Need help with getting printer to work..

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Chopper1221
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:24 am

Need help with getting printer to work..

Post by Chopper1221 » Fri Jan 07, 2022 4:22 am

Im a newbie to this .. and i have managed to assembele the printer my self with the help of a few vids on you tube .. and how .. I have plugged the printer on and plugged it in to the USB to the Mac, the lcd says card ok start test .. but when I have tried to use the nob tail nothing happens and when i press t it makes a strong noise mobdro kodi.. I have tired un plugging the USB but it still says the same but doesn't do anything ..

One person said on facebook to download the stl convert it to gcode then to put it on the sd card then to the printer .. which I don't know what stl or code are or where to get them or anything at all really ..then another person said you don't have to if you have it plugged in by USB ..

Then lots of people are saying download different software etc
before when i ve gone on to the website and tried downloading stuff it either came up with error code or wasn't support by website .. if anyone has a vid or even instruction would be great on weather or not the printer has a driver alaready installed or do i to it my self , if so wear and how .. then what program and all that firmware jazz stuff i need also and what are stl and g code and where do i getthwm from .. Sorry about the blondness of me .. Just mine never came with instructions , the list was all wrong and in wrong order plus the websites came up error ..

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Soadyheid
Posts: 62
Joined: Fri Apr 07, 2017 8:55 am

Re: Need help with getting printer to work..

Post by Soadyheid » Thu Jan 20, 2022 10:58 pm

Sounds like you're having a lot of fun! It would probably have been a good idea to do some research before diving into 3D printing. YouTube has a load of pretty good videos, check out Geeetech: https://www.youtube.com/c/geeetech3dprinting, Maker's Muse: https://www.youtube.com/c/MakersMuse and Thomas Salander: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... s+salander for some good information.

A 3D printer is like an ordinary laser/inkjet printer in that it needs to know what you want to print. paper printers print documents, spreadsheets, photographs, etc using various types of file. A 3D printer uses what's known as a GCode file. The same codes are used to operate computer controlled milling machines, routers, etc. The GCode used by 3D printers is generated by what's called a slicer program; it takes a file called an .stl file and, using configuration details regarding your printer, filament type, hotbed and extruder temperatures, nozzle diameter, print speed, infill density, support where needed, etc, and generates the GCode moves required to print each layer of the object thus building up the print. We're talking hours to complete most prints by the way.

The slicer is the smart bit of 3D printing, the printer just reads the GCode and moves accordingly. Some slicers are:

Slic3r: https://slic3r.org/download/
Cura: https://ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura from Ultimaker
PrusaSlicer: https://www.prusa3d.com/page/prusaslicer_424/ This is the one I'm currently using, it's derived from the original Slic3r.
All these programs are FREE! I run my printer using Linux Mint 20,0 without any problem. I use Repetier-Host https://www.repetier.com/download-now/ to both control and monitor my printer which is connected to my computer via a USB cable. There used to be a problem setting up the Mac's USB connection but I'd reckon that's been fixed long ago. Both the slicer and Repetier-Host can output the GCode files to an SD card rather than down the USB serial link though I prefer the link.

Stuff you may want to print you can find using the Yeggi 3D search engine https://www.yeggi.com/ which covers lots of sites containing the .stl files which you can download, some free, some with a charge. Notable sites are:
Thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/ from Makerbot and
Cults : https://cults3d.com/en

The next stage will be to design stuff yourself to print, I'd recommend FreeCAD, https://www.freecadweb.org/downloads.php a parametric modeler which takes a while to learn but, once you grasp the fundamentals, is pretty easy to use and allows your models to be adjusted and tuned before being exported as an .stl file.

No doubt there will be some differences in running your printer from a Mac but finding out is half the fun. Google and YouTube are there to help!

Play Bonny!

Soadyheid

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