[Lab] Reprap parts and people questions

[greg atcheson]

Hello all,

I've bought and assembled a RepRap Prusa Mendel i2 3d printer. I know some
other people in this group have them, as well. Are there any Reprap-related
meetups for tuning these things? I'm still trying to get a decent print
after weeks of trial and error, and I feel that an hour of discussion with
someone who's been through it would probably be more productive than a
month of google searches. Mostly I have been having problems with blobbing
and sometimes-excessive extrusion, it builds up above the nozzle level,
cools, then the nozzle impacts it and either dislodges the print, or causes
the nozzle to deflect, putting great strain on the x-carriage. As it is I
don't have the ability to print a replacement x-carriage as a spare.

Also, my Y-axis bearings simply do not slide very well, which causes the
printer to "skip steps" on fast moves and become misaligned on the Y.
Decreasing print speeds GREATLY has helped, but now it's slow. After having
it apart and swapping parts around to troubleshoot, I have concluded that
some of the bearings are "gritty" and do not slide well, also, the "ground
drill rod" i purchased seems to have some high spots (I think I should have
cut off the unfinished ends). So the next question is: Does anyone know a
place where you can walk in and purchase these lm8uu bearings and/or 8mm
drill rod? The bearings came in a kit, and the drill rod was from Metal
Supermarket, however they took almost a month to get it. Or suggestions on
other places to order from.

Thanks for your help!
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