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11025 | X / Y axis + Extruder not working on respective ports
On an Ender 3, the X, Y and extruder are not moving when using the prepare menu to move them. If I change the motherboard port for Y to the Z port, the Y moves fine, same goes for the other axis that are not working in their respective ports - so it's not the motor or the cable. What else could be wrong? I find it unlikely that 2/3 axis and extruder are all stopped working at the same time.
I have tried "auto home" but before anything moves it says "Homing failed PRINTER HALTED Please reset". The y axis seems to have a light humming noise to it, but no movement at all.
Seems like all of the stop switches are being ignored. When I "Home Z" with any stop switch plugged into the Z-stop, it just continues along even when i trigger the stop manually. This eventually means it hits the end of the axis and just keeps hitting the end with a nasty vibrating sound.
It was working for about 6 months before all this and my old power supply popped, replaced the power supply and all this started.
I have tried a pre-built marlin 1.1.9 firmware, then tried a self-built marlin 1.1.9 firmware that I followed a guide to do specifically for the Ender 3 and then flashed TH3D U1.R2.15 unified firmware using their instructions and still the problem persists through all firmwares
Hi and welcome to 3DP.SE! You basically established that X and Y only work on the Z header. Have you checked the endstops (e.g. inverted logic or incorrectly wired; try pressing an endstop switch when moving the axis, also note to home the printer first)? Also note that the extruder will only move when it is above a certain temperature, usually over 170 ºC. Please update your question by [edit] to include additional information that is asked through the comments.
also, how long did you have the printer running beforehand?
updated the question with the answers to your questions, thanks!
It sounds to me like the firmware may have become corrupt when the power supply popped... It's the only thing I can think of that would cause this bizarre behaviour! If you have an Arduino there are plenty of tutorials that explain how to reflash the firmware.
updated question with more info regarding firmwares, thanks !
Maybe the question should be: "Is it possible that blowing my printers power supply wrecks up my printer?"
@0scar you might be right. i loaded the stock (unsafe) firmware on the creality3d repo just to make sure it wasnt the firmware and still the same issue. goes to start testing capacitors / resistors and see if i can find something there.
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11038 | What causes these blobby corners
Contrary to a lot of other corner related problems (where the corners are bulging), I seem to have a different problem where the corners (ONLY) seem to stick out and appear blobby in the x/y plane. This only happens for corners/edges with a fillet radius greater than 3-4mm and only in the x/y plane. Anything smaller than that radius (such a sharp corner/edge) seems to be fine.
Any ideas what could be causing this?
Conditions
CR-10s
Ultimaker Cura v4.2.1
Material: ABS
Nozzle size: 0.4mm
Bed temp: 80 °C (I can't go any higher than this)
Nozzle temp: 250 °C
What I've tried already
increasing nozzle temp from 240 to 250 °C (seemed to help slightly?)
reduced flow rate from 100 % to 80 % - had a negative effect on overall print quality
Thank in advance for any ideas/suggestions
Hi Dane, welcome to 3DPrinting.SE! Have you calibrated the filament extrusion (e.g. over-extrusion can cause blobs) and what print speed are you using? From the rounded cube it appears that the speed is too high, the individual lines in the shell are not touching. Please update the question by [edit] rather than replying in a comment. Thanks!
The corners are actually the only part of the second print that looks right - the straight paths in between are extremely under-extruded.
I suspect you are printing through a usb or network connection, and the communication rate it's to slow for any of many reasons. A curve consists of many tiny linear movements, each requiring a command exchange between the PC and printer.
If you can, try printing from an sd card plugged into the printer (I'd the printer is so equipped).
This could be worse if the uses a Bowden extruder, since there is now compression and windup in the filament.
This solved the issue. However, I'm very surprised as to why. I have been printing with the Octoprint OS on the raspberry pi for several months now without any dramas. I feel like there must be something more to the story here. Perhaps a recent Octoprint firmware upgrade or similar which has slowed the baud rate? or increased the amount of processing required per head move?
150 °C is way too low for pretty much any material commonly used in 3D printing, especially ABS. I'm quite surprised anything comes out of the nozzle at all rather than just griding in the extruder gear. Most ABS filament manufacturers recommend a nozzle temperature in the range 210-250 °C. From your images, it looks like you have a lot of serious extrusion problems aside from the corners that should all go away if you print with the right temperature.
Sorry. I meant 250degC. Typo.
So I have the hot end set to 250degC. It was originally 240degC. increasing it marginally helped. But I feel like the issue is more than just a temperature problem. Why would this only be shown in the corners (and not appearing at sharp corners, only filleted corners)
You think I should up the temp again?
Your temperature doesn't seem too bad. Make sure not to use layer cooling / only very little of it. How fast are you printing?
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11045 | PyCNC - How to configure for my setup?
I have replaced the main board of my Anet A8 printer with a Raspberry Pi based one, running PyCNC.
After many issues I have finally got to a point where all the motors work as well as heating and sensors.
However I am unable to print due to the E motor seems to run too much. How can I figure out what values should go to the config of PyCNC? I use Cura, maybe a different slicer/gcode format needs to be chosen? Thanks!!
# Maximum velocity for each axis in millimeter per minute.
MAX_VELOCITY_MM_PER_MIN_X = 3000
MAX_VELOCITY_MM_PER_MIN_Y = 3000
MAX_VELOCITY_MM_PER_MIN_Z = 300
MAX_VELOCITY_MM_PER_MIN_E = 150
MIN_VELOCITY_MM_PER_MIN = 1
# Average velocity for endstop calibration procedure
CALIBRATION_VELOCITY_MM_PER_MIN = 300
# Stepper motors steps per millimeter for each axis.
STEPPER_PULSES_PER_MM_X = 50
STEPPER_PULSES_PER_MM_Y = 50
STEPPER_PULSES_PER_MM_Z = 50
STEPPER_PULSES_PER_MM_E = 15
# Mixed settings.
STEPPER_PULSE_LENGTH_US = 2
STEPPER_MAX_ACCELERATION_MM_PER_S2 = 3000 # for all axis, mm per sec^2
SPINDLE_MAX_RPM = 10000
EXTRUDER_MAX_TEMPERATURE = 250
BED_MAX_TEMPERATURE = 100
MIN_TEMPERATURE = 40
EXTRUDER_PID = {"P": 0.059161177519,
"I": 0.00206217171374,
"D": 0.206217171374}
BED_PID = {"P": 0.226740848076,
"I": 0.00323956215053,
"D": 0.323956215053}
Update: None of the motors work properly. When I try to print a gcode file the motors travel too much an too fast.
I'm not familiar with PyCNC, but generally, first you need to define how much is "too much" and after that you would need to most probably update your STEPPER_PULSES_PER_MM_E with a value other than 15.
Thanks for your comment. This is where I got stuck. I don't know what should be the number for STEPPER_PULSES_PER_MM_E. Actually, turned out all the other motors have this issue. I have no idea how to get these numbers.
Generally you calculate the value, but you can use this one and measure how much extrudes so you can adjust to a new value. You could look into "How do I calibrate the extruder of my printer?" for hints.
Great, thanks, i'll have a look! How to calculate the other values, for the X Y Z motors? This is a common printer, can't i just use the values from .. somewhere? :)
Yes, e.g. here. For the steppers: #define DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT { 100, 100, 400, 100 } for respectively X, Y, Z and E. You've got too few steps configured, so X and Y are twice the speed, Z four times, etc... If those values work, an answer can be composed for you.
I forgot to mention that I have tried with these values, no luck. X Y moves too fast on G28 and Z seems to be just buzzing no movement at all.
Your acceleration is also very high, in Marlin the acceleration values are one third or less the values PyCNC uses; e.g.: #define DEFAULT_ACCELERATION 400 // X, Y, Z and E acceleration for printing moves and values of 1000 for retraction of filament and travel moves.
Unfortunately still no luck. Motors become super fast now.
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14421 | Passing from nozzle diameter 0.4 mm to 0.2 mm causing filament jamming in heater
Im using Prusa Slicer 2.1 for my FlyingBear Ghost 4.
I just changed my 0.4 mm nozzle for a 0.2 mm but it seems to jam in the heater probably due to too much filament trying to get out by the nozzle. Where is the setting to reduce the filement speed and how much I should reduce it?
Here are my settings:
Config.txt
permission fixed
0.2 mm and 0.4 mm are half the diameter, but the maximum flow is not just half: Flow scales with the area. The 0.4 mm nozzle has an area 4 times as the 0.2 mm one:
$\frac{A_1} {A_2}=\frac {0.2^2}{0.1^2}=4$
You need to reduce print speed or the volumetric flow by this factor or make sure your printer can handle the increased flow by reducing the viscosity of the melt - for example by increasing the print temperature.
Also note, that a 0.2 mm nozzle can't be operated with layer heights above 0.15 mm.
Ok, where do I change the settings in prusaslicer?
@EricBrochu reduce print speed, I think it's usually 60 mm/s, so it would be 30 mm/s
@Trish: That should be 15 (1/4). But it might be possible to get by with more if the limiting factor at 60 was melt rate rather than viscosity.
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE yes, brainfail XD
Here's where you change the speed in Prusa:
As Trish said, you're likely trying to push too much material through too fast.
Steps you can take:
Increase print temp
Decrease print speed
Slice for thinner layers
Don't forget to adjust your nozzle diameter and/or extrusion width(s) as well.
I'd personally start with increasing my print temp 10 degrees and cutting my print speed in half, as well as making sure I had 0.2 mm nozzle and extrusion widths.
you don't answer the question at all.
I addressed the issue described in your title. Now I've also answered the question in your question. :)
What about the speed of the filament entering the heater. I do not think that Print speed is a problem, its the speed the feeder pushes the filament.
Filament advance speed is calculated, and essentially equal to the demand (how much output you need per second) (minus offgassing), which is based on your travel velocity (feed rate), layer thickness, and extrusion width. For more details, please see steps 2, 3, and 4 in the part of my answer of which you were originally critical.
i always print with 0.1mm layers, can't go thinner.
The discussion about slowing the print speed is important, but in my experience it is not at the root of the problem, and slowing down printing may make it worse.
If ny "heater" you mean the complete hot-end, then I suspect you are jamming in the cooler part of the hot-end. This cooler part is separated from the heater itself by the heat break, which is often a thin-walled metal tube.
The hot side of the heat break is heated by the heater. The cooler-end, the cool side of the heat break, is cooled by two things:
cold filament being moved through it and
airflow from the fan over the heat sink fins.
It is heated by:
Thermal conduction through the thin metal tube
Convection airflow from the hot-end vertically and over the cooler-end
Hot filament being pulled through the heat break during retraction.
When you are printing with a smaller cross-section of extruded filament, the slicer program should adjust the flow rate and speeds based on the lesser volume of plastic extruded for a given pressure. Unfortunately, this is less plastic, so the filament cools the cooler end of the heat break less than it would if the feed rate were higher. As a result, the temperature of the cooler end goes up. If there is insufficient airflow to keep the cooler side below the softening point of filament, the filament softens and jams inside the cooler end.
Of course, if your jam actually is in the hot end, this discussion is not relevant.
But, I have found with my Prusa i3m3 that I have had problems with jamming in the cooler end, especially when I printed filament with a higher melting temperature, ABS in this case. I reduced the area of the airflow so that no air could pass through other than by passing over the heat sink fins, and the ABS printed correctly.
All of 3D printing is a balance of one factor against another. It is hard to lose, though, by increasing the cooler-end temperature. All will seem well until you print something with a lower flow, or a higher retraction rate, or you try using a higher temperature for the same filament. Then the jam can unexpectedly occur, or, perhaps worse, it can be an intermittent jam, or there can be a lot to sticktion, and printing becomes prone to gaps, or occasional under extrusion.
Ah, now it makes sense - yes, smaller nozzles do create heat creep, in addition to being challenged with high flow due to viscosity.
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19052 | Bottom part of spherical objects print problematic
I got a Flyingbear Ghost 4 and using Cura. It is doing fine until I have to print spheric things. I'm using a high density material that needs to be at 210 °C and slower print speed. I also built a top and a door for my printer so it's partly enclosed at 90 %
An easy example of what I got is a sphere object.
The lower half is messy with uneven surface, lot of visible strings marks at firsts layers. While upper part is just perfect. I tried to to work around it multiple times but can't find any worthy info on internet. Tried to slowing down the printing speed by max 50 %, thicker shell, nothing seems to work.
Here a Lapras I did to my son to show you.
Settings:
Fan_Speed : 100 % (it's off for the first layer)
LayerHeight : 0.1 mm
Bed_Temperature : 60 °C
Nozzle_Temperature : 210 °C
Nozzle_size : 0.4 mm
Shell_Thickness : 1.6 mm (so 4 passes)
Printing_speed : 45 mm/sec (max moving speed for this printer is 150 mm/sec,
default printing speed is 60 mm/sec)
Support_type : Everywhere
Support_Min_Angle : 59°
Can you help me with this?
Please add a photo to show the problem otherwise the question may end up being closed for insufficient amount of information to solve the problem.
This is a potential duplicate question of this question.
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11107 | Anet A8 not printing over heat bed
My Anet A8 printer will not print over the heated bed.
Once I have prepared a file on Cura and inserted the SD card into the printer, the nozzle (extruder) moves into the top left corner and stays there. I have unchecked "Origin at center" and been over the printer settings multiple times. Yet still nothing.
Any suggestions?
I have included a picture of the settings I am using:
Welcome to 3DPrinting.SE! Please post a piece of the code (30 lines or so), or a link to PasteBin.
What parameters did you use in your slicing software? Sure looks like the location data "thinks" the bed is off in negative (x,y) space somewhere. Make sure Cura knows you are using an A8, and that you have the X and Y motor drives plugged into the correct outputs on the board.
Please fix your start and end codes by reading this question about not using G28 X0 Y0, use G28 in the start code and G0 X0 Y0 in the end code. Also remove the G28 Z0 from the start code.
I have altered the start and end codes as @0scar suggested. CarlWitthoft, the Cura version I am using does not have a specific selection menu for the Anet A8. I believe I had to specify a custom printer when setting it up. What is your suggestion for the negative (x,y) spaces? - sorry about this, am new to all of this.
do you set the {speed_print} value correct? Otherwise the command G1 Z15.0 F {speed_print} is not executable imho...
Good catch, +1, the variable/keyword is called {print_speed}! IMHO it is far better to use a fixed value rather than a a print speed to move the platform...
Interesting - there appears to be no value following the code G1 F{speed_print} simply a blank line. I have added a second image showing the value for {speed_print} which in this case is blank.
@user18696 That is because {speed_print} does not exist! It is called {print_speed}, but you shouldn't use that parameter at all, you should use a fixed value.
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11166 | PLA Filament Not Softening During Load w/ FlashForge Creator Pro
Recently, after printing fine for several weeks, I've gone to load in white PLA filament into the right extruder on my FlashForge Creator Pro and the extruder is not pulling the white PLA filament through. The gears grab the filament and pull it down but it never makes it out the other end. I have successfully used this filament through this same extruder as recently as yesterday. The steps I have taken are:
• Remove the extruder motor and cleaned the gears. There was no noticeable issues or clogs.
• Turned the heat on and used the skinny metal unclogging tool that came with the printer to drive any excess filament out of the nozzle.
• Removed the nozzle and cleaned as best as I could. To be clear, this does not appear to be a nozzle clog because I have removed the nozzle, leaving the plastic tube that's under it in the extruder and I can run the unclogging tool all the way through the tube and out the top of extruder when the nozzle is not on. The line appears to be clear.
• I then tried to load the filament without the nozzle on (but with the plastic tube still in the extruder; which I confirmed in the last step does not have a clog in it). Same problem.
• I unloading the black PLA filament from the left extruder and then took the white PLA filament (which wouldn't load into the right extruder) and tried to load it into the left one. Same problem. I then took the black PLA filament and went to load it back into the left extruder and it worked fine.
The white filament seems to be the problem but I cannot figure out what the problem would be. It's the same size as the black filament and the black filament works fine through the extruders that the white one does not. As mentioned, this filament worked fine yesterday.
I took the fan off and watched the filament get gripped by the motor gears and pulled down until it is entered into the hole below the motor. That is the point at which is gets stuck. It appears the filament simply is not being softened/melted enough to start feeding through the smaller hole.
I researched this and saw that this could be the result of a faulty reading by the machine due to thermocouple problems (?) but it seems doubtful now that I've tested successfully with black filament.
My settings are as follows:
FlashForge Creator Pro
PLA Filament
Extruder - 210C (I started a 200C but then increased)
Any thoughts or pointers would be great. Thank you!
After all of this trial and error it was a simple solution.
I did not snip off the end of the filament after unloading. The filament had been tapered after unloading because of the way it was extruded previously. I don't know exactly why (please feel free to add to this answer) but when I made a clean cut on the end of the filament and then fed it through, it extruded with no problem.
Fresh filament has a diameter of around 1.75mm, while the inner diameter of hot ends and especially bowden tubes is a bit larger; for example, Capricorn is specified at 1.9mm.
If the end of the filament was heated, it starts to adapt to that larger diameter whereever it's warm enough to be malleable. When removing the filament, that doesn't prevent removal: It's still warm and easily removable. Once it's cooled down, though, that extra diameter adds a lot of friction when trying to feed the filament back into the hot end.
Atop @Towe 's comment: The molten plastic gets compressed by the plastic following, thus creating the pressure that ultimately creates the extrusion. However, the tubing is slightly deformable, so that when the filament cools and solidifies (with a little bit of shrinking) it still sits tight in the now no longer "stretched" tube.
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14078 | Ringing with Ultimakers, what is the cause?
At my work, we have 3x Ultimaker 2+, 1x Ultimaker 3 and 1x PRUSA i3 mk3s. The Ultimakers have been used quite a lot for the past three years, but the belts and bearings seem ok.
I got heavy ringing with all Ultimakers, but the print on the PRUSA is neat even at a higher speed.
I have a Ultimaker 2+ which I use together with CURA. I print in PLA at 210°C. The print bed is set to 60 °C. I use a print cooling fan at 60 %. The layer height I set to 0.2 mm, the line width 0.8 from the 0.4 mm nozzle. The Printing Speed is set to 30 mm/s for walls and 50 mm/s for infill.
Is this a known issue with Ultimakers?
How can I fix it?
The comparison with what I get with the PRUSA is uncanny:
EDIT
I have tighten the screws on the extruding head and cleaned the machine, but I still notice a mechanical play. Therefore, the result is not satisfying...
.
I don't see any heavy ringing, or do you mean the bulging on the railing of the boat?
@0scar I've added a picture of what quality I am expecting. If it's not ringing I don't know how you call this default where the surface is rippled.
Is this old filament? My Ultimaker prints like the bottom. What material, what settings, see e.g. "Help us help you!">
The filament is not that old. I am sure it is caused by some vibrations somewhere.
Possibly a dumb question but the ringing is occurring on all 3 Ultimakers, correct? Possibly this has to do with a slicer setting that the Prusa can handle better then the Ultimaker printers (or an update to your slicing software).
@Dr.MantisTobbogan I don’t think it is the slicer’s fault. These machines are old and perhaps some components are causing this behavior
Okay, your call, just odd that all three machines developed a similar problem. I'm not sure how your Ultimakers are constructed but perhaps there are some rubber dampers that have dried out and aren't functioning optimally. Just throwing ideas out there really though...
@Dr.MantisTobbogan Actually that speaks of similar use: if 10 cars show the same behavior after the same distance, it might be the wear of the same part or a flaw in the design.
@Dr.MantisTobbogan You do need to do some maintenance occasionally by lubing the steel rods, lube is supplied with the Ultimaker. An Ultimaker 3E at work had a worn bearing bushing, I think they haven't properly lubed the rods.
Usually people post the most relevant settings as in the link posted before. But, indeed, that is not the quality of an Ultimaker. If this is PLA?, 215 °C is quite high. What is the printing speed, jerk, accel...
have been used quite a lot for the past three years
The problem, even if belts and such seem ok, might be that other parts start to wear out. The part that contributes te most to ringing is the motion system. Grooves in rails or worn out bearings are a classic way that introduces some freedom in the system that can result in rattle and ringing. A photo of the rails and bearings might help to identify wear. Remember that most bearings need some sort of lubricant to work properly and reduce the wear in them, which should be part of the maintenance cycle!
Another source for the errors could be found in the extrusion system. For example, there might be an increased play in the gearing as springs under constant pressure can lose some tension, resulting in too little pressure on the filament, which typically would show up as under extrusion if the pressure is lost completely. On the other side, the hobbled gear that pushes the filament might be worn, resulting in a lack of responsiveness of the filament movement, again resulting in under extrusion after some point. Once more, photos of this area could help to indicate wear and tear.
Another source might be the mounting of the printer - it has been shown beneficial to put printers on a slab of concrete that itself is dampened on a medium density foam, resulting in even dampening that is usually better than the rubber feet of many printers.
Very likely due to the extrusion subsystem. Ultimaker uses 2.85 mm filament so filament motion is critical: a little slippage causes visible changes in the extrusion. If the teeth are worn out, this is the case. Worn out bearings (or dirty bearings) can also cause the same, since motion is not smooth.
I've added a photo to my question if it can help.
@nowox That are worn bushings/rods as far as I can tell.It doesn't show the inside of the extruder so hard to tell if there might be other worn parts.
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11186 | PLA printings always ~0.22% larger
I was trying to print parts for a small CD-ROM drive based plotter based on this thing https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3521286
But as tolerances are very small and need to match the existing parts, I realized that my printed parts are actually a little bigger, I made a test with a part like this:
_ _
/ \ / \
\ .------------------------. ___
| [O]________________[O] | ^
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |<--- 62mm ---->| | | |
| | | | 70mm
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
_| [O]________________[O] | _v_
/ '------------------------' \
\ _ / \ _ /
Side View:
[X] [X]
___[XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX]____
A squared and mouse-eared frame with two protruding 4mm cubes on each corner with inner distances of 62mm and outer of 70mm between each adjacent cubes.
I discovered that, after measuring many times and averaging distances, my model printed 0.227..% larger.
I've heard of shrinkage factor for ABS or Nylon, and people compensate scaling their models while slicing.
But what about PLA?
Im using:
Anet A8
Stock marlin firmware (not the Anet one)
Flashforge natural PLA 1.75mm
0.4mm Nozzle
0.2mm layer height
0.4mm line width
210ºC extrusion temp
60ºC Bed temp
40mm/s print speed
Fusion 360, Cura 2.7 or 4.3 and Octoprint.
The printed model is pretty flat, has no curvatures or artifacts either.
Would this be an error of constants on my printer a known artifact from PLA?
What's your line width?
The Z direction is usually very close. X and Y isn't a ratio of the total size, but the increase is a factor of how much the extruder mashes down the outer shell.
If it's repeatable, then just adjust the scale factor by the opposite amount before slicing the model.
You mention "averaging". Please provide measured values for inner and outer dimensions. Also, you should measure after removing the two bottom layers, which can be squeezed to the bed and appear larger.
you can calibrate your printer, if you havn't done so already, which should fix it most of the way.
@Trish, the line width I have is 0.4 mm, same as nozzle. also, the nozzles are new.
@FarO, what do you mean by removing the two bottom layers? like sanding them?
@FarO, ohh, you mean because of elephant's foot artifacts? added a side view of the model, I'm measuring the cubes on top and their are straight flat on the sides.
Don't have the numbers right now, but the process was:
Xo = (70+62)/2; Xi=(avg(LongDist)+avg(ShortDist))/2; ratio= Xi/Xo
Took many measurements of each side bc I'm using a 0.02mm manual caliper.
@CarlWitthoft yeah, for the moment I'm doing that, thats why I calculated the %. I saw some slicers have a config option to add that to compensate for shrinkage, so anytime you drop a model it scales. but didn't find something like that for cura.
@rccursach I ask the two values separately because if the inner dimension is smaller than expected, and the outer one is larger, the two with an average of 0.whatever% you have a certain issue, but if both inner and outer dimensions are larger than expected, you have another issue.
@rccursach are you aware of this? https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/6968/slicer-line-width-vs-extrusion-multiplier-for-layer-adhesion the extrusion width is larger than the set one, maybe that explains most of the discrepancy
@0scar lol thanks, yeah, the piece was printed over the weekend, and I'm not around the printer or the computer where i built that. I have the piece with me but as is natural PLA and looks translucent, can't get a good pic of that.
@FarO, no I wasn't, thanks, I'll try what trish said in her answer, but yeah, must be that.
You need to print something with a hole and see what happens. On the printer I use, outside dimensions are larger, but inside dimensions of holes are smaller. What seems to explain this is the extruder tip mashes the 0.4 mm extrusion to 0.2 mm.
You are not taking into account die swell.
When printing with a 3D printer hot plastic is forced through a nozzle, which leads to the expansion of the material. The result is, that with 0.4 mm nozzle and 0.4 mm intended line width, the material will actually deposit some fraction of a millimeter wider. In your test case, that is 0.22%. If you'd print a double-sized test piece, I expect 0.11%, and in case of a half-sized 0.44% - in other words, it is a static offset.
Because of this, it is usually better to demand wider lines than the nozzle is, forcing the die swell effect to become negligible in the wider line. I managed this with about 110% of the nozzle width on my machines.
Further Reading: Why is it conventional to set line width > nozzle diameter?
Awesome! No I didn't think about die swell, I'll make the experiment to scale the model down a few times and verify. Then play with the line width and come back with results.
Cura has a fixed offset called "horizontal expansion", which can be set negatively. This way you can hardcode a -0.1mm offset for example. It worked for me where holes got too small and pegs got too thick.
Simplify3D has this as well, but I tend to find it troublesome because it will actually adjust your model and not just change the print settings. It's best to get your extrusion width calibrated instead.
There are several ways to try and adjust for this effect of squashing the material, which is ultimately about having enough space for the material you lay down.
As mentioned:
You can try to pre-scale models (not very effective as a general solution because it is a function of the model and how many adjacent layers your material is forcing)
You can up the line width.
If your software allows, you can input a slightly larger filament diameter to lay a bit less material. (Wanted to stress this one as it's been pretty useful for me)
If you are intentionally undershooting the volume by some percentage via the filament diameter, it may help to play with the layer height to control the end result of the line's cross section.
I've had good results with a combination of the latter three (basically comes down to calibrating the printer to get settings for your desired material spool, and level of detail -> sizes of line and layer for the print)
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11221 | Is it safe to use photon-resin-calibration for Epax printer?
This repository contains a calibration test for DLP printers.
As its file Instructions.txt says, it is an ANYCUBIC RESIN EXPOSURE FINDER by X3msnake.
Are all the files, both .photon and .gcode, compatible with the Epax X1 printer?
Yes, it seems to be.
I tried the test and it worked well.
Hi stenci and welcome to SE.3DP. I'm glad that you proved the case. Please don't forget to mark your answer as the accepted answer, using the (green) tick icon next to your answer. That will remove your queue from our unanswered queue list. Thanks in advance. You might have to wait 24 hours though, before you can see the tick icon...
Please explain the test in the answer, as that would make this answer much better. SLA and DLP are things many in the community have little experience with, so any information you propagate your experience and how you acquire it can help others perform the same tests to check if their resin is compatible with their printer.
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11212 | How do I find the best settings for a resin?
I have an Epax X1, I have just purchased the 2nd and 3rd bottle of resin, but I don't know what are the best settings.
What is the best way to find the best settings for a new resin?
Is it possible to print a calibration object that starts with some settings and changes as it goes? For example starts with 12 seconds and decreases half second every 5 mm?
EDIT
The 2 resins I am dealing with right now are Nova3D and Elegoo. Any help with those two resins would help right now, but I would love to have a more generic answer that would allow me to explore and troubleshoot any resin without asking every time.
Do the resins come with papers? Usually, suggested settings are in there.
No. I have one ELEGOO Yellow and one NOVA3D Black, and they both came with no settings.
mind sharing a picture of the label on the bottle or packaging?
I added the links to Amazon to the post, please let me know if that's enough for you.
Since every printer is slightly different (light intensity, for example), you probably want to run one of those 12-spot test patterns where each "spot" gets a different exposure time, then see what time works best.
Since every printer is slightly different (light intensity, for example), you probably want to run one of those 12-spot test patterns where each "spot" gets a different exposure time, then see what time works best.
I found a more general test pattern at Amerilabs Calibration File which may be useful. Not to mention a zillion other test patterns
Those tests seem to be just solid models that will tell you if your settings are right. This means that I need to print the same test with different settings many times and pick the best. Wouldn't be easier to print one test with different settings? One single program that starts with long exposure times and gradually speeds up?
@stenci that would be the multi-spot profile. The one I had (and lost) exposed one spot at a time but didn't change the Z-axis position, so that each spot is the "first layer"
This test is not just a verification solid, is a program that tries different exposures and shows them all side by side: https://github.com/altLab/photon-resin-calibration
The test doesn't move slower and slower, but it does something equivalent: keeps the plate in the same position while changing the bitmap.
EDIT
I tried the test, and I'm not happy about it. I tested the same black resin with the 0.02 and 0.05 layer thicknesses, and according to the tests I should use 8 seconds with the 0.02 and 6 seconds with the 0.05. This result goes against anything I heard about relation between layer thickness and exposure time.
I also read in an issue in the repository that the test is not reliable with clear resins. My 2 tests are so thin that my black resin is transparent. I don't know if this is a factor, it just doesn't feel right.
I will keep searching for a better test and update this post if I find one.
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11501 | Smallest dot/dot indent for Prusa MK3S using PLA
I want to make a project involving many small dots indents and I would like to know how I can calculate the smallest dot hole the Prusa i3 MK3S can extrude around on a layer using PLA. In other words, if I printer a mesh with circle shaped holes, how would I know the minimum diameter of the holes. Is it simply the same as the layer resolution (0.35 mm), filament size (1.75 mm), or is it something else?
There is no direct limit on the size of a hole in XY-plane (that means: oriented so that the hole is visible from above).
The movement accuracy of MK3S (and most other modern 3D printers) is about 0.01 mm. So theoretically you could move around a circle that has diameter of the (default) 0.4 mm extrusion width + 0.01 mm, and get a 0.01 mm hole in the middle of the circle.
In practice, the hole size will be limited by the repeatability of the extrusion width. If in the above example the extrusion width happens to be 0.41 mm instead, there would be no hole remaining.
On a well calibrated printer, 1/4th of the nozzle size should be manageable, i.e. for MK3S you should be able to get 0.1 mm holes quite reliably.
The only way to know exactly what limits your model, printer, slicer, and filament operate under, is to test it. While we can provide some guidelines, actual performance varies on a complex set of inter-connected variables. Even the room temp/humidity, filament age, and even filament color, can matter at the tightest margins. You have to consider what the print direction for the holes is (z/x/y), as layering matters even more than the above. And under what print speed and layer height? There's billions of combinations just with your printer alone.
Bottom line: run some test prints and see what you're satisfied with.
That depends on the ability how fast you get filament to stick to the build plate and whether the filament is loaded in the extruder. It also matters which size of nozzle you are using. The filament diameter has no influence other than smaller filament width (e.g. 1.75 mm) requires more length to extrude with respect to thicker filament (e.g 2.85 or 3.0 mm), and is therefore more precise to lay down (on the other side is the deviation on the filament diameter, i.e. manufacturing tolerance, larger than for thicker filament...).
If it does not stick you need more length, also, if the filament is not preloaded enough, the nozzle chamber needs to be filled first. Note that the printing of several small circles is a challenge, see e.g. "How do I get circles on small interior holes to adhere to the bed?".
Thanks for bringing this issue to my attention (I don't even have the printer yet so this is really helpful to consider). It would be a possibility to start with full layers and sand them down. Would that possibly help?
@curious I'm not a big fan of sanding, but it could work depending on your application. When you get the printer, start experimenting what works and what not, for questions, there are plenty people around to help you get the answers. Good luck!
Let's look at how small we can print, shall we? Well, we have this filament, it gets pressed into the chamber, melts and then moves out a small orifice. So the first thing that limits print minimum is nozzle diameter, which correlates with the extrusion width - usually, I use a factor of 1.1 nozzles for the extrusion width.
Next factor is the bed or surface you're printing on which correlates with the Print material: some surfaces literally love to take your filament and allow your printer to extrude just a dot, then lift up like PLA onto a well-prepared surface. Others REALLY don't want to stick, demanding you to extrude more, which means you need to draw a circle (POM).
A lesser factor is the print temperature, which changes how vicious the filament is and how well you have dialed in your retraction, which determines how much of a "dead" move you have to have on the extruder to get the filament to extrude between dots.
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11284 | Adjust Y axis only for Octoprint Bed Visualizer
I am using the Octoprint Bed Visualizer on my Ender 3/BLTouch setup. When it moves to the front left corner, the BLTouch sensor nearly misses the bed touching the very edge. Likewise, it is shifted fairly far forward in the back.
Is it possible to shift the Y axis only for the visualizer? I see there is an M206 gcode that apparently does this, but putting the code into the Visualizer settings doesn't seem to make a difference.
UPDATE: I checked the firmware settings and they are set as follows, which seem correct,
X_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER -41
Y_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER -5
X_BED_SIZE 235
Y_BED_SIZE 235
did you define the offset of the Z-probe to the nozzle position in the firmware?
Yes when I updated the firmware I believe I set it correctly but I’ll double check. Thanks for the reminder
I found a good external link that I'm going to play with for a bit: https://github.com/JimBrown/MarlinTarantula/wiki/How-to-center-your-prints-on-the-bed
Did you set the correct boundaries for the sensor in your firmware? You might want to read: "How to set Z-probe boundary limits in firmware when using automatic bed leveling?".
Ah thanks. It looks like I may be able to make use of MIN_PROBE_EDGE. I’ll flash some new settings and give it a try.
A minimum probe value added to the boundaries is part of the problem, identifying the correct bed limits for the probe is the first hurdle to take.
I have no MIN_PROBE_VALUE currently added to the boundaries. Since I'm having issues with the sizing I could either adjust the size of the bed or tweak it through the *_PROBE_BED_POSITION values.
Have you made any progress to answer your own question? Or did the question "How to set Z-probe boundary limits in firmware when using automatic bed leveling?" help you to fix the problem?
Ultimately I simply adjusted the PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER values to shift the probe touch position in the direction that I wanted. This effectively moved the entire working area on the bed in the direction I needed. It's a bit of a hack but it worked for my purposes.
Could you post your last comment as an answer, please..? If you answer in the comments then the Q&A mechanism of the site gets broken, and in addition, it doesn't decrease the length of our unanswered queue, which we need to keep to a minimum in order to graduate out of being a beta site. Many thanks. :-)
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18071 | Is it possible to store skew correction values in printer.cfg file in Klipper?
The Klipper documentation describes how I should apply skew correction:
Print the test model (I printed this 100x100x100 3-dimensional model)
Make the measurements (I have got about 0.5...0.6 mm errors at all of the axes)
Send skew correction G-code at the beginning of the print
This does not look like the most convenient way for me. I'd like to add these values to the Klipper configuration file to make all my prints more straight. However, I did not get the idea of how to edit printer.cfg file properly.
I'm aware of the possibility of going beyond the printing zone. I suppose that for my case (only half a millimeter on a 100 mm model) can not lead to any issues with my printer mechanics.
In the documentation, this part is not adding any details.
Can someone post some examples or short instructions to make this possible?
If you need this information: I have the original Ender 3 (3 y.o. or so) with no kinematics or electronics improvements. Only head modification: V6 with BMG direct extruder.
UPDATE
I tried to append the following to printer.cfg file:
However after restart I see error message:
Is it even worth to correct for 0.5 mm over 100 mm? it's half percent and it could be even caused by measurement errors.
@FarO, I'm printing now two relatively large parts (200 mm in height) which should connect to each other. After I printed them in different orientations (I needed to orient them in this way) and the missalignment is clearly visible. So I try to fix this now.
You need to enable skew correction in the printer.cfg
[skew_correction]
You need to enter your skew numbers into the console and save it. This will save your skew profile to the bottom of printer.cfg.
SET_SKEW XY=141.22,141.15,100 XZ=140.87,141.34,99.84 YZ=141.12,141.26,99.94
SKEW_PROFILE SAVE=my_skew
Also, Klipper docs warns about skew correction causing problems:
https://www.klipper3d.org/Skew_Correction.html#caveats
You need to add SKEW_PROFILE LOAD to your START_PRINT macro and SET_SKEW CLEAR=1 to your END_PRINT macro. You can either add this to your macros in Klipper or slicer program.
My skew parameters may be different from yours. I recommend you to perform your own measurements. My printer is an Ender3 S1 with linear rails.
START_PRINT macro. Skew profile is loaded before the print starts.
SKEW_PROFILE LOAD=<your_skew_profile_name>
END_PRINT macro. Skew profile is disabled before the print is presented.
SET_SKEW CLEAR=1
It would be helpful (and searchable) if the 'code' was actual text instead of screenshots. Please use the [Edit] feature to improve your answer.
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12129 | PID Autotuning not working – large initial overshoot, no oscillations
Using the following code to autotune the PID:
M303 E0 S200 C10
Which is setting my tuning temperature to 200 °C using 10 cycles (though this is irrelevant in this scenario).
The temperature overshoots to 250 °C then decreases until room temperature.
The following error is returned:
PID Autotune failed! Temperature too high
As a test I reset all PID values to zero.
M301 P00.00 I00.00 D00.00
M500
Then set the printer to reach 200 °C
M104 S200
This produced the following graph, where oscillations can be seen.
I could attempt to manual tune the PID from here but I'd rather use the autotune command if possible. Any ideas how to fix this?
No sure what exactly went wrong here, but increasing the PID_FUNCTIONAL_RANGE may help.
The overshoot may also have triggered overtemp protections (HEATER_0_MAXTEMP)
@towe I am receiving the message "PID Autotune failed! Temperature too high" so it looks like you are correct about the overtemp protections. However, I am unsure about how to/what to adjust PID_FUNCTIONAL_RANGE and HEATER_0_MAXTEMP to?
We'd need to know what printer (/ hotend) model you're using to say for sure what HEATER_0_MAXTEMP would be safe.
PID_FUNCTIONAL_RANGE is just a way of ensure fast heat up times. By default, Marlin heats at 100% power until it's at (Target temperature) - (PID_FUNCTIONAL_RANGE) and only then starts to modulate heating power with PWM. I'm not sure whether that applies to PID tuning though.
How long does the hot end take to heat up to the target temperature (with PID = 0)?
@towe The printer I'm using is a Creality Ender 3, the hotend setup is the stock 20W heater cartridge and thermistor, with the Ender 3 having an output power of 24W. The heater block I am using is not stock however, it is a custom one I made myself. With PID=0, the heat up time from room temp to 200°C is approx. 40s
I recently experienced exactly the same problem. For me it was related to an incorrect heater cartridge. I accidentally used a 12 V cartridge in a 24 V powered system.
The heater element got accidentally mixed up between the higher voltage parts container and I forgot to check the resistance. Inserting the correct voltage heater immediately fixed the problem, but it did require a retune of the hotend.
This is the correct solution to my problem, I realised just the other day that I was using a 12V cartridge as opposed to the 24V cartridge I normally use.
It got me puzzled for a while until I decided to measure the resistance of the cartridge... Glad it fixed it for you too!
I guess this should be one of our FAQ ones XD
same problem.Got my e3dv6 for 12V system and forgot it.....
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11328 | Delete only invisible parts of faces
I have an STL made out of triangular faces that intersect themselves to create very complicated patterns. It also has a very messy internal structure. I'd like to remove the parts of the faces that are invisible from outside, whilst still maintaining the precise geometry of the model.
Any free software I can use is fine by me.
I tried using the Hollow Tool in Meshmixer, but that just deleted half of everything, for some reason. I also tried doing a Uniform Mesh Resampling in Meshlab, but that just created a wrinkly, disconnected mess. Disabling infill in Cura seems to do nothing.
For reference, the model looks like this.
As long as the STL creates a closed, manifold, watertight body, a good slicer will just slice it. Ultimaker Cura has the option to Union intersecting shells, which lets it take non-manifold parts of a shell and union them to the body in such a way that it creates a closed body. More simplification and fixing the problem in a slicer usually is not needed. If there is still some area where internal geometry is created, it can help to create an overlapping internal structure deliberately, as Easy way to refine a 3D-model for 3D printing by removing internal geometry explains.
Let's look at some example: The STL game export of a pauldron is made from the base body (one shell) and the rivets (which are another shell inside the STL). If Union Intersecting Shells is active, the rivets are sliced and printed as part of the pauldron. If Union Intersecting Shells is not active, the rivets are found to be non-sliceable and ignored.
Infill is meant to support the upper structures in print.
If it is mandatory to join the item into one shell, the STL format isn't the best to go through.
If the pattern is produced by a program, that is able to generate and export STEP files, these could be used by CAD software such as Fusion360 which then would interpret the generated body in such a way that it can be unioned easily, getting rid of internal geometry.
If the program generating the pattern is working with a vertex cloud such as blender, it should be possible to cut the long outer lines into several pieces and placing the vertices on the intersection of lines. These vertices could then be merged and any internal edges (and faces) removed. This can be a tedious process.
I won’t have the chance to test this for a few days. But, I’ll get back when I do, thanks!
Yep, this worked for my purposes. Again, thank you!
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11841 | E3D v6 oozing / dripping
edit:
custom printer with 2 hitends (generic ptfe lined and genuine e3d v6 all metal). verified same temperature. e3d v6 oozes to the point that its unusable, generic works well.
steps taken
verified temps are identical with external probe
changed nozzles
rebuilt by to ensure no gaps
checked v6 hearsink cooling
changed retractions. settings.
original:
I've got a custom dual extruder machine - I've calibrated the temperatures of both hotends so I know the temperatures are very accurate.
One is a regular hotend similar to an Ender 3 setup and the other is a genuine E3D v6 - and I've checked the assembly many times.
At 190 °C, my external mp probe reads 190 °C on both. with PLA at 190 °C in the Ender 3 style hotend, pushing filament through by hand is smooth but requires some push and the oozing stops very soon after. on the E3D hotend, no effort is required and it will continue to ooze filament for quite a while.
I've checked and double checked the temperature, changed nozzles, checked and double checked assembly and Bowden tube seating position and I'm at a loss as to how to get this E3D v6 to stop oozing because it seems to just drip even at low temperatures, retractions do nothing and the prints with that extruder are messy.
Any advice on how to get this thing to stop oozing would be greatly appreciated!
When a hotend is hot, filament leaks out, that is just a given. Retraction and standby temperature (considerably lower than the printing temperature) can be used to fight the oozing. I have non-genuine E3D v6 hotends which also ooze at print temperature and filled nozzle chamber, retraction helps a little, there is always molten plastic that will come out. You're just lucky one hotend doesn't leak.
This has been asked before, so don't be surprised if the community will vote for a duplicate, see e.g. When dwelling G4, my printer is oozing, how can i stop that? or this one Ender 3 extrudes plastic whilst at standstill, and while moving to start of print.
Without retraction, oozing is unavoideable. Retract some length.
Does this answer your question? When dwelling G4, my printer is oozing, how can i stop that?
thanks for the comments and recommendation of a similar question - however that doesnt quite help. I'm asking more specifically what can be done with the v6. I understand why there is ooze and why it cant be completely stopped - but when comparing it to my cheap hotend which doesnt ooze nearly as much as the e3d v6, it takes no force to push filament through the v6 but there is some resistance pushing it through the cheap hotend at the exact same temperature and same nozzle size. the cheap hotend stops oozing very soon, the e3d just continues to drip.
Could be that the inside of the nozzle is differently machined and shaped.
Are both hotends identical? Or, is the genuine PTFE lined and the clone all-metal heat break?
my cheap one that doesnt ooze is a generic ptfe lined hotend and the one that oozes is an all metal genuine e3d v6. it oozes to the point that its unusable as the material builds up on the nozzle and leaves blobs all over the print.
please share a photo of the setup and the retraction settings for each hotend. Note it is always advised to have all hotends be of the same design to make settings easier.
I will get a picture up soon. The plan is to have both the same, but I wanted to try the e3d v6 first as I've heard great things about it and terrible things about it (jamming, oozing, etc)
Ahhh, well, the e3D v6 is an all-metal hotend, which has some benefits and problems. if you want to work with a hotend that is PLA only, the e3d Lite6 is an option for a lined, not-all-metal hotend. It is easier to work with at times.
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11402 | Setting up UBL for the first time on Marlin 2.x on a Prusa i3, how often should I level the bed using G29?
I used to use the Marlin 1.x software that would level the bed by probing the 4 corners of my print bed (a long time ago, it's been at least 2 years since I used my printer, wasn't able to set it up after I moved).
My slicer had G-code that would kick off a level at the beginning of every print.
I've upgraded to Marlin 2.x and now I'm setting up UBL. It takes quite a bit of time to probe the bed with UBL, like 10 minutes. The steps tell me to save to EEPROM and my firmware is set up to restore after every G28 (Home).
How often should I do a G29 (Bed Leveling)? Should I do it every print? Every 10 prints? 100 Prints? Or when I see that the print isn't sticking to the bed?
EDIT: I went from a Grid-style ABL to UBL because UBL merges the benefits of a few different leveling techniques so theoretically it should be better. I understand I could just go back to grid-style bed leveling but even when it was working, for some reason the z-offset would shift ever so slightly every few prints and I would have to change configure it in my slicer. I'd like to try UBL and see if I can leave my printer for a while without having to fidget with the Z-offset.
I dont know about UBL, or how long it takes to complete, however if it doesnt take a long time and doesnt requre manual intervention, may as well run it at the beginning of every print. Otherwise just use it when you see problems?
It takes quite a bit of time, like 10 minutes. With the grid leveling, it was something like 30 seconds, so I did it before every print
In that case, just run it any time you change something on the bed or start seeing issues. Going to wait to let someone else post an answer that's more knowledgable here.
I wonder what made you decide to go from an ABL (Automatic Bed Levelling) sequence (taking 30 seconds before every print) to a UBL (Unified Bed Leveling) that requires 10 minutes of work once in a while? Could you explain that in the question?
@0scar: never really had a setup I was happy with when using a grid-style ABL. The Z-offset would shift over time and I'd have to reflash the firmware or control it in my slicer. I haven't used my printer for a few years so I figured now is the best time to re-configure and use the newest tech. Updated question to include this information.
A shifting Z-offset over time (few seconds to fix) would be less work than a 10 minute UBL leveling session! ;-) What makes your Z-offset shift should be addressed, else you will still have the same issue with UBL?
This is more of a personal preference type question rather than something with a hard and fast rule.
You should not need to relevel your bed very often unless you have some external force that regularly changes the bed level.
I regularly print objects that take 24+ hours to print, so a 10 minute process prior is not much so it might be worth it to set it up every time if your prints run very long. If you mostly print smaller or quicker to print objects, 10 minutes might matter to you.
I have noticed that my prints fail pretty quickly if I have a leveling issue, and it's not hard to stop the print, clean the plate and relevel at that time.
What should you do?
If 10 minutes doesn't matter that much, go ahead and relevel with every print. If it matters, wait until you start to have issues. See how long it takes for your bed to become unleveled and use that as a guide. E.g. if you can print 10 times before having issues, then try setting it for every 6 or 7 prints.
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5445 | In Fusion 360 how do I select an entire 3D object, not just its sides or faces?
I'd like to mirror a triangular prism I made. However, whenever I select it I am only able to select the faces or sides.
Is there a way to select the whole 3D object to move or mirror it?
Yes, there is a "select" tool in the toolbar next to "make". You can use select filters to select components, bodies and faces.
Selecting the body in the browser will select the entire body. Clicking on the body in the viewer will only get you faces or edges.
A long click (click and hold) on the model will give you options on what to select. You can choose a face or body under "Depth" or choose a body or feature under "Parents."
In the top left of your workspace (still inside the editor) you will have a dropdown, in that dropdown there is a folder called bodies, open that and select the body you want. You can then move the selected body.
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11391 | Klipper doesn't seem to adjust Z after BED_MESH_CALIBRATE
My rig:
Ender 3
BLTouch
Octopi
Klipper
Solid bed mounts
I've updated my start G-code from Cura to include a G29 right after G28 and my Klipper config has the following override for G29:
[gcode_macro G29]
gcode:
BED_MESH_CLEAR
BED_MESH_CALIBRATE
BED_MESH_PROFILE LOAD=default
Every print now goes through BED_MESH_CALIBRATE sequence and the Bed Visualizer plugin yields this result:
Based on the info here, Klipper: G-code commands - Mesh Bed Leveling I would expect Klipper to adjust for the differences seen in the visualization above, but the initial layers of my prints are very squished on the right and rear of bed (right and rear of image) and not squished on the left and front of the bed (left and front of image) which make it seem like BED_MESH_CALIBRATE measured the differences in the bed level, but didn't actually do anything about it. Isn't the point of BED_MESH_CALIBRATE to adjust for these differences?
You can see in the first pic below that the final move on the initial layer from the outside edge of the print (right front corner) to the inside has the nozzle so low that it melted a line in the first layer as it skidded across.
In the second pic below you can see that the left front edge of the print didn't squish properly so it has detached from the bed. What am I missing?
Your first layer is over-extruding somewhat causing you to hit the edges of the overburden. Also it looks as if your nozzle to build plate distance is a slightly bit too low, I would start increasing that little (in Marlin with M851).
I have identified the problem as lead screw backlash!
Bed calibration and Z-axis offset compensation appear to be working as intended, but there is enough backlash in the Ender 3 stock lead screw that the corrections in Z-axis movement commanded by Klipper result in almost no actual nozzle movement.
I'm measuring about 0.35 mm of backlash in my lead screw. With differences between the lowest and highest points of my bed being only 0.6 mm the best case scenario (which would only happen if I was using my entire bed) is that the actual nozzle movement would only be about 42 % of what Klipper commanded. The fix for this is to change out the lead screw for a ball screw. The problem could also be mitigated in Klipper if Klipper implemented backlash compensation, but from what I've read on GitHub it doesn't seem like that is a feature the developer of Klipper wants to implement.
Update:
I installed this anti-backlash nut and it greatly reduced the backlash, but didn't eliminate it. I've uninstalled my solid bed mounts and reinstalled springs until I upgrade to a ball-screw for the Z axis. The auto bed leveling compensation still does something, but the adjustment allowed by having springs is what is really doing most of the leveling work.
I'd never heard of anti-backlash nuts. Cheaper than a ball screw for sure. I'm going to order this one and see what happens: https://www.th3dstudio.com/product/upgraded-leadscrew-nut-for-creality-printers-anti-backlash-nut/
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11416 | Thermal runaway with specific prints
I have been experimenting with PETG on my CR-10 upgraded with an E3D all-metal hot end and Marlin firmware on the controller. I am printing with 0.8 mm nozzle at 250 °C and an 85 °C bed.
When I print in vase mode, the prints come out beautifully (and quickly with the 0.8 mm nozzle). However, with solid-body prints, I routinely get a thermal runaway fault at about the third layer (the fault references E1). Can anyone suggest how to solve this and why the thermal runaway protection only trips with solid-body prints?
For context, when I tried to print the same solid-body print in PLA (205 °C hot end and 50 °C bed) I did not get the thermal runaway fault.
Hi and welcome to 3DPrinting.SE! At what speed do you print the vase perimeter and what is the speed during the failure (e.g. is it failing during infill or wall printing)?
what version of marlin? Self made?
Interesting question..I will run another print now to confirm, but I believe it is failing when printing infill.
In vase mode Simplify3D prints at ~900 mm/min. In normal mode, the perimeter prints at the same speed and the infill at ~1800 mm/min.
I have it set to print at 1800 mm/min with 100 % underspeed for infill and 50 % underspeed for the outline, so this makes sense. Perhaps the speed is too high?
Probably your speed is too high, I've composed an answer for you. You can lower speed/temperature or fiddle with the TRP settings.
you are on the maximum temp, try to use 2-5° less. prints speed need to be also lower.
Thermal runaway protection (see What is Thermal Runaway Protection?) is triggered when the scheduled voltage to the heater element does not result in a specified increase in temperature within a specified timeframe.
The exit of hot filament from the nozzle and the loss of heat of the heater block and the conduction heat loss through the heat break to the cold end need to be supplied by the heater element. When the filament melting temperature is high, heat losses are relatively high as well, this means that the software needs to compensate by scheduling the heater element more quickly/activated sooner (there is some heat capacity in the heater block) and longer. If it is unable to provide enough heat than is being used, the temperature cannot be maintained and the printer notices that scheduling power doesn't result in a temperature rise. This will trigger the thermal runaway protection in the firmware.
This can imply that too much heat leaves the nozzle in the form of hot filament, and as such, your printing speed may be too high (or the printing temperature too high).
Note that you are using a 0.8 mm nozzle diameter, this means a flow increase of $ \frac{0.8^2}{0.4^2}=4 $ with respect to a "standard" 0.4 mm nozzle! A slower print speed is therefore advised anyways.
To solve this, you can either:
Insulate the heater block, e.g. with a silicone sock
Install a different type of heat block, e.g. a E3D Volcano which has a larger heat input zone
Print slower
Print at a lower temperature
Change the firmware settings of your TRP (should be done with care!)
To explain the latter option, from the Configuration.h you can read that if you encounter these problems, you can tune this in the Configuration_adv.h
Excerpt from Configuration.h:
* If you get "Thermal Runaway" or "Heating failed" errors the
* details can be tuned in Configuration_adv.h
Excerpt from Configuration_adv.h:
* If you get false positives for "Thermal Runaway", increase
* THERMAL_PROTECTION_HYSTERESIS and/or THERMAL_PROTECTION_PERIOD
So you need to change these constants:
#define THERMAL_PROTECTION_PERIOD 40 // Seconds
#define THERMAL_PROTECTION_HYSTERESIS 4 // Degrees Celsius
The most effective solution for your problem will be limiting print speed and experiment with printing at slightly lower temperatures.
Adding a silicone sock and slowing down was enough to stop the issue. Thank you for the education!
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15258 | Will RAMPS able to control 4 stepper motors
I am making a DIY 3D printer based on the Prusa mini. So, I doubt whether RAMPS can control only 4 stepper motors as it has slots for 5 stepper motor slots and one will not be used in my case. If I can, in what order should I connect the drivers and also how will Marlin figure out which slot the extruder is connected? Sorry for the lack of knowledge if it is really obvious :|
RAMPS capabilities
To be more speficic: RAMPS board (versions 1.3 - 1.6) offer possibility to connect 5 stepper motor drivers (on the board marked X, Y, Z, E0, E1) and 6 stepper motors, because the Z axis motor's connector is doubled (this is classic design of reprap printer). I could also see other RAMPS versions/clones (1.6+, 1.7 prototype) which have doubled connectors for X and Y axis motors - so allowing 8 motors in total.
Firmware configuration
Marlin firmware allows to setup in Configuration.h the motherboard with RAMPS configuration (extruder, fan, bed, etc.) and number of extruders. Look for lines:
#define MOTHERBOARD BOARD_RAMPS_14_EFB
#define EXTRUDERS 1
Firmware behavior
RAMPS wiring (as in diagram at Tom van der Zanden's response) is reflected in Marlin's file pins_RAMPS.h. When EXTRUDERS is set to 1, Marlin will use E0_..._PIN setings from this file to communicate with proper stepper driver board (and the driver will communicate with the motor).
Marlin will enable steppers only when required (for example it will not refer to E1 in the basic configuration). Even when they got idle, they will remain powered for some longer period, defined in Configuration_adv.h:
#define DEFAULT_STEPPER_DEACTIVE_TIME 120
Important remarks
Be careful installing drivers and cables. Double-check the driver board's orientation in slot of RAMPS. Solder cables properly, mount them tightly, fix to the frame, etc. Use ceramic or plastic screwdrivers for motor power regulation (I bought one which doesn't fit well, and sculpted my own from 2.85mm filament). It is important to remember to never unplug powered motors and drivers. (There is LCD menu option "Motion > Disable steppers", but I always power off the machine to do something. Also, I had non-intentional accidents of broken wires causing unreliable work of extruder, and fortunately the board survived.)
There is no problem with using 4 motors instead of 5. The 5th slot is provided to enable use of a second extruders, but many people only have a single extruder printer and leave the 5th slot unused.
how will Marlin figure out which slot the extruder is connected
Which stepper motor is in which slot is something you can configure in the firmware. There is no way for the firmware to "figure it out" without help.
It is quite involved to change it in the firmware, so it is best to follow the default placement. You can easily find wiring diagrams for RAMPS (showing the default assignment of motors to slots) on various resources such as the RepRap wiki.
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20513 | Conical scaling in OpenSCAD or Blender
Looking for a way to taper an imported STL model off toward the bottom (or top, if easier).
The same transformation would turn a straight cylinder into a cone.
The intent is to make a vase like the model in the image that tapers off so it will fit as an outer layer to my clay pots.
The model is symmetric around the XZ and YZ plane and only has positive z values.
I assume this would require some non-linear transformation, but I'm unable to find results when googling.
Consider to provide a link to the code, or if it's not particularly large, edit your post to include it in a code block. It's tough to recognize how you've created this model.
It's an imported stl-file
I don't know in Openscad. But since the question has been up for a couple of days, would you be helped by how to do it in Blender instead? It would be quite easy with proportional editing with a linear falloff. I can write a full answer if you ad "or Blender" to the question. If I do it now I may get flagged for not answering the question.
Sure, very kind! I know nothing about blender and will probably just crunch the stl-file myself programatically.
But it could be helpful to someone else I guess.
To install Blender go to Blender.org and download the version for your platform.
No need to install just extract and run "Blender"
to enable importing stl files go to edit -> preferences
in the addons tab search for stl, check the box.
Now import your stl:
File -> Import -> STL(.stl)(experimental)
and select your file
You may need to zoom out quite a bit because of the scale.
Do this with the mouse wheel, while the pointer is over the view where the part is. Or with View -> frame all
If the part is not selected (it has no orange outline) select it by clicking on it.
And go into "edit mode" by hitting TAB
Now rotate the model so you can see the bottom plane.
Hold the middle mouse button and drag.
If all vertices are selected when you open the model, hit "a" twice quickly to deselect all.
Select the bottom vertices by shift clicking them.
Now comes the actual conical scaling
Activate "proportional editing" By hitting "o" or clicking the icon, and select linear in the drop-down menu.
Scale by hitting "s" and moving the mouse but do not click yet
Now hit "Shift z" This will constrain scaling to the xy plane.
You will see a circle that indicates the region of influence of the proportional edit. Adjust it to your linking with the mouse wheel, and click to confirm. Or if you want a precise ratio type for instance 0.8 and hit enter to confirm.
TAB to exit edit mode.
Check that only your object is selected. If other objects are orange, hit "a" twice to deselect all and select your object bay clicking.
And finally File -> Export -> STL
Give it a different name than the original check "Selection Only" and "Export stl"
Since the instructions were so good and blender is less than 200 Mb I gave it a try.
Worked a treat!
Big thank you!
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18830 | How can I create a geometrical texture on a section of an STL file?
I have an already existing STL file of a car headlight but I want to add a specific raised geometrical texture, not just a PNG image but an actual texture that can be felt when it is 3-D printed. Anybody here know how this can be done?
I want the raised texture to be applied in specific places that I choose. It is a grid pattern that can be felt dipping up and down by 1mm.
Looking forward to your replies!
Would you be able to post an image representative of the destination model and of the texture to be applied? Is the source already an STL or do you require that to be created?
Just edited the post to show the pictures. The STL is already created. Just need the raised texture on the three sections you see in the photo. It has to wrap around each side following the curvature of the model.
currently, FDM printed replacement parts are not allowed for light covers in many countries.
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11497 | Octopi connecting just once to wifi
Just starting with octoprint.
Bought a pi3A+,
Etched a 4Go micro sd card with the latest octopi distro (0.17.0)
Using a 5V bench power supply that delivers up to 10A.
Following official octopi instructions
I managed to connect once my pi to the wifi, configured it, but as soon as I reboot my pi, it won't connect to the wifi again.
Any hints?
Nothing helped me in the wifi troobleshooting FAQ.
I thought that I changed a particular config but :
without configuration change, I:
started the pi once
waited until the pi connects to the wifi
successfully pinged the pi via my PC
rebooted the pi
a new ping wouldn't work
I compared the files on the boot partition and only this changed:
freshly etched sd card:
cmdline.txt:
console=serial0,115200 console=tty1 root=PARTUUID=6c586e13-02 rootfstype=ext4 elevator=deadline fsck.repair=yes rootwait quiet init=/usr/lib/raspi-config/init_resize.sh
card from rebooted device:
cmdline.txt:
console=serial0,115200 console=tty1 root=PARTUUID=6c586e13-02 rootfstype=ext4 elevator=deadline fsck.repair=yes rootwait
there is no more differences.
Welcome to 3dPrinting.SE! It sounds to me as though you inadvertently changed the WiFi settings. I'd go back through them and ensure they are now setup correctly. Don't assume everything is set right, make sure they are set right.
I checked the octopi-wpa-supplicant.txt and it is unmodified...Which fil are you talking about? I even tried to change the wifi settings in the raspi-config
I'm not entirely sure as I'm not familiar with those settings for either you pi or the computer you're using. What I'm getting at is something you changed when you configured your pi has caused the WiFi to stop connecting. Go back to those changes and you'll most likely find the issue.
see my edit, what can i do i just the reboot change the config?
What worked for me:
changed SD card from 2 GB to 16 GB (do not need so much)
power the pi with 5.4 V instead of 5 - 5.1 V
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11851 | Bed temperature command going to 0 °C with no obvious reason when print is started
Configuration
Printrun/Pronterface
Slic3r 1.3.0
Windows 10
Arduino Mega + RAMPS 1.4
Marlin 1.1.9
Prusa i3 -- Hephestos BQ with following modifications:
450W PSU (230V to 12V)
heatbed
3D touch
led stripe
ps_on with relay on the PSU
Issue conditions
I was printing fine until something happened, do not know what.
What I can tell is I can reach any bed temperature with Pronterface, and for any duration. (my little 450 W PSU provides enough power for my needs, like 60, 70 or 80 °C, a bit hard for 85 °C though)
But as soon as start the print (when the temperature is already ready extruder and bed -- and as I always did), the motors move the extruder in the bed center and then I get the following error :
Error:Heating failed, system stopped! Heater_ID: 0
[ERROR] Error:Heating failed, system stopped! Heater_ID: 0
Error:Printer halted. kill() called!
[ERROR] Error:Printer halted. kill() called!
If I check the temperature with M105 ; temp report, the printer gives me:
before I press the "start print" button >> T:245/245 , B:80/80
after I press the "start print" button >> T:245/245, B:80/0
so bed temp command is fine.....until I start the print
Temp command set to 0
What causes the printer to be halted is a huge temp difference between command and sensor.
In the provided G-code, the bed temp was lowered to 30 °C, which helps :
running the test faster
this shows that the problem is still going on (bed temp command to 0 °C)
I can "print" (move the nozzle without error but the PETG won't stick to the bed) and I don't get temp error.
See the full log here.
So, what does cause the bed temp command to get to 0?
Not from G-CODE
I checked in the G-code, and there is no M140 *0 nor M190 *0 until the end of the G-code, and I'm sure the problem is not comming from the slice/G-code because I ran some previously successfully run G-code/config and they fail the same.
Not COM related
I ran the same gcode on sd card (to see if the USB was involved), but the behavior is the same: as soon as the bed temp is reached and print started, the bed temp command is set to 0 (I can see command on LCD screen).
Hardware related?
I did not change the firmware, and print were going fine, before the printer was doing this, so I guess the root cause is Hardware.
Firmware involved
Because of the "0 °C command", the firmware react to something but I could not understand what is happening here.
when checking the firmware code, the only reasons why bed temp is set to 0 when print is running without asking for it would be
gcode_M140()/gcode_M190(): it could be bad interpretation of ascii command.
_lcd_preheat() ?
PID_autotune() : PID algo error?
ABORT_ON_ENDSTOP_HIT_FEATURE_ENABLED : maybe but it would also put the extruder temp command to 0
nothing that would really explain this...
Any hints?
I tried, by instrumenting code, to know where/when the temp bed is modified.
I found that it is called in the gcode M81 when starting the print.
Wait M81? isn't it M80 to switch on the PSU?
What I did in fact was both wiring this up side down and mixing M80 with M81.
But what I didn't know is that M80 and M81 are not strictly opposite functions.
Indeed, M81 puts the PS_ON signal to PS_ASLEEP != PS_AWAKE but also disable all heaters.
I couldn't see it without serial trace because the extruder temp is set back after the M81, but not the bed temp.
Problem solved.
Hope this can help people in the future to spend less time than me on that simple mistake.
Note: What remains a mystery, though, is: why was it working before on previous prints and then, suddenly, broke?!!
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11526 | Filament Variation Detection
I'm trying to find out how "normal" filament (not super expensive filament) varies in diameter (or more accurately cross sectional area) over the length of the filament. I've looked around and the only thing I can find, that many filaments are sold with the tolerances, not how "fast" they vary along the filament. A +- 0.1 mm over 1 meter is after all qite different from the same alteration over 0.1 meter.
I am mainly interested in this, as I want to build a printer with very small Z-height steps, thus a small variation in the filament diameter will lead to a rather large variation in the extrusion width. While I thought over the project, I came to the idea of using some kind of capacitance measuring device to detect the cross-sectional area, however it is only possible (or rather feasible) to measure the average cross-section over a rather long section (10cm+). Hence main part of the question: How "fast" does the filament change diameter?
The other part is obviously: Are there other (cheap) ways to measure the cross-section? I could use light, but then I would only get the diameter at one point (pretty sure the filaments aren't perfectly round) and using multiple sensors would quickly become expensive. And then there's the issue of transparent filaments. Most mechanical solutions have the same issue, only measuring one point and might have issues with certain types of filaments such as very flexible filaments.
Marlin is capable to adjust the extrusion multiplier based on diameter measurements, sensors exist for this feature. I believe you need to input the length of filament path of the sensor to the nozzle. I have to look it up, is this something you are after?
Yes, this is basically exactly whay I am after!
@0scar looks like all the commercial sensors (at least the ones I can find) are optical sensors (either actuall cameras or ”strip cameras”) which look rather expensive :( I’m looking for very cheap sensors (hence the idea to use capacitance, which can be measured cheaply)
a loop around the filament could expand and contract as width changes in any direction. if that loop has tension, it can be measured. i think sampling 4 diameters (90 deg each) would give a pretty good estimate.
another precise measure can be make with a lever; the end closer to the fulcrum pinches/hugs the filament, which causes large moments on the other end of the lever when that distance changes. those large movements can be measured with a hall-effect sensor from a magnet on the lever; a clothespin for example.
@dandavis A loop suffers the problem of only measuring the circumference, so you still don't know the area. The "lever" solution is probably the one I am going for, but using light detectors at the ends instead of "expensive" magnets and hall-effect sensors. (Expensive relative to photodiodes and LEDs).
Also, I think you mean 45 deg increments for measuring the diameter :P
@dandavis Though you did give me one idea I might be able to use :D If the magnetic permeability of PLA (and other filaments) is larger than 1 the magnetic field strength of a coil with the filament in it will be different depending on the cross-sectional area of the filament. If I place a very sensitive hall-sensor inside the coil I might be able to measure those differences :D Now I just have to find the magnetic permeability of PLA :P
@dandavis Ok,relative permeability of plastic is way too close to 1 to be able to measure. Just saying this to save anyone else who might see this suggestion and want to try it some time, doesn't work :(
You would want a thickness gauge with the ability to communicate via serial. Once you managed to modify Marlin to talk to it, and you engineered a system of rollers for the filament to pass through, then you could automatically compensate for the thickness of the filament.
https://www.amazon.com/Neoteck-Digital-Thickness-Electronic-Micrometer/dp/B07Q33RSH6?th=1
Yes, a mechanical solution is one way of doing it. Though a thickness gauge is very expensive (looking for solutions where the hardware is under 2 dollars or so). This also doesn’t adress the main question of how ”fast” the diameter changes, but thank you for the suggestion :)
@BeaconofWierd analog Feeler gauges that are accurate for Thou(sands of an inch) are available for as little as 20 bucks for a decent one. Mounted in the right way, and dialed to thickness, you'd see the current variation from the target at the measuring spot. It would be an effort of picking up the data for a long measurement continuously.
@Trish The hardware which isn't 3D printed on the current mechanical system I have for measuring distances costs around 50 cents (basically two leds and two photodiodes) and can measure distances down to 0.015 thou, so when it comes to a mechanical system I'm fairly sure I can't go lower than that (Note, the 0.015 thou is the theoretical limit, practically I'm getting around 0.1 thou). Also, this mechanical system has the limitation of only measuring diameter, not cross-sectional area.
@BeaconofWierd 2 LED/Photodetectors will give you a good estimate, assuming an ovaloid. If you know the exact distance between, you can use A=a b pi. If you match the data pickup with stepping (like, trigger a pickup every mm of movement) and write the data into a CSV, then take the distance between the sensors into consideration (if you don't measure in the same spot), you could use a spreadsheet to measure the whole filament... knowing the lead distance, you could arguably write that data to another CSV as percentages... which could be fed into the printer via M221 accordingly.
@BeaconofWierd, $2 dollars!? No, there is nothing that you can use to measure the filament thickness at that price point. Even the $2 dollar multi touch needed an expensive web cam and computer.
@user77232 I just told you what I am currently using to measure distances, and that setup costs less than 1 dollar, so there are ways to measure the thickness for less than 2 dollars, I’m just looking for alternatives to make sure I haven’t overlooked some well known cheap way to measure filament diameter.
@BeaconofWierd, No there isn't Distance, in your case, just requires a tachometer; which is relatively simple. The task of measuring thickness to an amount that you can do something meaningful with the information, requires a sensitive instrument with a high signal to noise ratio. For 7 dollars you could get a force sensitive resistor mounted on bearings and that would still cost you more than the above mentioned technology to implement.
@user77232 No, I'm not using the diodes as tachometers, I'm using them to sense how much light is blocked and from that I can calculate the distance the thing which blocked the light travelled. Think two small slits which can move relative to each other, when they are perfectly aligned you have a maximum signal, when they have moved the length of the slit you have no signal.
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11605 | Surface Tension Support for FDM Printers
I've been thinking about alternatives to support materials for FDM printers, such as multi axis printers, dual head with soluble support material or printing in a gel/liquid which traps the material in place. Then it occurred to me that it might be possible to use the surface tension of a liquid to act as support material, same way small objects an insect can float on water even though they are heavier than water. This would also work great for cooling the extruded material. NOTE, we are still using a base plate like any other FDM printer, the only difference is that we have a water surface on the build plate which act as support material for large overhangs/steep angles. Everything is still attached to the build plate itself. We are not just printing stand alone parts on the surface of the water.
After some highly scientific testing (Dropping an extruded string of PLA and placing a thin printed PLA part on the top of water) I've concluded that it is very feasible to float PLA on the surface tension of water. See picture for refence:
As you can see the floating structure is not at all trivial, it has both smooth round shapes and many sharp corners and holes in it, it was still extremely simple to get floating (I could drop it in from a height of 5 cm and it would still not break the surface tension).
I also tried my best to investigate the effects of having structures underneath which might mess up the surface tension by placing larger PLA parts under the floating ring and trying to sink the ring by touching the underside and corners without any success at sinking the floating part. The only way I could get this part to sink was to push it down under water. Even if the surface tension was only broken half way along the ring the ring would still float. If you are thinking that the ring acted as a boat, that is not the case. I made sure to fill the small indents with water so that there were no pockets of air keeping it afloat.
An even more encouraging result was another ring which was much thicker than it was wide. It still managed to float from the surface tension on the top side of the structure while the rest of it was submerged, accurately mimicking how the structure would actually be in the water during printing. See picture:
While this ring much easier to sink it was very resistant to being moved around. Again, basically the only way to sink it was to push it down under water, though as soon as the surface tension was broken on one side the whole ring quickly sank.
All this leads me to my question: Does anyone know of a 3D printer which uses the surface tension of water as support material?
I've searched around some on the web and I have not really found anything at all on the matter. I can foresee many potential problems (such as the extruder moving unsupported lines to the side when changing direction, layer adhesion, enclosed areas not filling with water etc) but the potential to print without support and only have to worry about keeping the newly extruded material in place could open up a lot of potential.
UPDATE: I also tried 60 degree Celsius water (In case you need hot water to help with layer adhesion) and the surface tension still was able to float the thicker ring piece, though it felt like the surface tension was weaker.
While I appreciate your enthusiasm, what's the gain by printing it on water? As you pointed to, your piece would most likely move during printing, which negates the entire thing. The purpose of the base is, well, to provide a base. It's a place where you have solidity and stability. Without it, you won't have precision. You won't have anything but a jumbled lump of plastic. Your idea is neat in and of itself, but what is the end gain for doing this?
@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Oh, you misunderstand, I never said we are printing on the water alone. We are still using a base like a normal printer, only difference is that we use the water surface as support material so that we can print extremely steep angles (90 Deg angles). Your print is still attached to the base plate of the printer. I added a small description of this in the post in case it was too unclear.
Using surface tension sounds interesting, but I don't think it is even necessary. The buoyant forces and rapid cooling which are a result of printing on liquid might already be sufficient to help bridging and other types of overhangs.
It's not feasible as described with normal FDM technology.
FDM bases on depositing material in a single path. This needs the deposited material to stay at the same XY coordinates for subsequent paths. And exactly here is where a floating piece fails: a free-floating piece is by its very definition unrestricted in XY, and would move to follow the nozzle.
There are is also a whole plethora of factors that make this idea not feasible with the standard technology, meaning you'll have to develop the whole process, not just recombine two ideas. This means, you need to solve the following issues:
Heatsink Water
The extruded plastic needs to stay close to the melting point for some time, so it can fuse and bond with the lines next to them. However, water is known to be a very good method to get the heat away from items, as each liter of water can take about 4.1 MJ and only heat by one Kelvin. PLA on the other hand only stores about 1.8 MJ per Kilogram and Kelvin.
As a back of the envelope calculation, the temperature differential between room temperature and printing temperature PLA is about 180 Kelvin. Each gram of PLA is equivalent to 319.8 mm of filament (assuming a density of 1.3 g/cm³) or an extruded line of 9.6 kilometer length of 0.4 mm width and 0.2 mm height! That one gram contains about 324 Joules of energy that will be dispersed to the room temperature as it cools down. The water vat would not even get measurably warmer from sucking those few joules from a whole print!
While this could be, in the right setup, be used to rapidly cool the print and solidify it in shape, the result of the rapid healing will most likely also impact print quality negatively, as cross-layer bonding is reduced.
Separator water
It is a well-known trick in creating polymer fibers to extrude underwater, as the water not only cools (see above) but also acts as a separator between the fibers, for the very short timeframe they are still malleable. This would also strike when printing into the water - there'll be a water layer in between the deposited filament, which would need to either get pressed out or cooked out before any cross-extrusion bonding can occur. As a result, just extruding into the water should result in a print that has almost no sturdiness, and might fall apart on touch.
Floating
Water has a density of 1 g/cm³. PLA has a density of 1.3 g/cm³. So a solid chunk of PLA sinks. But we don't print solid, we include air. Not just a few percent but infill is usually below 20 %. I have just printed a cube. After smoothing the surface by sanding, the cube is 29,7x29.9x29.9 mm. It has 3 parameters, 20% infill, 5 top and bottom layers with 0.2 mm layer height and comes to 11 grams. 11 g/26.55 cm³=0.41 g/cm³. Or in other words: the cube would float, about 40 % under the water surface, 60 % above the surface. The print would be, as a result, quickly break the water surface and get no support from the water at all.
Submerging the bed?
The main issue of a free-floating object (position) might be mitigated if there was a bed that would be submerged, but one would open a new can of worms, that might be even worse: the volume of the print and the accuracy of pumps.
As the print goes on - quality be dammed - the print grows in volume. However, it doesn't grow entirely linear, depending on two factors:
Is the print happening on/below the water surface? Then we will include water in the print. The volumetric growth of the print is in this case just the deposited filament. You'll need an overflow to compensate for the print growing and keep the water level in position.
Is the print happening just above the surface of the water? then the displaced volume grows according to the depth of the print in the water. This would mitigate most of the problems from water preventing cross-bonding and causing floating, and even use the heatsink properties more beneficial, as any filament starting to sag will be stopped. It also would prevent water from being encased in the print. However, it does not use surface tension. Also, you'll need an overflow system to keep the water level steady.
Did you even read the question before you posted this? I explicitly stated that the print will be attached to the bed. Poor bonding could be an issue, though you're calculating the wrong thing, we care about cooling times. Assuming a layer height of 0.2mm, half that for heat transfer, 210 C printing temperature and 60 C water it takes 77ms for the extruded PLA to reach 180 C. Floating isn't an issue since the print is stuck to the bed. I also asked if someone has done this, I know basic physics, I don't know what people have done, hence why I asked if someone had tried this.
@BeaconofWierd The surface tension simply is not supportive as stated. It's the rapid cooling that would make support unnecessary but result in really crap print. The photos you show are not surface tension, they are floating. That's normal floating. As in their density is below that of water.
@BeaconofWierd added other problems and adressed the submerging bed - but as described it is still not feasible with the normal technology - you need to solve so many issues
This is exactly how the $100 Peachy Printer was supposed to work. Unfortunately, fraud sunk the Kickstarter campaign and no-one got their printer.
Not really, it's a completely different technology. Peachy Printer used a laser to cure a resin, I'm talking about "regular" FDM printing on top of a liquid instead of using support material.
but it did use - allegedly - use water to support the resin structure
Oh, ok, so it floated the resin on top of the water? Then I guess it's similar, though it seems dubious since all the UV resin I can find has a density above water and would sink :S But I guess they could have used one which is lower density.
ISTR they used brine, which is considerably more dense
I just had the same idea and googled it. My idea was to submerge the whole print platform in the water and lower it down so that the water level and the current layer line are always at the same height. Maybe a pump would be required to counteract the plastic displacing water. Completely floating parts of the print could have a tower with three contact points underneath to keep them in place without having to lift the whole structure.
Though I appreciate your enthusiasm, this should probably have been a comment to the question if someone has done this rather than an answer. But yes, even with the bed going into the water you would still need some kind of pump or sufficiently large body of water so the displaced water from the extruded plastic does not change the water level significantly.
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11549 | What is the melting temperature of a 3D printed part?
Here is the context
I've got an old car for which I have a small plastic piece who is broken. As it's an old car and a very specific piece, I can't find it anymore. So I was thinking about 3D printing it.
My problem is this piece is on the carburetor, so close to the engine. This means, it can heat a lot, close to 90-100 °C.
My question
Do the pieces created with the common 3D printing techniques melt at 100 °C? If yes, what kind of other 3D printing technique can I use?
Here is the piece I want to recreate (sorry for the bad quality), the scale is in cm.
That depends on the used material for the print. You might be more interested in the glass temperature though, these range from 50 to 160 °C from PLA to PEKK, note that the higher glass temperature plastics are hard to print on home 3D printers (requires bed and enclosure heating over 150 °C).
Nylon and ABS will work fine, the temperature is not so high as you think. Also, consider using a printing service which can print for you even metals... if you want.
The number you're looking for is the glass transition temperature (the lowest temperature at which the material can flow or warp), not the melting point. This depends on what material you're using; approximate temperatures for common printable materials are:
PLA: 60˚C
PETG, high-temperature PLA: 95 ˚C
ABS: 105˚C
Nylon: typically 70˚C or above ("Nylon" is a large family of similar polymers)
Polycarbonate: 145˚C
Any plastic under your hood is probably either nylon (for its durability, impact resistance, and chemical resistance) or ABS (for its strength and heat resistance). These are both difficult materials to print: ABS emits toxic fumes while printing, and tends to warp if you're not using a heated enclosure, while nylon readily absorbs water from the air, causing the filament to bubble as it's printed. Further, many printers can't handle the high temperatures needed to work with these materials.
If you're going to print this yourself, I recommend using PETG and inspecting the part after a few days of use to see if it's warping. PETG is reasonably easy to print and comes close to your target heat resistance.
If you're going to get someone else to print it, I recommend using ABS. It's probably what the original part was made of, and anyone willing to print ABS for you will have the heated enclosure and ventilation system to deal with printing it.
I'd avoid polycarbonate unless you know the original part was made of it. Although PC is strong and heat resistant, it's also somewhat brittle and vulnerable to scratching.
High-temperature PLA is also brittle, and requires a heat-treating step that will change the dimensions of the part. It will likely take several tries to get something that comes out the right size, and even then, you risk having the part break when your car hits a bump.
Thanks, it's exectly what I was looking for. The original part is brittle (that's why it's broken), so it was maybe made of polycarbonate. Is it hard to print? Otherwise I'll do it in PETG. It's the cooling water who is close to 100 °C, so it should be less for the part
PC is very hard to print with and very abrasive.
@Phantom, polycarbonate requires high temperatures to print, beyond the capabilities of most consumer-level printers.
@Phantom Those car parts are often made of ABS (because not even the surface of the engine gets to 100°C, since there is water cooling it) or nylon, maybe nylon with glass fibers just like computer fans
Depending on the exact mechanical load and material used to print, you might get away with 100 °C.
Next to the melting temperature required to print the material (which will always be substantially higher than the maximum useable temperature!), you probably also want to have a look at the glass temperature of your specific material. Around that temperature your material becomes soft (rubber like) and can deform permanently when cooling down again. Chances exist that under a considerable mechanical load, the part will deform at even lower temperatures.
Maybe it would help to post a picture or describe the exact component you're trying to replicate. It might help in finding an alternative solution. (E.g. carving out of say PEEK to say anything.)
I recommend this video by CNC Kitchen, as it shows an interesting, accurate and detailed, side-by-side comparison of heat deformation of custom 3D printed test samples, printed from various materials:
PLA
PETG
ABS
HT-PLA
3dkTOP
He even CNCs a custom, yet simple, test rig in order to carry out the test.
Well worth a watch.
The results for the various filaments can be seen in this graph, taken from the video:
In summary, the annealed 3dkTOP filaments perform very well, without failure, and annealing PLA helps considerably (although some shrinkage is incurred)
This answer is voted by the community as a link only answer, link only answers are not allowed and are useless when the referred content dies. From the help section under deletion of answers I quote a reason for answer to be deleted: "barely more than a link to an external site”
If you care to expand upon your answer and write down some salient points from the video, then that would be useful and would get your answer undeleted.
or state why you recommend it...
I only use an ingeo 850 or 870 PLA that have different melting temp and more resistant the normal PLA. It's a lot easier to print with a normal desktop consumer printer then ABS or NYLON
Doesn't have the same characteristics as a nylon filament but it can be used inside a car, I have used to print some parts for my car.
https://www.natureworksllc.com/~/media/Files/NatureWorks/Technical-Documents/Technical-Data-Sheets/TechnicalDataSheet_3D870_monofilament_pdf.pdf?la=en
(sorry but it's in spanish but a termal test)
Another option is to make a mold with the 3d printer and use a high temp resin
You might want to check out printing with nylon. It's not typical of most 3D printers but you could always have it printed with a printing service, since it's a one off part. They can withstand a good amount of heat.
Do you have the melting point of nylon? It might be an idea to [edit] and add that bit of info...
Do the pieces created with the common 3D printing techniques melt at 100 °C?
The problem here is the "common 3d printing techniques". If you mean END USER DESKTOP - yes. PLA, ABS etc. have all glass temperatures (where they get soft) around this number. Melting is not something you care about - because it will deform WAY earlier. Melting is when it gets liquid, you care when it looses stability.
If you talk NOT about desktop, then no - common 3d printing techniques THEN include laser syntering nylon as well as FDM printing materials like PEEK which have melting temperatures WAY higher. KEEP gets soft around 143 and melts around 343 degree, though some have sueful operating temperaratures up to 250 celsius. "Common" is a very vague definition in the higher end area because there are quite a number of main market different techniques that you basically never see in the consumer market due to price.
The problem is that those are expensive, so desktop users do not use them. They also require high temperature chambers AND special 3d printers. Nothing you can not do - Slice Engineering sells a hotend that can go up to 450 degree or so - but they are NOT common on the desktop side as they are (also) quite expensive. Heck, the are just now putting that into the Marlin firmware (you also need to measure this, and the thermistor table for their sensor was just added as #67 to marlin). I am reworking a printer with this technique (just for fun) and - the extruder / hotend combo costs around the same as the whole printer originally did.
If yes, what kind of other 3D printing technique can I use?
Basically any that works with the temperature band, which does include FDM printing. That said:
I think you really are wrong with the temperatures. Close to the engine may be higher than 100 degree, me thinks. If I am wrong (and that really depends on how close to the engine block it is), this may be ABS. ABS or PLA variants are available with glass transition temperatures above 130 degree, so this COULD work, depending on the exact material you use.
I would basically print it in anything common (pla) to see that it fits (NOT use it), then have a 3d printing service make it out of some engineering material. They will also be able to choose the best material for you. This is for higher temperature and possibly not FRM process. They will know what to use.
Another problem is - we do not kknow anything about this part. is it under pressure? I ask for a number of reasons.
3d printing may be less stable in certain directions than in others. Generally LESS stable than parts that are injection molded, unless you use some special techniques not common in consumer laser printers (i.e. plasma fusing the layers, which Essentium does, or laser syntering where there are not real layers to see). You MAY be able to work around it, by making the part larger / heavier (the walls), but this is something to consider. You can get more information on Essentium's work i.e. here: https://3dprinting.com/news/essentiums-fusebox-plasma-3d-printing/ - they bascially can reheat the plastic to fuse way better. They also print with speeds up to 1m/second, extremely impressive to see.
Standard 3d printing may be leaking, particularly under pressure. This is a problem as above (the layers not being perfectly bonded). Again, more layering may solve this, as would a larger nozzle.
Although metal casting has been briefly mentioned, another approach to your problem would be to create a silicone mold from your print and cast the part using epoxy or polyurethane, both of which have the desired strength and heat properties.
Here is an example of this technique
Have the part commercially printed in metal.
I haven't used a commercial 3D print service so I can't recommend one, but I know there are many out there and the prices are reasonable. For example, I found that if their terms of service did not prohibit weapons, I could have had Shapeways print magazines for my FX air rifle in gold plated, hand polished stainless steel for less than FX charges for one machined out of aluminum.
So, print the part yourself in whatever material you have available to ensure that it fits and operates correctly. Then upload the file to a company that can print it in metal.
A possible DIY alternative, depending on the shape and size of the part, would be lost PLA casting. Hobbyists usually do this with aluminum.
I would take a different approach. I would use brass or copper, machine it on a lathe to get the two diameters (you need to start with a thick piece so you are left with reasonable wall thicknesses), or, alternatively, use spin-forming to enlarge it to the diameter needed (works with copper, and you can use normal thin-walled pipe because you are only re-forming it, not cutting anything away), drill a hole in the side, thread it, and use a die to create a thread on the insertion pipe. then I'd screw it it, and finally solder it into place with a high-strength (lead-free) solder. The threading helps reduce stress on the solder joint; I can imagine it would crack a straight solder-only join without much usage at all. That right-angle joint of small diameter is going to be the weak point. It is the most likely place to have it snap, or start delaminating. That part was probably injection-molded as a single piece, reducing the effects of stress and eliminating any consideration of delaminating.
Note also that some of these parts have been computer-designed to precise dimensions, and a slight change in the ID of the side-pipe, or even its OD, might make a drastic change in its behavior.
If your only tool is a hammer, all your problems look like nails.
Nylon is probably your best bet.
It is resistant to some chemicals as well.
Figure on printing it at around 250 °C.
It might do the job.
What does the link add to the answer?
It might be a link to a useful contrast of various 3d printer filaments.
Please introduce the link if it is relevant for the question. As it is now it is just a loose link.
The problem with your link in the answer is that you haven't summarised it. Should the link die then that part of the answer becomes redundant. I've looked at the link and whilst interesting, there is an awful lot to summarise, and would be arduous to summarise well. I guess that you could summarise by quoting the properties section for each filament... that would be very useful.
Um. Just for your entertainment, I will pull the link.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-21T12:54:44.943058 | 2019-12-13T10:00:11 | {
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11623 | Anycubic i3 Mega layer shifting
My Anycubic I3 Mega shifts every layer by a little distance making straight model lean to it's side by an angle.
For example, this white round blob should've been a straight up cylindrical shape, but it leans to the right for some reason.
Don't look at dirty table, it was clean at the start of printing.
When I was printing this model, I prepared it with Cura 3.2.1 slicer.
What could be causing this problem? How it could be fixed?
Update 1: I've tried lowering print speed from 50 to 25 mm/s in Ultimaker Cura 4.4.1. It didn't help. After another test print it seems like it's an X axis problem.
Update 2: Result after setting print speed to 10 mm/s and travel speed to 50 mm/s (same model, same ABS):
Even such slight change to print speed as 15 mm/s still produces layer shifting.
Hi and welcome to 3D Printing.SE! Are the belts tight?
@0scar Hi! Thank you. Don't know if the belts are tight enough but not overly. How to know if they are?
Do you have the same problem with a generic gcode file from Anycubic or with G-code produce by another slicer than the one you used? On mine, I use the Slic3r version by prusa (called PrusaSlicer as I had a Prusa printer before) and I just change (reduce) the speed (and some minor details like bed size) from Prusa i3 profile and it works correctly (no displacement between layer).
@NeronLeVelu I will investigate this possibility. Thanks.
@NeronLeVelu tried lowering print speed from 50 to 25 mm/s in Ultimaker Cura 4.4.1. Didn't help.
I've had seen similar issues where the gear on a stepper motor was loose and causing layer shifting but only when travelling (due to the acceleration between print speed and travel speed). I spent a long time tweaking belts before it occurred to me to check the gears.
The massive reduction for good results hints that something with the carriage mounting seems to be defect. Can you tighten the belt on the Bed?
@Trish will try it, but all the belts seem to be tight enough.
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11599 | What would cause a SLA printer to print a solid block of resin?
I’ve just brought my printer back out after a month and it’s first print created a solid block of resin about 1.5 cm deep and the full width and length of the print bed. What could cause this?
My only thought so far is that the FEP film / vat bed is looking a little cloudy even after cleaning. I wondered if this could have caused the light to diffuse across the whole bed?
Welcome to 3D Printing.SE!
I had an issue with mine. I had a tiny hole that dripped some resin on the LCD screen. I scrapped it off as best I could but there were some serious printing problems on that side. I got a new LCD screen and replaced that and now print jobs that use to work are not printing solid blocks.
I have no luck trying to repair it, so I sent support a question on how to fix it and what is causing it.
I will update when I know more
Update: LCD screen was replaced upside down making the ribbon cable go in backwards. I swapped/flipped it over and it works fine now. So if you are having a solid block issue. Replace the lcd but also be cautious of what side goes up. They don’t show you in the videos.
Did your problems also result in a block resin being printed? If not, then this is not really an answer. Please add this to your answer.
Check your LCD ribbon cable. I replaced my LCD screen and the cable was in backwards. Or the lcd was upside down. That was my issue.
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12156 | TPU Plastic leaving residue in my bed
How do I remove the residue left by TPU plastic ? I used to print with ABS plastic and while it left a little bit of residue, I could remove it with Isopropyl alcohol and then scrap it with my spatula.
However, I just did my first print with TPU and it left a ring in my bed. No matter how hard I scrap or rub with the alcohol it won't go off :(
Any tips ?
Edit here are my images:
As an aside, is it real TPU? I found the flex-PLA material I first tried printing flexible with was a mess to clean up, but real TPU was no problem.
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE how do I know if it's real TPU :S ? I bought Anycubic filament, so I was hoping it was the real thing :(
Can't you rub it off with your fingers? (Like stickers residue)
If it's sold as TPU and from a reputable brand, especially if it advertises properties of TPU like chemical and abrasion resistance, then it probably is. But some filaments are sold as just "flexible filament" or have the word TPU somewhere in the writeup so they turn up in TPU search results, but aren't actually claiming to be TPU. Some of them even claim being "easier to print" thant TPU, which from my experience is a load of bs - real TPU is so much easier to print.
@0scar no sadly. I tried rubbing it with the spatula too, and it wouldn't go off.
Is this an Ultrabase bed surface?
it's the stock bed that came with my 3d printer (anycubic mega s)
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11720 | Cura is printing support on nothing?
I am new on 3D printing, but I cannot understand how support structures (in Ultimaker Cura 4.4.1) can stand if they do not lay on anything, but air. Throwing everything away after 9 hours of printing is not a good experience, did I do anything wrong?
In the attached screenshots images of the sliced model and Cura settings for support structures are shown.
Demonstration of the issue
Here some pics of the real printing results at 50 %-60 % of the work done. One of the two critical supports was barely done while other one, the same encircled in the slicer model, was not. I saved the printing attaching with some glue an "L" shaped piece of cardboard.
UPDATE 11/01/2020
The tree support option greatly failed, but if anybody could suggest different settings I will be happy to try and report here an update. These are some screenshots:
I've highlighted with red pencil the horizontal pieces of structure supported by nothing. I have to say anyway that the resulting model is worth to Moebius, could be an alien spaceship it-self!!!
I have partially fixed the problem setting the support horizontal expansion to 3 instead 0 mm as suggested by a more skilled friend. Anyway, this is clearly a workaround of an intrinsic bug that appears just with Anycubic printer setting and not with other printers configuration. The drawback of using 3mm instead 0mm is that the supports become too strong and some of them completely envelop model parts.
it might help to know other settings: Print speed, Printer (some have specific issues), nozzle diameter, temperature and material.
The image of the sliced print part is not very clear but printing support on air is a feature of Ultimaker Cura. This is done when support is laid on top of your print part if you enabled Support Placement to Everywhere, which you did. The default Cura setting for Support Bottom Distance (which is a sub-setting of Support Z Distance) is the layer thickness specified in Layer Height. If you have a layer height of 0.2 mm, the Support Bottom Distance is also 0.2 mm. For the top, option Support Top Distance this is two layer heights, so 0.4 mm in this example. These options are visible in the expert mode, you can search for them in the search box, see image below.
Why should you want air in between your part and the support?
You'll soon find out when you want to remove supports, if no gap is used, the support will fuse to the print part. This is only interesting (no gap between print part and support structure) when you use a different filament for support like PVA or break-away filament; e.g. PVA dissolves in water.
Note on the updated printed part images, you seem to have a stringing issue that needs to be resolved first. Note that it tries to print support on top of inner side of the toroid. Maybe fusing the support will help you to slice better supports, or alternatively set option Support Placement to Touching Buildplate and use an experimental option called Tree Support. You can also try to change the print orientation by rotating the print. Last resort is to design the supports yourself in a 3D model software program.
Thanks, I will check the settings you mentioned in the evening and update here for community interest and to confirm the possible real problem on them.
@fede72bari You do not need to update, this is not a forum (SE sites work differently, please take the [tour]), you ask a question and the community answers your question. You only update the question when the question is not clear and requires additional information. Beside an image of the sliced part which does not show the problem very good your question is fine, no need to update! If you want to answer yourself, just post your own answer, that is also allowed! And don't forget to accept an answer and vote when you have gained enough reputation. Welcome to 3DPrinting.SE!
I will check thanks, but supports need to lay on something otherwise it will result in a wrong printing and missing part; I am adding some images of the real printing in the original post. Clicking on the image to enlarge it the problem is clear, that is the best perspective I could get, it is a very small gap.
@fede72bari Better images are very welcome! Also try to use a different color for support in the images. And yes, support cannot be printed in thin air, but also note that the slicer frequently doesn't correctly make an image of how it is printed, the visualization has its limits. Your support is printed onto the wheel like structure with a gap if I interpret the image correctly.
yes, one support structure have a complete gap on the entire wheel structure where it should have been lean; on the other side Cura avoided the gap between the support an the wheel structure in the last 25%-30% of the bottom support surface and this saved the support itself.
Mmmh there are many things unclear to me I try to summarize:
I cannot understand why the support cannot be "partially" fused on the bottom to a part of the model as it is usually on the top supporting the model itself. On the top is "weakly" fused so that is can be detached "easily", whycannot is on the bottom too?
not all the support laying on part of the model were wrong, some of them correctly hadn't that gap, I try to upload pictures of this too.
you seem to have a stringing issue that needs to be resolved first. Note that it tries to print support on top of inner side of the toroid. if you refer to the "NOT PRINTED SUPPORT" in the picts, that is indeed the problem. Just because there are 0.4-0.5mm of GAP when the extruder tried to do it, it found nothing but air. But it was a problem of Cura, not of the machine. As shown in the very first slicer screenshot.
Thank you again for your support and patience. Hope it helps others too, I saw similar posts in Cura community.
@fede72bari Try enabling "tree support" and "touching build plate" support type and reslice and see what happens. You are most welcome, but at SE sites you express gratitude by voting and accepting questions. Also note that comments are deleted after a while, especially when there are a lot and lengthy. In principle everything is already in the answer, comments shouldn't contain extra information. Hope to see you around!
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11722 | Using an Anet A6 3D printer in the UK... (mains voltage issue!)
I understand that this is probably more of an electronics question, but was hoping that someone with experience of using an Anet A6 in the UK (or a country outside of the US/China) may be able to help... or alternatively, someone knowledgeable in electronics!
I recently bought and assembled an Anet A6. I am based in the UK. On the power supply transformer of the Anet A6, there is a switch that allows you to select the input voltage from the mains. There are two options, 100 V or 220 V.
When I turn my Anet A6 printer on, nothing happens... I have triple checked all connections and there doesn't seem to be anything wrongly connected or loose.
I am wondering if the reason it is not working is because in the UK we use a different mains voltage 230 V (I think) and a different frequency 50 Hz (I think) to the US and China (which I assume the printer was built to accommodate)?... I am not 100 % sure on this, just a guess, I am far from an electronics expert.
I don't have a multimeter to test if there is voltage flowing (not that I would even know how to test it lol).
Is it likely that this difference between voltage/freq is the reason that it is not working? If so, is there anyway to fix this? I would prefer to buy something (some sort of converter) than tinker with the electronics, as I have no experience in electronics and live in a rented flat, which I really don't want to burn down (not that I would if i owned it).
Any help is massively appreciated, thanks in advance!
Update
I have done what @Oscar suggested and also bought a multimeter to test the circuitry. I plugged my Anet A6 into the mains power supply and turned it on, but still nothing happens... the LED doesn't light up, not does the LCD screen turn on.
I tested the voltage of the power supply whilst it was turned on across connections 6 and 8 in the video below (taken from the assembly instructions video, 12 mins 46 seconds):
Assembly Instructions Video, 12:46
The 6 and 8 connections correspond to the output from the transformer (ie the connections that would be connected to the mainboard). There was no voltage reading at all when I measured it here with the multimeter. Does this indicate that there is a problem with the transformer/power supply, or is this expected? Or am I testing in the wrong place and there is a better place to test when the printer is on to determine what the problem might be?
Please add a photo on how you connected the wires!
regarding edit: yes, this means your power supply is busted. Possibly the fuse inside, or otherwise defect.
The UK uses 230 V mains voltage. The 220 V designation is from the past, Europe is now using 230 V. You do not have to worry about the frequency.
You should place the switch to 220 V and plug the cord into the socket. The printer should start immediately booting (cycling) the printer firmware, the LCD should light up and the cold end cooling fan will spin (annoyingly).
If nothing happens, you need to check the Power Supply Unit (PSU) and all cables for proper connection (does the fan of the PSU spin if it has one, you should at least see a led light up). A multimeter is not expensive and generally very valuable to test if it outputs 12 V. That way you know the PSU is working or not, if it works the problem is at the main printer board.
As these PSU's are pretty cheap and faulty, you could well have received a broken one.
How to measure the voltage?
If you look at the connection terminals you will find labels above them. Measuring position 6 and 8 might be the incorrect ones, this depends on your PSU. If you have exactly the same PSU as from the linked video, measuring between 6 and 8 would be correct:
From the image above the connections from left to right (for other PSU units, the order may be different, I have units where the connection to the mains is on the right):
L, N and ground are used for connection to the mains,
COM (stands for common or 0 V) or sometimes denoted as -V is the output ground (negative, connection for the black wires) and
+V is positive, connection for the red wires.
You need to measure the voltage difference over COM and +V, this should be the voltage of the power supply. Ideally you measure the voltage when the power supply is delivering a load (e.g. directly connected to a strip of LEDs or directly connected to the heated bed; some faulty PSU crash in under load, this can be seen by a lower voltage than the rated voltage).
If the PSU is correctly wired, your fuse is not broken, does not have a LED lighted and the voltage is zero the unit is defective.
Ok thanks very much for providing more info in your answer. I have just noticed that I may have wired up the transformer to mainboard incorrectly, but wanted to ask for your advice. In the video, it suggests that the red cable (V+) goes to the negative connection on the mainboard. Is this correct, or should the V+ go to + on the mainboard, and the black (COM) go to - ?
Sounds like you may have wired it backwards, which could have destroyed the board.
I've accidentally done that a few times, but my boards survived, but what @R.. says might have happened, it has been mentioned here at the site a few times. In my defense, the black marking on the board needed the red, the white marking the black...
I wish companies making kits would ship them with keyed connectors (vs just screw terminals or whatever) that can't be reversed without first taking things apart. It would save so much user frustration and avoidable bricking of boards.
@0Scar answered my question correctly, hence why I have accepted his answer. The problem was actually not to do with the switch on the transformer, but was a series of electrical issues that had to be resolved. I have included the solutions to these in my answer below. Thanks to everyone for helping out!
@Oscar was correct, so long as the switch is set at 220 V, the printer will turn on. I am adding this answer to help anyone else who has a similar problem.
I strongly recommend that you buy a multimeter if you have any power supply issues, as this helped me to figure out what was wrong.
There were three issues that needed to be rectified before my printer would turn on. The first was that I had bought a fairly cheap EU to UK plug converter from my local supermarket. This was mistake number one, as the quality was low and there was no ground pin for the power supply (which is dangerous). I plugged the EU plug into my converter, and then the converter into the UK mains socket, and it would not turn on. By using my multimeter I was able to figure out that the converter was a piece of rubbish. With the plug still plugged into the converter, but the converter removed from the mains, I touched my multimeter cable, whilst in continuity mode, on one of the three pins on the UK side of the converter (the bit that goes into the wall), and the other cable onto one of the terminals that I had connected the power cable to the power supply with. I touched each terminal in sequence to see if it was electrically connected to the pin on the converter. I repeated this in sequence and identified that the live pin on the converter was not connected, and so no current could flow when plugged into mains. I immediately defenestrated the converter. Here is the replacement that I bought:
EU to UK converter
The next issue was that the power supply cable was wired up incorrectly (or at least unintuitively). In continuity mode again, I touched one multimeter cable to one pin on the EU plug of my power supply, and the other to one of the terminals (which were connected to the wiring of my power cable.) I discovered that the live and neutral wires of the power cable were wired the wrong way round on the plug (in order for it to be used in a UK converter, not sure what the wiring convention is on mainland EU). In the UK, the right hole in the mains socket is live, the left is neutral, and the top one is ground. On the EU plug I had been provided with, the left pin was live and the right pin was neutral. If I were to plug this in to the new converter in the normal orientation (cable coming out the bottom side), the live and neutral would have been connected incorrectly (plug-live -> converter-neutral, plug-neutral -> converter-live). Hence, in order for the pins to be situated correctly in the converter, and subsequently in the mains socket, the EU plug had to be plugged into the converter upside down (plug-live -> converter-live, plug-neutral -> converter-neutral).
Finally, the official instructions for the wiring of the Anet A6 are wrong. If you follow the youtube video that they provide, you will see that the positive terminal is closest to the bottom of the diagram (on the thermistor/endstop side of the board). Mainboard wiring instructions. THIS IS INCORRECT. Check your board, as the polarity will be printed onto the board. If you wire up the mainboard according to the instructions, your V+ wire will go to the negative terminal of the mainboard and, your positive terminal will go to the COM wire of the power supply. This is wrong, as the positive terminal should be connected to the V+ wire, and the negative to COM.
Hopefully this helps save someone some frustration and time!
Note that e.g. EU plugs in the Netherlands (and maybe more EU countries) do not have a live and neutral convention, the plug can be inserted 180° rotated. Unless you live in a EU country that have a pin sticking out the socket the plug can be inserted 2 ways. For the power supply it does not matter, it is alternating current.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-21T12:54:44.945529 | 2020-01-08T14:06:19 | {
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23595 | Why do I fail to import the SVG file from this site?
Importing vector data from another source can be very useful for 3D printing. e.g. import some writings to engrave a surface, etc.
In this case, I've been trying to import a David Smith's tiling background image in openSCAD, but it failed miserably and I have no idea about why it fails.
Here is what I did:
I went to Craig S. Kaplan's page about David Smith's tiling.
Then I clicked on the [Save SVG] button, and saved the file on my computer.
Then I tried to import it in openSCAD with the following code:
resize([200, 100, 10])
linear_extrude(10)
import("C:/Users/phil/Downloads/David Smith Single Tile.svg");
and... Nothing happens.
Then, I tried to render instead of preview, and I got in the log the following notice:
"WARNING: No top level geometry to render"
I have no idea of the specificities of SVG files nor what could happen or how to address this problem. Please help...
How does this relate to 3D printing?
Of course, @Velvet : When you save a file, you can change this name
What do you think I will be doing with this tile, @Agarza ? But you are right : I forgot that last time I asked an openSCAD question, I asked it on Stackoverflow and not here
FWIW, I managed to import this SVG into Fusion, so the model seems to be fine: https://i.sstatic.net/6H09ySpB.png. But you have to take note that the tile was imported far from the origin (https://i.sstatic.net/VgC4jnth.png). Maybe that could be the issue... (e.g. restricted drawing environment?)
I had no doubt on the fact that the SVG file was OK. I suspect it has some characteristics that make it not understandable by OpenSCAD, but I have no idea about what it could be and how to address the problem. By the way, I took the simplest example I could find, but in fact, what I would like to import, is the level twice above, when one have generated super tiles, but I wanted to start with an easy example.
Your question has been flagged to be closed for not being on-topic (not by me). I suggest you [edit] the question so this does not happen.
You might open it in Blender do your editing in blender and export as STL
Or dont edit in blender and directly export to STL or OBJ or some format your drawing tool requires. SVG's can be different there are a few version standards of them, from what i've noted is that blender is okay with opening them.
Even though it might seem obvious, as previously requested, please [edit] and specify that you will be printing the file -
then it can be voted to be left open (it is one vote away from being closed). Also, please keep all additional info in the question, rather than in the comments. Thanks.
Frankly, 3D modeling is a major side of 3D printing and I don't know of a better space than this one to ask for this question. Specifying that I'm going to print the project is not relevant to understand the question and will just add noise to it. If people want to suppress knowledge to satisfy their ego, it just shows who they are and I'm not even surprised. Feel free to do it. I got the answer I needed.
Many 3D models are not intended to be printed, in fact I would hazard a guess that only a small percentage of 3D designs are intended to be printed. Please understand that if we don't request that OP's specify that the object is for printing, then we will open up ourselves to many many 3D design questions. We have had this issue before, and have managed to contain it. It is nothing about egos, it is simply a question of what was deemed as [on-topic] during the beta stage. We set a (very) low bar of just requiring a simple statement in the question such as "I intend to print the model".
... it isn't much to ask for, really, and doesn't really contribute to "noise". Nevertheless, thank you for posting a solution which will hopefully help others. You might find this useful, Where can questions that are purely about 3D modelling, or CAD, software be asked?. There's also a meta question regarding why (purely) 3D design questions are off-topic, but I can't find the link at the moment.
I have read your link with attention, and I believe you have problem with defining the limit criterion. It is completely irrelevant if I will print it or not. The right question should rather be : is this useful for 3D printing which is quite different. I can rephrase my post in this context.
OK, Problem solved :
It appears that both the viewBox attribute in the <SVG ...> tag and and tags are unsupported by openScad. So I solved the problem by just removing both the viewBox attribute in the SVG tag and defs tags as mentioned with a text editor, and then I cleaned the file with inkscape.
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12040 | Cura projecting floating print onto build plate during slicing
I'm trying to do a multifilament print on my single extruder machine. So I separated out the models based on filament, and imported the parts into Cura. I ensured that "Automatically drop models to build plate" was disabled and in the "Prepare" phase that seems to work. However, when I slice the model it gets pushed back down to the build plate as can be seen in the picture below. Any recommendations? Do I just need to write a script to go in and shift the z location?
I've been playing with this and came up with a solution, so I thought I would share in case anyone else had this issue in the future. In Ultimaker Cura I enabled supports and z-hopping before I sliced the part, then I ran this Python function to remove the supports and get the extruder setup.
import re
def float_part(file):
printString = ';LAYER:'
partString = ';(.*?).stl'
with open( file , 'r') as content_file:
content = content_file.read()
printArea = re.search( printString , content ).span(0)[0]
partArea = re.search( partString , content ).span(0)[0]
uncommentedLine = partArea - re.search( '\n.*?(?<!;)\n' , content[ partArea:printArea:-1 ] ).span(0)[0]
lastExtrusion = uncommentedLine - re.search( 'E' , content[ uncommentedLine:printArea:-1 ] ).span(0)[0]
secondLastExtrusion = lastExtrusion - re.search( 'E' , content[ lastExtrusion-1:printArea:-1 ] ).span(0)[0]
lastExtrusionAmount = float(re.search( '\d+(\.\d+)?', content[lastExtrusion:] ).group(0))
secondLastExtrusionAmount = float(re.search( '\d+(\.\d+)?', content[secondLastExtrusion:] ).group(0))
ResetCommand = '\nG92 E' + str(lastExtrusionAmount) + '\n'
with open( file , 'w') as content_file:
content_file.write( content[0:printArea] + ResetCommand + content[uncommentedLine:] )
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-21T12:54:44.946823 | 2020-02-20T06:40:11 | {
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11782 | How to 3D print an ID card
Say I wanted to print a plastic credit card like shape (like these), but with a QR code engraved. How could I do that for cheap? You can buy an "ID card printer" for $1,000-1,500 on Amazon, but that's way too much for printing one or two cards. Maybe down the road this would be a good option, but I kind of like the option of 3D printing the card from scratch, so the QR code bleeds halfway or all the way through the card, rather than just being printed on the surface. Is this possible for cheap? Maybe like this but not as fancy. Mainly (I'm new to all this) I am wondering what machine would accomplish this for low price yet good quality, and what other equipment I would need.
Basically, what printer is best for this type of task?
3D pens are also an option...
Unless you're planning on going into business selling them, you may be better off using a printing service rather than doing it yourself. Look for someone printing bass reliefs or lithophanes, they usually have their own setup service that would get you a high quality output.
Maybe engraving + dark fill-in on the linked cards might work, but that's more under subtractive manufacturing, rather than additive manufacturing.
FDM printer?
If you want to print one, maybe you should outsource it (let it print the tag on both sides), even the most affordable printers are in the \$100 - \$150 price range. If you want a printer and use it also to create ID tags, you could go for an FDM printer. Considering your request of having the tag inside (and through) the ID-card you need a dual filament option (one or two nozzle arrangement). If the tag can sit on top you can print it with a filament change with a single filament single nozzle printer. But, don't expect to get crystal clear prints (see experience printing signs below)!
Alternatives
As an alternative, you could print a blank PLA ID-card and laser mark the tag onto both sides, see e.g. this video.
If it is a small batch you can also consider printing/lasering stickers and stick these onto blank ID cards.
From experience
I've done some signs with black letters on a white background for "on-lay", inlay and through arrangements using a more expensive (for home use) dual extruder 3D printer (Ultimaker 3 Extended about \$5000,-) with PETG, but the results were not very satisfying. Usually the black smears out on or in the white no matter tweaking the options. Considering the size of an ID-card, the amount of tag squares, this is even more likely to happen when you print at that small size (the signs I printed were sized similar to the "A5" paper standard).
From my experience I would say that a 3D printer may not be the best solution for your task.
Thank you for the very helpful and thorough answer :)
One option to create the tag you require can be accomplished with a single extruder and a bit of manual intervention.
I've performed the sequence of steps from a Thingiverse creation that resulted in a box lid for a gift card box. It's a single layer of multiple colors placed on the print bed, then consolidated with a backing layer.
For your card objective, the single layer provides the contrast and you can determine easily how thick you wish the remaining portion to print.
The detail level is reasonably good, limited to the printer nozzle and specifications. A glass bed or similarly smooth surface bed will provide optimum results. As 0scar suggests, a 3D printer in the US$100-150 will likely suffice, but check reviews and forums for troublesome products of such a low price.
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11789 | New 3D resin printer with a scratched bed - will it work well anyway?
I just received a new SLA printer from AliExpress. There are scratches of different shapes on the bed, as seen on the photo. I am particularly worried about a set of scratches of about 0.2 mm depth seen at the top right, but there is also a lot of shallower scratches at the bottom right.
The seller says that it is not a problem and it results from "testing". I am not sure. I have never used SLA printers but I have used an UV resin as a glue and I frequently scratched the glued objects to make the glue adhere much more strongly.
Do these scratches decrease the usability of the bed?
Don't you mean to ask "Do these scratches decrease the adhesion of the resin to the bed?", the quality of the plate has already been decreased, you might be after useability instead!
Oscar, I am new to 3d printing. Do the scratches matter? Do they decrease the usability?
I have no SLA experience, but others may answer this question (@Trish ?)
Tell the seller to quit lying and give you a clean bed. Genuine testing does not degrade the item under test.
@0scar my knowledge on SLA is theoretically only, but I would deem a scratch that is more than 1 layer deep as excluding defect.
I also have no experience but I agree with Carl, Trish, and Oscar. Testing should do no damage. If it does, the damage indicates a problem, and both the problem and the damage must be repaired. And, any imperfection on the order of a 1/4 layer or larger is a problem. In best case, you have little scratch lines stickout of the bottom of every print. In worst case, you create a bubble of uncured resin that degrades the adhesion, or you create some micro-feature which increase the adhesion so that objects are harder to remove from those spots. Either way, it isn't good.
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13521 | Empty patches with a very viscous resin
I have a Mars-like 3D printer, which so far worked very well with typical resins. Then I decided to print a mechanical part with Siraya Blu. I followed their recomendations of a "heavy" support, which means columns of a diameter of 1.2 mm minimum. The setting are 14 s (60 s) exposure, 60 mm/min (40 mm/min) lift/retract speeds, in parentheses the bottom layers. Temperature 25 °C, the printer is leveled.
The object would have an even, well-defined resolution everywhere if there weren't some large "empty patches" directly below the support platform and of the height of about 1 mm, that damage the support structure, which in turn warps the printed object. The photo shows the problem. Everything prints very well apart of the inside of the blue patch, where the flat part of the platform is perfectly empty, no columns, no platform fringe, the flat part itself prints as it should (and sticks well to the build plate). The stray fragment of a column is a left-over after cutting off the platform with a knife.
The patch has crisp borders - outside, the columns are well printed and precisely round, inside the patch there is just the flat support part, followed by the object warped because of the momentary lack of support (the support shows again a millimeter or so later as round islands, the black arrow points to one). The object's layers gradually self-correct and print with the same high quality everywhere, inside the blue patch or not. So I assume the FEP film is okay, as the empty patch has only about 1 mm height and above/below it the precision is very good, as seen within the cyan ellipse. Also, other resins (all much more fluid, Blu is very viscous for the extra toughness) print with no problems.
There are 2 or three similar empty patches in this print elsewhere, but this is the largest one. Any idea what can it be? Trapped air bubbles? I did several tests with different settings, the problem persists. I increased the exposure time to 18 s and cannot increase it even more as this resin has a tendency of a "remote polymerisation" of overhangs. Changing lift/retract speeds does not help or help minimally, but I didn't go below 40 mm/min. Siraya Tech's recommendations are verbose but say nothing about the retract speed anyway. If these are bubbles, why the flat part of the support platform prints everywhere? To see if it has something to do with the bottom layers I tried different numbers of them, but the problem always starts exactly below the flat part, and not few layers sooner or later.
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16600 | Elegoo Saturn: artifacts which looks like a slicer bug
I have Elegoo Saturn for few days and it makes sometimes artifacts as in the image:
Elegoo Saturn's support supposes that it is caused by the model support. But to me the artifact looks very "digital". Might a problem with Chitubox in the case of 4k displays.
The density of the support structure is typical for default values in Chitubox 1.9.1. More than this and resin sticks between the
support, makes it difficult for the air to flow, suction appears and
makes holes in the model.
Once the bottom of the cone is printed, it also becomes a support of the higher layer next to be printed. So the
discrepancy would self-correct itself and disappear in higher parts of the model. But it goes up the cone without any change.
The raised part has very sharp borders which form a perfect, precise vertical plane. It looks nothing like a mechanical problem
with the support.
The raised part is very thin, about 0.5 width. A discrepancy between two parts of the model caused by a weak support would create
a single, possibly wide deformation and not two close, razor-sharp discontinuities
which precisely continue forever and have a perfect surface between them.
The bottom of the cone does not show the arching
characteristic for a weak support and for a reason: I made the bottom surface slightly
diagonal to have the layer self-support effect.
The problem shows rarely, in about 10% of the cones and if they are accompanied by a large, complex model placed nearby. When I changed the complex model to its never version, the cones printed all without any problems.
If you look at the close-up, the layers are perfectly horizontal to the built plate and thus do not show any mechanical problem with the
support. There is a normal layering visible even on the vertical two shear surfaces.
What you think about the possible cause?
I hope someone answers, but I would say that the proper place to ask is https://www.elegoomars.com/forum/index.php
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11796 | Ender3 printing flattened on X axis
I'm fairly new to the amazing world of 3D printing, with an Ender3X.
Default model (the dog) worked very fine, but I'm experiencing some issues with some of the printer improvement parts I decided to print.
It seems to narrow the print on the X axis; a printed circle for instance will always have the correct shape, except on both extremities on X, where it will be flattened, no matter the size.
I experienced it with the extruder knob: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3176144
for which all dents were fine but the ones on the X axis sides.
Also experienced it on the filament's guide torus: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2917932/
I'm having a hard time figuring out where I messed up; could it be related to a software mistake I would have made in Cura, a failed bed leveling or any other hardware issue like an over/under tightened X axis?
Thanks!
Without photos of what you are getting, it is difficult to say, but it sounds like a loose belt.
Please add photos and describe the "upgrades" you did. Without this information this question cannot be answered.
Picture added, sorry!
I'll try with a tightened X axis, thanks for your advice!
Tightening the belt was indeed the solution, thanks Mick!
Wow, it's impressive that you were able to get results that bad with a loose belt without it failing to print entirely.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-21T12:54:44.947985 | 2020-01-18T03:36:37 | {
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11850 | My printer is making mistakes on the right half of the print, but not the left
I am an absolute beginner having issues with my Monoprice Maker select v2 printer.
The left half of my prints look fine but the right half always gets messed up. When I watch it print the right half of an object it seems that the PLA isn't sticking even though I level the bed thoroughly beforehand. I don't think the problem is that the right half of my board is not sticky enough, because when I move the print so that the whole thing prints on the left half of the bed the problem persists.
I have attatched a photo to show what I am talking about. Any help is appreciated
Edit: I'm using inland pla. The extruder is at 220° and the bed temp is 60°
Looks like bed isn't leveled.
And in need of some glue or spray to adhere it better. You could try even better levelling and increase bed temperature. Please post temperatures.
unlevel bed and a dirty bed.
@Trish is it possible that my bed is dirty after just one print? I've only had it for a week or two.
if you touch it with your fingers, you might leave grease, which can impact the adhesion. However, it should be a mechanical thing. For new machines I suspect either an unlevel bed or an X-beam out of position. Note that 220°C for PLA is WAY too hot. At that tempoerature PLA gets super runny and doesn't properly stick. Go down to 200°C and try again.
@Trish: I use 215 for first layer with PLA, 210 after that. 220 is on the high end but doesn't seem extreme.
I found the problem. This model of printer Monoprice Select v2 has bed warping issues so when the bed heated up it would warp severely. I bought a glass bed and all my problems were solved.
Try cleaning bed with isopropyl alcohol to remove grease from the bed. (increases stickyness)
Try increasing bed temp to 70°C (increases stickyness)
If this is not enough, do a fresh bed leveling.
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11853 | Ender 3 Y Layer Shifting
My school started a robotics club this year and one of the teachers gave us an Ender 3 printer to use, they assembled it the year before but never actually used it so it was sitting in their garage, I attempted to print several different objects but all of the larger ones seem to suffer from layer shifting on what seems like the Y axis. I've looked at other threads and tried stuff such as changing the binder clips (add adding more), leveling the bed (again), tightening the belts, moving the print position to a corner, using a different slicer, and reslicing the models which all fail, when I print smaller objects, it prints fine. What could the problem be and what can I do to resolve this? I'm using Cura 4.4 currently.
Failed print:
What it should look like:
Successful print (smaller object):
Edit: I'm also using OctoPrint on a Raspberry Pi for remote control but the issue still occurs when printing from an SD card.
Is the Y belt tight? What are your jerk and acceleration limits set in the slicer?
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE Yes, I tightened both the X and Y belt, print jerk is 20mm/s and acceleration is 500mm/s
I'm using the Magic0.20 profile from https://www.chepclub.com/cura-profiles.html (had the same issue with the default profile)
Do the cables of the bed get caught on something? Does the bed run smoothly without the belt? What is the print speed?
Fixed it finally, seems that the X axis was not level. Thank you to everyone who commented.
Do you have an understanding of how that caused the Y shifting? It would be interesting to hear more
The entire issue was on the x axis, it didn’t have anything to do with the y axis, the x axis was lower on the right side. My bad for confusing the x and y axis :)
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11881 | Cura how to fix "on air support"
I'm trying to generate G-code for handle in Cura.
Unfortunately Cura generates wrong supports - first layer of support has now background in starts in the air (see attached files)
So how to fix it? Is there any way (configuration etc.) to prevent such kind of supports?
Cura profile
Hello Andrew, welcome to 3DPrinting.SE!
I think your question already has an answer on question: "Cura is printing support on nothing?". It could be related to the slice options, if you could post those related to support settings it might be helpful for your question.
I've just uploaded, check it out, please
Please read the answer in the linked question, this exactly explains your problem. You have a 2 layer Z gap defined (assuming you are printing 0.12 mm layers). How many layers are "air"? You can enable "Touching Buildplate" for the "Suppor Placement" option with tree support.
What exactly shall I do? Current value of "Support z Distance" is 0.24 (Calculated automatically). I've changed it do 0,12 and 0, same issue. Enabling of touching build-plate option removes support inside the hole. I've decided to test "touching build-plate" with tee-support test feature. I'll share with result later.
OP has commented that he tried the suggestions in the linked comment already.
Is "XY overrides Z" perhaps your problem?
Well, enabling of "touching build-plate" with tee-support worked. Thanks for advice
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11956 | Converting an undirected graph to optimal G-code paths
I am developing an image to gcode program, that would recognize edges and generate corresponding G-code to be sent to a plotter. I was able to detect edges using the Sobel operator; then the edges are converted to an undirected graph using a search heuristic of my creation. Converting a graph to functional gcode is not difficult: depth first search does the job. The issue is that using this method the generated paths for the plotter are far from optimal, since they contain many movements that could be removed or shortened just by printing paths in a different order. This can be seen clearly in the images below.
Is there an algorithm that can convert an undirected graph to optimal G-code paths? Otherwise, if there are none or the problem is NP complete, what heuristics can be used to generate almost-optimal gcode (e.g. the ones used in programs such as Inkscape)?
The graph on the left is converted to the gcode on the right using depth first search on the connected component of the graph. The white and red lines represent, respectively, the visible writes and the invisible movements of the plotter. The G-code can be found here.
Pretty sure it is NP-complete (equivalent to travelling salesman problem), no?
@R.. TSP is NP-hard, since it's something like O(n!)
Is this just a learning project, or do you actually have something to print?
Yes, this is a learning project
Quote of comment of R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE on question reads:
Pretty sure it is NP-complete (equivalent to travelling salesman problem), no? –
This is correct; this is route optimization at its purest, and is by no means a new problem. You want to travel the shortest total distance between all vertices of what's essentially a totally-interconnected graph; there are no inherent limitations on going from anywhere, to anywhere. The TSP is the general-case statement of this problem, which your problem specializes only slightly by predefining certain movements along edges as being required in the final path (but those edges can be traversed in either direction and in any order.
What makes this complex on its face is the sheer number of possibilities that an exhaustive solution to the TSP like Held-Karp has to evaluate. You have no real constraints regarding which points to travel between; you can go from anywhere, to anywhere. Only a relatively small number of edges (your extrusion lines) are known requisites, and those can theoretically be traced in any order.
If I'm reading your graph right, you start near the top center, then go to the top left, then to the s-curve, then you jump to the main shape and start traversing it from the "right arm", turning downward through the "body" and "left foot" of the central shape, then up to the "right hip", through that leg to the foot, then back up to the "left shoulder", through that "arm", etc.
If I have that right, then you definitely have "endpoint detection", where you are identifying points in the graph that are part of only one line segment (and therefore will require a travel move to get to or from them), and are planning travel moves to and from those points. Very smart. I would be interested in knowing exactly how you choose the next one to travel to. Obviously the closest endpoint of an undrawn line is a natural choice, but your algorithm doesn't seem to be doing that. Right from the off it chooses a relatively further point to extrude and then comes back to the rest of the shape. That actually seems to be the most efficient move in the overall graph, because if you don't get it early you will very likely make a big move to get back to it later, but making that decision in a non-exhaustive way doesn't seem intuitive.
Anyway, your algorithm was doing pretty well at path choice, up until it finished drawing the "right leg". The most efficient move from there would be to go to the bottom of the "Y" looking shape to the right of the main figure and trace through that. When that's done, the closest undrawn line segment will be back at the left shoulder of the main figure, which will lead you to the small dots, and you'll end in this region with relatively small travel moves. Overall, I think that a "closest remaining endpoint" strategy would be near-optimal at every turn; when you reach the end of a drawn line, look for the endpoint that is closest to your current location. It would make most of the decisions your existing algorithm does, and a few better ones. It's not always the best choice (case in point, the dot at the upper left, which is never closest to the end of any other move and so will be ignored until it's the last one left) but more often than not it is.
My programmer savvy says you also have some recursive intersection tracing ("tree-walking"); the algorithm sees that there are multiple paths to draw from a single point, remembers that point and then picks a path. When it reaches an end of a chain of extruded lines, it goes back to the most recently-encountered intersection, re-evaluates available paths, and picks the next one until all paths from that intersection are drawn. Then you skip back to the previous intersection, and so on in a recursive LIFO fashion.
While that's also generally a smart way to approach it, it makes a couple obviously inefficient moves, such as from the "right foot" of the main figure back to the "shoulder" (which is the most recent intersection visited but not fully drawn by that point). The more efficient move is simply the closest remaining endpoint, the bottom of the wonky-looking Y to the right of the main figure.
How you choose intersection paths to prioritize is also key. In general, taking the route that will lead you to the closest intersection or endpoint will reduce the possible backtracking you have to do. However your algorithm seems to prefer the longest path from a fork (or the one with the most forks along it) and that turns out not to be a terrible way to do it in this particular graph.
Now, having drawn the "left arm" of the main figure, it is totally beyond me why your algorithm chose to cross the graph to draw the wonky Y, then cross back over to the left side. That is by far the least efficient move it makes and the one you're probably pointing to yourself. The most efficient path from the end of the left arm of the main figure given what's left to draw is straight-up closest-endpoint, filling in dots and lines on the left side, then making one move across the graph to the wonky Y. Closest-endpoint would actually have already filled in that Y as covered earlier, and you'd end your graph traversal in the left region of dots and small lines. You may have one or maybe two relatively inefficient moves between corners of this region on the left of the graph depending on the closest point calculation, but those are minor compared to the moves made across the graph. If your algorithm is producing deterministic results for this graph, I'd debug it and step through to that point, and figure out why on Earth it thought that sequence was preferable. Optimizing that decision may very well be the key to a near-optimal overall graph-walking strategy.
How would one reduce a multiple fork to a TSP with single visit of control points? E.g. considering leg middle points, or similar?
If you can save your plot as a dxf, you can use Repetrel to generate gcode with our "find nearest neighbor" optimizing. You can download it from http://hyrel3d.net - the full install instructions start at http://hyrel3d.net/wiki/index.php/Installation_Overview
See the process in this video:
Disclaimer: I work for Hyrel 3D. Licensing only required on the actual printer, not the software install.
Note: This will generate gcode paths, but every printing move will have an E value of 1, so it's fine for lasering or ink-jetting, or running with the Hyrel native E calculations, but probably not useful for other 3d printers.
Are you allowed to provide an explanation of the "find nearest neighbor" optimizing? Thank you :-)
How it is done is beyond me - I'm not the coder. Sorry.
Google is your friend. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nearest_neighbor_search
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13382 | Ender 3 pro extruder skipping steps, tried multiple things
I've already asked this question somewhere else but unfortunately I had little luck.
So... my Ender 3 Pro extruder just started skipping steps, as in the gears (and the gear pinion) will rotate but the filament won't flow. It all started when I changed PLA filament to a new roll; I thought it might have been the roll faulty so I've tried a spool that had been working fine until 2 hours before it all started. Nope, skipping with that one as well.
Here's what I've tried doing so far:
Replaced the stock PTFE tubing with Capricorn tubing.
Checked that the tubing is tight and does not have play.
Replaced the whole extruder system (except for the extruder motor) with a metal Creality system.
Performed various cold pulls.
Replaced the nozzle.
Upped the extruding temperature from 195 °C to 205 °C.
Checked that there's the correct distance between the bed and the nozzle.
Yelled at the printer.
Asked for advice to my cats.
None of the above worked, and my cats looked funny at me. Print settings as below:
Filament diameter in the slicer 1.75mm (yes I've checked).
Temperature: 195 °C, upped to 205 °C.
Print speed: from 20 mm/s for the first layers to 50 mm/s for the infill.
I've also reverted back to the old PTFE tubing as I noticed that the Capricorn was giving too much resistance to the filament. Nope, still skipping.
I've noticed that the extruder gear grips quite firmly onto the filament, so much so that when it starts slipping it actually eats away the filament until it breaks. It's almost like there's a clog somewhere but the tubing is clear, the hot end is clear (I've cleared it and checked multiple times), and the nozzle is brand new.
What else can I try? Have I missed something? Apart from the changes listed above (carried out after the extruder started skipping), the printer is absolutely stock, firmware and everything.
UPDATE: I've changed the factory hot end bloc with a brand new one, changed PTFE tubing one again, making sure it's as close as possible to the nozzle (unscrew nozzle 1/2 turn, fit PTFE, screw nozzle in) but it didn't change anything at all.
The extruder still skips steps as it can't push the filament out of the nozzle. Pushing it manually feels nice and smooth until it hits the nozzle, where I can feel too much resistance.
UPDATE 2: I've modifed the following parameters on the EEPROM to limit the filament flow:
M203 Z5.00 E25.00
M201 E1000
I've also crancked the temperature up to 220°C but it made no difference whatsoever. What I've noticed is that, after cleaning hot end and tubing, it starts skipping after 1 hour of printing, every single time without fail.
UPDATE 3: I've checked the input voltage from the PSU and it's 24V; the Vref for the extruder is 0.744V, so everything looks as expected.
UPDATE 4: The extruder idler pulley has a compression washer to hold it in place without impeding idle spinning; it is usually mounted in the order idler pulley, compression washer and bolt. I've noticed that the pulley wasn't spinning freely this way, so I inverted the order to compression washer, idler pulley and bolt. The bolt head is small enough not to stop the pulley from spinning.
I've also increased the pressure the spring arm excise on the idler pulley, so that the toothed pulley grips more firmly on the filament.
This way I've managed to improve things although not solve them. It's been printing for the last 3 and a half hour without skipping but it's not a solution, as the toothed gear is chewing too aggressively on the filament. In just one hour a good deposit of PLA shavings has formed on the extruder, and I had to blow it away, and this never happened before this all started.
To exclude the hot/cold end I would disable preventing cold extrusion (M302 S0) and disconnect the Bowden at the cold end and extrude, does it still skip? Also, look at the other side, is unspooling creating more friction?
Can you elaborate on "Replaced the whole extruder system (except for the extruder motor) with a metal Creality system." ?
@0scar Sorry I forgot to mention it, I did that yesterday and the filament extrudes without much problems so no skipping there. The spool is nicely spooled, so it's unraveling (is that a word?) nicely and without much resistance.
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE The grey parts in this picture are made of aluminum, and I've changed them from the plastic ones installed by factory. They didn't help.
Would a direct drive system help in this case?
Update: I've changed the factory hot end bloc with a brand new one, changed PTFE tubing one again, making sure it's as close as possible to the nozzle (unscrew nozzle 1/2 turn, fit PTFE, screw nozzle in) but it didn't change anything at all. The extruder still skips steps as it can't push the filament out of the nozzle. Pushing it manually feels nice and smooth until it hits the nozzle, where I can feel too much resistance.
I think you've learned that the issue is not related to the tubing and hotend. I would look into you stepper driver, I don't know if you can increase the Vref of the driver to allow more current through the stepper.
@vale.maio2: Randomly replacing parts with aftermarket ones is not how you solve a problem with your printer not working, so no. There are pros and cons of switching to a direct drive extruder but "not having a direct drive extruder" is not your problem.
@0scar It seems that the stock Ender 3 board allows for Vref adjustment, so I'll check that and I'll report back.
@0scar I've checked the input voltage from the PSU and it's 24V; the Vref for the extruder is 0.744V, so everything looks as expected.
So, after some day of yelling and disassembling, I figured out what was the issue. As many were suggesting, I indeed had an issue with the tubing lifting from the nozzle. it was lifting, so PLA was slowly infiltrating where it wasn't supposed to be to the point it created a blockage, resulting in skipping.
However, no amount of cleaning and reseating the tubing got rid of it. i've also changed, again, nozzle, tubing and pneumatic fittings to higher quality ones to no avail.
I got absolutely fed up and bought a direct drive conversion kit. One of the cheap ones, reusing most of the stock hardware, including stock extruder and gears. The idea, for me, behind it was that the mass of the extruder, and the much shorter length of tubing, meant that the tubing had no space to move around and let the PLA out.
It looks like it's working so far, I'm 6 hours in on a 10 hours print with no skipping at all. I also managed to ease the pressure that the extruder arm excise on the filament, so it's not being chewed anymore and I'm not seeing any PLA shavings so far.
So it was basically what I said...
I'm pretty sure CHEP has a good video or two on dealing with this problem if you have it. It's certainly not a reason to change to a direct drive extruder unless that makes sense for you for other reasons.
Those would be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tCxO17XZtw and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb4XMbZ0iA4. But I think as long as your bowden tube is cut right, not damaged from wear/heat, and properly inserted, you don't need any of this. You just need to make sure it's installed far enough down to butt up tightly with the nozzle. Unscrew the nozzle a bit while inserting it to let the tube go down farther, then tighten the nozzle back against it.
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE Yes it's exactly what you said but, even after following ALL of those steps, multiple times, I still had the same issue, over and over again. As I said, the weight of the whole direct drive system now keeps the short piece of tubing in place.
This is a very common problem with bowden systems in general, and Ender 3s in particular. Mine underextruded from the day I bought it, until I pulled out the tube and re-cut it flat, broke two couplers trying to squeeze it in enough to prevent gaps and finally got it working. That lasted a few months before oozing again, so I gave up and switched to a direct drive system, too. Probably the same one you have. Zero problems since.
In case anyone else also runs into this problem and has tried everything above, here is how you fix it for good.
While the direct drive extruder might work, it may seem odd to some that the system that previously worked fine now doesn't and needs a complete rebuild.
The problem is caused by a faulty cooling fan for the heat sink. Replace the AXIAL fan on the hotend. That is not the radial fan that is used to cool the print.
The devious thing about this problem is that the symptoms occur seemingly randomly which is caused by the rather slow heat transfer in the heat sink. At some point during the print a critical temperature is reached which deforms/lengthens the heat sink and opens up gaps in the path of the filament. Those gaps cause the filament to get stuck.
The other devious thing is that the cooling fan appears to be working alright but is not. I assume the rotational speed is lower than would be necessary but that can not be verified with the means currently at my disposal.
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This was exactly it for me. I was tearing my hair out! I replaced the extruder, stepper, filament, bought a filament dryer, the whole nine. I never would've expected that it was due to my hotend fan underperforming! I replaced it and instantly everything works.
I had the exact same issue and then suddenly it went away.
The only thing I had changed was my Z-offset. I moved it away from the plate by roughly 0.1 mm. To confirm it was the reason I set it back closer to the plate and the problem came back. I think When the nozzle is too close to the plate the plastic cannot freely flow out and hence the pressure develops at the feeder and it skips. This worked for me, everything is stock and no changes to the feeder settings or anything else.
Since you've said you can feel a problem at the nozzle pushing it through manually, and since you say it goes away for a while after cleaning, you probably have somewhere that molten filament is getting into that it's not supposed to, then solidifying and jamming. Check that the cooling fan for the heatsink on the coldend is working, and that the PTFE tube is properly installed all the way through the heat break and butted up against the nozzle with no gaps or irregularities, and that the pressure fitting is holding it firmly and not allowing it to back out. If you can't find anything wrong, it's possible that something is just defective/damaged inside the hotend assembly.
Unfortunately I've checked all of that. The PTFE tubing is all the way in touching the nozzle, and the pneumatic fittings do a good job holding it in place, as the tubiing does not move back and forth even when I try to move it. Since I've just replaced the whole hotend asembly I'm not sure what could be wrong still with it, unless I've been very unlucky and got a second defective hotend.
When you say you can feel a problem trying to push it through, do you still get it to extrude ok (with manual pressure)? Can you pull it back easily?
I can get it to extrude manually, even when the extruder stops, well, extruding. I wouldn't say easily as it takes a considerable amount of force.
Lot's of factors can cause this behaviour. Firstly check there are no knots in the reel - that can lead to the reel locking up. Second check the PLA temperature and if dual wall (a lot of material being put out) check that the print head is not knocking (running over the top of) excess material due to oozing. I found that after swapping out the print head HE and extruder for new, that the root cause was that I had oozing and was not using the nozzle fan. This led to the head bumping over lumps in longitudinal runs (you could hear a thud), which led to the head getting gradually backed up and the reservoir in the head back-filling with hot PLA. This then created back-pressure into the Bowden tube and then up to the extruder, which is trying to push material into an already full reservoir (head + Bowden). And.. that leads to the cog wheel in the extruder fighting against the pent up flow in the HE. The solution was to put the fan on and that stopped the ooze blobs. Because I had elected to print a fairly heavy object, the wall count was causing an excess build up and my extra-prime setting, although good for thin wall printing, together with the 6mm retract, wasn't right for thick-wall printing. So I could have turned down the extra-prime a bit, but the nozzle fan was the best and easiest option. You have to think about the whole material flow process and how the system is wired: flow-wise. It's a fancy glue gun when you think about it. So you have to be mindful of all of the parameters that can affect material flow.
Having replaced the HE was actually a good idea, as I can now easily prime the head just by pushing material through by hand and feeling the flow. If you are having to push really hard, that means there is a blockage: either the head, or in the tubing or reservoir. Every two months you should maintain the printer and make sure that the head is running clear. The Bowden can also start to restrict in the head where the cleat locks onto the tubing. Heat, plus continual flexing leads to the tube starting to kink. If you are getting flakes at the extruder gear mechanism, then you have a Bowden tube or HE issue. Pushing the PLA by hand will tell you that. After a new HE is put in, you can feel the difference. A Creality 3D Pro head assembly is a few quid. I would suggest keeping a spare set of parts for maintenance work on-hand.
Flakes at the extruder could also be a sure sign of water ingress in the PLA. Look for small warts or bubbles in the print. If so, put the reel in an oven at at 60 °C for about 10-15 minutes. Then let cool off. Ideally you need a dry room to store reels, or a proper bucket with a drying agent inside. In the summer as heat and humidity rises, you'll notice that there's more absorption of water. If your printer is in the same room as a washing machine/dryer, you're asking for trouble. Ideally you need a dry cool space. Or just print a huge batch off and get through the reel quickly...
I my case helps reducing printing speed, from 100% to 80%.
Looks like the filament is cooling noozle to fast.
In some large prints at the begining (on first layers) I'm reducing speed to 60%.
This looks like the background temperature is not the same in the center and at the borders.
i've expirenced this a few times and just using my expirence from machining i narrowed it down to a few factors that changing fixed. #1 hot end temp, #2 axis speed, #3 filament feed rate. by playing with these settings i tend to find a happy medium with what im printing. it takes running a few set up pieces but with trial and error you can find a working point for your machine vs recommended settings. no two printers are ever the same just like no two CNC centers are ever the same. the jamming of the extruder usually is feeding too much material into the unit for its temp or it gettinng clogged at points by a bad bed level. If prints still come out ok, its pushing too much in IMO.
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11991 | Why are stepper motors used in 3D printers?
Stepper motors in 3D printers are used to move and position the extruder. But why don't the printers use servo motors or any other type of motors instead. Why only stepper motors are commonly used?
Welcome to 3d printing! Check out this question, its the same as yours and has very good answers https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/4154/servo-vs-stepper
FDM 3D printers need to do repeatable moves. Servos might give better and more repeatable torque, but they don't give very precise movement without the need of an encoder system. This makes Steppers cheaper and easier adaptable in most cases, even though there are some printers that use different motor systems.
Note that different printers like SLS printer do use several simple motors, especially for the system putting down powder, and the tilting system in the new mSLA Prusa uses - afaik - a simple motor doing one rotation per tilting motion.
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19819 | Does Silk PLA really contains elastomers as additives?
I have heard many times that silk PLA is PLA with some unspecified elastomers in it, but without any reliable reference to confirm this statement.
If it contains elastomers it should be more flexible and elastic than standard PLA I guess, but I have tried many silk brands and this doesn't seems true and actually in my experience on contrary it looks like harder and "less" elastic than standard PLA on average.
Since all silk seem behaving very similar, could be assumed that even if the specific blend changes from a brand to another with different secondary additives the "main recipe" ingredients are basically the same.
Does Silk PLA really contain elastomers as additives? If yes, since elastomers are an huge family what categories of elastomers?
Not an answer since I don't have a source for this, but I would speculate that you would need a significant portion of elastomer content to make the overall printed material stretchy/flexible. Anyway, in my experience silks are more "gummy", prone to fusing with nearby material (e.g. in print-in-place mechanisms) where they "tear" away and possibly damage the print rather than snapping cleanly like pure PLA would.
Probably it would be a significant amount to make it really elastic, but the point here is that is less elastic than standard PLA. Silk PLA is stickier to other surfaces when fused and is trickier to achieve good layer adhesion with no delamination issues but is not gummier and has a “glassier” consistence and slightly higher transition temperature (some degree more to start to became soft), or at least this is my experience trying many different brands of silk PLA
I'm not sure about differences in Tg, but my silk (YOUSU brand) prefers to print much cooler than normal PLA (200-210 vs 210-245) and is watery at higher temperatures, flowing out of the nozzle rather uncontrollably.
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18776 | Is there any print quality difference switching from brass to steel nozzle?
Brass has better thermal conductivity compared to steel or hardened steel but it has also far less wearing resistance especially compared to hardened steel that among brass and normal steel has the worse thermal conductivity.
Basically all 3D printer use brass despite is softer and also more expensive metal than steel.
Shouldn't the lower thermal conductivity impact only the time needed to bring it to the established temperature? Is there any noticeable difference in print?
Brass may be more expensive than steel, but it is easier to machine than steel (and far easier to machine than hardened steel), which is why it is commonly used to make nozzles.
@Mick I would expect steel to get hardened AFTER machining. Especially since hardened steel is usually hardened only on the surface, therefore machining takes away the hard part.
The thermal conductivity will certainly affect the time necessary to bring it to temperature, but will also require adjustment to flow rate with respect to speed of travel. The increased time for heat to travel to the nozzle is reflected in the increased time for heat to be "restored" as the filament transfers it from the nozzle to the bed and to the air.
If you make no other adjustments than waiting a bit longer to heat, you may see print quality changes. You might not, if, for example, the current temperature is a bit higher than needed. Unchanged, the effective temperature change required is compensated by the wider range of temperature allowed by the filament.
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12081 | My first layer becomes solid when sections are supposed to have small separations
I've only been 3D printing for a few weeks and most of my prints seem to come out fine, but when I try to print models which require a small clearance between sections of the model, e.g. various tolerance/clearance tests and some others, I can't get them to separate when they should because the bottom layer is a solid plate with no gaps.
For most models, this seems a good feature as they stick well and the final surface is completely flat, but for some, I want parts to be separable, so there should be some clearance on the first layer..
From some research, I suspect it may be either that the nozzle is too close to the bed or that the bed (or nozzle?) temperature is too high.
I have an Ender-3 and use PLA with a 200 °C nozzle temp and 60 °C bed temp. When leveling, I've been using a post-it note to set the nozzle clearance. I've tried dropping the bed temp to 45 °C and even 30 °C, but this didn't change the first layer printing of the Maker's Muse tolerance test, which still came out with a completely solid first layer and hence was basically a brick! I also tried using a raft, but the result was that the raft couldn't be removed from the model so this changed nothing.
What should I try to improve this?
Some details:
I'm using CURA 4.4.1 with as far as I can tell mostly default settings. I've tried the profiles Standard Quailty 0.2 mm and Super Quality 0.12 mm but this doesn't change things. FYI, as you might guess, I haven't changed the default nozzle so it's 0.4 mm.
The main reason for the question is that I don't know where to start with adjusting the settings, so had hoped someone would ask for the value of specific settings rather, than a full lisy, since most of the seem to do with the structural integrity of the body and shell of the model rather than the base, but here goes...
Shell:
Wall Thickness: 1.2 mm
Wall Line Count: 3
Top/Bottom Thickness: 0.8 mm
Top Thickness: 0.8 mm
Top Layers: 4
Bottom Thickness: 0.8 mm
Bottom Layers: 4
Horizontal Expansion: 0 mm
Infill:
Infill Density: 20 %
Infill Pattern: Cubic
Material:
Printing Temperature: 200 °C
Build Plate Temperature: 60 °C
Flow: 100 %
Wall Flow: 100 %
Outer Wall Flow: 100 %
Inner Wall Flow: 100 %
Top/Bottom Flow: 100 %
Infill Flow: 100 %
Skirt/Brim Flow: 100 %
Prime Tower Flow: 100 %
Initial Layer Flow: 100%
Enable Retraction: [Yes]
Speed:
Print Speed: 50 mm/s
Travel Speed: 150 mm/s
Initial Layer Speed: 20 mm/s
Initial Layer Print Speed: 20 mm/s
Initial Layer Travel Speed: 100 mm/s
Travel:
Avoid Printed Parts When Traveling: [Yes]
Avoid Supports When Traveling: [On]
Travel Avoid Distance: 0.625 mm
Z Hop When Retracted: [No]
Cooling:
Enable Print Cooling: [Yes]
Fan Speed: 100%
Support:
Generate Support: [No]
Build Plate Adhesion:
Build Plate Adhesion Type: Skirt
Dual Extrusion:
(No settings - single nozzle)
Experimental:
Tree Support: [No]
Printer Settings:
X(Width): 235 mm
Y(Depth): 235 mm
Z(Height): 250 mm
Build Plate shape: Rectangular
Origin at Center: [No]
Heated Bed: [Yes]
Heated Build Volume: [No]
G-Code flavor: Marlin
Printhead Settings:
X min: -25 mm
Y min: -32 mm
X max: 32 mm
Y max: 34 mm
Gantry Height: 25 mm
Number of Extruders: 1
Start G-code:
M201 X500.00 Y500.00 Z100.00 E5000.00 ;Setup machine max acceleration
M203 X500.00 Y500.00 Z10.00 E50.00 ;Setup machine max feedrate
M204 P500.00 R1000.00 T500.00 ;Setup Print/Retract/Travel acceleration
M205 X8.00 Y8.00 Z0.40 E5.00 ;Setup Jerk
M220 S100 ;Reset Feedrate
M221 S100 ;Reset Flowrate
End G-code:
G1 E-2 F2700 ;Retract a bit
G1 E-2 Z0.2 F2400 ;Retract and raise Z
G1 X5 Y5 F3000 ;Wipe out
G1 Z10 ;Raise Z more
G90 ;Absolute positionning
Material is Generic PLA:
Default Printing Temperature: 200 °C
Default Build Plate Temperature: 60 °C
Retraction Distance: 6.5 mm
Retraction Speed: 25 mm/s
Standby Temperature: 175 °C
Fan Speed: 100 %
Standard Quality Settings:
Quality:
Layer Height: 0.2 mm
Initial Layer Height: 0.2 mm
Shell:
Wall Thickness: Calculated
Top/Bottom Thickness: Calculated
Support:
Support interface Thickness: Calculated
Super Quality Settings:
Quality:
Layer Height: 0.12 mm
Initial Layer Height: 0.2 mm
Shell:
Wall Thickness: Calculated
Top/Bottom Thickness: Calculated
Support:
Support interface Thickness: Calculated
As you may already know, there are lots of other settings which, by default, are not visible. If you need the value of one of these, I'll turn it on and see what it is.
I've also got a few of the failed pieces out of my junk box and added a couple of photos/ As you can see, the underside is beautifully flat and solid.
I also tried this test, but the only reason I got one of the pegs out was it broke off the base layer!
Update2:
Results of trying to increase spacing when levelling.
Update3:
Not an answer to the original issue, but I found a workaround in that there is an option in CURA to turn off the "drop model to build plate" option, so the whole model can be made on supports. This then doesn't have a 'solid' first layer and I get a test piece which shows I can print down to a separation of 0.2mm and have the parts remain free; 0.15 doesn't free up.
Original attempt, new version and the support.
PostIts are listed as 30-thousands of an inch, so 76.2 µm, about 3/4 of the 100 µm that we aim for.
What weight of paper is recommended? Most people just seem to say "a piece of paper". I have either 80 g/m² or 120 g/m², both A4.
Your settings show adhesion is set to skirt, but the first print looks like it was done with a brim or something...
@R..GitHubSTOP I HELPINGICE I mentioned in the question that I tried using a raft. The samples in the picture include that case.
If that's a raft, it looks like you broke/cut away the parts of the raft not under the print rather than separating the raft from the print. Was it bonded so that it couldn't be separated?
Exactly. The raft simply wouldn't separate as it was firmly bonded to the model. Attempting to pull it away simply broke sections of the raft.
By the way, the model with the raft actually had a 2nd model with it which is why it seems so wide.
The overall flow rate seems ok -- I see a nice gap in the 0.2 mm peg case.
The most likely problem is the first layer is too thin, or to much material is being over extruded.
I don't know Cura as a slicer. It may have an option to over-extrude the first layer. Unless I found such a parameter, I would look at how z=0 is set.
Just add an experiment, try using 3 Post-It notes. How, if at all, does the result change? Do you still have adequate bed adhesion?
If you can make the first layer thicker, it might be relatively closer to the actual thickness. Can you program a 0.35 mm first layer?
If you can't make the first layer thicker, maybe try setting all the layers to be thick. It might not handle the overhang as well, but today's question is about the first layer expansion
Last night I tried using a piece of 80 g/m² A4 paper and setting the height so the "tension" felt when moving the paper with the nozzle at Z=0 was slightly less than I've been doing previously and, after watching the first couple of layers, left the printer working on a couple of boxes overnight, as I've down over a dozen times before. This morning I came down to my first example of "spaghetti". Measuring the partial model that printed, it looks like part of the model detached from the bed around layers 8 or 9 out of 70. Obviously, I've gone too high and need to reduce!
uhm, spaghetti at layer 10 means something else is afoot probably...
Spaghetti is a good meal but a terrible print. An 80 g/m^2 paper should not have been too thick. Perhaps you have a bed adhesion problem that was masked by a high first-layer squish?
As I said, this is the first time I've either got spaghetti or model separation after the initial layer. I've usually stopped the print if either the skirt or the initial layer doesn't stick. So when I used a thicker piece of paper and allowed less "tension" against the nozzle at Z=0, I watched it produce the first and 2nd layers then assumed it would be OK.
At least I've identified a possible reason for the spaghetti ... The hot end cooling fan had stopped. Voltage on the board seems OK, so I assume it's the fan and have ordered a replacement. I've also had to replace the Bowden tube as the PLA had melted inside the tube, presumably because the heat sink got hot, and, when I tried to retract it, it got stuck partway up the tube.
You can clean out the tube of PLA by placing it is boiling water and then squeezing or rolling out the bump.
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12027 | Partial underextrusion in walls
I'm facing weird "pillars" of underextrusion on outer walls of my XYZ test cube.
On the pictures below I`ve printed PLA test cubes with a 0.4 mm nozzle, 0.2 mm height and 210/50 °C hotends/bed temperature.
Gaps are appearing in walls parallel to both X and Y sides. The pictured side is parallel to Y face.
I'm slicing with Cura, my printer is a homebuilt around Anycubic Kossel with Marlin 2.0 onboard.
What have I tried already:
1. Temperature from 190 to 210 °C
2. Retraction from none to 6 mm 60 mm/sec
3. Tuning down Jerk in Marlin from [10,10,0.3] to [5,5,0.3]
4. Tuning down acceleration from 3000 to 1000
5. Tuning print speed from 60 to 30 mm/sec
6. Checking belts, nozzle and extruder.
Now I just ran out of ideas. Delta is calibrated by G33 autotune. Mechanics looks just fine. What am I missing?
UPD1: tried removing combing - it did not help. But I noticed that my printer accelerates strangely at this parts
UPD2: could it be stuttering? I have 320 segments per second with block buffer size of 8 bytes(?)
UPD3: lowering segments count to 120 and raising block size to 32
Welcome to 3dPrinting.SE! Could you help us out here and orient the print for us? What side exactly are we looking at in the images? Being specific about which direction the print is printed in (ie: X/Y/Z axes) will help in the diagnosis.
Are you sure it's actually underextrusion? It looks like the bulges in your walls coincide with where the infill lines hit. Is it possible that you have too much play in the delta mechanisms such that these lines overshoot from momentum of the head?
Not sure about the extrusion, actually. I've checked the play and the head stands still.
Well, I could not track the problem and it lasted till two major updates:
I have changed rods for ones with proper lenght
I have reset all Cura settings to default
Localized underextrusion usually means you're oozing material somewhere it wasn't supposed to go. Since you have Marlin 2.0, linear advance might help solve that, and in general right retraction amount is important and turning off combing may be needed (combing over infill allows material to ooze).
Also there are reported bugs in Marlin 2.0 such as https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/issues/15473 that might be related, though I would think you'd not be using junction deviation since it's supposedly incompatible with deltas.
Thanks a lot! I'll try to tune Linear advance and combing.
Yes, I'm using classic jerk as it is required for deltas
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12039 | Weird deformities on surfaces with ender 3
Today I noticed some weird holes/deformities on the surface of this simple usb holder I printed. Since I'm fairly new to 3d printing I have no idea what may be the cause of this problem
My printer is a Ender 3 (Marlin 2.0.3) and I'm using Cura for slicing.
Pics:
It would be a great help if someone could give me some pointers on how to fix this.
Welcome to 3dPrinting.SE! I'm pretty sure this question has been answered before. You may want to search around the site a little bit and see.
Well, as I mentioned I'm new to 3D printing and searching is a bit difficult when I don't even know what the problem is called. I have seem plenty of posts on "blobs and zits", "under extrusion" and whatnots yet I couldn't find a similar distortion pattern. It would be really nice if anyone could tell me what I'm supposed to look for, give me a link to check or anything else...
Don't look at the patterns. These are warts. I'm betting the other question I posted as a duplicate might answer your question.
@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2: I don't actually see any answer about the bumps/warts on the linked question.
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13557 | Need sanity check debugging non-functional extruder
This is the same machine involved in this question: ender-3-pro-extruder-stepper-skipping-with-a-chunk-sound.
After reassembling the extruder, I discovered that the extruder stepper did not move, using prepare->move-axis. All three axis steppers did move normally.
The first thing is did to test was to exchange the wires to the extruder and X-axis steppers. After this the extruder stepper moved when I moved the X-axis but the X-axis did not move when I moved the extruder. Therefore, I concluded that the stepper is working.
I then opened up the main board chassis and exchanged the X-axis and extruder cables there (so the cables are exchanged on both ends). This restored operation to the X-axes (operated as such) and the extruder did not function again (operated as such).
From this, I concluded that the cables are also fine and I had somehow blown the extruder driver on the board.
I went on Amazon and ordered a "silent" Ender 3 Pro motherboard, rev 1.1.5 to replace my current rev 1.1.4 board. I just received the new board and, as far as I can tell, it looks like an authentic Creality product. The only visible differences between the old and new boards are the silkscreened version and the color of the PCB itself. Both are labelled "Ender 3 Pro" on the back.
I carefully removed the old board, marking where all cables connect and swapped in the new board. Much to my distress, everything acted exactly the same. The extruder stepper did not turn. Swapping the cables at the steppers restored functionality to the extruder (controlled as X-axis) and the X-axis did not move (controlled as extruder). Also swapping the cables at the motherboard restored the X-axis stepper (controlled as such) but the extruder stepper would not move (controlled as extruder).
I should add for Completeness that my printer was sold by Sain Smart (Creality OEM, I believe) and was labelled as such, both on the metal and on the LCD start screen. However, the motherboard was a Creality3D board, labelled as "Ender 3 Pro" and I believe the only actual difference is the text inside the firmware. With the new board in, the LCD identifies itself as "Creality Ender 3 Pro".
At this point, the only conclusion I can come to is that the new board has failed in the same way, which doesn't make any sense.
I need a sanity check. Does anyone see any flaw in my logic?
I should add that there is an oddity on the new board. The fan on front of the hot end seem to run at full speed and the hot end side fan and chassis fan run briefly at power up an then stop. Using control->temperature->fan-speed seems to have no effect on any of the fans. I never observed the chassis fan with the old board so I cannot say this is different but I did previously have control of the hot end fan.
The extruder motor will not turn unless the hotend is at a certain minimum temperature. This is a safety feature to prevent the extruder from grinding through the filament with a cold hotend. You can use the M302 command to control this behavior.
Thank you. I had just figured that out myself and was coming to post my own answer. I guess I’d never operated the extruder with the end cold before. Makes perfect sense and I’m kicking myself for not figuring it out earlier.
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13836 | Ender 3 X-axis layer shifting
I've been having a problem lately with some minor layer shifting with my Ender 3. It just started recently and I've made no changes to the printer since it was working fine. The layer shifting is always on the X-axis and it's not a large amount. Just enough to render my prints useless. The shift can happen in either direction on the X-axis. See attached photo.
Things I've tried:
Retensioning the belts
Printing at slower speeds
Checking all bed connections to make sure the bed is solid
Reducing the jerk setting
Activating Z-hop
Reducing acceleration
Increased retraction.
The problem occurs on multiple STL files that used to work fine.
Any help would be appreciated
Did you reslize the model?
In the case of the model I show in the photo, I resized the top to stretch it a little taller. In other models that are showing the same layer shifting, I did not resize,
not resize, RE-sliced. As in, did you print old G-code or freshly sliced one?
I've run prints with gcode files that predate this problem and the same shifting occurs. I even went so far as to uninstall Cura 4.5 and reinstall 4.1 and still get the layer shifts
I know this is old, but from the picture these are very clearly not "layer shifts". There is no accumulation of error, just layer-dependent (direction-dependent?) minor displacement, which is always just lack of rigidity in some part of the motion/positioning system.
OK I found the answer. I removed the extruder cover and found that the 2 screws attaching the extruder assembly were loose. A very simple fix to a very irritating problem.
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13752 | How can I print to my FLSUN QQ over Wi-Fi?
I want to be able to control my FLSUN QQ over Wi-Fi and don't have OctoPrint or a Raspberry Pi to run it on.
Assuming you use Ultimaker Cura to slice, there is a MKS plugin that allows connecting to the MKS WiFi module that comes with the QQ. Just follow these steps:
Install the MKS WiFi Plugin
Open Cura
Click "Marketplace" in top right
Select "Plugins"
Scroll down to find the "MKS WiFi Plugin"
Click on the plugin.
Click "Install"
Restart Cura (quit and reopen)
Configure WiFi
Turn on your QQ
Tap Settings
Tap WiFi
Enable WiFi
Note the IP address and network name
Connect your computer to the printers network
Open your browser
type the IP address of your printer into the address bar
hit enter
Scroll down to "WIFI Configuration"
Select STA
Enter your home network SSID into the field labeled "WIFI"
Enter the password into the field labeled "KEY"
Click configure and reboot
Setup your printer in Cura
Open Cura
Open settings > Printer > Manage Printers...
Click "MKS Wifi"
Click "Add"
Enter the new IP address of your printer (can be found by opening WiFi settings on the printer)
Click Ok
7, Click connect.
Now you should be connected to your printer. After slicing you should have the option to "Print over FLSUN..." In the Monitor interface you should have some other options such as sending commands to the printer, and printing any files already on the SD card, as well as uploading gcode files to the SD card.
Happy Printing
In case you update the printer's firmware to connect to my local wifi network I had to calibrate it again (using the auto-leveling kit). Also, I had to flash the printer twice for the auto-leveling functionality to work properly.
It's already in STA mode, how do I get it to open an access point?
As the auto-install from the Marketplace described in this answer wasn't working , I did have to manually install the MKS WiFi plugin on my Mac (M1 MBPro). To do this I just:
Downloaded the GitHub files (from the plugin webpage, linked in the Marketplace)
Right-clicked the Cura icon in the Applications folder, to show
package contents
I then went into the macOS folder and followed the plugin link
Copy the downloaded GitHub files
Restart Cura
I then just followed the printer setup advice in Cura from this answer.
No more messing around with SD cards :)
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15661 | Can I use photoelectric sensors to make auto bed leveling on a glass bed?
I'm pretty much a noob to the 3D printing community. I got a Creality CR10 V2 as my first 3D printer and I know it's compatible with BLTouch but not included in the package. So I'm dying to add an ABL feature to my 3D printer but I'm on an extremely tight budget right now. However, I found some industrial IR sensors (two Omron E3Z-D82 and five Keyence PZ-M71) in my toolboxes. I know those sensors are pretty expensive and totally overkill for ABV but I want to use what I got in my hands.
So the question, can I use those sensors for auto bed leveling? I should say that my printer has a glass build plate. By the way, I'm also open to different cheap alternatives
Here are the links to the sensors for more information:
Omron: https://industrial.omron.eu/en/products/E3Z-D82-2M
Keyence:
https://www.keyence.eu/products/sensor/photoelectric/pz-v_m/models/pz-m71/
Are you aware of this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il9bNWn66BY
Yes, saw that video. But my Sensors are not proximity sensors. They are more industrial type sensors with quick response times. I did test both omron and keyence and the results are not promising. Still trying to figure out. Thanks
Are you sure you want to use a 70 gram sensor on your carriage, when a BLtouch costs 35 Euro and weighs 10 grams? also, I'm not sure how reproducible the measurements are. I couldn't find any data about repeatability.
3D printers like the German Reprap (see image) already uses a photosensor for homing the axes. The trick will be leveling the leveling sensors.
However, if you use an optical sensor measuring distance, you could mount it on the hotend like we do digital indicators (drop gauge). See Bed leveling method?
You would want a resolution of about 0.01 mm. That method will keep you planer to the movement of the hotend. For automatic leveling the photosensor needs to input to your software.
If you want to permanently connect the photosensor to the hotend, probably the most practical communication method would be USB, which could supply power as well as communication to eliminate batteries. The USB cable could run in the path of the other hotend cables. Less weight on the hot end is if you could remote the laser and detector from the electronics.
If only attached during leveling, batteries and wireless connection is better.
I'm finding more digital drop gauges (second image below, data in cable is USB) with computer interfaces than photosensors. Many of the photosensors would need to interface with a meter first. Because a drop meter makes physical contact, it's not practical to leave on the hotend during printing.
These industrial sensors won't seem to work I think. At least I'm not comfortable enough to tweak firmware for now. So I will try to imitate bltouch with an optical interrupter and a micro servo just to be at the safe side. Thanks for your help
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15649 | How to programmatically resume a paused print in Marlin
A print that is paused with an M0 can be unpaused with M108.
That works with my Chiron running Marlin 2.0.7.2.
However, it also has a display that uses its' own serial protocol to communicate with Marlin. I want that display to be able to unpause my printer when it has encountered M0 in the G-code.
I tried injectCommands_P(PSTR("M108\n")); in the code, but it did not work. Perhaps I should not have a new-line at the end of it.
What is the correct command to do this?
void GcodeSuite::M108() {
TERN_(HAS_RESUME_CONTINUE, wait_for_user = false);
wait_for_heatup = false;
}
Above is the Marlin code for M108. Would be great if someone could decipher what TERN means.
TERN is short for "Ternary Macro". Scroll down on this web page to find what it is used for. Basically, this is an if-then statement.
under pause, the next line of G-code isn't read
The correct Marlin-command to unpause seems to be setUserConfirmed(). I have tested that it works.
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15576 | Marlin firmware: unload filament with G-code
I have upgraded my ER-20 with a Bondtech dual gear feeder.
It is not or hardly possible to load/unload filament manually with this feeder, so some .gcode is needed to do it.
I wanted to implement something similar to the atomic cleaning method for unloading: https://ultimakernasupport.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004187066-Atomic-Cleaning-Method
Here is my current .gcode:
G21 ; Metric values
G90 ; Absolute positioning
M82 ; Extruder absolute mode
G28 ; Auto home
M420 S1
G1 X100 Y100 Z100 F1000
; M92 E415 ; 415 steps/mm
M302 S105 ; Allow extrusion above 105C
M109 S218 ; Heat hotend to 218C
M400
G92 E0 ; Reset extruder positioning
M104 S160 ; Start the cool down
M117 Extrude prime blob
G1 E10 F100 ; Extrude a short before unload to avoid blob forming
M109 S160 ; Wait for 160C
M104 S110
G92 E0
G1 E0.2 F100 ; Pressurize the hotend
M117 Pressurize hotend
M109 S110 ; Heat hotend to 110C
G92 E0 ; Reset extruder positioning
M117 Pull out slow
G1 E-3 F200 ; Pull back a bit, slow
M117 Pull out fast
G1 E-430 F2000 ; Pull back 43cm with 2000mm/min
G92 E0 ; Reset extruder positioning
M400 ; Wait for command finish
M117 Remove the filament now
; M400 ; Wait for command finish
M302 S170 ; Allow extrusion above 170C
M104 S0
It doesn't work:
the auto bed leveling is always done, I don't know how to turn it off
when I see that the "Extrude a short before unload to avoid blob forming" event is happening, I also see the "Pull out fast" message on the display and the "print" process ends
Could anyone take a look at this code please? Or is there any .gcode validator for Marlin somewhere?
What I intend to do with this code:
heat up the hotend to 218 °C
extrude some material while a cool down to 160 °C is already started
when temp 160 °C is reached, start a cool-down process to 110 °C and push a little material to the feeder (pressurize)
when 110 °C is reached pull out some material from the hotend slow (maybe the feeder won't be enough strong to do it, but I have never reached this point to check)
then pull out the filament from the Bowden and feeder fast
There are three things to fix and one suggestion:
Change follwing lines of M109, using parameter R instead of S, because the latter is not waiting to cool down:
M109 R160 ; Wait for 160C
...
M109 R110 ; Heat hotend to 110C
The behavior of M420 will depend on type of bed leveling, saved mesh, etc. It is off topic to troubleshoot this. The printer operates 10 cm above the surface for this operation. G28 disables bed leveling. Why do you need to re-enable it? Just remove this line:
; M420 S1 - remove (or comment out)
Redefine maximum extrusion length in Configuration.h to allow for scripted long pull (G1 E-430), for example:
#define EXTRUDE_MAXLENGTH 450
Suggestion: Use relative mode for extrusion (M83) instead of absolute positioning (M82). It will simplify your code a lot. You just want to express the distance in E parameter. Then you will not have to reset position with G92 E0 every now and then (do it just once on the start). (I use this Extrusion mode also for slicing becuase it makes easier to re-start a print in case of failure).
Note: 160 might be below the temperature that allows to move the extruder.. Luckily OP included M302 S105 before the cooldown.
Yes, the script looks quite mature and consistent. Btw. I have added #define USER_DESC_7 "Allow cold extrusion" #define USER_GCODE_7 "M302 P1" to my custom commands in Configuration_adv.h and used it quite often since then.
Thanks @octopus8. I use the factory firmware for my EryOne ER-20. As I see the Marlin FW development is Windows centrist. The flashing tool was even not working for me on Linux, I had to borrow a Windows machine to flash the printer with the new factory FW release.
Maybe I'll try to set up some kind of serial debug logging (if it is possible), and I hope I'll get some meaningful error messages (like M302 is not supported by this config).
But to change lines in G-code - as described in an answer - and possibly make you script work, you don't need to re-flash Marlin. Or do you, for any reason which I do not recognize? But for tunning custom menu, yes indeed.
Thanks for the "using parameter R instead of S" tip. Now I see the cool-down sequence. But no extrusion (pull) happens. Maybe it is just not enabled in the FW. Other annoying thing, that the bed leveling always happens. Is there any way to turn that off? As I remember when I worked on startup g-code for the Cura slicer, I had to figure out how to bed-level from the code. Now I have to figure out how to not bed-level :)
M302 S105 followed by G1 E-1 works for me at 145 °C, I just checked it with PuTTY. (Maybe you would like to try executing your script line by line, manually from terminal? Marlin is giving some valuable textual feedback, more debug details with M111 S247.) As for the auto bed leveling I do not have a response at hand, I was too lazy so far to inspect all these settings in practice... but: maybe you didn't ever save the mesh to EEPROM after performing leveling, and thus it wants to re-do this process?
Hi, I guess I got it. I have checked the source of the Factory FW and I have seen that the maximum extrusion length is set to 200. So I divided my long one piece extrusion into 3 smaller and now the pull back is working.
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15574 | PID tuning and different filament temperatures
Since I have lots of PETG, I ran tuning to 230 °C (average temp for my filaments).
What is it good for, in terms of temperature ranges?
For the same printer configuration, and just different filaments, will I need to run it again and again?
Let's assume that I'll be printing between 200 °C and 240 °C.
PID tuning can be performed multiple times and the results saved for future use, since the question is about "what are the usable ranges for PID tuning", based on my experience
a slightly suboptimal tuning will not make the temperature oscillate more than 2-3 degrees, which is more than enough for most traditional filaments
if you have a 30-40 °C temperature range you can likely keep a tuning in the middle and be done with it
an accurate tuning is needed if you run the hot end at its maximum rated temperature: mine was rated 250 °C and without a good PID tuning the temperature was overshooting by 2-3 degrees, which was enough to trigger a over-temperature safety shutdown. Using the printer at 245 °C would have resulted in no issues even with sub-optimal PID tuning.
Of course, people with high temperature hot ends (up to 270-300 °C or more) will need a tuning for the usual range (200-240 °C) and one for the higher temperature range to obtain better prints.
This is exactly what I was looking to find out.
Thanks for saving me a lot of trials and errors.
I want to configure this printer to be as generic/basic as possible, for usability and reliability reasons.
It's not a straight answer, but you don't have to run PID tuning every time you decide to print with different temperature. (Until you change something in a hardware near or related to the hotend.)
You can tune PID for different temperatures and grab necessary values, for example:
M303 C16 D1 E0 S190
22:14:31.872 > PID Autotune finished! Put the last Kp, Ki and Kd constants from below into Configuration.h
22:14:31.886 > #define DEFAULT_Kp 30.87
22:14:31.886 > #define DEFAULT_Ki 3.06
22:14:31.886 > #define DEFAULT_Kd 77.75
and then store respective G-code commands (like M301 P30.87 I3.06 D77.75) as few different "PID profiles" as new entries in custom menu for Marlin or menu.cfg for Klipper for quick switching.
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15528 | Ender 3 weird drop in bed level
I have an Ender 3 a 3DTouch, with the SKR Mini E3 1.2 board.
From one day to another the probe started producing this pattern, where the right side of my bed (5x5 mesh, tried with 3x3, 7x7, all produce the same pattern) just drops by a significant amount. The bed is the Creality glass bed. I tried switching it back to the stock Ender 3 plate (non-magnetic), but no physical sign of this drop can be seen by the eye.
Probe testing with M048 usually gave me Range ~0.005, and standard deviation between 0.001-0.0025 both in the problematic part, and any other part on the bed.
What could cause this problem?
Considering this is an Ender, it is probably caused by the rollers on the X axis or the un-driven right Z post. I've seen behavior like this caused by a too constraint PTFE Bowden tube, at the far end the tube pulls on the carriage lifting it slightly upwards, hence a different/larger gap.
unaigning the X-portal can happen
My understanding is the M048 probe test moves the z-position. Have you tried measuring how flat your bed is by not moving z and using a digital indicator (drop gauge) such as photos in https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/470/bed-leveling-method/14526#14526 ?
@0scar 's answer was correct, I had to tighten the eccentric nuts on my X axis and the problem is gone! Thank you!
Considering this is an Ender, it is probably caused by the rollers on the X axis or the un-driven right Z post.
I've also seen behavior like this caused by a too constraint PTFE Bowden tube, at the far end the tube pulls on the carriage lifting it slightly upwards, hence a different/larger gap.
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15827 | Strange vertical lines on X-axis direction of parts
This one is turning out to be a real head-scratcher. I'm running a stock Creality CR-10S and there seems to be a single line approx 45° across the print on the X-axis direction.
I have attached images to better explain. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
This are probably wrong theories, so let's exclude them: Does this anyhow correlate with an infill pattern (here I think of "Infill overlap (%)" setting) or with the starting point of print for the outer wall (a Z-seam, you would need to observe during the print)?
Do you print Infill before walls? Can you print a copy of that item and abort that print mid-way, showing the infill together with the erroneous area? On the black item, the seams are on the upper or lower edge afaict.
Hi, thanks a lot for the reply. These parts are hollow, and infill for both are concentric. Does it have to do with belt tension or motor vibrations?
In your slicer check your z-seam overlap. Lines like that are what happens when a slicer is systematically trying to hide a seam while not adding a ton of time onto the print by adding in a bunch of additional time for travel.
This seemed to be the case, I was using matterhacker for slice and print. Didn't have this issue with Cura. Thanks a lot mate!
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15641 | Is there a well-tested Ender 3 printer profile for PrusaSlicer available for download?
I am very comfortable with using PrusaSlicer and having a hard time adapting Cura.
Is there any downloadable well-tested PrusaSlicer profile for some of the Creality printers?
Open PrusaSlicer, go to Configuration -> Configuration wizard, then go to page named "Other Vendors", tick the checkbox next to the name "Creality", then click "Next" at the bottom right of the window. A page with a handful of Creality printers should appear including Ender 3. Tick the checkbox under Creality Ender 3. Then click "Finish" at the bottom right. The profile should appear in the selection.
It imports various print settings (from 0.3 mm to 0.08 mm I believe) as well as some basic material presets. You can import more materials by just going to the "Filaments" page in the Configuration wizard and ticking the desired options.
The profiles are tested by PrusaResearch themselves I believe and I think they are based on other profiles found online with some tweaks and adjustments to better fit to PrusaSlicer.
I am using PrusaSlicer 2.3.0
Here is an image, what it should look like. Your colors might be different, I asume you are using Windows, wheras I am using Linux Mint.
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15690 | Can't get Y-Axis to move with Marlin firmware
Just as the title says. I feel like I have tried everything. I am compiling the firmware for Marlin on a Megatronics board from RepRap. That shouldn't be relevant, because I have validated that it is a firmware issue (and not a pin assignment/hardware issue).
When I turn it on, the Y-axis is active and just constantly holding. The stepper driver on Y-axis gets pretty warm constantly holding (as does the stepper motor).
When I swap the pin assignments for Y and X then the physical Y-axis moves fine when I manually change the X-axis so I know all the hardware and pin assignments are correct.
All the endstops are correctly reporting open (Z is BLTouch but that is also working).
Relevant software endstops are currently disabled, and default homing position is set to 50 to make sure it doesn't think it is at the bounds on boot.
I have a test firmware that checks all the endstops, temperature, and servos, and all servos work fine. As a sanity check, pin assignments match what is in the pins file.
Does anyone have any idea of what in the latest Marlin firmware would cause a software condition to just hold the y axis and not move? I should note that when I try to manually move it in Repetier-Host it shows that it is moving. When I try to give the home command, no movement on the Y but Repetier changes from red to black indicating it received confirmation of homing.
I am completely out of ideas at this point.
Which Megatronics board do you have? What are the stepper driver types? Have you tried to use a free stepper slot (there are 6, so unless you have X, Y, Z1, Z2, E1, E2, you should have at least a spare slot) and or a different stepper driver? Is the driver correctly positioned? Just some ideas for you to play with!
yeah I have actually tried using a free stepper driver slot. Anything that was tied to the logical "yaxis" wouldn't move. I re did the whole firmware with the default config file and it worked. It was some problem with the megatronics default config file
There is a problem in the Megatronics default config file. I used an other default config file and it worked!
Did you spot the problem in the defective config file?
I have spent sooo many hours going through that same config file over and over. I even found multiple different versions of it, and started from scratch, and it always had the same problem. As soon as I used the default it was fine. So no I couldn't figure it out
I ran into the same problem. After looking into the pin layout for the board I saw the following:
#elif EXTRUDERS <= 2
// Hijack the last extruder so that we can get the PWM signal off the Y breakout
// Move Y to the E2 plug. This makes dual Y steppers harder
This prompted me to move the stepper driver and the motor cable to the E2 connector on the board. (The one on the other side of the X connector, Order is Z,Y,X,E2,E1,E0)
That worked for me.
So, you could move the stepper driver and motor cable. Or you could commment/remove that code from the pins_MEGATRONICS_3.h file
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15748 | Irregular adhesion on Creality glass bed
I have an Ender 5 pro and upgraded from the magnetic bed to the glass version. I print with Prusament PLA on 65 °C bed temp and 220 °C extruder temp. I measured that the glass surface has ~58 °C in the center and ~56 °C on the corners. That should be in the specs of the spool which has a printed recommendation of 50 +- 10 °C for bed and 215 +- 10 °C for extruder temps.
Now I also have a BLTouch and use the TH3D firmware so Z offsets should work correctly and are done with the Z offset wizard present (nozzle touching the bed).
The problem I currently have is that the first layers have "lifts" in them. Also, it seems that the layer itself is not 0.2 mm everywhere. It's close to 0.23 mm on the edges but on the inner there are variances up to 0.36 mm.
Currently, I slice with Cura 4.8.0 on Standard Quality 0.2 mm
How do I get rid of the lifts and irregularity in the layer? Is it a problem with the bed?
Are you using anything else to help the print adhere to the bed like blue tape, glue stick, etc.?
No, only the pre applied structure ( https://www.amazon.de/Creality-Glasplatte-Verbesserte-Drucker-Plattform/dp/B0836PMMZ5/ )
Is the surface that the glass bed sits on thoroughly clean? Also, it is usual to put the clips on the edges, maybe 3-4 cm in, not on the corners.
The only time I've seen lifting, away from the edges of the part like this, is when the bed is contaminated with something which will stop the print sticking, like fingerprints and such.
A thorough wipe-down with IPA on the heated bed is usually enough to stop it.
I did wipe it two times with isoprop now and i got a print from it. Also i have seen that my bed (from the autolevel bltouch) is not flat (but i guess thats due to the frame not beeing level): https://drive.google.com/uc?id=10y4tr6eWzHM_oLES5mwY-sMNB66Q4M7K - So i have ~1mm difference over the whole bed
@geNAZt Have you got a straight edge, like a steel rule, that you could use to check the flatness of the glass when it is and isn't on the printer, at room temperature and heated up?
I haven't seen lifts that aren't on the edge of the print, such as warping, or the entire printed surface lifts. When I get something like in your photograph, it's because the print surface isn't flat and the first layer matches the surface topology. If the second image shows the print surface, it looks like blobs on the surface that may be keeping it from being flat.
The first layer thickness greatly depends on how high the nozzle is above the print surface. If this distance varies, the first layer thickness will vary. Also make sure your print surface is free of any substances that the hot extruded material might cause to boil.
Any chance you are removing the print from the bed before it cools down. This can distort the print if the material is still soft.
This is my printing surface: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RkxSiQkVyq8JlBp2BxNuzcTi7kkkcTtM/view?usp=sharing
I clean it with isoprop every ~4-5 prints and wait until it fully evaporated. Also i thought that the BLTouch should take care of variance in the print bed itself? According to the bed it should have a variance of 0.15mm in itself
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11214 | GRBL: inaccurate on X axis by ~4 mm on 400 mm
This is GRBL-related. I have a laser-engraver type machine, Chinese, ~550 mm X axis, aluminium extrusions, 2mm-pitch T belt, Nema 17H3430 motors, one mechanical homing switch for X, Arduino-based.
The X-axis accuracy is not up to par. When I make a mark on the X axis and jog to that mark (after homing), depending on the day, the position varies within ~4 mm or so. Sometimes I have to use G00 X-418, others G00 X-422.
I checked the belt tension, it seems OK, not too tight, not too loose. Is there something else I should check?
Another idea I have: put a homing switch on the other end of the X-axis, then home both ends of the X-axis, measuring the difference in machine position, then modify the steps/mm value for each session to force the command that puts me on the mark to be constant (e.g. G00 X-420). Any other ideas? Thanks.
This seems to be either a case of either belt slop or missed steps or it is a case of the accuracy of the limit switch.
If the limit switch moves even a little into either direction, you have to account twice that as the maximum error. So the 4 mm error could come from 2 mm into either direction from the 0-position.
However, there is a silver lining: Laser engraving, just like CNC, usually first dials in the 0 regarding the workpiece instead of the 0 of the machine. As long as the machine's movement is ok, you should be fine even without tightening the mounting of the X-endstop. I suggest to run the following test to find out what kind of error actually hounds you though:
Mount a waste piece
Go to a position on the workpiece
Run the laser for a split second
X10
Run the laser for a split second
Repeat 4&5 till you have 10 points
Measure the real distances between the dots engraved
If the distances are always the same but short, you have the wrong steps/mm set and need to adjust them accordingly. If the distances are inconsistent, you have either lost steps or a sloppy belt. To fight lost steps, carefully up the signal to the motor a little. If the results don't change from that, tighten the belt a little - it should sing like a guitar string.
Thanks, I'll go through the steps. By "signal to the motor", I assume you mean the current on the drivers (TMC2130), which I set according to a formula I found for them. BTW, the motors are very quiet (as expected) and move evenly.
@MrSparkly yes, upping the current can sometimes help to counter lost steps.
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8050 | Flexible filament how to print a hollow "sleeve"
I need to print a flexible, hollow "sleeve" or "cover" for an elongated part, kind of like a soft "skin" for a "finger" (see pic). I'm not sure how to approach the hollow space problem, i.e. how to print a flexible surface that is above an enclosed, hollow space. I could print supports inside, but they'd be hard to remove from inside the space, because I can't quite access all corners with a tool from outside. I could print this in 2 parts ("bottom" / "walls" + "ceiling" separately), but I'd prefer not to glue if I don't have to. Any ideas how to approach this?
Print orientation is usually the key to print with a minimum of supports. If you print this part with the sharp point down, you will get some support structures on the outside for overhang support to prevent it from tipping over, but no support on the inside.
I wonder whether it's possible to print flexible items with this much complexity without some internal support. My guess is that the allowable overhang angle is much less than for rigid materials.
I think it's dependent on the softness of the filament. I saw a video where the guy printed a glove (with TPU I think) and it seemed to print alright without supports. I doubt something like ninjaflex would be as simple.
@CarlWitthoft Fortunately, the overhang angle for support generation is a parameter in the slicer settings.
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11366 | The first screen of Marlin 2.0 is showing some horizontal lines, appearing to be broken
We are using the branch bugfix 2.0 and the first screen of Marlin is showing some horizontal lines, appearing to be broken.
After 3 seconds, the boot screen appears and everything works normally.
We have tried to disable the custom bootscreen:
//#define SHOW_CUSTOM_BOOTSCREEN
We have tried to disable the Marlin bootscreen:
//#define SHOW_BOOTSCREEN
We have checked the power supply.
We have wrapped the "flat cable" in aluminum foil and ground everything correctly.
We have deleted the "firmware.bin" and it did not solve the problem.
The first time the firmware is loading the "firmware.bin", those horizontal lines do not appear, but when it is loading the "FIRMWARE.CUR" it does appear.
What exactly is happening? How do I fix those horizontal lines on boot?
So I take it your questions are probably, What exactly is happening? & How do I go about resolving the problem? The reason I say, is, you really didn't specify a question in your ... er ... question. Could you please clarify what you're trying to figure out so we don't have to assume?
Seems to be normal for now. Both my SKR 1.3s running Marlin 2.0 do this.
Any other idea on how to solve this? It seems to be a problem in the bootloader routine.
Something is causing your screen to get signals to display that before your board properly takes it over after 3 seconds. It is an oddly repetitive pattern.
If it is software, you should not see it on a stable stock marlin release with minimal customizations to enable the LCD. Usually nothing else shares pins with the LCD, but please do double check pin assignments.
Beyond software lies a realm of hardware issues:
Issue could be due to bad wiring or wires running in areas where they are picking up noise as the system boots up; LCD ribbons are not particularly noise resistant. I say wiring but it could be anywhere along the circuit, including circuit boards.
There is also some (smaller) chance that your power supply is providing the noise at the initial boot up in which case you may be able to resolve it by adding capacitors to stabilize the DC voltage. Not sure what check you already did of the power supply, but a DC (RMS) reading may not show anything strange on a regular multimeter even if there is a strange AC signal.
We have checked the LCD ribbons, and other hardware possibilities. It seems to be software. The first time the firmware is loading the "firmware.bin", those horizontal lines do not appear, but when it is loading the "FIRMWARE.CUR" it does appear.
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12168 | How to have double extruder and double Z motor on a 5-driver board?
We are using the Board SKR 1.3 with the following pins:
/**
* Trinamic Stallguard pins
*/
#define X_DIAG_PIN P1_29 // X-
#define Y_DIAG_PIN P1_27 // Y-
#define Z_DIAG_PIN P1_25 // Z-
#define E0_DIAG_PIN P1_28 // X+
#define E1_DIAG_PIN P1_26 // Y+
We need a double Z motor, so We have defined the number of stepper drivers to 2 and it works like a charm:
#define NUM_Z_STEPPER_DRIVERS 2
Here is the problem, We need to have a single extruder with two heating zones, not a real second extruder. We have defined the number of extruders to 2:
#define EXTRUDERS 2
We want to reinforce that the second extruder does not exist, we only need the second heating zone. It's a big hotend with two different heating cartridges, that is, two different temperatures. So we do not need the stepper driver, only the temperature.
Then we get the following error messages:
We have thought of enabling the chamber and use it's pin, but we got stuck with all the structure for it:
#define TEMP_SENSOR_CHAMBER 5
#define CHAMBER_MAXTEMP 250 // Extruder first temperature zone
#define HEATER_CHAMBER_PIN 24
You can use 2 Z steppers on a single stepper driver. Most printers today use the steppers parallel, but in series will also work. Note that E(xtruders) are counted before Z steppers, because you don't have the 6th slot available it gives errors that you cannot place the Z2. Easiest thing to do is upgrade to a SKR Pro v1.1 to get rid of the Z2 error messages or split the connector. Do the heating zones have different temperatures, that is not clear, please explain why in the question?
About the 2 Z steppers in a single stepper driver: We will not be able to do this because of the electric current.
About heating zones:
I edited the question to explain it better.
We need to do something similar to this: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3669673
Since we don't have a heated chamber, can we use the temperature of the chamber?
If you do it in series the amperage will not be high! So basically you need a MOSFET driven PID controlled second heater element. You should probably have to look into some Arduino sketches, there should be plenty examples of those to find. What I'm implying is to use some free pins to set the MOSFET and record the temperature. Basically this is already answered by @BenjaminBaker.
We are already at the limit of the amperage for the machine design. How could I do it using the chamber?
I understand, that is why I'm suggesting this option, it does not cost any more, it will be less than your current setup. Just enable the heat chamber options in the firmware, you do need a MOSFET attached to the pin you schedule from within the firmware. Would it be a good idea to focus on the problem in the title? E.g. "How to add a second heating zone to a hotend?" The title now hints to a solution you have chosen, but might not be the solution at all?
Regain the Focus please
I second the previous answer if running second Z motor in parallel, just split wires or buy adapter consisting of two females to one male, Z motor on most printers don't draw huge current (or at least in smaller less frequent intervals to give things time to cool).
Erm I extruder with two temperature zones, hmmm buy a larger heating element, like a E3D Volcano or I believe they have an extreme version now, mine is rated for 40 W+.
Or you could use external MOSFET with separate Arduino PID.
Unfortunately, We are already at the limit of the amperage for the machine design. Do you know how to do it using the chamber?
Unfortunately, I faced the same problem. The heated chamber will not be accurate enough due to lack of PID tuning. As a result, the temp will differ up to 10 degrees celsius when the heater is on. Is a big difference that will either not dry your filament enough or in the worst scenario will melt it. You will need to enable other features in order to bypass the issue. Find below how I enabled the 2nd heater element with the exact same setup as yours. You need to define the following:
#define EXTRUDERS 2
On the following part you must change the SERVO_NR to -1 otherwise you will face issues in case you are using a BLTouch, for example:
// A dual extruder that uses a single stepper motor
#define SWITCHING_EXTRUDER
#if ENABLED(SWITCHING_EXTRUDER)
#define SWITCHING_EXTRUDER_SERVO_NR -1
#define SWITCHING_EXTRUDER_SERVO_ANGLES { 0, 90 } // Angles for E0, E1[, E2, E3]
#if EXTRUDERS > 3
#define SWITCHING_EXTRUDER_E23_SERVO_NR 1
#endif
#endif
// A dual-nozzle that uses a servomotor to raise/lower one (or both) of the nozzles
#define SWITCHING_NOZZLE
#if ENABLED(SWITCHING_NOZZLE)
#define SWITCHING_NOZZLE_SERVO_NR -1
//#define SWITCHING_NOZZLE_E1_SERVO_NR 1 // If two servos are used, the index of the second
#define SWITCHING_NOZZLE_SERVO_ANGLES { 0, 90 } // Angles for E0, E1 (single servo) or lowered/raised (dual servo)
#endif
-----------------------------
#define TEMP_SENSOR_1 1
-----------------------------
And finally, you must #define PID_PARAMS_PER_HOTEND in order to be able to PID tuning the 2nd heater which will be used for your inline filament dryer.
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8129 | How can I avoid jamming in the feeder?
Recently, at work we bought a Guider II printer from FlashForge.
When we try to print models using a high resolution or models with a too high printing time, the feeder gets clogged. And the feeder is too hot. We have concluded that the feeder is getting clogged because the high temperature softens the PLA.
We check the feeder fan and is working fine. How can I avoid the jamming? Pausing the 3D printer and wait a few minutes is not working for us. I don't know if it is a common problem for this 3D printer model.
Edit:
The hotend is an all metal hot end. I can't find more information about the hot end.
In the manual of the guider II flashforge recommend a temperature of 210°C for the head and 30°C for the bed. I have tried different temperatures. The most common temperature I've used is 190°C for the head and 55°C for the bed (I obtain the best results with this temperature).
This is the Hotend used by this 3d printer.
This is really odd. I've printed 6 hour prints on my Finder with no problems like what you're mentioning. It sounds like maybe there's a disconnect, like the extruder is pushing out more filament than it needs. Maybe return it?
Finder is a different printer than the Guider II.
@Trish In this moment, I can't open the 3D printer and take a picture. But I added a picture of the hotend that I obtain in flashforge web.
That looks in the base relative similar to an e3D v6, but with a very short heatbreak and a proprietary top.
The symptoms you describe hint to heat creep. Heat creep is the gradual increase in temperature of the cold end assembly (cooling fins and heat break). This gradual temperature increase leads to too high filament temperatures and as such premature filament softening. In combination with (large) retraction settings, this can lead to clogging of the nozzle. All-metal hotend assemblies are more prone experiencing these problems; lined hotends have a PTFE lining that also insulates the filament so that it does not soften prematurely like in all-metal hotends can happen. Heat creep is best remedied by properly cooling the hotend (good quality fan, no obstructions or large ducts) and reducing the retraction length (and possibly lowering the print temperature, but you already tried that). You could also contact the manufacturer for advice.
also an exchange of the heatbreak can help
@Trish Yes totally true, hence the hint to lined hotends, but, lined hotends limit the maximum temperature to about 250 ℃, this might be enough for many materials, but poses a problem printing Nylon, high temperature co-polyesters, etc. Good that you pointed it out!
I was thinking a necked down one (E3D style), but a lined one does the trick too
@Trish Thanks. I'm not sure why the Guider II doesn't have an appropiate hotend. Is there another method to cooling the hotend?
@MauroRivera an all metal hotend is an appropriate hotend, but it needs to be used correctly, that is with lower retraction.
@0scar Thanks a lot. I think that this is my problem. I chose this answer for several reasons. In the flashprint (Slider Software) appaers another parameter called retract cooling. I will try to do test with different retraction length and retract cooling.
If the temperature is too high it can charr the plastic, causing jams. There are many reasons for that. If the temperature you have selected is not too high (<200C), then it might be the thermistor not correctly reading the temperature. If you can measure the hot end temperature, that will give definitive answer to that question.
Additionally, some filament contains additives that can get burned even at lower temperatures. I find it every difficult to print with woodfill if it takes very long to print. Some wood chips gets burned and causes jamming.
That is very unlikely, a more plausible explanation would be heat creep.
Don't know about your specific printer model, but I encountered late print fails with clogged systems due to plastic molten above the heat break due to excessive use of retracts.
Retracting hot material transports heat up into the normally cooled down heat break part.
If you set up a very long retract or retract very often, the amount of heat can surpass what the fan is able to push off and soften the filament above the heat break.
Try adjusting the retraction settings in your slicer and see if it helps on longer prints.
Im using the slicer Flashprint by Flashforge. In the settings I can't configure the retracts.
As Oscar pointed out, this seems to be heat-creep.
What is Heat Creep
Hear Creep happens if the thermal energy deposited in the hotend works up through the heat break and out of the dedicated melt zone, resulting in filament clogging up in the coolend.
Where does Heat Creep come from
Heat Creep is usually a sign of having chosen the settings for the print incorrectly.
The biggest culprit is by having a too high printing temperature. I personally have not yet encountered any PLA that demands to be printed at above 200 °C.
In an all-metal hotend, the flow of filament down the path is a serious contributor or keeping heat-creep in check. So as a result, very low extrusion speeds have to be avoided to allow to keep the melting happening only in the meltzone. As the speed of extruded filament is related to the diameter of the extrusion, it is usually better to stay away from very small nozzle diameters.
The anatomy of the heatbreak is also a factor. Take a look at your heatbreak and then at for example the e3D v6 heatbreak below. As you see, it is necked down between the coolend section (the long part) and the part that screws into the heater block (the short part). This reduces the capability of heat to transfer up through the heatbreak, as $I\propto A =(R_a^2-R_i^2)\times\pi$. If $R_a$, the outer radius, shrinks by necking down the heatbreak, then the whole flow of thermal energy is reduced, counteracting heat-creep. But that has to be designed for.
Another factor that can result in heat creep is insufficient cooling of the cool end. Make sure that the fan that is mounted on the cooling fins spins always and gets 100% of its supply voltage power. Then make sure that it can draw in the maximum amount of air and push it out an unobstructed path.
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13615 | Extruder always clogs up almost immediately after cleaning
I have a very frustrating problem, my extruder clogs up pretty much immediately after cleaning it from the previous clog and I cannot figure out what the hell is going wrong.
I use a genuine E3D V6 in direct drive configuration (dual drive) and I print only PLA.
I have tried many nozzle offsets from the bed but because I have to test so frequently I am just printing in the air for now.
This is what I tried:
To print using the following temperatures: 200, 205, 210 and 220 °C
Using different brands of PLA
Lubricating filament
Installing a filament dust cleaner
Using both Bowden and direct configurations (my retraction setting for my direct drive setup is 0.8 mm, I am not sure what I used for the bowden but because the tube was fairly short it was probably around 3 mm. However I am not even printing I am simply running and stopping the extruder stepper, I am not using any retraction at all right now)
Buying a brand new E3D V6
Trying both 12 V and 24 V heat cartridges (with the respective power supplies of course)
Checking the temperature with other sensors (yes the temperature is displayed correctly)
Using acetone baths to clean all parts.
Using stronger and weaker heat sink fans and fan options
Push the filament manually
Performing PID tunes
Even after all that the extruder clogs up usually mere seconds after it has been fully cleaned and inspected before being re-assembled. I make sure there is no bit of plastic or dust/dirt present before I re-assemble the extruder. I also hot tighten the nozzle but I also tried to run it without doing it but it made no difference.
I would love some help with this problem because I am pulling my hair out figuring out why this keeps happening.
You might have a blown stepper driver. A motor may run with low torque that is insufficient to push against the back pressure of forcing out the plastic when it must squeeze out against the build surface.
This was indeed the issue. Thank you for your help.
I have had one roll of filament that did this. I'd get a jam, clean it out, and immediately jam again.
I got the filament from a friend who had reported problems using it, but I thought, "I have a Prusa3D i3m3-mmu2, I can print with anything." Unfortunately, I could not.
I threw away the filament (first I've ever jetisoned so callously), replaced the nozzle, and was back in business.
So, some filament just doesn't work.
But, there is another possible problem to check -- you might have a problem with stepper driver. Even with low current from a blown driver or badly adjusted driver, the extruder motor may spin. It may even be able to extrude filament into the air through the hot nozzle. But, the torque may not be sufficient to force the molten plastic as it pushes against the build plate.
Pushing the molten plastic against the build plate so that it "smooshes" well requires pressure, which comes from the push on the filament from the extruder gear, which comes from the torque of the motor, which comes from the current from the driver, which may be either blown or seriously mal-adjusted.
I had already tried a differed brand but I actually haven't tried a differed type of plastic. I assumed that PLA is just easier to print than other plastics in any way. I'll buy a spool of ABS and see if that works.
It turned out that the stepper driver on my duet 2 wifi board is defective which resulted in the extruder motor being poorly controlled which in turn caused the clogs, using a different stepper driver fixed the issue.
I am a bit bummed out that one of my drivers turned out to be defective since the board has barely been used but at least I got my printer to work.
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13737 | Print gets worse with every layer - Ender 3
First of all, I'm still new to this 3D printing and I've bought myself a second hand Ender 3 with some mods done to it.
I've successfully printed with PLA in different colors but after a good first layer the print seems like it is skipping lines.
I've already tried to:
Change the nozzle
Set the bed level (like a million times)
Download calibration files (e.g calibration squares)
I have used Cura with the Ender 3 Pro profile:
I print in PLA at 200 °C
A print bed temperature of 60°C
Cooling fan at 100%
Layer height of 0.2 mm
Line width is 0.4 mm from a 0.4 mm nozzle
Printing Speed is set to 50 mm/s for walls and 25mm/s for infill
Retraction is 6.5 mm/off at 25mm/s
I really don't know how to fix it the bad quality.
does different filament do the same thing? does slowing down the printing help? also try without cooling fan.
Have you changed any other settings in Cura?
try filament diameter and also check the height axis steps per mm.
Many questions on 3D Printing SE are answered, at least by me, not with a "this is the problem", but instead, this is how I would analyze it.
Looking at the picture you supplied, there is something strangely periodic about the under-extrusion in the top visible flat layer.
I don't think it is an X or Y axis problem. It is too low-frequency to be an extruder drive problem, such as a slippery drive hobbed gear. It seems too high frequency to be a filament feed problem, unless you are very close to the end of a spool with a small inner diameter. This is less likely because you have printed many things, and I would infer that you have seen this with full spools and empty ones.
The Ender 3 looks like a Bowden-fed printer. You are printing PLA, which should work well with Bowden.
Temperature variation could also cause this problem. If the nozzle were cooling and heating in an unstable control cycle, where the nozzle is cooler you would find under extrusion and even non-extrusion. This looks compatible with the results.
What could cause thermal problems?
Not delivering energy to the heater, perhaps because of a bad
connection, or perhaps because of an intermittent heater cartridge
Not sensing the temperature correctly, perhaps because of a shorting thermister
Thermal control look is out of tune, which I consider unlikely since you haven't messed with it, and in my experience that is pretty forgiving
Not conducting heat from the heater to the nozzle, which is unlikely
If you have an infrared thermometer, put a piece of masking tape on the heater (to get a consistent IR emissivity) and monitor the temperature. Is it cooler when under extruding? It might only be a few degrees different, but that could be enough if you are right on the transition temperature.
If the temperature is stable, you might try printing 10 degrees hotter, just to see. Some variation is normal, and you might be on the edge.
It is possible you have a filament that widely varies in diameter, but for that strong an effect, you would have noticed that the filament was thinner in some places than others.
My best suggestion is to look at temperature.
Further Reflection
It is also possible that you have something dragging on the filament spool. I don't like it as a solution, but it is consistent with printing a lot (at the beginning of spools) and then encountering this problem. A problem feeding, although I discounted it in my earlier answer, could produce a periodic under-extrusion if the drag on the spool changes. If the problem was one-time, then it may have been bad winding in the spool so that once per revolution it requires some extra tug to unwind the filament. That tug would reduce the torque available to push the filament through the working side of the printer. There might be extruder jumps (pops, clicks, etc.) coming from the extruder as it skipped steps.
The problem OP is seeing is not something that should be possible as a result of subtle continuously-variable settings like temperature, unless the thermistor is very messed up. My guess here would actually be a slicing problem - wrong/missing retraction, coasting, or other bad settings that produce misplaced or under extrusion.
I had this exact issue - PLA wasn't sticking to itself. It was intermittently being dragged around by the nozzle, and prints literally fell apart when removing them.
The problem: bad filament. I bought a new roll and the printer worked fine afterward.
while bad filament can be an issue, it can also be bad settings for your filament: wrong temperature or flow can make a perfectly good filament appear bad. I have had spools where a difference of 5°C in my getting settings made the difference between a perfect (195°C) and a crap (200°C) print!
I'd suggest running through basic maintenance. Check
Is the nozzle clean/unblocked? If not clean it out
Is the nozzle worn? If so, replace it
Is the bowden tube okay in the hot end ? If not, replace, or at least shorten it.
Are your e-steps calibrated correctly?
...etc
Also consider whatever mods were made, and whether they help or not. There's a chance something there was sub-optimal, which is why it was sold off by the previous owner.
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14843 | BLTouch Fails & Scraping at the Left Side of the Table
Using the following:
Printer : Ender 3 PRO - 2019 1.1.4 non-silent board
Firmware : Official Creality Ender 3 PRO - BLTouch version
Bed : Original Creality Glass Bed
Nozzle : Original Stock - there isn't any upgrade
Filament : Porima PLA Red
Hotend : 210 °C
Bed : 60 °C
BLTouch : Official Creality V3.1 Smart
Z Offset : -3.50 mm which keeps nozzle's distance as 0.2 mm from bed while printing first layers
Test Model : Ender 3 Damping Feets 100 % infill - 105 % flow rate - 60 mm/s printing speed
This morning I realized that my nozzle is scraping to bed while it's printing left side to the table, I'm using a BLTouch and this shouldn't be happening right?
Any ideas what could cause this and how I can fix it?
that bed is extremely unlevel...
i'm aware of that but that is the purpose of bltouch right?
not really: you need to level your bed, then Mesh Bed Leveling G29 can help to mitigate unevenness. But that bed is for the big part not level to the X-axis at all.
@Trish oh i see now, i thought bltouch can set nozzle's height on no matter how your bed is wrong, let me try after level my bed manually.
@Trish leveled my bed with old way (using piece of A4 paper) and started to print same model, seems like skirt and first layers are much better (not perfect but i'll get there), excuse my ignorance but the thing that i don't understand is if bltouch couldn't save us from leveling bed manually, then why we are paying for it? if i need to level my bed manually in time, why i need to use bltouch anyway, i'm accepting that it has limitations but it should cover you anyway.
This left bed side issue could be caused by the poor design of the Ender 3 (portal printer single side Z lead screw and counter rolling guide post) in conjunction with the way the bed is probed and the hysteresis of the gantry. The second photo issue could well a result of an imperfection of the bed, a local bump, which cannot be filtered out with insufficient probing points or the firmware bed leveling option.
Thanks for your suggestion, i'm simply removing magnetic pad and putting glass bed on to table, but when i do that i realised there are some white dots like dust which stoned by the heat of the bed, so i've tried to remove by my hand but they were so solid and hard to remove, i thought glass bed is heavy & solid, it's not like magnetic pad so it can not make bumps. Are those little dust balls could cause this kind of thing?
second thought : should i replace the table with a new one?. Becuase i bought this printer as second hand(i can't afford a brand new one), the store was using this printer as demo printer to show customers what ender 3 pro can capable of.
@Sheshman no, you need to swap your firmware to one with more probing points.
@Trish what is your choice? Marlin or TH3D?
@Sheshman Th3D is a set up Marlin. I based my (1.9) firmware on the Th3D
TH3D is a modified version of Marlin, note that this is created for people that don't want to go through the whole configuration; it centralized most options by choosing a few options. Note that this is not always working when you see some questions raised here. If your software configuration/compiling skills are not great or you don't want to know the fine details you are best to use TH3D.
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14053 | Why does my TMC2208 only rotate my stepper motor in one direction?
I have two TMC2208 stepper drivers, both with the exact same problem. They both only allow the motor to rotate in one direction. They are currently used inside a CoreXY style 3D printer. In my case, both the Z motors have this problem. (For example, if I lower the build plate, the build plate lowers, but when I want to raise the build plate, the motors still make the build plate go down).
I have isolated this is a hardware problem by switching the defective motor drivers with my X and Y motor drivers, and after I did, the Z motors were able to raise and lower the build plate properly. However, the defective motor drivers seem to be able to turn the motors, so I don't understand where the problem originates from.
Possibly relevant details:
I have been using Pronterface to control my 3D printer manually.
Vrefs on my stepper drivers are set at X,Y,Z,Z2 on 0.9v, and E0 is on 1.1v
My stepper motors are these
The TMC2208 are configured in StealthChop2 mode.
If there are any details I missed, please notify me.
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14003 | FlashForge Finder turns off mid print and is unable to reset or update firmware
I am new to 3D printing and am trying to get started with a FlashForge Finder. Unfortunately, the printer keeps shutting off mid print, and I am unable to find a cause. Here's what I have tried thus far:
System Settings
Factory Reset - When I attempt a factory reset, nothing happens (the menu closes, but usage stats & wifi do not get reset)
Firmware Update - Updating the firmware from the touchscreen immediately fails every time
Printing
I can start a new print, but the machine turns off after about ~10-15 minutes at temperature
The transformer on the power cable remains lit green even after the machine fails and turns off
I have tried printing multiple files from Thingiverse with no edits (an elephant and an owl)
Temperature is set to 220 °C
Observations
One of the times that the print failed, I noticed that the temperature had dropped to ~204 °C prior to failing. I don't know if that's normal behavior or not
Maybe not related, but, what material do you print? A temperature of 220 °C is pretty hot for PLA but on the low side for ABS or PETG.
@0scar - I believe that I am using PLA. So far, I haven't adjusted any settings - just printed exactly what's in the file I download
Same problem occurred to me, now twice. How much is the Finder's memory able/allowed to register? After erasing all but the print job, things go smooth.
Just providing an update: I've gone back and forth with FlashForge support and they're now providing suggestions of parts to replace (in ascending price). If it requires trying everything, I'll likely spend as much as a new machine.
If the commanded temperature is 220 °C and falls to 204 °C and cannot recover in time, a proper firmware would typically report a "thermal runaway error". Are you seeing this?
Try unplugging the USB lead as soon as the printer starts to print (I had similar issue and this worked for me).
No USB is plugged in during printing
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14171 | Gaps between perimeter walls; potential under extrusion?
The cube is a 2 cm x 2 cm with infill at 30 % and layer height 0.2 mm, more details can be seen below.
I'm printing with PETG using an Ender 3 printer.
There seems to be a gap between the perimeter walls, I have already referred to other forums and specifically: " How to fix wall separation in 3D prints (gaps in between wall perimeters)? ", but I still can't find a solution for it.
Most would suggest to tighten up the pulleys, I've tried that, but that didn't work. Others also suggested tweaking to a higher temperature, again I've tried from a range of 230-250 °C, but this also failed.
Infill and initial/top layers seems to be strong and all lines are bonded except for the perimeter walls.
More details regarding the problem:
Here are my print settings:
As an aside, travel speed of 150 will ruin PETG prints if there's any travel over already printed material, including combing. You should set it below 60.
Welcome to 3DPrinting.SE! Hope we can fix it here for you! Regarding: Infill and initial/top layers seems to be strong and all lines are bonded except for the perimeter walls. Sorry, but no way does that look normal in your photos! I don't think a slight over-extrusion will help you here, judging the top infill of the cube you are severely under extruding.
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE I always read that high travel speed is useful with PETG to reduce stringing, together with high retraction speed. Why would it ruin prints?
@FarO: Explanation here: https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/13808/11157. In general, though (with other materials; for PETG it's just counterproductive), high travel speed is at best a workaround for stringing you haven't solved by fixing the root cause. If you don't have errors leaving pressure at the nozzle, it should not be hard to move across the entire bed of typical-sized printers at 30-40 mm/s without any oozing.
PETG filament is not entirely rigid and compresses slightly in the Ender 3's extruder gear and Bowden extruder setup. Tightening it will only make this effect greater. Being compressed at the point where mm of extruder advance is applied means less than the desired advance of at-nominal-diameter filament will take place. I find I need a flow of 104% to compensate for this.
When adjusting flow in Cura, make sure you get the main flow setting not the first-layer one (which is an additional factor on top of the main one and can be left at 100%), and that all the derived flow settings for each type of extrustion (walls, top/bottom, infill, etc.) all come out matching the value you set. When I first tried fixing this with flow, they didn't propagate right and I ended up testing changes that weren't actually doing anything.
With that said, you may have something else going on too. The underextrusion looks pretty severe, including in the top layers which you said looked okay. You should not see deep grooves between the lines like that. I suspect they're only bonded to the layer below, not to their neighbors. This could be a result of tightening the extruder pulley, or some other problem.
Very interesting the compressing/biting of the extruder gear! Knowing I'm printing a lot of 2.85 mm PETG, my gears are also very tight biting the filament, but, I've never had to adjust flow. I guess that's a benefit of using much thicker filament?
@0scar: I would guess so. FWIW initially I didn't even notice the underextrusion with PETG but it was a big issue for TPU where the factor was 13%. I then thought to check it for PETG to see if it might be related to my layer adhesion issues, and indeed I found I needed an extra 4% for PETG to extrude the nominal amount of material. This made sense in terms of their relative compressability.
I agree with @R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE, looks like under extrusion you could try a flow rate test print like this link to try and dial in the value.
But probably worth just trying a flow of 105% and see if it solves the problem. Another thing worth verifying is that your printer is feeding accurately. You can mark out 100mm from the feed hole, then manually command the printer to extrude 100mm, then measure the distance from the 100mm mark. This will tell you if you have a feed problem.
If the problem is as I described, OP should see a feed problem reflecting the 4-5% difference. Don't try to compensate for it with Esteps mess, though; this leads to all sorts of problems. Just adjust flow or compute a corresponding adjustment to filament diameter - conceptually, the issue really is filament diameter, i.e. that the filament is slightly narrower than its nominal diameter where it's squeezed between the extruder gear and pulley.
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE Four or five percent aren't going to help the OP!
@0scar: I wonder if OP tightened the pulley so much that it's compressed a lot more. OP's pics look like what I had with TPU and no flow adjustment, where the magic number ended up being 13% (because TPU compresses a lot more in the gear).
Otherwise I can't think what the issue could be, if OP's not hearing clicking/grinding. My normal go-to cause would be oozing material where it doesn't belong, but that's not going to be happening with 7 top layers - there's just nowhere wrong for it to go.
Yes, I have already tried tuning up the flow rate up to 110%, the problem still persists, I have yet to try above that. I have also done some research and many people said that heating the PETG too high could possibly shrink it? Is this one of the factors that could possibly made the gap between the walls? As I have yet to try on decreasing the temperature below 230, below of which it is rated at.
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14138 | How can I make bed leveling improvements in the middle of my Ender 3 V2 bed?
Got my Ender 3 v2 and stack with the bed leveling.
Used default settings, Creality slicer 4.2, test PLA from the kit and print model https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3013319 (4 squares in each corner and 1 in the middle), nozzle 200 °C, bed 60 °C.
After some adjustments, I have good solid pieces on the bed corners but the center one has small gaps. Is it possible to fix this problem?
Corner pice:
Center piece:
With Got my Ender 3 v2 and stack with the bed leveling do you mean you have a levelling sensor? E.g. like an inductive or touch sensor? Or is this a typo, you have a standard Ender 3 and are stuck at levelling?
The gaps are, because the nozzle is to far from the bed at this point. It may sound like a big deal, but actually this is not leveling alone, but it looks like the bed is not a perfect plane/perfectly flat. This is normal, my ikea mirror and my stock bed show the same thing. Now here's one solution:
Print calibration stickers, like you already did on various places around the bed to get a feel, where it is too low. Let it cool and put painters tape (the very very thin tape, that should not burn) on areas, where the bed is too low. Print more calibration rectangles and check if you have enough. Repeat until you cannot see a difference.
It took me about 2h to level everything absolutely perfectly. This was 2 years ago and I didn't have to touch the tape below my bed ever since. It just works.
Alternative solutions involve mesh bed leveling and buying a new bed surface or even the surface below the bed. However, I found that to neither of them work reliably, whereas the simple tuning does what it's supposed to.
If you add tape between the heated bed and the glass, the heat isn't transferred by contact, an insulation layer of air is in between and the glass and bed so the glass will not warm up evenly. Nowadays, Marlin has a feature to probe the bed to adjust for the shape of the bed when enabled in firmware.
Probing for shape doesn't help make the bottom of your prints flat, dimensionally accurate, or extruded by the correct amount. It just makes them adhere. Shimming the bed is the right solution. Uneven heating is a minor issue.
Ender 3 V2 has a default glass bed. I doubt it is not perfect flat for a glass bed.
Given modern ways to produce glas it would be funny if it would not be flat. On a mirror surface (i.e. a steel spring print bed) behind the glass, you would easily be able to SEE the visual distortions - 0.1mm is a LOT of problems for a mirror. Which is why modern glass production techniques are VERY good at making planar glass. Technically not planar, but the earths diameter (no joke, this IS how good they get) is quite straight for something as small as a print surface.
I had exact same issues with my Ender 3 v2. Using the stock default glass the middle would be too far out and I was never able to level it just right - no matter what I did - I could have stayed on it for hours.
In matter of fact, it wasn't just the middle, it was the middle between each of the corner points as well, meaning, imagine a plus sign going across from the dead middle of the bed vertically and horizontally, where all that area would be a little too far out.
I did anything I could, eventually what solved it for me was tightening all of the frame once again, making sure the x-axis gantry doesn't wobble, the hotend doesn't wobble and then realign the gantry nuts below the bed, to help with this alignment I actually tilted the whole printer 90° so gravity will help the wheels get the right alignment.
The issues such as you are describing were gone after complete overhaul tightening as mentioned above.
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14213 | Is there a more efficient methods of removing support in a model?
Is there a way of reducing the amount and strength of Model support when slicing in Cura?
Cleaning a model with large amounts of support can consume large amounts of time.
There's a lot that can be done to improve the removability of supports, and much of this is not widely known/published.
One big wrong default in Cura that contributes to problems with support is Limit Support Retractions, which defaults to on. This causes heavy stringing between components of the support structure that should be separate, and poor layer adhesion between layers of the support and between layers of whatever is printed right after the support (!!), making support more brittle and difficult to remove in clean chunks. This setting should be turned off.
I find Enable Support Brim is also useful. Its nominal purpose is to make supports adhere to the bed better, but it also gives them more of a solid bottom so that the structure is rigid and admits snapping off as a chunk.
A nonzero Support Wall Line Count (it's zero by default for zigzag and most support patterns, but one by default for support tree and others) can make chunks of support easier to remove by making them more rigid.
Connect Support Lines (also called zig_zaggify_infill) helps with rigidity too, and with reducing time wasted on retractions once you turn off Limit Support Retractions.
Aside from these less-well-known tunables, the obvious ones are Support Z Distance and Support X/Y Distance, especially Z. You can increase this slightly from the default to make supports easier to remove, but it will hurt the quality of the surface just above the support (making it less flat, more stringy like a bridge). And the biggest one of all is Support Angle. Generally increase it as high as you can go, after doing some test prints to determine the maximum overhang angle you can print without support. This will save material and make it easier to remove what supports remain.
Finally, aside from support options, you want to make sure you don't have underlying print problems causing oozing, bulging, or other dimensional-accuracy/extrusion-accuracy issues. This is because any material that is printed or expands into the wrong place will, if it's adjacent to support material, bond to the support material and make it hard to remove.
I am getting heavy stringing so I will look into your comments. Thank you
You could reduce the Support Density:
A higher value results in better overhangs, but the supports are harder to remove.
Furthermore read this answer on question: "Difficult to remove support material".
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14156 | How does this multiple-curve-beam flexural pivot work?
I found this in Handbook of Compliant Mechanisms (2013), page 162, or at the start of "Chapter 11, Elements of Mechanisms," subsection 11.1.2 Revolute
I don't understand how it's supposed to go from 1 to 2 when b rotates around c.
The description reads:
This element is a rotational flexural pivot constructed by three
curved beams to achieve a large range of motion. Theoretically, this
element will rotate without axial-drift motion, because of the
symmetric arrangement about the axis.
(1) Rigid body a is fixed. Rigid body b rotates about c-axis.
(2) Deformed configuration
(3) Photo of the device.
It's unclear which part of the beam is attached to what. I can understand how one curved beam could switch its curvature (in general, like they do in bi-stable latches), but I don't see how they could both at the end of of the rotation end up curved in a way that's opposite to how they started.
How could c2/c3 go from the configuration in 1 to the configuration in 2 ?
Or could they be two different iterations of the same idea ? I can see how (1) or (2) would resist rotation of c around b, and snap it back to its original position. The text claims (2) is the deformed configuration though. I can also see how (1) with just c1, c3, c5 would deform to (1) with c0, c2, c4 if (b) was turning anti clockwise.
Also, what would be an ideal material to print this kind of compliant mechanism ?
You might get a good answer for how it works at https://engineering.stackexchange.com/ - if you do, let us know, and we can probably recommend materials.
Im reading th ebook right now and it seems to be a bit diffuse on many of the examples. But i would posit that its a typo it should read derived not deformed. I will ct one as soon as our waterjet is again taking reservations.
The picture looks as if there is a printed back surface to which the central part is attached. If this is not a photo illusion, it would prevent the central part from flexing properly. There is a limit to the amount of torque this can transmit, but within the elastic limits of the material it looks like a good design for a shaft coupler. May print it of nylon or TPU. I think the two pictures are functional similar, but 2 is not the result of twisting B in 1.
The picture looks as if there is a printed back surface to which the central part is attached. This can not be the case, since otherwise the curved members would not be able to flex. Everything inside the outer ring must be detached from the back shell.
Like all couplers, especially flexible couplers, there is a limit to the amount of torque the coupler can transmit. Within the elastic limits of the material this looks like a good design, and a good match for 3D printing. The forces are along the layers, not across the layers.
This looks like a good design for a rotary coupler. I'm resisting calling it a "shaft" coupler since neither side is equipped with any connection to a shaft. One could modify the design to have a larger central hub with a shaft hole (and set screw(s)). As it is, there is an implied method to hold the outer ring, and a fairly explicit three-pin adapter to drop into the open slots in the arms which connect to the center.
I would use ABS rather than PLA, although it depends on the stiffness you require and ability to sustein abuse. PLA is stiller than ABS, while ABS, within the elastic limits, is more compliant. I am not confident that either of these plastics would stand up to thousands of millions of flexures.
I would prefer to print this of TPU or Nylon. Both of these are tougher than ABS and PLA. They withstand greater flex with fewer problems with micro cracks and degradation. I have printed another shaft coupler of TPU, and it was both compliant and still.
It isn't possible to really nail down a material without knowing the application.
As to your question about one example being a transform of the other, I don't thing they are. The A and B drawings are similar in function, but are not stressed and unstressed versions of the same part. Either will work as a coupler.
Thanks. I contacted one of the coauthor of the book (Larry Howell) and he was kind enough to send to the original paper from which the chapter in the book was derived. Those drawings are not from the original paper (and the description indeed doesn't make sense), and the paper shows that this device requires a torque that is linear to the angle of rotation of the inner part around the outer in the possible range of motion of the mechanism; also the deflection (rotation) is greater than other designs, and other designs also have their torque increase sub linearly... Simulated in ANSYS..
I would try and print it in PLA because it is quite flexible.
ABS is harder in my experience and breaks more easily.
If you are able to print PET, you should also try that for the same reasons.
There might also be better materials I've never heard of, also please leave a comment if I'm wrong with anything.
PLA breaks brittle, ABS breaks after deformation.
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14148 | Looking for CAD files of basic crystal structures
I'm looking for basic models of crystal chemical structures. The most basic example would be a cube, it gets harder though as I next need polyhedrons with one of three angles < 90°, then two, etc.
Is there a database of these out there somewhere? Or is the fastest way to make them myself?
You may find that OpenSCAD regular polyhedron library may serve your requirements.
From the linked site:
All polyhedra are centered at the origin and have an edge length of 1.
From the linked site:
Included polyhedra:
tetrahedron
octahedron
hexahedron
icosahedron
dodecahedron
cubeoctahedron
truncated_tetrahedron
snub_cube
rhombicuboctahedron
truncated_hexahedron
truncated_octahedron
icosidodecahedron
snub_dodecahedron
rhombicosidodecahedron
truncated_cuboctahedron
truncated_icosahedron
truncated_dodecahedron
truncated_icosidodecahedron
OpenSCAD is a reasonably easy "description coding" program at the base level. I suspect that for something such as this, it might not qualify for the easy reference.
My search also linked up a few Thingiverse entries, but they weren't as sophisticated as the above and may be a subset of the library link.
Agreed. OpenSCAD is the way to go. There are plenty of crystal and polyhedral libraries for it available online.
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14095 | How to measure the nozzle diameter?
On a Creality CR-10 Max, there is a bag of unidentified spares, which include three unmarked nozzles.
There is a needle that is exactly 0.4 mm in diameter, which needle fits exactly inside one of nozzles. It also fits loosely in the largest nozzle, which diameter looks like it's really close to 0.8 mm on my digital caliper. The smallest one has only room for the tip of the needle, and the digital caliper reads 0.34 mm on the tip of the needle when pushed from the inside of the nozzle.
I assume the sizes are: 0.8 mm, 0.4 mm and 0.3 mm.
Can you tell me how to measure the diameter with better accuracy?
You don't really need to measure the diameter with any degree of accuracy since it is irrelevant for printing. The diameter of the extruded plastic is controlled by changing the flow rate of the extruder v.s. the movement speed of the print head. The exact nozzle diameter does not factor into it in any way. It only loosely determines what extrusion diameters are feasible (e.g. you can't extrude a 1mm line with a 0.2mm nozzle and you can't extrude a .4mm line with a 1.2mm nozzle).
Tiny addition on Tom's: it's generally irrelevant, but the nozzle diameter is used to set up the basic extrusion width in general. Sure, you could try to force 1.2 mm extrusion through a 0.2 mm nozzle but possibly get extreme under extrusion and clogging. Try to get them fitting.
Interesting. I will read on the subject and come back later. How important is it to match the nozzle size in the slicer with the installed nozzle ? Can you give me an example of a problematic mismatch ?
@alecail It does not matter for the slicer. The nozzle diameter is not used when slicing at all. Slicers only ask for the nozzle diameter so they can suggest values for the other settings (e.g. for extrusion width). If you get it right within +- 0.1 there should be no problems.
The correct tool for measuring a hole usually is a Bore Gauge, but that doesn't work for super small holes like nozzles and generally needs holes at least 5 mm in diameter. For those small holes, there's a different tool:
These are Thread Measuring Wires of known diameter. While generally used to find out the depth of thread you are dealing with in a threaded (or if your thread is correct depth), they are also useful for measuring small bores. In this capacity, You'll use them as follows: The diameter of a hole can accompany any smaller diameter, but never a larger diameter wire, so a clean nozzle of 0.4 mm should accompany a 0.3 and o.35 easy but not a 0.45. A 0.4 might or might not fit, depending on how accurate the hole is. You'll need a very fine set of thread gauges though, and wires, pins, and needles of known diameter are a suitable replacement for this.
I have found that normal measuring devices are not particularly helpful with accurately measuring nozzle diameters. But you're already off to a great start.
What is helpful is to take them somewhere that has a wide assortment of drill bits, and find which two adjacent sizes will and will not fit in the (clean) nozzle; then convert the diameters to mm (if needed), and your nozzle is larger than the small bit, but smaller than the large bit. From that, you should be able to narrow it down to a standard dimension.
How about the physical size of the nozzle verses layer height? Does it work to tell a 0.2 nozzle it is 0.4 mm and have a 0.3 mm layer height?
This is another question. Please use the Ask a Question link and we'll help you. :)
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14108 | Printer scaling is randomly off
I built a custom 3D printer using a BTT SKR Mini e3 v1.2 and use Pronterface to run my prints.
The problem I've been experiencing with it is from time to time the printer will attempt to print with a scale much bigger than what I wanted (roughly twice as big). I test with the same slicer file, and on different attempts it will print with different scales. It seems that the stepper motors run twice as fast and that is what is causing the change in scale. Has anyone had this happened?
Is it 2.54 times larger, as if something was using centimetres instead of inches?
Could be number of microsteps being programmed inconsistently...?
How could I check if the microsteps are programmed inconsistanty? Isn't there one place for it? I suspect the problem is in the slicer or pronterface.
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14429 | Printer is using BLTouch to home but it is not using it to auto level
I have recently set up my Ender 3 with an SKR MINI E3 V1.2 and a BLTouch which I have been using for a while. After many troubles with compiling the firmware, I managed to compile and upload the firmware; enabling BLTouch and changing the settings.
I've seen it somewhere (I can't remember where) and I think it's correct, but if you go:
Motion -> Bed Levelling -> Level Bed, it should run an auto bed leveling sequence. The same should happen if you use G29.
If I use the control knob and LCD, my Ender 3 will level the bed manually. It does this by moving to one corner, you manually adjust the height using the knob and then move to another corner and repeat multiple times.
If you look in the Marlin source code:
/**
* The "Manual Probe" provides a means to do "Auto" Bed Leveling without a probe.
* Use G29 repeatedly, adjusting the Z height at each point with movement commands
* or (with LCD_BED_LEVELING) the LCD controller.
*/
//#define PROBE_MANUALLY
//#define MANUAL_PROBE_START_Z 0.2
That is exactly what happens yet as you can see, it is commented out. If I run G29:
>>> G29
SENDING:G29
Mesh Bed Leveling has no data.
It confirms the fact that it wants me to do it manually because it is clearly trying to get previous mesh data rather than level the bed, which means I would have to do it manually.
I cannot find any other settings that would affect this, only what is already commented out, yet it still happens. Could anyone help out here?
Can you share the configuration files? Link e.g. to Pastebin.com for people to look for errors.
I have an SKR PRO that initially didn't allow to store your settings to EEPROM, this is now fixed by storage to flash drive when FLASH_EEPROM_EMULATION is enabled, this is default enabled for your board too, so, is the SD card present?
@0scar Hopefully mediafire will do! configs. And yes, the SD card is present and works correctly.
I feel like such an idiot. I was totally overlooking what type of mesh levelling it was doing. In config.h I hadn't enabled auto_bed_levlling_bilinear and it was just on the manual mesh level setting so it was doing it manually. Lesson learnt!
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4754 | Prusa i3 Linux Mint Slic3r install problem
New to this domain, I got my prusa i3 last week and finished assemblage. Repetier params in Linux Mint 18 are ok too.
I'm now trying to launch slic3r for the first time but I got this error launching config button in repetier :
23:40:37.298 : Can't locate Boost/Geometry/Utils.pm in @INC (you may need to install the Boost::Geometry::Utils module) (@INC contains: /home/mobidi/Téléchargements/RepetierHost/Slic3r/lib /etc/perl /usr/local/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl/5.22.1 /usr/local/share/perl/5.22.1 /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl5/5.22 /usr/share/perl5 /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl/5.22 /usr/share/perl/5.22 /usr/local/lib/site_perl /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base .) at /home/mobidi/Téléchargements/RepetierHost/Slic3r/lib/Slic3r.pm line 32.
23:40:37.298 : BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /home/mobidi/Téléchargements/RepetierHost/Slic3r/lib/Slic3r.pm line 32.
23:40:37.298 : Compilation failed in require at /home/mobidi/Téléchargements/RepetierHost/Slic3r/slic3r.pl line 13.
23:40:37.298 : BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /home/mobidi/Téléchargements/RepetierHost/Slic3r/slic3r.pl line 13.
Lines incriminated :
slic3r.pl line 13 :
use Slic3r;
Slic3r.pm line 32 :
Use Boost::Geometry::Utils 0.12;
I tried to reinstall with this tuto :
https://blog.lkiefer.org/index.php?article12/installer-slic3r-sous-ubuntu-16-04-et-linux-mint-18
But I got this error when dealing with the first command :
Err:1 **********/ondrej/php/ubuntu xenial/main i386 libpcre3 i386 2:8.39-1+deb.sury.org~xenial+1
404 Not Found
Err:2 **********/ondrej/php/ubuntu xenial/main amd64 libpcre3 amd64 2:8.39-1+deb.sury.org~xenial+1
404 Not Found
Err:3 **********/ubuntu xenial-security/main amd64 libc6-dbg amd64 2.23-0ubuntu7
404 Not Found [IP : 2001:67c:1562::19 80]
And a lot more almost indentical.
I don't know at all how to deal with this I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing at all, if somebody could guide me throught that I would be very thanksful.
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4847 | Mesh modeling - remove parts of a mesh using a uv map
Any idea which software they use to get the honeycomb pattern?
I just read a nice article about the “Design of a Patient Specific, 3D printed Arm Cast”. (https://knepublishing.com/index.php/KnE-Engineering/article/view/607/1895)
To create the cast model itself is pretty simple but I found no easy way to remove the honeycombs.
The article just says:
"Using the solid body model that was extruded from the surface of the arm, the pattern can be applied to the cast model. This is done by creating a UV map of the models surface and creating a surface mask of the pattern, this is applied to the model. Using the design mask the areas that not required can be removed from the cast model."
But it is not mentioned which software they use. Maybe someone of you got an idea.
Solid works is used to create such designs . But its more easily done on 3DS max .
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2709 | Prints are now sticking too well to the bed. What to do?
I'm a beginner. I've a Printrbot Play with a heated bed add-on. I'm using it exclusively with PLA.
It worked great initially, but then I took the nozzle out and put it back in, and the Z calibration was lost (and I didn't know the calibration was a thing). As a result, I started having issues with the piece warping up and not sticking to the bed in the corners and around the edge, when the piece was large and flat.
I've installed the heated bed. I used Kapton tape. All these made it perhaps a little better.
Finally I started tweaking the Z axis calibration (the fine adjustment for the initial distance between nozzle and bed) and that made it perfect. No warping anymore.
But now I have the opposite problem. When printing pieces with large flat surfaces that are siting flush with the bed, it's next to impossible to tear it off at the end.
I went back to using plain blue tape instead of Kapton, but it's still sticking too well to the bottom of the piece. I tried to pry it off by pushing a knife under the piece, but that has put a few scratches on the bed. Obviously I don't want to continue doing that.
What can I do? How to prevent warping, while also making sure the piece does not stick too hard to whatever is underneath?
EDIT: The accepted answer was very good and I don't want to mess with it by adding my own "answer". So here it is:
I ended up adding a glass plate on top of the bed, with a heat conductive layer between bed and plate (it's a funny looking, rubbery, chewing-gum-y material that conducts heat). Now I just apply glue stick on the glass and print. Works great. Large pieces come off on their own sometimes if I let them cool down to 30 C or lower.
I had some issues with the Z calibration sensor due to the plate, eventually got solved, but that would take too long to explain here.
Hello @Florin Andrei, I noticed your question has been up for a while now. Have any of the answers below been able to solve your question? If so, would you mind accepting the appropriate answer. If not, what is missing so that we may help you further? Also, if you have figured it out on your own, you can always answer and accept your own solution. Thank you.
I just added a glass sheet on top of the heated bed, and changed the Z sensor to allow for greater sensing distance (ended up gluing thin steel sheet squares on the back of the glass sheet in the 3 places where the printer does the Z calibration). Small items stick to glass as-is. Large items may require a bit of glue stick to prevent corner warping. Everything comes off relatively easy once the bed has cooled down; some items are sticking a bit, but come off when I pry them off with a knife; others (especially the large ones) just pop off on their own when bed temperature drops below 30 C.
Options to check (in order of probability of occurenece and success):
Z-calibration
Maybe you should perform calibration again. It's possible that nozzle is now too close which causes the filament is spread on the heatbed, which causes that the bottom surface is "too flat". It means all separate filament tracks are spilled and they create "glass flat" surface. You did mention that the model sticks too much even to kapton. It suggests z-calibration.
Temperature calibration
Check if the temperature is not too high. Reducing it a bit can reduce sticking. If filament is too soft then material sticks usually better (causes the same as in #1)
Heatbed cleaning
If your HB is scatched (even not visible scratches) then it's possible that previous printouts left little grains in such scratches. Cleaning HB could then help. Are you using glass? if yes - change glass side to check this option. Eventually replace glass with new one.
Heatbed surface
If your heatbed is scratched then filament can penetrate such scratches and increase sticking.
Filament
Did you change filament vendor? If not then maybe your filament had changed during a time/humidity/sun/cigarete smoke. This is very doubtful option but who knows.
What methods you can use to detach model
Paper knife
I also have the same problem when I use paper glue stick. Some vendors produce such sticky glue that I affraid to break a glass (which I use of course). When this happens I use a paper knife. Glass is scratchproof enough. Be careful - if your model suddenly detaches releasing knife... just be careful. Unmount HB or unmount glass first of course.
Hammer
I know people use hammer to detach sticked model. I would suggest this method only for big and relatively simple elements. Especially for solids (fully filled with the material, without any grid/honeycomb inner structure). One short hit in the same surface as the HB. Be careful of course and unmount HB or unmount glass first.
Fridge
As HB material and filament have most likely different thermal shrinkage factor it might help. And guess what - unmount HB/glass first ;)
Yes, the bottom looks perfectly flat; there are no filaments visible there. I didn't know that was bad. The heatbed is just a thick aluminum plate; until now I didn't even know that glass was an option there. I never print directly on the bed, I always use either Kapton or blue tape. Can I print directly on the bed? And where can I read more about the glass option?
@FlorinAndrei It's not bad to have perfect flat bottom surface - rather the opposite - it's perfect but in terms of your issue it might be the cause of the problem. In terms of HB - please take a look on this link http://reprap.org/wiki/PCB_Heatbed
Can you explain what a hummer is? I presume you don't mean the brand of SUV.
@Tom - yes - why not? :P (fixed)
I have only experienced PLA "super sticking" if the print bed is allowed to cool too much. I would suggest running a mild preheat to your bed when you find a print has stuck and the bed is cool. (What you set the temp to for the preheat would depend on the filament in question but start low and work up and you may find a sweet spot/release point for your particular PLA)
I have never encountered PLA "super sticking" printed with rafts on (regardless of printbed temperature).
Rafts will give you a sacrifical grid of PLA between your actual finished piece and the bed itself. That way you can "pry" the printed object from the bed and have more leaway for increased leverage without damage to your actual piece(use a plastic razor blade common in cell/tablet screen replacement kits and you generally won't scratch your printbed/printbed coating/tape). The lattice/net of the raft would also, generally, have less, in contact with the printbed surface area than a finished piece and thus have less holding power.
IMO raft is usually used to increase sticking. Additionally raft will cause the bottom surface less sleek. The same is with HB temperature. We use heating the bed to increase sticking. When I don't use any additional materials like paper glue or hairspray then (depending on filament vendor) my models detaches itself when my HB cools down under 40C
A raft, in my experience, is used to increase the footprint of a piece to help"somewhat with sticking" and thus avoid tip over. However, I've also found them useful as a medium to remove larger, flatter, pieces as well. That's just personal experience--it's worked well for me. (You are correct that they can make for more cleanup to the finished piece though re. removal).
As for the bed, yes, heating to the correct temperature does make PLA stick more. However, I've found pieces easier to remove if the bed is not fully cooled, but of a low enough temp to not warp the printed piece.
hmm... interesting. My experience is absolute the opposite but, well, the man can learn everyday.
Darth, what are your thoughts on removable, and flexible, print beds? I've never used one. How effective are they and would that be a potential option for the original poster until he gets the underlying issue resolved?
worth to try I think. I've never used flexible bed but I can imagine it solves too-sticky-problem. How else could it be?
Pour some 70% IPA along the edge of the model with a Q-tip, it will pop out right away. For larger models aaply IPA from a wash bottle. This method also works well on other plastic to glossy surface bonds, like, for example, hot melt glue to arylic sheet, see this -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9kdiZMqfmM
Several factors to consider, but don't get discouraged, it is definitely something you can solve. Consider this...
Z height:
Lower Z squishes first layer more and increases sticking, higher Z results in less plastic contacting the print surface and reduces sticking. Tweaking your Z-height can help you dial-in your first layer adhesion.
Print Temperatures:
Higher extruder and bed temps during printing will tend to increase sticking. Lowering temps will reduce sticking. Run several tests, just a few degrees can make a difference and finding the right balance can take some trial and error.
Removal Temperatures:
There is typically a warm bed removal temperature that works best, when the bed has cooled but not all the way.
Anti-warp "tabs":
If you're making your own models, you can add a breakaway tab to the ends of parts that are prone to warping. This improves surface area for hold down where you need it, but takes minimal post processing to remove.
Dry your filament:
Warping is generally much worse when filament absorbs water from the air. Some filaments such as polycarbonate are VERY prone to this, but even PLA warping can be reduced by drying the filament. To dry your filament you can use a low temperature in your oven, make a drying bucket, or my favorite, put it under a vacuum with a vacuum pump.
Removal tricks:
Various methods of rapidly cooling the edge of the print with canned air, alcohol, etc. can really help. Thin metal spatulas can work wonders.
Try PEI on your print surface:
PEI is awesome. Many common filaments stick very well while it's hot and release easily when it's cool. Check out the way Lulzbot attaches their PEI print surface to all their printer beds. It's a pretty easy and cheap mod. The other factors I listed still matter, but PEI makes it MUCH easier.
Note that using PEI and PETG may lead to actually bonding the PETG to the PEI. Use a spray or glue on the PEI to be able to get the print of when cooled down.
I suggest that you make a support not that much massive (this kind of problem is often cause of a massive part printed directly on the bed). You should place some easily destructible material between your part and the bed.
I don't know your part, but even if you have a plane under it, don't stick it to the bed. Let a gap, like, 5 mm minimum, which you will fill up with support. Of course, your support must be something light.
For example, try to use the meshmixer supports (meshmixer is free) or some lattices supports if provided with your software's printer. As they're supports and not the part, you can destroy it more easily, without the preoccupation to save it, just caring about your bed.
Of course, it depends on the amount your "sticking" problem, if small things are sticky too, this won't save you.
For non-used to supports people, support is often a solution to main deformations and sticking problems. Deformations because it dissipates the heat better, sticking because it's much less massive material to remove.
When I started, I got a lot of failed prints due to loss of adhesion. It still happens but much rarer. Dialling in settings improved that, but downside is that parts stay stuck to my glass bed really well even when completely cooled off.
I now use a 30mm paint scraper to peel the brim up as far around the model as possible. I only use a 5mm brim width now, and that seems workable.
I then use the same paint scraper as a chisel right at the end of a part, and push it into the bed so the blade is flexed. Then I tap the handle end with a rubber mallet. This generally either pops the part off completely, or at least lets the blade slip underneath where I can push it further by hand.
I'd prefer perfect adhesion, but would rather have over-adhesion than under-adhesion.
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14221 | Is there such thing as a sealed dual extruder hot end?
Does anyone know of a hot end that is sealed? What I meaning is that the hot end has a rubber seal where the filament enters to keep the top airtight (in order to eliminate oozing).
I am looking to build a dual extruder printer but, I do not want any oozing from the hot end which is not in use. I could build a system to retract and 'close' the nozzle but it would be much more elegant if it would work to just seal the top of the hot end. Thus achieving the same effect as when you pull up water with a straw by covering the top with your finger.
In a true dual-extruder / dual hot-end printer, having a seal isn't necessary.
On my dual-extruder printer, the non-active extruder does an aggressive retraction and then drops the hot-end temp down to a stand by temperature which is lower than the melting point of the filament. Because it had an aggressive retraction ... and it's cooling ... the filament doesn't seem to ever make it out before it has cooled to the point where the filament drops below the melting point. While there is no 'seal' ... it doesn't ooze.
The slicer software (I use Cura) estimates the time remaining before the extruder needs to become active and will start to pre-heat the hot-end so that there wont be much (if any) delay. Once the extruder becomes active, it will re-prime and will usually move to a prime tower to get the filament flowing again ... while the other nozzle (the one that just became inactive) does a retraction and starts cooling down.
With this technique of retracting and lowering the inactive hot-end to a standby temperature, I have never personally experienced an issue with oozing.
Is there any noticeable increase in print time using this method? :)
Cura seems to estimate the amount of time needed to raise the hot-end back to print temp. While one toolhead is printing, it seems to work out how far in advance it should start heating the next toolhead -- which (amazingly enough) always seems to reach printing temp just as the active toolhead finishes. I never really experience a delay (except for extruding a little into the prime tower to get the filament flowing nicely again.)
I should add ... only one of my printers is a dual-extruder. So I don't know if I'm just lucky ... and/or if others do experience delays with their printers.
It doesn't work that way, or perhaps in some sense it already does.
The "straw effect" you're describing depends on the water not being under any pressure that exceeds the outside atmosphereic pressure. If you squeeze the straw or otherwise apply pressure, it will immediately spill out.
If you're printing at more than a ridiculously slow print speed (slow enough that it would fail for other reasons, like the nozzle melting the already-printed part just by proximity to it), the filament is under very high pressure from the extruder gear. The primary function of retraction is not to move the filament back out of the nozzle orifice, but simply to relieve that pressure. (A little bit more is needed to prevent oozing, however.) When retraction happens, it's exactly like the "straw effect" you're describing. The material pulled back out of the hotend into the heatbreak hardens enough that it makes a nearly air-tight seal, preventing the molten material below from flowing out of the nozzle due to gravity.
If your hotend does not have design problems and if you're using retraction correctly (that means using it everywhere that you're making a move that's not an extrusion one, not skipping it with "Limit Support Retractions" or "Combing"), you should not see oozing, ever. The system already works the way you want it to. But you can't magically get rid of the need for retraction. It's part of how the system you want works.
Assuming there is no humidity in the filament which expands with heat and keeps pushing the filament out (typical with humid nylon and PETG).
This appears only to be valid for single nozzle extruders, since the inactive nozzle will be ”printing at insanelt slow speeds” when it’s not in use.
@BeaconofWierd: that part of the answer is just explaining why retraction is needed. You're talking about what's a travel move for the inactive nozzle, and as long as it's made retracted everything should apply. The duration of travel for the inactive extruder is so long that you might get some oozing due to imperfection of the system/model but that's independent of the part of the answer you seem to be objecting to.
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE I'm not saying it's a bad answer, but from what I've read oozing is an issue with dual extruders for the inactive nozzle and that retraction only temporarily fixes oozing, which is enough for single nozzles. But as you said, there's pretty much a seal already in the hotend itself after the retraction, so adding another seal probably won't do much.
@BeaconofWierd: Indeed. I suspect the problem is that you don't have the surface tension effects you would with water, so the molten plastic eventually runs down. Not a lack of seal. The only real solution I can see, if the "travel time" for the idle nozzle is long enough that this starts happening, is actively cooling it below the temperature that the material can flow.
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE Actively cooling the nozzle would probably work, though it can take time and require rather expensive hardware. I guess I would have to investigate further into why oozing happens in an inactive nozzle, the surface tension of PLA around 200 degrees is only about half that of water, so my initial guess is that there's something else going on here. It might simply be that the filament doesn't have a perfect seal and that air is slowly leaking in to equalize the pressure over time. I guess simulating it would give some answers. Fluid Mechanics, we meet again!
I can't actually get my nozzle to steal against the aluminium heat block. No matter how tight I turn it air always leaks through, would you mind testing this too? Maybe I just have cheap, poorly made nozzles, but if that's normally the case it could explain why retraction only prevents oozing temporarily.
@BeaconofWierd: How do you measure that it's not sealing? Does your setup have PTFE all the way through to butt against the nozzle, or is it "all metal" in the hotend with PTFE (if any) ending in the coldend/heatbreak? A diagram might help understand what you're saying
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE I have a PTFE tube all the way down to the nozzle. My "highly scientific" method of measuring the seal was just to suck and blow into the tube and directly into the heat block with only the nozzle attached. There were clear leaks both times.
Let us continue this discussion in chat.
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14130 | Is there a way to save a multi part print if one fails?
I'm printing 6 separate parts in one go, after 4 hours of printing one part failed, but the other 5 are printing nicely.
Is there a way to prevent the print from printing the failed part and continue printing the other 5 parts.
I'm using Cura and an Ender 3 printer.
Depending on the fail you should stop printing as the printer doesn't know a part failed, the molten filament will stick to the next part increasing the chance to fail the next part.
If you use the OctoPrint print manager, you can exclude regions to be printed using the Exclude Region plugin. The description states that it can be used to rescue partially-failed prints:
The intent of this plugin is to provide a means to salvage multi-part prints where one (or more) of the parts has broken loose from the build plate or has otherwise become a worthless piece of failure. Instead of cancelling an entire job when only a portion is messed up, use this plugin to instruct OctoPrint to ignore any gcode commands executed within the area around the failure.
Other print managers may provide similar facilities.
I'm not sure if it will enable you to rescue your current print job.
That is an interesting benefit of a print manager that I had not considered, I learned something today.
That does not work for the OP he is printing now! :-) Unless he is using OctoPrint and the plug-in right now (not mentioned). Cool feature though! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks @Mick I found a demo from teaching tech on YouTube he's using Cancel Object plugin for octoprint that will do exactly what I needed https://youtu.be/Zq1sFBgxy8o
Mick is right that you can do this with OctoPrint and maybe other print managers, and 0scar is right that there's no way to get the printer to stop printing the no-longer-wanted part when printing without a print manager (since it doesn't know about objects). However there is a way to recover and keep the non-failed parts if you're willing to waste material printing the rest of the failed part. It involved having a recovery tool built in advance, though.
Basically, you need an adjustable-height platform you can temporarily glue to the bed where the failed part would have been, small enough not to interfere with other parts but large enough to cover at least most of the area the failed part should have been in. The surface of the platform needs to be something your material will adhere to, ideally the same material you're printing with.
With the print paused and the head parked to the side, glue the platform to the bed and adjust its height using the depth-measurement function of a caliper to match the current layer height. Alternatively, you could use a straight-edge resting on two adjacent printed parts to match the layer height, but that risks dislodging them.
After it's attached and adjusted properly, resume printing.
I have not tested this with tall parts, but I have successfully made such "platforms" with layers of blue tape for small parts, and see no reason the concept should not scale to arbitrary height as long as you can get sufficient adhesion and match the layer height sufficiently well. Designing a sufficiently adjustable and reusable one (with adjustment mechanism that doesn't interfere above the desired height) would be an interesting project.
Building a temporary build platform is also a great idea, you see many pictures of people doing that on Reddit.
Considering your setup, you don't have reported using an external print server like OctoPrint, so the other answers hinting to OctoPrint are a solution if you are upgrading to a print server.
I'm using Cura and an Ender 3 printer.
Your prints are coming from an SD card from a pre-sliced file (note that the OtoPrint solutions require you to pre-process the file after slicing before printing, also if you have a single mesh file with multiple parts you need to pre-process the file prior to printing).
So, no, once you sliced the 6 parts on the build plate in your slicer, the G-code is fixed and the printer will print as the sliced instructions from the SD-card. During printing it cannot skip the code of a part that failed along the way; there is no way to interfere with the printing other than stopping the print during printing.
For that reason, many people don't pack the build plate too full, the more parts, the higher the chance it fails. You could print the part one after each other. Packing the plate with multiple parts is usually not faster than printing one at a time (if it fails you have nothing, otherwise a single failed print).
Depending on the size of the parts you can also tell the printer to print each part on the plate one after another in a single job; note that the printhead dimensions limit this. If one fails you stop the job, but the already printed parts are saved. You can then commence a new print of cut the G-code and reprint the shortened file.
In addition to the previously answered "Exclude Region" plugin for OctoPrint, the "Cancel Object" plugin for OctoPrint also works excellently.
Cancel single objects during a print based on code comment lines
This plugin allows the user to cancel single objects during a print while allowing the remaining objects to print normally. Instructions for use with compatible slicers are provided on the plugin’s GitHub Homepage.
Source: OctoPrint-Cancelobject
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14100 | Thermal runaway when power on
I get the error "Thermal runaway on E1. Reset printer." today on my Tevo Tarantula when powering on the printer. The display shows the error and the speaker beeps loudly everytime I power on the printer or reset it.
I use the firmware
https://github.com/JimBrown/MarlinTarantula, because I can switch E0 heat nozzle to E1 wires, without soldering; PID's for nozzle were configured, and works fine before I replaced the power supply.
Recently my power supply was broken, and today I installed new power supply, clean nozzle, several times start bed leveling, and on fourth time of homing error appeared.
Power supply voltage tested with a multimeter and the voltage of power supply is 12.06V.
Note: several times printer started bed leveling.
Do note that Marlin internal naming for extruders starts with 0 (zero), but, error reporting and menu use naming starting 1 (one). Thermal runaway should only be triggered when heating the hotend. Strange that this happens when you turn on the printer or after levelling.
Agree, it is strange. I will test ceramic heater tomorrow. I think that short circute is at ceramic heater either at hotend or board connection. I will replace it if so. I will comment result of tests.
Issue is solved. Root cause was at broken thermistor circute at board and broken thermistor. I disconnect all wires and power, measure board nest thermistors resistance: E0 = ~120 Oms, (E1 and Bed) = ~700 Oms. I changed pins at Marlin for Tevo pins_RAMPS.h as at https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10208/change-hotend-thermistor-input-in-marlin, changed thermistor at everything prints fine.
When I last updated my Ender 3 pro I also downloaded a boot loader which set certain parameters.
Issue is solved!
Root cause was a broken thermistor circuit at board and broken thermistor.
I disconnected all wires and power, measured board and thermistors resistance: E0 = ~120 Ω, (E1 and Bed) = ~700 Ω. I swapped pins for TEMP_0_PIN and TEMP_1_PIN within Marlin for Tevo firmware at pins_RAMPS.h as described in answer on question Change hotend thermistor input in Marlin, changed thermistor and everything prints fine.
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14091 | Use SLA 3D printing to make a flexible mold
I have seen some videos like this one, that uses 3D printing to make a piece that will be used to make a silicone mold that will then be used to make the final object made of some resin.
Isn't possible to make the mold directly from the 3D printing process?
I want to make an object (that's actually another mold to make tofu) using a flexible mold. Can I use 3D SLA printing with a flexible material such as this one and then use it to make my final mold made of some liquid resin? Also, do you have any suggestions about food grand liquid resin or similar?
Background
SLA relies on the properties of UV-curing Resin. Most currently available UV Curing Resins harden to a solid, hard polymer, but that doesn't mean there are no other UV curing resins that are elastic. Most however will not be suitable for SLA or DLP systems!
Polyurethanes, which can be flexible if cured in the right way, have not come onto the market as suitable SLA/DLP printing material and up to now, I have only found one UV hardening resin on the market - the one offered by FormLabs and identified by OP
Patent History
Indeed, elastic resins are actually quite new. The first patent I could find for an elastic resin was 2003 for an elastic epoxy resin, while subsequent elastic resins were brought to Patent are different like the 2007 elastic olefin resin. In fact, there is a 2013 US patent on SLA Resin, which is still in effect. As a result of such patents being still in effect or just out of protection times, the market is still very much limited because most manufacturers simply lack the knowledge of how to do it or the licenses to be allowed to do it. In fact, Formlabs is named on 43 patents for 3D printers and accessories, of which only 1 is expired as of July 2020. I could not identify the patent that might be in use for their flexible resin, but the marketing material is of May 2020, so it is relatively new on the market and might not have been updated into either the patent database or FormLabs did buy an exclusive license for the material from someone else, meaning they will not show up as Assignee in it. Or it is kept a trade secret.
Material implications
The printed mold will probably be of a different stiffness than a cast mold as you work with a totally different material and your new molds might degrade at a different speed than urethane or latex cast molds. To get a feel for this this, you will need to run some experiments. As FormLabs hands out test specimens of their print materials, you might order the two flexible ones and then test their stiffness and suitability for your uses by having them interact with your casting resin and seeing if they break down and if you can remove them easily.
Food grade
Generally don't consider anything that comes directly from a 3D printer certifiable food safe, as you need to have both a process and a material that is food rated. There are ways to use the resulting parts to manufacture food safe objects, but that's elaborated for example in some of the questions I suggest to look into
Ok, thank you very much for the detailed explanation!
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14105 | How do slicers convert an STL file to G-Code?
I was wondering how slicers work, how their code runs to generate a G-Code file. How is an STL file interpreted through a slicer.
How does the math work for generating supports, build plate adhesion?
I couldn't find any information, so can anyone help with this technical question
Ryan
This doesn't seem to have anything to do with the firmware (marlin) or a specific slicer (Ultimker Cura) but with slicing in general.
Slicing in General
An STL is a set of triangle surfaces. A Watertight STL - for slicing purposes - has surfaces that always create closed outlines if cut parallel to the XY plane.
A Slicer does exactly that: it creates plane-cuts at the indicated Z-heights, takes the plane-cut's outline(s), and decides a direction and order in which to follow the generated path. Then it uses this outline to generate the infill pattern, for example, as explained here.
The more paths there are and the smaller the triangles that are cut up, the more complex the solution process becomes and the longer it takes.
Support calculation
A slicer usually identifies areas that need support by calculating at which angle an STL Surface cuts a given plane cut. Under standard settings, this would be about less than 60° to the XY-plane with the normal of the surface having a negative Z-component - which means that a needle poking out of that surface points towards the bed.
The most simple form of support generation simply generates a grid pattern between such areas and the bed or next surface below. Tree support on the other tries to generate a support structure that bends around the object without intersecting and only relying on the support of itself.
Build Plate adhesion
A skirt and brim are just taking the outline of the build-plate intersection and surround that with outlines.
A Raft is generated like the simple support case, but taking the whole base of the object, adding a little edge around it and then generating the support grid there.
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14047 | What is the next step after measuring the bed levels?
My Creality CR-10 Max is equipped with a BL Touch sensor for bed leveling.
The bed size is 450 mm x 450 mm.
Here is the 16 measurement points taken from a 4x4 grid:
float v[] = {-1.15625, -0.7625, 0.1525, 1.13,
-1.1150, -0.5150, 0.2125, 1.650,
-0.8525, -0.215, 0.510, 1.4425,
-0.4125, 0.2649, 1.0350, 1.9050};
Which looks like this:
The bed doesn't look flat or level. To what extent should I try to make the bed flat and level?
It's now a day later, and the bed looks like this (image below) after turning the four knobs using AUX leveling (a helper to locate the nozzle above the knobs), so that the nozzle barely scratches a sheet of paper:
float v[] = {0.0849, 0.0599, 0.1549, 0.2874,
0.2674, 0.0624, -0.0425, 0.0699,
0.3374, 0.1199, -0.0150, 0.0199,
0.5399, 0.3349, 0.1899, 0.2074};
I also notice that the bed is slightly concave in its center: using a straight edge (a steel ruler on its side), there is enough room in middle ninth (center square) under the ruler for one sheet of paper.
Have you leveled the bed before starting ABL? You should level the bed first, the best you can. Also, could you please explain what is X and what is Y? The pattern is pretty consistent except for one outlier (+1.65 mm). If the printer had a single Z stepper this could be explained by the cantilever arm, but I think this one has 2 Z-steppers, right? As it is now, you should not print. Once you get it leveled better, just add G29 after G28 in your start G-code.
are those 16 values just to assist the user leveling the bed, or are they somehow used by the printer to compensate for the imperfect level / flatness of the bed ?
They are just for information, they are used internally to compensate Z during the first few mm of printing (depending on the fade distance).
Now that you have leveled the bed you are ready to start printing. To enable leveling for printing, you need to add G-code G29 directly after G28 in your start G-code of your slicer.
The array values you reported are just for information or visualisation of the level of the bed. Although you have ABL you always need to provide a bed that is as level as best as you can, the ABL will take care of the final dents or skewness.
My prints are doing well. After setting up Ultimaker Cura to output for my CR10 Max, here is the relevant portion of the G-code: G28 ;Home
M420 S1 Z2 ;Enable ABL using saved Mesh and Fade Height
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14073 | How to start a print in the center position after a change in parameters using M92 and M500 G-code
I have a Core XY Custom DIY Printer, but actually I have a problem with the measure in Axis X and Y. When a print a test cube with the measure 20 mm x 20 mm 20 mm, the object printed result with these dimensions.
Z = 20 mm
X = 15 mm
Y = 15 mm
Well, I know how solved this problem, because of long time ago have the same problem, do a question, and that was answered, and this moment solved my problem. answer old question
Now I use the same process
Connect the printer to my pc
Use Simplify 3D for send gcode to the machine
M503 for get the set values
M92 for change the values X and Y
M500 for store the new values for default in the memory of the printer
M503 for check the actual values, and these are the correct
So, I print the test cube, the measure are right, but with two problems
Every time I.m will go to print, if turn off the machine, the process to be need repeat, in other words, the gcode M500 doesn't work.
the nozzle doesn't start the extrusion in the middle when the parameters were changed.
Send M503 for known the parameters. These parameters are the set by default At this moment in the printer.
G21 ; (mm)
M149 C ; Units in Celsius
Filament settings: Disabled
M200 D1.75
M200 D0
Steps per unit:
M92 X80.00 Y80.00 Z400.00 E100.00
Maximum feedrates (units/s):
M203 X100.00 Y100.00 Z2.00 E10.00
Maximum Acceleration (units/s2):
M201 X2000 Y2000 Z50 E5000
Acceleration (units/s2): P<print_accel> R<retract_accel> T<travel_accel>
M204 P2000.00 R2000.00 T2000.00
Advanced: Q<min_segment_time_us> S<min_feedrate> T<min_travel_feedrate> X<max_x_jerk> Y<max_y_jerk> Z<max_z_jerk> E<max_e_jerk>
M205 Q20000 S0.00 T0.00 X5.00 Y5.00 Z0.40 E5.00
Home offset:
M206 X0.00 Y0.00 Z0.00
Material heatup parameters:
M145 S0 H180 B70 F0
M145 S1 H240 B110 F0
PID settings:
M301 P13.70 I0.71 D65.64
After sending code M92 X106.64 Y106.64
G21 ; (mm)
M149 C ; Units in Celsius
Filament settings: Disabled
M200 D1.75
M200 D0
Steps per unit:
M92 X106.64 Y106.64 Z400.00 E100.00
Maximum feedrates (units/s):
M203 X100.00 Y100.00 Z2.00 E10.00
Maximum Acceleration (units/s2):
M201 X2000 Y2000 Z50 E5000
Acceleration (units/s2): P<print_accel> R<retract_accel> T<travel_accel>
M204 P2000.00 R2000.00 T2000.00
Advanced: Q<min_segment_time_us> S<min_feedrate> T<min_travel_feedrate> X<max_x_jerk> Y<max_y_jerk> Z<max_z_jerk> E<max_e_jerk>
M205 Q20000 S0.00 T0.00 X5.00 Y5.00 Z0.40 E5.00
Home offset:
M206 X0.00 Y0.00 Z0.00
Material heatup parameters:
M145 S0 H180 B70 F0
M145 S1 H240 B110 F0
PID settings:
M301 P13.70 I0.71 D65.64
Red circle, the middle of the plate or surface printer, in this position, start to print with actual parameters by default, and respect the limits(black square), but, with the measure in axis X and Y wrong after printed the model.
Green circle, the nozzle start in this position when changing the parameter in axis X and Y, printed with the measure correct, but by taking a position that is not the right one, it assumes other limits and spends almost half of the print surface area.
Every time I.m will go to print, if turn off the machine, the process to be need repeat, in other words, the gcode M500 doesn't work.
This tells me that your firmware has the EEPROM support needed for the M500 command disabled.
Fixing the firmware
You need to update your firmware to enable storing the information in the EEPROM: the line should read as follows without any leading //
#define EEPROM_SETTINGS // Enable for M500 and M501 commands
When you are already updating your firmware, you should also fix your firmware to have the correct steps/mm, as those are off in your build. An example for the line you look for is
#define DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT { 106.64, 106.64, 4000, 500 }
Workaround
automatic setting of the Steps/mm fix
There's a way to fix it on the user side though: When slicing, your Start-G-code needs to include M92 X106.64 Y106.64, best before homing. That way you make sure that your printer sets the correct Steps/mm whenever you load a printjob.
Home position
via offset
If the home offset is wrong, you can fix it as the next line before G28 - if the home position is for example 10 mm of the trigger in both X and Y, you'd add M206 X100.00 Y100.00 Z0.00 - If your printer has "home" properly defined in the center of the build plate and your slicer is set up to respect that, this should do it. You need to
via move and 0-ing
Another way to get the printhead to the center is to use first G28, then insert a movement to the center of the bed (G0 X100 Y100 for a bed 200 mm across) and then order G92 X0 Y0, defining that point as the origin.
necessary next line!
In either case, the setup of Marlin also prevents you to move to the "negative" area due to the software endstops by default. So you need to add M121 after it to be allowed to go into the negative space.
Start G-code in bulk
M92 X106.64 Y106.64
G28
G0 X100 Y100 ; move to center
G92 X0 Y0
M121
Ok, I'll try, some like that gcode script
Man thanks for all, your answer solved the measures and dimensions, now printed test cube right, but now still homing in the position where the green circle like image post in the question. Do you know how solved that?
@PedroMiguelPimientaMorales Managed to trick around the whole software endstop problem by just turning them off after homing, positioning in center, and 0-ing.
ok, let me understand, after execute M92 ..., need to center the nozzle using gcode too?
@PedroMiguelPimientaMorales other way round: First get the nozzle to the center, then send M92 X0 Y0 which tells the printer "this is (0,0)" - M121 is needed afterwards to allow moving into the negative room
Ok, i check your edit answer, and do this, new script
that should work
Don't work the last script
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14010 | I mistakenly used 90% ethyl alchool to scrape some PLA off my bed; did I ruin it?
I just printed my first cube from my newly arrived Artillery Sidewinder X1. I am totally new to 3D printing but I managed to correctly unbox, assemble and prepare it for printing.
I used PLA filament and the cube ended up great. I removed it using a cutter gently pulling it up from the first layer and it popped right off.
A little layer of material was still stuck on the bed and, I don't know why, my dumb brain decided to use ethyl alchool 90 % to scrub it off on that little surface. I immediately used some water to wipe the alchool off but it was too late.
Now on that portion of the bad all I see is a matte area that I can't fix.
Did I irremediably ruin my bed? I am so bummed I can't even describe it. All went great but I decided to do this on my own and I failed. I do know that the bed is replaceable but I just hope is not very expensive.
Here's a couple of pictures to give you a look of the damage.
First of all, let's look at what kind of bed you have. According to a review, it is a "porous ceramic coated glass surface."
Your bed is fine...
Glass and almost all ceramics are virtually impervious to most liquids, be them alcohol or even most acids unless that acid is hydrofluoric acid. So on a chemical standpoint, your bed is most likely ok, just the alcohol managed to leech some of the coloration or deposit dust in the surface - which is no problem usually. The matte might even just be PLA stuck in the surface, so if this happens if you print in a different area, you know that is not damage per see it's a normal sign of use.
So from that standpoint, I see no problem.
...but there are safety issues with the bed design
Where I see a problem though is the construction of the bed itself: it runs on mains voltage and is heated directly, which can cause all kind of problems, especially breaking off the cable as there is no proper strain relief on the cable! Atop that, the review points out that the bed heats uneven, which can very quickly lead to stress and breaking of the bed.
Because of this construction, I strongly advise to refit a strain relief and use utmost care no to touch the bed during operation. Make sure not to hammer onto it and don't overheat it to prevent thermal cracking.
It's glass with a coating though, no?
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE yes, apparently a ceramic grid, somewhat porous.
Hey Trish, thanks for your answer. That's exactly what i am worrying about. It has some sort of coating on top and i am afraid I just swiped it away with the alcohol.
In the meantime i printed another object on the same spot and it sticked wonderfully. Now i'll be sure to clean the bed with the proper substance.
I want to add some new details that I came to know contacting artillery official support by email. They told me that with PLA is sufficient to use a clean microfiber cloth with just some water to wipe the residues off the bed. Which is what i am going to do from now on, at least, again, when using PLA.
" I strongly advise to refit a strain relief and use utmost care no to touch the bed during operation" - this is NOT needed if you attach grounding and do some relay wiring, OR run the whole heatbed through one of those special fuses you use for bathrooms (which basically trigger IMMEDIATELY when the electricity goes somewhere else. But something MUST be done.
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10438 | Home E / extrude until endstop is triggered
I'm working on something that I'll share once it's done (then hope it's not a disaster and actually useful to someone).
It requires a stepper to rotate a part by a certain amount of degrees, which I plan to achieve by using E1 and simply issuing an appropriate G0 command.
The issue I'm having is that I would need Marlin, upon start to check if the part is actually rotated to the 0 deg position.
I suspect that there is no way to i.e. use an unused Z max pin and issue something like the well known G28 or like Duet3D does with G0/1 S parameter. Is there maybe a hack I can apply with a filament run out sensor as that axis endstop?
Can you edit for clarity, please? "rotating a stepper" sounds like rotating the mount. I'm guessing what you want, per the answer, is to home a separate stepper and then drive it N steps.
Another option would be Klipper's "manual_stepper" functionality.
Will the project be standalone, or is it connected to a Raspberry / PC at all times?
I set Marlin as a baseline for myself thinking that if I can get it to work on Marlin 1.1.x it'll work on Marlin 2, Klipper and Duet3D. Nevertheless your input is highly appreciated as I'd like to at some point provide instructions on how to run it on the mentioned three.
You should be able to adapt the "Dual X Carriage" feature for your project.
That allows a second print head (on the X axis) to move independently of the "main" X axis motor - and it can also be homed against its own endstop.
You can enable this feature in the configuration_adv.h file under "Dual X Carriage".
By default, all "Dual X/Y/Z axis" features use the first free extruder stepper driver - which would be E1 in your case.
You would have to adjust the X2 parameters to allow you to zero the motor on the endstop (X2_MIN_POS 0, X2_HOME_DIR -1, X2_HOME_POS X2_MIN_POS), as well as setting the default mode to "FULL CONTROL" (DEFAULT_DUAL_X_CARRIAGE_MODE DXC_FULL_CONTROL_MODE).
As far as I understand, you can then use
T0 and T1 to change between both "X axes", with T0 selecting your real X axis, and T1 your custom stepper motor.
It is a good idea to use a second X-axis stepper and the X-max end-stop. This means that the OP needs to divert from the E1 approach.
E1 would still apply, only it's not really E1 anymore. "Dual X Carriage" uses the first unused extruder port for its operation, much like the perhaps more common "Dual Z Axis".
Yes I know, but you should make that clear in the answer as the OP might be on the route of specifying an E1 and a mechanism to home the stepper, while the dual X approach is different, certainly in the configuration file.
@0scar I think it should be clearer now, though Marlin documentation on the Dual X Carriage feature is a bit lacking.
Thanks for the edit! This makes it better to understand for the OP and other users!
Thanks, I'm a bit ashamed that I did not think about that :) I'll try it out. I'll try to remember to share the "thing" I'm working on here once it's finished.
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8506 | Why does the print speed change at specific height? (Using Ultimaker Cura slicer)
I'm trying to figure out why the print speed changes at one point in this model.
I'm using Ultimaker Cura 3.6 and, as shown in the picture, I set the speed to be the same across the entire print. Is there a setting I'm missing?
0scar is right. Changing the minimum time per layer to 1s (from 3s), makes the entire print print at the same speed, as per settings. However, it's probably a bad idea:
Not being able to see the rest of the model (from the first image), if looks as if the light green sliced area displaying a lower speed for the top of the cylinder, is the only part that need to be printed to that height (now confirmed in the second image). This speed reduction is done by the slicer and is not specifically caused by Ultimaker Cura (other slicers do result in similar behavior). Note this is a good thing! Lets explain.
Filament needs an amount of time to cool before the next layer is deposited onto the previous layer. When the layers get small (surface area) and there are no other layers the print head shifts to, the print process is slowed down to allow the filament to cool down; hence you see a decrease in print speed. If you deposit too fast, the last part of your print will become too hot and will deform.
A print parameter that influences the behavior is the Minimal Layer Time parameter in Ultimaker Cura, please read the hint information of this parameter:
Yup! Just tried and that's the cause. Thanks again!
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19607 | Marlin: How to print to terminal to debug?
I am looking for the equivalent of System.out.println() or Console.WriteLine(), but using M118.
For example, every time a particular variable changes its value I want to send a message to the terminal in OctoPrint as if it were sent by M118.
These commands would be hardcoded into the firmware files before compiling/flashing.
Since M118.cpp is only designed to parse a string given by the user I am not quite clear how to co-opt it for this use.
Any help would be appreciated!
Please find the answer here. If it works make your own answer, else I might do it later.
Do you have the option to edit the source code or is recompilation not an option for you? I'd just edit the M118 function to print your variable when a specific text is given. You could have it print different variables per text that is supplied.
A more fancy way would be to copy and alter the M118 to an unused function (above 1000 seems unused) to match your needs.
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20440 | Ender 5 Pro w/4.2.2 & BLTouch does not apply previously saved Z-offset
Installed a BLTouch on an Ender 5 Pro. As usual, the official firmware from Creality is buggy trash (wrong BLTouch offsets, only 9 point probing, etc.) and useless to me.
I compiled and flashed the TH3D Unified firmware, which works well other than the fact that I have to redo the Z-offset via tune every time I do a print, as it does not apply the stored value (it does retain the value however). So the first print the Z-offset is ~ -11, and the next time it is -22, -33, etc.
Why is it doing this and how can I fix it?
Config files (Using marlin bugfix 2.1.x):
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rLc0XlNgTj02fTgg2V190oUmv1MEOt_f
Side note:
So I was able to get the Creality stock firmware working by switching some wires around on the extruder and manually setting the offsets in pronterface, so anyone else in my predicament can at least do that- but I'm still stuck with v2.0.6 .bin file only and only 9 probing points so I really need a Marlin version that works as intended that I can compile myself.
Why is it that the latest Marlin often doesn't work on Creality printers and we are forced to use one that is years old?
I already tried a new board. It's not the board. The z-offset error doesn't happen when I use Creality's crap firmware, that runs the extruder in reverse and has incorrect probe offsets, so I know its not the board. I attached my config files. Hopefully you can see the problem?
I don't understand your problems, probe offsets can be changed with M851 at all times. If the extruder turns the wrong way, unplug stepper cable turn 180° and replug. I'll look into your files later.
@Oscar You can't change probing points and 3x3 leveling is a joke considering how bad many creality beds are warped from the factory. Also it is Marlin 2.0.6.
I wouldn't know, I don't have an Ender, but it sounds you need a straight sheet of glass. One of my printers till very recently ran 1.1.9, it worked very fine. I just wanted a newer version to play with, otherwise it would have run fine still. Have you tried to compile Marlin (the original source) yourself with your own config files, so not a copy from anything else? Configuring isn't that difficult and there are plenty tutorials to find.
@Oscar It already has a 4mm glass bed; that's always the first thing I do. With 5x5 leveling it makes up for the average warped bed, whose imperfections do translate through the glass ever so slightly. 3x3 however does not; and is only good if the underlying aluminum is flat.
@Oscar Yes I have tried compiling with multiple versions of Marlin straight from the github. There's no reason it should not be working properly. Some Ender boards just don't work with newer Marlin, idk why, but this is no doubt why Creality releases firmware dated Nov 2022 that is using 2.0.6 Marlin.
Not sure if its a solution to your problem but I had a similar problem and this worked for me:
My Problem
I could auto-home and configure my Z-offset as many times as I want but it behaved strangely. It just added the values on top and the offset did not apply whatever I did.
I did auto home, drive to Z -3, set my Z-offset to -3, did auto home, and was again 3 millimeters too high.
How did I get there
I compiled Marlin 2.1.2 with the configuration for the Creality Ender 5 Pro and enabled ENDER5_USE_BLTOUCH.
I did some adjustments to NOZZLE_TO_PROBE_OFFSET (where the 3rd parameter, the Z option didn't do anything).
My Solution
I commented out (put // before these lines) Z_HOMING_HEIGHT and Z_AFTER_HOMING which were commented in by the author of the Ender 5 Pro configuration.
Why I did that
I realised that every time the auto-home ran, it moved to Z 10. Ignoring my offset. This could be a bug, could be intentional behaviour but after commenting those lines it always moves 10+Z-offset down.
My guess as to why this happened
My assumption is that it always moved 10 mm but those lines made Marlin believe it moved also respecting the offset.
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16239 | Jerk causing vibration and Y layer shift... Bad stepper?
This issue just started recently; I am not sure if it is because of the specific part I am printing or whether something on the printer is going bad. Up until now, I have been printing all kinds of parts with no problems whatsoever.
I am printing a hollow sphere whose walls have fill paths that require the X and Y to change rapidly. i.e. the wall is 2 mm thick and the wall-line-count setting is set to 2.
When the print head is jerking back and forth to fill in this area it causes horrible vibrations and really bad Y layer shift. You can see the vibrations transferred through the flexible neck of the black LED light in the foreground.
All the Cura settings are at default- I have not tried to speed up my printing in any way by adjusting the settings.
The vibration seems to be coming from the Y stepper.
I have already tried tightening the belt; everything else seems tight.
It is an Ender 3 Pro with a stock mainboard and probably around 50 hours on it +/- 20 hours.
I have printed the same part on my other printer with no issues.
This is happening now on other parts that do not have particularly high jerk paths, it is shifting the Y by a full mm or more at a time.
Would you say the stepper motor is going bad? Or the driver? Or something else?
Here is the part in the video; I of course stopped the print after it started shifting:
And this is how it is supposed to look:
EDIT:
Here is the path that causes the problem:
You might consider using just perimeters to print the object, no infill.
It looks like your printer is working at it's resonating frequency. If the things you mention in your response to ChinchillaWafers is still not good enough, try using different printing speeds or different fill patterns.
Your video doesn’t show a printer moving terribly fast, which makes it seem like it could be a problem with the motion or the electronics. Check the movement of the Y axis by hand, is it smooth? With the belt on, and the stepper motor attached, you’ll feel some resistance and little bumps, from the steps in the motor, but it should be pretty smooth, and especially it should be consistent across the range the bed can move. If you take the belt off, the motion should be like butter. Check the belt pulley isn’t slipping on the motor shaft. Check the idler on the other end of the belt spins freely.
The motor could be suspect, the driver could be suspect. Try running the printer so it sends the bed back and forth, and push against it with your hand a little as it moves. It should be pretty strong, and shouldn’t skip steps from some light pressure. If it does skip easily, it’s something with the motor or driver, or possibly the wiring to the motor (I had a failing connection on my extruder stepper that manifested as wimpy torque and skipped steps). You can beep the wire with a multimeter, and wiggle it around as you beep in case it is a loose/flaky connection. I’m not sure if the creality printers have trimpots for the motor drivers, but some drivers have a bias adjustment where you adjust a voltage with a multimeter, to decide how much current the motor gets. It’s not usually something that goes out of adjustment.
If it doesn’t skip steps easily from adding some resistance with your hand, then it might be an incorrect jerk setting on the printer, or the slicer travel speed is too fast, or, the hot end is hitting some plastic that is sticking up (an overhang curled up possibly), and skipping a step there maybe.
It requires significant manual pressure to cause skips. With the stepper off the axis moves pretty smoothly. The bed moves fine with the belt off.
I have tried printing the same part again with the jerk turned down to 6 (from 20) and it seems to have remedied the vibration. The part is printing fine now.
I do notice now how small the actual jerk motion was in the relevant section of the path. It is hard to see any motion from a distance but it is there when viewed from close up. Is it possible that the rapid alternating of the current caused by the path caused the driver to overheat? I had read elsewhere that one guy had to add additional cooling to his ender 3 to avoid his drivers overheating.
I added a jpg to the OP of the sliced path of the layer around where the vibration started previously. As you can see that yellow center is what caused the head to change direction so rapidly. I'm not sure if this happened because of something new that is going wrong with the printer, or if it happened simply because this is the first time I have ever tried to print something with such a path. I only know that this same part printed fine on my ender 5 with default settings. Of course the ender 5 also has a much more voluminous mainboard enclosure and better cooling.
If this is the old 8bit board, it will skip steps at 20 jerk. This is probably a Marlin bug running on slow microcontrollers.
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20448 | Why do we change E-steps based on the hotend?
I know why and can understand the logic of changing E-steps for a new extruder- obviously it is related to the number of turns of the stepper.
What I don't understand is how the hotend could alter the E-steps so drastically.
For example in Marlin the default e-steps for the stock MK8 hotend on a Creality printer is 93 (which is always too low IME) but then if you have a MicroSwiss it sets the E-steps to 137.6
How does simply changing of the hotend (keeping the same nozzle diameter) require such a high increase in the E-steps? Can someone explain the physics of it?
Edit:
This is what I was referring to:
Based on your advice I did some further searching and found that Microswiss makes an extruder as well. I initially assumed that it was referring to the hotend, since the most popular all-metal replacement hotend for the Ender line is the Microswiss, since it is a direct drop-in and requires no additional mount hardware.
If it is the Microswiss extruder that they are referring to- I find that odd that they would include only that one since there are perhaps a dozen popular extruder options for the Ender line and they don't list firmware e-step options for any of them.
E-steps/mm are related to the extruder, not the hot end, not even to the nozzle diameter, please provide links to content claiming the difference. Also add images of the 2 extruder/hot end combo's. Only friction and slipping would explain this if you use the same extruder, but that implies you have a sub par working extruder.
@0scar, While e-steps affects the extruder, how could nozzle diameter not matter? The bigger the diameter, the more material you'll have to put out, which would require larger 3-steps.
@LarryBud E-steps per mm is a property of the extruder (embedded/set in the firmware), the slicer corrects for nozzle diameter (as in the extruded volume/length). The extruder pushes 1.75 mm or 2.85 mm filament, that is not related to the nozzle diameter.
You're saying the G-code extruder calculation changes based on the nozzle diameter? I did not realize that!
@LarryBud In G-code the amount of mm that needs to be extruded is calculated by the slicer (based on the selected nozzle size), your firmware (using the E-steps per mm value you can set through G-code) translates this to stepper rotations.
If you Google "microswiss for ender" you get at least 4-5 different designs for plain hot ends and direct drive solutions, who knows what design is meant in that firmware snippet. My answer below explains both options. I think a direct drive is meant in the snippet opposed to the standard Bowden, hence you find different values, it includes 2 different extruders.
Actually we don't.
Under the assumption that the same extruder is used, the hot end doesn't matter. The question is unclear about the reuse of the same extruder. If there are different hot ends that have the extruder incorporated into the hot end design, the gearing solution used for these different extruders explain why the E-steps per mm are different. But, if the same (Bowden) extruder is used, you don't need to change the E-steps.
To explain, the E-steps per mm is a property that belongs to the extruder, not the hot end. The E-steps per mm expresses how many steps need to be send to the extruder stepper to extrude a mm of filament. This filament is pushed while it is 1.75 mm or 2.85 mm. For this reason the nozzle diameter doesn't have a part in the equation either; the slicer will calculate the amount of length to extrude a volume is needed, the firmware recalculates this extrusion length (or volume if the filament area is taken into account) and expresses this with the E-steps per mm into an amount of steps for the stepper.
You can calibrate your extruder by disconnecting the hot end or unmounting the nozzle (and telling the firmware to extrude at low temperature using G-code M302; you just need to make sure when 100 mm extrusion is requested, 100 mm is spit out. Any deviations from that can be fixed with the extrusion multiplier.
In the early days, when extruders didn't use dual gear filament gear solutions (which many these days do now), the filament was pushed by a single gear and used a counter bearing that pressed onto the filament with a spring like mechanism. What frequently happened with the cheaper extruder solutions is that friction in the path up to the nozzle caused some slip, so it may look like more steps per mm were needed, but in fact this was just an extruder issue.
Also beware of soft filament and pressure on the filament. See e.g. the following image of 2 different (blue and red) filament types or pressures on the filament sketched in the same image:
This image shows 2 types of filament or pressures on the filament. You see that the softer filament (red) or more pressed on (resulting in the gear teeth digging deeper into the filament), has an effective radius of R2 while the harder (blue) or less pressed on has an effective diameter of R1. R2 is smaller than R1, so for the same amount of steps per mm less filament is extruded (if the gear makes one turn, the extrusion difference is $ E_{diff}= 2\times\pi\times(R_1-R_2)$. Such effects should preferably be adjusted with the extrusion modifier in the slicer.
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8447 | Prusa I3 mk3 - Not your average inconsistent first layer
Over the last two days I have tried everything I could come up with to fix the following issues.
It all started with bad bed adhesion.(pic.1) Solutions for these problems are readily available, so I calibrated my Z-axis (did the whole wizard from start to finish again) and started a calibration print over the whole buildplate, getting an interesting result.(pic.2) As you can see some area's are squashed nicely whilst others come off directly.
I then started looking for alternative Z-levelling solutions and came across an alternative calibration file (link1), at first glance the results seemed allright, -0,8mm seem to provide the best results (pic.3) however notice the darkened area to the left (could be the high temp of this test? 225c?).
To validate the number I did a full print on -0,8 and this is where it gets weird, the result shows a non uniform transparancy (pic.4) the mechanical properties are also a lot less. I used my caliper to check the printer and all seems to be well within expected ranges.
The bed is also flat, checked with a ruler for deformaties.
Printing with the first spool of Prusa fillament, do notice some changes in the Z-level calibration print, the edges now bend upwards, this is done with the same Gcode and spool as previous (pic.5).
Any advice on what to do next?
Printing on 210c with fan off for the first layer, test square on 225c, all PLA.
Cleaned the bed with Acetone (99% pure) before each attempt.
Picture 1:
Picture 2:
Picture 3:
Picture 4:
Picture 5:
EDIT: So Mick mentioned cleaning the nozzle which helped with the inconsistent first layer. In the end it was me being unaware that Aceton doesn't help with grease, a thorough scrubbing of the buildplate with soap and really hot water helped.
have you cleaned your PEI sheet with some alcohol recently? Fingerprints ruin the adhesion, alcohols or acetone remove them nicely.
Hi Trish!
My problem seemed to have been two-folded, first being (as Mick below mentioned) a partially clogged extruder. The second part was grease.
I believe that my adhesion problem started by fingerprints but worsened after I tried the glue stick. Cleaning the bed with Acetone did not help. Cause, and I did not know this, acetone apparently is quite ineffective on the wax-like layer created by the glue stick. So a scrubbing with boiling hot water and some dishwasher soap did wonders :)
Thanks you!
If you repeat a test and the problem occurs in the same location, then you probably have a problem with your bed or build plate. However, picture 3 suggests to me that you may have a partially clogged nozzle. Manually extrude some filament. It should fall straight down. If it curls as it comes out of the nozzle, then you have a partial clog. Brass nozzles do wear out, so if you've put some hours on your printer, it might be a good idea to fit a new one.
Edit: I meant picture 3, not picture 4.
Hi Mick, I cleaned the nozzle after reading your comments.
The result of the square is a lot better!
What helped more was to clean the buildplate. I used Aceton and was unaware that it doesn't help to get the grease of the plate, after a thorough scrub the PLA is sticking like never before.
Thank you for your comment!
The Prusa i3 is coated with a PEI sheet. PEI and other build plates stick to the build but don't like to be dirty. Fingerprints can build up and create an interference layer of fats that lessen the adhesion to a point the pieces spontaneously pop off.
A good cleaning is often needed. For PEI Isopropylic Alcohol is a fast cleaner, but if you can remove the build plate soap and water work too - but take care not to go too hot as PEI can get damaged. For BuildTak and similar, Acetone also can do the job.
When using Gluestick to create a deliberate destroyable adhesion layer (for filaments fusing with PEI that can result in chipping out chunks) clean the surface afterward with a little water. In the choice of gluestick, make sure you get a PVA based one.
Thank you Trish, as mentioned above the gluestick was part of the problem. Biggest issue was that I thought aceton would be a miracle solutions against the greasy buildplate. Assuming it was all clean I kept trying to print on gluestick residue. The stick itself came with the Prusa I3MK3 so am assuming it is the suitable kind ;)
Will refrain from using it again with PLA, cleaning from time to time should be enough.
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