[BHudson @bhudson]

@streatsi Very nice! I have noticed that Cura does better than Slic3r on several things. I will have to try more parts like that when I get a chance.

[BHudson @bhudson]

@makerjosh It sounds to me like your print head is loose or the wiring is loose. There are four places you can check:

1. The head attachment screw on the back. Make sure the Robox is turned off. Push the head back into the head carrier and tighten the screw on the back to make sure it is retained.

2. On the back of the head carrier are two cables: a 2-wire power cable and a ribbon cable. I am guessing the two-wire cable may not be seated properly at either the head carrier or the Robox wall. Check these three places and make sure the cables are seated.

If you need more help, I am happy to provide it, either by Skype or by phone. If you want to go to email, mine is ben at bahudson dot com

 

[BHudson @bhudson]

@jabberwocky A waterjet or laser should be pretty easy to use to cut the Geckotec. It is just the cost of the setup that is going to be prohibitive. Waterjet in my area starts at about 100.00.

If you have access to a dial indicator, I can send you an STL file for a mount that will let you probe your bed and see how far it is out of flat. The bed on my Beta unit is within .007 inches of flat, which is within tolerance. My new production printer is .020 inches high to low and that is pushing things. I think I will be requesting a new bed.

I found that the first set of PEI sheets that came with my Beta printer were not very consistent in thickness nor in size. I have since received new sheets in the Beta update box that greatly improved the quality of the PEI sheet and made a huge difference. They are slightly larger and make a tighter fit in the bed. They are hard to install correctly, but they don’t bow and they stay put. I am guessing that much of your uneven bed may be due to the PEI sheet not fitting right and less with actual bed unevenness. The Beta beds were all machined and hand-finished, so they should be pretty flat. The new ones are bead-blasted and they aren’t as even.

[BHudson @bhudson]

@jabberwocky I have not yet received anything from GeckoTec. They told me they couldn’t cut it to fit the new bed contour, but they told someone else they could. So I ordered one sized for the old bed and one for the new bed and I guess I will cut it to shape by hand.

[BHudson @bhudson]

@smitty It was when I bought it. But that was just for the Kickstarter basic version. The final price of mine will be closer to 800 after upgrades. The retail price right now is 1200, I think.

[BHudson @bhudson]

I have three Robox units now and a CobbleBot coming in a couple of months. The reasons I have mor ethan one:

1. Multiple simultaneous prints. The Robox allows you to start one print and unplug the printer. You can then move on to another printer and start another print. It also allows faster turn-around in production parts.

2. Versatility - I can run prints with different materials without having to change filament. I use some exotic filaments like BronzeFill and when your filament is over 100.00 USD per pound, it makes sense not to change the filament unless you have to.

3. The Robox is great for smaller pieces. I have ordered the CobbleBot because it allows parts up to 15 inches on a side to be printed or will allow a large number of smaller parts to be printed at the same time.

4. Cost - The printer and material cost for FDM printers like Robox is considerably smaller than SLS or lithography printers. While there are some disadvantages, I find that they can be overcome with intelligent design and material choice.

[BHudson @bhudson]

@jack-strong It looks like the head is moving the bed up and down while printing. I put a thin piece of PTFE on the bottom runners of my bed and it has been pretty solid. You should also pull the bottom panel and check that the mounting screws are all tight.

[BHudson @bhudson]

@clicky you won’t get away from warping with that design. The solid layers are going to shrink and pull up the corners. The only way I have found to get around it is not to use PLA or ABS and instead use T-Glase or _XT. For some reason, the polyester materials don’t warp much if at all. I think you are doing well with that little bit of warping. You may also try a brim, that may give you enough hold-down force to overcome the shrinking and warping, but I have seen the brim pulled up as well.

[BHudson @bhudson]

@drfrei There is a small protrusion on the bed that slides over a lever on the inside floor of the Robox and opens the lock lever. If the protrusion on your bed has been damaged, it will not unlock the door.

Another possibility is that there is something that is stopping the bed from coming all the way forward. This could be the small lever on the front of the bed that releases the PEI sheet.

See the pictures below for how the lock release works. If you don’t have the door open button, click the “Home” button to tell the system to zero itself. Then you should be able to use the “Open” button, unless there is a bug in your software install that is removing that button. If so, after homing you should be able to use the bed motion buttons to move the bed all the way forward and release the door. After a print, the bed should move into the door release position automatically.

If this doesn’t fix it, reply back and I will help you solve the issue if I can. I know that the support que is long, so if we can deal with your issue without a support request it will be better for everyone.

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[BHudson @bhudson]

I use CA glue, or super glue, for most joints. There is a gel form that works better for porous surfaces such as felt.

[BHudson @bhudson]

@paulsroom Yes, you end up with a small lip on the bottom surface of the parts. I use a sharp hobby knife to trim this brim from the parts so they fit. It is a small price for having successful prints consistently.

[BHudson @bhudson]

@ smitty This is the only place I have seen iridescent colors so far: http://coex3d.com/shop/?filter_filament-diameter=17&filter_polymer-type=16&filtering=1

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