Need help with printing tiny parts

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boxermegan
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Re: Need help with printing tiny parts

Post by boxermegan » Sat Jun 07, 2014 3:50 pm

Wow, Toby - I think that would work. It doesn't really have to be strong, just stay intact and hold it's shape. I will try it as soon as I get my printer back up and running. The extruder motor mount has cracked.

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Tim
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Re: Need help with printing tiny parts

Post by Tim » Sat Jun 07, 2014 3:54 pm

The extruder motor mount has cracked.
Hmm, now where have I heard that before?

I fixed mine with 2-part epoxy and I'm still using the same mount.

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Re: Need help with printing tiny parts

Post by Toby » Sat Jun 07, 2014 4:56 pm

Here's the .factory file I used in case that will help with your settings. (Unzip and open in S3D using File->Open or ctrl-o.) I used Makergear PLA. The main thing is the speed being very slow, but also it's probably necessary to have the extrusion multiplier dialed in for whatever filament you're using.
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gear.zip
(4.71 KiB) Downloaded 471 times

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jimc
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Re: Need help with printing tiny parts

Post by jimc » Sat Jun 07, 2014 5:08 pm

if your mount is cracked, its abs so solvent bond it back together long enough to print a new one to replace it.

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Re: Need help with printing tiny parts

Post by Toby » Sat Jun 07, 2014 6:11 pm

The other thing I recommend is don't use the bed fan on small parts. It distorts the filament. Better to arrange it so there are enough things printing to provide time for each layer to cool.

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boxermegan
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Re: Need help with printing tiny parts

Post by boxermegan » Sun Jun 08, 2014 1:18 am

jimc wrote:if your mount is cracked, its abs so solvent bond it back together long enough to print a new one to replace it.
Too late! I've smeared epoxy all over it! I thought is was PLA. Oops! Bonding it would have been so much easier. Anyway, I hope this will make it long enough to print a new one.
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photo 1(12).JPG
photo 1(12).JPG (42.44 KiB) Viewed 15357 times
photo 2(12).JPG
photo 2(12).JPG (45.33 KiB) Viewed 15357 times

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boxermegan
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Re: Need help with printing tiny parts

Post by boxermegan » Sun Jun 08, 2014 1:23 am

Toby wrote:Here's the .factory file I used in case that will help with your settings. (Unzip and open in S3D using File->Open or ctrl-o.) I used Makergear PLA. The main thing is the speed being very slow, but also it's probably necessary to have the extrusion multiplier dialed in for whatever filament you're using.
Thanks Toby - I downloaded it. I'm planning to print it in ABS though. I'm way more familiar with the settings for ABS at this point. I'm going to try to zip the STL file and post it. I'm not a huge fan of Windows 8. I've got my other laptop (Windows 7) dedicated to the printer because it has a port for the SD card.

Thanks again for all of your help. Awesome!

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boxermegan
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Re: Need help with printing tiny parts

Post by boxermegan » Sun Jun 08, 2014 1:42 am

Here's the STL for the gear.
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gear7mm.zip
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jimc
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Re: Need help with printing tiny parts

Post by jimc » Sun Jun 08, 2014 2:18 am

all the plastic parts on the m2 are abs. they need to be because of the heat. once you get the mount squared away do yourself a favor and just print yourself out a spare of everything just in case

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Re: Need help with printing tiny parts

Post by Toby » Sun Jun 08, 2014 3:25 am

No prob. It's fun taking up the challenges others are having and a great way for me to learn.

That gear is tiny! When this current print is done I'm going to try printing it in PLA with the same settings I used before and see how it does.

I have the same setup with windows 7 being the laptop connected to the printer and windows 8.1 being the laptop I design with. I finally got them talking to each other enough that I don't have to email myself models anymore.

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