This weekend, I adjusted everything -- the size of my lanes, a bit of the geometry, etc. I also added the stationary slingshots. Overall, it shoots better with fewer cheap drains down the sides. I still think my flipper gap is too large, but we'll save that for down the road.
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I needed to adjust the curve of my return rail from the right ramp. I 3D printed some tools using the theory that they would keep the rails separated evenly while I twisted and perhaps not dislodge the cross pieces. Unfortunately, I did in fact dislodge a cross piece so that will have to be fixed down the road when I work on these again.
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I also 3D printed the coil bracket for my VUK. This one took many attempts to get right.
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Even now, it is only 90%, but that is probably good enough. I continue to get a few layers that don't bond together perfectly. You can see that in this picture towards the top.
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I really think it has to be my slicer settings rather than something wrong with my Ender mechanically. I printed the dog model that came pre-loaded on the SD card that came with the Ender, and it printed perfectly. That was pre-sliced.
I've tried upping the extruder temperature, lowering the fan, lowering print speed, etc. What worked the best was increasing the number of layers for my walls, but even then, I still get these lines. Perhaps I need to increase that even further. I'm still getting used to 3D printing, but this one thing has me the most frustrated. I just haven't been able to nail the setting that is causing this. I tried making a small test model -- just a small, vertical wall -- that I could print and try multiple settings until it works. That way I would have results in an hour instead of waiting the 5 hours it takes me to print the bracket. However, just my luck, the test "wall" printed perfectly the first time on settings that don't seem to work for the bracket, despite it being the same thickness. I'm going to try a few other things and then try to post in some online forums for help.