Need some guidance on my new M2

[dklassen]

Got everything up and running. The bed was a bit out of level so I got that corrected. Couple things though. When I first print it dumps a bunch of filament off the side before it begins, how do I turn that off? I'm also trying to nudge the extruder down a bit using Z offset and it doesn't seem to change a thing on the printer side. I also noticed I have it set to print a skirt but it seems to ignore the setting and doesn't print a skirt. Am I missing something?

I'm using Simplify3D.

[jimc]

ok #1, when the extruder moves off the bed it will push 20mm of filament out. this is the purge cycle. you want it to do this. all printers that i have ever seen run a purge cycle. this cycle is the start gcode in your s3d process. you can change it if you want but i advise against it. as for the skirt, in s3d if the skirt box is checked then it should print the skirt to the values you have it set to. default should be 2 outlines, 2 layers and i think an offset of 4mm or so. for the z-offset, to keep the confusion to a min lets keep in mind that the extruder stays in place and the bed moves up and down so are you trying to move the bed down to increase gap or raise the bed to close the gap? as a new m2 owner, to keep things simple, keep the offsets in s3d at 0 and adjust the z-stop bolt on the machine. i know the paper and business card thing is usually recommended but since those are standard measurements i would recommend you get yourself a set of feeler gauges. set the gap to .005" as a good start point. for the z-bolt, take it out of the machine and thread it in from the bottom up with the jam nut on the underside of the bed. just the shaft of the screw should be pointing at the switch. take an m4 nylock nut and screw it on to the end of the screw seating the threads about 1/2 way into the nylon lock. now the nut will contact the switch. now you can fine tune your gap with a 7mm wrench from the top of the bed just by giving the nylock nut a small turn. 1/2 a flat on the nut will be close to .05mm bed gap. here is a link to a file i made to help fine tune level and adjust the gap.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:180970

[dklassen]

Thanks, getting pretty close now. Don't have a feeler gauge but I was able to get it mechanically close and finally got the last little bit tweaked with the Z offset. I've never seen the purge thing as my only experience so far is with my Printrbot Simple Metal and I've never had to do that. I basically use the skirt as a purge.

[Tim]

The skirt makes a decent purge, but I still think the initial purge and wipe off of the plate edge is useful. Anyway, as Jim said, it's all in the gcode start block, so you can reduce it or remove it if you like (Simplify3D purges way more than I like; I have been meaning to go in and modify the start block myself to reduce the purge amount).

Also note that what some of us do instead of adjusting the bed height with the bolt is to just leave the bed a bit below the level it's supposed to be at, and then during the skirt printing, adjust it up a notch or two as needed by manually turning the Z knob. The easiest way to tell if there's enough clearance is to watch the plastic being put down and see whether it's getting squished down the way it's supposed to, and sticking firmly to the bed. At one point, I installed an LED strip in the M2, thinking that in addition to lighting up the print, it would help me see better when doing bed leveling. I've found that the opposite is true. The LEDs make it harder to tell when the bed is properly leveled, probably due to reflections off of the bottom of the glass.

[Capt. John]

Making spare extruder drives and extruder motor mounts are good and necessary practice.

ABS is the recommended material, keep infill less than 25% and shrinkage is not near as bad trying
to print ABS with a 100% infill.

Paper and a business card work, but I like feeler gauges and a dial indicator to set bed level.
Dial indicator model is on Thingiverse, along with several .175 extruder drives.

The hot end will build up residue and clog sooner or later, having spare hot ends is a must.

My parts/models have a small footprint. Aquanet super hold in the spray can does me right
as a bonding agent to the bed.

Most importantly is the skill level of many of our advanced members that offer advice to
get you on the right track asap!