Greetings! Introduction and some initial questions

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 :slight_smile:

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

Hello and welcome to the community,

Testing extrusion is not really necessary before every print. Some folks do it and some don’t but it’s not necessary.

One thing that I do is keep the nozzle clean with scotch brite and I’ll pull whatever nub of plastic that oozes before I hit print. The extruder will back the filament out of the hotend before it moves through the leveling sequence. This will keep the nozzle nice and clean and ready for printing.

If you are having problems with removing your prints, one of the most important factors is make sure that you remove your prints at 50C. This is the best temperature to remove a part without damaging the PEI. Also for extremely difficult prints, you can get a putty knife from somewhere like Home Depot. Then sharpen just one side of the putty knife so that you always have the flat side against the PEI. Just put the edge up against a corner of the print and tap the handle of the putty knife with the handle of your removal tool. This will allow you to get under the part without damaging the PEI from the pressure of lifting. Make sure to keep the bottom of the putty knife as flat as possible against the PEI surface so that you don’t dig into the PEI. I have found that this works well for all of my difficult adhesion issues.

I hope this helps and again welcome to the forums,