Hi everyone, I wanted to introduce myself to the community and share my initial thoughts and questions after starting with my new Taz6. I didn’t see a getting started with the forum sticky, so apologies if I missed it and this is bad form
Introduction
I got the Solidoodle 2 as soon as it came out, and I hacked on that thing until I got satisfactory but meh quality. It was a fun project and taught me a lot about 3d printing, modeling, slicers, etc. I consider myself an intermediate level 3d printerer. I finished unboxing my printer tonight and just finished my first print.
Getting Started
Unboxing, documentation, assembly, and first print were magnificent. The docs and guides were so good that they made me feel guilty about the documentation I am partially responsible for. Bravo, really. Including the test print and matching it to the first print is a nice touch. Including the printer’s z-offset in the unpacking bundle is the another example of the thoughtfulness that went into the Taz 6. Lulzbot++
Comments
I have some questions after reading the docs. I bet they are answered here in the forum, so please don’t feel the need to duplicate answers on this thread-- I am so new I haven’t even searched this forum yet. Since Lulzbot is an open source company, I assume the best thank you I can offer is feedback.
Settings: Simple mode, First run, nGen colorfab, High Speed.
Filament: Sample filament included with printer, PLA/PHA blend
Starting sequence questions:
(1) Should I set the temperature and bed temperature manually before starting a print?
The operation guide (but not the manual) suggest turning on the printer, letting the hot end get up to temperature, and testing extrusion. Though this is a habit I developed with my last printer, I am not sure if it is necessary to do before every print?
I thought I would try (for science!) hitting print without manually setting the temperature in Pronterface. Sure enough, it did set the correct temperature, but it did a significant filament retraction while it was still at only 150 C, and that seemed low but I am new to this colorfabb stuff. Is this bug-report-worthy too? (Where should I file bugs?)
(2) Would someone please explain some details of the starting sequence?
I was surprised when the z-offset process happened before the wipe. (I am assuming that when the hot end pushes the metal “button” it is to set the z-offset). I can see why this is necessary to prevent a crash in the wipe, but it seems like a nice glob could throw off the results and z-offset seems like a very sensitive. Is this a rough estimate that is made more accurate by bed leveling? I’ll start a new thread or issue/bug for this if it seems reasonable.
First print looks nice (though a little too stuck to the bed).
Anyway, I look forward getting to know this community!
-Austin