In order to make things easier for new users (and for myself when my J1 will arrive as it seems to take a little longer than expected), this is an attempt to make a list of the hardware-related things to do first when you get your J1, based on the topics I found here in the forum so far. I referenced the forum entries where I got the corresponding information from. Please refer to these entries for details. Feel free to add anyting I might have forgotten!
this hint is outdated - the yellow stickers were updated and should not be an issue any more. If any residues happen to stay on the surface, you can remove them with alcohol.
In opposite to the first J1 that were sold, the linear bearings usually are sufficiently pre-lubricated by now - but if you buy a used J1, take care which linear bearings (black or green sides of the wagons) are built into the machine - the green ones are the newer and improved version.
Keep in mind however that at the moment, the greasing procedure mentioned in the handbook is frankly insufficient and in the process of being revised. For the time being, refer to the thread linked below for updated instructions.
Here is a short summary since the linked thread has become rather lengthy:
-use an NLGI class 1 or 2 grease that is explicitly mentioned as suitable for linear bearings, such as Elkalub GLS 135/N1 or Elkalub GLS 135/N2
-for detailed greasing instructions see here. Use a blunt 18G syringe needle (outer diameter 1.2âŠ1.25mm) for the X axis and a syringe needle with â 1.9âŠ1.95mm (should be 13G, please correct if wrong) for the Y axes. if you have the new SHAC linear slides with green sealing, you might need other needle diameters: the X axis seems to have a â 1mm greasing hole, the Y axis is unclear yet.
Remark: The same applies to the z axis. It should move without any noises apart from the motor. If you hear some klicking or cracking (might also happen in just one direction), add an NLGI class 2 grease suitable for ball bearings to the linear rails by carefully sliding a thin to medium syringe needle between the round rail and the black seal. Repeat the process from the top and from the bottom at several locations (e.g. each 90 or 120 degrees) until the noise stops. Luer lock syringes are highly recommended here to avoid a big mess since you will have to push hard to get the grease through the needle and into the bearing. As a rough estimate: I added about 2ml of grease into each side.
(Topic: Help, terrible beating noise)
If you prefer to use the âoldâ hotends that are screwed together, remove the hotends and make sure there is a sufficient amount of thermal compound on the cold side of the heat break to reduce the risk of a clogged hotend. This still applies to hotends sold in 2024. The new âall-metalâ-hotends that are pressed together can be used out of the box.
While the hotend is apart, it does not hurt to check the inside of the heat break - poor polishing in there increases the risk of clogs. (Topic: Potential fix for J1 clicking and clogging). Again, this does not apply to the new all-metal hotends.
does only apply if you happen to buy a second hand printer from the first batch that has never been updated: Set up the printer. Do not forget that depending on the firmware version you get the printer with, you may need re-do all calibration after the first firmware update.
Do not blindly trust the automatic calibration procedure. Check (and - if needed - manually fine-tune) bed leveling, for example with a test model such as the one on Printables. (Topic: Bed Leveling springs)
When using the J1, keep in mind that a full-metal hotend is not as forgiving as the PTFE lined hotends you might know from your previous printer. This is not something you can blame Snapmaker for (apart from not offering PTFE line hotends for the J1) but rather a general tradeoff you have to live with in exchange for being able to print with high temperatures and high speeds. According to the Reprap forum (clogging issues with red PLA from RepRapper Tech), an oil-based coating as you would to an iron pan works for a 3D printer hotend as well. (Topic: Constant extruder skips/clog warnings)
If you print any heat-sensitive material, remove the lid (or use spacers such as the ones there: Printables) and consider leaving the front doors open. PLA is the most obvious case, but others may benefit as well.
get some fabric tape, scroll down the 7th post in this thread and add the tape as shown there. It really helps silencing the printer.
check if your glass plate is flat, the J1 heavily relies on that. New users might think that glass has to be flat, but that is not the case. I bought an extra glass plate together with the J1. One was absolutely perfect, the second one⊠not so much, even if the quality is much better than some other competitors I saw so far.
With the printer turned off, carefully (!) check if the two tiny FPC slide connectors on the back top centre of the printer where the print head cables go in are locked. Beware: if you are the sort of human who is used to rip through phone books and lift cars with his bare hands, better get someone who has less muscle and small fingers that are suited for such tiny tasks! These connectors are made for mobile phones and such and are as delicate as they look! There are small black lines on the cable which should be parallel to the line printed on the PCB and very close to that line. The shoulder of the brown bar on the connector should be very close to the white connector housing. If there is a gap of about a millimeter either at the top or at the bottom or throughout, the connector is not locked which means its connection is not reliable. Here you can find a nice picture on how these connectors work, the top variant is what is used in the J1: Slide lock or flip lock for FPC connector? - Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange. The Snapmaker Wiki also gives information about these: Replacing the FFC Cable of the Print Head | Snapmaker Wiki
Updates:
2023-02-09: added remark about the yellow stickers and updated the greasing section
2023-02-27: added remark about z axis to section 2, added section 10 and 11
2023-03-13: someone could have told me that I have a wrong link up there when it comes to greasing the axes - corrected and added a summary of that lengthy thread
2023-03-16: added greasing hole diameter of SHAC x axis, thanks @RePrint for the information
2024-05-27: updated sections 1 to 5 and 11 according to information from Snapmaker
Thanks Mechanikus. Appreciate the advice. The only issue I seem to have is with the right extruder throwing a filament load error quite frequently. I followed the advice others have posted and tightened the grub screw on the gear (it was a bit loose), but the problem still hasnât resolved. Not sure if the grip on the filament on the right is weaker than on the left. Any advice?
Apart from the things mentioned above (what you explain might be something related to clogging): not yet, sorry - as noted above, I am still waiting for my own J1 and only collect and share anything that might be helpful to get the machine up and running as smooth as possible.
Please be so kind as to refer to any threads about your problem in the forum or create a new one - this thread is really just intended to provide an overview.
Appreciate your quick response Mechanikus. Apart from the grub screw being loose, I took the side plates off the nozzles to see if there was anything else causing the problem. All else looked good, so I thought I would try another print, this time changing slicer settings.
I reduced the retraction distance to 2mm (down from 6.5mm default) and found this made little difference. I have found however that reducing the retraction rate from 40mm/s to 25mm/s seems to have fixed the issue. This is for PLA and PLA+. For some weird reason, only the RHS nozzle seems to have this issue. I have managed to get 2 successful prints in copy mode without any feeder issues now
ich habe hier noch einmal etwas zusammengestellt, um unbeabsichtigte GerĂ€usche zu beseitigen, die vom GehĂ€usedeckel und der RĂŒckwand kommen.
Auf der Oberseite des Rahmens habe ich Tesa Gewebeband an den neuralgischen Stellen aufgeklebt.
Somit ist das Klappern des Deckels schon einmal beseitigt.
ZusĂ€tzlich, mit dem Tesa, habe ich die FlĂ€che beklebt, auf der die Filament FĂŒhrung aufliegt, womit sich lĂ€stige SchleifgerĂ€usche abstellen lassen.
Und zum Schluss, habe ich mittig oben und unten der RĂŒckwand, dĂŒnnen Schaumstoff (2 mm) eingeklemmt, denn auch hier klappert es bei sehr schnellen Bewegungen.
ZusĂ€tzlich habe ich noch eine GehĂ€useentlĂŒftung eingebaut, somit kann der Druckerdeckel drauf bleiben, egal mit welchen Filament gerade druckt.
Englisch:
Hello, everyone,
Iâve put something together here once again to eliminate unintentional noises coming from the case top and back panel.
I glued Tesa fabric tape to the neuralgic spots on the top of the frame.
This eliminates the rattling of the lid.
In addition, I taped the Tesa to the surface on which the filament guide rests, which eliminates annoying grinding noises.
And finally, I clamped thin foam (2 mm) in the middle above and below the back wall, because it rattles here too with very fast movements.
In addition, I have installed a housing ventilation, so the printer cover can stay on, no matter which filament is currently printing.
Many thanks to @Mechanikus and @i3sven for sharing their thoughts & solutions.
IÂŽm waiting for my J1 and assume to get in march ⊠and itÂŽs great to read about the things that youâd rather pay attention to right away
@xchrisd: I cannot seem to edit the first post any more. Could you add three more things to the list I noticed on my printer? If you want, make it a Wiki entry and link to it here.
maybe I can help you too? I have now also installed an extension above (+70mm). Now the Bowden tubes finally go free
In the rear panel I have installed 2 x 50mm fans with a Temp/PWM control.
These BLOW the air to the OUTSIDE. This is the same at my old full housed GermanRepRap.
Today I finished my stuff and measured the temperature with the lid on - itâs almost the same Temp-Level as without the lid. That work well and till now i did not tune the controler.
In addition, it seems logical to blow out the warm air. To âpull outâ the warm air is better because there would be more back pressure the other way.
Got the same done. Got extension and 2x 60 fans on the back with Temp Sensors, but thatâs not my problem. My problem are clogging, rattling heads and damaged rails.
But thanks for the pics, look pretty well the extensions. Maybe you can make some for 60x10 fans. Nice design
I got mine in a duct on the filament holders, my spools are on a wall mount
And I put some cooling Aluminum blocks on the Motors, that helps too
Next days I make heatsink paste on the heads, upgrade the gears and put other Nozzles on it, change heatsink too. I work on a better filament guide for the extruder heads, some filaments are unable to print with that angle on the heads and the rotation of the guide is not good for the filament Iâve seen.
Du hast das echt genial, hinbekommen. Könntest du mir die step datei hochladen? Dann könnte ich, wenn du nichts dagegen hast, es fĂŒr meine Zwecke anpassen.
- corrected and added a summary of that lengthy thread
- there might be others interested in building it.
