MakerBot Replicator 1

A few steps to keep the MakerBot running smoothly and continously.

Mechanical setup

The basic setup of the MakerBot replicator is quite simple, below is a compressed version of the official guide.

1. Open and remove the top large cardboard piece along with the manual, remove the other pieces and take out the extruder from the box and place it on the extruder platform
2. Move the build platform up by pulling on both of the inner back supports of the build platform to remove the filament spools
3. In the accessories box, find the two (total three) black hex screws and fasten the extruder (the washers are for the extruder plunger maintenance)
4. Add the rubber feet to dampen the vibrations and increase friction on the MakerBot work surface
5. Refit the build platform cable below the platform to the bottom plate, adjust position of the cable to limit slack
6. Hook the spool supports to the back of the MakerBot
7. Press the black filament guide tubes onto the extruder holders and clip the guides in place on the back
8. Find, or use the supplied US, power cord and plug it into the adapeter and the other end to the four pin socket on the Replicator
9. Lastly, unpack the filaments and put them onto the support with the filament pointing from the bottom and up, feed them through the guides till they hit the extruder
10. Move over the to the software setup to calibrate the build platform and setup the ReplicatorG printer software

Improvements

• Add blue thread-lock to all grubscrews on all the axis to prevent them to fall out [1]
• Use Triflow or similar PTFE lubricant to all metal-to-metal mechanical motion [2]
• Replace the system fan with a large 80x80 mm fan to reduce noise
• Add a adhesive label on the right side of the joy-pad to indicate the insertion point for the SD card
• Remove the ABS residue from the drive gear regularly [3]
• Fit side and top covers to prevent dust from settling on the extruder and internal components
• Enable accelerated prints to increase the print speed and efficiency, see below

Accelerated prints

A new feature which appeared on community 3D printers early in 2012 was the ability to accelerated the printing process. What this means is that instead of linearly moving the position by instantaneously starting and stopping the motors, the travel speed is gradually increased and decreased. While this method is slower when using the same travel feedrate as before, it will be faster when increasing, or doubling, the travel feedrate. The bot will not shake and vibrate as violently and work smoothly. But make sure to use high resolution models/gcode.

• MakerBot accelerated prints