CTC Dual - Help please...

[washautumnstar]

I have a bunch of problems but am so lost on where to get help, i've tried chat groups and fb groups and forums and now I'm here. Please forgive me if i seem impatient or rude, I'm just frustrated and upset and tired of googling for answers. Also sorry if these have been answered before but I haven't found anything by searching.

I have been printing on and off for about 4 years, I first tried to build my own printer and that failed miserably, I now own a CTC dual. I have tried so many different slicers and I think all the switching has just made things even more confusing. I recently took the chance and spent the money on simplify3d and I like it but I'm running into a lot of problems and I just don't know what settings to change, and I know 3d printing isn't exact science but I'm getting really tired of starting from scratch every time I try a new slicer. thankfully s3d has done a lot of the work for me but I am still having problems.

Main one so far is I can not get any model to print center, i have tried everything from moving it manually to editing the offsets and I just can't figure it out, and it makes it nearly impossible for me to figure how to fix other problems if I can't even get something to print on the print area...

When i load up a file the model is put in the center (dark orange) but when i go to print it prints about where the second model is (bright orange), actually a bit higher because only about half gets printed before going off the are and hitting an endstop

when i remove the origin offset, this happens (see below) on the software, but nothing seems to change with the actual print..

Please can anyone help, with this and future problems...either here or email or something, I just really need some pointers.

Thanks, Wash

[RomeFallsAgain]

The first think I would like to know is .......

Have you EVER had success printing with this printer? Or is it a newly obtained printer and you're still trying to get it dialed in?

At one time a year or so ago I bought a CTC 3D printer and was not able to get it to ever print properly. I returned it.

Have you calibrated the extruders and the home position in the Firmware?

[PhillipM]

Calibrate the home position in the firmware, not in S3D.
It uses the centre of the bed.

[washautumnstar]

The first think I would like to know is .......

Have you EVER had success printing with this printer? Or is it a newly obtained printer and you're still trying to get it dialed in?

At one time a year or so ago I bought a CTC 3D printer and was not able to get it to ever print properly. I returned it.

Have you calibrated the extruders and the home position in the Firmware?

Sorry, I wasn't home for a few days.

Yes I have printed for a while using ReplicatorG/Skeinforge but i've been trying to get better quality prints and so recently bought S3D. And I as I said I can't figure how to center it. Do you mean via S3D? No

So I don't know much about settings in S3D yet, but the very first picture is what it should come out as: software print area aligned with irl print area, model printing in the center- Doesn't Print There

Then i changed offset settings and get the second picture: print area not aligned, model in center of the print area which is now in corner of irl printer- Does Print There, but is also not the same place as the "profile settings" which was more to the left.

[washautumnstar]

Update: I have checked a lot of things people have said, and I still cannot figure it out. But I have found out some new stuff so maybe that will help you guys figure it out.

I have disabled "update machine", I have checked everywhere that the bed size is accurate, I have double checked firmware is up to date, I have checked that the offset is set to accurate values. Here's where things get interesting, if i use s3d "go home commands it goes to the corner and the position readout is {0,0,1}, if i then use command "G1X0Y0Z1" it goes just about perfectly to center. If i use command "G28" then "G1X0Y0Z1" it does NOT go to center more like front and off to the left.

After all the updates and messing with offsets and everything, I tried to print and I am still drawing a line about the center and printing top right corner half off the bed.