the "Object Placement" tab), I then click on the "Configuration" button in the "Slicer" tab(Since Slic3r is a separate program I usually have to click the button several times before the dialouge box pops up).

Here are shots of the various settings I typically use.

As you can see, I haven't changed much from the settings supplied in the tutorials. I did adjust the extrusion multiplier to 0.8 which increased accuracy for me. I have also set a skirt of two loops for smaller parts so the filament is flowing smoothly by the time the actual part starts to print. As far as layer height goes, I've also used 0.3mm, but haven't tried anything smaller yet. I've read 75% of the nozzle dia is a good rule of thumb.

After adjusting the Slic3r settings, always check that they are the ones selected before you slice your part (I've run several prints with the wrong settings because Repetier doesn't load them automatically) I brought this up in another thread and Thawkins offered a work-around for that issue using Cura, but I haven't ventured away from Slic3r yet.

At this point I slice the part. (I sometimes click the Hotend icon on the "Manual Control"tab to get the hotend heating up while the part is slicing to save a little time.)

With slicing complete, I press "Start Print."

Here's the part commencing.

i Hope this helps,

-Kelly

by **RetireeJay** » 2015-Jan-Wed-20-Jan

Nice job. I'm sure many will appreciate this post to get themselves started.

My only comment would be if you can measure your actual filament diameter accurately, that would help. Sometimes different spools of filament (even the same type from the same vendor) are just a little bit different. The way I measure filament diameter now is to cut off three pieces about 20mm long and measure with the "knife edge" part of my digital calipers. I rotate the filament to find the maximum and minimum readings, and record them. After doing all six measurements, I average them and use that for my filament diameter.

The benefit of doing this is that then you can find an Extrusion Multiplier that gives you the results you want and leave it alone. Just change the filament diameter when changing spools of filament.

Your Extrusion Multiplier of 0.85 is kinda low, indicating maybe that your filament is actually a little bigger than 1.75.

by **motorfiets** » 2015-Jan-Thu-08-Jan

How similar should my settings be for the Metal Plus?

by **ktfergus** » 2015-Jan-Thu-12-Jan

motorfeits, when I clicked on step 3 of the Metal Plus "getting started" section, it took me to the setup for the Simple Metal, so I would assume both printers utilize the same settings.

RJ, thanks for the heads up the checking filament dia vs. mulitplier. That could explain why I had subpar results when I tried different filament.

I forgot to mention in my previous post that I'm using Hatchbox 1.75mm "transparent" black PLA filament for that print

by **motorfiets** » 2015-Jan-Thu-14-Jan

The problem is the simple metal is different enough from my metal plus to make it confusing!

by **MV10** » 2015-Mar-Sun-17-Mar

Motorfiets, I'm right there with you -- I am simply amazed at how terrible and incomplete the instructions are. I just got a pre-assembled Metal Plus with heated bed all plugged in and ready to go. I knew there would be an initial setup process, but I didn't realize that my huge pile of money wouldn't get me a shred of decent information about simply getting it working.

(As for the earlier comment that no 3d printer company sells a product that works out of the box -- the 2nd gen Cube that I just sent home with its new owner was exactly that. No, it wasn't perfect, and the filament lock-in and price-gouging sucked, but it really was plug-and-play.)

Well, back to Google...

by **motorfiets** » 2015-Mar-Mon-08-Mar

MV10!

Yup! I agree 100% with you! This printer has been out since November and STILL no proper documentation... absolutely pathetic!

If you need help with setup let me know... I may be able to help a bit from all the mistakes I've made so far! haha

by **MV10** » 2015-Mar-Mon-13-Mar

Thanks. I think the video suggested by JonS in my "help a n00b" thread over here and the other videos I found should get me started. I don't know why they don't just link to those videos. Looks like they prefer shooting video to writing instructions, so I think they should just run with that...

by **MV10** » 2015-Mar-Mon-17-Mar

Motorfiets, what slic3r settings did you end up with? I'm trying to tweak those now that I seem to have it leveled and it's doing ok on the simple box print.

by **The Virus** » 2015-Mar-Wed-17-Mar

Hey guys,
I just got a Printrbot Metal Plus w/heated bed as well. I'm feeling like a made a huge mistake. I have been printing with a Makerbot Replicator 2 on a job. have printed dozens of useful pieces. Now I have this Printrbot thats spitting out blobs of goop.
ARGHHH
I can't even get it setup properly.
Are the config file (the ones for the metal simple) the correct ones?

by **JonS** » 2015-Mar-Wed-18-Mar

No. The Metal Simple config is not correct for the Metal Plus.

Which software are you using? Cura has a Metal Plus profile that works.

by **The Virus** » 2015-Mar-Wed-18-Mar

I've tried Rep and Cura. Do I need to do that auto probe calibration level procedure ?
the one in Step 2 of the insanely bad Printrbot setup steps

When i try a print with Repetier the printer starts the job, its goes to the corner points then it Un extrudes the filament, literally reverses the filament out of the extruder then begins the print job with no filament.
When using Cura its attempts to print but the flow of the filament isnt consistent, it seem like the nozzle is to high, like 2mm off the bed.

by **JonS** » 2015-Mar-Wed-21-Mar

I stopped trying to set up Repetier and went on to Cura, then Simplify3D, so I can't comment on the settings for that.

You need a G29 command in the startup gcode so that an autolevel procedure is performed. When I installed Cura and selected Printrbot Metal Plus as the printer, that wasn't there.

You need to set up the height of the bed sensor probe to so that the nozzle is a sheet of paper's thickness away from the bed. The instructions for the Simple Metal should help for that.

by **The Virus** » 2015-Mar-Wed-22-Mar

Thx for the reply,

1.You need a G29 command in the startup gcode so that an autolevel procedure is performed. When I installed Cura and selected Printrbot Metal Plus as the printer, that wasn't there.

2.You need to set up the height of the bed sensor probe to so that the nozzle is a sheet of paper's thickness away from the bed. The instructions for the Simple Metal should help for that.

How do I perform steps 1 and 2 in Cura?

THX again

by **frankv** » 2015-Mar-Wed-22-Mar

1. In Cura go to the start/end Gcode, and add G29 in after the G28 as per this screenshot...

Capture.PNG

2. Is done on the printer, not in Cura.
Wind down the the head by hand until a piece of thin paper is just gripped between the nozzle and the bed. Now wind the Z-sensor up until the LED goes out, then wind it down until it just comes on. Hold it in place while tightening the nuts that lock it in place. Wind the head up by hand, then down again and make sure the light comes on just as the nozzle grips the paper. This is fiddly, and it might take several tries to get it right. Go to your printer control software (Repetier Host, Octoprint, whatever) and send G28 Z0 -- the head should go up a little, then down and stop just clear of the bed. Be ready to kill the power if it doesn't stop! When all is well, make sure those nuts don't come loose.

by **The Virus** » 2015-Mar-Wed-23-Mar

Thx again!! printing off a filament wiper now.

by **MV10** » 2015-Mar-Thu-07-Mar

I got everything set up with Rep pretty quickly. I did start by loading the simple metal file from the printrbot site. The only immediate changes were to fix the lowercase G/X/Y in the start-up G-code to uppercase and fix the bed size (254mm) and bed center (127mm). Then I followed the probe leveling video shown in the first youtube video below, then going through the height fine-tuning tests described in the other two videos below. It took maybe 20 minutes once I knew what to do. I need to read up on how to fine-tune things so it is dimensionally accurate but my prints are fairly solid and sharp.

I'd recommend just watching them all the way through one time before starting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpYdzV8MLew
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgVmNuwMH68
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpmgI4OGldw

by **chickenbisket** » 2015-Mar-Thu-02-Mar

frankv wrote:2. Is done on the printer, not in Cura.
Wind down the the head by hand until a piece of thin paper is just gripped between the nozzle and the bed. Now wind the Z-sensor up until the LED goes out, then wind it down until it just comes on. Hold it in place while tightening the nuts that lock it in place. Wind the head up by hand, then down again and make sure the light comes on just as the nozzle grips the paper. This is fiddly, and it might take several tries to get it right. Go to your printer control software (Repetier Host, Octoprint, whatever) and send G28 Z0 -- the head should go up a little, then down and stop just clear of the bed. Be ready to kill the power if it doesn't stop! When all is well, make sure those nuts don't come loose.

This is a much longer, less accurate, and more dangerous way of doing it than following the guide on how Printrbot recommends you set it up. This video is for the simple but the gcode to make it function is exactly the same. In fact most functions between the two are exactly the same, the only real difference in setup should be typing in a larger number for the print area.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgVmNuwMH68

by **frankv** » 2015-Mar-Thu-12-Mar

chickenbisket wrote:This is a much longer, less accurate, and more dangerous way of doing it than following the guide on how Printrbot recommends you set it up.

Hmmm... that was exactly how I set up my 1405 Simple. I'm happy to accept I may not be right, but I believe that what I described is the most accurate way to set up the Z probe. And I'm concerned that maybe I'm inadvertently doing something dangerous. I'm happy to accept that it takes longer, but I think it is *better* than the video (otherwise, obviously, I'd follow the video). In particular, (a) by using the LED to identify the trigger height, I'm using the actual mechanism that the printer uses, and consequently taking out any vagaries in the sensitivity of the sensor and any layers of tape on the bed, and (b) by only setting when winding downward (i.e. the same direction that the printer is moving it when using the sensor), I'm taking out any hysteresis in the Z-axis and in the sensor..

Can you please explain how what I'm doing is less accurate and more dangerous than the video?

Frank

by **mitchejt** » 2015-Mar-Thu-21-Mar

First thing I did on my Plus was to make sure the X axis plate was level. Raise Z about 10mm. With a caliper measure one side. Holding the threaded rod on the side you measured raise or lower the opposite rod until they are even using the measured caliper. Then set the Z sensor.

by **motorfiets** » 2015-May-Thu-15-May

selling the printrbot.... been more frustrating to use than good. See selling section on forum for details.

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