Update on progress. After the initial honeymoon period, I ran out of the small spool of green filament which was supplied with the printer and ordered some more online. When it arrived, I experienced all sorts of problems, mainly because I couldn't get the pieces I was trying to print to stick to the print bed. As you can imagine, as the printer applies a series of layers to what has already been printed, if what's been printed moves then subsequent layers can end up all over the place - the worst is to end up with a big bundle of knotted string.
It took me a while to figure out what was needed - and thanks to Philipy for stepping in and advising! But in the end, all that was needed was to replace the masking tape on the bed, clean the knurled wheel that feeds the filament to the print head and lower the temperature of the printhead by 5C. I've also decided to print a skirt around each object. Not essential but it does help to improve adhesion and also makes sure the plastic is flowing freely before it starts printing the actual piece.
I've placed the printer in another corner (away from draughts), stiffened the structure (small wobbles in the frame cause interesting corrugations in the printing) and improved the way the screw threads controlling the vertical movement are connected to the stepper motors.
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I've also ordered some bushed bearing brackets to support the tops of the threaded rods. They only cost a fiver for two (inc postage) from a UK supplier but should help improve the stability of the rods, particularly when printing taller models. In the meantime, here's progress so far on the seats ...
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I've been tinkering with the settings in between each print, but now think I've now got the definitive version of each. The learning curve is beginning to flatten out!! Here's the printer in action, printing one of the seats.
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MetalMuncher suggested this was more of a project than a printer. He's quite right. But in many ways, I feel I'm learning more by having to fiddle and tweak to get it working as reliably as I would want. I'm hoping I can improve the quality of the prints as I make these improvements. Until I reach the stage, maybe, where I've taken it as far as I can - then maybe Santa might be feeling generous.
Rik