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thread-11761 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11761 | 3D printer manufacturers - sales statistics | 2020-01-13T12:13:05.590 | # Question
Title: 3D printer manufacturers - sales statistics
Are there any statistics regarding how many units each manufacturer has sold, e.g. in 2019?
An article from 2016 claims Monoprice to have led the market back then - but all of the printers in that article have become obsolete since then. Some manufacturers also claim theirs to be "one of the most popular" - but that likely doesn't translate to sales, at least for the more overpriced ones.
# Answer
Getting this data is not easy. Many companies that make 3D printers are either private companies that do not report results or are larger companies where 3D printers are one of many products they manufacture. Some companies study this information through mining public sources and surveying users for their opinions and experience. The result of some of these studies are available for a fee.
Occasionally, a trade publication will survey data sources and produce an article. In other cases, a trade pub will publish an article generously offered by a commercial contributor.
It is always difficult to know what is true when abstracting information from obscured, noisy, and biased information sources.
Your question itself includes a bias. You use a words that include a value judgement: "but that likely doesn't translate to sales, at least for the more overpriced ones."
The article you reference is not a deeply researched investigative piece. It is simply some product details for the five printers in 2016 which sold the most on Amazon.com. It doesn't include printers which were not sold on Amazon, so it leaves out any printers which use a different distribution channel. Also, the article include an link, probably which generate revenue back to the magazine, to each of the five printers sold through Amazon.
To summarize, it is very difficult to aggregate this kind of information. Those who try to do so like to be compensated. A list of the top five devices on Amazon is a biased list.
> 6 votes
# Answer
For sales figures of the smaller companies; it is very difficult because they don't publish (esp the Chinese brands). For the larger organizations there is
The Wholler's Report https://wohlersassociates.com/2019report.htm
An article on Forbes gave a quote about the 2018 Wholers Report:
> The 2018 report has the estimated number of desktop systems sold at nearly double the 2015 data (reported in the 2016 report). In just over two years, an astonishing **528,952** desktop 3D printers (or systems) are believed to have been sold.
For 24 Years (basically the start) they have been tracking the 3D printing industry, providing the most reliable source of market share and growth. It costs a bit to purchase and you can't share the contents with anyone else, but if you're really interested then; grab a copy.
Further, there are the statistics of 3DHubs.com. They used to be a distributed 3d printing service (I guess they still are). They keep track of the most popular printers of all types:
https://www.3dhubs.com/get/trends/
> 2 votes
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Tags: desktop-printer
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thread-11793 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11793 | How to slice thin curved wall | 2020-01-17T20:02:42.850 | # Question
Title: How to slice thin curved wall
I'm trying to print a part with thin walls. I've designed it with wall 1.2 mm thick, so that I should get three 0.4 mm lines. This works just fine for the straight lines, but for the radiused corners, Cura 4.3 insists on trying to print infill. This infill is only added where they are going at a tangent to the curve, so it alternates corners on alternate layers.
Worse, it prints the segments entirely out of order, which adds lots of travel and hence print time.
I've tried setting the infill to 100 %, setting the wall thickness directly to 3 rather than the default 2. I've tried reducing the wall thickness by 0.2-0.3 mm. I've tried a few other things too - all to no avail.
Some layers it gets right: So why can't it get them all right??
I presume that this is probably caused by the fact that the curves are actually a series of straight segments, and so the centre gap between outer 0.4 mm walls will not be exactly 0.4 mm all the way round, but is there any way to just force Cura to print three lines all the way round?
Now, I know that this will print OK, but the corners will obviously look messier than they need to, and this is not the first time I've come across this problem. I'd like to get this fixed.
I have found a similar question, but it's for an older version of Cura, and the recommended solution of 100 % infill doesn't help.
# Answer
Even though each path, in theory, is concentric around the center point of the arc, the pathing does not always work out that way - especially around corners and radii.
While your 1.2mm walls *should* always allow for three 0.4mm paths, if the slicer rounds down the overall thickness to 1.19mm, it will not detect enough room for three 0.4mm paths - but three 0.39mm paths should still fit, even if the slicer determines the thinnest part to be 1.17 mm.
> 3 votes
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Tags: ultimaker-cura, slicing
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thread-11797 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11797 | Why are skirts designed the way they are? | 2020-01-18T11:16:44.550 | # Question
Title: Why are skirts designed the way they are?
I understand the purpose of printing with a skirt (or at least, I think I do): it gets the filament warmed up and flowing properly, in order to avoid extrusion problems while starting to print the first layer. (Perhaps it has other benefits as well? If so, I'd be interested to know what they are.)
However, what's not clear to me is why skirts are set up in exactly the way they are. In particular:
* Why is the skirt drawn around the whole of the outside of the print, at a roughly constant distance from it, instead of (for example) just going round in a small circle in one corner of the print bed?
* Why does a print with a larger first layer need a skirt that uses more material?
I ask partly out of curiosity, but also partly because I'm printing several small but awkwardly shaped parts, and using a skirt reduces the usable area of the build plate. If the skirt could just be put in one corner instead of going all the way around the edge I would be able to fit more parts on the build plate. This leads me to my final question:
* In Cura, can I change the layout of the skirt, so that it gets drawn in a convenient part of the build platform, instead of going all the way around the edge of the print?
# Answer
> 4 votes
Skirt and Brim are *not only* nozzle prime operations. While Brim is intended to help in adhesion by increasing the area, Skirt is a method to test some things about the bed and positioning:
* If the bed is unlevel, you can see this in the skirt before the print starts. This demands to go around *all* of the print.
* If the bed is greasy, you'll see also before the actual print starts, as the extrusion does not stick well.
* It provides a visual check if the slicing is positioned well on the printer. If you for example run printers of different dimensions, the skirt shows instantly, if you loaded G-code that is too large for the bed.
The effect to reduce airdraft to the first layer is sometimes brought up, but I don't think it is relevant. However, if one would pause between skirt and print, one could use the outline to put down glue or ABS-slurry for materials that need extra adhesion.
The use of the material in a skirt is directly proportial to the width (1 or 2 lines) and the area included (as circumference is proportional to area).
> In Cura, can I change the layout of the skirt, so that it gets drawn in a convenient part of the build platform, instead of going all the way around the edge of the print?
No. Skirt is, by definition always around the whole set of parts. Just turn off Skirt and use an alternate priming, if you don't think you'll need it or find it cumbersome. Instructions for example priming operations can be found in Writing G-code : swiping at start of print
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Tags: ultimaker-cura, slicing
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thread-11754 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11754 | Model stuck on the heating bed | 2020-01-12T14:27:48.803 | # Question
Title: Model stuck on the heating bed
I've tried to apply a sharp blade (the one that came witht he printer) to scrape the model off like I usually do but this model seems overly robust. What method can I do to take this off safely?
See image
# Answer
Unfortunately, you may have to destroy this part, or the build surface, just to get it off the plate. It looks really on there, and if you can't get under it even with a razor that further supports my gut instinct. It's happened to me before, just part of learning how to print with a particular material on a particular printer and build surface.
One thing to try before just hacking away at the part or replacing the build surface (which you may have to do anyway) would be to heat the plate back up to maybe 60-70\*C, then hit the part with some freeze spray (or the poor man's version, turning a can of air duster upside-down). The rapid expansion-contraction may pop the part free. How effective this is depends on the plastic you used. PLA doesn't stretch and shrink much, but by the same token it's also very inflexible, so the stretching and shrinking it does do can stil pop the part off. This method's *really* effective for plastics like ABS that stretch/shrink a lot with heat. Remember to ventilate well; the principal component of these sprays is difluoroethane, which isn't great stuff to breathe in any significant concentration, and when spraying the liquid the resulting "steam" state of boiling liquid is much more flammable (so after the bed comes up to proper heat, I'd turn off the printer just in case).
EDIT: Per the comment to this answer, an alternate method would be to heat the plate even further, to about 80-90\*C, which would heat the PLA beyond its glass transition temperature, softening it and reducing its adhesion. You would destroy the part, but parts can be reprinted, that's the beauty of owning a general-purpose computer-controlled additive plastic forming machine.
Your first layer including the brim looks a little close to the plate, which is part of the problem; you *really* squished that first layer down onto the bed. I would relevel the bed a bit further away, or (if you're happy with how actually level the bed is) set a Z-offset to increase first layer width. There's a very fine balance to be struck here; once you find it, printing (and removing said prints) becomes a lot easier.
In future, a build adhesive like Elmer's glue stick or hairspray (or a dedicated adhesive like 3DLAC or Bed Weld) also doubles as a release agent; the adhesive grabs the extruded plastic to keep it on the plate, but also prevents direct contact between two plastics and thus avoids any chemical bonding between the part and plate. Also consider upgrading to a flexible removable surface, like a magnetic BuildTak surface. Being able to take the bed off the printer and then flex the surface to help pull a corner free (at which point you can slip a scraper in to lift the rest of it off) is a real boon to these types of situations.
> 3 votes
# Answer
Some comments assume that this is a PLA print. IS it PLA, or something more exotic?
If PLA, then try softening the object by heating the print with a heat gun or hair drier.
I assume that the bed is not easily removed and that you can not flex the bed. If you can remove the bed by unscrewing it, it might flex enough to break away the print. It doesn't take a lot of flex to remove a part. The smallest opening concentrates force on the edge.
I have had some success using a wood chisel "upside down". Don't try to get the edge under the part, but instead embed the pointy edge into the object and then use the angle behind the edge as a fulcrum to focus upward force on the object. That might work better while the object is hot.
> 0 votes
# Answer
Try something simple first: spread 97+ isopropyl around the edges, and see if that will help loosen the bond.
> 0 votes
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Tags: pla, bed
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thread-6443 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/6443 | Extruder Clicking without Extrusion Problems | 2018-07-21T15:58:23.627 | # Question
Title: Extruder Clicking without Extrusion Problems
I own a DIY Hypercube Evolution equipped with Tevo Titan extruder, Clone Chimera hotend and Capricorn's High-temp PTFE tube. I use RAMPS with Mega and A4988's.
During prints, my extruder motor randomly clicks. I touched the filament and during the clicks I'ven't felt any problems with extrusion. I looked at the motor shaft to control if it clicks at special angles or randomly, but it clicks randomly. My prints do look very good: clear and shiny.
Do you have any suggestions? (the sound really gives me headache)
# Answer
> 3 votes
Even though you may have acceptable extrusion, any clicking from that area of your printer is likely to be a missed step on the extruder motor. This may be insignificant with respect to print quality, but as you suggest, it is an irritation.
If you are confident that your nozzle is clean of debris (which is likely), you could consider to raise the nozzle temperature a few degrees. If the nozzle is not applying enough heat to the filament, it may resist being forced through and a click representing a delay, allows that much more heat to be applied.
You should not have to increase by much, certainly no more than five degrees. It's also possible that you can slow the feed rate a bit to accomplish a similar result.
# Answer
> 3 votes
If an extra few degrees of heating the hot end does not work, you could try to increase the amount of Ampere through the steppers. Increasing the current will increase the torque of the stepper.
The question is what your current V<sub>ref</sub> of your extruder stepper driver is. To get a maximum current of 1 Ampere you require a V<sub>ref</sub> of 0.4 V if you have genuine Polulu A4988 stepper drivers with a 0.05 Ω (R<sub>s</sub>). Chinese drivers often have a different sensing resistor (R<sub>s</sub> = 0.1 Ω). With formula:
`Vref = I_TripMax * 8 * Rs`
You can then calculate the V<sub>ref</sub> to be 1 * 8 * 0.1 = 0.8 V.
# Answer
> 2 votes
One thing or another limits (controls) the flow form the nozzle. in ideal operating conditions, the molten/softened plastic is kept in a small pool in the nozzle, without high pressure, and responsive to pressure by flowing from the nozzle. The plastic must be viscous and self-adhering enough that gravity and residual pressure on the melt will not be sufficient to draw the plastic out.
If the plastic is too stiff, such as through not being at a high enough temperature, as the filament is fed by the extruder the pressure will increase until the pressure is high enough to force plastic from the nozzzle. The plastic that is being fed by the extruder elastically compresses to generate the pressure. Hooke's law in action. This causes a delay at the beginning of extrusion, and a continuation of extrusion at the end. The elastic "wind up" of the filament gives us the delay. A printer in this mode will appear to work pretty well. It may require higher "retraction" lengths to unload the pressure.
If this is the operating mode, the filament outflow rate may be less than the rate at which filament is passing through the extruder. Pressure continuallly increases until the extruder motor has insufficient torque, at which point it skips. The pressure is not reduced very much by the skip, and plastic continues to flow, lowering the pressure until the extruder can again advance the filament.
It might be worth increasing the temperature.
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Tags: extruder, stepper-driver, bowden
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thread-11278 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11278 | Build plate (PEI on glass) isn't flat after several months of use? | 2019-11-01T19:06:38.113 | # Question
Title: Build plate (PEI on glass) isn't flat after several months of use?
I got a Wanhao Duplicator 6 printer branded as a Monoprice Ultimate about a year an and a half ago, 6 months after I got it I decided I hated the buildplate (I had to use a gluestick on every print to get it to stay down) so I removed the original fake buildtak, and got a piece of borosilicate glass and a sheet of PEI that I attached to it.
After about 8 months I started noticing issues with my bed being weird and never really being level no matter how much time I spent leveling it. (I level my buildplate by printing giant concentric circles, comparing the thickness based on the color in different portions, and turning knobs based on that.) Today after an hour of trying to level my bed I decided to just print the model I was going to print anyways (a pyramid model) and discovered why it never seemed level.
It seems that different portions of my buildplate are at significantly different heights. Is there something I did wrong to cause this to happen, does it just happen over time, and is there anything I can do to fix it? My current plan is just to buy another sheet of the PEI and stick it directly to the aluminum buildplate installed on the printer. It would result in MUCH better thermal transfer between the heater and the PEI anyways, which is important because the whole point of PEI is that it sticks to PLA extremely well at high temperatures, and not very well at low temps.
If nobody knows what might cause this I'm just going to go ahead and get an new sheet of PEI and omit the glass (it was a bad idea anyways). Thanks for reading.
# Answer
Looking at the picture, the first thing that came to mind was, "are you sure it's the bed?".
The height variance looks very regular, and while I'm unfamiliar with this printer's specific mechanics, my thought process trended to the Ender 3 and other v-wheel extruder mounts. If the extruder and gantry carriages are mounted to the gantry spars on V-wheels instead of sleeve bushings or other linear guides, and you've spent a lot of time printing small objects where those wheels are going back and forth over a relatively small travel distance for the entire print, you have been unevenly wearing the wheels so they've become eccentric around their rotational center, and this will cause the extruder to vary its height over the glass in a very regular pattern tied to the circumference of these carriage wheels. This happens especially quickly if you over-tighten the bearings against the gantry spars in an attempt to make the printer more precise.
If the printer uses sleeve bushings, the worn sleeve won't rotate, and any wear on the spar will be very localized to the areas in which you print, but if the printer has spent most of its life printing a grid of small objects (tokens, sets of small figurines), you can still get this regular wear pattern as the printer will spend more time over those areas of the bed.
The fix is to replace the wheels or linear bearings if the printer uses them. If it uses sleeve bushings and the gantry spars themselves are worn in this pattern, you might be able to rotate the spars to put an unworn (or less worn) band of metal on the top of the spar, depending on how the spars are mounted into the endcaps of the frame and y-axis carriages.
> 1 votes
# Answer
From experience, my PEI sheet did not stay flat after multiple use, this may be causing the problems you are facing. It could be the adhesive is failing on different locations.
As you mention, a new sheet of PEI may work for you; indeed the glass will not be necessary then, glueing it directly onto the aluminium bed would be enough provided that the metal bed is straight. Note that glass is straight as a result of the production process to make glass, so this can always be used. To remove the PEI sheet, a sticky glue residue is left behind on the build plate, please read "How to clean up my build plate for a new build surface?" for more information. It is probably easier to remove glue residue from the glass than from the heated bed as that is usually bolted and wired to the printer, but a wet cloth works fine. Personally, I print on glass or directly on the heated bed using an adhesion spray. You do not require the use of a PEI sheet.
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*Note that printing PETG filament is not recommended without glue stick or any other bonding agent like hairspray. This is not to get it to stick, but to get the print loose from the build plate, PETG fuses to PEI...*
> 0 votes
# Answer
I just placed a PEI 1 mm sheet directly on the aluminum build plate with the supplied 3M double sided tape and all is well so far. I paid a lot of attention to detail on preventing, or minimizing bubbles during the process which could impact even heating. I love the surface and ease of removal with the prints. I did not place anything between the aluminum plate and PEI material to minimize great transfer.
> 0 votes
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Tags: build-plate, wanhao, monoprice-maker-ultimate
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thread-11800 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11800 | FDM printer first layer infill swell upward | 2020-01-18T15:59:48.430 | # Question
Title: FDM printer first layer infill swell upward
My Kossel Mini printer was working well. Recently I made some changes including replacing the nozzle and throat, adding a silicone heater cover. Now it has the problem of first layer adhesion.
The perimeter sticks well but the infill line swells upward in the middle, while start and end has no problem.
In my experience the adhesion problem only occurs at corner but never in the middle. So I don't know what configuration needs to be changed to fix it.
Delta calibration has been done before the print. PVP glue was used on the bed.
# Answer
Had tried below and didn't work:
* Clean the bed
* Use a brand new glue stick
* Verify delta configuration and make sure z-plane is flat and parallel to bed
* Adjust z height to minimize the distance between nozzle and bed when z=0
* Increase first layer extrude width
Printed again and watched carefully, then found that it was pull up because the printed PLA slice shrank. I realized that the problem was related to my change on the fan duct. Before, the fan blowed directly to the tip of nozzle; after changed it blows around.
Tried to turn off the fan on first layer, the problem was solved.
I suspect that the fan duct change made the extruded material not cooling down immediately. It shrank when the air blew on it. I need further test to verify it.
> 3 votes
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Tags: adhesion, glass-bed
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thread-11599 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11599 | What would cause a SLA printer to print a solid block of resin? | 2019-12-21T10:17:42.453 | # Question
Title: 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?
# Answer
> 2 votes
Is the laser (or whatever light source it uses) visible? The cloudy film sounds like a good candidate for light diffusion and thus solidifying the entire resin, but if there are visible components to the light source it may help narrow it down.
If it uses a projector ("LCD") solutions, it may also be that the display that filters the light to certain regions of the resin to selectively solidify the print may be at fault, but that's rather unlikely.
The first thing that, in my *opinion*, you should do is to check that the object you are printing does not have a corrupt model file. Assuming that you have spare, fresh resin (if your resin is old, that's actually the most likely issue...) and it wasn't too hard to pry out that block, you could try printing something else that worked in the past.
While it's doing that, you may be able to see where/how it is printing. If the beam diffuses or lights up the whole area, you can tell if it's a printer issue (the film sounds like a good first thing to try replacing in that case). On the other hand, if the resin is old, it's probably just getting oversensitive and your printer is fine.
The resin is very touchy with these things, and has a shelf life of a few weeks to a few months, and less if it's ever opened.
# Answer
> 0 votes
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.
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Tags: sla, print-failure, sparkmaker
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thread-11808 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11808 | Anycubic i3 Mega incorrect Heated Bed temperature Reading | 2020-01-19T15:38:51.323 | # Question
Title: Anycubic i3 Mega incorrect Heated Bed temperature Reading
It's been about a month since I've started using my Anycubic i3 Mega and everything has been going great. But today, I left it alone to print a 3DBenchy and it suddenly stopped mid-print. I didn't see it stop but once I came to the printer, the motors and the bed were at ambient temperature suggesting that it has stopped for quite a while. I was surprised that the Bed Temperature registered at over 200 ºC (although it wasn't at all hot) and tried to stop the print. However. I wasn't able to stop the print (It said stop failed) and I couldn't change the temperature, so I just switched the PSU off.
After leaving it for a few minutes, I turned the printer back on and the Bed Temperature still registered at absurd temperatures although it wasn't hot at all as seen on the Image Below.
I then tested the Hot End as the temperature seemed normal and it does seem to work and I was able to get some filament to be extruded out normally.
Any ideas on what happened here? It was working fine for an entire month and was working fine for the day, but mid-print it just suddenly broke. I've also uploaded a GIF to Imgur to show how the bed temp fluctuates a lot. Any help would be appreciated :)
# Answer
> 1 votes
The first value, which is in your pictures 179 and 184 °C, is the measured value. The 0 °C value is the set value. It looks like the temperature reading from the hotbed is not working correctly. So there are two possible issues:
* The cable on the backside leading to the hotplate might be damaged. This seems to be a common issue with this printer. You could check if the cables show any obvious damage.
* The hotbed thermistor is broken. On the leads on the backside you can measure with a multimeter the resistance between the green an blue cables. Typical readings are in the range of 100 kΩ. If you touch the thermistor, usually it is placed in the mid area of the heatbed, the resistance should change.
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Tags: heated-bed, troubleshooting, anycubic-i3-mega
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thread-11741 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11741 | Conductive materials quality | 2020-01-11T13:50:08.627 | # Question
Title: Conductive materials quality
I was considering the possibility to 3D print some capacitors with various forms and shapes in order to test them. I need to be able to print both the non-conductive and the conductive materials at the same time so I have the following questions:
1. I suppose that since I need to do multi-material printing, i will have to stick with FDM. Is that correct?
2. I have seen that there are some PLA materials that are mixed with dust of metals and become conductive themselves. Do they become also capacitive? Are there any better options for a conductive material in a multi-material scenario?
# Answer
> 1 votes
Someone has already studied this: study of electrical properties of 3D printed materials.
ABS: dielectric constant about 3. PLA: 2.7-2.9.
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Tags: print-material, material, multi-material
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thread-7745 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/7745 | Filament Leaking During Automatic Bed Leveling | 2018-12-21T14:43:50.243 | # Question
Title: Filament Leaking During Automatic Bed Leveling
Before the print has actually started I have set up Auto Bed Leveling using a BLTouch sensor, during the period that this runs I find that material leaks out of the nozzle and curls back onto itself and by the time it finishes it is substantial enough to cause problems when the nozzle is primed drawing the line to the left of the print. The material that leaks out catches on the material extruded to prime the nozzle, before printing the model so when the first line of the model are extruded to very quickly pulls up off the bed and becomes a massive tangle of material.
I try to catch it my self using various thin instruments to scrape it off the nozzle as it starts the priming but this isn't always successful and is far from ideal. I have also tried adding a retraction before the bed levelling starts suing the gcode commands added to the beginning of every print, at the moment however I find that a retraction large enough to stop the leaking material also means that material doesn't come out for the priming in time so the first lines of the print don't work.
The gcode at the beginning of the print is as follows:
```
; Ender 3 Custom Start G-code
M104 S{material_print_temperature_layer_0} ; Set Extruder temperature
M140 S{material_bed_temperature_layer_0} ; Set Heat Bed temperature
M190 S{material_bed_temperature_layer_0} ; Wait for Heat Bed temperature
M109 S{material_print_temperature_layer_0} ; Wait for Extruder temperature
G28 ; Home all axes
G1 F1800 E-3 ; Retract filament 3 mm to prevent oozing
G29 ; BLTOUCH Mesh Generation
G92 E0 ; Reset Extruder
G1 Z5.0 F3000 ; Move Z Axis up little to prevent scratching of Heat Bed
G1 X0.1 Y20 Z0.3 F5000.0 ; Move to start position
G1 X0.1 Y200.0 Z0.3 F1500.0 E15 ; Draw the first line
G1 X0.4 Y200.0 Z0.3 F5000.0 ; Move to side a little
G1 X0.4 Y20 Z0.3 F1500.0 E30 ; Draw the second line
G92 E0 ; Reset Extruder
G1 Z5.0 F3000 ; Move Z Axis up little to prevent scratching of Heat Bed
```
I am using an Ender 3 running Marlin 1.1.9 with BlTouch Auto Leveling, With slicing done by CURA 3.5.6
Any suggestions you have that would help to stop this would be greatly appreciated.
# Answer
The oozing is due to hot-end getting hot before the bed leveling procedure: if you move the hot-end warm up command **after** the `G29` line you avoid that oozing
```
; Ender 3 Custom Start G-code
M104 S{material_print_temperature_layer_0} ; Set Extruder temperature
M140 S{material_bed_temperature_layer_0} ; Set Heat Bed temperature
G28 ; Home all axes
G29 ; BLTOUCH Mesh Generation
M190 S{material_bed_temperature_layer_0} ; Wait for Heat Bed temperature
M109 S{material_print_temperature_layer_0} ; Wait for Extruder temperature
G1 F1800 E-3 ; Retract filament 3 mm to prevent oozing
G92 E0 ; Reset Extruder
G1 Z5.0 F3000 ; Move Z Axis up little to prevent scratching of Heat Bed
G1 X0.1 Y20 Z0.3 F5000.0 ; Move to start position
G1 X0.1 Y200.0 Z0.3 F1500.0 E15 ; Draw the first line
G1 X0.4 Y200.0 Z0.3 F5000.0 ; Move to side a little
G1 X0.4 Y20 Z0.3 F1500.0 E30 ; Draw the second line
G92 E0 ; Reset Extruder
G1 Z5.0 F3000 ; Move Z Axis up little to prevent scratching of Heat Bed
```
The above code will activate the heating elements but starts homing and leveling procedure without waiting for the elements to get up to temperature. Only after the bed leveling is finished the printer will pause and wait for the heating elements reach the desired temperature.
This will prevent oozing on a cold start, but you will still be affected if you start a print right after another print, when the hot-end is still close to melting temperature.
If you prefer to avoid that condition you might want to also move the `M104` and `M140` commands after the `G29` bed leveling command.
> 5 votes
# Answer
I have noticed that leveling with a heated nozzle and bed is different than leveling cold. If you want to level with a hot plate and nozzle, another more simple solution is to retract more filament at the finishing of a print, you could add an increased retraction of filament in the "end G-code" script of your slicer.
As an example, an "end G-code" script could look like:
```
M140 S0 ;heated bed heater off
M104 S0 ;extruder heater off
G92 E0 ; set extruder value back to 0
G1 E-5 F300 ;retract 5 mm filament speed 300
G1 X0 Y210 ; park the machine
```
Be sure to update the "start G-code" to counteract this retraction in your additional priming section of the nozzle.
```
...
; Prime the nozzle
G92 E0 ; set extruder value back to 0
G1 E5 F300 ; extract 5 mm filament at speed 300
; additionally, extract more at elevated height and wipe the nozzle...
...
```
Alternatively, but less accurate (as it does not compensate for layer height) is to have a minimum length of your skirt (this will work if you always use the same first layer height, just calculate how many millimeters you require for the skirt to compensate the retracted volume, you could add some extra distance to the skirt).
> 2 votes
# Answer
The best solution would be to heat the bed, but not the nozzle at startup. If you level with a cold bed, your ABL mesh is going to be off, since the aluminum heated bed plate expands considerably once the heat is applied.
You could also issue a retract command before leveling, and then add a counteracting filament feed command after ABL is complete. I have no idea how that code would look though. Just my 2 cents.
> 0 votes
---
Tags: extrusion, nozzle, creality-ender-3, bltouch
--- |
thread-11587 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11587 | Extruder doing the shimmy, How can I fix? | 2019-12-19T08:04:05.663 | # Question
Title: Extruder doing the shimmy, How can I fix?
**Printer:** Monoprice Maker Select V2 3D Printer
**Problem:** Extruder not working
**History:** My extruder was clogged and I didn't realize it at first and I opened the extruder and pulled out the stuck piece but later I realized it still was not working. When I put pressure on it the motor rotates and the filament comes out but does not work by it self.
**Try 1:** Thought something was wrong with the gears so I reseated them, Didn't work.
**Try 2**: Thought the extruder motor broke, so I replace the NEMA 17 motor, Didn't work.
**Try 3:** Plugged the motor into the x-axis plug the motor works as shown here - https://photos.app.goo.gl/kY4okR4oqkYSyzhN8
This is how the motor behaves when pluged into the \[original\] extruder plug- https://photos.app.goo.gl/QPo7RNeB6AFi6KsM6
Any help is appreciated, Thank you :)
# Answer
> 2 votes
It was the stepper driver, Replacing the motherboard fixed the issue.
---
Tags: extruder, stepper, monoprice-maker-select, extruder-driver, nema-17
--- |
thread-11829 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11829 | What filament material is safe to use as in-wall housing (US)? | 2020-01-21T17:27:01.070 | # Question
Title: What filament material is safe to use as in-wall housing (US)?
Which type of filament material(s) is safe to use as an in-wall box for regular, 120v wiring? For instance, an electrical outlet box.
In case it matters, location is the state of Washington, USA.
# Answer
# Safety is not the same as legality
Something might be perfectly safe, but it doesn't make it legal to do or allowed to use. Parking your car over double-yellow lines is one example that is perfectly safe but violates the traffic codes.
Any 3D printed box would violate for example WAC 296-46B-300, as it isn't in compliance with NEC Class 3 Standard.
> (1) Cables and raceways for power limited, NEC Class 2 and Class 3 conductors must be installed in compliance with Chapter 3 NEC unless other methods are specifically required elsewhere in the NEC, chapter 19.28 RCW, or this chapter.
The NEC is also known as NFPA 70, and availeable at the Website of the National Fire Protection Agency. You will need to look in Article 725.3 for the exact, current specifications that a cable box would need to follow.
> **725.3 Other Articles.** Circuits and equipment shall comply with the articles or sections listed in 725.3(A) through (N). Only those sections of Article 300 referenced in this article shall apply to Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 circuits.
*Also* note, that mains wire work is usually regulated in how it has to be done and you might (in some areas) not even be allowed to do it yourself! Even if you may do it, it might be inadvisable to do so due to insurance reasons: non-professional wiring or non-standard parts can be usually excluded from coverage.
> 4 votes
# Answer
I haven't tested the commercial "blue boxes" used to hold 120/240 V electrical outlets, switches, and splices to see how they behave when heated. As such, this argument is based on intuition, which is intrinsically flawed as a logic device. Never-the-less, I think the no extruded molten plastic (FFF) 3D printing filament will work.
The purpose of the junction box is to contain an overheating connection or switch and prevent it from causing a fire in the wall. Any FFF filament will have a melting point below the ignition point of wood, and would therefore flow away from the overheating point. It seems that any thermoplastic with a "normal" melting point would have this problem.
You might look at UV polymerized printing resins, such as are used in the Stratasys Objet, Form Labs, and Prusa SL1. These printing processes aren't constrained to use plastics that can be melted or heat softened. Because the polymerization can involve more aggressive crosslinking (polymerization) that FFF materials, they have the potential to be good for a higher temperature.
As an example of a high-temperature, non-melting plastic which could perhaps have an analogue in SLS resin, polyester "casting compound" is cross linked by a methyl-ethyl-ketone-peroxide catalyst to form clear solid. 24 hours after the polymerization starts, the solid does not melt under the influence of a hot air gun. I tried to melt it and it would not melt. It slightly softened, but the plastic cup I had cast it in was dripping away -- but the polyester was not melting.
I looked through the Stratasys materials and Form Labs materials and did not see a much higher temperature material.
> 0 votes
---
Tags: print-material, safety, legal
--- |
thread-11828 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11828 | Are there multi-filament hardened nozzles or equivalent systems? | 2020-01-21T15:42:18.760 | # Question
Title: Are there multi-filament hardened nozzles or equivalent systems?
I discovered "diamond" nozzles (name of the design, not the use of diamond material), which have multiple filament inputs (designs for 3 or 5) and a single output nozzle, see figure.
They look like a very good and compact solution to avoid or significantly reduce purge towers, where filament is wasted until the channel is primed, and to avoid a second hot end, which takes space and which could be oozing when unused, but I could find them only made of brass.
Are there hardened diamond nozzles, or equivalent systems which are lightweight and can avoid a second hot end, to print composite or abrasive materials?
# Answer
> 3 votes
Yes, but there is no hardened version of the "Diamond" nozzle design. Basically when you want to use a hardened nozzle, or a Ruby nozzle in combination with color mixing (I specifically refer to mixing solutions as the melting chamber is smaller than filament changing solutions and your request for none or minimal purging towers) you need to order a design that accommodates the replacement of the nozzle. In such a case you can remove the standard nozzle to replace it for a hardened version.
There are a few 2 and 3 filament input designs that are offered on typical auction and Chinese selling sites. Below is an example for the Zonestar M3 mixing color hotend with a replaceable nozzle.
---
Tags: hotend, nozzle, multi-material, diamond-hotend
--- |
thread-11827 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11827 | Odd dotting when printing a line | 2020-01-21T15:38:33.657 | # Question
Title: Odd dotting when printing a line
I tried printing a "improved" calibration cube and noticed that the printer was laying down dots instead of a solid line. This was right after switching out my extruder motor and tweaking retraction settings. I believe my first setting was 0.3 mm, then I tried 0.1 mm. I didn't get a picture of the first setting, but shown below is when retraction was set to 0.1 mm. I think the print was at layer 3 roughly. The difference is 0.1 mm had a higher frequency of dotting, ie more dots that were closer together.
This was only present in the first couple of layers. The dots weren't occurring in the same spot so the picture shows dots overlapping each other making a sort of "twisted" or braided look. This also happened on both the x-axis movements and the right side of the y-axis movements. The rest of the cube came out relatively well.
## Settings
* **Printer:** Creality CR-10S
* **Temp:** 205 °C at nozzle; 60 °C on bed
* **Retraction:** 0.3 mm initially, 0.1 mm (pictured)
* **Bed Distance:** ~0.1 mm
* **Nozzle Diameter:** 0.4 mm
* **Layer Height:** 0.2 mm. I usually do 0.4, but I was lazy with slicer presets (AstroPrint)
* **Hotend:** e3D Hemera direct, e3D v6 heater and nozzle
* **Filament:** Hatchbox PLA white
I never saw this issue before on my printer nor have I seen it mentioned in various articles/videos online.
# Answer
I have seen this a lot of times on my tronXY-X1 with an e3d-v6 via Bowden tube. It is *not* related to retraction but a different settin: Your first layer is set too thin or not leveled to the right height.
Having the first layer too thin, means that with a tiny error, the calculated correct extrusion becomes either a massive overextrusion or a barely sticking underextrusion. For example, the repeatability of the probing is the biggest error source. A well calibrated probing might varry about 0.05 mm between extremes, so would be written as (layer thickness)+-0.025 mm. On a 0.1 mm layer, that is a 25 % over- or underextrusion; overextrusion of that degree is well known to create such ripples.
Setting it to 0.2 mm for the first layer in Cura, Slic3r and PrusaSlic3r (look in your advanced settings!) did eliminate such rippling for me. My understanding is, that the extra distance gives the filament better ability to flow and stick on this first layer. Also, remember to set your line width to ca. 10 % wider than the nozzle - 0.45 mm is my typical setting.
> 1 votes
# Answer
It's not about printing settings but only about the bed: the bed is too close to the nozzle.
Maybe you adjusted it when it was cold, instead of doing it when it's already heated to the desired temperature and the nozzle is heated at about 180°C to get close to operating temperature without oozing.
Or maybe you used a too thin paper sheet.
> 0 votes
---
Tags: troubleshooting, creality-cr-10, e3d-v6, e3d-hemera
--- |
thread-5697 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/5697 | Which 3D design softwares make multi-material amf or other design files that slic3r will slice? | 2018-03-26T17:30:32.503 | # Question
Title: Which 3D design softwares make multi-material amf or other design files that slic3r will slice?
I'm looking for suggestions for 3D design software which support designing multi-material parts.
I will be printing on a multi-extruder machine based on RepRap firmware. The printer will handle the files when given a proper g-code file. Slic3r will produce a proper g-code file given the right input. STL seems to be single-material, so I am looking for something like AMF files, or any alternative.
My question is, what is available for 3D design software which will produce a geometry file which slic3r (or some other slicing software) will properly process? I'm not asking for opinions on which software is best.
I believe this is my first question in any StackExchange forum, so if I have trespassed on community standards, it was not my intention.
# Answer
> 2 votes
## A Scriptable Process for Generating Multi-Material STL Files:
I am now using interactive CAD software to define the more complex features of the object I am printing (in the current case, clock faces), and then using OpenSCAD to do the boolean volume operations.
To print the composite object, I need three STL files, one for each material I am using. The three parts are the clock body, the translucent optics to conduct the LED lights, and the clock numbers.
I need:
* one STL for the body minus the LED optics and minus the numbers.
* one STL for the numbers minus the LED optics, and
* one STL for the LED optics.
The CAD package supports the operations, but every time I change anything, I have to jump through several hoops to combine the three parts, manually and recreate the three objects.
I had used OpenSCAD to make the optics and the numbers, and they were never in the same coordinate system as the clock body from the interactive CAD package.
So, I scripted it and used OpenSCAD to read the clock body STL and being it into OpenScad. I transformed it into the common coordinate system. I then did, one by one, based on a command-line parameter, the boolean operations, rendered the result, and exported the resulting STL file.
When I read the three files into PrusaSlicer, the lined up perfectly and everything worked simply, without and precision hand-eye coordination, and with no drama.
Scripts and command lines work for repeatability far better than squint, drag, and guess.
# Answer
> 1 votes
You do not necessarily need a specific design tool, you can use any tool you want to create your multiple material product. It is the slicer software that manages the materials by assigning the correct extruder. E.g. Cura is able to join 2 STL files that fit together and assign each part a specific extruder and thus material. Please read more here for instructions
---
Tags: 3d-design, slicing, multi-material
--- |
thread-11847 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11847 | Why can't I use PLA with ABS in a dual extruding 3D printer? | 2020-01-24T19:32:05.103 | # Question
Title: Why can't I use PLA with ABS in a dual extruding 3D printer?
I have a XYZ Da Vinci duo and I want to run water soluble PLA with ABS How can I do that?
# Answer
First of all: PLA is not water soluable.
Second: You want the melting points of the plastics to be as close as possible. PLA is printed between 180 and 200 °C. ABS is printed at 220 to 240 °C.
PVA on the other hand is water soluable and is printed in the same temperature range as ABS.
The setup is dependant on your slicer: you need to select one extruder as being the support structure one, the other as the main body one. Then you assign the filaments to them. Without knowing your slicer, I can't asnwer this better.
> 1 votes
---
Tags: pla, abs
--- |
thread-11854 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11854 | Will Mod Podge work with PLA prints? | 2020-01-26T01:13:43.257 | # Question
Title: Will Mod Podge work with PLA prints?
Looking for something to smooth out a PLA print. Would Mod Podge be a good solution? Will it stick?
# Answer
From what I've read about Mod Podge, it is an adhesive with a vinyl acetate base. As such it is similar to both PVA (used for wash-away support) and ordinary white glue. One of the more common references to the product refers to it not being water proof, although the outdoor version of the product presents as being water-resistant.
As part of the research for this answer, I found references to overly-thick coats becoming milky. This follows a reference to applying thin multiple coats and allowing proper cure time between coats. That proper cure time is listed as 28 days.
Another set of posts suggest to cure the MP more rapidly than 28 days, one can heat the item in an oven to 175°F (80°C) which should not cause the PLA to melt, but may allow for sagging of unsupported parts. Testing is recommended.
MP is an adhesive, is known to stick to non-porous surfaces and would be no more harmful than glue stick for a PLA (or ABS) model.
Durability is uncertain. If you intend to paint the item after sealing/smoothing, you'll gain durability and water resistance.
> 2 votes
# Answer
I have used Ponal Express, a woodglue, as a smoothing layer inbetween a somewhat sanded PLA and an acrylic paint. It had a good result to get it almost perfectly smooth. It stuck quite well, no problem with it getting off under painting. DO note though, that sanding the glue layer can tear of larger pieces of the film, so do only apply the glue as the last layer.
Now, ModPodge is pretty much made from PVA or wood glue. The same thing I used, pretty much. So yes, it will work.
> 1 votes
---
Tags: post-processing
--- |
thread-11851 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11851 | Bed temperature command going to 0 °C with no obvious reason when print is started | 2020-01-24T22:20:01.610 | # Question
Title: 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?
# Answer
> 1 votes
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?!!
---
Tags: marlin, heated-bed, troubleshooting, firmware, hardware
--- |
thread-11859 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11859 | MKS GEN L unknown motherboard error | 2020-01-26T19:17:13.773 | # Question
Title: MKS GEN L unknown motherboard error
This is my first time asking for some help on here and I have Googled, but only found a few reference to this issue. I know I am doing something dumb but I have no clue what it is.
I get an unknown motherboard error every time I try to setup my MKS GEN L. At first I found that in the `boards.h` file there was no reference to this board and the `pins.h` file was not there either. I have added both of these in and still nothing. I have checked the `configuration.h` and as far as I can tell I cannot find the error.
I have tried this in 1.1.9 and 2.x of marlin and get the same error.
The message is:
```
Arduino: 1.8.9 (Windows 10), Board: "Arduino Mega or Mega 2560, ATmega2560 (Mega 2560)"
In file included from sketch\MarlinConfig.h:33:0,
from C:\Users\name\OneDrive\Desktop\Ender 5 1.1.61 version (1)\Ender 5 1.1.61 version\Marlin\Marlin.ino:31:
pins.h:235:4: error: #error "Unknown MOTHERBOARD value set in Configuration.h"
#error "Unknown MOTHERBOARD value set in Configuration.h"
^~~~~
In file included from sketch\MarlinConfig.h:39:0,
from C:\Users\jcgra\OneDrive\Desktop\Ender 5 1.1.61 version (1)\Ender 5 1.1.61 version\Marlin\Marlin.ino:31:
SanityCheck.h:311:6: error: #error "BABYSTEP_ZPROBE_OFFSET requires a probe."
#error "BABYSTEP_ZPROBE_OFFSET requires a probe."
^~~~~
SanityCheck.h:624:8: error: #error "Z_MIN_PROBE_USES_Z_MIN_ENDSTOP_PIN requires the Z_MIN_PIN to be defined."
#error "Z_MIN_PROBE_USES_Z_MIN_ENDSTOP_PIN requires the Z_MIN_PIN to be defined."
^~~~~
SanityCheck.h:909:4: error: #error "HEATER_0_PIN not defined for this board."
#error "HEATER_0_PIN not defined for this board."
^~~~~
exit status 1
#error "Unknown MOTHERBOARD value set in Configuration.h"
This report would have more information with
"Show verbose output during compilation"
option enabled in File -> Preferences.
```
My config file is as follows Config.h.
Please let me know if there is anything else you might need to help with this matter and thank you for your time and attention.
# Answer
> 0 votes
As explained in the answer by @towe, you are using an older version of the configuration file, it appears that you aren't using the latest sources from the 1.1.x and the 2.0.x trees.
In addition to the answer, the MKS GEN L is basically a RAMPS board with RAMPS pin layout except for a few pins. The board is defined in both 1.1.9 and 2.0.x (if you scroll down you see that it includes the pin definition for a RAMPS layout: #include "pins\_RAMPS.h"). This being said, you could get it to work in pre 1.1.7 release of Marlin if you must. Choosing a RAMPS board for `MOTHERBOARD` constant and overriding/defining `MOSFET_D_PIN` to 7, `X_CS_PIN` to 59 and `X_CS_PIN` to 63 will make the firmware work. But, it is advised to get the latest version, even Marlin 2.0.x will run fine on Arduino Mega 2560 based boards.
# Answer
> 2 votes
The MKS GEN L board was added in Marlin release 1.1.7 .
According to the configuration file you've linked and previous Marlin releases, your copy of Marlin is release 1.1.6. While all Marlin releases before 1.1.7 had "010100" as "CONFIGURATION\_H\_VERSION", earlier versions had less features than listed in your configuration file.
In Marlin 2.0.x, the MKS GEN L is also available.
Since you said it was also unavailable in 2.0.x, please provide a copy of your entire 2.0.x setup.
---
Tags: marlin, creality-ender-5
--- |
thread-11865 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11865 | Printing Filatech PETG with HyperCube E3Dv6 Clone fails after 3 smooth layers | 2020-01-27T07:59:17.187 | # Question
Title: Printing Filatech PETG with HyperCube E3Dv6 Clone fails after 3 smooth layers
Recently I got a PETG filament from Filatech to print with my HyperCube printer with E3Dv6 clone Hotend. First 3 layers for every print are pretty fine but 4<sup>th</sup> layer doesn't stick and my prints fail like the picture below:
I use the following settings:
* Slicer: Cura with Generic PETG profile
* Hotend Temperature: 240 °C
* Bed Temperature: 70 °C
* Fan Speed: 100 % at the second layer
* Print Speed: 50 mm/s (first 3 layers @ 30 mm/s)
I also tested 225 °C and 250 °C hotend temperatures. Both failing at the 4<sup>th</sup> or 5<sup>th</sup> layer. What is the issue here?
BTW I successfully printed with ABS and PLA with this printer.
# Answer
> 1 votes
As this is material dependant, you are facing not a printer, but a settings issue: your slicer needs the right settigns to print PETG.
The first layers look good, but then we get signs of stringy printing. Stringy printing usually happens if the filament comes out of the nozzle too cold (I had tried to print PLA at 170 °C and it would look somewhat similar) or if it gets cooled or stretched too much (forced a print failure by speeding up a 60 mm/s print, somewhat similar around 250-300%; though the filament was not hot enough then too). This, in conjunction with the information, that you print PETG suggests the following things to fix:
* Reduce or deactivate cooling. PETG often doesn't need cooling at all.
* Reduce print speed. As 0scar said, 50 mm/s is a good upper limit on a well honed in machine. As your other layers with 30 mm/s were fine, you could possibly go down to 40 mm/s, if less cooling alone doesn't help.
---
Tags: troubleshooting, petg, print-failure, e3d-v6, hypercube
--- |
thread-11868 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11868 | Should I remove Cmagnet base for installing glass bed? | 2020-01-27T12:02:51.333 | # Question
Title: Should I remove Cmagnet base for installing glass bed?
I was using Ender-3 Pro's CMagnet bed but I switched to glass bed (because original bed is warped) and left the magnet base (not the bed itself but the glued bed which CMagned sticks) on heated bed. So now it's 3 layered (heated bed - magnet bed's base - glass bed) bed.
Should I remove this magnet bed's base and put glass on the metal heated bed directly. Or it's not that important?
# Answer
> 1 votes
The more layers, the higher the temperature you need to set the heated bed to reach the same print surface temperature as before (air is an insulator, so when entrapping air between your layer you insulate the heated bed).
I do not know the weight of the magnet base, but, keeping adding weight is not a very good idea unless your bed goes up and down (movement in Z direction is generally much more slower than in Y direction), but the Enders 3 bed goes back and forth. The more mass the axis needs to displace the less accurate the print.
---
Tags: creality-ender-3, heated-bed, glass-bed
--- |
thread-11239 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11239 | Ender 3 BLTouch fails in assorted ways | 2019-10-25T08:38:37.347 | # Question
Title: Ender 3 BLTouch fails in assorted ways
My recently installed BLTouch probe regularly fails to perform ABL properly. There seem to be 3-4 failure modes:
1. Probe manages some points but fails partway through, with a "probing failed" message on the LCD screen, rendering it necessary to power-cycle the printer
2. Probe deploys on some point, then stows itself immediately, and treats that point as being a centimeter or two about where it actually is.
3. Probe completes all 9 points, then heats the nozzle in the back corner and never moves. The progress bar on the LCD counts up and eventually it claims to have finished the print, but the steppers (including the extruder) never move.
4. Probe flashes red throughout the cycle, which I believe means it failed a self-test probably because the mainboard started trying to speak to it before it was initialized, but occasionally when this occurs, it still works as expected.
For avoidance of doubt - sometimes it actually does work, and I get beautiful prints that adhere well during printing but are easily removed afterwards. And I have never had any issues with the Z homing using the probe, only the auto mesh levelling.
My setup:
* Creality Ender 3
* v1.1.4 mainboard with non-silent steppers
* genuine BLTouch v3, with official Creality pin27 kit
* Marlin 1.1.9 bugfix firmware, downloaded as hex file
* single iteration of probing
* 9 point levelling mesh
* Ultimaker Cura slicer 4.2.0
* Start G-code heats bed, homes `G28`, performs ABL `G29`, then heats nozzle (I don't have the actual G-code on my now as I'm away from my slicing computer)
\[Related question: BL Touch Probing Fails Intermittently but answers do not apply as I am already using bugfix firmware and have checked all the cabling and connections\]
# Answer
> 2 votes
You had a faulty BLTouch. Mine experienced the **EXACT** same behavior and replacing it with a new BLTouch fixed the issue entirely (everything else I kept exactly the same, firmware etc), I simply swapped over the probe + cable with the new one.
When connecting the new BLTouch, make sure you wire the servos connector correctly. In my case with an SKR Mini E3 v1.2 I needed to switch the red wire with the blue wire. If you start the printer with the wires the wrong way around, it may cause damage. I suspect that is what happened to my original one.
# Answer
> 2 votes
**Connecting** the bltouch or 3dtouch clone **to the normal Z-endstop** connector of a creality board (ender 3 / 3 pro / cr10) **is the problem**!
**Creality added a capacitor** to the Z-endstop connector to improve the signal of the normal endswitch. This capacitor impacts the data signal processing of the probe. (filters out signals)
Other boards / manufacturers often do not have this capacitor. So there is no problem when using the probe.
Known solutions:
1. connect the probe to the ISP header *(data to MOSI, Ground to GND)*.
2. Others desolder the capacitor next to the Z-endstop-connector.
Here is described my "ISP header solution" with details... (for Klipper, but could be adopted for Marlin)
Further information on BLTouch Klipper docs (search for "Troubleshooting")
**After fixing**, Z should stop instantly when probe pin pops up. My probe speed is 50 mm/s (for Z). The Readability Check gives me 0.007-0.250 mm ranges between measurements (mine is a cheap Chinese clone).
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Tags: creality-ender-3, troubleshooting, bltouch
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thread-11864 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11864 | Running costs of 3D printing | 2020-01-27T04:27:47.247 | # Question
Title: Running costs of 3D printing
In the year that I have had my Flashforge Adventurer 3 I have just had a second extruder head break. The replacement cost (in AUD) is 135.00. But, I'll also need a new nozzle and a replacement ribbon cable for the extruder head. That will add another $40.00.
Apart from filament costs, that brings the cost of "consumables" for my printer in the last year close to $350.00
I'm beginning to think this makes the running costs for my 3D printing very high, but I have nothing to compare this with.
Does anyone care to share what it costs them to keep a 3D printer operational per year? Do my costs seem high?
# Answer
I have a Prusa I3M3+MMU2, which I have had for a year.
During the first year, the display failed under warranty and replaced for free. The power supply also failed, and although Prusa replaced it, I was in a hurry and bought another supply to use as a backup for about \\$60.00.
I have used two rolls of paper towels, a bottle of acetone, and a quart of isopropanol, for maybe \\$5.00.
I have bought a spare thermister for about \\$10.00, but haven't installed it yet.
I bought a couple of new nozzles for specialized materials for \\$35.00, but the nozzle I got with the machine isn't worn.
I bought the textured build plate (when it was finally available) for about $30.00.
So, my running cost, exclusive of electricity, is about \\$140.00, including buying accessories which haven't been consumed.
I have also bought way too much filament, which you aren't counting. Filament cost has dwarfed my other expenses.
> 1 votes
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Tags: cost, flashforge-adventurer-3
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thread-11853 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11853 | Ender 3 Y Layer Shifting | 2020-01-25T21:29:43.127 | # Question
Title: 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.
# Answer
> 2 votes
Fixed it finally, seems that the X axis was not level. Thank you to everyone who commented.
---
Tags: creality-ender-3, troubleshooting, layer-shifting
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thread-11857 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11857 | Does moisture cause warping? | 2020-01-26T18:51:09.153 | # Question
Title: Does moisture cause warping?
I'm printing flat objects (like rectangular) with PLA on a glass bed and 70 celcius degrees (also tried 75 celcius too, 65 celcius and lower ends with adhesion problem in general). Also I use brims too. Most of the time, after a while it shrinks and warps (when print continues).
Room temperature is steady, there is no airflow to cool down things..
I tried to slow down to 20mm/sec. I tried to increase heat for first layer... Nothing helps.
I am suspicious about moisture of the filaments. Can it be related?
# Answer
Warping is caused by the plastic shrinking as it cools and inadequate bed adhesion is usually the what lets it warp. Either cleaning your print surface very thoroughly with rubbing alcohol or using something like a glue stick on your print bed will mitigate that warping enough that you won't suffer problems with your print. Printing too hot can also be a problem because the plastic will need to even cool more after it is extruded and could possibly lead to more stresses buildup in the plastic.
The dimensional stability of PLA really depends on the quality of the plastic. Storage conditions come into play as well, but it is mostly the quality of the material you need to worry about; I have some cheaper PLA that has gotten brittle due to having absorbed moisture despite being in a (albeit somewhat loosely closed) package with desiccants, and I also have a different brand of PLA that is of much higher quality that I just leave out in the open; this PLA doesn't exibit signs of moisture damage. Higher quality filaments are designed to resist moisture better and be more stable in terms of dimensions. With the cheaper brand of PLA, I have also experienced warping, but that is not due to moisture in the filament; that was actually from a new roll.
When a filament absorbs too much moisture, it can become brittle but still print. Excessive moisture will cause any water in the filament to vaporize when passing through the hotend and form bubbles that will ruin the finish quality of a print. You'll know if filament is excessively wet because you will hear quiet and sharp snapping sounds as the result of the bubbles that are formed in the plastic popping. You will also be able to see steam if you examine your hotend with a bright light as it is extruding.
I'd suggest trying a different brand of filament if possible, cleaning the print surface / adding glue, or at the very least, a new roll of filament.
*(When using a glue stick to increase first layer adhesion, it could be worth noting something unusual I found; adding glue to the build plate of a Prusa i3 MK3S actually reduces bed adhesion in my experience. It might be worth playing around to see if super clean works for you, or if super sticky does. The build plate is coated in a very finely textured PEI if that is some information that could help your case.)*
> 4 votes
# Answer
PLA doesn't usually have water absorption issues. It usually prints just fine ... Maker's Muse did a video using 7yo PLA filament (IIRC) which had been stored in the open. Printed without issues. Not saying all PLA's are going to work as well, but I don't think it's a place I'd be looking first for an issue. Moisture in the filaments usually exhibits itself as popping and spitting as the filament is extruded leaving blank spaces in your print.
> 3 votes
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Tags: pla, creality-ender-3, warping
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thread-11882 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11882 | Problems with noise, heat bed temperature and no X / Y endstop sensor on Makerbot Replicator 2X | 2020-01-28T12:03:47.103 | # Question
Title: Problems with noise, heat bed temperature and no X / Y endstop sensor on Makerbot Replicator 2X
I bought a used Makerbot Replicator 2X, and I have some problems printing with it. The first problem I run into is the first layer adhesion to the print bed, it seems like the temperature of the bed starts to drop directly after first heating it.
Also, calibration seems to be a problem, because when using the Home Axes function, the extruder is moved to its home - but there seems to be like a missing endstop sensor, because the stepper motors starts making a whole lot of noise.
Also, when moving the extruder manually using the Jog function, there is a lot of noise and also it's possible to move it out of its range (same type of noise as with the Home Axes function).
I understand that the bot I bought is not to be expected to function as new, but I need to understand what the problem is and how I can fix it. Is there parts missing even?
Trying the Home Axes and Jog functions resulting in a lot of noise: https://photos.app.goo.gl/j3HX9qHvZCEBnPru7
Printing with no adhesion and a falling Platform temperature: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PHVtheWCRRmhz7bu7
# Answer
First, your Y-belt is way too loose! (seen at the beginning of the first video). It is so loose the idlers barely grip onto it!
Second, the X-endstop metal pin is loose, seen at 1:22 of the first video. Could be that the endstop is not working. Maybe you can hook up your printer to USB, you can then send direct commands to the printer, e.g. `M119` will report the status of the endstops. Sending this code multiple times will alternatively pressing the endstops manually you can find out if they work.
From the second video can be seen that the nozzle to bed distance it too large, and if fixed and still not adhering you need to apply an adhesive (hairspray/glue stick/or 3D print adhesion spray).
This printer is in need of some serious maintenance! Depending on your technical skills this may be a challenge!
> 0 votes
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Tags: makerbot, replicator-dual, makerbot-replicator2
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thread-11875 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11875 | Thread pitch of Ender 3 bed leveling screws | 2020-01-27T18:00:24.510 | # Question
Title: Thread pitch of Ender 3 bed leveling screws
What is the thread pitch of the Ender 3's bed leveling screws? The diameter measures about 4mm. Are they M4 0.7 (coarse) pitch or 0.5 (fine) pitch? I'd like to develop rigorous formulas for the amount to turn the knobs by after measuring (or visually inspecting, since I can see an accurate 0.2 mm first layer decently well) leveling-test patterns in the corners rather than using a closed-loop tune-and-retry approach.
# Answer
I measured mine with a thread gauge and it says the pitch is **0.7 mm**.
So, as the stock adjustment wheels have 14 bumps around their circumference, turning by one of those is an adjustment of exactly 0.05 mm (assuming no backlash).
I can't speak for anyone else's, but due to the availability of replacement height adjustment wheels which don't specify alternative thread pitches, I *guess* that's the only one in use. I encourage you to verify my finding before relying on it.
> 5 votes
# Answer
Just as Andrew, I did run a quick test to measure it: on my corner closest to \<0,0,0\>, a little stud is poking out. *Just* enough to screw on a threadcutter I know without any cutting happening:
Indeed, it is **M4x0.7**, aka coarse thread.
> 3 votes
# Answer
Possibly tongue in cheek here, but if you can detect a 0.2 mm change, you may be able to determine visually the thread pitch, although it means de-tuning your bed for the experiment. Keeping close count is part of the experiment and you can reverse the count easily enough.
Make contact with the nozzle at the location of one screw. Count the turns in order to set the screw back to original location (or don't worry, re-tune later).
If the pitch is 0.5 mm, two complete turns would give you a millimeter, while the 0.7 mm pitch will give you 1.4 mm. Make it four turns and the difference is more apparent. That would present a 2.0 mm compared to 2.8 mm for the two types of threads.
> 2 votes
# Answer
I don't know what the value is, but there are a few ways to find out. It is very hard to measure this with a caliper, but it can be done, mark the upper and bottom of e.g. 10 windings and measure this with a caliper. Alternatively measure how much the screw drops after 10 full turns.
There are special tools that give you the answer directly, they cost a few Euros/bucks but can be very handy; a thread gauge, just place the 0.5 mm and the 0.7 mm beside the screw and you will instantly see which is the correct one.
*I bought mine at a typical Chinese vendor site.*
> 1 votes
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Tags: creality-ender-3, bed-leveling
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thread-11858 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11858 | Is it possible to attach a laser engraver to a SLA / resin 3D printer? | 2020-01-26T19:17:06.030 | # Question
Title: Is it possible to attach a laser engraver to a SLA / resin 3D printer?
While trying to figure out if I should start 3D printing with FDM (Creality Ender 3) or with SLA (Elegoo Mars), I got hooked on the bonus feature of attaching a laser upgrade on the 3d printer to make paper cutouts and cards. I read that its quite easy for the Ender 3 and dozens of other FDM printer, but I could not find anything about adding a laser to resin printers.
**Question: Is it possible at all to attach a laser engraving module to a SLA 3D Printer like it can be done to FDM?**
Additional information about pro/cons regarding this topic would be nice and are truly welcome.
# Answer
## Not with consumer equipment.
FDM printers are functionally three-axis motion control machines: "extrude quantity **W** material at position **X Y Z**, continue to next **W**, **X**, **Y**, and **Z**."
Adapting it to control a laser position is a relatively simple task, because most of the logic is the same. "fire laser for **W** duration" instead of "extrude quantity **W** material". Moving the laser around is functionally similar to moving the print head around.
Consumer SLA (aka "DLP" or "mSLA") is an entirely different logic, a different process. It is effectively layer-by-layer snapshots, rather than multi-axis motion control. They do a whole layer at a time, then lift the whole object up for the next layer: "flash layer **1** for **W** duration, lift bed **Z**, proceed to layer **2**."
Professional/industrial SLA printers that use lasers exist (like SLS), but they're tuned to precisely cure photopolymer resins, not cut things.
> 4 votes
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Tags: sla, laser
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thread-11889 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11889 | OctoPrint Unable to Connect to Lulzbot Mini | 2020-01-28T20:12:15.427 | # Question
Title: OctoPrint Unable to Connect to Lulzbot Mini
We have a Lulzbot Mini at my office (i.e. it's not my personal printer). It's connected to an OctoPi and I've been able to get just one file to print on it (which I had to cancel due to leveling issues). Others have used it successfully in the past.
However, right now, every time I try to connect to it through OctoPrint, I just get gibberish back:
```
Connecting to: /dev/ttyACM0
Changing monitoring state from "Offline" to "Opening serial port"
Connected to: Serial<id=0x6f830510, open=True>(port='/dev/ttyACM0', baudrate=115200, bytesize=8, parity='N', stopbits=1, timeout=10.0, xonxoff=False, rtscts=False, dsrdtr=False), starting monitor
Changing monitoring state from "Opening serial port" to "Connecting"
Send: N0 M110 N0*125
Send: N0 M110 N0*125
Recv: �Np|\x04n6H\x15\x06'
Recv: \x10ONv�HO
Recv: J%�i�h�ON,=\x0c\x14\x07�|i�Mx86B~1~\x04g\x1a\x1e�HO
Recv: J%P|H~\x03�^�-\x08n6�M�w��K�'
Recv: \x08�^�;V7JO\x1e\x0b�\x08\�H^�Kqp|\x08\x13\x08H\x08\x04P|"]+X{\x16�\x08nl�P<\x08\x14\x08]�x�
Recv: �J�X�\x1a�H3H6F�J�J%�J/H\x08^�I\x08ZY\x08\x07:&h\x0f^\x17�}�$p|\x08\x14
Recv: ^HJ�J�\x08�J\x1b�*':f\x18�k\x1e>H]�Zf�J�Z�J�%\x08^\x08W�X�\x1a�\x0b\x1e\x1eH]�Z�Kq?N!KP�.N!Kka�.a\x0b'
Recv: �J�J�JH�I�JHJP|@_a\x13�\x16�/m\x7f\x1fy�\x16=�6\x1b�VO6�=�6\x1b�f>�K7f\x7f�K{f>�K\x1bf��+'J�z�J\x08@�\x08�J%�\x18%�(�J\x17�
Recv: \x07
Recv: �M!
Recv: gJ�j�I�j\x08N�x�\x1a\x7fB
�\x0b]F�J�J�x�
Recv: V
Recv: o\x16�F�J�Z�j\x0c.�\x08%�\x05\x07J�j�5�\x18HJ�J�X�*�\F]{L$P<\x08�\x08~5Ip|\x04}&@\x1faF�J�J�If�\x1a33l\x7f�N\x0bYp|\x088
No answer from the printer within the connection timeout, trying another hello
Send: N0 M110 N0*125
There was a timeout while trying to connect to the printer
Changing monitoring state from "Connecting" to "Offline"
Connection closed, closing down monitor
```
The only thing I can think of right now is refreshing the firmware, but before I do that, I figured I'd ask here. Does any one know what this gibberish is and how I can restore this printer to regular operation?
# Answer
> 2 votes
If the printer returns gibberish, the Baud rate of the connection is incorrect. You are using 115200 in the example above. For older Mini firmwares, it should indeed be 115200. For the newer 1.1.5.xx builds, it should be 250000.
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Tags: octoprint, lulzbot, serial-connection
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thread-11885 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11885 | How do you call the Z-axis mechanism in a Cartesian 3D Printer? | 2020-01-28T18:55:54.153 | # Question
Title: How do you call the Z-axis mechanism in a Cartesian 3D Printer?
How do you call the mechanism that allows linear motion along the Z-axis in a Cartesian 3D Printer?
I know what the individual parts are; it is a lead screw, a smooth rod ... but how do you call the mechanism that allows this linear motion?
Mechanism is defined as: an assembly of moving parts performing a complete functional motion, often being part of a large machine
So I guess, it has to have a name, doesn't? .. but I am unable to find it
# Answer
Linear actuator would be the proper name for the mechanism driving the movement along a single axis. There are 2 linear actuators driving the X-axis platform (for a Prusa i3 Cartesian printer, or the build platform for a raising bed Cartesian printer like a CoreXY, H-bot, etc.), the collection of parts could be named the Z-axis assembly.
> 1 votes
---
Tags: prusa-i3, z-axis, printer-building, linear-motion
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thread-6659 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/6659 | Should I vary the first layer height | 2018-08-13T20:44:29.197 | # Question
Title: Should I vary the first layer height
Up till now, I've tended to scale my first layer according to the print quality, so a 0.12 mm first layer for a 0.08 mm print, and 0.28 mm for a 0.2 mm print.
After changing to a PLA which isn't sticking well, I'm wondering if the first layer is best determined by the printer/tolerance/material, rather than the overall print quality settings. Am I going to get more predictable results if I stick to a 0.12 mm first layer regardless? This is with a 0.4 mm nozzle on an Anet-A8.
# Answer
> 4 votes
Default settings for first layer height in Slic3r Prusa Edition print profiles regardless layer height is 0.2 mm.
If you need to improve bed adhesion then try tips from this video 3D Prints not sticking anymore? Watch this! 3DP101 by Maker's Muse. It's about using glue stick and spreading it using paper towel and isopropyl alcohol.
There are other possibilities how to improve bed adhesion, e.g. Ultem sheet or other printing surface like BuildTak.
# Answer
> 2 votes
The first layer height can be the same as the whole printing model however you can set different sizes and speeds; it is recommended that layer height should be 75 % or less than nozzle diameter, this means that for a nozzle of 0.4 mm the max height is 0.3 mm *(if you are a master you can use higher dimensions)*
The first layer with a height of 0.3 mm with a speed of 70 mm/s will have less adhesion than printing at 50 mm/s. Also the same height and speed of 70 mm/s at 210 °C will have more adhesion than at 195 °C. So printing at 195 °C with speed of 50 mm/s could have the same adhesion than 70 mm/s at 210 °C. This depends on the quality of your PLA
On my prints I have set the prints at 195 °C and 55 mm/s with a height of 0.20 mm, then the whole print uses the same temperature at 85 mm/s with 0.25 mm of layer height. With other PLA quality I have to set 210 °C first layer at 50 mm/s, and other layers at 200 °C with 70 mm/s. ***So adjustments are based temperature and speed once you have determined the smoothness of your prints.***
# Answer
> 1 votes
I made more negative experience for 0.4 mm nozzle and 0.2 mm layer but 0.28 mm initial layer. Change it back to 0.2 mm solves all adhesion problems for me. (Tested on Anet A8 and Ultimaker3)
# Answer
> 0 votes
Layer height in my cura settings means that head of extruder will be going up at 0.3mmm, and how i know that? Because i measure few different settings with height of bed. When I set bed to -0.2mm, ike everybody is proposing on internet, and i started printing first layer, I did stop it and measure with precise caliper thickness, it was 4.2mm, (human precision with leveling bed :P ) that was for me to much, because extruded material almost was not sticking to the bed,, and walls was not connected each other. I did test also with home position of nozzle and setting bed to touch nozzle, to 0 height. ( YEAH) And again I measure thickness of first layer. It was precise 0.3mm. Exactly as I want. That means that or I have better software witch can take nozzle up with initial layer in cura settings?, or magical printer, but my printer is cheap and is buy'ed almost by everybody. That means that peoples who are teaching others how to set bed in a printer are totally wrong. Maybe no one measure thickens of first layer? Even seller from who I buy printer propose me use paper with thickens of 0.25mm to set level of the bed.
Previously I have problems with first layer, because that was too high from bed, now when I set 0 position of nozzle exactly with bed, I don't have problems with thickens of layer, and printed element looks allot better from bottom.
---
Tags: print-quality, build-plate
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thread-11843 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11843 | Part cooling fan on when printing TPU? | 2020-01-23T19:37:23.463 | # Question
Title: Part cooling fan on when printing TPU?
I could have sworn I read somewhere that when printing with TPU to make sure the part cooling fan is blowing. But I just did a quick Googling and couldn't find anything stating such on Matter Hackers or All3dp.
I currently don't have a part cooling fan attached (waiting for square nuts to come in). I've been able to get by printing PLA without the fan. I'm curious if this is going to be a major obstacle with TPU.
# Answer
> 2 votes
You'll probably be fine printing TPU with no fan. I just started printing with TPU, and did a lot of test prints to find out what settings work. Fan made little difference. With hotend at 230 °C, which I started out with, 0-20% fan was fine. I eventually increased temperature to 250 °C, which made extrusion more consistent and allowed me to reduce linear advance K-factor somewhat, and at that temperature having a bit more fan (I'm using 40% now) seems to help the material hold its shape, but it mainly made a difference at higher print speeds (over 35 mm/s) where the motion of the nozzle was "pulling on" the still-very-soft material just extruded. At 30 mm/s and below, fan still doesn't seem very important.
All of this is likely to vary somewhat with the properties of your machine. However I think it's safe to say you should be able to find a combination of print speed and temperature that make it possible to get by with no fan.
**Follow-up:** Upon further experimentation with TPU, I would say you really **don't want any fan at all**, except possibly for bridges. I've found significant distortion to shape just from air pressure from the fan, and at higher speeds the fan makes the print brittle just like what happens with PETG. Layers of TPU really seem to want time to melt together to bond, and without a fan blowing on them they don't seem to lose their shape during that time.
# Answer
> 1 votes
Sharing fan percentages like in this answer is only helpful if you use the same printer model, cooling fan and cooling duct. As there are many 3D printers and many cooling fans, ducts and solutions, this cannot be readily adopted to every 3D printer.
So, in such a case I would rely on the manufacturers of the filament e.g. the flexible filament I use has settings for different printers listed here. TPU is not very prone to warping. The general rule for cooling of TPU is found to not use it for the first 2 layers and after that proceed with a moderate cooling flow. What that value is for your printer is left as an experiment. Several test/calibration print designs exist (e.g. for bridging) to test this out. It is said that a little cooling aids in better aesthetic prints (finer details) while less cooling results in stronger layer adhesion and thus stronger prints.
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Tags: cooling, flexible, tpu
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thread-11898 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11898 | creating support for a surface | 2020-01-29T12:54:17.590 | # Question
Title: creating support for a surface
I created an stl file of bathymetry using Matlab and the results can be seen in the two pictures below in Blender. The problem I have is that it is very thin with overhangs. I would like to add some kind of support. For example put a solid block underneath it like in the third picture.
I can't seem to figure out how to do this in Blender and if I try to fix the stl file in Blender it puts a surface through my original surface. I also tried to use Microsoft 3D printing repair but it takes hours to queue. How to I change my stl file so it has enough support to be printed?
# Answer
> 1 votes
You generated a simple surface. You do however need a closed body to print. You might get away with using that surface as a cutter for a block and removing the top half, but there is an easier way using blender:
* Select the whole ara with `A`
* Extrude with `E` then `Z` to constrain direction
* pull until you have an item that is fully thick everywhere
* Scale the currently selected, extruded vertices with `S` then `Z` then `0` to force them all into the same plane
* possibly move the vertices down till they all are below the bottom surface
Now you have a positive thickness, solid body! Run a simple "remove double vertices" on this bottom if you want to reduce file size, but there you go! Export as STL and print!
---
Tags: 3d-design, support-structures, stl, blender
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thread-10686 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10686 | Square sheet in middle layers | 2019-07-25T11:48:40.157 | # Question
Title: Square sheet in middle layers
I'm using a Tronxy Ultrabot (looks very similar to Anycubic Photon) and I'm still on my first prints. Things that happened thus far: many failed prints that stuck to the resin tank, one which I had to carefully scoop off.
What I'm finding odd is that this sheet (for lack of a better term) only seems to happen on one half of the whole thing.
I'm suspecting the FEP film is the culprit here, due to earlier failures.
What else could be causing this error? Other info that might be important, the model is using 6 layer, 60s cure time for base; 0.04mm layer size, 10s layer cure time, 1s delay between layers. The resin is Suen Ching
Edit 2: Here's the manual
# Answer
> 2 votes
This is a guess but it may be a problem with the sliced file. Take a look though the layers of the sliced file to see if your software is adding a layer there. sometimes it looks fine in the 3d model but it can add a layer while slicing.
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Tags: sla, dlp, resin
--- |
thread-11890 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11890 | Can you fix a warped, removeable build surface backing? | 2020-01-28T21:24:02.953 | # Question
Title: Can you fix a warped, removeable build surface backing?
I have an Ender 3 with a removeable build surface. The build surface backing has become warped - the center is at least 0.3 mm higher than the corners. I'm not sure what the material of this plate is - it's the part behind the BuildTak-clone surface that sits on the aluminum heat bed and is clipped to it. This makes it impossible to level the entire bed, and annoyingly tedious to level it enough just to use the center, since the paper method doesn't work at the corners. Can this be fixed, or do I need to source a replacement for it?
# Answer
Yes. I rigged up the following setup with blue tape and clips and a pen for tensioning, used the nozzle (unheated) to hold the center down against the bed, and set the bed to 100 °C for about an hour. Afterwards the curvature was in the opposite direction and easily compensated by clips.
> 1 votes
# Answer
If the backing of the build surface softens under heat, one might strap it into a contraption to heat, or just put it into an oven on a flat surface, baking it with some weight to flatten it fully.
An alternate to fixing the removeable build plate itself, one might considder to buy a (spring)steel plate and glue a new build surface onto it. Such a plate is really sturdy and would be mountable with the same clips. It might be also faster in heating behavior as steel is usually a better conductor than plastics. It might be thinner than the original sttack though.
Now such a steel plate also is magnetic and could be alternatively mounted by adding a set of high temperature resistant magnets set into the heat bed. Such a rework does however have a higher work needed than a pure fix.
> 1 votes
---
Tags: creality-ender-3, bed-leveling, build-plate, repair
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thread-11893 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11893 | Linear advance calibration technique | 2020-01-28T22:00:17.627 | # Question
Title: Linear advance calibration technique
Marlin has a Linear Advance calibration pattern generator, but I find it's hard to use because:
* It only prints the initial layer on the bed, where bed irregularities interfere with accurate reading of it.
* It doesn't do proper retraction and priming, so a mess of strings and underextruded initial segments/non-adhesion mess up the results.
* It's hard to visually evaluate.
* Getting a very wide range of K values involves multiple runs.
* It's hard to clean up.
Is there a better procedure for calibration of K value for linear advance?
# Answer
The same effect as Marlin's test pattern, with alternation between fast and slow segments, can be achieved with a skewed tower and Cura's overhang settings, providing the opportunity to interactively adjust K value during the print, or insert changes at particular layers in the gcode for automated test towers.
I'm using the following OpenSCAD to make a skewed cylinder:
```
multmatrix(
[[1,0,1/8,0],
[0,1,0,0],
[0,0,1,0],
[0,0,0,1]])
cylinder(d=40,h=40);
```
with Cura set to:
* no top/bottom layers or infill
* single walls
* treat walls with 1° overhang as overhangs
* print overhangs at 25% speed
These values can of course be tuned, but the extreme low overhang angle and 8/1 slope is to prevent actual physical overhang-printing considerations from messing up the test.
Vase mode might work even better for this if it supports overhang settings, since it would avoid the layer seam.
> 1 votes
# Answer
You can use Klipper tuning tower and change the K value at each layer using Gcodes. You can find the model here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3957406
I find easier to see the best results this way, also you can test way more settings in a single run, while the Marlin pattern generator lets you test only few values at time.
Remember to print without infill.
> 1 votes
---
Tags: marlin, calibration, print-material
--- |
thread-11913 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11913 | Nozzle goes down after bed leveling BLTouch | 2020-01-30T18:11:34.583 | # Question
Title: Nozzle goes down after bed leveling BLTouch
I have two printers, one is an Anet A8 and the other one is a CreatBot DX plus. On both of them I installed a BLTouch, firstly on the DX and today on the A8. I have never had a problem with the probe, but today I am experiencing some problems. I just set the offset, by doing the procedure, and I found to that the Z0 is -0.8 mm.
Problem is, when I start to print (I use Cura as a Slicer and OctoPrint), I run `G28` and `G29`, everything is fine and the bed gets mapped. When the print starts, something weird occurs: the nozzle goes down for the regions where the bed is higher! So, the layer that is put down, is very thin and the nozzle actually dives into the bed! It is like a `Z0` too low, so the nozzle crashes into the bed, but it is not because in `X100` `Y100` it is perfectly fine! Could you have any idea why this occurs?
### What have I tried?
**Changing bed springs**
Because I was curious, and impatient I changed the springs with the Ender ones I bought online. The problem is still here! I can see the bed closer to the nozzle during bed leveling, compared to the left side. So I screwed the right side, to see any difference. However, the nozzle seems to be always closer on the right side! I checked the X rods, they are leveled.
**Searched online**
I checked almost everywhere online and I found out that it could be a problem related to the bilinear bed leveling. So I changed to linear, and apparently now I can print! I believe it is something related to the mesh the firmware creates after the leveling, which is avoided for the linear. \<I will let you know tomorrow, after I change the frame whether the bilinear will work or not! I can still see that the left-side part of the print is closer to the bed, but now I can print at least. Will let you know! Bye!\>
# Answer
> 0 votes
Check and potentially replace your bed springs as this is a common cause with cheap bed springs. An immediate workaround is redoing your Z-offset but most likely after a while you have to repeat it until you replace the bed springs with stronger ones.
After replacing springs you have to redo Z-offset again.
# Answer
> 0 votes
In my opinion, you should check if you get consistent value every time you `G29`.
If you didn't do anything and the value keeps changing that means your bed is not durable which could be due to bad bed springs.
Now if you do get the same value, again and again, that means your bed is okay.
This means you need to see your Cura. You may have something set in the Start G-code that might be causing it to move further down.
---
Tags: anet-a8, bltouch
--- |
thread-11909 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11909 | 3D printing extruder not warming up | 2020-01-30T02:41:20.750 | # Question
Title: 3D printing extruder not warming up
I faced some problem with my 3D printer device. It seems the bed warms up without any problem, however, the hotend does not warm up!
Could you please help me identify what the problem is?
# Answer
> 2 votes
I really hope the extruder doesn't warm up as this would be a problem with your stepper motor :)
I'm sure you mean the hotend doesn't heat up. This could be a number of things but i would start to double check the pinout in your code vs the pins on your mainboard and measure if it gives 12v/24v (depending on your PSU) output.
There's a lot more info required to properly help you. What board are you using? What OS are you using? Marlin or something else? Share the relevant code of the OS for the hotend config/pinout potentially share pictures of your wiring
# Answer
> 0 votes
First, I want to make sure if your hotend is really not heating up. If you are saying the numbers are not showing (like when it is heating, the number on display or octoprint says 0/180) this could be a Thermistor problem. Check to make sure if your hot end is heating up by putting a paper or filament under it. DO NOT touch with your hand.
Second, If your hotend is truly not heating up, then several things can be happening.
1. Your hotend is wired wrong. Make sure your board is correctly wired.
2. Your hotend is dead. Change to different hotend and see if it works.
3. Your hotend is not getting enough power.
---
Tags: diy-3d-printer, troubleshooting
--- |
thread-11839 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11839 | print pausing during printing | 2020-01-22T18:59:11.707 | # Question
Title: print pausing during printing
I got a new CR-10S 3D printer (I received it at Christmas). It has been printing just fine until yesterday, I was doing a print and it randomly paused, it did not restart on its own, I had to restart the print, then the item finished just fine. I am printing today, a very small item, the printer now stopped 3 times. How can I fix this, or do I need to return it?
# Answer
> 2 votes
The cr10s has a filament run-out sensor. If the microswitch doesn't function properly, or you have issues with the wiring, the print pauses.
# Answer
> 0 votes
It would be great if you can write what the printer says when it stops.
I suggest you try printing other small objects. If that also stops then the printer itself has a problem. But if the printer prints other objects without stopping, then the one you want to print has bad gcode files. You also need to make sure to keep it up-to-date Cura. It would also be great if you can update your printer firmware. But other than that, problems could be heat problem, power problem, and other stuff; it would be great again if you can write the problem that says on the printer as it stops...
# Answer
> 0 votes
Just an off chance: you might somehow have pause instructions being set into the G-code without your being aware.
---
Tags: troubleshooting, creality-cr-10
--- |
thread-11912 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11912 | Simplify3D, connection disapear after slice | 2020-01-30T17:30:55.370 | # Question
Title: Simplify3D, connection disapear after slice
I have a problem with some models like this (trim\_tabs version) : https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3401852
When I import the model on simplify, the tabs are sticky to the model (see pic3.png) but when I slice it, on the preview, tabs are not sticky to the model (see pic1.png).
I tried to do it on Cura and it works ; tabs stay stiky to the model (see pics2.png).
What's wrong ? I attach my Simplify and Cura profile to help.
To get pics and profiles : https://drive.google.com/open?id=1NkMBosI-xalRGjTSua1xDejZ2MKWZcV9
# Answer
I've tried that item as well. In fact, other than the heart, I built a remix which works better but is still difficult to free up after printing. Those tabs you're concerned about will print better at a very low (thin) layer setting.
I am pretty sure that the original design is faulty. All the "leaves" have gears which cause them to rotate when the threaded ring is turned. But the designer made all leaves identical! Each one needs its gear's null-position set differently so that it properly meshes with the thread positions of the outer ring at that leaf's placement. Some day I may remix to adjust those gear positions....
> 2 votes
# Answer
It's not uncommon that different slicers have different effects on different models. The techniques used to slice the models differs. If the model you slice works fine in one and not in the other it's sometimes a setting but sometimes just the slicer. Just use the slicer that works :)
> 0 votes
---
Tags: ultimaker-cura, slicing, simplify3d
--- |
thread-11929 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11929 | CR 10 mini not detected as serial interface (Win 10) | 2020-01-31T12:17:52.683 | # Question
Title: CR 10 mini not detected as serial interface (Win 10)
I want to use my secondary Win 10 PC for OctoPrint (Direct connection to the Printer via USB) but Windows detects the Printer as
> Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)
I'm 99.9 % sure the cable is not the problem cause it works perfectly fine on any other device. I've tried installing multiple driver versions (including the one that came with the printer) but no luck yet. I also tried different cables/USB ports, no luck either.
From Properties-\>Events-\>Information I get this:
```
Device USB\VID_0000&PID_0002\6&23938f4b&0&4 was configured.
Driver Name: usb.inf
Class Guid: {36fc9e60-c465-11cf-8056-444553540000}
Driver Date: 06/21/2006
Driver Version: 10.0.18362.1
Driver Provider: Microsoft
Driver Section: BADDEVICE.Dev.NT
Driver Rank: 0xFF0000
Matching Device Id: USB\DEVICE_DESCRIPTOR_FAILURE
Outranked Drivers: usb.inf:USB\DEVICE_DESCRIPTOR_FAILURE:00FF2000
Device Updated: false
Parent Device: USB\VID_8087&PID_0024\5&2564d19a&0&1
```
# Answer
> 0 votes
I use Linux, so I am not familiar with Win10 stuff. But, it seems that the device driver has asked the USB device for its identifying codes (PID and VID) and got no recognisable response. Could be a bad cable, but you seem to have checked that. Could be a fried USB interface chip, so check whether you have any luck trying to connect to any other computer. If you can find someone with a Linux machine (or you have something you can run Linux on), the logs will tell you a lot more about what has been tried and what failed (or not).
Note that the parent USB device is VID=8087 (being Intel Corp.) and PID=0024 (being the Integrated Rate Matching Hub).
---
Tags: creality-cr-10, octoprint, usb, serial-connection
--- |
thread-11937 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11937 | BLTouch missing build plate on levelling | 2020-02-01T19:19:55.517 | # Question
Title: BLTouch missing build plate on levelling
I have finally sorted the problems out with the frozen screen, but inevitably there's always more to take there place.
I have installed the latest version of the 'Tiny Machines' Firmware but on trying to do a 'Level' on the bed the nozzle/BLTouch sensor moves to the front left corner and tries to take a 'level' reading whilst the BLTouch sensor is 20 mm off the build surface, so the nozzles hits the build surface.
Can anyone point me in the right direction to where the settings are to correct this?
I have an E3D v6 HotEnd and to the left of that is the BLTouch Sensor (60 mm to the left and 6 mm forward).
# Answer
Tiny Machines firmware is based on Marlin firmware. Note that I personally am more comfortable using the original sources than a fork or copy from another derivative source. Using a derivative means that you will have to wait a second development commitment to post new features and bug fixes.
A similar reasoning is applicable using premade hex files opposed to compiling the sources yourself.
There are 2 things (related to the bed X, Y positioning) you need to be aware of when using a Z probe. When using the probe you must ensure that the probe deploys on the bed during probing.
First, define in your firmware that the probe can only deploy in the center of the build plate. In e.g. Marlin firmware this is described in the configuration.h; you need to enable `Z_SAFE_HOMING`:
```
// Use "Z Safe Homing" to avoid homing with a Z probe outside the bed area.
//
#define Z_SAFE_HOMING
```
Second, you need to define a confined bed area for the sensor to deploy, this is described in question: "How to set Z-probe boundary limits in firmware when using automatic bed leveling?".
---
Note that flashing an existing firmware does not guarantee anything, the used firmware from Tiny Machines (or e.g. from TH3D) try to simplify the firmware configuration for you by adding additional specific settings/constants (`#defines`), underneath the waterline all sorts of things are then handled for you. Personally I'd like to be in control and do the modifications myself. If the probe position you use is different from the probe position used in the pre-build firmware you will not be able to use this firmware safely. We can check this: e.g. in the Tiny Machines firmware there are 3 predefined positions for the sensor, in the sources itself none is active (see below), so it is not known which option is used for compiling the hex files they made available:
```
//#define CREALITY_ABL_MOUNT //Using creality ABL mount
//#define E3D_DUALFAN_MOUNT // Using HD Modular mount as above with 2 5015 blowers and sensor on the right
//#define E3D_PROBEMOUNT_LEFT // Default is probe mounted to the right for E3D. Set this to invert.
```
When you define one of these options above, the probe position can be read from:
```
#if (ANY(ABL_BLTOUCH, ABL_EZABL,ABL_NCSW) && ANY(HotendE3D, HotendMosquito))
#if ENABLED(E3D_DUALFAN_MOUNT)
#if ENABLED(E3D_PROBEMOUNT_LEFT)
#define NOZZLE_TO_PROBE_OFFSET { -63, 5, 0 }
#else
#define NOZZLE_TO_PROBE_OFFSET { 63, 5, 0 }
#endif
#else
#define NOZZLE_TO_PROBE_OFFSET { 32, 5, 0 }
#endif
#endif
```
You will see that the `E3D_PROBEMOUNT_LEFT` and `E3D_DUALFAN_MOUNT` need to be active (you see that `E3D_PROBEMOUNT_LEFT` is embedded in the `E3D_DUALFAN_MOUNT` option, this cannot be correct...) to get a probe offset of (-63, +5) which is close to your probe (60 mm to the left and 6 mm forward translates to (-60, +6)). This is exactly why I use the Marlin firmware from the main source code, not a simplified derivative (which in this case is not accurate and unknown what options are used in the pre-build hex files).
Please note that the original Marlin sources also maintain configuration files for many printer types, e.g. the CR-10S is also listed in this overview.
> 1 votes
---
Tags: creality-cr-10, bltouch
--- |
thread-4699 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/4699 | missing small sections of layers after a retraction | 2017-10-04T06:54:47.300 | # Question
Title: missing small sections of layers after a retraction
So I am missing small sections of a layer when it prints, after a retraction for a layer change or a move, the extruder stops moving (no it isn't clicking or anything else. Just not moving). Which is fine for a few millimeters because the pressure inside the Bowden setup keeps pushing enough filament through. However, once that isn't enough it starts to make very thin lines with beads of plastic just barely holding things together. Basically this ends up as a good 2 cm or more at times of highly under extruded lines. This happens in the slowdown after the retraction when it is restarting. it simply doesn't move the extruder at all. The reason I know this is because I can see the extruder not moving, in that brief period. I know it is not the extruder clicking or anything else because I can disengage the extruder spring and push filament through manually during this time with no issues.
I am using Ideamaker currently because I like it.
I have looked at this Holes/ missing layers (after retraction) in 3d printed objects which is somewhat similar in appearance, but not in reason.
**EDIT:** So I figure it is some form of coasting that IdeaMaker has implemented for their Raise printers. I am going to try and reduce the length of the coaster attempt to convert my Bowden to a direct drive with titan extruder. I have the Titan already, but it has been giving me issues with not having enough power to push filament without ripping it to shreds. That's another thing I have to look at at some point when I have the time.
# Answer
Try lowering your retraction settings further. I have had this issue before as well, but you need to experiment with your retraction settings in order to get it right. I would suggest placing 2 one cm blocks side by side and starting with a retraction of 2 mm and working your way up from there until you get the lowest stringiness with the least amount of under extrusion.
> 1 votes
# Answer
I know this might be a bit late, but I have been facing very similar issues with my printer (Anycubic Kossel Linear Plus).
In my case, I have managed to solve this problem by reducing retraction speed and retraction and extrusion max accelerations (if you are using Marlin, go to `Control` -\> `Motion` and scroll down to `A-max extruder` and `A-max rectract`). I went down from 1800 to 1200 for extrusion and from 1400 to 1000 for retraction.
Also, I have played a bit with the stepstick, allowing a bit more of current for the extruder motor (normal XYZ are have a Vref~0.7 and the extruder it's set to 0.9). My understanding of the issue, is that the stepper motor cannot cope with the torque it is asked to deliver at sudden changes (high accelerations) and simply gets blocked until the acceleration is reduced. This can be due as well by too much friction (low printing temperature, clogged nozzle,... but it was not my case). Here there is a lot of information about the drivers.
> 1 votes
---
Tags: pla, fdm
--- |
thread-11191 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11191 | Issue on 2 corners but not the other 2 | 2019-10-18T08:16:14.143 | # Question
Title: Issue on 2 corners but not the other 2
I am printing using an Ender3 Pro with eSUN PLA+ 215/45 and I am getting this issue on two corners, the other two corners look fine.
Any idea on what can be causing this?
The bad corners
The good corners
# Answer
This has nothing to do with speed, temperature, adhesion, and whatever you do, **DO NOT** extrude more material per line (increase flow rate), as this will make the problem that much worse.
This is a fairly simple problem with an even simpler fix: you're over extruding. Reduce your flow rate by 5%, and see if that fixes the issue. It will definitely improve it, but you might need to lower your flow rate a little bit more.
What can often happen when your flow rate is set too high is the extra plastic will concentrate at areas of relatively high acceleration (corners and the start/stop spot for a perimeter of a given layer), but depending on the size of the thing being printed and the degree of overextrusion, it won't concentrate at every spot like this on a perimeter.
Usually, I see this happen where the perimeter moves start and stop each time, which (again, depends on the slicer and settings) tend to be the same spot for certain models, often a corner. I couldn't say for certain the exact mechanism, except that it seems like the plastic, given the right conditions, prefers to lay down evenly while the excess over extruded plastic builds up (probably carried by the nozzle, since it is hot and the plastic will want to stick to it) until too much has built up for the nozzle adhesion to keep it from sticking to the print, or the nozzle begins to decelerate (late at a corner or the end of a print move), causing the extra plastic to 'scrunch' up, like something that shoved in a distance too short for it. Knowing this, if you examine the corners, it should be quite obvious that this is what is happening. The perimeter is being extruded with more plastic than it should be, and the extra has a tendency to collect all in one spot each time.
Sometimes it is one corner, sometimes it is every corner, sometimes it is corners that are maximally distant from each other (since it takes some time for enough excess plastic to build up to over power whatever effects are preventing it from adhering immediately. So in this case, the two good corners were just where not enough excess plastic had built up yet at the nozzle to cause problems). Another possible explanation is that those two corners are simply where the perimeters were started and stopped, but some layers it was one corner, and other layers the other corner. But you can see over extrusion artifacts lower down on the feet (or whatever they are), and your first layer as well.
**Do not increase flow rate.**
**Do not increase infill.**
**Do not lower your speed.**
**Do not increase your temperature.**
None of those will help, and increasing flow rate further could cause the nozzle to catch on the print, potentially damaging your hotend.
Just reduce your flow rate by 5%. You should see an immediate improvement, or even elimination of the issue. If it is still there, then reduce your flow rate a percent or two until it does go away. And remember this number, because you'll probably want to use that flow rate in general for your printer.
> 1 votes
# Answer
Looks like it treated those corners a bit differently in the slice routine. Normally something like this different treatment would be too slight to matter, but (probably due to the slight overhang?) it appears to have caused some layers to not adhere to the bottom ones and get pulled along to a different shape (red line in image). (Be sure to check some general layer adhesion/overhang topics too.)
I'd try increasing the infill there (and using honeycomb style infill) or even using a cad software to hollow the interior to essentially a desired infill before slicing if the current infill is important elsewhere.
Moving slower, Increasing the temperature a bit, and/or extruding more material per line and layer if the layer adhesion is due to the slight overhang (although it looks pretty small).
> -1 votes
---
Tags: creality-ender-3, pla+
--- |
thread-11548 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11548 | Weird temperature graph and thermal runaway protection triggered | 2019-12-12T21:50:28.493 | # Question
Title: Weird temperature graph and thermal runaway protection triggered
I woke up this morning with my 20 hour long print failed around 15 hour in. I checked the octoprint console, and saw a very weird temperature graph. Later found out thermal runaway protection kicked in, and I thanked the gods for having decided to install a custom firmware to enable that protection.
I have an anycubic i3 mega, recently upgraded with an E3D v6. To make that upgrade, I had to splice new connectors on both the thermistor and the cartridge, as the ones they came with weren't going to work.
Ever since upgrading I started experiencing some weird Z-wobble, but I am coming to the conclusion that it may actually be a slight consistent underextrusion. The final layers of the parts I had been printing, are all severely underextruded, going as far as delaminating. I have attached both a picture of the temperature reading, and one of the failed parts. You should also see the underextrusion I was talking about in the first layers, and the major underextrusion in the final layers.
Now, I don't have a lot of experience with this kind of issue but I think the temperature was jumping around too quickly to actually be a good reading. Sadly I was only able to take the final part of the graph before the printer shut down.
I have taken some steps to try to avoid this from happening again
* I have reseated the thermistor and the cartridge
* I have reseated the connectors for the thermistor and the cartridge
* I have re-zip tied and changed the orientation of the wires and hotend to something that seemed better.
Before this all went down, I had ordered a titan extruder to try to mitigate the underextrusion, as I read online (I think it was from E3D official sources) that the internal pressure of the v6 may be higher than the standard hotend and therefore I may have needed a geared extruder.
Do you have any advice for me? And if you could also help me figure out if the first layers actually show underextrusion or Z-wobble, thanks for making it this far.
---
I should mention that this had happened to me already but without triggering the protection, the part did heavily underextrude but it was just a test part while trying to find out what was going on with the "Z-wobble." It doesn't seem to consistently happen every time I start a print, but I figure that long prints would certainly make it more likely to happen.
# Answer
Periodic temperature irregularities, such as cycling between a higher temperature and lower temperature slowly enough that it spends at least a layer or two at a different temperature than other layers has a tendency to be mistaken for z wobble. You can actually intentionally modulate print temperature (at least of PLA) every few layers to great a sort of banding or 'wood grain' effect. Higher temperature, for whatever reason, results in thicker perimeters and cooler temperatures thinner ones. This is when always staying above the normal PLA print temperature though. The temperatures in the graph would certainly cause serious under extrusion during the times it was under temperature.
Understand though, it is likely that temperature has been behind the underextrusion, rather than it being a problem in of itself.
It isn't possible for the temperature to jump around too quickly to get a good reading. The temperature changes relatively slowly, simply due to the thermal mass of the heat block. It takes a little bit for the extruder to come up to temperature, right? When warming up from room temperature, watch how fast the temperature changes. That's the fastest the temperature can change, because that is when the heater cartridge is on at full blast. And even then, it isn't particularly quick.
It also does not appear to be a problem with the thermistor. If there was a poor or failing connection (like a wire that was almost broken), this would cause added resistance to the thermistor reading, and thermistors usually lose resistance as they heat up. So extra resistance throwing off the reading would make the printer believe that the hotend was cooler than it actually was, and you would wind up printing at a too high of a temperature. This would cause a number of problems, but your interlayer adhesion would be ***excellent***. Delimitation would not be one of the issues, nor would underextrusion.
Thermal runaway protection is kind of a misnomer, because it is really 'something about the temperature of something isn't behaving like it should' protection. Basically all it is is a hard coded temperature and time window. If it has turned on the heater, there is a hard coded number of degrees that the thermistor must increase by within a certain time window, usually 30 seconds to a couple of minutes. If it doesn't, something is wrong. Or, if it drops out of the intended temperature by another hard coded number of degrees for a certain amount of time, then again the thermal runaway protection will be triggered.
In cases where the connection to the thermistor is failing, this will prevent the hotend from being heated without any limit (poor thermistor connection means the temperature the printer reads is always much much lower than what it really is, so the printer keeps trying to heat the hotend up hotter).
But thermal runaway protection will also get triggered for much more benign problems, like a failing connection to the heater cartridge. If the thermistor is working fine, but the cartridge is not working correctly and either only heats intermittently, or has a poor connection and can't get enough current through it, this will also result in the temperature not going up as expected, thus triggering the thermal runaway protection.
Based on your symptoms, the thermistor reading looks to be quite accurate. What you describe is exactly what I'd expect would happen for a print where the temperature of the hotend really did vary exactly as shown in your graph.
What can often happen is one of the leads (especially close to the cartridge but really, it could happen anywhere along the length of the two leads) will have broken from repeated wire strain (if you have disassembled your hot end at all or otherwise disturbed the heater wires in anyway, this is more than enough to cause a lot of metal fatigue), but the insulation around the broken wire will hold it together such that wire will still be making contact with itself. But it will be a more resistive connection, and will cycle between an acceptable and poor connection as the print head position moves.
Long story short, you get a temperature graph that looks just like that, because the heater cartridge is periodically either developing a poor connection, or losing its connection entirely, only to regain it again as things move just the right way again.
I would double check all your connections to the cartridge, checking the actual resistance and not just using a continuity tester. If those seem ok, then you will probably just need to buy a replacement cartridge. I like to keep a few of them on hand since they have a tendency for their wires to break just from a little bit of normal manhandling.
---
> 2 votes
---
Tags: troubleshooting, hotend, thermistor, underextrusion, e3d-v6
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thread-11946 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11946 | Is there an engineering/physics foundation for application of airbrush nozzles? | 2020-02-03T11:28:02.260 | # Question
Title: Is there an engineering/physics foundation for application of airbrush nozzles?
Lately I noticed that there is a new type of nozzles (called airbrush nozzles?!?) available; typically found on those online overseas vendor sites. The nozzles are advertised for usage in E3D hardware, but are not found amongst the E3D genuine nozzles.
These nozzles look like this:
What are the basic physics principles or what is the engineering relevance for application of airbrush nozzles? (Gimmick or actual product improvement?)
# Answer
An obvious drawback is the lack of a flat surface around the opening, resulting in a severe limitation of the extrusion width to exactly the nozzle width (plus some percent). This nozzle cannot efficiently push the filament against the nearby perimeters because it cannot constrain its height and it cannot flatten the top of the already extruded one. So layer adhesion may not be a big problem, but perimeter-to-perimeter likely is.
Also, the thinner wall and extended length will reduce the filament temperature, however I don't know whether a simple compensation would do, since cooling will depend on filament speed and travel speed.
Regarding the cooling, you can check also the original designer's goal:
> A big problem with small. hot and slow prints is the heat radiation of the hotend and nozzle itself. To get as little as possible heat into the print, the nozzle needs to be as long and pointy as possible. The longer the nozzle, the bigger the distance between heater block and the print. And the more pointy it is, the less heat radiation can affect the print. A nice side benefit: the cooling fan can blow better onto the print and "around" the nozzle.
> 6 votes
# Answer
They are used for nonplaner 3d printing.
https://all3dp.com/4/nonplanar-3d-printing-gives-the-smoothest-top-layers/
The gist of it is, that You can achieve smoother, curvy top layers that are more true to form, buy using a nozzle like the one you mentioned. Also, they can be used to print multiple objects at the same time, where is faster to print 10 to 20 layers of one object then switch to the next object on the build plate, rather than having to print each layer of each object sequentially. This reduces build time, stringing, voids and the potential knocking off the part by the nozzle (as it moves to print the next object, since that object may have shrunk/expanded since the nozzle last visited it).
> 5 votes
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Tags: nozzle
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thread-11846 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11846 | AnyCubic Chiron shifting in Y axis | 2020-01-24T14:14:47.640 | # Question
Title: AnyCubic Chiron shifting in Y axis
I have an AnyCubic Chiron, and sometimes the bed doesn't move correctly. This causes the prints to shift and ruins the print.
I've spent a lot of time watching it, and noticed that when this happens, the belt stops moving for a short period of time, and then a "thunk" and it continues printing, with the slight from when the bed wasn't moving.
I've captured a video that demonstrates this. You can see it get stuck about 22 seconds into the video.
It's a new machine, and printed fine for the first 5 or so prints, and then this problem started happening. Now almost every print fails.
Things I've checked:
* Belt tension seems fine.
* Belt is not slipping.
* The bed moves smoothly back and forth, no binding, nothing in the way.
* When it's failing, it doesn't seem to be because the head is stuck on the print.
* The screws attaching the pulley to the shaft are tight.
* The same G-code file that used to print successfully now fails, and not in the same spot every time. Doesn't seem to be related to what I'm printing.
I'm not sure where to go from here. Is this a bad stepper?
# Answer
AnyCubic Support suggested I swap two of the motor drivers (X and Y) and after I did that, the problem disappeared. I've had a half dozen good prints in a row now, no problems at all.
The drivers are inside the computer module - had to flip over the printer, take off the cover and pry out the top two modules and put them back in swapped. Not difficult, but probably worth getting advice from AnyCubic before going ahead and doing it yourself unless you're comfortable with this sort of thing.
> 1 votes
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Tags: troubleshooting, anycubic-chiron
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thread-6447 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/6447 | Split/edit part in FreeCAD? | 2018-07-21T23:34:38.153 | # Question
Title: Split/edit part in FreeCAD?
I'm trying to modify some parts on this thing. I'm kind of new to dealing with the modeling aspects of this.
I am attempting to widen the part essentially 3mm. This would involve modifying the chain segments, and the anchor points.
I have already attempted this with 3D Builder and the result was less than stellar. I split the part, cloned off about 3mm of the middle of the X-Chain (including the top & bottom bits). The intent was to break the part, translate one of the halves off 3mm, add back the 3mm into the gap.
When I put all the parts back together and merged them in 3D Builder, the resultant model, while visually on screen appeared to be one piece, the slicing proved otherwise.
Is there a way that I can do the above in FreeCAD? I'm learning this so tutorial links would be more than sufficient. But if there is someone who can explain this process to me in FreeCAD that would also be appreciated.
# Answer
> 7 votes
I found that the answer provided by @Marco was helpful but not the correct answer I was looking for.
Here is the general approach I used (Based on this).
1. Create new document
2. Import STL file
3. Switch to Part workbench
4. Select imported mesh
5. Part -\> Create Shape from Mesh (use default tolerance)
6. Delete imported mesh
7. Select shape
8. Part -\> Refine Shape
9. Delete "unrefined" shape
10. Select refined shape
11. Part -\> Convert to Solid
12. Follow instructions in link provided.
Below is the list of instructions from #12
1. Have shape loaded
2. Switch to a plane that you would like to cut parallel to. e.g. XZ
3. Switch to Draft workbench
4. Draw rectangle around item to cut
5. Upgrade using '^' up arrow (blue) in toobar
6. Adjust the Placement Angle/Position via the "Data" in the property editor lower left side.
7. Switch to the "Arch" workbench
8. Double click the solid to cut in the 3d view
9. Ctrl+click the plane you will cut with
10. Select "cut-plane" and choose which side to capture
You will have to play around with the pattern in 12. The idea is to use the same Face created through 12 to cut the part at the same point twice. To create two halves. Take note of the position of the Face created in 12.
In my case, I was attempting to stretch the part along the Y axis, so I was able to cut the part with an XZ plane (created in 12) and offset with a distance in the Y plane.
After performing this "split" I created a cross-section of the at the point of the cut and extruded the cross section 3mm.
Afterward, I was able to use the Edit -\> Alignment tool to attach all three parts back together.
Once attached, I selected all three and performed a "union" operation to make them all whole again, then executed the Part -\> Refine shape.
End result was that I could make the chain links 3mm wider than the original.
I'm still working on tweaking out the other components that constitute this feature but still this is an interesting exercise.
# Answer
> 8 votes
When you want to change an STL file in FreeCAD then this is how I do it. I open the STL file in FreeCAD and select the option in the `Part`/`Component` sub-menu: `Make a form from mesh` (hope that I translated it well. I use the Dutch version). It can take quite some time but when it is finished you have an editable object. Just remove the STL object and do what you want.
When you finished then you can perform all actions like if you created it from scratch with FreeCAD.
I am a beginner in 3D design so there might be 'smarter' solutions. When I want 1 special part then I create as many cubes as needed and perform a MINUS action on the solid and a cube. After a while I end up with only the part I need.
# Answer
> 2 votes
I found Dave G's answer to be helpful, however I could only use additive features (e.g. Pad) on the created object, and could not make subtractive features *into* the object (e.g. Pocket).
Here's what worked for me using FreeCAD 0.19 (Instructions from this site):
1. Create new document
2. Import STL (File --\> Import)
3. Part workbench --\> Create shape from mesh
4. Part workbench --\> Shape builder...
5. Create shape, select "Solid from shell". Make sure "Refine shape" box is checked. Press "Create" button. (You may need to switch to the "Model" tab in the Combo View and select your shape object.)
6. Change to the PartDesign workbench. Select the newly-created "Solid" in the Combo/Tree View, then select PartDesign --\> "Create body"
7. A new Body will be created with your Solid as a BaseFeature that can work with Pad *and* Pocket features.
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Tags: 3d-models, stl, freecad
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thread-11951 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11951 | Poor surface quality when sweep interrupted | 2020-02-05T03:33:12.253 | # Question
Title: Poor surface quality when sweep interrupted
I just started 3D printing a few weeks ago, so I'm still trying to get a handle on the tricks. I printed something with a flat surface and a few raised pieces (shown below). I'm pretty happy with the surface quality overall; however, in the locations where the print head came back for it's second pass the quality is worse. Is there any way to fix this? I'm assuming it's a slicer issue...
Using Ultimaker Cura 4.4 & Ender 3 Pro
# Answer
It looks to me like you have underextrusion in these regions probably due to loss (oozing) of material during travel moves prior to printing them. Aside from small gaps in the surface sweep at the part you're talking about, I see a long slightly-diagonal light-gray line between the middle of the right and the middle of the bottom of your image, which appears to be material that oozed during combing.
Make sure you have retraction enabled, have sufficient retraction (at least 6 mm for bowden; somewhat less for direct-drive) and either disable combining or set max combing distance very small (like 1.5x nozzle width) and see if this helps.
> 0 votes
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Tags: print-quality, ultimaker-cura, creality-ender-3
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thread-11957 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11957 | How to connect power and fan to RAMPS 1.6? | 2020-02-05T17:10:59.017 | # Question
Title: How to connect power and fan to RAMPS 1.6?
My RAMPS 1.4 board has failed. I bought a RAMPS 1.6 to replace it but :
1. The old board had 4 power wires that went to 5 A and 11 A respectively. The RAMPS 1.6 has only 1 pair of power inputs. Which pair from the PSU do I connect to the board? Or do I combine them and connect them to their polarity respectively?
2. I have a cooling fan (12 V) for part cooling. In RAMPS 1.4, I had it connected to the pins between the power inputs and the X stepper driver on the board. The RAMPS 1.6 doesn't have such a pair of pins. Is it possible to connect it somewhere else on the 1.6 board?
# Answer
You only need to connect one pair (one red, one black) of sufficient wire gauge to the single power connector's plus (red) and minus (black). There is no need to bundle multiple pairs from the PSU. Some pinout graphs are not clear in this respect! I've always connected the heated bed through an external MOSFET to keep large currents away from the board, but according to the design, it is capable of handling the current.
E.g. this is the **correct pinout**:
And this an **incorrect pinout** graph (look at the lower left where the power needs to be connected to the board, this hints to bundling the 11 A and 5 A wiring):
The part cooling fan should preferably not be connected to a (non-schedulable) 12 V header. Instead you should use the `D9` output connector to schedule the airflow of the fan for part cooling.
Note there is no spare 12 V header available on the board. You could use the spare PSU pair to power the coldend (radiator) fan.
> 2 votes
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Tags: ramps-1.6
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thread-11956 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11956 | Converting an undirected graph to optimal G-code paths | 2020-02-05T16:37:30.527 | # Question
Title: 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.
# Answer
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.
> 8 votes
# Answer
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.
> 0 votes
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Tags: g-code, file-formats, algorithm
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thread-11964 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11964 | How to find correct part cooling fans? | 2020-02-06T14:44:38.407 | # Question
Title: How to find correct part cooling fans?
I have a 2-pin 40 mm axial fan as part cooling fan. I don't post a link because I would like a general answer.
It runs on 12 V and when I start it at less than 40% it doesn't start. Even if I start at 100% and then I reduce the speed, at about 30% it stops.
When I read reviews online, I see people use fan speeds down to 10%, which no fan I have ever used can achieve.
How can I pick and connect a correct fan for part cooling, so that I can freely set the speed down to 10%?
# Answer
If the fan you are using is not defective and if you test another fan that behaves in a similar manner, it's possible your firmware or hardware are the root cause of the problem.
The controller directs the driver to vary the power provided to the fan. It's a method called pulse wave modulation, aka PWM. Full voltage is applied to the fan one hundred percent of the time, for full speed operation.
For fifty percent performance, half of the time full voltage is sent, while half of the time no voltage is sent. The time period is rather short, but I didn't determine that aspect of this answer.
One can find a clear explanation of PWM online but one word is worth one one-thousandth of a picture:
If your fans are not performing properly, either the program embedded into the controller is buggy, or the driver module for that unit is bugging out.
> 2 votes
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Tags: cooling, replacement-parts, print-fan
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thread-11932 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11932 | Inconsistent vertical walls on a Robo 3D R1+ | 2020-02-01T01:27:43.480 | # Question
Title: Inconsistent vertical walls on a Robo 3D R1+
I'm trying to troubleshoot an issue with my 3D printer (Robo 3D R1+). It cannot print vertical walls well any more. Here is a picture of what it looks like:
The walls are very inconsistent. To correct this issue, I've tried:
* Changing the nozzle
* Tightening the hotend (to remove wobble)
* Dehydrating the filament
* Using brand new (good quality) filament
* Printing faster & slower
* Printing hotter & cooler
* Trying different slicers (Ultimaker Cura & Simplify3D)
* Putting on a belt tightener
The 5 motor drivers are all new as well, but this was already happening before I changed them.
# Answer
Mmm... you've tried lots of obvious things. I don't have a printer the same as yours, so my help is generic.
How about a thorough check of extruder and filament path, since it may be just inconsistent filament feed? I've seen something similar happen when the filament reel was not rolling freely. Less likely, but also check that the frame is still solid and nothing has come loose.
> 1 votes
# Answer
Despite the picture being a bit small and blurry, it is quite obvious that something is off. A better picture might help closing in on the problem with more precision.
From what I can see it could be wrong extrusion settings. I'm making a wild guess based on personal experience that the printer is over extruding way too much. I had similar looking parts a few years back after a firmware update. I simply forgot to update the steps/mm for the extruder.
Any recent firmware or hardware updates? From your explanation I understand you changed the drivers. Maybe an issue based on microstepping? (The corner looks like the nozzle was realy in the material while printing.)
> 0 votes
# Answer
It looks to me like you might be over-extruding. Have you calibrated the extruder?
How-To: MatterHackers Extruder Calibration Video
More Info: all3Dp Over-Extrusion Page
> 0 votes
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Tags: print-quality, troubleshooting, robo-r1+
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thread-11954 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11954 | Meshlab creates weird bubbles when using poisson surface reconstruction | 2020-02-05T14:37:21.753 | # Question
Title: Meshlab creates weird bubbles when using poisson surface reconstruction
my task is to create a watertight surface out of a point-cloud (It's the model of a dam). For this I'm using MeshLab.
First thing I did was importing the .ply-file into Meshlab and normalize it.
This looked like this:
So far so good. For Remeshing and creating the surface I wanted to use Poisson Surface Reconstruction.
I tried different parameters but this is my best result:
As you can see it creates some weird bubbles in the lower right part of the model. And I can't figure out why this happens when the rest of my model gets modeled in the way I want it to be.
Thanks for your help!
# Answer
**Solution:** After trying a lot of different filters with different tools, I came up with simplifying the point-cloud. After that, using the poisson surface reconstruction filter worked just fine without creating any weird bubbles.
> 1 votes
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Tags: 3d-models, surface, meshmixer
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thread-11976 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11976 | All-metal hot-end Creality Ender 3 Pro jamming issues | 2020-02-08T23:16:27.137 | # Question
Title: All-metal hot-end Creality Ender 3 Pro jamming issues
I have a Creality Ender 3 Pro printer, and just installed the Micro-Swiss All-Metal Hotend for CR-10 S Pro. After installing following the video instructions by Micro Swiss and Teaching Tech, I set it to print a good old Benchy.
Was working fine, until about half way through it blocked up.
The stuck filament appears to be trapped, even when heated to 230 °C, which makes me think it may have melted into a gap somewhere and cooled creating a block. I am using Filamentive PLA.
My questions are a) how should I remove the filament fully without damaging the thermistor and heating element and b) what do I need to do to avoid jamming?
Any suggestions?
# Answer
> 5 votes
The so-called all-metal hotends are sold as upgrades to the lined hotend versions. Actually, they are **not**. These are different type of hotends that can be used printing at higher temperatures. However, PLA printing at high temperatures is not advised. You rather choose to print at slightly lower temperatures.
> What do I need to do to avoid jamming?
This requires that you change the way you operate the hotend/extrusion process. Why? Because the hotend is not lined, the heat from the heating block can more easily creep up the hotend into the coldend. This requires that you have a good performing cooling fan cooling the radiator fins of the coldend. Furthermore, because of the higher temperature (as the liner is not shielding the heat to the filament), the melted and the softened length of the filament in the hotend assembly is substantially longer. This means that excessive retraction lengths can cause soft material to be be pulled back too far. Knowing that the filament diameter is smaller than the tubes or the diameter of the heatbreak, this soft and molten filament can get stuck in the increased diameter section of the heatbreak.
But if it gets jammed,
> How should I remove the filament fully without damaging the thermistor and heating element?
You need to ensure that enough heat gets into the hot and coldend to soften all the material. Currently PLA is stuck in the assembly. To soften all the material I would diasble the cooling fan of the coldend and heat up the heater to a temperature of 210-220 °C and keep this warming up for several minutes to allow heat to creep up. You can now try to push the filament through. If this fails wait longer or increase the temperature by 5 °C increments at a time. Too high temperature can cause filament to cook and carbonize. making it effectively harder too clean. If this fails, disassemble the hotend while hot (be careful!) and clean the individual part mechanically or use heat.
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Tags: creality-ender-3, troubleshooting, hotend
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thread-11982 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11982 | Sloped bridges in Cura | 2020-02-09T17:03:28.673 | # Question
Title: Sloped bridges in Cura
I'm trying to print this model of a boat:
It has 2 keels joined by 5 bridges, but the top of each keel is curved, so while the middle part is mostly flat, the bridge on the back has a bit of a slope (as you can see with the "stair" effect).
The problem I have is that I can't get Cura to properly bridge that specific part: It creates a bridge for the first layer, but on the next layer (where there's a part that needs bridging), it just starts drawing a surface:
In this picture you can see layer 86 it has drawn a bridge between both keels, but on layer 87 it tries to print a surface larger than posible. That results in this happening:
and this causes big gaps in the top surface.
I've been trying to play a bit with the settings in Cura, but I can't find anything that would fix this... Is there anything that can help me? (maybe even the model has a design problem)
# Answer
Cura has some options in this area that might or might not help. I've had mixed results. You should make sure Enable Bridge Settings is on, and try adjusting Bridge Skin Support Threshold. By default bridge settings are only used if 50% or more *of the area* is unsupported. Area is an utterly ridiculous/meaningless metric for whether bridging is needed, so you probably need to set this to just a really high value like 90% or 95%. You may also want to check that Bridge Has Multiple Layers is on.
With that said, for your model I would just use supports with a support interface (roof) below the bridges. You could reduce the material cost of them with Support Tree mode. But there are of course places where you can't use supports in similar models (bridge is over another part of the model and there's no access to remove the support material), so having working bridge settings is still desirable.
> 2 votes
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Tags: ultimaker-cura, bridging
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thread-11980 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11980 | What level of detail can be expected from a consumer-grade SLS printer? | 2020-02-09T10:38:52.470 | # Question
Title: What level of detail can be expected from a consumer-grade SLS printer?
I'd like to prefix this question with the fact that I know virtually nothing about 3D printers, aside from the general principles of how they work.
I've recently seen that SLS printers have become more affordable, to the point where in a few years they might be a compelling investment. I'm mainly interested in 3D printing miniatures for painting, and as such this one:
For scale, the miniature is about 150 mm long. I'm mainly worried about smaller details, such as the faces of the Gunner or Driver. Will a consumer-grade SLS printer be able to print to such level of detail?
# Answer
## Consumer Market?
While there are no "consumer level" SLS printers on the market currently, the question in itself is very interesting on a scientific level. The pricing edges for the consumer market for 3D printers can be somewhat estimated from the consumer electronics segment. This puts a maximum price tag of about 2000-2500 \\$ onto it, comparable to a high-end PC.
Currently<sup>Feb. 2020</sup>, most SLS machines come with 'inquire for price' or with prices of 5000 \\$ or larger price tags, which indicates they are intended for professional or industrial use. Most SLS printers in consumer hands seem to be phased out older systems from second hand. So while there are for sure tries to get SLS more affordable, it is not there yet.
## Resolution of SLS
SLS printers have resolutions based on two factors:
* grain size
* laser diameter
Generally speaking, the finer the grain and more focussed the laser, the better the resolution. Current industrial machines - even cheap ones - work with particle sizes between 20 and 80 µm, with the bulk being around 40 to 60 µm.
The laser focus point ranges generally in the "tens of µm", and is listed with values between 50 and 300 µm for most ceramic powders in that paper.
## Conclusion
As a rule of thumb, 50 µm seems to be the average nylon spot size, which is very much comparable with resin printers using SLA/mSLA/DLP technology. Details on miniatures are usually in the area of 100-200 µm, so are well achieveable with either.
### Comparison SLS to SLA/mSLA/DLP
Resin technology has the benefit of being easier accessible with some entry level printes between 200 and 500 \\$. Nylon SLS prints do demand a sealant but prints without any supports, Resin does at times need support.
Printing times for DLP/mSLA is not dependant on the ammount of space used, making packing the build surface with as many models as possible benefitial, while SLS, like FDM, works with a moving spot, so the ammount of models increases print time.
Both Technologies work with hazardous material - resin and very fine powders respecively - and demand proper PPE to handle them.
> 4 votes
# Answer
It's difficult to tell from your photo the level of detail required. A scale reference in the form of a metric ruler would be valuable. If, for example, the metallic eye on the gunner is 2 mm diameter, that would be 40 layers of 50 micron grains, allowing for substantial detail.
Consumer level SLS printers, such as the Sinterit Kit, use fifty micron nylon powder and is subject to some shrinking. This implies one can expect slightly smaller than fifty micron detail to appear.
One of our makerspace members purchased an SLS model from Shapeways. The surface is layer-free and one can see the individual granules under magnification. If you required a level of certainty of this detail, consider that you can create a model containing various levels of detail, then commission Shapeways to create it.
It's certain that they use a production level system, but one can inquire of Shapeways of the size of the powder that is used.
> 3 votes
---
Tags: print-quality, sls
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thread-11007 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11007 | BLTouch calibrated, nozzle still dives into the bed | 2019-09-13T12:35:31.593 | # Question
Title: BLTouch calibrated, nozzle still dives into the bed
I am having a few problems with my BLTouch. I have calibrated it several times using different methods and get the nozzle being 1.3 mm lower than the BLTouch pin so a Z offset of -1.3 mm. This works fine for auto homing, bed levelling and using code `G1 Z0` to lower to where needed. However when using Cura to print the nozzle homes exactly as it should then drives the nozzle in to the bed as it starts or tries to start to print and not just a little bit either. Anyone have any ideas?
Start G-code is:
```
G28 ;Home
G29 ;Probe
G1 Z15.0 F6000 ;Move Platform down 15 mm
G92 E0
G1 F200 E3
G92 E0
```
# Answer
> 2 votes
This answer is intended to be a generic answer for Z-offset determination. The question is not clear on how the Z-offset has been determined. It appears as if this distance is measured, while in reality this cannot be measured.
A touch (or a inductive or capacitive) probe uses a trigger point to determine the distance of the probe trigger point to the bed print surface. Correct installation is trivial, as is the determination of the nozzle to trigger point definition. For a touch sensor, the probing element is either stowed, fully deployed, or pushed in during leveling up to the point that the trigger point is reached and the probe stowes the rest of the pin, see figure:
The `M851 Zxx.xx` offset is determined by lowering the nozzle beyond the trigger point until the nozzle hits a paper sheet. If the stowed position to nozzle distance is used, the distance is too large and the nozzle will dive into the bed on printing.
# Answer
> 1 votes
You should be able to offset this with a `G54 Z-1.3` \- **if your setup accepts these gcodes**.
If you do this, always add a `G53` to the very start and just before the `M30` to clear all offsets after job finish (or in the event of a cancel, at the start of the next job).
I'm not experienced with a wide variety of printers or firmware, but our repetier-based printers (and we use the same controls for our refurbished Fadal CNC machines) use G53-G59:
As explained in this tutorial from cnccookbook.com:
> Basic work offsets are very simple to specify: simply enter one of G54, G55, G56, G57, G58, or G59. \[...\] When you execute the work offset g-code, the XYZ offset will be added to all of your coordinates from that point forward.
As detailed on Wikipedia:
> **G54-59**: Have largely replaced position register (G50 and G92). Each tuple of axis offsets relates program zero directly to machine zero. Standard is 6 tuples (G54 to G59), with optional extensibility to 48 more via G54.1 P1 to P48.
And on the gcode dictionary provided by Hyrel 3D:
> **G54 through G59 - Set Offsets** G54, G55, G56, G57, G58, and G59 will each store and invoke offsets in the X, Y, and/or Z axes for all subsequent moves. Any values not invoked will remain with their previous value (0 unless earlier specified otherwise).
>
> * X is the offset in mm in the X axis.
> * Y is the offset in mm in the Y axis.
> * Z is the offset in mm in the Z axis.
>
> Here is an example:
>
> `G54 X100 Y-50`
>
> This command is decoded and executed by the printer as follows:
>
> G54 (set offsets)
> \- X100 (+100mm to all X coordinates)
> \- Y-50 (-50mm to all Y coordinates)
>
> Note that this differs from an M6, where the offsets are only applied to a SINGLE tool position.
*Disclaimer: I work for Hyrel 3D.*
---
Tags: bed-leveling, bltouch
--- |
thread-182 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/182 | Why do some models appear broken in slicing software? | 2016-01-13T14:12:59.173 | # Question
Title: Why do some models appear broken in slicing software?
In my slicing software (Slic3r) some of the vertices/walls of my model seem to have disappeared, so that the inside of the model - which should be solid - is visible, while the surface appears as a thin shell.
Why does this happen? Is it still safe to export the model for printing?
# Answer
My understanding is that this occurs when the object is not a true solid. Since an STL holds the triangulation of each face and spline, the slicing engine is not "smart" enough to determine if there is a gap in the model and therefore if it should be filled in and how. When the slicer encounters a gap, it will either treat the endpoint as the end of the feature or navigate to the next point on the layer, resulting in either gaps in the print or extra inclusions that don't make sense.
I've noticed that my models will fail as a true solid when I use complex solid tools such as Union, Subtract, and Trim. A lot of times there will be a rounding error in how these tools interact with the solid model that will result in a small (sometimes not very small) gap in the outer shell of the solid model. When exported to an STL, the gap is retained.
@kareem mentioned it in their answer, but Microsoft does provide online tool(s) for 3D Printing including a solid repair tool. Use Microsoft 3D Tools to upload your STL and try to automatically detect and fix issues with your file(s).
> 15 votes
# Answer
Some STLs aren't exported properly from the CAD software.
Use a repair tool or service like https://modelrepair.azurewebsites.net .
The repaired STL shouldn't have those issues anymore.
> 3 votes
# Answer
In the cad software, it could be that your normals are reversed or inconsistent. Recently I used Cinema4D to export some models, and the faces were acting super weird in the slicer.
What I mean by 'reversed normals' is that your polygon faces could be oriented inward. Some slicing softwares don't care about that, and treat both sides of each face equally. In those that observe reverse normals, faces may be completely invisible, or appear with a lack of shading or strange shading.
There should be tools in your cad software to align the normals, or flip them on each face at least. Alternatively, some tools like MeshLab and Meshixer I believe have tools to fix this. Also of course make sure your model is watertight and that you don't have too many errors like duplicate vertices, faces, etc.
> 1 votes
# Answer
Had similar problems with blender \<-\> Slic3r, modified a stl in blender then slic3r started acting up, showing strange faces where it shouldn't. The solution was (as suggested by @tbm0115) to solidify the exported object. Just add a Solidify modifier to the object(no need to apply), and when exporting to stl make sure to check the "Apply modifiers".
> 0 votes
---
Tags: slic3r, print-preparation, slicing, g-code
--- |
thread-11991 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11991 | Why are stepper motors used in 3D printers? | 2020-02-11T16:32:33.147 | # Question
Title: 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?
# Answer
> 2 votes
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.
---
Tags: stepper, motor
--- |
thread-11971 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11971 | Does an enclosure need a roof to print ABS? | 2020-02-07T21:08:28.057 | # Question
Title: Does an enclosure need a roof to print ABS?
I have an Ender 5 printer, which is a frame-based printer with no enclosure. However, I want to print ABS. Some experiments with a massive cardboard box have shown me I need an enclosure.
Because the printer has a box frame, fitting some perspex sheets will be easy. The bit that won't be easy is the top - the filament tube projects fairly high.
Will I need to cover the top for ABS though? I read somewhere that drafts are a killer for ABS, which perspex around the sides should prevent. I guess most of the heat from the heat bed will be lost out of the top, so will this be a problem for layer adhesion?
# Answer
Sides without a top will help.
Sides with a top will help more.
Do you need either? That depends. How warm, how dry, how drafty is your printing room?
> 2 votes
# Answer
From experience I can tell you that boxing it up completely is not always a good thing to do. I have covered the front and top of an Ultimaker 3E printer to find out after some printing time that the cold ends weren't getting enough cooling, so I ended up clogging the nozzle assembly, preventing finishing the print. If you need to box it up to create a higher enclosure temperature, you better be sure the electronics, steppers and nozzles (that are in the enclosure) are cooled properly or do not get too hot, or alternatively you need to regulate the enclosure temperature.
> 2 votes
# Answer
If ambient temp gets under 70°F, layer adhesion becomes a real problem. I have found that enclosing the space and adding heat makes the printing more reliable.
This answer is based on a few years of solely printing ABS. I've got my printer on a tool cart and the spool holder is above on a post. The first time winter ruined a print, I threw a pallet covering plastic bag over all of it and put a small, low powered, forced air heater more or less pointing at the printing area. It wasn't air tight, but I made effort to close it up pretty well.
The current location of the 3D printer is on the bottom tier of the cart with a temperature controlled heater pointing at it. I opened up a large amazon box and set it against the cart, forming walls on 3 sides. There is poor sealing but the print quality stayed good.
Oh and obviously it is very dangerous and have burned down my workplace and home several times, so don't do it.
> 1 votes
---
Tags: enclosure, creality-ender-5
--- |
thread-11975 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11975 | My Z-axis is limited to 15 mm at height | 2020-02-08T11:22:04.067 | # Question
Title: My Z-axis is limited to 15 mm at height
I have a Prusa i3 and I have a problem concerning my Z axis. It stops at 15 mm even the object to print is more than this.
Can you, please, help me to solve this problem.
# Answer
> 1 votes
@Trish is right, it would help greatly to have more details, such as the model of printer, photos of the printer at the upper height limit, and a video with sound of moving the head against the 15 mm stop.
Without those details you might answer your question for yourself (and for SE) by trying these tests and considering the results. If you have already done these things, it would help us help you if you included your results, and other experimental results, in the question.
The problem could be in the mechanism or in the slicing program.
Using the UI, can you raise the head above 15 mm? On the Prusa3D branded i3m3 the UI will allow you to move the Z axis hard against the top stops. If the UI can raise it, the problem is more likely to be in the slicing program.
If the UI can not raise the head above 15 mm, move has high as you can and listen carefully. Does it simply fail to move with no noise? Is there a clicking or banging sound as you try to move higher?
If there is a clicking or banging sound, something hard is interfering.
If it simply stops moving, does the machine reset or just stop with no glitching on the UI? It is reset, look for a cable problem, such as a short circuit or wires pulling on the controller PCB. If it is just a silent refusal to move, it could be the Z-axis plug is loose and being tugged by the cable bundle to the head.
If the problem seems to be in the slicing software, check that the Z-height is set properly there. If good slicing software thinks you have only a 15 mm height, it won't try to print higher than that.
---
Tags: prusa-i3, troubleshooting, z-axis
--- |
thread-11989 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11989 | What is the best infill pattern for shearing strength? | 2020-02-11T04:57:31.660 | # Question
Title: What is the best infill pattern for shearing strength?
For practicality sake, I need to print a design such that there will be weight hanging parellel to the layer lines. Is there an infill pattern that would be better than others at handling this?
I realize that all kinds of infill will still have the same layer boundaries. Just wondering if choosing any given infill might provide better results.
# Answer
Yes, some infill patterns are better than others for preventing separation of layers. Basically (modulo some assumptions about uniformity of distribution of force), the shearing strength of the part in the Z direction at a particular layer is going to be proportional to the *surface area* of bonding between successive layers. So infill patterns that stack identical infill extrusions on top of each other at each layer should be expected to be much stronger than patterns where successive layers make only partial contact. In other words, "2D infill patterns" - grid, lines, triangles, tri-hexagon - should be a lot stronger than "3D infill patterns" - cubic, octet, gyroid, ... This matches my experience printing bolts oriented along the Z-axis - ones printed with gyroid snap easily unless other measures are taken to strengthen them, while ones printed with triangles are fairly strong (though nowhere near as strong as ones printed oriented in the XY plane.
If you have other reason to prefer a "3D infill pattern", its weakness can be mitigated mostly by increasing the infill line width, so that the lines of successive layers which don't entirely overlap still touch on more surface area. (Just increasing the infill line width also works to make "2D infill patterns" even stronger.) However, be aware that with high print speed typically used for infill, increasing infill line width can easily exceed the capability of your hotend, resulting in underextrusion, extruder skipping, and stringing all over the place.
> 2 votes
# Answer
The shearing strength characteristics, or better known as interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) characteristics, describe the shear strength between the layers. This is also known as flexural or bending strength characteristics. These are best obtained by performing a 3- or 4-point bending test; these tests are standardized by the American Society for Testing and Materials, ASTM International (e.g. ASTM D 7264).
The bending test will cause internal compression (concave side during testing) and internal tension stresses (convex side during testing). The figure below shows the general setup of a 3-point bending test and below that magnification of the stresses inside the test specimen.
The tests concern the interlaminar shearing of layers, so, the much more material a layer consists of (e.g. infill percentage) the higher the resistance against shearing off. Also, how the infill is internally supported by its form helps, if it buckles easily on the compression side, the buckling occurs before shear off.
Not only the type and percentage of infill is important for the flexural strength, but also the layer height, nozzle diameter print temperature as found in this research paper. Another paper, "Effect of infill on tensile and flexural strength of 3D printed PLA parts" directly answers your question, quoting the figure from the paper:
You should choose an infill that has the most support. Since year and day, in creating composite sandwich panels (often used in aerospace applications where high stiffness and low weight are essential) honeycomb core structures are used as these honeycomb structures allow minimization of the amount of weight and used material. From the figure above you see that rectangular infill is best suited for FFF products. Honeycomb is the second best, but significantly lower. Note that orientation is key! E.g. this test conducted by Martin shows that Gyroid and honeycomb infill performs better than rectilinear:
To answer your question, not only infill pattern, but also infill density, nozzle diameter, layer height and orientation play an important role in the shearing strength. This is why ASTM has defined a standard so that we can compare results amongst different materials or different lay- or set-ups. These tests are typically performed dynamically (alternating load), statically with increasing load (increasing load with time) or statically fixed load (constant load to determine the creep properties, these test typically take a long time when the load is low).
> 1 votes
# Answer
0scar's answer is the "solution" or true answer to the question.
Watching youtube the last few days, cubic needs to be considered. I was surprised at what I saw. More to consider is adding design elements:
* The concept of flutes along the perimeter.
* Adding through holes increases strength incredibly.
> 0 votes
---
Tags: fdm, infill, print-strength
--- |
thread-12014 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12014 | Switch nozzle contact probe auto leveling with Marlin 2.0 | 2020-02-15T04:04:00.173 | # Question
Title: Switch nozzle contact probe auto leveling with Marlin 2.0
I have a Robo R1+ which uses the nozzle contacting the glass print bed to level the printer. When the print head strikes the bed the Z-min endstops open signaling that the bed is touched.
I recently upgraded from an Arduino to an SKR 1.3 running Marlin 2.0 and have been trying to make the printer auto level. However all the examples I can find involve a probe. I'm not even sure what this kind of autoleveling is called.
Is there a way to configure Marlin 2.0 to perform this kind of autoleveling. And if so what lines should I comment and un-comment?
# Answer
> 1 votes
Basically, you are also using a probe, the nozzle is the probe. So this is very similar to an auto levelling setup using a capacitive or inductive sensor, the difference is that your `M851` nozzle to probe distance is zero, and may receive a positive value to slightly raise it to get a sheet of paper in between the nozzle and printing surface.
*Please note that below only changes for levelling are addressed, not other specifics in Marlin 2.x for the Robo R1+!*
First you define the nozzle offset in Configuration.h, which is exactly at the nozzle, so X and Y (and Z) are zero.
```
#define NOZZLE_TO_PROBE_OFFSET { 0, 0, 0 }
```
You can also set:
```
define NOZZLE_AS_PROBE
```
Furthermore, you need to define a levelling method in the same configuration file:
```
//#define AUTO_BED_LEVELING_3POINT
//#define AUTO_BED_LEVELING_LINEAR
#define AUTO_BED_LEVELING_BILINEAR
//#define AUTO_BED_LEVELING_UBL
//#define MESH_BED_LEVELING
```
For safety, we usually home Z at the center of the printing surface:
```
#define Z_SAFE_HOMING
```
Also be sure the following statement is active:
```
#define Z_MIN_PROBE_USES_Z_MIN_ENDSTOP_PIN
```
Next, you need to define the boundaries of the "probe", which is exactly where the nozzle may come (apart from a small safety offset at all edges called `MIN_PROBE_EDGE`); how you do that is described in question "How to set Z-probe boundary limits in firmware when using automatic bed leveling?", in Marlin 2.x this needs to be set in Configuration\_adv.h:
```
#if PROBE_SELECTED && !IS_KINEMATIC
#define MIN_PROBE_EDGE_LEFT MIN_PROBE_EDGE
#define MIN_PROBE_EDGE_RIGHT MIN_PROBE_EDGE
#define MIN_PROBE_EDGE_FRONT MIN_PROBE_EDGE
#define MIN_PROBE_EDGE_BACK MIN_PROBE_EDGE
#endif
```
---
Tags: marlin, bed-leveling, skr-v1.3, robo-r1+
--- |
thread-11988 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11988 | Upgrading printer controller | 2020-02-10T21:03:09.093 | # Question
Title: Upgrading printer controller
I purchased a (very) low tier printer a while back, and now I am looking to start upgrading. First on my list is to upgrade the controller<sup>1)</sup>.
My initial plan was to upgrade to an Arduino Mega with a RAMPS 1.4 running Marlin, but as I started to try to find a RAMPS 1.4 board I started questioning my plan. Almost every source I could find for the board was either out of stock or very sketchy. Then I discovered that RAMPS 1.6 exists, but I can find even fewer places with it in stock.
Is the Mega + RAMPS combo still what people are using? I made a printer 4 years ago and that was what I used, but due to the scarcity of RAMPS boards for sale I am now unsure if it is still being used by the community.
If RAMPS still is the recommendation, what brands are reputable? (I'm trying to figure out if using RAMPS 1.4 with a Mega is an outdated solution and if there are better solutions these days.)
---
*<sup>1)</sup> Upgrading is necessary for:<br>Temperature/humidity sensors for monitoring/feedback; enclosure heaters (plan on having enclosed build space, work in a relative cold space); larger display with plenty of tactile switches; light sensor so the LEDs illuminating the enclosure can be modulated to provide more constant light levels for a webcam; possibly some joy sticks to manually maneuver the extruder and bed; etc. Basically I want something that can feasibly handle any unnecessary sensor/input I may eventually want to add. I'm familiar with Arduino and know it has those capabilities, but have no clue about other controllers.*
# Answer
If you own a Raspberry Pi , you may first want to try Klipper firmware. This firmware does the heavy lifting on the RPi itself and sends commands to the printer board via USB.
My Ender 3 pro works much better with this firmware.
> 1 votes
# Answer
RAMPS boards aren't really "state-of-the-art" anymore. The newest version, the Ramps 1.6 Plus, at least supports drivers with UART / SPI communication though, which is required for most "silent" TMC drivers. BigTreeTech's GitHub still seems to miss schematics for it though.
Marlin supports both modern 32-bit boards (SKR 1.3, SKR Pro, MKS SGEN L, Fysetc S6 etc.) as well as the older Arduino / AVR based boards (RAMPS, Fysetc F6, MKS GEN L etc.). Out of those, I'd currently recommend the Fysetc S6 with TMC2209 or TMC5160 drivers.
You may also want to take a look at the Klipper firmware (as mentioned in Puneit Thukral's answer). It supports lots of such small features (as mentioned in your comment), and you could also use multiple boards working together as one system, all controlled with a single Raspberry Pi. It's based on Python modules, so it should be relatively easy to add features to.
> 1 votes
# Answer
As per https://reprap.org/wiki/RAMPS\_1.6,
> The RAMPS 1.6 is the second RAMPS iteration released by BIQU/BIGTREETECH. It replaces the original green power connector with a pair of screw terminals, adds a larger heatsink over the MOSFETS, and has a larger bed MOSFET. It maintains the surface-mounted fuses and flush MOSFETS of the RAMPS 1.5.
>
> Also, the positions of the D1 and D2 diodes have been swapped from the positions in RAMPS 1.4, the D1 diode is now the diode closest to fuse F2. The same is true for RAMPS 1.5, also manufactured by BIQU/BIGTREETECH.
In other words, RAMPS 1.6 is pretty much the same as the 1.4 board. It just has some minor changes.
As for availability, I have found numerous listings for RAMPS 1.4 and RAMPS 1.6 on Amazon (US) and Ebay (US) for under $10.
> 0 votes
---
Tags: printer-building, ramps
--- |
thread-11967 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11967 | Why could my opaque PETG be printing "transparent" in certain places? | 2020-02-06T19:45:33.203 | # Question
Title: Why could my opaque PETG be printing "transparent" in certain places?
I'm printing with opaque grey PETG on glass. The intention is to produce a house number plate, so a shiny, production quality finish on the bottom. For this reason, extruding at 245 °C with a bed at 95 °C, to give a perfect glass finish with no filament lines showing. Smaller test versions have been very promising; this seems to be the maximum temperatures before warping or a severe elephant's foot arises.
However when printing the full-scale version, areas of the first layer of filament seem to go completely "transparent"; there seems to be filament there - you can feel the filament "comb" when you run your finger over it, and it feels a similar thickness to its neighbours.
On the attached photo you might think that those gaps are simply not printed yet, however you can see on the top right corner that it's actually started on the next layer.
What could be causing this? Is it a blockage which is interrupting flow, and maybe insufficient filament is being "stretched out"? Or maybe it could be something to do with temperature? Could it be insufficient layer height (I'm using 0.2 mm, but 0.24 mm on first layer, increasing further reveals filament lines, but tested higher and lower on smaller scale with success).
I've tested a range of extrude and temperatures and chosen the temps with the best results; but when I "go large" this always seems to happen. I've also calibrated the bed height using the 3 point adjustment screws on this printer (Qidi X-Plus). (The transparent areas are actually occuring in the center where the smaller test prints where working perfectly, so don't know how it could be to do with this).
# Answer
Are you using Z-hop? Is there any play in the Z-axis direction? It appears that parts of the first layer are printed much thinner than other parts.
What can happen if there is a little play in the Z-axis direction that the nozzle doesn't return to the same level after a Z-hop movement (e.g. backlash in the leadscrew nuts).
The "transparent" printed part appears thinner, this must indicate that the Z positioning is not up to par.
> 3 votes
# Answer
PETG becomes transparent when the layers completely fuse. Translucency is from incomplete adhesion or voids left. Try small increases to flow or print width to get slightly better fill - or slow the speed (but speed might not affect how much material is output).
Also, I see the top surface has a pattern on it. My FDM printer always does a similar thing and it will take tuning to get it smooth. If you see the pattern repeating consistently, it is possible the extruder stepper (or its driver) is starting to fail. I've had that too.
> 2 votes
# Answer
there are a lot of variable at play here, when are there not in the 3D printing world. Given that I don’t know the answer to your question although very interested to learn how you solve it eventually I will mention the things you can do ,maybe you have to eliminate or identify what parameter is the fault cause.
Things I would eliminate - 1 bed temperature discrepancies - move the origin cycle of the print or rotate it to see that the problems are physical rather than software. If the faults occur at the same place on a reoriented print then I would say you can eliminate nozzle and bed temps as well as material inconsistency.
May also be worth trying the print from a different complier I often find a piece prints differently and there fore better from this or that printer app.
2 could cooling be the issue? What if you hold a heat gun on the extruded parts to slow down cooling I have done this on tricky parts to get better binding, could be similar issue.
3 print a raft or test piece and see what happens to transparency with heat - if the material properties change as a result of temperature you could investigate why the temp is changing at the points in the print that are relevant -
Not sure that these ideas are that original but the fewer variable you need to consider the faster you will work out what to do about the rouge one
Regards
> 1 votes
---
Tags: print-quality, petg, glass-bed, qidi-tech-x-plus
--- |
thread-11996 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11996 | Options for getting a really flat build surface | 2020-02-12T00:19:24.037 | # Question
Title: Options for getting a really flat build surface
I've been fighting on and off with issues with my build plate seemingly not being perfectly flat. I've ordered a machined straight-edge and some new feeler gauges to diagnose the problem (and test any potential replacement) better, but I'd like to get an idea of what options are available for obtaining a flatter build surface. I'm not really interested in approaches like BLTouch since I want accurate flat bottoms on my prints, not just consistent adhesion.
My printer is an Ender 3 and I believe my problem is a mix of wear to the Buildtak clone surface and warping in its backing plate. Mine is the newer model with removable buildplate and clips, and the backing is reportedly a "glass fiber" (FR-4) material that's hard to find genuine replacements for.
Glass seems like an obvious option - I might even put a buildtak clone on one side of it and use that most of the time - but I'm somewhat concerned about weight and whether having glass moved by the Y axis is going to limit acceleration. I've had (seemingly unrelated) problems on and off with layer shifts, which seem to be mostly Marlin's fault not mechanical, but I'm scared to introduce another factor that might encourage them.
Are there other non-glass options I should consider that would provide a rigid, flat backing? I'm very happy with the buildtak clones and their adhesion properties, so my leaning it to look for something that makes a good backing for them rather than a material that's intended to be built directly upon.
**Measurement results:** Using a machined straightedge and feeler gauges, the surface seems to be at least 0.10 mm but less than 0.15 mm lower within a couple inches of the bed center. This is plausibly just wear on the buildtak-clone surface, so I think I'll try to see if I can get by with just replacing that for now. But I'm still interested in the general topic of the question.
# Answer
## It all depends on what you mean by "flat".
Is the problem that the build plate isn't flat (perfectly planar), or is the problem that the distance to the build plate varies based on X and Y coordinates? They are very different problems.
"Bed Leveling" is the process of allowing the firmware to know the Z position of the build plate for every (X,Y) location. Some printers support measuring a mesh of points and interpolating the mesh. This compensates quite well both for warped build plate, and for bad positioning mechanisms which add some position dependent Z-axis offset.
If you really need a flat, planar, build surface, perhaps because you are printing mirrors or precision parts, glass should work well. It is still, and will not brook any inelastic bending. It will shatter before it takes on a curve. If possible, you could consider a Pyrex® bed, since it has a lower coefficient of thermal expansion and won't warp as much with a temperature gradient through the glass.
I tried to find a spec on how flat your glass might be. I'm assuming it is "float glass", which is made by floating molten glass on a pool of molten tin. I didn't find a spec, but I found this answer to a similar question:
> I doubt you will find such a spec- float glass isn't manufactured for that purpose and it isn't really in the manufacturer's interests to maintain such a spec. that said, the stuff is surprisingly flat, just as a side effect of how it's made. you don't say what your needs are other than *near optical tolerances* . might just be good enough for you. consider though that granite surface plates of certified flatness can be had fairly inexpensively these days.
So, it is clearly flat. I can't tell you how flat. And the flatness depends on not applying stress to the glass that causes it to bed. Thicker is stiffer (probably at the third power of the thickness ratio).
> 4 votes
# Answer
You are almost certainly attempting to optimize a component rather than optimize the **system.** The quality of the final produced prints depends on the combination of error sources. In brief, this means there's no point in getting a bed whose flatness is, say less than 50% of the variation in Z-axis positioning, in extrusion flow rate, and so on.
It is true that it's nice to have a material which won't warp over time so recalibration isn't necessary. Variation with temperature is unlikely to matter unless you anticipate making prints with a large difference in the temperature setpoint (maybe for radically different materials), and even then you should be able to calibrate for a couple different setpoints.
> 1 votes
# Answer
Even with glass, some warping may still remain.
One option is to use this procedure:
Basically you first measure the flatness, then you add material below the bed to compensate.
> 1 votes
# Answer
For evaluating the extent of a surface flatness problem and success of a solution, a real machined straightedge and decent feeler gauges are a huge help.
Using them to measure where the problem was, I found that a not-perfectly-flat but non-rigid build surface like the one I have can be corrected with shims, at least as long as the underlying bed is not warped. I measured the error in the center of the build surface as very close to 0.1 mm, and placed a 24x24 mm square of 0.1 mm thickness blue tape on the aluminum bed under the removable build plate, then clipped it back on. Measuring again with the straightedge showed no significant inconsistencies.
As a bonus, the feeler gauges are wonderful for height adjustment. After confirming flatness, I needed to re-level the build, and got it perfect on the first try with no trial-and-error feedback loop by homing the nozzle, then moving it to Z=0.1, and then at each adjustment point, adjusting until:
1. the 0.1 mm feeler gauge could slip under the nozzle with some pressure, but without compressing the spring, and
2. the 0.15 mm feeler gauge could not slip under the nozzle without visibly lowering the bed and compressing the spring
I'm still interested in other options that might be lower-maintenance.
> 0 votes
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Tags: creality-ender-3, bed-leveling, build-plate
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thread-12025 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12025 | How to smooth PLA Prints without using sandpaper, solvents or paint | 2020-02-17T20:35:35.440 | # Question
Title: How to smooth PLA Prints without using sandpaper, solvents or paint
I need to smooth some prints with silk PLA filament.
The silk PLA has a nice translucent effect but unfortunately if sanded results in an horrible matte finish regardless the sandpaper grade (I have tried with many grades).
Since I don't have specific solvents or special equipment, and I don't want to paint it as well, I'm wondering if there are alternative ways to smooth the surface.
(Also a my friend speculated about some heat treatment with hair dryer... never heard of something similar and I'm not sure if this could make sense, and in case how should I try).
# Answer
Unfortunately, there is no way to smooth PLA without sandpaper, solvent or paint - but you can fix the finish after sanding.
If you heat the plastic after sanding to just the point the outer shell starts melting the horrible matte finish goes away and the original color of the plastic returns.
You have to heat the plastic and then remove the heat source just as it's start melting (right before the original color returns, so when you see it working it's too late) because otherwise the object will deform.
I use a heat gun set to 180C and work quickly in short bursts, an hair dryer is probably nowhere as hot, so it will take longer to heat the surface.
You have to do this after sanding, applying enough heat to smooth the layer lines will just cause the object to melt and deform.
Try on a few failed prints first, you will need to get the feel for when to stop heating and you will still probably ruin prints every once in a while.
Another option is to coat the object in an epoxy that will hide the layer lines the best known brand for this is XTC-3D.
If you do decide to paint, you get extra thick primer that's supposed to fill the gaps between the layer lines so you don't need to sand as much (sorry, can't remember the brand name)
> 4 votes
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Tags: pla, post-processing
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thread-12031 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12031 | Is there any way to correct uneven bed temperature? | 2020-02-18T18:35:27.023 | # Question
Title: Is there any way to correct uneven bed temperature?
I'm using an Ender 3 Pro with stock heated bed & glass build surface on it (without any base of stock magnetic plate). My heated bed looks completely flat too despite of many uneven Ender 3 heated beds around.
But when bed temperature set to 70 °C and I check the temperature of bed with infrared laser thermometer gun, the front of the bed is around 72 °C and the back is around 64-68 °C. So the temperature is different at all sides and this looks like leading to warps too.
Is there any way to make it more even for all bed surface?
# Answer
> 5 votes
I had this exact issue with my Qidi X-Plus. After checking with a thermometer there was a spread of 9°C - enough to burn in (always the same) certain areas when printing at higher extremes of temperatures, or causing poor adhesion in other certain areas at lower temps. Very similar scenario too, I noticed this primarily when switching over to glass from the stock magnetic plate.
My solution was quite straightforward - I set the bed temperature on the printer's control panel and preheated it before sending it a print. As long as I left it there for a solid 10 minutes after getting up to temperature it balanced within around 1°C. I observed far more consistent results from print to print.
Now I don't know your exact machine myself, so I don't know if this is possible on the control panel on an Ender 3. However if it's not, as an alternative possibly consider looking up how to stick a pause in the initial gcode in Cura to see if you can achieve the same effect.
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Tags: creality-ender-3, heated-bed, thermistor, glass-bed
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thread-11591 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11591 | Ender 3 cracking magnetic bed | 2019-12-20T00:44:49.583 | # Question
Title: Ender 3 cracking magnetic bed
My first magnetic bed mat for my Ender 3 Pro is cracking underneath. On the top side there is a bubble in the middle which prevents any viable print. The layers are probably separating.
I am new to printing but have read many articles on hiccups to expect, fixes etc. I do understand these magnetic mats can break down. They're pretty cheap on Amazon (something like \\$12 for a 2-pack). Not a huge deal. I've printed only about 1100g worth of filament over 30 prints. Despite their cheap price I don't feel I got a proper amount of mileage out of the mat.
I keep my bed at 60 °C and 215 °C for the filament. I'm pretty sure 60 °C is below the maximum temperature for this kind of bed. I am struggling to find articles on this issue.
What can I do to prolong the life of these mats? I have removed the mat (with its print) while the bed was still hot to remove items just as much as removing cold items. Am I supposed to wait until it's cold? The cracks I only assume are from flexing the mat. I'm not trying to fold it here. I do pull on the item as I'm curving the mat to break it free. I can't explain the bubble.
The bed deteriorated after my first large print which took 27 hours. Prior, longest print I had was about 5 hours, most prints 1-1.5 hours. Is this a factor?
# Answer
> 3 votes
My personal technique for removing prints (particularly larger prints) is not to flex the mat at all. Instead, I wait until it's cool and then work the spatula under an edge and move it under the model to basically peel it from the mat.
Smaller prints usually pop right off if I start with this technique from one end.
Surface area on the bed (for a single part) is most important to how much work is involved. For example, a raft or brim will greatly increase the surface area. The spatula is long enough that usually I can reach everywhere under the model so eventually it will pop free. I might have to work around the model a bit before it reaches this point.
# Answer
> 2 votes
I had quite a few Ender 3's with magnetic beds and I did start to notice the cracks on the underside with use. To stop the cracks from appearing so soon you should avoid excessive bending of the mat. Any time where you are bending the mat near 90°s or so is when you will start to cause those stress forces that cause the crackling you see.
However, I would like to point out that the bed is still quite usable and should not need to be replaced until it no longer adheres to the build plate firmly. I would also point out that most Ender 3's that I've dealt with needed to be upgraded to glass beds for superior flatness and consistent bed adhesion. I recommend upgrading if you do decide to spend money on ned beds.
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Tags: creality-ender-3, build-plate
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thread-10214 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10214 | Material for printing orthotics | 2019-06-09T00:20:51.997 | # Question
Title: Material for printing orthotics
I noticed foot arches are already digitized, but custom arch supports are usually expensive. PLA and ABS aren't the best material for printing arch supports, especially if they replace the shoe's innersole.
Is there a more flexible material for 3D printing that could be used for making custom orthotics?
# Answer
The standard choice for this would be TPU, thermoplastic polyurethane.
> TPU is a common filament material for use in fused filament fabrication 3D printing due to the fact that it is an elastic thermoplastic which makes it ideal for printing objects that need to be flexible and elastic.
>
> ...
>
> Properties of commercially available TPU include:
>
> * high abrasion resistance
> * low-temperature performance
> * high shear strength
> * high elasticity
> * transparency
> * oil and grease resistance
In addition to TPU, there are plasticizer-modified PLA filaments with similar flexibility, but not necessarily with the other nice properties like abrasion resistance. I've printed with one from 3D Solutech and had good results, after figuring out what to do about stringing.
Also, it's possible to achieve a decent degree of flexibility merely with printed geometry, rather than special materials. It's possible that PETG with an appropriate geometry could work for your application.
> 3 votes
# Answer
An alternative is to use PLA, ABS or PETG to print a positive product to make a mold, or print a negative mold and create a more flexible foot arch support from something more flexible than TPU, e.g. silicone rubber.
> 1 votes
# Answer
Armadillo by Ninjatek is perfect with 100 % infill and 6 layers 6 walls and 6 the other thing? As a foot pharmacist I can say the cost is associated with the education as pedorthic modalities are different to each person. Ideally it would be easy to 3D print arch supports, but it would also be easy to "hurt" the person wearing them. buy a book on pedorthics before u wear them!
> 0 votes
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Tags: 3d-design, print-material, material
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thread-12035 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12035 | Software to record hot end temperature? | 2020-02-19T20:27:11.243 | # Question
Title: Software to record hot end temperature?
Is there a software package that when I have my printer connected directly to my PC via USB could record and export hot end temperature data overtime?
Ideally this data would be recorded in a way that I could export it and manipulate it in the likes of Excel.
E.g. I see Pronterface has a temperature graph but it doesn't seem possible to export this. I know Simplify3D has a temperature plot in the machine control panel, anyone know if you can export from this?
# Answer
I don't know if using OctoPrint is an option. If so, there is a plugin that claims to do exactly this. And you could probably find a few more if you looked for them. Note that I have no first hand experience with this plugin, but I can vouch for OctoPrint being convenient and by default it shows a temperature graph.
It might even be relatively easy to write your own plugin to accomplish this. This will mostly depend on your comfort with coding in Python/JavaScript.
As a sidenote: if your printer is connected directly to your computer via USB, chances are pretty high it is a simple serial connection. Having multiple programs use this connection at once is not possible as far as I know.
This implies that you will not be able to have your current software send it G-code lines while having another one recording the temperature values sent back from the printer.
> 3 votes
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Tags: software
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thread-7597 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/7597 | Filament gets coiled inside the extruder | 2018-12-07T13:02:39.453 | # Question
Title: Filament gets coiled inside the extruder
A while ago bought a Bowden extruder to replace the old built-in one (It was malfunctioning or something that I cannot remember well). This one in particular has been acquired:
The thing is, that almost a year has passed since the printer did something rather than getting jammed and not work properly. The extruder itself seems to work properly, when I heats up and push the filament by hand seems to pass properly.
When assembled and start to print, the printer at first seems to work, but after a minute or so, it stops extruding (gets jammed or something).
The last time that I removed the filament and I've found out that it was coiled inside (Very strange):
My first thought was that the filament was thinner than the extruder's specs, but the seller says that is for 1.75mm, and all my filaments have that diameter.
What I am missing? Something maybe that is not properly mounted?
The product is not official, bought on Amazon (I didn't know about e3d v6).
Printing temperature should be 180ºC but I've seen now that Cura sets the first layers to print at 200ºC. Material: PLA
My printer is a BQ Prusa i3 Hephestos.
# Answer
> 1 votes
As long as there is no more information about the printer itself (I searched a bit and around half of buyers were severely unhappy with the result), I'd advise you to make a full check of all of the important parts that make up a 3D printer making ok prints:
* Are motors moving as they should?
* Is the extruder actually extrude filament when told so (do the check "2cm" = 2cm extruded)?
* Is the Z calibration ok (\<- VERY important, will make tons of weird problems if extruder is too close to the bed, believe me, don't skip out on this one. A blue tape or not a blue tape makes a world of difference).
Also of course check your filament (no variations too big of the diameter).
For the temperature, IMO go for the higher for starters (maybe no, see "heat creep" below), you won't be able to bridge / less good quality etc. but you'll get pieces done.
NOW, the image you posted shows a twisted (I don't know how to handle that) or a grinded filament.
When I say 'grinded' I mean that the filament got stuck somewhere (see below) and the (cogged) wheel pushing the filament is so strong that is grinds off plastic from it, forming waves on the filament. Eating away parts so it looks like your photo.
If that's the case, then you should check out "heat creep", it's basically the heat in the lowest part of the extruder (the thing you call a bowden extruder) will heat up the filament and make it melt Above the heat block, making a blob of half melt plastic stopping the forward movement of the filament. This is usually mitigated by two things, that lacks more or less in cheap chinese knock offs: * The fan and it's cooling efficiency (the fan must blow when the heat block is hot, even if there is no printing going on. Even if the heat block is no longer heating. I shut the fan off at around 60°C). * The Heat break: if it's heavy it will conduct too much heat, if it's thin it might work but will break easily.
3D Printing is not obvious or easy, but spend some time and it'll start to work well!
Cheers
# Answer
> 0 votes
If you converted a printer from direct to Bowden feed, it is possible that the cold side of the hot end is too hot, and you are suffering from heat creap. Simple, less expensive printers often use the extruder stepper and the extruder stepper mount as part of the cooling system.
If there is any sort of a heat-sink on the cold side of the hot-end, try to rig a fan to blow through the heat sink. If there isn't a heat sink, find one and add it. Heat sinks made for round transistor cases can sometime be fitted to the cold side. A little heat sink great, a couple of transistor heat sinks, and a fan may completely solve your problem.
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Tags: filament, extrusion, hotend, bowden
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thread-12045 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12045 | 3d printer recommendations that can print fidgets? | 2020-02-21T00:47:55.110 | # Question
Title: 3d printer recommendations that can print fidgets?
I am looking for a cheap 3d printer that can print this: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1307100 and is hopefully under US $200, such as the Creality Ender 3, Monoprice Select Mini Pro and V2, the Wanhao Duplicator i3 mini, the Anet A8, or the tronxy p802ma.
# Answer
Pretty much any recent commercially available 3D printer should be able to print that model. Only really old stuff, or poorly built DIY machines, might have trouble. It may take some tuning of slicing settings to avoid problems with the rings bonding together during printing, but a more expensive printer is unlikely to make the tuning any easier.
The printers you listed in the question are probably all decent choices. I have an Ender 3 and like it but it's a little over \\$200. There are some printers well under \\$200, like the Monoprice Mini Delta, but I don't have any experience with them and product recommendations are off-topic here anyway. Also keep in mind that you'll have to spend a little bit on consumables, at least one spool of filament that's typically around \\$20 (slightly cheaper for no-name brands, much higher for fancy color/shine/etc. or special materials, but simple PLA should be fine for what you want).
> 0 votes
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Tags: creality-ender-3, anet-a8, wanhao, monoprice-select-mini, tronxy-p802
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thread-12048 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12048 | Meshmixer size of model | 2020-02-21T08:17:02.820 | # Question
Title: Meshmixer size of model
I've created a model in Sketchup and exported the file as a .stl Since the model is 80cm x 24 cm i need to cut it in meshmixer. But when i open it in meshmixer it appears tiny. Why doesn't it open as the real size?
# Answer
You mention your dimensions in cm. Any chance that the STL export is also in cm where Meshmixer might expect mm?
*Assuming your Sketchup template was set to cm:*
To validate this guess you could measure/eyeball a known dimension and if that comes out to be 10 times too small you could scale your model by 10 times. Alternatively you could adjust the template in Sketchup.
Additional information on STL files: By it's very nature, the STL file format is just a bunch of unitless numbers in a well defined structure. This structure represents a set of points (vertices), lines (edges) and and triangular surfaces (facet). A few simple rules apply to exactly how all this should be defined. (See here)
But the key thing here is that an STL file is **not aware of units**, the program used to generate the STL file (e.g. CAD software) needs to be told what units to use, and accordingly the reading program (e.g. slicer) needs to use the same settings. Generally in mechanics applications we default to mm, at least in metric land. All this is explained a bit more verbose here.
> 3 votes
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Tags: meshmixer
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thread-12040 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12040 | Cura projecting floating print onto build plate during slicing | 2020-02-20T06:40:11.417 | # Question
Title: 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?
# Answer
> 2 votes
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:] )
```
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Tags: ultimaker-cura, multi-material
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thread-12050 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12050 | Extusion rate limiting and firmware retract | 2020-02-22T02:14:08.137 | # Question
Title: Extusion rate limiting and firmware retract
One frustration I have with Cura is that it has no way to set print speed in terms of a volumetric extrusion rate, when extrusion rate is the main physical limiting factor for how fast you can print. It's a pain having to have different speed profiles for different layer heights (and doesn't work with adaptive layers!), different line widths, different materials, etc. I'd like to just set a feedrate limit on the extruder axis, which would achieve this and make it easy to switch already-sliced models between different materials. However, having a low extruder feedrate limit would make retraction and recovery from retraction incredibly slow, to the point of being unusable - since I've found quality so much better without combing, I now have *a lot* of retractions.
I'm thinking about building Marlin with support for firmware retraction in hopes that the firmware-retract command can ignore the configured extruder feedrate limit to still do rapid retract/restore, but I don't want to waste a lot of time on it if that doesn't work. Can anyone with experience with this feature confirm whether it ignores the normal extruder feedrate limit? Or, if you have experience with a similar configuration, can you share results on how well it worked?
# Answer
Sadly this does not work at present. Setting an `M203 E3` resulted in 6 mm retractions via `G10` taking 2 seconds each vs the fraction of a second they're supposed to take.
Since it seems desirable for this to work, I've filed a Marlin issue to see if it's intentional or something that can be fixed.
In principle, `G10` firmware retractions still make it easier to script a soluton (replacing each `G10` or `G11` by a sequence of `M203`, `G10`/`G11`, `M203` to set E-axis speed then reset it around the operation) but this is less friendly to direct usage of same sliced files with different extrusion speed limits.
> 1 votes
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Tags: marlin, speed, retraction
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thread-12051 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12051 | Issue with 3D printer making super thin layers | 2020-02-22T02:34:52.363 | # Question
Title: Issue with 3D printer making super thin layers
Recently I've been having trouble printing properly on my Creality Ender-3 printer. I ran a pretty long print (approx. 15 hours) that turned out really well. I then started printing an attachment for the original print and saw that it was printing layers that were extremely thin.
I first scraped off the excess filament left on the extruder nozzle. Then, I heated up the bed and rubbed off the layer with alcohol. I tried printing it again but it still didn't print right.
Thin layer
Weird thing
From the images above, you can tell it's noticeably hard to see the layer, which shows just how thin it is.
I sliced the model in Ultimaker Cura. I set the layer height to 0.15 mm. I've printed models before with this height but the layer wasn't transparent.
What should I do to fix this issue?
# Answer
> 5 votes
You need to level you bed. Thin prints happen when the extruder is too low and is printing too close to the bed.
Download the following test codes from this address:
https://www.chepclub.com/bed-level.html
1) The first code is the most important you will want to run moves the extruder to five points on your board - Front Left and Right, Back Left and Right, and Center. Using a folded piece of paper - I use a business card - drag the paper under extruder of each of the four corners. You want to make sure you get a bit of drag when pulling out the paper/card. If you feel have enough of a gap that you can run put the paper/card under the extruder and that you feel a bit of tug when pulling it out. It runs the middle last - if you are having issue with the drag, adjust all four corners slowly until it is right.
2) The second runs the extruder in a square pattern on your board. You simply want to run your finger of the print - if it sticks to the bed, you are good - if it doesn't, adjust your corners up and keep testing.
# Answer
> 4 votes
If your first layer is more thin than you expect it to be, the bed is too close to the nozzle. Note that you need to check the level an bed-to-nozzle distance once every few prints. Also, the first layer shouldn't be a too thin layer, the Cura default for a 0.4 mm nozzle is about 0.28 mm. Personally, I always use 0.2 mm.
The best solution is to re-slice the model with a thicker first layer. Next, re-level the bed to the proper distance of an A4/US Letter printing paper. You should feel some drag when you pull it between nozzle and bed.
Other solutions that also work include the redefinition of the Z=0 level, but this is not advised. Please fix the hardware.
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Tags: ultimaker-cura, creality-ender-3
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thread-12057 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12057 | How to unload filament as cleanly as possible using the extruder motor? | 2020-02-23T13:12:25.933 | # Question
Title: How to unload filament as cleanly as possible using the extruder motor?
I usually unload filament using the extruder motor, with the nozzle around 30 °C below the filament's print temperature. Despite this, often a significant amount of filament is left in the nozzle, and the filament comes out with a long stringy tip.
* Does this suggest that the procedure might be leaving deposits of melted filament outside of the melt zone (potentially leading to blockages)? and if so,
* What sequence of temperature/movement controls would be most likely to remove or mitigate the risk of deposits?
I am familiar with the “cold pull” technique, but I am looking for the best strategy for a solution using the printer's controls.
I usually extrude a quantity of cleaning filament when changing filaments, though I'm not sure whether this would also clean any deposits outside the melt zone.
I have seen a procedure called “cooling moves” in the Prusa Slicer code. I understand this is intended to produce a cleaner filament tip upon unloading in a multi-material scenario, and I wonder whether a similar strategy should be employed for regular unloading, although I am unable to tell from the code what exactly is happening.
I am using a genuine E3D V6 hotend and a Bondtech BMG Extruder.
# Answer
There's a bit of a compromise here:
Filament cohesion in the nozzle isn't strong enough to remove all residue at higher temperature
Extruder motors can't get sufficient grip / don't have sufficient torque for filament extraction at lower temperatures
That means you'll always have to purge some of the old filament when changing to a new filament. To easily remove the old filament, you'd want to fill the nozzle, so that there's no large plug of filament that might get stuck in the Bowden tube (as suggested in a comment by Rosalie W), then pull the old filament out; and then purge the nozzle after inserting the new filament. How much you'll need to purge depends a bit on the filament and its color, but I'd guess 50 mm should be sufficient in most cases.
As G-code, this might look something like that:
```
;Unloading
G91 ;relative movement
G1 E5 F300 ;fill nozzle
G1 E-300 F3000 ;unload filament, 300 = Bowden length + hotend length
G90 ;absolute movement
;Loading
G91 ;relative movement
G1 E295 F3000 ;load filament
G1 E55 F200 ; purge filament
G90 ;absolute movement
```
> 3 votes
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Tags: extruder, fdm, retraction, change-filament
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thread-12062 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12062 | Can this part be 3D printed? | 2020-02-24T11:57:48.897 | # Question
Title: Can this part be 3D printed?
I have an old air conditioner and most of the vent flaps/louvres are missing. I've modelled it in Solidworks, but can it be printed? Are the tips too small for 3D printers? It's about 14 cm long end-to-end.
Here's the drawing sheet (dimensions are in mm):
# Answer
Dimension-wise it's probably ok.
If you want to print it as a single piece it would be quite challenging because of the cylinders, overhangs and bridges present in multiple directions: overhangs and bridges result in lower quality and precision, while cylinders can be printed nicely only when their axis is vertical.
However I see that you could easily split the component into multiple parts, each one of which could be printed optimally.
You can glue the different parts together and you are done, see What glues for PLA? and What glues to use for PETG?
> 2 votes
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Tags: print-quality, 3d-models
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thread-12064 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12064 | How much plastic pellets does it take to make 1 kg of filament? (making my own 3D filaments) | 2020-02-24T20:17:37.117 | # Question
Title: How much plastic pellets does it take to make 1 kg of filament? (making my own 3D filaments)
Maybe this is a stupid question, but is 1 kg of plastic pellets equivalent to 1 kg of filament? I want to extrude my own filament using recycled plastic pellets. I want to know the cost of my material in general, so I was wondering if 1 kg of plastic pellets result in 1 kg of filament (regular spool)? How much plastic pellets are needed get 1 kg of filament?
# Answer
> 3 votes
If you ignore losses due to production machinery, your one kilogram of pellets will provide you with nearly one kilogram of filament. There may be some small loss of material stuck in the auger and drips from the nozzle and any place you discover plastic that is not on the spool.
How many plastic pellets does it take to make one kilogram of filament? One kilogram plus a bit more. If you are asking about the numerical quantity of pellets, how much does one pellet weigh? Are they large pellets or small pellets?
---
Tags: filament
--- |
thread-12065 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12065 | In OctoPrint when receiving temperature data (M105) what is T0? | 2020-02-24T20:46:31.447 | # Question
Title: In OctoPrint when receiving temperature data (M105) what is T0?
I've setup OctoPrint with the goal to log temperature data of my hot end. So, I've enable serial logging and examined the serial log file.
**The Output for an example line is as follows:**
> Send: M105
>
> Recv: ok T:20.7 /50.0 B:20.0 /0.0 T0:20.7 /0.0 @:0 B@:0
**So, from what I understand:**
T = Thermistor temp of hot end °C
*In the example, current temp is 20.7 and target temp is 50.0*
B = temp of bed °C
*In the example, current temp is 20.0 and target temp is 0.0*
But what is T0?
Or the @ and B@?
# Answer
`T` is the selected tool, `T0` is the first hotend tool. If you only have one hotend, `T` and `T0` are exactly the same.
Do note that G-codes are described on the G-code wiki page, for `M105` you can find:
> The parameters mean the following:
> \- T, T0, ..., Tn - extruder temperature. In a single extruder setup, only T will be reported. Some firmware variants will report no T0 in multi extruder setups - in that case T is to be considered the temperature of the first tool. Otherwise, T should be considered the temperature of the currently selected tool (which will be repeated in one of the Tn entries)
> \- B - bed temperature
> \- C - chamber temperature
> \- @ - Hotend power (Prusa only) \- B@ - Bed power (Prusa only)
> \- P - PINDAv2 actual (Prusa MK2.5/s MK3/s only)
> \- A - Ambient actual (Prusa MK3/s only)
> 1 votes
---
Tags: octoprint
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thread-12072 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12072 | Print of fine hole seems to twist | 2020-02-25T14:26:25.047 | # Question
Title: Print of fine hole seems to twist
My model is a keycap for mechanical keyboards. There is the cap itself, and a stem with a hole in the form of a cross, which fits the switches themselves.
I print in the same position as it is intended to be used, top up. This means that the stem and the cap are not connected until quite a few print layers.
To prevent the stem from falling off during the print (it has a small footprint), I created connectors in the first layers, to hold it in place.
The issue: it seems like all my prints have a rotation of the stem, compared to the cap. It probably rather is the cross-shaped hole, or its walls, that are not completely symmetrical. I do not think it is only the edges against the printing bed that are the cause, since I have trimmed them with a scalpel. The rotation is always in the same direction.
The twist is detectable when watching the keycap with the switch, and more so with keycaps on switches on a keyboard plate (you can see that the edges of the caps do not align. They do in my CAD program):
I use Cura as my slicer, layer height 0.06 mm, and ABS. I attempted a slow print (30 mm/s), which didn't help.
The first work-around that comes to mind is to measure the twist and compensate for that in my model. But I believe that since the problem is in the printing process, the problem would best be solved in the slicer.
What could possibly be the issue? Is there an option is Cura to compensate for this? Short of the work-around mentioned above, what are other steps I should look into?
# Answer
> 1 votes
## This looks like a shift rather than a twist.
Looking closely at the "+" opening, it doesn't look as much twisted as it looks as if the top and bottom halves are sheared, with the top half shifted slightly right and the bottom shifted slightly left. The horizontal part of the plus seems aligned on the left and right halves.
When you press-fit the keycaps, you will "average" the displacement forces and the keycap will twist.
I am suspicious of a backlash problem in the X axis (left to right). Perhaps the belt isn't tight enough, or some part shifts differently. It could be in the rails, the belt, a loose drive pulley, the hot end being slightly loose on the carriage, or any uncontrolled movement. It could be a high-friction x-axis which causes spring wind-up in the drive system.
I recommend carefully examining the printer for any excess friction or movement, and taking action to fix that first before tweaking the model to compensate for what can not be fixed.
## If it is a twist, use more cooling.
If the photos have misled me, and the vertical "+" shaft if actually twisting, you may need to use higher cooling. The drag of the filament as the head traces the perimeter can create a torque on the shaft, and if the plastic is not sufficiently cooled it could be dragged around. I consider this more of a theoretical problem than a real one, and have not yet seen it in practice.
## This is a beautiful design
This is a wonderful application of 3D printing. With a multi-material printer it would be tempting to label the keys similar to old-style multi-shot keycaps.
# Answer
> 0 votes
Another possibility is that those connectors you put in are pulling the cross-pattern off-center. Is there enough height that you could specify supports in that area instead? If so I'd recommend a brim "everywhere" to help stabilize the supports under the centerpost.
If there is sufficient clearance in the mechanism itself, consider expanding the diameter of the post (not the cross itself) to increase stability as the print is in progress.
---
Tags: print-quality, ultimaker-cura, dimensional-accuracy
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thread-10346 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10346 | Does this microstepping test result indicate need for TL smoothers? | 2019-06-22T17:32:17.743 | # Question
Title: Does this microstepping test result indicate need for TL smoothers?
Note: The "TL smoothers" referred to in the question title are an arrangement of 8 diodes that presumably both provide a voltage drop to address the minimum current output issue of some stepper drivers described in How Accurate Is Microstepping Really, and provide flyback protection and protection of the driver from currents induced by moving the motor in the unpowered state.
Now, on to the question:
I put together a simple test part to test Y (or X) axis microstepping accuracy:
Every 1mm in the Z direction, the face steps inward 1/80 mm (corresponding to my printer's \[micro\]steps per mm setting) in the Y direction and 1 mm in the X direction (to clearly show where the steps happen).
Here are the results (two runs, near-identical output):
Several of the steps are missing entirely, and it's the middle vertical surface, rather than the side two stepped-vertical surfaces, that shows a step-like texture.
Note that layers have been printed counter-clockwise, but the design with steps on both sides is to try to reduce the impact of print orientation so as not to depend on what the slicer decides to do. Print speed was 30 mm/s for outer walls, with outer walls set to be printed first so they're not affected by already-printed inner ones.
This looks to me like an indication that microstepping is not working accurately, and seems to agree partly with this article: https://hackaday.com/2016/08/29/how-accurate-is-microstepping-really/
Would TL smoothers improve this? My printer is an Ender 3, seemingly the latest revision at the time it was sold (December 2018) based on the bed and other aspects. Some threads I found suggested that this was a problem with older Ender 3s that was fixed in later revisions and that TL smoothers won't help, but it looks to me like it's not fixed.
Update: With settings adjusted for 0 jerk and 50 mm/s² acceleration in the outer walls, I got a somewhat improved result:
All steps are clearly visible, but at the reduced and more varying speed, artifacts of the extruder motor accuracy (or maybe just bowden latency) are much worse, and at the steps the "overshoot and bounce back" effect is still happening. Is this consistent with a situation where the TL smoothers I asked about could benefit?
Update 2: I've further tested with leaving acceleration at default (500 mm/s²) and just disabling "jerk", i.e. "instantaneous" change in speed. The results are at least as good as the above with slow acceleration. What strikes me most is that the "overshoot then bounce back" happens outward from the model on *both* edges, rather than inward on the righthand side where the (CCW moving) nozzle is turning inward. Could this indicate that there's no microstepping accuracy problem at all, and that the artifact is purely from excess extrusion as the corner is turned?
Updated pic (new one below):
# Answer
> 0 votes
The missing/inaccurate microsteps seem to be a bug/feature of Marlin:
> ```
> // Moves (or segments) with fewer steps than this will be joined with the next move
> #define MIN_STEPS_PER_SEGMENT 6
>
> ```
I'm not sure what the logic for this was in the stock firmware, which I originally performed the tests with, but with Marlin 2.0 I was completely missing the first 5 steps on the right (positive X) side. Changing the value to 1 mostly fixed the problem, but there was also a corresponding bug/feature in Cura:
> ```
> "meshfix_maximum_deviation":
> {
> "label": "Maximum Deviation",
> "description": "The maximum deviation allowed when reducing the resolution for the Maximum Resolution setting. If you increase this, the print will be less accurate, but the g-code will be smaller. Maximum Deviation is a limit for Maximum Resolution, so if the two conflict the Maximum Deviation will always be held true.",
> "type": "float",
> "unit": "mm",
> "default_value": 0.05,
> "minimum_value": "0.001",
> "minimum_value_warning": "0.01",
> "maximum_value_warning": "0.3",
> "settable_per_mesh": true
> }
>
> ```
The deviation should be set less than a single microstep, so 0.0125 mm.
With both of these fixed, I've got a perfect print:
Sliced printing direction was counter-clockwise for all layers. The steps on the left side are where the slicer decided to put the layer seams (perhaps I should retry forcing it to put the seam somewhere else, or even using vase mode) so they have a little extra bulging from slight ooze during the Z move that you can clearly see from the lighting, but the steps on the right side are dimensionally near perfect.
I think I can safely say any past problems were the fault of firmware and slicing software, not anything physical/electrical/electronic.
# Answer
> 0 votes
It's worth remembering that the smaller the fraction of the step, the less torque is going to be available at that step. here is one link but there are many others that explain it as well. it looks to me like you have inconsistent friction in your system, or possibly some flex/warping of the frame. it might also be easier to see with a smaller nozzle
edit because i forgot to actually answer the question: no, by itself it does not indicate that smoothers would help. this does not mean that they wont, just that this does not look definitive to me
# Answer
> 0 votes
Instead of getting tlsmoothers just upgrade your drivers, 2209s are good, Most TMC Drivers account for flyback
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Tags: print-quality, creality-ender-3, microstepping
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thread-12067 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12067 | Finding the right material to print RC CAR cover | 2020-02-24T21:47:23.430 | # Question
Title: Finding the right material to print RC CAR cover
My problem is that I have used a 3D printing machine from the University and found out that the cover for the car was not smooth even after using sanding paper and painting it.
What material would work best to print the cover of the Cyber truck. I want it to be light and smooth.
I have to print it from any online companies that have this service here in Germany.
# Answer
> 4 votes
I have 3D printed models which were then sanded using progressively finer grades of sandpaper, terminating with wet sanding using micromesh to 12000 grit. The result was smooth and shining without any coating applied.
If your original results were not acceptable, the process may have been flawed and should be re-considered for technique.
For your purposes, as a body for a radio controlled vehicle, you'll want to consider something that can manage an impact reasonably well. ABS is going to be less expensive and provide some energy absorption but will have layer lines that require sanding and finishing. Layer thickness plays a substantial part in providing for good results and a smooth finish. I used 0.100 mm layers to get optimum smoothness.
You could request your model to be created in nylon using the SLS method, but the surface will be granular and would also require sanding to accomplish a smooth finish.
SLA or MSLA resin printed models will provide a very smooth surface, but the material is brittle and may crack during "on-road" use. You may find a printing service which offers to create using a more flexible resin, but you'd have to request that or confirm the selection when placing the order.
# Answer
> 1 votes
## Choice of Material
PLA is an obvious choice, but it has drawbacks compared with ABS.
1. PLA is more brittle than ABS.
2. PLA softens at a lower temperature than ABS.
3. PLA is not treatable with acetone for vapor smoothing.
4. PLA can not be glued with (most) solvent-based adhesives.
I would consider ABS or ASA to be good choices for an RC-car body.
## Getting Smooth Surfaces
To get a really smooth surface, after printing with thin layers and good print settings to minimize strings and blobs, you will want to treat the surface. The two most common techniques are sanding and vapor smoothing.
## Wet Sanding is Great. Dry Sanding is Not.
Sanding is a great smoothing technique for PLA and even for ABS, but one must be careful. In addition to some of the sand paper grains being aligned as proper cutters to remove material, many grains are uselessly aligned and simply contribute to friction. The plastics used in FFF printing are, by definition, thermoplastics and will melt. One can easily soften and even melt plastic with dry sanding.
When the plastic softens, it can form little balls which dig into the surface, or stick to the surface. These hurt the surface finish like snowmen mar a field of freshly fallen snow.
Any sanding should be done wet, with wet-rated paper. Work up through the grits. Lower grit abrasive removes more material so that the surface can be "even". Lower grit lets you sand out the layer lines quickly.
## Use a Sequence of Grits
Higher grit papers remove the scratch marks of the previous grit.
Generally, I go up by about 50% of grit number at each change.
When I am removing a lot of plastic and want to end with a glossy surface, I go through this sequence: 36-\>80-\>120-\>180-\>220-\>330-\>400-\>500-\>1000-\>1500-\>2500-\>3600-\>5000. Yes, I know that there are some big jumps there, but I haven't happened to stock papers at intermediate points, and it works for me. Depending on how smooth the surface already is, or how much material I must remove, I start further up the progressing. For 3D printed objects, I start at 220. The last three are critical.
## Consider Adding Vapor Finishing to you Toolbox
Vapor finishing of ABS can give some very fine and glossy results. It is worth trying, although be aware that acetone mist is very flammable. If you are heating the acetone, treat it as life-threatening and possibly explosive.
If you use vapor finishing, consider that the acetone goes into the ABS. A warm soak or vacuum degassing could help remove it. You don't want the hood of your RC car to start bubbling in the sun as the acetone is motivated to escape.
# Answer
> 1 votes
You may consider PETG too. It's not as strong as ASA or ABS but it's much easier to print.
You can polish it by first sanding and then flame-smoothing.
See this video from CNC kitchen about comparing the different materials (ABS is not considered because similar to ASA in properties but more difficult to print) and see this video about flame-smoothing PETG.
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Tags: filament-choice
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thread-12071 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12071 | Big cracks on the Layer view in the Preview mode of Cura | 2020-02-25T13:59:37.933 | # Question
Title: Big cracks on the Layer view in the Preview mode of Cura
I designed a part on Fusion 360 that looks like this:
The part is very small, about 20 mm for 10 mm. I'm then importing it to Cura and I notice they are huge cracks on the part when simulating/previewing the print, I'm using a Monoprice mini printer, 100 % infill, and 0.0437 mm.:
This is my first-time 3D printing something, so maybe (most probably) I did something wrong.
# Answer
You have coasting turned on. Cura shows the coasting locations (where extrusion is switched off) as gaps. The actual print may be fine.
> 2 votes
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Tags: ultimaker-cura, slicing
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thread-5988 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/5988 | TMC2208 drivers - Microsteps configured incorrectly | 2018-05-18T16:11:15.537 | # Question
Title: TMC2208 drivers - Microsteps configured incorrectly
I've just installed two TMC2208 drivers on my RAMPS board. I followed a very good step by step tutorial and after some issues, I got it nearly to work.
One problem I still have is that when I tell the printer to lift the Z axis by 5 mm, it lifts it by 10 cm.
I haven't changed anything regarding the steps/mm. Previously I had the Pololus, with 1/16 microstepping and now I also have 1/16 on configuration\_adv.h file on Marlin 1.1.8
However what I noticed when doing a `M122` is a line which reads:
```
msteps 256
```
which sounds like the microstepping was set at 1/256 instead.
Maybe somebody could tell me if I missed something?
**UPDATE:**
After some more digging into it, here is what I've done so far:
* Solder the pins on the driver. Original from Watterrot
* Solder the bridge pads for enabling UART communication
* Solder the pin for the communication heading upwards
* Change the `configuration_adv.h` on Marlin (1.1.8) and enable all that is to enable: USE\_TMC2208, Enable debugging, selecting the Z axis, etc
* Check the pins on `pins_RAMPS.h` and make sure they are available in my setting
* Make a Y cable with the 1 kOhm resistor for the TX pin
* Hook everything up
No matter what I did, the motor moves twice as much as requested. Although I set up 1/16 microstepping, the same I had with my Pololus, I performed the reverse calculation to find out that the actual microstepping on the driver is 1/8.
After more investigation, the issue seems to be that the driver is not recognized at all by the Marlin/Board. Thinking that it was a problem with the TX/RX communication, I dug into the available info out there and I found this, Bug: TMC2208 UART Communication uses wrong pins for SoftwareSerial #9396.
I proceeded to change the assigned pins for serial RX/TX, but everything is exactly the same.
I tried a different Arduino (original), another RAMPS board and even the 1.1.x and 2.0 bugfix branches from Marlin.
It seems that the driver is on "legacy" mode and software manipulation is not possible. Although I went through the steps to enable it.
# Answer
> 1 votes
I don't have these controllers, but I read that with default settings the TMC2208 will interpolate the microsteps set by the I/O configuration pins to 256 microsteps. Please look into how you set up the dip switches / jumper caps on your board, it seems that only 2 are used (MS1 and MS2). Furthermore, can't you just decrease the count of the array `DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT` for the Z entry in your configuration file?
# Answer
> 0 votes
Most likely your issue is related to the PDN\_UART pin on TCM2208 Driver board, on some manufacturers boards the jumper is not set to UART mode by default, so most likely u need to solder jumper to right configuration. Look at datasheet of your driver board. for example https://github.com/bigtreetech/BIGTREETECH-TMC2208-V3.0/blob/master/TMC2208-V3.0%20manual.pdf
---
Tags: marlin, ramps-1.4, stepper-driver, microstepping
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thread-10035 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10035 | PETG layer adhesion | 2019-05-26T20:16:06.960 | # Question
Title: PETG layer adhesion
I've been playing around with PETG for the first time, and everything seemingly worked right just from the start - clean prints, no stringing, no bed adhesion problems, no warping or dimensional accuracy problems, etc. As expected it prints a lot like PLA, and as expected, it's less brittle/stands up much better to crushing/impact, **except** that it's really brittle when it comes to inter-layer adhesion. Vertical cylinders that were fairly strong in PLA just snap with no effort as PETG.
My particular PETG filament is Sunlu, with recommended print temperature 230-250 °C. I started out with 235 and am now using 250, which does somewhat better. I've used layer heights 0.125 - 0.2 mm.
Are these kind of results normal? Is there anything I should be doing to get better adhesion between layers?
# Answer
What you describe is usually the result of using a too high of a part cooling fan rotational speed. Like ABS, PETG doesn't require much cooling (if needed at all that is). If you do cool too much, layers and perimeters do not bond optimally (you can get string cheese like printed parts on failure).
**Why should you use cooling for PETG?** Cooling helps cool the deposited filament on small cross sectional parts. If un-cooled, the printed part picks up too much heat and will deform or sag out.
In such cases, reduce cooling to 40 % to start with (another option is to print more parts or increase minimal layer time). Note that there are so many print cooling fan constructions, some more effective than others, so you need to tune the print cooling fan speed to your setup. E.g. for an Ultimaker 3E I get good results at 50 % fan speed, for other self-build printers with effective part cooling solutions, 40 % works best (printed several kilometers of 2.85 mm PETG). First few layers don't need any cooling at all.
> 11 votes
# Answer
While 0scar was right that cooling fan hurts layer adhesion, I've continued to have problems with PETG even with no fan, regardless of temperature. I went looking for advice on the topic, and found a video by CNC Kitchen emphasizing the importance of tuning extrusion rate because of the compressibility of the material in the extruder gear. I'd already found this was a huge issue with TPU and other flexible filaments, so it seemed compelling, and sure enough I just measured that a nominal extrusion of 180 mm only moved the filament by 173.5 mm.
OK. Having extrusion rate off by about 3.5% is plenty to make prints brittle with PLA - I've experimented with this before just to see what would happen. A longer more precise extruder calibration showed more like 4% error. After correcting this, things were better, but I was still getting severe brittleness in some parts of the print but not others.
For a long time, I was able to mitigate most of the remaining problem with reduced speed. I had already reduced travel speeds down from 120 mm/s to 60 mm/s (my normal print speed) because PETG is sticky fast travel over it with the nozzle in contact will tear up the already-printed surface and inhibit adhesion of the next layer. (This seems to be soft PETG acting as a non-Newtonian fluid. Disabling combing, which I'd done for other reasons already with all materials, probably helped with this too.) After also reducing print speed to 40 mm/s, things seemed mostly ok. But I found recently I was still getting serious localized underextrusion in the form of entire lines nearly missing, especially after complex retractions.
I traced this problem down to some extreme extruder speed and jerk, which I'd allowed to mitigate the cost of lots of retractions and linear advance extruder moves. PLA and especially flex materials (where this matters most) can handle ridiculously high extruder speed (150 mm/s) and jerk (25 mm/s "instantaneous" velocity change), but PETG quickly starts slipping in the extruder gear when you do that, and making it easy to "lose" several mm of filament when unretracting. With this fixed (reverted to default 25 mm/s speed and 5 mm/s jerk; 10 mm/s seems to work ok too and performs a lot better), I finally have really strong PETG parts, comparable to PLA.
In the process I also tuned linear advance K factor for PETG, which could impact adhesion. I started with 2.0 which was too high, and dropped to 1.2 which was slightly too low; around 1.4 seems to be ideal. Having this too low could reduce layer adhesion right after acceleration due to localized underextrusion; having it too high could reintroduce extruder gear slippage by putting the filament under more pressure than the gear can reliably hold it to. (If a higher value is needed to get consistent extrusion, this would mean a limit on the speed would also be needed, and going at higher speeds would require an extruder upgrade. For reference, at 0.4 mm line width and 0.2 mm layer height, a K value of 1.2 requires the extruder to be able to compress the filament by about 2.4 mm to print at 60 mm/s.)
TL;DR: **Fan completely off**, **tune extrusion rate** to account for compression of PETG in the extruder gear, **avoid travel over already-printed material** especially at high speeds (**limit travel speed to print speed**), and keep extruder speed/acceleration/jerk profile conservative.
**Update:** Almost all of the issues described in this answer seem to stem from the Ender 3's abysmally bad extruder. Some are probably slipping due to really poor grip from the gear; others might be common to all bowden extruders. With the extruder I'm now using (Flex3drive G5) on the otherwise-same printer, I can print PETG at same speed or faster than PLA, with no under- or inconsistent extrusion issues. Cooling does seem to affect layer adhesion, but mostly on very thin (single-wall) parts; otherwise even with fan on at 100% I get better adhesion than I could reliably get with the original extruder. So I think the biggest issue was underextrusion, not over-cooling.
> 7 votes
# Answer
PETG doesn't bond well if the layers aren't both at a fairly high temperature, as noted by the other answers. As mentioned, try reducing or simply turning off layer cooling. Additionally, try printing at a smaller layer height, or increased line width, to force the layers to bond more effectively. A final solution would possibly be to print a wall around the part, as many people without enclosures do for ABS prints, to keep the part nice and hot until the nozzle can deposit another layer on top. Works best when paired with higher bed temps. I personally had to print PETG around 25 degrees above the "max" recommended temperature to get good layer adhesion on my fleabay i3 clone.
> 5 votes
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Tags: print-material, adhesion, petg
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thread-12081 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12081 | My first layer becomes solid when sections are supposed to have small separations | 2020-02-26T16:33:46.557 | # Question
Title: 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.
# Answer
> 1 votes
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
---
Tags: pla, creality-ender-3, heated-bed, fdm, layer-height
--- |
thread-12089 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12089 | Is there a spiral lid mechanism | 2020-02-27T15:15:27.077 | # Question
Title: Is there a spiral lid mechanism
I want to put a spiral lid on top of a container. When the lid opens, then the spiral mechanism will rotate into the container. Is there a name for this mechanism? If not, would something like this be possible?
# Answer
It sounds like you're talking about an iris diaphragm. This has many parts that slide against each other, and would best be printed as separate parts, then assembled.
> 1 votes
# Answer
No spiral lids that I know of. I'm not sure how they would work, anyway. There are plenty of designs with hemispherical lids -- so-called "Venus" boxes. Check Yeggi:
Yeggi : Venus box
> -1 votes
---
Tags: 3d-models, 3d-design, mechanics
--- |
thread-11850 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11850 | My printer is making mistakes on the right half of the print, but not the left | 2020-01-24T21:16:54.593 | # Question
Title: 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°
# Answer
> 5 votes
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.
# Answer
> 0 votes
* 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.
---
Tags: troubleshooting, monoprice-maker-select
--- |
thread-12095 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12095 | How can I solve the problem of line distortions on my prints? | 2020-02-28T12:30:19.013 | # Question
Title: How can I solve the problem of line distortions on my prints?
Hello guys I have a little problem with printing. Whenever I print something there are always these lines my printer does, it's not a very big deal, but it looks rather ugly and I'd really appreciate it if anyone could help me if you know what the problem is. I post also a picture to show you the problem clearer. From what I see (observing how my printer prints), I noticed that it starts printing at one point and then when it arrives again after a circle to the starting point to print the layer above, it stops just a millisecond (instead of keep moving smoothly) and I think that's how the problem is created. I'm pretty sure its not the printer's problem, but probably the G-code or the filament... I don't know for sure.
Here some details:
* Printer: Creality Ender 3 Pro
* Slicer: Cura
* Filament: PM filament, PLA, 1 kg, 1.75 mm
# Answer
> 1 votes
As towe noted in a comment, that's Z seam. The mechanism by which it happens is mostly the same as bulging corners. The print head is moving considerably slower just before and just after the layer change, decelerating to a stop then accelerating back up to speed in order to perform the slow Z-axis move, but the rate of extrusion, which is dependent on pressure built up (in the compression of the filament, and possibly expansion of the bowden tube) between the extruder gear and the nozzle, not directly on the motion of the extruder gear, remains the same.
In my opinion, the best fix for this is upgrading to firmware that compensates for it. In Marlin firmware (the stock Ender 3 firmware is based on Marlin 1.0), this feature is called Linear Advance. You tune a spring constant for your material's compression, and after setting it, extrusion is roughly proportional (linear) with respect to logical E-axis moves, regardless of the speed the print head is moving. However, upgrading firmware is nontrivial to do, and has a lot you might have to tune/tweak to get it working the way you want.
Short of that, there are a lot of ways of mitigating the problem:
1. Select "Outer Before Inner Walls" option (in Cura, or equivalent in other slicers) and "Infill Before Walls" when slicing. This will ensure the layer change happens inside the model (on an inner wall) not on the outside surface, because outer surface is neither the first nor last thing printed on the layer.
2. Increase X/Y acceleration and/or jerk limits so that motion can start/stop a lot quicker, so there's a shorter period for the disproportionate extrusion to happen in. But if you do this too much, you'll get layer shifts (failed prints) or at least bad vibrations that show up in print surface. My Ender 3 can handle accelerations up to at least 3000 mm/s² in X and Y and 10 mm/s "jerk" (a misnomer, thus the weird unit) and you can likely go higher if you experiment.
3. Tell slicer to retract at layer change. This will prevent extrusion from continuing during the Z move, but won't help with the extrusion during the time you're decelerating/accelerating in the XY plane.
4. Increase Z acceleration/jerk. This will reduce the time spent during the Z move, and might even allow the head to keep moving without coming to a full stop during layer change (but that can't happen if you turned on retract at layer change).
5. Print at lower speed. If the max speed is lower, it takes less time to decelerate/accelerate from/to it, and nozzle pressure will be lower (so extrusion is naturally closer to linear).
6. Enable coasting in your slicer. *This is a hack* that really poorly approximates what Linear Advance would do, but it can lead to underextruded walls and brittle prints. I always had bad luck with it and don't recommend it, but it's an option.
I would recommend starting with items 1 and 2. #1 is good for a lot of other things too, and the only tradeoff is that overhangs *might* print worse (in my experience that's not really the case and they sometimes print better even). And #2 will get you faster prints (sometimes *at lot* faster) which is nice.
---
Tags: print-quality, pla, creality-ender-3
--- |
thread-12108 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12108 | PLA from the top of the hotend | 2020-03-01T14:30:33.690 | # Question
Title: PLA from the top of the hotend
My custom printer is affected by a strange problem. After 30/40 min printing without any problem, PLA starts blobbing from the top of the hotend.
What does it means? Where to start checking?
It is possible that there is a little space between nozzle screw and transition screw inside the hotend?
# Answer
This is a typical sign, that your hotend wasn't tightened properly. Carefully heat it up and remove all the plastic you can while removing the heatbreak - that's what you call transition screw.
After cleaning, screw in the heatbreak and the nozzle. The nozzle should butt agains the heatbreak, but have at least 2 threads to the heating block. Reassamble the full hotend now by adding the coolend.
Finally heat the hotend on the full assembly to about 240 °C and tighten the nozzle against the heatbreak again. This is called hot-tightening. You can add the PTFE liner after the hot tightening.
> 4 votes
---
Tags: hotend
--- |
thread-12110 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12110 | Changing final build plate position | 2020-03-01T16:54:55.027 | # Question
Title: Changing final build plate position
I have a Monoprice Maker Select V2 (Wanhao Duplicator i3) on which I've installed a recent version of Marlin.
The home position is at the front-left of the build plate. At the end of the print, the print head returns to this position by moving the build plate *back*.
Can I modify this to return the print head to the back-left corner, so that the print ends with the part more easily accessible?
Here is the default G-code for this printer in Ultimaker Cura:
```
M104 S0 ;extruder heater off
G91 ;relative positioning
G1 E-1 F300 ;retract the filament a bit before lifting the nozzle, to release some of the pressure
G1 Z+0.5 E-5 X-20 Y-20 F{speed_travel} ;move Z up a bit and retract filament even more
G28 X0 Y0 ;move X/Y to min endstops, so the head is out of the way
M84 ;steppers off
G90 ;absolute positioning
```
# Answer
I believe I would want to do:
```
M104 S0 ;extruder heater off
G91 ;relative positioning
G1 E-1 F300 ;retract the filament a bit before lifting the nozzle, to release some of the pressure
G1 Z+0.5 E-5 X-20 Y-20 F{speed_travel} ;move Z up a bit and retract filament even more
G90 ;absolute positioning
G0 X0 Y200 ; move to back-left corner
M84 ;steppers off
```
Here, `Y200` is the depth of my build plate.
This works, but the movement is very slow.
> 1 votes
---
Tags: g-code, build-plate
--- |
thread-11968 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11968 | Can you print at low speeds with e3D Volcano hot end? | 2020-02-07T00:05:10.707 | # Question
Title: Can you print at low speeds with e3D Volcano hot end?
The e3D volcano features an extended heater block of length 20 mm with the cartridge heater running parallel to the filament.
The purpose of this is to increase the speeds at which filament can be printed (of course the extruder and other factors may still be limiting factors).
My question is how capable would this heat block be of printing at slow speeds with a 0.4 mm nozzle?
Is printing still possible at lower speeds or is the filament heated too much that jams occur? Is the retraction performance okay?
# Answer
Speaking from first hand experience running a Volcano hotend, mostly using a 0.6 mm nozzle, but I have used 0.4 mm as well. I can't really complain about any lower printing speed limit (low speeds are usually a solution to high speeds problems for me).
Just for completeness: I am using a DaVinci 1.1 Plus with custom firmware (modified Marlin) and an E3D Volcano hotend. No problems with the nozzle, clean prints! Note: I am using the Titan Aero as extruder but not using the included pancake motor! Went with the original motor of the DaVinci.
And as always: the parameters are key! Given a bit of tuning you can get amazing results! For PLA and ABS I can work without stringing. Although ABS seems to be prone to pitting (slight underextrusion at start of path). TPU and other flex are sometimes a bit of a challenge, but that's mainly due to my own lack of experience there.
The one important caveat here would be to also reduce the nozzle temperature. A possible theory here might be that the filament has more time and surface to heat up.
*(Sometimes I go as much as 15 °C lower as compared to normal/high speeds! Usually lower speeds means small pieces for me and in term means a limit to the layer cooling time.)*
> 5 votes
# Answer
The worry must be about oozing and stringing. In general, no worries! Nothing a bit of tuning would not fix.
I have experience printing with Volcano with 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0 mm diameter. PLA, PETG, Nylon, TPE, and TPU. (Volcano nozzles have been my default style for several years now. I don't even own a 10 mm heat block anymore (ok, maybe one)).
And yes, speaking of the classic 0.4 mm nozzle, you get higher stringing and oozing compared to 10 mm meltzone. You'll need to tune your retraction - it will be significatnly higher than 10 mm meltzone (I'm not giving numbers because it depends on printer style, material, nozzle diameter, temperature, and even slicer and slicer settings...).
I do like to print quite hot though with lots of cooling (PLA 220 °C for example) to increase layer adhesion and strength - so I experience this more.
For oozing, you may need to experiment with XY travel speeds, wiping settings, coasting settings, and similar (this also will help with stringing).
Also, keep in mind that the bigger the nozzle diameter, the more cooling you'll need (coupled with slower print) just to solidify that massive extrusion flow/mass.
> 3 votes
---
Tags: hotend, speed, e3d-volcano
--- |
thread-12100 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12100 | Attach LCD to VAT | 2020-02-29T09:49:35.657 | # Question
Title: Attach LCD to VAT
I began build LCD printer and I want make some modifications.
What if I will place LCD below VAT? Will the display break when printing? what are the risks? I seen a lot of printers and all of them use PP material for VAT bottom and attach with a lot of screws. I want make more simple VAT-LCD constructions and I think this construction transmis UV light better
# Answer
The way you're thinking about using the LCD directly on the bottom of resin vat and cure the resin is a good idea, but there are several problems that I will focus on the main. as mentioned by @Trish some issues might occur to the LCD and u need to replace it. Except that you need to clean the vat some times after print and with LCD attach to it, you know...
But the main reason is that when the resin is cured in the bottom layer can stick to the bottom of the vat so the printers have a solution to raise the bed and again lower it.
The FEP (Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene) membrane is an *elastic* material, so when the bed raises the FEP film get raise a little sticking to the part and detaching. so we cant have this situation with the lcd because the lcd is a solid film that bends just a little.
I'm also working on an LCD resin base printer so please post questions if you have any other questions.
> 1 votes
# Answer
SLA printers have basically 2 expendable parts:
* The UV light source is only good for so long before it degrades and breaks.
* The LCD will become blind over time.
* The vat's lower surface - the build area - will get eaten by the resin over time.
Because of this, all commercial SLA printers come with a special film at the vat's bottom surface, a sacrificial surface and, as part of the boundary of the vat, also acts to protects the LCD from the resin.
> 1 votes
---
Tags: diy-3d-printer, sla, lcd-screen
--- |
thread-12114 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12114 | Do spare throats or a heater blocks ever break? | 2020-03-02T08:01:38.897 | # Question
Title: Do spare throats or a heater blocks ever break?
A question to those who have a 3D printer. Have you ever needed a spare throat or a heater block? Do they ever break?
I just bought some spare parts: heaters, thermistors, nozzles... However, I am not sure if buying throats and heater blocks make any sense.
# Answer
> 2 votes
# Short answer
Yes
# Long answer
## Heater bocks
A heater block is destroyed if one of the following happens
* Threads stripped
* Bent or otherwise deformed
* stripped grub screw
All of these can happen by handling the block with too much force when securing nozzles, thermosensors or heater cartridges.
## Throats
Throats can be destroyed, especially e3D v6 throats with their neck down on the center can be simply turned and broken in two. Lined throats can be heated too much and the liner destroyed, which not always can be replaced, mandating a spare part. And you can strip the threads.
Another chance to damage the throat is by using very hard material nozzles - stainless steel comes to mind. Such a nozzle would not deform itself like brass when tightened against the throat and might lead to damage to the end of the throat if exchanged several times.
## Conclusion
If you run several printers or change nozzles regularly for whatever reason, it is a very good idea to have at least a complete set of spare parts on hand to fix problems that might occur during work on the printer. I have a fully assembled spare hotend waiting for its day to shine in case my current one breaks...
# Answer
> 1 votes
Parts don't have to break or bent, they may become unusable by other issues as well!
In addition to the answer of @Trish, if you clog your hotend, or the hotend/heater block/nozzle gets buried deep into solidified filament (see image below), it might be much easier just to replace the parts rather than salvaging the parts (or you can salvage the parts later, in the meantime you'll be up and running).
E.g. recover from this:
---
Tags: diy-3d-printer, hotend, replacement-parts
--- |
thread-12125 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12125 | Uneven walls, not solid | 2020-03-04T07:45:29.270 | # Question
Title: Uneven walls, not solid
I'm using Cura 4.5.0 and an Ultimaker S5
The walls in my model are coming out not solid. I don't have a clue why.
When I open the STL in Sketchup it has all these weird lines. I don't know how they got there and I don't know how to get rid of them.
# Answer
## Triangles?!
First of all, the triangles on the STL are not a problem - they are just how STL is defined: a mesh of triangles. you can't save anything but triangles in STL, so let's not bother with that item but the actual elephant in the room: the print.
# Underextrusion
## Step 1: proper settings
It shows signs of underextrusion. And I can exactly tell you where part of it comes from: You have set the line width to *below* the nozzle width. However, the line width should be best 10% *larger* than the nozzle. **All** of these lines should read between 0.4 to (as I have set it) 0.45 mm:
With a 10% wider line planned into, it is not necessary to have an extra initial layer line width of more than 100 %, but it can help in adhesion.
## Step 2: Other issues?!
There might be other issues at work, though they will show up after setting the width much better. The following two strike me as most likely if the problem persists with the now considerable increased flow:
* The retraction and/or retraction speed might be set too high.
* mechanical issues of the extruder system, for example, worn gears or uneven pressure against the gear due to damaged parts.
> 2 votes
---
Tags: ultimaker-cura
--- |
thread-12132 | https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/12132 | Anet A8 Installing second extruder without changing board | 2020-03-05T20:50:49.593 | # Question
Title: Anet A8 Installing second extruder without changing board
I am wondering if it is possible and safe to add a second extruder to my Anet A8 without changing the main board. I was thinking splitting my Z motor wires to free up the Z2 axis motor connector on the main board, using this connector for the second extruder motor. Is this possible? If so, how would i configure Marlin to use those extruder pins Can I overload the board by using two motor on the same connector?
# Answer
That is not possible without changing to a different printer main board. The Anet A8 board has 4 integrated (A4988) stepper drivers, one for X, one for Y, one for Z and one for E (extruder 0).
Both Z steppers are controlled by a single stepper driver (they are wired in parallel to the single Z stepper driver), there is nothing to free up nor is there to configure in Marlin without replacing the main board.
> 4 votes
---
Tags: anet-a8, stepper, multi-material
--- |
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