Geeetech

I am a complete newbie to 3d printing, I received an I3 B kit for Xmas and finished building it yesterday (New Years Eve!)
I have today printed my first "Benchy the Boat" It came out OK - quite good considering the issues I had getting there.. (hopefully this image will work)

I found the build to be good, and the instructions were just OK, but if you read the instructions and then looked at the video, and then proceeded CAREFULLY it was OK - It took me about 3 days or so.

The Acrylic - I found that EVERY part was perfectly fitting and ALL the holes were 100% spot -on .. I need to do no filing- That was amazing and full marks - I think I spent more time taking the paper off the acrylic than I did in actually building the printer though!

The metal bits - I found I had to file out the holes on the black metal bits , most notably the "Z Nut" Holder ( I will get onto the Z axis later!!! ) But all the black metal bits were good in general, again top marks there! - I noted that my fear of losing a screw or a nut was unfounded as they supplied ample "spares".

Wiring - This was nice & clear ( I did get the end stop switches wrong at first, and mixed up x& y motors, but that was me )

Firing it up - This is where things went bad, as everything worked EXCEPT the z- motors just sat there an "ticked" at me.. So...

Z-AXIS - and the "fix" - I am not a mechanical engineer or anything , but waaaay back I used to repair printers and faxes etc.. I had read about "bent" threaded rods etc. and I had checked that mine were 100% straight, but what was happening is that one side or the other would BIND solid in the tread , if I loosened it, then 100% chance it or the other side would bind instantly again. The motors are pretty weak and can't handle any binding at all. I went through all the reasons that this would happen and the reason was surprising!
Remeber I had to file the holes for the "Z-Nuts" ( The brass thread followers) - I took them out and slid out the threaded rods, and proved that they moved freely by holding the nut and allowing the rod to spin down with gravity- Perfect, no binding and the rod is straight, then I held the rod and let the "nut" spin down it and... the flat flange on the nut wobbled!! This was the case with both of them!!

the Z-nut - So the flange that has the screw holes is NOT perpendicular to the threaded part- that explains why I had to file too. What I did was I held the Z-nut in situ in the printer and let the threaded rod run through it , and if I pushed it against the black metal, where it should be screwed in, it would bind due to a "funny" angle of the thread. So I found the correct angel an put in any screws LOOSELY that I could that would keep it there, that was one screw only on one and only 2 on the other! But the binding stopped, I used a ruler to ensure that both sides were the same height and that "fixed" it- obviously it cannot say like that forever and I will need to get new "nuts".

Questions - Please remember I am a 100% newbie!
1) Where Should I look for new QUALITY nuts?
2) there is some confusion in the manual and configuration, and the published specification on the extruder diameter.. is it .3mm or .4mm on these devices?
3) I fiddled with the extruder temp and found that 210Degrees seems to work best, is this reasonable? also what is the best temp for the "bed" ?
4) I could NOT get the "blue" sample filament to engage in the extruder no matter how hard I tried, it just made the motor "jump" but some white filament I bought from Geeetech works no problems - why would that be?
5) on the filament, once it is engaged , I don't' seem to ever be able to pull it back out ( and I am holding down the Spring as hard as I can!) It comes back out a bit but then just stops and I don't want to force it- what is the trick here?
6) Sometimes the first layer doesn't "stick" in all places to the bed, what causes this? Is it simply the height? the temperature of the bed? I found that sometimes it will stick and sometimes it won't in the same place.. And advice here greatly appreciated


I hope you enjoyed this read and I appreciate any answers to my questions

Yep, i had the same issue -- i did the loose screw thing first, and worked.
But you should go to thingiverse and find a "z wobble fix" for Geetech, a printable part and use the lead screw in that.

The other thing, if you has put the X carriage horizontal rod "rings" on the outside, instead of the inside, it will cause problems.

Other than that, get a parts cooler fan (radial).

For "not sticking" -- yes, absolutely a leveling issue. Get a 3D touch sensor from Geeetech or use a newer Marlin firmware with "LCD assisted bed leveling" enabled. Read up on details. The touch sensor is better, though.

Thanks heaps for that advice
I have printed one "z wobble fixer" but was not happy with the print - I need to fiddle with more 2x2 cubes first
I will invest in a 3d touch sensor moving forward...as this printer was a gift I will have to wait a little before spending more money on it, but that sensor seems to be "magic" from what I see.

I will move the stop rings from the outside to the inside on the weekend, that'll teach me for following instructions!

One note, for that rings: on most photos of Geetech it's on the "outside" (wrong).

But if you think logically (I didn't do either at first), there is the X axis (horizontal) belt, which is putting a "pulling force" on the two ends, and that can cause problems and make things getting stuck and the rings are supposed to prevent the belt pulling the ends in.

For 3D printers it's true, you must EITHER have time OR money. So you either get a really expensive 3D printer and not have to do much with it, or get a cheaper one (like I3 Pro B) and take some time learning and fixing bits.

For me (as a non-professional), I think I3 Pro B is great, and also a learning opportunity.

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