my journey building the anet A8 plus 3D printer

@pakabol

I thought that one (the one adjusted to 7cm) was the Z-Axiz.  Didn't think the X-Axis had any adjustment to it!

The X-Axis switch is what the extruder hits when it returns to the left side of the horizontal rails the extruder sits on, isn't it?

My reference to -25 was displayed on the LCD screen.  Maybe that is OK if it then moves over the glass when it begins to print.

I had one of the thumb nuts come off the screw when I was first trying to level the bed.  It is like the screws need to be longer.  I remember doing my inventory and finding one of the screws was about 5mm shorter than the parts list said it should be.  Can't remember if it was the ones for the bed or not.  I may try finding some longer ones.

Posted by: @codecage

I thought that one (the one adjusted to 7cm) was the Z-Axiz.

it might be i get them confused. the one im talking about is the one in the pic

also i think you may need to tighen it down really good mine has seemed to slip  and now its off set again (just tried another auto home this am)

after the extruder cools off im going to take it apart again and ill take a couple pics of it and what im trying to do 

this what i meant about the clicking and filament 

it just off by a RCH and stops it from loading 

Posted by: @codecage

My reference to -25 was displayed on the LCD screen. 

ok that is normal when it starts to print it will adjust itself 

this is how i know

ITS ALIVE ? 

@pakabol

How'd you finally get it to load the PLA?

Did it print what you were trying to print?

Posted by: @codecage

How'd you finally get it to load the PLA?

 

i had to take the fan off and use a little allen wrench to guild it in as it was feeding it in  i know its sorta ghetto but it got the job done 

Posted by: @codecage

Did it print what you were trying to print?

its still printing but i used their test pattern for a box so far it looks right but its been an hour and its still printing the bottom layer  but ill keep you informed 

@pakabol

Did you put the fan back on after it started feeding?

@codecage

yeah very carefully it was still hot 

looks like its print well

the 2 bright spots are just glare from my phone 

Posted by: @spyder

good temperature for PLA is no less than 165C. Preferably closer to 180C

i just did my test print and it auto set it too 200C and i do think that was a bit hot so im going to mess around with it and try to set it at 180C it came out with very defined looking layers but ive been reading thats just a PLA thing 

I find with PLA, a little on the hotter side makes for stronger prints with better layer adhesion and the part is less likely to soften when it gets hot in use (hit or miss here).  Also, if I am going to print at 80mm a sec or so (if the part allows it) I will bump up the temp to get better flow.  Now if the part has a lot of little details, I will print at a lower temp and slower.

Oh, one more thing then I will shut up.  I print my first layer a 10 degrees higher in the extruder and bed.  After that, then 60 for the bed and whatever I have for the extruder base temp.

Example:

I am going to print at 198c on the extruder and 60c on the bed. The first layer will print at 208c/70c respectively.  On the second layer, it changes to 198c/60c.  It's been a couple of years since I used Cura, but it used to have plugin for this, though it may just be a setting now?

Posted by: @triform

It's been a couple of years since I used Cura,

what it this cura  ive only printed use the sd card ive heard there are programs for window it this is this one of those and is it worth it to hook my printer up to a computer or are the prints the same using an sd card.

what are the benifits?

@pakabol

The video doesn't show an excellent picture of your motor/extruder, so I can't tell if this will work for you like it did for me. On one printer, I put magnets on my fan to make removing and replacing it easier, and on the other I put a hinge and magnets. Not sure which idea I like better, so I kept both

Make sure that your throat doesn't touch the gear mechanism when installing it

Make sure that the nozzle is screwed ALL THE WAY UP so it touches the throat inside the heatblock or it will leak. And believe me, you don't want it to leak, cuz it's a huge mess

Here's a link to my test STL files

https://github.com/Spyder19/3D-STL

My advice is to get the one called 180.stl, and print it at 180C, and see how it prints. Then try the 183, and print that at 183C and see how it prints... ETC and see how each one comes out to help you decide what is the best temperature for each type of filament, which, in this case is PLA

Don't bother with the boat (benchy) until you've got the temp figured out

Once you find the right temperature, you'll want to play with the speed and then layer height. Don't make too many changes at once. Do one at a time so you can see what they do

What slicer are you using ?

Posted by: @spyder

What slicer are you using ?

im a total noob today is the 1st time ive ever seen a 3d print IRL working   the only print ive done was a preloaded test file  

i will definitely test this out when i get more filament i found out that stuff goes quicker then i thought

Posted by: @spyder

Make sure that the nozzle is screwed ALL THE WAY UP

thanks for that advice it should help with it loading the filament?

Posted by: @spyder

I put magnets on my fan to make removing

love this im heading to ebay to buy some neodymium after this