groaning sound and other stuff

Support&troubleshooting Zortrax M200
#1

hey guys, I have had my printer a few weeks now and love it for many reasons....BUT

(when facing the printer) when the print head is in the far right, and to the front, it makes a 'groaning' sound... rather, it creates a vibration...that I can hear...and then can be seen on the print, as little ripples....if the part is in that spot....far right, and to the front.

it sounds like my 'rods' binding.....due to a misalignment..I thought it might settle down, as it settled in a bit...but this has not happened, and vibration  / noise still is present. any ideas on a fix??...maybe move to that position, loosen and re-set / re-tighten something??

also raft is LESS dense, on very first pass that touches raft plate, than my UP printer can be....I never used ABS goo on my UP ever...but have to use it on the Z raft plate almost every time....if the very first raft layer could be adjusted, so the lines were closer, we would have more surface area of little 'plugs' sitting in the raft and thus great 'stick' power and less raft lift...as raft does seem to lift much easier than it ever did on my up printer...

yes it would take even more time, and use more plastic, but at least if we could adjust it, like we can on the up, I could use this when I needed it....

bigger build plates mean more parts per plate,  for me, but also more plastic used per plate...and in 3-4 go's, my full  my spool is gone...

so sometimes hits hard to know if I will RUN OUT, and get a failed print plate.....I really do need a way to see if I will run out, or a end of filament alarm....again something we could track on the 'UP'....

one idea would be a simple arduino that sensed a micro switch on the filament feed....when filament feed runs dry, when the 'micro switch' is triggered, that then electronically  'pushes' the rotatory encoder on the Z, so to pause the print. and give me a chance to change the spool

don't want to hack my Z so won't do that...but start w one that just made a noise and hopefully I get there in time to change...its only a small issue, but a issue that could be helped in software all the same...

prints are fantastic!! it did not think it could be that good, so many thx to your team!!!

best regards

Kerry

#2

Can't help with the noise or rod alignment, sorry. I have a couple of Ups as well, and I find the Zortrax raft works just as well as the Up's - I use Elmer's office-grade glue stick before every print on both printers. I find the M200's auto-level feature is less than perfect, and I don't use it. I get the plate close to tram by eye (move the head around by hand with power off), then do final fine adjustments by looking at the first raft layer as it goes down - adjust the screws for more or less constant thickness at all locations. Once it's set properly it doesn't have to be touched for months at a time, if ever.

#3

SAme here, you must have leveling issue maybe a bowed up platform that has been treated over the forum like a thousand times, there is even a guide to do it.

#4

thx for the quick reply's...I was trusting the auto level, rather than my eye....good point Julia, I could see where it was closer, raft pushed in harder, or less harder in different spots....

I will use the 'no power eye adj method', see how I go...;)

#5

Auto level works perfect for me. Just make sure your bed is flat and not bulging up in the middle. You might need to take the plate off and remove the plastic that has accumulated under the build plate. 

If you clean the build plate with acetone (and never touch it with your bare hands, use the gloves!) prints should stick just fine. A very thin layer of ABS goo can help to make very large prints stick better.

And about the noise: Did you grease all the rods? 

#6

always a learning curve to find the sweet spot on any new machine....yep, used supplied lube to, lube the rods....I will work it out....;)