A5S - X Axis rattling and Slow printing,

Shauli

Hi

I recently got an A5S, probably the biggest problem is the X Axis is shaking the whole printer, 
the guide rod bearing are probably extra cheap, because the head drags on certain areas of the
X-Axis, I've ordered a set from the upgrade list, is there a disassembly procedure or youtube video,
on how to take the X-Axis apart? or am I going to have to figure it out as I go?

second problem is slow printing
I've set it to 60mm/s and it looks like the printer is set to 20mm/s
CURA estimates the print time at 3.5 hours, the printer actually did it in 9 hours
something doesn't make sense. (i've tried different profiles, nothing helps)
any ideas?

Thanks
Shaul

Stephen Todd

You should use the A5s profile included in Cura 4.4 or higher - or maybe somebody in a forum or facebook group has shared a better tweaked profile

The estimated print time is usually wrong - it is calculated on the settings you have set in Cura - even if your printer cannot match those settings in real life - making the settings closer to what your printer can actually achieve when printing, will bring the estimated time closer to reality

Shauli

Never had that problem with my Anycubic I3. time is close to estimate, give or take 15 minutes,
going from 3.5 hours to 9 seems not reasonable
I'll try the profiles again and see if it helps.

Shauli

Tried it again, used the original profile, the printer seems to be stuck on 30mm/s (at best)

Stephen Todd

I've not got any of the new 32bit JGAuroras - I have the old 8 bit A3s V1 and its plenty fast enough - yours should be faster still

Time to tweak the A5s Cura profile with improved coasting, acceleration, etc. settings you can glean from facebook user groups, but too high an infill percentage is a common cause of slow printing - 10 or 15 percent is usually enough

Stephen Todd

A couple of profiles that may give you some ideas:

https://jgmakerforum.com/uploads/editor/v1/zds97rdcudhr.curaprofile

https://github.com/ceakins/3d-Printer-Profiles/blob/master/cura/Material-Templates/JGAurora/A5/PLA-JGAurora-A5.curaprofile

Maybe some ideas here:
https://jgmakerforum.com/discussion/421/cura-profile-for-the-a5-and-explanations-for-the-individual-settings

Some people with A5 size printers remove the bowden tube from the black tubing and let it run freely after shortening the tube - lets you reduce the retraction distance in mm - could speed things up

Youtube should have some generic info on increasing printing speeds, but this could get you started:
https://all3dp.com/2/3d-printing-speed-optimal-settings/

Shauli

Hi Stephen

thank you for the detailed reply.

I'm aware of all the setting involved in accelerating the printing speed
I have two printers, the A5S and the Anycubic Mega S
I used the exact same setting with the exact same object yesterday (two on each printer), the anycubic finished in 5 hours, the A5S did it in 13 hours
that makes no sense. (both together are about a 50x100mm print)
I flushed the printer to the community rom, still, the printer won't accelerate past 20-30 mm/s.
I tried using the tune setting in the printer menu and accelerated all the way up to 300%, didn't change the print speed 
at all.
I think JGAurora have done a hard limit on the printer's speed (if that's possible)

Stephen Todd

As you said the bearings are not free moving, I'm thinking that it is mechanical resistance slowing the printing down

Maybe you can adjust the stepper current in the firmware to give more power to the motors - the new controller board has non-adjustable stepper drivers - the "power" is adjusted in the firmware - its discussed in this forum somewhere

Samuel Pinches

The reason the A5S is slower is the acceleration settings. The printer is physically larger, and the frame less rigid than some other printers. To maintain a good print quality, the acceleration settings are low. However, Cura assumes high acceleration settings, so the estimates it produces are well-off.

You'll need to flash the firmware and change the acceleration settings in the printer to make it go faster, either via EEPROM settings, or in the firmware source code. The printer has "max speed" and "max accel" settings programmed, so simply boosting the print speed will not make it exceed these limits. Have a look in the "configuration.h" file for the custom firmware source code.