Please don’t use the junky black ABS that’s lying around in the ultimaker. New, decent quality ABS is fine, but not that stuff. Every time it gets used, I have to spend an hour or two unclogging everything.
That ABS is 5+ years old, and was purchased as factory ‘seconds’ on ebay. It is not of consistent diameter like newer filaments, and is slipping / catching in the ultimaker’s coupler and heat break.
It is fine to use in the gigabot, as the tolerance is not so very tight in the same area, and it’s direct feed.
Despite my previous email, this was done again, in exactly the same fashion, and it damaged the Ultimaker.
I will be concise here:
Accidents happen, equipment gets messed up – that is normal in a hackerspace.
If something goes weird (head crash, clogs, or whatever) report it to the list. We will help, not blame.
However, it is not cool to damage the same machine twice the same way after being given explicit instructions & warning.
I have now removed the old, out of spec (too wide for the nozzle liner), Black ABS from hive.
Do not drench the bed in a thick opaque layer of aqua-net that would be enough for 30 grandmother’s beehive harcuts. So much has been applied that parts stuck too well & damaged the glass when they cooled (and shrank) or were pried off.
I have spent 2.5 hours disassembling everything, removing clogged char and debris, cleaning nozzles, reassembling and running clean filament. I’d rather do other things, so I am a bit annoyed now. However, the proper remedy at this point would be a private apology and thank-you to me for my time and patience. In fact, my response to this would be to offer help and assistance so everyone gets the best prints and the machine is tip top.
The big mistake here was not mis-use of the printer. The mistake was ignoring the previous email, not asking for help, and not reporting mishaps.
Lorin Parker
Board & Secretary, Hive13
Guy who raised the money and paid for the Ultimaker.
Brad, it’s 8+ year old filament purchased as a lot on ebay for like $1 a roll. I decided that a lot has happened in 3d printing quality control over that time and that the filament is probably past its shelf life. It is gone. I’m pretty sure gigabot would bog down with it eventually as well.
Replacing it with decent basic modern filament would be $20. Let’s do that.
Also I was contacted off list by a member who was very polite and honest about things. It was an honest mistake / accident & I’m glad that I was contacted. I now have a better idea of some documentation and notes I can put together to make things easier for folks.
All is well, and no harm no foul and no penalty. Everyone wins.