I3 M201 building platform and Z axis

[3eyesd]

hello ,
i have purchased a DIY i3 m201 printer , acrylic.
i have it about 10 days now , since 24/1/2017
i have put it all together and every part is working
extruders are working , heated bed is working ,nozzle heater is working , lcd screen is working ,X axis are working ok , Y axis are working ok , fans are working, leds are working ok .

the building platform , is bended at the center according the X axis and Y axis movement of the printing head .when i calibrate it at the edges ,going to the center of the platform there is a gap which is getting bigger at the middle . it is about 1 to 1,5 mm
i put the platform at a glass surface and it clicks when i touch it (that means that it is not perfectly flat ) but there is no gap with the platform and the glass that looks like it is 1 mm .

after contacting with geeetech through ebay , they offered to send a new building platform , but before that , i think is better to get out of the way next problem with left Z axle .



Z axis are not working so good , i have to unscrew the screws to be lose at part No16 from left Z axis axle because it is getting in the way if it is screwed tight and Z axis dont move .left motor is trying to move but it cant when screws are tight .
even with this settings , it has a little shuttered movement at some heights , at the beginning , and at about 5 cm .

i took out rods and part No16 from left Z axle and test it and is moving flawless out of the machine .

an other thing , is that i can not keep both Z axis aligned , even if i put them at the same height , after one move up and then home Z ,they get uneven . i tried to switch the rods that are attached to the servos .

i also pulled up a little left Z axle with the help of the coupling (No48 that gives movement from the servo to the metallic rod of the Z axis .
that looks to help a little .


i am using repetier last version with slic3r , i also set up the repetier server mode so i can send prints from other computers .



this is my first print , and since then prints are getting worst
http://imgur.com/a/Pw7ms
here is a video of printing the above cube (2x2)
https://sendvid.com/je0vuu0d

i am tired of trying and reading general staff from the internet so any help is more than welcome .

thank you


*pictures are from a greek forum where i am describing my experience of getting my first 3d printer.

[3eyesd]

i m still around , i intend to spend a long period of my life with 3d printing , so any guidance would "start me up" to try something
thank you

[3eyesd]

by the way , is there a setting at Easy Print (i have not tried it yet ) to set two color/dual extruder printing (not the fillings or any other standard printing stage ) ? in Repetier , i have not found it (yet )

[3eyesd]

an idea that just came to me but not for solution to my little problems , is that it might be better to have the parking position at the right side , to get the weight even, because when it is left and the X axis motor is also left , there is uneven weight at one side of the structure .

i just made two videos with poor quality , but from the sound you can hear if the Z rods and X rods are straight enough

https://sendvid.com/z800wdt3

https://sendvid.com/d82caizj

the first 4 rods are the Z axis rods .
and the 2 last are the X axis rods .


2 more videos that presents that at least one Z rod is ok for sliding (and the other is ok too) but when it is the structure on it ,the left Z axle finds difficulties at at least two positions climbing up .

https://sendvid.com/atvwwzcl

https://sendvid.com/92v6s2l2

[3eyesd]

i took a video trying to specify the problem of Z axis to specific parts .

at the right Z axle , i put the lead rod and it slides down through Z axis nut like it should .the 4 screws at part No16 (Z axis nut) are tight .

https://sendvid.com/i4wqz826

at the left side of Z axis , i try the same but if the screws are tight , the lead rod does not slide and does not goes into part No16 (Z axis nut ) . so i unscrew ,to be lose ,the 4 bolts that are holding this piece (No16).
and with a little help , slightly changing the angle of part No16 with my finger , since the screws are lose , the rod slides down just from gravity , like the right Z rod does .


both Z axis nuts are working good with lead rods out of the machine .

[bang]

Hi,
How is everything going now?
What is the main issue you are having now?

[3eyesd]

hi bang ,
everything is pointing to that it is gonna work right , but not right and now

the basic problem is of course the aluminum building platform,which is bend toward the center (thats why the only print i did that looks that almost became something is at the edge of the platform ) . at geeetech-official from ebay offered to send one to replace it immediately (so that looks like it is fixed in the present future)

i bought a glass but was too thick , 0,5 cm and i didnt manage to print on it . i also used (i think it was pva ) a glue with no success.

the left axle where i describe at above posts, if i move the Z axis some times up and down , there are two positions at left lead rod ,that even with the 4 screws lose at left Z nut , brakes a little and it loses tiny steps compared to the right axle .so it looks like it needs continues calibration .

if the 4 screws are tight , left Z lead axle it does not move at all .

i dont know what to check , in case something else in the structure causes this .every thing else looks ok .

at the printed object i have in the pictures, looks like Y axis had lose some steps and not Z because the most misplace is vertical , i think that i had the Y axis belt lose then .
i havent manage to print anything better than this.
the more i try the printings get worse

i was expecting a bit of disappointment through the process of building my first 3d printer

[3eyesd]

i was looking at the step motors and i was thinking to replace them and i found a post in this site that is about motors and a discount they made about their power
https://www.geeetech.com/forum/viewtopi ... 17&t=17935
my printer is based on 42SHD0034-20B step motors


i have and other problems , like when i have two fillings but only use one of them (have not tried to use two fillings at the same time ) , the other is melting and it becomes thicker and then the extruders are not able to move it back or forth the second filling , so i have to pull it out by hand and cut the melted part . if there is no second filling from extruder #2 , then the first filling jams the second hole with the same results .

i am starting to think that it might be a good solution to send back the printer and stop waisting my time with this one .

[bang]

So it sounds like the 3-in-1-out nozzle can't handle the mixer filament properly?

[3eyesd]

hi again bang

i dont know
mine is a 2 filaments in 1 nozzle and does not look like it does it good enough .
here is a picture of the printing head from geeetech

and here is what is happening



any suggestions about anything that can guide me to try something are welcome