After having my Zortrax M200 for a couple of weeks, I finally received my Z-Temp kit as well (international shipping caused a huge delay)
I decided to document the upgrade process and run a test print after each part to verify that everything still works fine.
Currently the printer was mostly unmodified with just some plexiglass windows/doors added to each side - I wanted to still be able to access every side if needed, so have 3 doors. It's far from airtight, but should be enough to stop any breeze and keep most of the heat in.
I still have to add an additional extruder fan.
Currently I only have official Zortrax filament to work with, but decided to use it all through to see if the Z-Temp components make any difference
The following components were installed:
- Z-Temp
- Z-Temp Bed Heat Control
- ZT-HE
- Extruder Block Insulator
I used one of the models that came on the SD card for a buckle(Attached). Material used was Z-ULTRAT - Nude colour
(I received along it with the printer and couldn't think of any other case where I wanted to use this colour)
A test print was done before/after each part installation:
I - Before any modification
II - Installed Z-Temp
III - Installed Bed Heat Controller
IV - Nothing installed, but tried printing with temperature offset by -10ºC
V - ZT-HE plus Insulator
Some notes I made during each step:
-During the installation of the Bed Heat Controller, the instructions refer to a page on the Zortrax support site to replace the ribbon cable, but it's also not required to remove the build plate during this, as you only need to open up the bottom cover - just unplug, tilt the printer on it's side, remove screws, remove the bottom cover and unplug the fan
-Don't put the bed heat controller in the very last side hole (see attached Bed_Heat for a better position) unless you want to remove that side's rubber foot every time you plan on opening the bottom cover.
-Since I removed the build plate, I auto-leveled it again after replacing it back. No adjustments were necessary
-Once the bed temp controller was installed, I noticed that Z-ULTRAT prints at around 260ºC. This is right around the maximum recommended temperature tor the ZT-HE PTFE tube. While it could probably withstand some brief occasional temperatures around or slightly above this(During extruder heating and filament replacement), I didn't want it to go over this temperature all the time, so decided to test an extra print with the Z-Temp set to -10ºC. Aside from literally one piece of string on a support(which could have happened to any print, no matter the temp), I noticed no visual difference, but the raft actually came off from the build plate and a little easier! After this I used this temperature setting for all later prints, which had no stringing.
-Before installing the ZT-HE, I unloaded the filament, during which a glob of it got stuck in the extruder gear(which I only noticed afterwards when trying to load it again). After installation I noticed a different plastic-y smell and worried that the PTFE tube may have reached a temperature that's too high, but this dissipated after a minute and I haven't noticed it on any subsequent prints
-For the last print after everything was installed (V) - I got a little too zealous trying to remove supports and managed to clip a tiny part out of the buckle itself(middle left on top of the upside down V in the picture) with pliers - this was not a printing error
-Edit: Forgot to mention being a bit confused at first on how to put on the extruder block insulator, but then figured out that the square-ish cutout bit at one end is supposed to be for easy access to the screws holding the heater and thermocoupler
Overall I found the process to be extremely quick and simple, but also allowed me to learn a lot of hou the printer is put together and how to perform maintenance on the parts. Now off to get some additional filament materials to play around with!
