Messages

16

General Discussion / Z-Temp HE PTFE tube maintenance

« on: August 28, 2016, 07:27:39 PM »

Hi Julia,

Nothing is wrong; just wondering about the expected life of the PTFE tube at max rated temps or a little above.

My Z-Temp HE is printing fine using various PLAs, UltraT, Z-ABS, etc. However, my readings say the Zortrax M200 prints UltraT at ~260℃, Z-ABS at closer to 275℃ with thermal overruns even higher.

I now have a reason to print quite a bit of Z-ABS:
a. In rough terms, what has your experience been regarding the life of the PTFE tube at those temps?
b. What are the symptoms when the PTFE has seriously degraded?

Tnx,

Jeff

17

News and Announcements / Re: Z-Sense Now Shipping!

« on: August 19, 2016, 04:47:47 PM »

Wow! My Z-Sense came in the mail a short time ago and my printer is already running.

After a 5 minute install (I really mean 5 minutes, not one of those jobs where two hours later I'm still working and the family is still learning new words) the initial calibration took at most another minute. After using a thin (.08mm/.003") paper shim to set the nozzle height for ABS, I selected a part file and said print. My M200 did its usual nozzle height routine and started printing exactly as always. Next I'll try the "one turn clockwise" thing and print PLA but even if I had to re-cal with the nozzle on a .5mm shim that's a dead-easy 30 sec job.

For anyone who wonders, if it ever became necessary to remove Z-Sense it would take about 2 minutes (3 screws) and then the machine would appear dead stock.

Your designs are well thought out, simple and elegant, which is not always easy. Thanks again, Julia.

Jeff

18

General Discussion / Re: Shifting the origin?

« on: August 07, 2016, 08:19:40 AM »

Thanks for your reply. I'd like to try Nanodax GWPP. Please let us know when you complete the sale arrangements.

19

Materials Compatibility / Re: PolyMax Strings between parts

« on: August 06, 2016, 09:58:06 AM »

Wow! Great work, Mike.

20

General Discussion / Re: Shifting the origin?

« on: August 06, 2016, 09:55:03 AM »

Is Nanodax GWPP filament actually for sale anywhere?

21

General Discussion / Re: Shifting the origin?

« on: August 03, 2016, 08:41:24 AM »

Check for loose set screws on the belt drive pulley of the axis that shifted. Assuming the photo shows the part as it was on the print bed, that would be the X-axis. 

22

General Discussion / Re: So does the Z-Temp HE make it unable to use official Zortrax filament?

« on: July 25, 2016, 09:53:16 AM »

Here's that link by VipeR: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/598b1gru0zxsnfw/AAAEiTsEcxnfIEfc44mMb5wYa?dl=0

23

News and Announcements / Re: Save Your Ribbon Cable!

« on: July 20, 2016, 06:46:08 PM »

Printed it in black HIPS (because I had it), broke off the support and installed it. Viola! It fit first try with absolutely no fiddling. Amazing! Thanks a bunch, Julia.

24

Materials Compatibility / Re: Nanodax Glass-Wool-Filled-Polypropylene

« on: June 25, 2016, 10:46:07 AM »

Cool! Thanks for the first-hand info, Julia. When available, I'd like to try it for a project I have in mind.

As an old machinist (emphasis on the "old") in another life, I wouldn't be surprised if you find it abrasive and hard on nozzles. OTOH, with your ZT-HE nozzles at $5 ea., that's NBD.

25

News and Announcements / Re: Z-Suite 1.6 is out, but...

« on: June 22, 2016, 09:13:53 AM »

To any other Mac users who have installed Z-Suite version 1.6 and want to return to 1.5.1:

Unfortunately, Zortrax seems to have taken down version 1.5.1 but a copy of the package is attached. 

26

News and Announcements / Re: Z-Suite 1.6 is out, but...

« on: June 22, 2016, 08:18:42 AM »

Me too. Plus, it takes nearly two full minutes for the program to boot on my Mac Pro. Double-clicking or right-click/opening a file doesn't work. The only way I've found to open a file is to drag & drop it into Z-Suite. And if slicing performance has been "enhanced" I can't see a change.

Sadly buggy. Doesn't Zortrax even test before release? I'm going back to 1.5.1. That slices agonizingly slowly but at least it works.

27

General Discussion / Re: So does the Z-Temp HE make it unable to use official Zortrax filament?

« on: June 05, 2016, 01:29:27 PM »

I printed a 20mm Z-ABS test cube before starting to install the Z-Temp mods, then again after the Z-Temp unit, bed heat switch, ZT-HE and the insulating blanket were in place. For the latter I sliced with the Z-ABS profile then used zero Z-Temp offset and full bed heat (position 3). Admittedly, 20mm cubes aren't the most stringent test but if there is any significant difference between the before and after cubes and a baseline cube I printed weeks ago I can't see it.

In the attached photo the baseline cube is on the left, before is center and after is on the right. If anything, the one on the right looks very slightly better under a glass. All three measure the same with sides being an avg. of about 19.949mm. Close enough!

28

General Discussion / Re: So does the Z-Temp HE make it unable to use official Zortrax filament?

« on: June 05, 2016, 09:21:38 AM »

I'm sure Julia will answer this but FWIW, during the limited time I've been using the Z-Temp and ZT-HE my Zortrax M200 has printed Z-ABS and Z-UltraT at least as well as it did before I installed them. BTW, I figured "in for a penny" so I also added the extruder block insulating blanket.

PS - Check your upper (cool-end) fan. I apparently damaged mine and experienced rafts that were impossible to remove and some stringing.

29

General Discussion / Re: Upper fan issue.

« on: June 04, 2016, 05:26:18 PM »

BTW, ccc's dual fan mount does fit the ZT-HE with the insulating blanket on it. And with even a moderate amount of slack in its heater/thermocouple cables, the ZT-HE drops out easily for maintenance or replacement.

30

General Discussion / Re: Upper fan issue.

« on: June 04, 2016, 03:00:27 PM »

I guess this is the conclusion to the thread I started a few days ago:

I just finished (a) replacing my damaged upper fan with the OEM lower one and (b) installing ccc's double print fan mount with two Noctua 40 X 10 12vdc units. Happy days - my M200/Z-Temp/ZT-HE just delivered a very successful test print from the same PLA material that gave me fits before - rafts that were completely unremovable unless I printed at 190℃, no bed heat, 100% fan and even then I had to cut and peel them off. This time I printed at a more nominal 200℃ and the raft "snapped" off easily in one piece. WooHoo!

Since I did everything in one swell foop I can't tell if this improvement was due to replacing the cool-end fan or from adding an extra print fan but my spidey sense says the badly injured cool-end fan was the issue. Whatever, I'm a happy camper.