First impressions of the Zortrax and some bugs

I just received my Zortrax printer today.  I'm an experienced 3D printer.  I owned a CubeX Duo (junk) and still own a Lulzbot TAZ (ehh...), MakerGear M2 (very good) and a Form1+ (good) and have been 3D printing for a couple of years now.  I redesigned the M2 printer to increase the build volume by 60% and to allow heating the build volume up to 90C without damaging the electronics or mechanical systems.  While I'm finalizing that build I wanted a printer to keep printing using FDM and, after a lot of research, the Zortrax won out over the Ultimaker2.  I never use the TAZ anymore because the print quality is relatively poor and the print fail rate is over 50% for my machine.  The Form1+ makes very high resolution prints but the plastic is very brittle and not nearly as strong as FDM prints, the build volume is only 4.9"x4.9"x6.5" (if you try to print taller than 4" the fail rate goes up exponentially), and the resin is about 4x as expensive not to mention you have to replace the build tray after every 0.6-1.0 liters of resin which adds another $65.  Think of it as having to pay $215 per kilogram for filament :-O

I printed one object on the Zortrax today and I was VERY impressed with the quality and strength of the part.  I'm looking forward to exploring the limits of this machine.  It certainly printed the object with better quality than I was able to get with any of my other FDM machines.  I'm also very impressed with the rigid design of the machine. the metal metal box shape really makes the rigidity of this machine very good.  I really like the overall design of the machine in almost every aspect.

Other than the bed leveling sequence, the "issues" below aren't a big deal but I thought I'd bring them up since first impressions are pretty important, especially for novice users.  Leveling the bed is probably the only issue that seemed like a step backwards from my MakerGear M2 machine, which was very easy to quickly level, even to the tolerances required for very thin layer prints..

Issues I've noticed so far:

1.  The firmware allowed me to manually run the bed into the print nozzle.  This was after I went through the bed leveling sequence.  That should never be able to happen.  Not a big deal now that I'm aware of it but it did force me to have to go through the leveling sequence again and it deflected the build platform by a few millimeters.  I was concerned it was going to damage the platform but everything seems fine.

2.  Firmware typo... The firmware says, "xxx side is too low.  Please turn xxx knob ---at--- clockwise direction and push the button".  You need to replace the "at" with "in the" for it to read correctly.

3.  Lights - The lights are too dim and are not white enough I.E. they are very blueish.  I still have to use an additional light to see what's going on.  I'll replace the lights with brighter LED's.  

  1.  Lights - The firmware doesn’t allow the user to turn the lights on or off when a print is running.  If there’s some reason that can’t be done through the firmware then a simple switch on the front would be nice.  I’m going to add a switch to my machine.  

5.  I tried to print the carabiner that came loaded on the SD card and it got about 20% through the print then the bed lowered like the machine thought the print was complete.  I'm not sure what happened there but I printed a file of my own next and it worked fine. 

 
6.  The bed leveling sequence is a step backwards from my M2.  When you support the bed using 3 points (which is the only good way to do it) it adds a great deal of time if you try to level the bed anywhere other than directly above the 3 points of support. If you calibrate directly above each point of support then moving one adjusting screw has very little effect on the height of the bed at the other two positions.  Anytime you try to calibrate using a point not directly above one of the three mounting points you will have to adjust all three screws to bring that one point in.  You end up "chasing your tail" and it takes much longer because many iterations are required.
 

A MUCH faster method would be to touch off over top of one point.  That point does not need to be adjustable since it becomes the datum.  Next, move to one of the other two mount points and simply have the user adjust the screw until the bed touches the nozzle.  Then repeat for the last mounting point.  Two rounds of this and the bed will be as level as it can possibly be.  

My guess is that you may be trying to use an algorithm that takes bed warp into account but IMO it would be better to level the platform THEN check multiple points to see if the bed is warped.  If the bed is warped then indicate that it needs to be fixed by the user via the screen dialog or redesign the bed so that doesn't happen.  

If you believe that the method you are using is the best compromise to account for build plate warpage then at least tell the user how much to turn each screw I.E. 1/4 turn CCW, or 1 turn CW, etc...  That would remove a lot of the blind guessing that happens and should allow a very precise level even using points outside the mount points in just a few moves (assuming someone knows how to derive the equations needed to write the math algorithm)

So far I'm so happy with the first print that these other issues don't really bother me much.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what all this machine can do.  

Hi Tshulthise! Welcome to the Zortrax community!

Good general overview!

In regards to:

3- afaik the lights are multicolor. I think zortrax mentioned one time that it might eventually change color depending on the print phases…or maybe it can be adjusted by the user later.

4- I can switch them off in the menu under settings.

5- that is something that could cause you trouble later. Please inform zortrax support asap. Other people have seen the same bug lately and it sucks when it happens in the 15th hour of a16hr print… This issue was very prominent on 1st gen printers and was solved back then by replacing the LCD board (it also helped to insulate all metal parts of the LCD board that get in contact with the printer housing). But you already have the newest LCD …so as far as I’m informed it still not clear yet what’s causing the issue on the latest printers.

6- agree! But most experienced zortrax users just level manually. I haven’t used the menu cal readout for a long time.

Another problem with bed leveling: you turn the thumb nuts to level, however the screws themselves aren't captive, so they can turn along with the thumb nuts. You can turn them many revolutions this way and not get anywhere. The screws really should be captive.

5. All the files preloaded are corrupted. Hope Z work this out soon. Not a good look!!!  Nothing wrong with your printer.

Andre... I can turn the lights on and off in the menu settings but not after I start a print.  I don't see a way to access the menu once a print starts.  That means you have to leave the light setting where it was when you started a print until it finishes.  Not a big deal at all but worth a firmware update at some point.

Its funny, I didn't even consider leveling manually like I've always done.  I guess I had it in my head that if it has electronic leveling then I need to do it that way ;-)  Question there... does the machine use the z offset from the last automatic leveling event or does it touch off to calibrate z before each print?  Using rafts it may not matter that much but I'm curious.

The printer is working like a champ.  I’m very pleased with my purchase.  I’ve kept it busy pretty much 24/7 since I received it Saturday and not a single problem yet.

The printer contacts on each print to find Z, and as far as I know the calibration points are not stored for use. So manual calibration should be all you need.

It checks Z before each print. Even with raft it would cause a problem. If the nozzle is too close to the bed while printing raft, it won't extrude. Too much resistance for stepper. The calibration is just a function so you can make adjustments to bed if need be.

5.  I tried to print the carabiner that came loaded on the SD card and it got about 20% through the print then the bed lowered like the machine thought the print was complete.  I'm not sure what happened there but I printed a file of my own next and it worked fine.

If this happen again try to remove and insert card around 10 times, seems that card contacts was oxidized a little and then printer totally lost connection with the card.

Best Regards

Martin

If this happen again try to remove and insert card around 10 times, seems that card contacts was oxidized a little and then printer totally lost connection with the card.

Best Regards

Martin

Martin, I've seen this on virtually every machine. I suggest you also check the file.

The preloaded files were fine on my printer - nothing wrong with the files. Can you read them in a PC?

They weren't worth messing with so I just moved on and didn't try them again.  I haven't had any problems with my own files.  Lovin this printer so far.