Hi this is Phil Phil's got a PhD in laser physics and he's a patent attorney. which means he's on the dark side of the force. But he's decided to come to the good side of the force and become the new Eev blog. Apprentice So he's trying to.

He's going to learn the correct tongue angle. So going to teach him that and uh uh. hand us. see uh, the left-handed screwdriver there Phil Yeah, it's a right-handed one.

Come on, you got to learn. Oh, let's get this wrong. Noobs: I Don't know. he got a lot to learn.

Anyway, we're going to, uh, calibrate our makot here and uh, print something. Let's go. And here's our finished make Aot thinger mtic and it's serial number 687. There it is and it looks rather neat.

You've uh, seen these before. It doesn't light up like some of the other Uh ones do. They've obviously installed some um, uh, lighting inside mine doesn't have that. The power supply was really dodgy.

um to install that, but uh, it's apparently the type supplied with this one and I've got a the new uh Mark 7 step Struder inside there and that's the Z axis platform I Haven't cable tied down any of the wires yet so all the wiring is uh, is all loose in there because I want to, um, figure out what the maximum range of the platforms is before? I actually do that? but that is a makot thinger attic. It's ready to go so we'll uh, plug it in. We'll calibrate it and we'll give it a burl and our first print. Wonder what we'll print.

H Now here's one thing. I don't really understand. They've got these really nice um uh bearings on here that the shafts slide into, but this one on this side doesn't doesn't have the bearings on either side and there's a bit of play in there. I'm not sure if you can actually see that, but I can actually wiggle that up and down and I'm not sure why.

um, there's no bearings in there. they didn't Supply them and they didn't tell me to actually put them in. Strange. But anyway, that's the Uh Y axis platform there.

We've got the x-axis platform on top here. That one does have the bearings on either side and it feels reasonably smooth. Um, and as you can see the wiring inside these things is is really just um, is just hanging there basically. Um, so it is a bit messy on the inside and on the top side here is our Zed platform.

which is this motor here with this worm screw drive there and that moves this entire platform on the top here. and if we get down and we take a look at the underside of it there, you can see it, see the entire Zed axis platform move and it's got the uh step Struder on there where your uh your filament goes in the top. here. it all heats up.

Um, it's got a a heat. It's got a heater in there, a ceramic heater, plus a thermal uh, overload and a thermocouple as well. There's a safety cutout PCB over here uh which is designed to cut it out if it uh goes over temperature and that's about all there is to the Um XY mechanical platform. It's fairly simple, but the build itself uh is is fairly complicated.

It took probably 14 15 hours for the two of us to actually fully assemble this thing. All right. We've got our Makey switched on and connected to USB and we've updated the Uh firmware so we're going to and disconnect. I'm going to reconnect down here and we're using the Replicator G Uh program and connect to the unit and we're connected.

We've updated the Uh firmware, we're gone through the process, and uh, we're going to do the calibration. So what we do is we go up to file up here and scripts calibration and we run the thing omatic calibration gcode and then we hit the build button so the script is in there. We hit build and now it's telling us move the build platform until the nozzle lies in the center and then turn the threaded Rod until the nozzle just touches the surface without pressing onto it. Okay, so we want to change that.

We want to put it directly in the center there, so we want to put it. The nozzle. Just a smidgen off the surface. Is that just off? That's just off? Just off.

Half a bees di off the surface there and that looks like it's in the center near enough. I'm not sure if you have to do this calibration routine. um, every time because I'm not sure that the machine knows where the absolute position of Those sensors is. tongue angle, fill.

All right. So what we're going to do is we'll hit yes And here we go. Woohoo! There it goes and it should hit the top micro switch in there, the limit switch and bang and this thing and the build platform is now centering itself back to that position. The micro switch switched on there for the X and the Y.

So our three limit switches clearly work X Y and Z limit switches and we're done. That's the calibration simple. Okay, so now we're setting the we're in the control panel uh, software and we're going to test the tool head temperature and the heated build platform temperature. So it tells us to type in a Target temperature of Uh 225 C for the tool head.

So we've done that and pressed enter and as you can see it's ramped up there. that's our Target temperature in Blue there and red. You can see the temperature is actually ramping up and it says to do 120 is that right? Phil 120 for the build platform. So we pre type that in press enter our Target temperature has jumped up there in yellow and we'll see the white line there.

the build platform, current temperature ramping up, so both of those will eventually ramp up to their set temperatures. And they should they. They should remain there, They shouldn't. uh, overshoot or anything like that.

So this could take a few minutes. and the tool head is. uh, didn't overshoot. It's maintained, it's ramped up and then maintained the set temperature.

The build platform's not quite there yet, but it's on its way. Okay, our tool head has reached temperature and now it's telling us to stick the filament into the chosen red cuz red goes faster. Stick it in and then what will. Well, it seems that we've got a problem.

no matter how hard we push in here, no matter how many times we acuate the motor and uh, try and get the filament to grab in there, it's just just not working. So I don't know. Plan B Well, we tried this fluo green one and we did get it to grab so we're supposed to see a thin bead come out of the bottom. We still up to temperature 225.

Oh yep, there we go. Got it. Woohoo! There we go. Switch it off.

Press stop. Awesome. There you go. We got a hanger and look at that.

There we go that? Well, that's technically that's the first thing we printed. Bit of hot snot. Hey yeah, Floss Floss Beautiful. Works A treat.

Green Okay, we're ready to print something we've loaded in Yoda's lightsaber. Very cool. We've put it vertically. We've centered it on the platform and flipped it.

What we do now: Phil Generate gcode this all right I assume it knows that well, it fits within that area. I'm assuming we're going to have enough uh, stuff, filament and generate G-Code You have made changes to this model. Any unsave changes? Ah no. There we go.

Python Interpreted. Would you like to visit? Ah fail. Come on. Okay, we've installed the stupid Python interpreter and I've scaled that down really tiny.

We want this thing to print I Have no idea if this is a good first example, but let's generate the G-Code save the model. NOP There we go. It's doing something now. What do we do? Oh, how do we set up our oh use raft? Okay, yep, yeah.

use Pratic got it. Step layer height. 3 mm the perimeter thicker. Well default to one feed rate 30 mm/s Okay, and we're using a 1.75 mm ABS Mark 7 I'm assuming Ah that's the different material.

Okay, well, we're definitely using ABS We're not using Pla. So once this plastic material type ABS filament diameter 1.8 I think it is I don't know, we'd have to actually get the calipers out and measure that and 1. Okay, that'll do. Extruder nozzle diameter no.4 Yep, Okay, done do we generate G Cod Not automatically generate When building Go Phil says go go, we're going.

We're generating. We're almost there. for the total number of layers for the inset, the inser procedure. Now we're got to do the fill procedure.

How many procedures are there? more than you can poke a sticker? You can see the different processes that goes through carve process. Uh, Preface: inser fill speed, temperature, and raft procedure. but it's still G not done yet It man, it's taken all day and we there like another there comb. cool procedure, reversal procedure and it's done.

Woohoo! It's sprinting. No, it's moving. it's doing something that the it's given us an estimated Bill time on the software of what is it? 1 hour and 28 minutes a man. We're hoping to do this before the gym.

Oh well. have to head home and come back later and uh, see if it's finally built. Do I dare leave this thing on its own or will it replicate and start? Skynet Uh-oh something's gone wrong here. It's hitting the end over here and there's no end stop.

It just won't go any further. And uh oh no, it's well. yeah, it's printing. it's printing.

but it certainly didn't Uh, didn't do it in the center? No, no, it's no, didn't Center on the pad. Why not? We went through the calibration procedure. No, our first print is a failure and it doesn't stick to the aluminium surface. If you actually have a look down in there, you probably should have put that Myar sheet on.

but it's it's all just curled up. So our that's our first print. It's a oh, it's a nice pattern though. I Rather like it.

but there you go. First print W Fail. All right. So what we've done now is we've made the current position zero in the control panel so we've moved it so it's in the center and we've done that and we've We're building again.

But uh, maybe we should put down some M tape. but uh, why is it going back up To start? Well, there you go. Okay, we're at least getting somewhere now. We haven't figured out how to um Center it properly on the pad yet, but um, we managed to stick on some Mya very quickly before we started this print job.

I Think it's probably laying down some sort of Base maybe cuz that doesn't look like our object. So not sure what it's doing there, but it seems to it's almost like printing out too much. No, that's doing a small amount. There we go.

Okay, so it is controlling the amount of and now it's decided that it needs to do another print on the other side. What? What's going on here? Wow. I No idea what it's doing, it's almost as if it's putting it down sideways. Know? oh, fire.

Look at that. It's just picked up the whole lot of it and dragged it across. This is pretty awful. I Think we have some sort of calibration issue? Some sort of programming issue.

Look at that. That's just. it's just ridiculous. What's it doing? Crazy.

And we've got the heated build. We' got the proper heated build platform and the my tape and it just looks nothing like the orientation that's on the uh unit itself. Crazy. Oh, it's building A bait.

It's probably building A. It's a building. At least it's sticking now, right? It wasn't sticking before. Well, that's looking good cuz it is sticking.

So I'm pretty happy with that. Although if that's 0.3 mm on a monkey's uncle, that seems a bit more than that. Oh see, it's lifting up. It's doing all sorts of weird and wacky stuff.

It's like it's almost like it's putting out yeah, nasty sounds. It's like it's putting out too much. um, stuff and not moving and not stepping high enough. So I think we need to tweak some of those values.

Hey Taada A that's pathetic I Think we should. Probably that's our best bet though is to take that off and file it down better and tweak that. Yeah, I can see it Go A bit slack there I think the belt went a bit slack possibly. So I think that's our I Think we'll find that's probably our culprate in there.

So there's our second print and that is a complete and utter file. Was supposed to be a space invader character, but uh, nothing. but look. it built this what looks like that zigzag base.

there. it built that lovely. but then it sort of just ran into it itself and it did all sorts of weird stuff. So we think it's actually slipping.

The belt must be slipping somehow to give that. But why it gave that perfect zigzag pattern to start off with. uh, we're not sure. but I think we'll probably take off the X-axis and uh, try and tweak it I guess.

All right. So we've taken it back out there. we're taking the X uh, platform the build platform off and we're going to try and file down. uh, these bits in here a little bit bigger cuz we think that's where it's uh, getting caught up or something like that and maybe causing it to slip on the cogs.

Maybe fingers crossed. Now, scratch that. We think that this Cog is possibly too high up cuz it's much higher than the Cog in there, which you probably can't see, but uh, due to the light. But yeah, we think maybe we'll try that first rather than go to the effort to file out.

Uh, that's some more, because really, that's I It's going to have a hard time slipping when you've got a nice toothed uh belt like that in a proper Cog and it's all tightened up, so possibly the height of that, uh, might be doing something so we'll try and lower that first. I Think we're still squirting out too much if that's the correct terminology extruding too much squirting out too much never takes a fancy. Yeah, all right. but that's more promising though.

at least we' gotten further right the the bases. the Bas is a lot further and it's like and it is in the center whereas before it it was, it was way off. It sort of did. Yeah, it started from here actually rather than it started over one side.

I Think yeah, but it's not filling in that as a complete Square So I'm not sure what's going on there, but this is good. This is very happy with this. Yeah, that seems to have made a made a big difference. Yeah, that's very promising.

I Like that. a Yeah, that's smooth, fast. Brilliant. I Think that was our issue.

Wow, that's all it was. It's looking good here. We go. here.

we go. It's drawing our pack. It's drawing our space invader. Oh brilliant.

Oh brilliant. Oh, now we're excited. a Yes. Perfect.

Woohoo winner now. I Wish we printed something more exciting than a space invader. Anyway, we can print anything now. This is great.

That's why that's why cuz it's already cooled and then it goes back in the other direction. So it deliberately puts those ones like vertical and then starts drawing the thing horizontal. so the base horizontal. I Think that that's the reason? see that's definitely looking like a spacing now.

Yep, we get no slippage at all. that works perfectly. actually. No.

I think it's out. We go. Unless it's like a it's like it's staggered. You see the layers? Yeah, they're staggered I think there's something wrong there.

Potentially otherwise. or it's designed like that. Or is it no. Does it look stagged? It's a flat object I I think it's I think it's out.

Either that or we have a calibration issue with like, how much it extrudes and temperature and stuff like that we need to tweak. But generally though, pretty darn hey. finished Taada. There's our space invader and there it is.

That's our very first make Aot print. It's a space invader. It doesn't seem that, uh, solid. There seems to be something about it, almost as if maybe a calibration issue.

Perhaps in in regards to uh, setting, the uh setting, the uh temperature, or the amount of product which is extruded because it the layers don't seem to, uh, line up. They seem a bit, uh, a bit staggered. So maybe we have some more belt slippage or something like that. Perhaps there are some of the very fine weaves? Ra? what is it a raft? And yeah, I think we still got layer alignment issues.

Yeah, it definitely looks like we got a Y build issue. Y is in this Direction X is across here like this and if you see the edge of it is fine. These walls on the side here are perfectly align. That indicates to me that there's no error in the X There's no slip in the x axis motor, but the y axis.

This is why we can't see through the eyes of the well. I Guess you could say the eyes of the Space Invader character there and why these sides here are not smooth as they should be. They should be perfectly smooth so that we think our motor is slipping somehow in this wire. Direction Like that? perhaps? or there's something going on there.

Okay, we're printing out the Uh cylinder now to test our um, uh, test our XY uh capability and I think we've got it. I think it was just our um belt, uh, tensionin that were, uh, slightly off. It seems to be fairly critical, but this cylinder is now looking very, very good. I Love that sound when it draws a circle.

it's brilliant. but this is really I think we've cracked it I Think we have an absolute winner here and uh, there's supposed to be no flat sides Phil no flat sides on the cylinder cuz that indicates a loose belt apparently. So I think we've cracked it and this will be our first, real successful, successful print. So now we just don't touch it right? We don't breathe on it again.

or at least don't touch the belts. Um, there's that cool noise going around the and it's building up this thing and I'm pretty darn happy with that. so we'll show you that when it's finished and there is our first. Our very first.

our very first print and it looks absolutely perfect. Woohoo we cracked it. Phil that's a winner that has winner written all over it that is absolutely beautiful. There's no XY um stepper, uh, backlash or anything.

We're getting no flat sides. so I think we have absolutely fluked the uh tension in on these belts because that's all it was really was the uh tensioning of the belts. and the Uh cylinder test is a very good test to do to as a first print to show you that uh, that you're getting no uh, backlash or uh, or overtightening or under tightening of your belts. Beautiful.

Well, looks like we spoke too soon. Our cylinder was absolutely perfect. So we tried to print our um, space invader uh symbol again and we got this silly stepped thing again. First one looks like the best.

so it's yeah. our first print that's our first print actually looks better than this print. We just did and we didn't change any settings at all. Um, our feed rate was still the same and all sorts of stuff.

So really, um, that's all we can assume is that the it was much more of a jaggy motion. So all we can assume is that the really the jagged, violent motion required to actually print this is actually offsetting, um, causing an offset in our y AIS in this direction Like this, cuz once again, the x-axis is perfect cuz these walls side walls here are perfectly. well, you know, fine, as good as you know, as good as you can expect. but uh, but the cylinder when that was printed, that was a, um a very smooth motioned uh print.

There was very silent, no um, jerky motion or vibration of the machine at all. but printing. This thing was very jerky in the thing, jerks around and makes a lot of noise and does violent movements. So really, there's something wrong there.

Maybe we have to drop the uh the rate even further and you can see the um, what is it the r raft raft on the bottom. that uh, is what they build upon so you'd have to, uh, cut that off or sand it off or slice it off or something to get your nice smooth surface on the bottom like you do on the top, but that it. It actually prints that so it doesn't stick to the uh, heated build platform. But there you go anyway.

I think we've uh, cracked that I think that's probably what we'll try. Yeah, I think we'll Yeah, we'll try and decrease the speed, but yeah, I think uh, we'll call it quits because that is technically a win. it's just a the Machine Works Beauty It's only a matter of just uh, tweaking a few numbers and things like that. It will be sweet so we'll catch you next time.