New Guy and a Big Thank You  

New Guy and a Big Thank You

I have had my printer for about a month and wanted to give a big Thank You to all who contribute to these forums. Like many others I had a couple of months to read all post and some several times to make sure my experience building the kit was trouble free. It took a few nights but it went pretty well. I did have issues dialing the first layer like a lot of people on here but it is getting better every day. Using the test prints and all of the input from you guys and gals and been a tremendous resource. I do not think my experience would have been the same without the forum.

My background is 30 years of thermoforming and cnc programming. I use Solidworks, and Mastercam to design and program. In thermoforming we have to dry PC andABS in an oven. If not the moisture in the sheet will show up like blisters when you form it. I have seen several post regarding drying ABS & PCABS. I have been working on a design that will spool off material run through a small oven at 165f and spool onto another roll. I'll post some designs soon.

Listed below is some of the things I have seen make a big difference in my print quality in the first month. I am not an expert by a long shot.

The table you put the printer on must be stable and not shake. I learned this the hard way and should have listened to you guys.
Get the spool off the top of the gantry. Mount the spool holder to a wall or build something that will hold it over the printer. If you do not do this the x axis gantry will sway a little when printing. I have seen better quality prints by removing the spool.
Purchase a decent set of calipers and measure known dimensions of your prints. Lots of information on here to help tweak your machine in.
Read the post about first layer calibration and get a good understanding of it. Ask for help if you need it.

And if I had not already said this THANK YOU all for the contributions.

Brian
MK3