I start my Blog with Success!

Hello everyone and welcome to my Blog.

This is going to look the wrong way around as this first Blog entry documents some initial printing success with my home-made RepStrap printer (a Repstrap is a lashed together 3D printer with the aim to print enough parts to make a real Reprap printer) - See - http://www.reprap.org/wiki/Main_Page

So here we go - 

Very late on Sunday I got my Repstrap to print. Here are some photos from its very first go.

I had the nozzle/bed clearance calibrated with sheets of paper as I don’t have easy adjustment yet and in my excitement I didn’t do a test-run so I was slightly alarmed when the nozzle moved down at the start into my Polycarbonate build surface, I should have remembered that Mendel has it’s zero position just off to the side of the build-bed!

I then thought it was not working after waiting a long time at the dump position, by that point I was very tired and about to turn it all off… then movement!

Here is what I ended up with about 10mins later – 

I think some of the discoloration is due to excess material from where one wall snapped off (removed that bit), but after a while the spare material started making a bit of a mess so I stopped it and went to bed.

It also seems quite fused to the PC bed, so maybe the bottom layer was a bit to close, maybe melted into the PC?

Registration looks ok, no missed steps?

Microscope close-up looks like the walls are well fused? 

Do you think enough material is being extruded? Or too much?

Setup –

Reprap Host Software - http://www.reprap.org/wiki/Installing_RepRap_on_your_computer

5D Firmware - http://www.reprap.org/wiki/Microcontroller_firmware_installation

Extruder hot-end - Hybrid PEEK/PTFE from Brian (http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?1,36084) ,really glad I bought this bit, works well.

Extruder drive – Not geared, loosely based on a basic 8mm direct-pinch drive grip – NEMA17.

Accelerations - OFF

Natural ABS – set to 243 Deg C.

3mm Polycarb bed and 18mm MDF. 

OK, If you are not very impressed with the above effort, this is what it should have looked like -  

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3462

I’m going to try to refine and calibrate it now, so any suggestions welcome, I then need to print a Geared extruder!

RichRap.