Once I had the machine all hooked up and adjusted, as well as my machine parameters set in ReplicatorG, it was time for the first test print. This was around mid-summer 2010.

Machine all wired up for its first print

For the first test print everything was quite a tangle of wires and loose circuit boards. I had no fume extraction system like I do now, so I used a table fan and an open window.

First Print

The first print turned out pretty well. I printed the classic Unfold’s Self Portrait 3D scan. For this print, I basically just made educated guesses on my initial skeinforge parameters based on previous printing experiences with my Fab@Home, in order to establish a baseline to improve upon. I believe the layer height on this print was around 0.5mm. Since then, I have gone though a lot of meticulous calibration to achieve much better quality prints. Though, this is all a work in progress and I am still working to continuously improving the quality and repeatability of my prints.