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5706 | Filament clogging just above feeding tube - Duplicator 6
I have this clogging problem on my 3D printer that I am having a really hard time to solve. I am a hobbiest so in no way am I a professional with regards to 3D printers. I also know that this is a popular issue and I have tried a lot of the proposed solutions (going through a lot of PLA filament and failed prints) to no avail. I will try to describe the problem and what I have tried to solve it.
First the issue:
This shows how the filament clogs. The next image shows the assembled printer head for reference.:
This is how the print looks when it fails:
I have tried the following:
- Adjusting the temperate between 190 up to 220 for the PLA filament. Everything trying a print with it.
- Doing a thorough cleaning of the nozzle (Acetone soak, wire brush, guitar string etc.)
- Checking the Teflon pipe inside the tube if it is clear and ensuring that the edges allow the filament to pass through.
- Check if the cooling fans work well to ensure cooling of the whole assembly (they work, they aren't jammed etc.)
- Dissambling the printer head and putting it back together.
I have printed with the printer before without a problem. I printed PETG a few times to get that working and the results were decent. When I returned to PLA this issue started and no matter what I change on the profile it won't work. I have tried adjusting feedrate, flow rate, retraction amount and speed, temperature, fan speeds to name but a few things.
I have a Cura profile I can upload if that will help. Any advise would be much appreciated. I have been struggling with this for a while now and really need some options.
It looks at though your PTFE tube has deformed as a result of over-temperature/heat creep. How is that part cooled/is the cooling working?
Heat creep was the most obvious answer I could find on the internet but it has not been a problem previously. I did check the PTFE tube and the filament can pass through it comfortably. I also ensured that the edges of the tube is position correctly in the nozzle (correct length, etc).
How would I know if the tube is deformed?
It's probably worth keeping some spares and changing the liner tube any time you take the extruder apart -- they are quite cheap and surprisingly easy to damage.
Sometimes the filament quality itself could be the culprit. Have you tried printing with a different spool of PLA?
Hi have not tried with a different spool. I will take a stab at that and let you know. Any idea on what else I can try as well? Can it be a setting that is just completely wrong?
I printed the same model with the same settings with some of my old, cheaper filament and the print actually finished. So it is the filament. What makes wonder then, what is it about the new, better quality filament that stops it from working well in my printer?
Is it the diameter of the filament?
The temperature your print at?
How can I get my printer to print with this new filament?
Sometimes other additives/color in PLA can cause strange jams and print quality issues. When does your filament clog like you showed in the picture? Is it after a retraction move?
Yes I think so. Im changing up the filament to test what has what effect.
that looks like heat creep.
heat creep is the result of in too much heat in the hot end creeping its way into the cold end. and results in a gradual clogs mid print.
to combat heat creep you need to sink that heat elsewhere and dissipate it.
this is where a heatsink and fan come into play.
the heatsink should be in direct contact with the throat mount/clamp, giving the heat more space to dissipate, and that dissipation is aided by the fan.
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5736 | Removing protopasta conductive PLA skirt from a bed
I have a simple printer bot metal with a heated bed, the heated bed I am not using. I am using conductive pla by protopasta
The conductive pla is not that strong, so when I take my pieces off the board, sometimes they break. The only time it appears to be invincibly strong is when it sticks to the bed plate! I cannot get the skirt off the bed plate, no matter what I try
a razor blade does not work, even when the bed isn’t heated and after dumping a bunch of acetone on the board
using no skirt does not work, as the printer clogs itself
it is difficult enough to remove to the point that printing itself isn’t fun
when scratching it off, the pieces only chip, because they stick better to the bed than they do to themselves (unlike PLA)
What’s a good way to remove a conductive pla skirt from one of the beds? The skirt is the initial outline a printer lays down, it is very thin
I have no experience with your printer model nor with protopasta conductive PLA but since your problem is "too much adhesion" I would simply suggest to follow in reverse all the usual advices on how to make the first layer adhere better (a far more common problem). The list of suggestion could be:
Print fast
Do no squash the first layer (see @fred_dot_u answer)
Make sure the part fan is on
Reduce the temperature slightly
...
The problem could also be due to the chemical interaction between the surface of your plate and the specific material (for example: it is known that glass - a relatively difficult surface to use with PLA - bonds so well to PETG that sometimes it chips off the bed when you remove the print). If this is the case you could for example cover your bed in painter's tape and see if the protopasta conductive PLA adhere worse to it than to the bare bed. Worst case scenario, you could remove the tape with the print and scrub it off from it afterwards with a metal brush or a bit of sandpaper.
I ended up using painter's tape. I think it is a chemical interaction with the bed.
I think the setting having the most significant effect would be to increase the Z-height by 0.05-0.1mm so that the skirt is not "sandwiched" against the bed like typical first layers in FDM. This should reduce the adhesion enough for you to remove the skirt from the bed without damage.
Alternatively, you could also increase the skirt extrusion width if possible (more material=stronger) and/or print another layer of skirt on top (skirt layers=2).
Based on your description "it is very thin" about the skirt, and by the other characteristics you've provided, I suggest that your z-height for the first layer is suspect of being too small, too close to the bed.
If you have calibration specific to z-height only, re-calibrate and make a test print with skirt. If the test is better, this tells you that the previous setting was at fault. If the test is not better, use a different setting by 0.01 mm or 0.02 mm and run another test.
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5596 | Seemingly random lines on the surface
I'm getting seemingly random lines scattered across the top surface of my prints:
Printer: Anycubic i3 mega
Slicer: Cura 3.2.1
Printer chosen in Cura: Prusa i3, Gcode flavor changed to RepRap
Cura Profile: Fine, "Outer before inner walls" enabled
What might be the reason?
Try turning off "Combing Mode" in Cura. I had the same issue. I turned off combing mode and the issue was gone. I do not understand why. The tool tips seem to point me in the other direction. So my advice can only be to give it a try.
Thanks to the answers of fred_dot_u and Sean Houlihane, I did some more research.
There are three features involved here:
Combing (follow the already printed path when travelling)
Retraction (pull back the filament while travelling)
Z-hop (move the nozzle up while travelling)
The relationship between those settings is like this:
Retraction is only done when not combing*
Z-hop is only done when retracting
Therefore to lift the nozzle when travelling, one must disable combing and enable retraction and z-hop. This prevents the nozzle from scratching the surface.
* it was deemed unnecessary, but that might change in a future version; there is also a plugin that changes this
This is the result of travel moves passing through/over the top surface. The combing setting can prevent this type of move (for walls, infill or top), and z-hop can avoid making any mark during these travels.
Both settings will affect speed. Z-hop will be active on every layer, for example.
z-hop is used only when transiting locations on a particular layer. If the print is mostly contiguous, as in the images provided, z-hop will be used only when needed. In the case of the photos, the lines represent when it is needed, very few times and with little affect on the speed of the print.
I would also subscribe to the notion that apart for uber-complex models, the speed penalty will be negligible.
@mac, for example the models I posted in my last question, where the texture means that no mitigation was needed. I also saw in my research that z-hop causes wear to the machine, but I'm undecided on that.
Our local library has a genuine Prusa i3 Mk2.5 that recently had this problem. Because of the number of fingers engaging such a system, it was not immediately discovered that a different profile had been selected in which the Z-hop was turned off.
Z-hop is a feature in which the nozzle lifts slightly (and is height-adjustable) as it moves from one portion of the print to another.
According to my brief research, Cura supports z-hop in the settings. Either it has to be activated or perhaps slightly increased. The aforementioned Prusa works great with 0.5 mm lift.
It seems like the issue may only be that your nozzle has developed a bit of oozing. The g code likes to repeat the same patterns for at least a few layers every time it changes patterns and if it does the same pattern on the top 3-4 layers than by the time it reaches the last layer on the top that pattern will actually be the slightest bit raised above the rest of the layers because of the ooze building up along the same pattern for how many ever layers it followed the same pattern. Your nozzle is than rubbing on that raised pattern when it completes the last layer. This explains the randomness like OP said because the g code may not repeat the same pattern for 3 or more layers at the surface but without reading the gcode it would seemingly be random when and where they occurred. And truthfully if its a small oozing you could reprint this and it could be gone if you changed almost any setting in cura because the g code would be recalculated differently and new patterns would be chosen but so long as the new gcode did not have the same pattern repeat itself on the top 3 or so layers you would not have these raised patterns for the nozzle to rub on when finishing the top last layer.
I don't think the problem is what you think it is, but as a side note: it would be great if you could revisit your answer and use paragraphs, commas and other punctuation to make it more readable! :)
Okay @mac since the OP shows no pictures of a successful reprint. I stand by what I said. If he chooses to change any settings and recalculates the g code he may not have these issues appear on this print because his issue is "oozing". And as you so kindly pointed out my answer only has one real grammar mistake and I have fixed that but the 16 other mistakes are advanced issues and I do not think they are of any concern for a reader. I'm not aware of the advanced grammar mistakes in my answer. Feel free to correct it however lets not spam this page anymore. pm is fine
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5768 | Should I print in a well ventilated area?
With hot plastic being laid down layer after layer, I am worried about fumes. Should I only print in a well ventilated work space? Should I add additional ventilation?
The short answer is: yes, it is always a good idea to print in a well-ventilated area. The longer answer can be articulated as follows:
Definition of "fumes"
"Fumes" is a fuzzy word that from a chemical/physical perspective includes at least three different things:
Vapour - the gas phase of a substance
Aerosol - a airborne suspension of tiny particles of liquid, solid, or both
Smoke - particles and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis (so really: a smoke is a combination of vapours and aerosols too... but the combustion/pyrolysis will have changed the very nature of the material, so it will be "vapours and aerosols of a different substance"
Interactions with the human body
Each of the above has a different way of interacting with the human body. The list of possible interactions is huge, and out-of-scope for this answer, but just to mention a few obvious ones:
Vapours tend to enter cells by osmotic pressure and can have carcinogenic effects by either attacking the genome of the cell or by disrupting its metabolic processes (think: benzene in car fuel)
Aerosols can trigger the immune system, and in return have the body develop allergies or autoimmune reactions.
Aerosols can deposit their particles on the cellular membrane, making it impossible for it to operate correctly and eventually fail (like neurons failing to transmit electrical impulses, for example)
...
Composition of filaments
Modern filaments are a combination of different substances: the basic plastic (PLA, ABS, PETG...) that gives the name to the filament is almost always mixed with other plastics and additives that change its physical characteristics.
In some cases, the filament is host to particles of other materials (like wood, metals or phosphorescent compounds).
Each of the different materials have different transition and critical and flash points (the temperatures at which they will become vapour and ignite respectively), and different physical properties which in turn will affect differently the size of the particles in the aerosol coming out of the printer.
Conclusion
The bottom-line is that it is close to impossible to have a complete understanding of how a given "fume" affects human health.
Typically the safety of a substance is tested in a lab by directly observing its effect on cells, or by performing epidemiological studies in a population, if the exposure data to a given substance is known.
When people comment on PLA being "safe" for example, they typically refer to studies that tested inert, cold, chemically pure PLA. But the fumes of a PLA filament will probably not be inert, nor cold, nor be exclusively PLA.
Additionally, it has to be observed that it is much easier to rule a filament harmful than safe: for it to be considered harmful it is sufficient to know that one of its components is harmful (for ABS that is typically studies showing the adverse affect of ABS aerosols on health). For it to be deemed safe, one must know that all if its components are safe, but most filament do not go through the rigorous testing required to ascertain that.
In conclusion, it is always a good idea to get rid of the fumes from 3D printing regardless of the type filament being used. The ideal solution is a printing enclosure maintaining negative pressure, but an enclosure with air filtering or a well ventilated room are also good options (ventilation can have adverse effects on printing quality though, due to drafts and their cooling effect).
There are some contradicting sources out there on whether plastics, especially ABS, have toxic fumes. It is well known that PLA is food safe, as it is an organic, biodegradable polymer being based on a particular cornstarch. This means that PLA is safe when printing, although it can produce foul smells from the dyes and other ingredients. As for the other plastics, it is most commonly said that the fumes are toxic, although, as stated earlier, there are some contradicting topics on this.
Here and here are some articles for further reading.
i wouldn't be so sure. PLA itself is safe, but filament is more than PLA. There's almost always dye and conditioners for example. Since a lot of filament is made overseas, the additive regulations might not be be as comprehensive as we'de like. I'm not saying it's bad, just that PLA alone is not the full story.
This is a well intentioned answer but - I am afraid - it is factually wrong and scientifically inaccurate. Most notably: A) the issue of ABS 3D printing being harmful for humans is not controversial. The linked article suggesting that there is unclarity about the ABS toxicity is about cold artefacts leeching chemicals, not about MDF extrusion. 3D printing ABS does emit dangerous fumes. B) The fact that PLA is food safe is totally unrelated to whether it is safe to 3D print with it, the same way an epoxy may be food safe but you may still have to apply it wearing a respirator and gloves.
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5775 | Apply X-offset to gcode (re-slicing not possible)
I am currently printing the QTrainer aircraft from 3DLabPrint on my Anet A8, via the supplied i3-compatible gcode files.
So far, everything has printed fine, but the main undercarriage part tries to print off the left hand side of the bed by about 5mm.
I have tried manually adding an M206 X-10 line to the gcode file, just after G28 ; home all, however this has not had any effect:
G90
M83
M106 S0
M140 S65
M190 S65
M104 S220 T0
M109 S220 T0
G28 ; home all
M206 X-10 ; added by me
G1 E-0.8000 F1800
G1 Z0.200 F1002
; layer 1, Z = 0.2
T0
; tool H0.200 W0.450
; skirt
G1 X9.382 Y10.533 F6000
G1 E0.8000 F540
G1 X10.536 Y10.537 E0.0388 F1440
...
However this does not work and I'm not clear on whether I am using this gcode command correctly, or whether my printer simply doesn't support that command.
Is there another way I can apply an X-offset to the gcode file (or printer) to move it a few cm to the right of the print area?
As I do not own Simplify3D and cannot currently afford it, re-slicing the STL files is unfortunately not an option.
Unfortunately there is no X-adjustment on the X limit switch (although I suppose I could temporarily tape something to the print head, so that it activates the switch sooner?).
My Anet A8 currently runs stock firmware, hooked up to OctoPrint and I have access to a Macintosh desktop computer.
The reason that M206 does not work for you is that you are on stock firmware. This firmware is Repetier based and does not support this gcode command. If you had flashed the firmware to Marlin it would have worked fine!
You can use G92 to change the coordinates the machine "thinks" it's at. If just after homing, you apply
G92 X-10
the machine now thinks it's at X = -10, while in reality it's at X = 0. This results in everything thereafter behaving as if it is shifted in the positive X direction by 10 mm (since if you then commanded a move to X = 1 the machine would move to what is physically X = 11).
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5795 | Can I use Bowden hotend instead of Wade for a direct extrusion?
I am planning to buy 4 hotends (e3d clones I assume), but I am wondering if the Bowden (long distance) be able to be used as Wade (direct extruder)?. When the pneumatic fitting is removed there is a very similar filament drive to the throat/heat-brak and the collar size is same as wade.
As per attached pictures, I think that could be possible.
You can use any of them, however the adaptor will be different to make it fit on your printer. I´m using the J-head on direct drive by removing the pneumatic connector; the distance fromt top to filament hole is close to 4mm, but does not affect the feeding. If the cylinder hasn't the pneumatic connector is possible to print a cap to mount the connector and make it remote drive.
You can use any of them, however the adaptor will be different to make it fit on your printer. I´m using the J-head on direct drive by removing the pneumatic connector; the distance from top to filament hole is close to 4mm, but does not affect the feeding. If the cylinder hasn't the pneumatic connector is possible to print a cap to mount the connector and make it remote drive
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5892 | How long will my print take?
If I have a stl file is there a good way to estimate how long it will take to print on a given printer? I know there are a lot of things that go into print speed, such as the speed of the printer, the size of the print, etc. I was wondering if anyone knows of perhaps an application that you could enter your printer's specifications and the stl that you want to print, and it could calculate the print time?
Try to use your slicer to get the gcode, then you can realize that the software has a lot of information you can take in count; the programmers are genius.
All commonly used slicers (e.g., Cura, Slic3r, Simplify3D,...) give an estimation of the print time.
The duration of a print is affected by the print properties. Speed, nozzle diameter (or line width), layer height, amount of perimeters, infill percentage, combing, support structures to name a few important parameters.
So, the only way to tell how long the printer will be printing a certain STL is by loading the STL file into a slicer and slice the model with those settings. The most common free slicers are Ultimaker Cura, Slic3r and payed slicer Simplify3D. Alternatively, when you already have G-code files and do not have the STL anymore or don't want to slice it again (e.g. because you cannot remember which settings you used), you could upload your G-code here and it will calculate it approximately for you (as it does not know the dynamics of the printer).
Note that these times are approximations of the real time it takes to print the object as it integrates the tool path and speed to get the time. Sometimes these calculations are off as the actual printer may behave differently than projected by the slicer. From experience I can tell that the Ultimaker Cura slicer predicts fairly accurate print times for the Ultimaker 3, so they have tuned their slicer software to their machines. For your own build or other brands this may result in different/inaccurate print time estimations.
I use Repetier software with the Cura slicer and the print time estimate tends to be about 10 % longer than the actual print.
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5868 | Any family of plastics / filaments that bend and keep their shape?
Not asking for a product recommendation, unless there's only one product out there like this...
I have a need for a flexible filament that retains its deformation, kind of like silly putty. Are there any filaments out there that, after you bend or stretch them, they keep their shape?
I'm sure to some degree flexible filaments do this -- Which filament might be best? Commenters -- what's the scientific term for this?
Actually, metals exhibit this type of flexibility. Do any of the 3D printable metal filaments flex, bend, and keep their shape?
Are you looking something like clay? because copper is the metal thats you can bend and keeps the form but cant be streched. Also your final question makes weird your title question; why don't just ask for metal flex filament?
There is no such thing as "3D printable metal filament". All "metal filaments" are actually just plastic that looks like metal (because the filament contains small metal particles) but they do not behave in any way like their namesake metals.
Copper, aluminum, and a lot of other metals exhibit "plastic deformation"
afaik, you will have to cast/mold/sinter such objects.
There are machines that print with polymer clays, many of which can be baked after printing to firm them up.
To have a material be "flexible" and retain the shape after the "flexing", you need to apply a stress in excess of the elastic deformation stress. You will want a material that has the elastic deformation limit that is much lower than the ultimate tensile strength. Unfortunately, for plastics, this is difficult to find.
Most plastics are made up of tightly bound, long-chain molecules. Flexing beyond the elastic limit requires breaking these bonds, which introduces weak points in the plastic. You can see this by bending almost any plastic. Either it will snap in two, or you will see a light or white colored line along the fold. The lighter color comes from light scattering from the broken bonds.
"Flexible" structural plastics such as ABS are a copolymer (more than one type of molecule) in which one of the polymers is rubbery. The rubbery bits provide places within the bulk material where the stress can create strain that doesn't require breaking bonds.
I doubt that any 3D-printer FDM compatible filaments will satisfy your needs. A filament must keep its shape during printing, if for no other reason than to permit the extruder drive mechanism to apply pressure to the filament. There are 3D-printable filaments, but they are very elastic and return to their shape when the stress is released.
Some metals can respond to stress with by flowing rather than by elastic strain. Lead comes to mind. Someone suggested copper. There are several degrees of hardness of copper depending on the alloy and the annealing schedule after it was formed. Copper also work-hardens, becoming harder and more likely break under stress the more the copper flows under stress.
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5905 | Speeding up the heating of the heated bed
Currently I am using a 12 volts, 20 amperes power supply (Model S-240-12)
The stepper motors and the extruder need 5 amp, and the heated bed build plate needs 11 amp.
Technically you only need to use a 12 Volts, 16 amperes power supply, but I understand that you use the one with 20 amp because pulse currents from extruders and stepper motors can be stressful to supplies loaded to the max, so for reliability and performance, it is better to use a supply rated for 25% more than you need
In the place where I buy the spare parts for my 3d printer they also sell 12 V power supplies capable of delivering 25 amp and 30 amp and they told me that if I use those ones you are going to be able to speed up the heating of the heated bed. Is that true? I understand that the heated bed is only going to take the 11 amp that it needs so is not going to make any difference to use power supplies capable of delivering more current
are you trying to print ABS materials? What temperature is required?
you could add a 2nd power supply that outputs a higher voltage, and use the old 12v to power a relay or switch a mosfet which controls the higher voltage.
Changing the PSU with one with a higher amperage will not make the bed heat up any faster unless the PSU is underrated for the amperage required and the voltage is dropping as a result of the load. This can be checked by measuring the output voltage with a multimeter (when the PSU is loaded e.g. by a heating heat bed). In this case, the PSU has a marginal higher Amperage than the printer consumes (even has some room for the over-voltage; under the assumption that it is a good working PSU). Increasing the voltage will decrease the heat up time. There is a screw next to the 12 V connectors that can change the output voltage of the PSU. Usually, it is safe to increase the voltage up to 14 V, but that depends on your whole setup (and 14 V is applied to the whole setup, increasing the current for all parts, including your printer controller board, this board must be rated for the 14 V). Please do check the stability of the voltage during load.
Although it can be done, it is not something I used. What is an extra minute on a print of several hours?
You can do the math: say the heat bed has a resistance of 1.2 Ω. We only need two formulas:
$U=R\times I$ - potential Difference U is Resistance R times Current I
$P=U\times I=I^2\times R=\frac {U^2} R$. The power P of an item the potential difference times the current through the item.
at 12 V that will draw 10 Amps (12 V / 1.2 Ω) resulting in a 120 Watt bed: $P= 12^2 \text V \times 10^2 \text A= {10^2 \text A}\times {1.2\ \Omega}=\frac{12^2 \text V} {1.2\ \Omega} $),
at 14 V that same bed will draw 11.7 Amps (14 V / 1.2 Ω) resulting in a 163.3 Watt bed.
Use at your own risk!
What you could do to decrease time to heat the bed without changing the PSU or the voltage is to insulate the bottom of the heat bed with heat bed cotton sheets or cork (placemats from IKEA ;) ), put a sheet of cork onto the heat bed before printing and start heating the bed through the LCD panel of the printer or any attached printer controller programs over USB prior to printing.
Changing the PSU with one with a higher amperage will not make the bed heat up any faster. - unless the PSU is underrated for the amperage required and the voltage is dropping as a result of that. This can be easily verified with a multimeter (measure the voltage coming out of the PSU with the bed on and with the bed off). Increasing the voltage has a number of other benefits (the hotend heats up faster too, and the stepper will have a higher top speed).
Unfortunately, I had to lower back the voltage on that kind of psu, as the voltage was not stable and temperature readings on thermistors were jumping up and down by 4 to 6 degrees. So this is something that you need to take into account.
A more powerful PSU only would solve the problem in two cases: Either your PSU is anemic and underpowered in the first place, or you want you'd separate the bed's power supply from the rest of the machine - by using a higher Voltage for the bed. This would however need you to regulate the heating by having the board control not the bed directly but, control a (Normally Open for safety!) MOSFET, which in turn throttles the power to the bed.
In that case, you can use the resistance R of the bed with whatever voltage your alternate PSU provides to get the power that is turned into heat from the bed using $P_\text{bed}=\frac{U_\text{bed}^2}{R_\text{bed}}$. Our MOSFET can regulate the power that is turned into heat in the bed as it is a Variable Resistance: The total potential differential stays the same, but the voltage available to the heated bed is governed by the resistance of the bed and the MOSFET's resistance. Since the two are in line, they have the same Current flowing through them:
$$U_\text{supply}=U_\text{bed}+U_\text{MOSFET}=I_\text{total}\times(R_\text{bed}+R_\text{MOSFET})$$
That results in what is commonly called a Voltage Divider: the voltage that is available for the bed comes from a derivate of that: $$U_\text{bed}=U_\text{supply}(\frac{R_\text{bed}}{R_\text{MOSFET}+R_\text{bed}})$$
Why the hazzle?
Often, a board also might have a potentiometer for each power exit, and these are generally nothing else but variable resistances - and give us the same effect as a MOSFET for controlling the voltage available to a bed. If available, turning the Bed-Potentiometer a tiny bit will provide just a little higher voltage to the bed and allow slightly faster heating.
May I recommend an alternative approach, which does not require any change of hardware? The time required to heat the bed is not huge, so either via USB from your computer or from the front panel, instruct your printer to heat the bed first, while you're setting everything else up (loading gcode files, changing filaments, or whatever). This way tasks are completed in parallel.
I am using a preheat custom function in marlin which does the job +1
Insulation at the bottom works also, also putting a piece of cork on top during pre-heat and remove just before printing
The question at hand is whether getting a higher-rated PSU would speed up heating of the heated bed. This - while helpful - doesn't answer that.
I glued (high temperature silicone) an isolation (cork 5-8mm) on the bottom side of my heatbed. It avoids loosing heat thru the bottom side. Effect: minimal faster heatup and less energy consuming over the time of use.
The question at hand is whether getting a higher-rated PSU would speed up heating of the heated bed. This - while helpful - doesn't answer that.
this is a correct answer @TomvanderZanden as it focuses not only on the tiny area given by OP, but also provides an alternative way to the solution.
@profesor79 The question is "Would using a higher amperage power supply result in faster heat up times?". This answer doesn't also provide an alternative solution, it provides only an alternative solution. The question is very specific - the person asking the question wants to know whether upgrading the power supply makes sense - and this does not address this at all.
@TomvanderZanden the thing is that we can be closed to what it says, or be open to what it means.
i did the same think with kapton tape on the bottom. it cut about 15 seconds off the heat up time.
Also a thing that helped to preheat faster: make sure no draft is cooling down bed. It sounds obvious but cold-end fan and window draft, even psu fan draft can contribute significantly to preheat time. Eliminating draft source changed bed preheat time from 10 down to 5 minutes in my case...
The question at hand is whether getting a higher-rated PSU would speed up heating of the heated bed. This - while helpful - doesn't answer that.
I hate to sound like the Toolman Tayler from that old TV show. "But, it comes down to More Power!"
Power is the ability to do work (move a mass certain distance) within certain amount of time.
Power = mass x distance x Time.
It can also be expressed in electrical terms, as the ability to heat something within certain amount of time.
Power = Voltage x Current
Since most systems have a fixed voltage, it is still possible to increase power by increasing the current, since,
Voltage = Resistance x Current,
And Power = Voltage x Current,
So, Power = (Resistance x Current) x Current.
So by switching a power supply with the same voltage, but higher current, it will provide additional power to the system. The larger current available would be able to flow through the heating elements, heating them up faster.
However the caveat will be the amount of heat dissipation in the system, the large surface of the bed, will carry away enough of the heat due to air convection, that it may not make much of a difference. Or perhaps the heating element may not handle the larger amount of current and burn out.
It would be worth testing it out, in my humble opinion. Hopefully without causing a fire somewhere. :-)
I'm sorry but this completely wrong, the current is the result of the voltage over a resistance, you cannot choose the current by choosing a power supply that has a higher output current... So, if you don't change the voltage (increase it) or change the resistance (decrease it by replacing the bed with a lower resistor heating element), the current will not change.
I am not quite sure, what you mean by that, if what you wrote was correct, there would be no need to provide optional power supplies with higher wattage. And yet, there they are available many 24 VDC power supplies with 300 Watts, 500, 750, 1000 Watts, etc... Their specific purpose is to provide higher current, and satisfy higher loads.
Indeed, there are different PSU's with different output powers, the higher the power the higher the current the PSU can deliver, but, if you do not change something about the bed (either the voltage or the resistance) a higher rated PSU will not give the bed more current. Current is not something you choose, it is something you get from applying a voltage over a resistor, it is basic electronics.
Actually... the main problem is not the PSU... it's the board. The board acts as a throttle to any electricity flowing through it. It can only take a very distinct combination or risk burning out. You can only circumvent that by using a separate switch.
as for the physics: calculate the other side please: The bed has a Resistance R and is rated for Voltage U. $U/R=I$, It's rated power is given for a standard $P=U I$ setup, but actually calculated using $P=\frac U R U = \frac {U^2} R$. The Resistance of the bed is a fixed value but Voltage can be easily modified - as in adding an extra resistance or removing it. THAT is what a potentiometer is: a throttle for the Voltage.
That's true! The current is and can be throttle using a potentiometer. The Power (Wattage) available is the limiting factor.
NO! Potentiometers are nothing but a variable value resistor. The result is a Voltage divider: You do change, without adding any load to the potentiometer, U, not I. If your PSU is anemic, then yes, a higher rated PSU works, but if you only provide a constant 12 Volt, then 144 divided by the resistance of the whole setup is what the PSU's Current supply is.
By reducing the resistance (using a higher power heating element), it will increase the current consumption. If the power supply can't supply enough current, you can't increase the temperature. That's why you need a higher wattage PSU.
But ONLY if that is your limiting factor (underpowered PSU). Usually, it's the heating element itself.
Using a Ender 6 as example, they come with a 24 VDC board/system. So the voltage is fixed, the PSU is a chinese brand, 15 A, 300 Watt PSU.
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5913 | Zonestar Extruder motor does not work - what can I check?
While this may seem like terribly noobish question, I'm sure one day someone will have same problem.
I own a ZONESTAR P802QSU (Bowden extruder) and all of sudden my extruder motor stopped working. What I did:
I check whether or not motor is moving freely - I can rotate it without any problems manually.
I checked out cable and plugs - everything seems OK.
I checked whether motor is working after plugging it into another slot in motherboard - motor works fine.
I checked if another motor works after plugging it into same slot on mainboard - and it does not.
It would seem that there is something wrong with E0-mot driver module, or with socket. I'm however totally at loss about what can I do with any of those. I do not have any electronic equipment except multimeter, and voltage on motor seems fine(11.3V between red and black, I guess V+ and ground). It sometimes seemed to get lower, but I'm almost sure it is my trembling hands.
After some googling, I started checking A4988 stepper driver with my multimeter. VDD was ~5V and VMOT around 12V, so it seems to work at least in this way.
What can I do, to see what is broken? Visually nothing looks like it burned out, but I'm fully aware it may not be visible.
what is the nozzle temperature when you are checking the motor? there is a build protection to avoid cold extrusion
This is a valid point. I performed similar troubleshooting on an extruder motor with similar results until the thermal protection aspect was pointed out to me. Perform your tests again with the nozzle at operational temperature before you replace parts.
I co drukujesz juz?
Tak drukuję/ Yes, I'm prinitng again after chaning stepper driver to spare one - but I'm almost sure it is the case. It's in midle of really long printing right now, so I can't check it. I gave you upvote, and will check it tomorrow before accepting.
As this is not an obvious case, most printers' firmware has a cold extrusion prevention. That is usually set at 170C, so the nozzle need to be over 170 to allow stepper to move.
I experienced that when I was assembling my TT and doing a cold run, to validate all mechanical movements and clearance.
In Marlin firmware, the extruder stepper is switched off after extrusion, so we can freely move it, but not other motors and that could give us a thought that something is bad with the driver.
It actually works like that in Zonestar P802QSU as well. I guess it was the case!
Good investigation there! You are almost certainly correct that a driver chip has gone blooey. Personally I doubt it's worth the effort to locate and repair, rather than buying a new, trustworthy board.
I recommend this approach because one blown chip may well have caused (or been caused by) unrecognized damage elsewhere, which might then lead to future failures.
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5929 | Stuck getting ANet A8 Printer to build layers
I have excitedly decided to get my feet wet in the 3D printing world, and being that budget is fairly small got myself an ANet A8 3D printer. I have it all assembled and am able to 'print' however I don't really have any luck getting a successful print to actually occur.
At the moment I am printing with PLA (start easy(er) is my logic) and had a few issues with getting the print to adhere to the print bed so found a plastic-like print surface that seems to adhere fairly well but I am still having issues :(.
When the first layers are being deposited onto the bed (extruded at 215, to a bed temperature of 60) they appear to adhere fairly well to the surface, and the layers start to be built up. However, after a random period of time, the layers lost adhesion to the print bed and start to move around the bed which stuffs up all the prints.
in terms of the extruder, the range for the PLA is 190 - 215. I tried lower tempertures but it did not really work in terms of properly melting the filiment unless it was around the 215 range.
To give you an example of how the prints come out, i have attached two images (front and back) of a set of prints. I stopped these printing as they lost grip on the bed.
Bottom Layer (on the bed)
Top Layer
Thanks heaps for helping a newbie out. I had tried changing speeds (faster and slower), changing temperatures and so on but i have no real idea what i am doing and was hoping someone far more knowledgable than me could give me some idea on where i may be going wrong and how to fix the issue.
My Cura profile;
[profile]
layer_height = 0.2
wall_thickness = 1.6
retraction_enable = True
solid_layer_thickness = 1.6
fill_density = 20
nozzle_size = 0.4
print_speed = 30
print_temperature = 215
print_temperature2 = 0
print_temperature3 = 0
print_temperature4 = 0
print_bed_temperature = 60
support = None
platform_adhesion = None
support_dual_extrusion = Both
wipe_tower = False
wipe_tower_volume = 15
ooze_shield = False
filament_diameter = 1.75
filament_diameter2 = 0
filament_diameter3 = 0
filament_diameter4 = 0
filament_flow = 100
retraction_speed = 45
retraction_amount = 4.5
retraction_dual_amount = 16.5
retraction_min_travel = 1.5
retraction_combing = True
retraction_minimal_extrusion = 0.02
retraction_hop = 0.0
bottom_thickness = 0.2
layer0_width_factor = 100
object_sink = 0.0
overlap_dual = 0.15
travel_speed = 50
bottom_layer_speed = 20
infill_speed = 0
inset0_speed = 0.0
insetx_speed = 0.0
cool_min_layer_time = 5
fan_enabled = True
skirt_line_count = 1
skirt_gap = 3.0
skirt_minimal_length = 150.0
fan_full_height = 0.5
fan_speed = 30
fan_speed_max = 70
cool_min_feedrate = 10
cool_head_lift = False
solid_top = True
solid_bottom = True
fill_overlap = 15
support_type = Lines
support_angle = 60
support_fill_rate = 10
support_xy_distance = 1.2
support_z_distance = 0.45
spiralize = False
simple_mode = False
brim_line_count = 4
raft_margin = 5
raft_line_spacing = 1.0
raft_base_thickness = 0.3
raft_base_linewidth = 0.7
raft_interface_thickness = 0.2
raft_interface_linewidth = 0.2
raft_airgap = 0.22
raft_surface_layers = 2
fix_horrible_union_all_type_a = True
fix_horrible_union_all_type_b = False
fix_horrible_use_open_bits = False
fix_horrible_extensive_stitching = False
plugin_config = (lp1
.
object_center_x = -1
object_center_y = -1
Next to re-leveling your bed you may want to prepare your bed better so that it keeps hold of your print better. Please read about bed preparation if you use tape, I never use tape and print directly onto the aluminium bed or glass using PVA based glue spray.
I use a PEI bed not tape or stickers. The bed seems fairly good for the most part, and adhesion is way better than alternatives I have tried. Did wonder about printing directly to the aluminium bed.
Your nozzle is way too far from the bed for the first layer. You should adjust the bed leveling screws to bring the nozzle closer to the bed, to the point where a piece of paper just barely fits between the nozzle and the bed. You should closely watch the first layer as it is being put down, the plastic should get squished slightly and there should be no gaps between adjacent lines.
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5931 | Adding extra Z-offset to bed for PETG in Slic3r
Having printed exclusively in PLA for the past year, I'm now looking at trying out PETG in order to print a set of spare parts for my new Prusa i3 mk3.
I have bought a roll of PETG from Rigid.ink and their recommendation is to leave an extra 0.2mm gap between the nozzle and bed.
Can I achieve this extra Z offset in gcode using Slic3r PE, or would I need to do it using Live Z Adjust on the printer? How would I go about doing this if so?
Or is there some other way of doing it, so whenever I select my PETG filament profile in Slic3r, the extra Z-offset gets added?
An extra gap of 0.2 mm on top of your existing gap seems rather illogical as the filament is not squished at the build plate anymore. Furthermore 0.2 mm plus something you already have will soon result in a gap over 75% of your nozzle diameter (including your first layer; note that 75% is considered to be the max for good adhesion). The filament will then drop down to the plate... Possible effects/results can be seen in this recent question.
Having printed about 8 kg's of PETG, I have never had to add an additional gap. I have printed on various machines; Prusa clone, Ultimaker 3E and self build CoreXY. I use a 0.2 to 0.25 mm first layer thickness (for a 0.4 mm nozzle) while printing on glass or directly onto the aluminium bed using a PVA based spray glue (3DLAC). Beds are always leveled with the nozzle to bed distance of a sheet A4 printing paper. I have zero adhesion problems.
I would recommend you to try print as you would normally do and, when that does not work, increase the first layer in your slicer slightly. Printing temperature/speed towers is also recommended to find the best settings for your brand of PETG.
Now to address your specific question how to change the offset in your slicer; an additional offset can be added into your start code script by adding a move to a certain height and redefining the zero Z level. This should be typically done after auto leveling of the bed (if used). So before the first layer is being printed you could add:
; start code contains homing, pre-heating, auto-leveling, nozzle priming, etc.
G1 Z0.2 F500 ; Go to the level of 0.2 mm + your paper thickness
G92 Z0 ; This redefines the zero Z level
You can create custom startcode profiles in Slic3r (requires setting the Printer Settings) and store them with a specific name so you can have different printer profiles.
I came here to solve an issue during an MMU2S tool change from PLA to TPU where TPU like some other flex materials needs a slightly higher Z offset. Due to TPU's higher elasticity, with a typical (PLA) Z offset TPU can compress at the nozzle when first loading and seal the nozzle creating enough pressure to render the extruder ineffective leading typically to an extruder jam - not fun with flex materials. In any case, a small Z offset change significantly reduces the chance of this and Slicer at the time of writing this doesn't seem to support Custom g code per filament specifically. Thanks!
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5878 | Change Slic3r settings for left handed coordinate system
I made my printer to have a left handed coordinate system (it homes to the back left corner of the heatbed), I did this because it happens to make working on the printer easier for me. This, however, causes the objects to be printed mirrored. In Slic3r I manually mirror objects every time I load a new objects. From time to time I forget doing this which is really annoying. I was wondering if there is a setting in Slic3r to automatically do this. Something like mirroring on import, or changing the axis in Slic3r itself.
So your Y min end stop is at the front of the printer when facing it and left for X min? I think you can fix your problem using the correct setup in your configuration of the firmware.
@0scar yes its in front
The direction of the end stop is set in the firmware of the printer. Even with different setup end stops, you should be able to get a correct coordinate system without mirroring axes in slicers. This would be the preferred method to fix your problem!
E.g. my Ultimaker 3 Extended homes the Z on Z max having the platform at the bottom of the machine, a calibrated offset determines the actual Z=0.
Not knowing which firmware you are using, in e.g. Marlin Firmware this is set by code lines in the file Configuration.h:
// Direction of endstops when homing; 1=MAX, -1=MIN
// :[-1,1]
#define X_HOME_DIR -1
#define Y_HOME_DIR -1
#define Z_HOME_DIR -1
Your end stop triggers at the maximum of the Y axis, so you need to configure it as a MAX end stop, i.e. use the Y_MAX pins by defining (search for the Endstop Settings section, note to also disable the YMIN endstop):
//#define USE_YMIN_PLUG // This disables the YMIN endstop
#define USE_YMAX_PLUG // This enables the YMAX endstop
and change the homing direction (Y_HOME_DIR) to 1:
#define Y_HOME_DIR 1 // This tells the printer where the endstop is located: positive for YMAX direction
Otherwise when used at Y_MIN endstop and the homing direction set to -1, the axis is reversed as you experienced.
with "adjust the bed coordinates underneath" you mean #define Y_MIN_POS and #define Y_MAX_POS ?
its ok, I managed to mirror the axis, I set #define Y_HOME_DIR 1 and in addition: #define USE_YMAX_PLUG #if DISABLED(ENDSTOPPULLUPS) #define ENDSTOPPULLUP_YMAX #define Y_MAX_ENDSTOP_INVERTING true and I inverted/removed all Y_MIN settings, which made everything work. ty
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5959 | Only generate supports between object and bed (for a brain model)
I would like to print a model of my brain (figure 1), it requires supports (figure 2). The supports also get generated between the brain folds/wrinkles of the brain by Slic3r. I only want the supports to be generated between the bed an the object, not within the object itself. I thought of writing a script to edit the g-code, is there an easier way out?
Figure 1:
Figure 2:
Within Slic3r, there are settings for support, which can be enabled to create support only from the build plate. This would still generate supports under the brain, but not within the hollow sections.
This worked, I had to install the latest version to get that option (cloned from github)
You could check meshmixer, the tree supports are pretty neat for complex models. You can edit the auto generated supports and when you are happy with the result it gets embedded in the 3d model.
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5997 | Getting precise measurement of a complex rod
I'm trying to build a headrest for my Sayl office chair. For that, I'm designing a 3d-printed part that's going to fit on one of the existing rods of the chair.
Check out this picture:
How would you go about in getting the exact measurements of that white rod? I tried a caliper, and I'm able to get the width and depth, and I can just assume that the rod's profile is a perfect ellipse, which is probably a close estimate. But say that I want to get a more precise measurement. Is there any technique to do that?
You willing to disassemble the chair and use scanning techniques such as a 3-D laser scanner? More to the point: what is the intended operation of your add-on part? Does it need to fit to a high precision or can it go with an oversize hole?
you can make a mold with modeling clay and then slice up the mold to take "samples" at a regular interval with a pair of calipers.
In an earlier comment you stated that you cannot take it apart. So without taking it apart, you could try to determine the profile the old-fashion way with a piece of cardboard and a short pencil, just cut the rough shape of the rod and place it onto the rod, then take the short pencil and draw the profile onto the cardboard with the pencil parallel to the rod. Measuring the distance from the pencil center to the pencil radius will give you the profile of the rod with that off-set. This technique, or the technique used to create notches in logs for log cabins may be used to find the profile at various sections which have to be entered in a 3D CAD model program and splined/lofted to get the surface of the rod.
Alternatively you could use a profile shape tool carpenters use:
You need to disasemble the part and measure it with special equipment, a caliper can help but only as reference since the part has an angled shape.
I recommend to use an optical comparator (base shadows) with this you can have X and Y data to calculate the angle and curves. If you want more precise measurements you can try an Optical Measurement Device (based camera), this also can give you Z but X and Y will help you a lot. Both equipments use a system called Quadra Chek many industries has at least one of this to assure his quality due meets all requirements for Ford GDT guides (geometric dimensional tolerances). no matter the manufacturer brand.
I´ve tried to measure with the phone or table application but is hardly to calibrate on each required dimension. I had to buy an optical comparator.
Depends on the accuracy required to meet the needs of the add-on part.
In an earlier statement the OP said Nah, can't pull it apart.
You could pull it apart and have it 3d scanned if you want to know the exact dimensions. There are companies that can do that for you at a certain price. Our company has used such services in scanning various parts before we obtained our own laser scanning device.
The question is whether you want exactly the same (dimension wise) part (maybe you do for ecstatic reasons) while a part that is a little more beefier would work also.
Edit:
Although tagged with 3D scanning, the OP did not mention whether he would be able to disassemble the part. 3D scanning is an option when taken apart. Another solution has been posted since.
Given that the question is already tagged "[3d] scanning", I don't think this really helps much. How do you get something 3D scanned? This is the equivalent of answering "How do I take a portrait photo" with "Using a camera.".
Nah, can't pull it apart. Thanks for the information though.
Well, if 3d scanning is out of the question if it is not taken apart, the whole answer can be deleted. Either way, the tag should be deleted as well.
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5996 | Uneven wall thickness with test cube
I noticed that one edge (which is also the starting point of the print) is always bigger than the other three. Additionally, the walls do not have the same thickness as well. The wall thickness (starting from the thick edge) starts very thin and gets thicker till reaching the thick edge again. Does anyone have a clue whats the issue?
Seems to be an error on your STL file, sometimes the polylines creates an inverted face or some line is broken.
are you printing from pc or from sd card?
I print from a SD-Card
This happens when you have poor retraction / oozing.
Signs of too high temp and poor retraction
Thick blob at start point, meaning moltin plastic is oozing out as you change Z position
As you see at the end of the line less material, you prematurely oozed out liquid plastic. As the melt zone is depeleated you get thinner lines.
Solutions
Increase retraction distance. This will remove the plastic from the melt zone and prevent some of the oozing.
Speed up Z axis lower and raising. Or decrease distances
Lower temps. Start with 3 cel increments. You want to go as low as you can without causing print defects.
You will likely need to do 1 and 3. 2 you really shouldn't need after you fix your temps.
As Fernando suggests, the problem is likely with your source file. One easy way to verify this is to slice twice, rotating the STL by 90 degrees. If both prints produce fat/thin sides in the same dimension on the print bed, then it's a printer problem. If the fat side rotated with the STL orientation, then the STL is at fault.
@dgrat Also you can try to preview in Pronterface your gcode generated before printing, When I started to print I got this kind of errors, so I previewed all my gcodes with that program. Now I use 3D symplify this program give the preview with great detail at that moment on creating the slices; if the shape is correct then I create the valid gcode.
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6046 | How can I create PNG image files from STL files?
I need to add some simple image renders of STL files to a document. I currently open the STL files in Preview or one of the slicers and grab a screen shot.
Is there an easier or automatic way to generate PNG images from STL files on a Mac?
The answer below sounds pretty good, so I'll just comment that Google turns up a number of options for generating postscript files from STL, and you should be able to convert those to other image formats. I'm not sure how lossy that transition would be (and it'll vary by tool), but figured I'd mention it in case someone comes here looking for e.g. a non-Mac solution...
If you have OpenSCAD installed, this shell script will generate 100x100 pixel PNG images for each STL file in your current directory.
for i in *.stl; do
T=__tmp__$i
b=`basename $i`
echo import\(\"$i\"\)\; >$T
/Applications/OpenSCAD.app/Contents/MacOS/OpenSCAD -o $b.png --imgsize=100,100 $T
rm $T
done
Credit to 0scar for pointing out STL files can be imported into OpenSCAD.
Update: This code does the same, and generates an html file with annotated images of the files rendered. When I printed a batch of spare parts for my 3D printer I made a hardcopy and stuck it in the box so I could identify the parts later.
n=-1
H=00-catalog.html
echo >$H '<table>'
echo >>$H ' <tr>'
for i in $*; do
n=`expr $n + 1`
if test $n = 4; then
n=0
echo >>$H ' </tr>'
echo >>$H ' <tr>'
fi
echo $i
T=__tmp__$i
B=`basename $i .stl`
echo import\(\"$i\"\)\; >$T
/Applications/OpenSCAD.app//Contents/MacOS/OpenSCAD -o $B.png --imgsize=200,200 $T
echo >>$H
echo >>$H ' <td>'$i'<br><img src="'$B'.png"></td>'
rm $T
done
echo >>$H ' </tr>'
echo >>$H '</table>'
I've been trying to understand this code for a long time. What does the echo import\(\"./$i\"\)\; > "$T" line actually do? I'm trying to edit it so I can convert files that contain spaces in their names.
Note: If using in a headless environment like CI/CD/Github Actions, you will need an x11 environment. A workaround is to start a fake X11 with Xvfb e.g ( Xvfb :99 & export DISPLAY=:99)
@erdostamasa - the line is creating a one line temporary script that does an import of the STL file. When openscad is called, it imports this file then the -o and --imgsize=100,100 from the command line do the rest. The rm $T then cleans up this temporary file.
Typically you would install a (free) 3D model program as Fusion 360, FreeCAD, or many more options to choose from. Once installed, import the STL file and use menu options to export a picture of your STL.
Alternatively, if you have some programming skills, you could import the STL file in OpenSCAD and render and export a picture from there. Simply create an OpenSCAD file with the code line below and it will import your example.stl.
import("example.stl", convexity=10);
Through the menu you can then export the view to an image. Note that you can do that also from the command line as shown by the OP's own answer (nice example of command line usage of OpenSCAD).
These are not the only options, there are many more. E.g. this is a nice example. It also describes how Thingiverse.com does STL to web image.
For those looking for a nautilus thumbnailer using this technique, I've written a quick one here: https://github.com/sbrl/nautilus-thumbnailer-stl/
If you don't mind using screen grabs, you could use AppleScript or whatever it's called in the latest MacOS versions to build an automated script to open each file, grab screen, save, etc.
You can use OpenSCAD, as stated in the accepted answer.
Here is a version of that script that works for Windows for anyone who needs it, as I did.
# Change height and width to the desired output image dimensions, in pixels.
# The path to openscad.exe may also have to be adjusted based on your installation.
height=1080
width=1080
for i in *.stl; do
T=__tmp__$i
b=`basename "$i"`
echo import\(\"./$i\"\)\; > "$T"
C:/'Program Files'/OpenSCAD/openscad.exe -o "$b".png --autocenter --viewall --imgsize=$width,$height "$T"
rm "$T"
done
What does the echo import\(\"./$i\"\)\; > "$T" line do? I'm trying to convert files with spaces in their names but keep getting various errors.
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15597 | Ultimaker Cura 4.8 / How to specify bed (Print) Area?
Repetier-host has a setting to specify the "print area". That's roughly the size of the bed.
Note that the printer head can go out of those bounds, in my case my bed is very undersized compared to the printer frame, but this would also be an issue if you had clips or some obstacles in the bed.
Is there a similar setting in Cura where I can specify the "print area"/"bed size"/"margins" to be different from the printer width/depth?
Thanks.
Repetier host settings:
The print area settings would be in the Preferences > Printers. Select the particular printer on the left side pane, then click the "Machine Settings" button.
You will need to set a printing offset (M206) in Marlin: via Start G-code in Cura, or any other suitable way (LCD configuration, configuration files, etc.).
Do you refer to the x(width), y(depth) settings in that image? they set where the printer can move to, but not where the bed is within that coordinate system. If you had a bed of 100mm x 100mm in your same frame... how do you define that there?
I see what you are asking now. I am new to 3D printing, so I would assume that the printer firmware would center the print bed within the frame of the printer. Maybe someone with more experience can shed some more light.
The build area has three dimensions (assuming we all agree to remain with a cuboid, like all slicers do). Then that's all Cura has to know. @rufo is taking advantage of "host" functionality, which (most simply) can be task of firmware like Marlin. So @argaza your answer lacks only one information: setting an printing offset (M206) in Marlin: via Start G-code in Cura, or any other suitable way (LCD configuration, configuration files, etc.).
@octopus8 I have edited to add your suggestion.
I am not sure this is the "official" solution for this, but I was able to define the "disallowed areas" in a custom printer definition.
I created a json file under C:\Program Files\Ultimaker Cura 4.8.0\resources\definitions for the printer, and added the machine_disallowed_areas section to "overrides".
"machine_disallowed_areas": {
"default_value": [
[ [ -97.5, 90],[97.5,90] , [97.5,80] ,[-97.5,80] ] ,
[ [ -97.5, -57],[97.5,-57] , [97.5,-90] ,[-97.5,-90] ] ,
[ [ -97.5, -90], [-49.5, -90], [-49.5,90 ] ,[-97.5, 90] ],
[ [ 64.5, 90], [64.5, -90], [97.5, -90], [97.5,90 ] ]
]
}
Very interesting. Sound a bit exaggerated to reach the simple goal. If I wanted just a rectangular bed and a space above it, I would go for X,Y,Z dimensions plus home offset. The fewer numbers, the fewer places to make error.
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15637 | Is there an easy way to add rounded edges to semicircle in OpenSCAD?
I've put together a flashlight mount for a camera coldshoe in OpenSCAD. I originally modeled it in FreeCAD and it was easy to round the edges of the clamp with a fillet and that makes it a little easier to get the light in and out of the mount.
I'm not sure how to do it in OpenSCAD. Naively, I'm sure I could calculate where on my semicircle I would need to add some cylinders in order to round the sharp corners, but it seems like there'd be something a little easier than that.
Am I missing something?
Here's the coldshoe light mount SCAD file and this is what it looks like:
I'm far from a wizard with OpenSCAD, but enjoy using the program, learning something new every time. In your case, it's likely that you can use the roundanything library to accomplish your objective.
The library will present various implementations in the samples, making it an exercise for the reader to determine which module calls will present the solution.
The image below shows a part which has had the radii applied in a manner similar to your image:
If you're modeling as a 2D object and extruding with linear_extrude, you can use the offset tranformation with positive r on the (initially undersized) 2D object to smooth corners.
I ended up taking a third option I suppose. I decided I was cutting the gap wrong. I was using difference to take a rectangle out of the ring.
I decided I'd simplify that and take out an extruded triangle.
ringRadius = radius + thickness;
verticalOffset = tan(gapAngle / 2) * ringRadius;
linear_extrude(height = height)
polygon(points = [[0, 0], [ringRadius, verticalOffset], [ringRadius, -verticalOffset]]);
That way, the thickness of the plane that needed rounding is uniformely the thickness of the ring. Then, it was just a matter of adding cylinders, centering them in the ring, and rotating them into position.
for(side = [-1, 1]) {
cornerRadius = radius + thickness / 2;
rotate([0, 0, gapAngle / 2 * side])
translate([cornerRadius, 0, 0])
color("blue") cylinder(r = thickness / 2, h = height);
}
Eventually I'd like to make it a little more complex and help accommodate a light better, but for now it gets me the rounded ends I was looking for.
I'm still going to accept the round everything answer because, though I decided it was more complexity than it was worth on this model, it looks like it would solve other rounding issues too.
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15645 | Replacement Z Probe for MP10
Has anyone successfully replaced the inductive Z probe on the Monoprice MP10 (Mini or regular) with a different type, such as BLTouch or IR?
I find that the stock inductive probe isn't so accurate, and since it's inductive it only works with the aluminum build plate but not with glass or PEI, which I much prefer.
From Thingiverse you can find a BLTouch mount for the MP10 (and MP10 mini):
Note that in order to use the BLTouch sensor you need a different controller board that supports connecting a BLTouch sensor as the MonoPrice controller board doesn't support connecting a BLTouch sensor.
From ref.:
A BLTouch adapter for the Monoprice MP10 & MP10 Mini. NOTE: you will need an open source control board to get this to work as the stock firmware on the MP10 line of products does not allow for a BLTouch.
What control board did you use?
@SZH I don't own a MP10, but there are plenty of boards out there nowadays, you are doing good by investing in a 32-bit controller board with enough drivers and options.
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15727 | Is it better use Nylon fillement for cold pull even if I have been using PLA?
Using Prusa I3 MK3S
I am using PLA fillement and I need to do cold pull from time to time.
I noticed many people on Internet suggestusing Nylon fillement for clod pull.
I wanted to reach out to this community and ask if it is better using Nylon fillement for cold pull even if I have been using PLA?
Nylon holds better when pulled, PLA may snap.
Also it can grab particles around it, but it keeps low friction so the force you use to pull goes to detaching the dirt instead of rubbing against the walls.
By getting solid and by maintaining strength at higher temperatures, you can pull when it's hotter (with PLA you should pull at what? 40 °C?) and by being hotter can grab particles and remains of other filaments which are potentially softer. It's pulled at around 140-150 °C so that ABS and PLA at that temperature are very sticky and soft.
By holding easily higher temperatures (250-260 °C easily) you can also extrude it and it will melt any other filament in the nozzle.
Try doing some cold pulls with a light colour PLA to be able to see what it grabs. After a couple of pulls it should be clean. Then do nylon and check how much more stuff it will remove. If it's nothing, no need of using nylon. If it's dirty, it's the proof it can clean everything better than PLA.
A sample of nylon (50 g usually) will be sufficient for a long time so no need to get a full spool.
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15757 | Can 3D printer models be used in video game engines and vs versa?
If someone creates a 3D model of a character for 3D printing can I import that model into Unreal engine or Unity 3D for use in a video game? Also is the inverse true? Can I get 3D model of Mario and send that to a 3D printer?
Specifically, it’s more important to know if I can pull a 3D printer model into an unreal game project
Yes. You can import it into Blender, but it will need "bones" and "armature" if you want it to move at all. In Blender, you can manually add armature and "Rig" it, if you want animations.
You can probably convert whatever file type the 3D model is (probably STL) to fbx with Blender
For animating, start with a super basic 2-bone rig YouTube tutorial, then learn about vertex weights or automatic weighting.
But you'll have to UV map it too. The UV map tells textures where to go on the model, STL doesn't have those.
Your time is 100% better spent finding a model that's ready and moving on with your project.
Check Unreal Marketplace.
Also,
https://www.turbosquid.com/3d-model/free/low-poly/character
https://www.cgtrader.com/free-3d-models/character?polygons=lt_5k
Regarding the second question: "Can I get 3D model of Mario and send that to a 3D printer?" meaning successful print, the answer depends on the model and the printer. Basically you can send any model to print, but each technology has its limitations of quality, size, physics. For figurines, resin printers (SLA or DLP technologies) seem best choice.
Printed figurines would be non-movable and empty inside (to some extent), unless are specifically designed as mechanical toys. I think this is the key difference between mechanical movement ability and modern 3d object animations.
As you already noticed, the mesh files could be reused here or there. So static objects like furniture pieces could be suitable for both purposes.
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15740 | What is the difference between tuning the speed on the Ender 3 panel, and the Cura Print Speed setting?
I'm printing a lot of draft parts so I don't care if they fall apart in my fingers, I just need the shape. I can scroll to the Tune menu on my Ender 3 Pro console and set the speed to 200% and it doubles the speed. But when I set the Print Speed setting to 100 instead of 50 mm/s in Cura, it doesn't save much time, even if I adjust the individual first layer speed, wall speed, top layer speed, etc. What is the difference?
Ideally, I would like the first layer to print normally, and then print at 2x speed.
I figured it out.
Feed rate, in general, is the speed of a single print move, from point A to point B. It is specified with every G1 command that commands a move. Setting the feed rate on the printer console will scale the feed rate of every move the printer makes. The Cura "Print speed" setting is used as a basis to set the print speed (Feed rate) of different line types. Eg. Infil is 100% of this speed, walls are 50% of this speed, etc.
There are several other settings that will make Cura will decide not to use the speed that you set.
Minimum layer time. In my case, this prevented the walls of the calibration cube from reaching the maximum speed. They were slowed down until so that each layer took at least 10 seconds.
Lines that overhangs are scaled to a percentage of what they would normally print at.
Bridge speed settings are found in the experimental settings, and if enabled they will override the speed for bridges.
In addition, the printer's acceleration setting may prevent it from reaching the maximum speed. You can see this if you issue this command during printing:
M201 X50 Y50 ; Set max acceleration
The print will slow down a lot until you set it back to the default. The printer will accelerate and decelerate slowly and simply never reach the maximum speed over short distances. The default in the Marlin firmware (for Ender) seems to be:
M201 X500 Y500 ; Set max acceleration
You can look under Cura setting to set ' Initial Layer Print Speed ' and ' Initial Layer Travel speed ', you may appropriately set you print speed as you required
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15857 | What is the best way to build a closed loop continuous rotation servo for 3D printer?
So I was thinking of using a closed-loop motor in my 3D printer for better accuracy and high-speed printing without losing steps. I have analyzed options available including just tweaking stepper current and firmware changes to prevent step losses but I want to find the best way to do it with encoders. The problem is I need a pretty high resolution for a 3d printer and usually, high-resolution servo motors use potentiometers that are limited and not suitable for a 3d printer. I am thinking of building my own closed-loop continuous rotation servo using stepper/DC motors and encoders but I can't find any high-resolution encoder at a reasonable price. So is there any way to somehow use low-resolution encoders (like 36 pulse every full turn) or is there any encoder type that I can use for better accuracy at a reasonable price other than optical ones? Also is there any other solution for closed-loop systems at a reasonable price?
Note that I am aware that I may need to modify firmware or write my own code for motors and program them from scratch.
Note: You might consider this question Closed-loop stepper motors a possible duplicate but I have read that and my main problem is not being able to find any cheap high-resolution encoder for this purpose.
Also for some reason, I can't use products like BTT S42B closed-loop stepper drives, my only option is to build them myself.
TL;DR:
Is there any type of encoder with high resolution and cheap price for use in 3D printers? (I don't mean brand, I mean technology)
I am just asking for clarification: on one hand you say "I need a pretty high resolution for a 3d printer", and on the other you consider 36 "steps" per turn - while standard stepper motors make 200 steps (of 1.8 degree)?
@octopus8 The problem is exactly this. The cheap encoder pulses every 10 degrees that is so low. I had an idea in my head like a 1:100 gear reduction and attaching encoder to gearbox input part so the resolution will be 0.1 degrees. I am asking for solutions to this problem, including other encoder types and possibly any similar solution
Gears will have backlash, unless you can measure it you won't be gaining anything. And ironically to measure gear backlash will require an encoder ha. A high resolution encoder is your only option tbh.
What about stepper motors with attached planetary gearbox, like 3:1? Do they also have a backlash? Or maybe it is not really important, because achieved increase of resolution is still better?
If you're after accuracy, you're probably after quality as well. Since three to four axes need to work together in a printer, the delay of correcting a step will probably do more harm than good for print quality.
I still believe that proper drivers (e.g TMC5160) with proper steppers are a much easier way to prevent lost steps. I've had my CoreXY Direct Drive X-Axis up to 1200 mm/s at 20k mm/s^2 without lost steps.
You can use a magnetic position encoder.
AS5048B High Resolution Position Sensor
14-bit rotary position sensor with digital angle (interface) and PWM output
14 bit means 16k steps/rotation. With a stepper which does 200 steps/rotation and 16x microstepping, you will need only 11 bit, so you have plenty of extra accuracy you can use to filter noise.
You may use AS5600 Positioning Sensor instead, which is 12 bits, since you don't need to track each microsteps in a closed loop, 4x is enough.
AS5600 in PWM mode does up to 920 Hz, AS5048 1 kHz. I'm not sure in I2C mode but surely more. Of course you have to take into account delay between measuring the position and transmission of the position.
Very interesting stuff. Would it just need to glue a flat magnet to the motor's shaft? --> found it. There are even links of recommended magnet suppliers.
@octopus8 I bought both boards on Aliexpress and they come with a magnet already. I guess you just need to be careful with iron parts nearby, because if they are VERY close they may distort the field and cause nonlinearity issues.
Thanks for your answer. So I can do up to 1/64 microsteeping if it has 16k PPR. Which means 2.5 microns resolution without any error. Will this make any change in print quality compared to normal printers without an encoder?
Also, I don't have much information on encoders. So is it better to use absolute or incremental for this purpose?
No I would not step up to 64X, it's mechanically pointless because nothing in the 3D printer is accurate enough for that. 16X is plenty. Also, I guess you have not much experience with experimental measurement, but if you measure 1 mm with a ruler which has 1 mm ticks, your uncertainty will be 100%. You want the measurement tool to be much more accurate than whatever you measure. Also, those encoders have uncertainties of at least 2 bits, so 16X is already the max you can use to get meaningful data. For the rest you have to look it up, I never used them personally (yet).
The gearbox approach is solid, but it will be 100x slower, and you said you wanted speed.
It will be much slower, indeed. And probably less reliable. Trying to build reasonable speed of the whole reduction setup 100:1 it would mean rotating stepper motor by two orders of magnitude. So it will have much less torque, will be probably loosing steps, and may be even impossible to turn this fast. (Otherwise with 1:100 increase, but I won't consider the impact ;) ). Though, all this is just a remark, not a complete answer how to build a solution :(
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15888 | Can I make this extruder work by changing motor?
I have a Flex3Drive remote-direct-drive extruder I bought for my Ender 3 (with the original extruder motor), and I'm pretty happy with it except for abysmal retraction performance due to the 40:1 reduction, which requires the motor to turn about 480° to retract just 1 mm. This is minimally workable for PLA and rigid materials where I can get by with just 1 mm of retraction, but it takes just as long to retract 1 mm as the original bowden extruder did to retract 6 mm, defeating a lot of the appeal of a direct drive. For TPU I haven't been able to make it workable at all. By the time I retract 3 mm or so, which seems necessary to avoid stringing, the hotend has already melted and/or deposited a blob on the print. Failure to print TPU also defeats much of the point of a direct drive.
I'm running retraction at 8 mm/s, 500 mm/s² acceleration, which is already higher than the manufacturer of the extruder recommends, and about the fastest I've been able to get it to work. Based on this calculator and 8.9 mH motor inductance, that seems roughly expected. I have TMC 2209 steppers and tried playing with current but it doesn't seem to make much difference.
Otherwise, I love this extruder, and want to make it work. Is there a way I can salvage it by changing out the motor for something that can do higher RPMs and accelerate just as fast or faster?
In general I would use https://github.com/rcarlyle/StepperSim which takes into account more parameters.
You can play with voltage and current to see which combination gives you the best results for your motor.
Or you can change to a TMC driver with higher voltage (35-50 V) to keep torque at much higher speeds and push the current motor more.
Since the torque you require is likely not so high, you can increase the speed of your stepper motor with 3D printed herringbone gears, for example 4:1. They don't need to be super accurate, backlash is totally fine considering the ridiculous 40:1 reduction.
Yeah, adding a gear on the motor end of the flex shaft seems like it should be doable, just replacing the existing 3D printed linkage there, but I suppose I'll have to do at least some custom design. Do you know any good designs I might look at as an example or to customize?
Maybe this, but with the shafe configuration for the input and output reversed? https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3641458 The main adaptation seems like it'd be making the output shaft of the motor fit what was intended to be the output of the gearbox. The new output can just be merged directly with the existing 3D printed part that goes to the flex shaft.
That's a good option indeed, it only extends the length of the motor, which is usually not an issue
While the following doesn't conclusively prove changing the motor would work, I think the answer is yes! And I achieved the desired result via a different method, so I consider the problem solved.
Instead of changing the motor, I designed a 1:4 step-up planetary gearbox to put on top of the extruder motor, yielding a 10:1 net reduction instead of the original 40:1. This works, even without much attention to part strength or backlash in the gearbox (thanks to the subsequent 40:1 reduction), yielding the desired sub-50ms retractions with PLA. This seems to establish that the rotational rate or acceleration of the flex shaft is not a limiting factor.
One thing I noticed after adding my gearbox is that, even after scaling up the extruder speed and acceleration to 4x the values I was using without the gearbox, the stepper motor did not make the sharp "chirp"/"squeal" sound on retractions that I got before. This seemed odd, because it should be the same speed/acceleration for the output shaft and slightly higher load than before. So I think there may be something other than just exceeding the stepper's capabilities going on with the original configuration.
The manufacturer's recommended (provided STL files) coupling of the motor to the flex shaft is this long rigid coupler and guide cap:
That looks like a suspiciously long lever on the motor output shaft. And while the cap retains the flex cable sheath fairly rigidly, it can't be perfectly aligned with the motor shaft, and there's room for the flex shaft to move slightly side to side inside the sheath. So, my guess is that spinning the flex shaft at high speeds with it directly coupled to the motor like this put some serious lateral forces on the motor output shaft, interfering with the motor's performance and likely leading to long-term damage if not corrected.
The gearbox I added avoids extending the motor shaft at all (the planetary gear carrier slides fully over the D-shaft) and the small amount of backlash in the gears themselves allows the flex shaft positioning to be imprecise with (apparently) no serious ill effects. And if it does cause unwanted wear, well these are printed parts that are easily replaceable.
As for the 40:1 reduction in the extruder itself, after working with all of this to get it printing well, I don't think it's necessarily a wrong design. The flex shaft can handle the speeds needed just fine, and the 40:1 reduction keeps torque from the extruder gear off of it while extruding. The Zesty Nimble (which some call a clone of this design) used 30:1 instead of 40:1, and has dropped to 20:1 in their latest iteration, probably for reasons related to my troubles with the 40:1. But I think the gearbox at the motor side is actually a rather nice solution that preserves all of the potentially good properties of the high reduction and none of the bad ones. It does make the setup more complicated to manufacture and install though.
I wonder how they picked that huge reduction.
@FarO: I wouldn't assume it's a bad choice for the reduction after the flex shaft. Being high reduction should prevent wear on the shaft and error due to twisting of the shaft. But failing to step up before it seems bad. I also have some other ideas I'll add in a bit.
@FarO: I added a lot more now.
That long lever on the carriage side is a weak point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvY_dChxj0E
@FarO: Thanks for the link. I'm not too worried about that because I can justprint a new cap if needed. The Orbiter does look very attractive (and addresses the slow retraction issue) though.
I was considering buying a Fl3xdrive but had this exact fear, that the speed (rotation) required for retractions was too much.
I stumbled upon this post while looking for a project for a step-up gearbox. I found a Nema 17 Gearbox "Pulleybox" Mod for Extruder on Thingiverse, should be enough to do what you did with your design, I guess.
Isn't this running in the opposite direction (reduction)?
No, it is a 1:3.5 step-up pulley.
I've looked at the pictures twice now and clearly the small pulley is on the motor and the large one on the output, making it a reduction.
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15919 | How can you prevent the build plate from slipping?
I have just set up my new 3D printer. However, the build plate keeps slipping while printing. I tried to use binder clips to keep the plate in place, but this makes the build plate unlevel, messing up my prints. What are some other ways to prevent the build plate from slipping. I was considering using duct tape, but am not sure whether this would work.
I use kapton tape to fixate the glass plates to the heated beds on two of my printers, one a Prusa i3 clone, the other a CoreXY. The tape is able to withstand higher temperatures, and is very thin, so it doesn't have the drawbacks of limiting the print area or high chance the nozzle hitting the clips.
I'm not sure what "the build plate keeps slipping while printing. I tried to use binder clips to keep the plate in place" means, but if you have a build surface and a bottom heated bed, you can look for "silicone thermal pad 0.5mm".
You can put it between build surface and lower bed, so that it will increase friction and there won't be any slipping, even without clips.
You can also look for "thermal conductive rubber silicone cloth 0.3mm" which is fiberglass reinforced and thinner, but with a maybe worse thermal conductivity. It is however more tear resistant, which helps when you remove the build surface.
What filament materials have you successfully printed on this surface?
@PerryWebb sorry, this goes between build surface and bottom heater
OK, makes sense now.
Build Plate
If your clips aren't holding down your build plate, make sure your nozzle isn't crashing into the plate and moving it. A build surface between the clip and surface or adhesive might help keep the clip from slipping on the top surface. A rubbery gasket material that can withstand you heated bed temperatures, such as the silicon FarO mentions, can keep the bottom of the plate from slipping. This is the most important surface not to slip.
Apparently, Oscar's option is to tape down the edges of the build plate. I have used Kapton tape to cover torn build surfaces. As Oscar mentioned, it is thin enough for the nozzle to pass over. Kapton tape can be a challenge to adhere at high bed temperatures, such as 110 °C. For that option it's probably worth checking the adhesive specs if they vary for different Kapton tapes.
Those two options aren't mutually exclusive and could be used together. You could even put clips over the Kapton tape at higher bed temperatures if it is an issue.
Build Surfaces
PEI sheets are the most common build surfaces and already have an adhesive surface. Kapton tape seems to be the surface most resistant to damage, but a sheet that covers the entire build surface is expensive. Kapton seems to do a better job of releasing PETG. Otherwise, I use Elmer's glue sticks to protect the build surface.
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15913 | Trying PrusaSlicer
Being new to 3D printing, I started using Cura (which came with my Ender 3v2) to slice models I found on Thingiverse. I know that there are other slicers and have heard positive things about PrusaSlicer.
I know that settings will have different names, but I am asking more about the setup. What things, settings, etc. should I be aware of when using PrusaSlicer? Will I need to re-calibrate anything in PrusaSlicer?
You may also want to look at SuperSlicer. It's based on PrusaSlicer, but has many additional features and lots of bugfixes.
Basically all slicers work very similarly, it is a matter of preference, being accustomed, or wanting to use a certain (set of) features. Their job is to prepare the object to be sliced in layers to be executed by the printer you use. For every slicer to work properly, you need to configure the printer settings correctly.
Basically, all slicers have the following basic settings:
Printer settings, these contain information on the printer like build volume, origin, heated bed, nr. of extruders (and what filament diameter is used), scripts, etc.
filament settings,these contain e.g. information on the print and bed temperature
print settingsthese contain all parameters you use in your normally used slicer, these can be hundreds of options like speeds, accelerations, layer height, nr. of walls, etc.
some of the movement profile settings (like acceleration, jerk, max-speed) might be handled as a printer setting by some slicers and as a print one by different slicers. In the end, some of these are dependant on the printer's construction.
Printer dimensions and layout, filament diameter, and start and end G-code scripts are the things to look for. The rest is straightforward, you need to specify material and object slice settings as you would normally do.
PrusaSlicer already has pre-tuned profiles for the Ender 3 v2 in the Configuration Assistant. It also has tuned print settings from SUPERDETAIL (0.08 mm layer height) to SUPERDRAFT (0.28 mm layer height) so it shouldn't be too hard to set up.
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15908 | 3D Printed Lead Screw
I want to build a mini CNC machine and need some lead screws. I was wondering I can simply 3D print some. There are a few 3D models out there but I want to know if printing it in PLA+ has enough strength for a small CNC. Is it possible?
Expanding on some previous comments which are probably enough to warrant an answer:
What Trish said is completely right. Leadscrews are readily available parts and any dimensional errors in the leadscrews will be reflected in the output of your CNC machine unless you have some sort of compensation for them. Moreover, if the material is not highly rigid, the dimensions are subject to change over time, so any compensation would have to be ongoing manual adjustment or closed-loop rather than a one-time calibration. "PLA+" is an especially bad choice because it usually means PLA that's been modified with additives to make it less brittle, deforming under stress instead of holding its shape until it breaks catastrophically. CNC Kitchen's video on PLA+ elaborates on this.
With that said, if you don't need a high level of precision, or if you're in a situation where you're unable to obtain manufactured components, I think 3D printed leadscrews would work ok if you print them in the XY plane rather than along the Z axis. While nozzle width and discrete layers produce a sort of "stairstep" quantization of printed threads in the Z direction, that doesn't happen with the threads in the XY plane; the nozzle width limits feature resolution (oscillations per unit length) but the positioning of the threads is quantized only to the X and Y (micro)step size, which is typically on the order of 10 microns. Moreover, the strength and rigidity of the part printed in this direction can be very high, due to the offset-layered zigzag structure.
Back to accuracy of the part, though, it's important to note that whatever flaws your printer might have in XY positioning accuracy will be reflected in the resulting leadscrew. This includes non-linear effects such as belt paths being slightly trapezoidal instead of having perfectly colinear points of attachment to the carriage. In general, when manufacturing parts that will affect the accuracy of the resulting machine, you want to use processes that amplify the precision your tooling was manufactured with rather than processes that reproduce or amplify its flaws.
Is it possible? Yes. Is it advisable? No
Lead screws need to be smooth and have little to no stretch and there can be a lot of tension on them. However, 3D prints are quite rough by the way they are made and super weak on tension forces - and not have a good compression withstanding either.
a 3D printed leadscrew is therefore not adviseable, especially since ready-made leadscrews and fitting nuts are cheap in the shape of nuts and threaded rods for the crudest setup.
Moreover, the OP's suggestion of "PLA+" would be worse than normal PLA, since the additives make the PLA less rigid. This is a good thing if you're worried about brittleness, but a very bad thing if you want stability of dimensional accuracy.
With that said, if you don't need a high level of precision, I think 3D printed lead screws would work if you print them in the XY plane rather than along the Z axis. Once you get to 8-10 mm diameter, threaded rods printed in this orientation are surprisingly strong.
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE then you still have the issue of steps and roughness, unless you build a composite part from several prints.
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16031 | Recommendation for free, intuitive offline 3D modeling software for 3D printing
I've used TinkerCAD (https://www.tinkercad.com/) and was able to easily model objects for 3D printing, despite having no prior experience in 3D modeling.
However it needs to be connected to the internet to work, which is not always available at my location.
At minimum, I need an ability to create solid shapes and holes, and with resize, align and rotate options.
Is there an equivalent program that's free, with a similar intuitive interface as TinkerCAD, and works completely offline?
According to our on-topic "Recommendation-based questions really are off-topic, unless very specific indeed - and even then they may still end up being closed."
For software recommendations, consider to move or repost to the Software Recommendations SE. Other 3D printer forums are suitable as well, but be prepared to be deluged with a suggestion for every program out there!
You could start with some of the recommendations from all3dp.com.
Without a very specific niche requirement such as 2018-20 Slicer running on a 32 bis OS or similar narrow band, this is highly opinion based and will never have a "best" answer.
Thanks @agarza. I'll try out a bunch of 3D CAD software.If this question doesn't get shut down, I'll at least post which one worked best from the point of view of someone with limited experience.
From trying out several alternatives (Fusion 360, Wings 3D, Blender, and others), the closest free offline equivalent to TinkerCAD turned out to be OpenSCAD.
It has nowhere near the same level of intuition,
but based on info from two tutorials ("OpenSCAD Tutorial - Beginners Quickstart", "OpenSCAD - Model a Bearing in less than ten minutes."), OpenSCAD was able to fulfill the minimum requirements that were needed from TinkerCAD most quickly, i.e.,"...ability to create solid shapes and holes, and with resize, align and rotate options"
I suspect there may be fewer answers than we expect.
Personally free software wise I like FreeCAD but it is not similar to the simple shapes of tinkercad at all and not intuitive.
I did know someone who used something from https://www.xyzprinting.com that was very similar to the tinkercad stuff, but eventually ran into limitations and switched to more advanced software anyway.
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16124 | How can we control the airflow in a fan which can be 3D printed?
I am new to 3D Printing and I have taken up a summer project. The project requires a fan 3D Printed, If I use a normal fan the airflow will make my project (i.e. a air-propelled car) go backward. Can we modify a fan so that when the fans spin my car goes forward? If yes, how?
Look at your fan: it spins in one direction, and the blades push the air from one air to the other side. In fact, the fan is nothing but a propeller! There are ways to optimize them. The Rotation goes for example clockwise, the leading edge grabs the air and the trailing edge releases it on the other side, and if the leading edge is towards you, then the air is pushed away. In the simplest way, it would suffice to physically flip the fan around.
A 3D printed new fan would need to have the whole geometry of the fan blades "flipped" (mirrored around a non-rotational axis). Now the leading edge of the fan is away from you, the trailing edge on your side, the airstream is again from the leading to the trailing edge, and the air comes out on your side.
cave!
Not all fans can be made to reverse the airflow by flipping the fan geometry: Radial fans just because less efficient.
Other fans can be made spinning backwards by swapping the polarity, but others use a simple diode setup and always spin their way. Also note that fans spinning backwards often suffer from reduced efficiency, as the blade geometry is optimized for one direction of spinning.
@DaVinziBoi for what? designing parts or making them printable? Many slicers allow to mirror items designed one way to create a mirror image - if the item has its "rotational" axis up, mirroring over either X or Y will create a "reverse".
Just making designs which are printable.
Any CAD suite works. I like Autodesk Fusion 360,;others like different software
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16180 | Adequate default filament diameter for Anycubic Mega X
Does anybody if the Anycube Mega X comes with a nozzle for 1.75 mm filaments or is it 2.85 mm?
I saw online that it works with 1.75 mm filaments but the Cura settings given by the manufacturer had 2.85 mm.
I should mention that using a 1.75 mm filament works BUT my designs have clear under-extrusion, which is very likely caused by having 2.85 mm in the settings. So at this moment, I am trying to gauge whether to change the settings to 1.75 mm or buying 2.85 mm filaments (this only works if the Mega X comes with the appropriate nozzle).
You can change the diameter of consumables to your own when you slice with Cura software
Reading all 49 pages of the manual was fruitless. I'm astonished that there is no reference to the filament diameter used in this printer.
From 3dJake's web site comes a confirmation that the printer uses 1.75 mm filament.
It's not a matter of changing a nozzle to use 2.85 mm filament, as the entire filament path is based, in this printer, on the 1.75 mm specification.
To find 3Djake's site, I used "anycubic mega x filament diameter" as the search terms. Many other links appeared, confirming the 1.75 mm filament size.
This is a well-known problem with Cura. The filament diameter is set to 2.85 mm by default (probably because Ultimaker printers use 2.85 mm filament). This will cause extreme under-extrusion if your printer uses 1.75 mm filament. Simply change the filament diameter to 1.75 mm in Cura's printer definition, and everything should be fine.
Older versions of Cura would reset the filament diameter to 2.85 mm if you installed an update or new release, but I think the Ultimaker have fixed that annoying little bug.
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16246 | Will there be any negative effects on the print process if the printer is outside?
If I buy a printer, it will be going on a small table on a front porch so as to keep the smell from the house. The porch has a roof, so precipitation is not a concern. I will find a way to keep the wind out, so that will also not be a factor. The only concern I can see is the lack of climate control. The printer will probably be an Ender 3 Pro. Will this turn out bad for the prints? Do I need to be concerned about dew? Any other concerns? Solutions?
Why not use PLA? The sweet smell of PLA is nice (at least in my opinion) and it is not generally considered bad for your health.
An enclosure with a little bit of a vacuum and a hose to the outside or even an active carbon filter is an even better idea if you really need to print ABS.
I second what @Hacky said. PLA smells nice, and even if it puts off fine particulates too, they're a substance the body can safely absorb (excluding pigments/additives, but those will be a tiny percent of a tiny percent). I would only worry about printing indoors without ventilation for stuff like ABS.
Yes, and I may be taking this farther than it needs to go. But having the option to print ABS as well as PLA and PETG appeals to me so I'm taking it into consideration. Appreciate the advice!
Unless you enclose the printer fully in some way or another, I see problems, even beyond just print quality:
humidity can and will end inside the printer by condensation and destroy the electronics, especially in the fall and winter months.
being accessible, children from the neighborhood might get their stubby fingers into the running machine or throw off the leveling.
being not locked in a box, people might decide to nick your printer.
If the printer is in the sun, the filament might age much more rapidly
Moisture can impact your filaments, making prints impossible with some filaments unless those are kept in a dry container.
Shifting temperatures along a day could lead to prints warping during printing, resulting in deformed prints.
Good points, but I believe the humidity is even more of a threat to your filament than it is to the electronics.
@Davo: That's true, but filament is a consumable, and you can dry it and mostly restore it to usable condition. The printer's electronics generally aren't considered a consumable.
@Davo I think I will use the official Ender 3 enclosure to minimize shifting temperature and keep the sun and wind out. I live in a very rural neighborhood so children and porch pirates are not a huge concern (hope I don't eat those words later). I think I'll end up storing the printer and filament inside when not in use. Appreciate you all's advice!
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16249 | Excessive filament powder/shavings near the extruder
I'm printing a Tower of Pi on my Ender 3, and I woke up to find this near the extruder:
All my attempts to google this led to checking for either a clogged nozzle or the extruder itself stripping the filament, neither of which appears to be the case.
It looks like the upper edge of the filament might be grinding against the intake hole, so I looked into lubrication, but the consensus appears to be "don't".
Has anyone else had this problem? Is there a name for it, and how do I fix it?
Are you sure that you are feeding the material along the recommended route? It looks like an approach closer to "straight in" would be less likely to erode the inbound filament.
@Davo The instructions didn't mention a recommended route, but come to think of it I can move the filament spool holder from the top to the side and see if that helps.
The shavings come in part from the extruder design: there is no fillet on the pulling in side, the filament goes up in a sharp angle and is dragged over a rather sharp edge. It also brushes against the leadscrew.
To help with the shavings, you should alter the filament path to try and have a flatter angle than the 90°. A simple rod that pushes out the filament to come in at 80° might already reduce the number of shavings.
More might be reduced by opening the entry hole of the filament to have a 1-2 mm phase around it, altering the angle of the edge that the filament runs against to a much lower one and reducing the ability to shave off flakes. I did swap my extruder for an aluminium one, and it has this phase, and since then I have had little to no shavings at that spot anymore.
Based on OP's description of how the problem came on, and the model (which looks like it has a lot of retraction), this seems like it's probably indeed the problem, but I never saw anything like that in something like 18 months of use of the Ender 3's original extruder. I wonder if something else is going on too.
And the canonical solution for OP's problem is this: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3052488
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE I had those shavings, and the little change of a simple bar pushing out the filament 10 cm on the top and the other extruder all but eliminated them
Yeah my "canonical" solution might be overengineered, but I really liked it when I was still using the original Creality extruder because it was so bad at gripping filament, and any extra tension in the filament path seemed to cause intermittent extrusion problems.
Yeah, it was only happening with this one print. I'm going to try that roller bearing one though. Thanks for your help, everyone.
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16248 | Laser 3D scanner is used in the movie to scan a key: technically possible?
The Vault (2021) movie has a scene at around 42' in which a laser scanner with a rotating table is used to scan a key in a short time, maybe some minutes:
No calibration is done whatsoever. The scan quality must be high enough for the replicated key to be useful.
Is it technically possible? Is it exagerated? Is it fiction?
Kinda off-topic here, but it seems plausible enough to me.
There have been instances where people have replicated a key from a photograph of a key. A multi-minute scan of a key seems like overkill, but that appears to be a very large key so maybe so.
Is it possible? Yes.
Is it exaggerated? Probably much simpler than is portrayed.
Is it fiction? As portrayed, yes. Practically, no.
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16269 | Can I use a material other than PTFE to print PETG?
Because of the crazy shipping prices, I want to find a cheaper alternative to ordering a 600$ all-metal hot-end.
Is there a material like that which does what PTFE does but till higher temperatures?
An all-metal hotend shouldn't be more expensive than a 10$ heat break.
There are variants of the PTFE tube (e.g. by Capricorn) that support higher temperatures (~260) that should suffice easily for PETG.
a genine e3D v6 costs about 70 €.
PETG does not need an all-metal hotend or alternate bowden/lining material. Unless you're trying to print at #speedboatrace-competitive speeds, the recommended print temperature range for PETG is 230-250 °C, and the temperature above which you should not use a PTFE-lined hotend is 250 °C.
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14900 | Export STL from OpenSCAD command line, calling module within script?
Given a .SCAD file which contains some modules, how can I execute one of those modules from the command line?
example.scad
module One() { ... }
module Two() { ... }
render.sh
openscad -q -o one.stl --module One example.scad
Note that there is no --module option, but that is what I'm attempting to do. The workaround would be to make another .SCAD file e.g. one.scad which includes example.scad, and simply calls One(); within and render that file from the shell file. But this is not ideal.
The openscad -D option can actually include arbitrary code, not just variable definitions, so you can include a call to the module. You can even use /dev/null on Linux or NUL on Windows as the input file and have 100 % of your code in -D statements.
Maybe showing how exporting the STL works would benefit the answer.
elaborating on the answer from @r-github-stop-helping-ice, I find the following pattern useful:
example.scad
module a() { .. }
module b() { .. }
module c() { .. }
module print(item=0) {
if (item==1) a();
if (item==2) b();
if (item==3) c();
}
item = 0;
print(item);
render.sh
#!/bin/bash
for i in {1..3}; do
openscad -D item=${i} -o item_${i}.stl example.scad
done
OpenSCAD doesn't have such an option on the command line, but the general idiom I believe you want to use is have .scad source files which are modules include invocations of the module(s) at the top-level controllable by variables you can set on the command line or GUI customizer interface. Any such invocations will be ignored if the file is used (via use directive) in another file so they don't hurt its status as a library and make it easier to preview/test. So for example you could have:
wantOne = false;
if (wantOne) One();
and then set wantOne to true from the command line.
Thanks. I think that is better than having a separate .scad just to call each module.
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16137 | Printer shaking - Marlin 2.0
I just replaced the board on my Creality CR-10 with a 32-bit SKR Mini E3 V2.0 control board that runs Marlin 2.0. With the new control board, the printer's Y-Axis moves vibrate so much that it blurs the camera I am using that is connected to the bed.
I have checked the mechanical stuff and it seems like the issue is the stepper motors are running choppily instead of smoothly.
I know that 32-bit Marlin has lots of things I can tweak. Are there settings I should be checking? Where do I start?
Are you sure you're just not using different acceleration/jerk limits than with the original board's firmware build?
I'm using the Marlin defaults for both. However, the choppiness happens even during long straight moves (like homing) so I don't think it is a jerk/acceleration issue.
Do you have video/audio showing the issue? I'm not sure I understand what "choppiness" means here.
I mean that the Steppers aren't rotating at a steady speed. It seems as they are stepping, stopping, stepping, stopping creating a very choppy movement of the axis. You can feel the studdering by hand and it is painfully obvious through the picam.. (With the steppers off, the mechanism is perfectly smooth)
Did you do anything odd with the microstepping configuration?
Nothing that wasn't in the provided config for the SKR Mini E3 V2. What should they be set to, and how can I check? The Configuration_adv.h shows it is set to 16 microsteps, but I'd like to be able to config that it actually is working that way
The problem turned out to be mechanical. The arm that I mounted the camera on had developed a crack where it connects to the build platform. I used some superglue to repair the crack and the camera shaking went away.
The lesson here is to check EVERYTHING mechanical before trying to blame shaking on the firmware.
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16345 | Does shimming my build surface compete with spending a bunch more money and time on an auto-leveling system?
I've had my Ender 3 for almost three weeks, gone through about a kilogram of PLA filament (printing a mix of upgrade parts for the Ender 3 and stuff I actually want to use) and made one PETG object, generally with good results.
I've noticed however, as seems relatively common (per YouTubers, anyway), that my bed isn't flat -- that is, the build surface isn't a good approximation of a geometric plane. If I adjust the bed to have correct clearance (good adhesion and correct single-line width) at the corners, I'll get adhesion failure in the center, and if I adjust to give a correct center, the extruded filament will be squished into the build surface texture; the nozzle may even lightly scatch the surface at the corners. That indicates the corners are high, relative to the center, by roundly 0.1 to 0.15 mm.
I'm aware of BLTouch and its clones, but in order to get full use of that system (which automatically compensates for the non-planar bed) I would need to not only install the surface sensing hardware, but flash my printer's firmware (potentially after removing the control module cover and plugging a cable and adapter into the mainboard). As a longtime builder/upgrader of my own computers, this is certainly within my capability, but I'd prefer to make my build surface flat instead of applying software corrections; I see this as upgrading from a 386 to a Core i3 because the computer is overheating -- that is, the problem will go away because of all the other stuff you have to do, but you haven't really solved the problem.
My general idea more or less mimics the self-answer on this question in terms of measuring the excursion and applying shims under the build surface (I've installed the Creality magnetic sheet surface, so shims would be applied between the magnetic base sheet and the removable build surface). I plan to use household aluminum foil, standard weight, which is generally close to 0.63 mil (= .016 mm), applied with repositionable spray adhesive and laid down in layers, using a combination of feeler gages and single-layer test prints to determine where and how much foil to apply.
I've "test flown" this option by putting a single Post-It sheet under the center of the removable build surface, and now I have a much closer match between the center and corners, and can (depending on my nozzle standoff) actually see the outline of the makeshift shim in the first layer where it prints over the edges of the Post-It.
Is there anything I'm missing that would prevent this shimming method using aluminum foil from resolving the warped bed to allow me to depend on an even thickness and correctly adhered first layer?
foil would block the magnet, which might cause an issue if you had larger areas. it also expands more than magnet stuff by heat, which ain't great. plastic (electrical) or paper (masking) tape would be better for those two reasons, and easier since they self-adhere.
if you can get away with not leveling, that's far preferable, no matter how automatic it is, it still wastes your time. I haven't re-leveled my CR10 since last year, so a BL-touch is a huge waste of time and effort and complications for me personally.
@dandavis Have you tried this? It's been my experience that aluminum foil passes magnetic fields as if not there, unless it's moving relative to the field. https://4emi.com/emi-shielding/shielding-actually-works-filtering-best/#:~:text=Most%20conductive%20materials%20such%20as,steel%20provide%20substantial%20electric%20shielding.&text=Unfortunately%2C%20aluminum%20foil%20is%20extremely,material%20provides%20more%20adequate%20shielding.
There is a 3rd option, manual mesh leveling, which Marlin firmware can do. Instead of using a sensor each print to probe the bed, there is a routine you do once by hand and you save it in the printers memory. Then each print you use a G-code command (like in the print start G-code that gets added to every print) to load the mesh from memory.
I haven’t done it myself, but as I understand you heat the bed, then do a routine going to the probe spots on the bed, and use micro-stepping to adjust the Z height at each point, using a feeler gauge/paper to dial in the nozzle height.
@ChinchillaWafers Just to make this odder, the Post-It I had under the center of the magnetic mat was too thick, so I pulled it out -- and now the bed is acting flat, to better than 0.1 mm anyway. I wonder if I might have been trying to level when the bed wasn't fully temperature stable -- lots of stuff will warp while heating, and smooth out once it's equalized (telescope mirrors are famous for this). If I don't see a good answer before I have time, I'll write this up as a self-answer.
I've ordered a polymer coated (sticky when hot, releases when cool) build surface plate. Not sure it'll flatten the bed warp of 0.1-0.2 mm, but if it doesn't, it'll make it easier to shim flat (because it'll bridge the edge of a shim instead of leaving a step in the surface).
Shimming is fine. And 386 were basically never overheating.
@FarO Which was pretty much my point -- why upgrade something that doesn't need it, when the upgrade isn't fixing the actual problem?
I may be biased as my question/answer is the one I believe you're asking this question in reference to, but I would say that yes, it not only competes but is a far better solution. "Auto-leveling" systems do not level your bed. They just partially compensate for poor adhesion by adjusting the bottom layer(s) of your print to conform to the bed's errors. This of course messes up the dimensional accuracy of your prints; in a worst case it can come out rather absurd. They also do not compensate for the change in volume (which would require differing extrusion amounts) due to changes in Z height to compensate for the non-level bed.
The right solution is always to get your bed level and flat. Ideally if the bed/print surface is warped, you replace it with one that's not, but shimming is a reasonable alternative. ABL systems (not talking about real 3-point leveling with 3 Z motors here, but "ABL" stuff like BLTouch) are a gimmick for making it easy for beginners to start printing without all their prints failing due to non-adhesion from poor manual leveling. They're not a solution.
So, the difference between the shimming vs. auto-leveling is that auto-leveling goes around in a 4x4 grid taking measurements of the bed (you do need to set the Z calibration first, as you know) vs. the shimming method where you go to 4 corners on your build plate where you stick a piece of paper or something under there and you adjust the knob at the bottom until you can feel tension on it. What I've found to be the best for me at least is to use both. This is my method for printing every time:
Clean the build plate. I will take my scrapper and scrape everything off, then I will run it under some hot water and wipe all of the residue off that is still remaining, then I might take some glass cleaner or something and wipe it down.
Set the Z calibration.
Do the shimming leveling (I would normally go through all of the corners again plus the center/Z calibration just to make sure that I didn't mess up any of the other corners.
I will run the auto-calibration (I use OctoPrint so I just run it through there)
Smear Elmer's glue over the print bed. I do this for a couple of reasons:
I use the glass side of the bed, just because I've gotten better results this way, and
it just makes your prints stick better. I also do this after the Z calibration and bed calibration because you get better results this way.
Start the print and watch the first couple of layers. If you notice that when you are printing and the brim looks stringy, like you could pick apart the individual lines, you should cancel the print, and go back to your slicer and bring your line width down my 0.1 mm, I typical print with the lines 0.1 mm or 0.2 mm below what the nozzle prints at, so a 0.5 mm nozzle I will print at 0.4 mm. And if your print messes up here I'd scrape everything off so the filament and the glue off (I'd keep the bed hot and the tip hot just so I don't have to wait 10 min. for it to heat up again) then apply more glue and reprint.
The issue with my current setup (magnetic build sheet) is that if I level all four corners, the center has so much clearance the first layer doesn't stick. If I raise the bed so the first layer sticks in the center, it scratches the build surface on at least a couple corners. That is, the build surface is curved. I'm not using glass (yet -- ordered a coated one, haven't unboxed it yet), I hope the new glass plate will fix this.
Yeah, that would be a good idea. You could also try to do the auto leveling so that the printer accounts for the dip in the bed (that is if you want to risk the print not coming out perfect) or you could flip the heated bed upside down too
Complicating this is that my printer apparently likes to make a liar of me. It seems like the bed flattens out when I've kept it hot for a while -- ten or fifteen minutes seems sufficient. When it's freshly heated ("Print from TF" starting with a cold printer), it's curved, but when it's been hot for a while, it's flat enough to get a good first layer.
I guess that makes sense because heat makes things expand and when it cools off it contracts again, so when your bed cools off it might bend a bit. You could try to heat it up really hot (90-100c) and leave it like that for a bit, then get two flat things and squish it between the two things so that you could maybe get it flat? (I am not sure if this would work, this is just my best guess)
This is the complete bed assembly -- carriage and heated bed plate plus magnetic sheet layers -- that's curving. I suspect that the different heating rates and thermal expansion coefficients is at fault, but once it's all equalized it's fine. Still going to try to the glass build plate.
That would be smart @ZeissIkon I've been printing all week on my glass bed and its worked like a charm knock on wood. I've done like 15+ prints this week and they've all turned out really good.
I've had no issues with the glass bed getting out of flat, but the coating isn't all it's cracked up to be. Yes, it releases incredibly well when it cools off -- but it doesn't stick as well as all that when hot. I lost most of a 12+ hour multi-part print over last night because (with PLA) the print warped and pulled up as the print built up, making the corner and edge pieces lose height. Bed at 60C, maybe too hot -- but it's hard to be sure.
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16433 | Gantry crashing into bed after print
I've upgraded my Ender 3 Pro to the point where I'm causing myself problems, one of them specifically is this:
My z axis drops down to the bed because of all the stuff hanging off it (added a bltouch probe, cable chain) whenever it is idle, example video of what I am talking about. When it first started happening I bought an Anti backlash leadscrew nut and installed that and it helped A BIT. The gantry wouldn't drop as often or as far.
But it still happens. I've thought about possibly adding a dual z axis motor and leadscrew anyway (with additional anti-backlash nut), and I wonder if that'll help because the gantry would have to overcome the friction on both sides..... but in the meantime I want to solve a very specific problem it causes:
I just printed a benchy and right after the print was done (when I wasn't paying attention and before I noticed) the nozzle crashed right down into the print. It must have still been a little hot because it melted right into it. Not far enough to ruin it but I could see this causing an issue if it was something besides the Benchy.
Is there code I can run at the end of a print to tell the hot end to move out of the way? So if it does come crashing down its off in the corner or something? I use Cura and marlin if thats relevant. I did see this question but I guess my even dumber question is: if that code works, how do I add it? Is that in Cura?
To clarify -- your gantry is heavy enough to back-drive the Z screw when the steppers are disabled? And the only thing you've added (that weighs anything) is the BL-Touch sensor and its mount? FWIW, my Ender 3 raises Z about 10 mm and then parks to min-X and max-Y at end of print. Yours doesn't?
@ZeissIkon I BELIEVE that is accurately describing whats happening. I never saw the gantry slide down when idle until I installed the bltouch. For instance (now) if I turn it on, wait a second or two and then just breathe on the gantry or flick it or something, it'll start sliding down.
As far as where it parks, I never really watched it after a print, but when I came in an noticed the nozzle on the benchy, the print looked done and there were no error messages. It was just buried a mm into the top of the chimney
You've got a ball screw as your anti-backlash Z drive? That alone makes it easier to back drive the Z screw. What you describe sounds more like a last-layer machine reboot (mine has occasionally done this, I think due to power flickers too small to notice otherwise).
@ZeissIkon one other possible relevant change I made was that I swapped out the board for a BTT E3 RRF and installed their copy of marlin. I suppose the "parking" at the end could be different now. Is that somewhere in the firmware?
As far as the ballscrew question: For the z drive it was just the stock ender 3 pro with the anti-backlash nut from that video I linked.
I think the parking is in firmware, but I can't picture why you'd park above the new part instead of clearing the hot end and gantry and then pushing the part out front.
What you describe sounds more like a last-layer (or near-last-layer) machine restart than a problem with the Z axis back-driving (though it shouldn't back-drive from the weight of the gantry alone; you may need to tighten things like the anti-backlash nut or Z rollers).
My Ender 3 has, a few times, restarted after 3-6 hours of printing -- leaving the nozzle in a lump of plastic that has oozed as it cooled, and the "resume or stop" selection on the LCD. I haven't seen any indication of overheating, excessive current draw, or other issues with any of my (box stock) components. I have ordered a small 300W UPS to let my machine ignore the (presumed) tiny power flickers that I believe are resetting my mainboard -- but I won't know for certain if this solves the problem for a few weeks after I get the UPS, because the problem has been sporadic even with overnight and longer print times.
With your upgraded mainboard and using the firmware provided by that supplier, you may no longer have the resume feature that was standard on my Ender 3, nor the end of print park (which, in any case, would not happen in the case of a machine reset).
Who knows if I should have officially "accepted" this answer until I try it all, but very helpful info so I went with it. I'll check my firmware for both the "parking" and the resume feature (it didn't say anything like that on the screen, it just said 'ready', but again, maybe that was not in the firmware.
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16487 | How does direct drive conversion allow higher print temperatures?
I have an Ender 3, currently in stock Bowden extruder configuration.
I want to be able to print nylon and TPU, both of which require temperature too high for the tolerance of the PTFE Bowden tube (as well as the issues with the flexible filament in the tube).
Therefore, I've considered converting my printer to direct drive. However, the conversions I've seen, both DIY/print the parts type and commercial, seem to include a short length of the same PTFE tube between the extruder (now mounted on the hot end carriage) and the actual hot end. This same material ought to have the same temperature limit (about 250 C) as it would have in a Bowden configuration -- and for nylon, at the least, this is a problem, since the PTFE would start to soften from contact with the heat break.
Am I missing something in these conversions, or is the PTFE's glass transition not the limiting factor in printing hotter with a direct drive conversion?
TPU does not need more than 250°C, which is ok with stock hotend. No need of all metal hotend. Nylon, depending on the brand and blend, also can be printed at 250°C just fine. What you need is an enclosed chamber for it!
@FarO Please elaborate -- perhaps in an answer, not a comment, since this sounds like a frame challenge. What's an "enclosed chamber" in this context?
@FarO Oh, it just came to me -- you're talking about a printer enclosure, to prevent premature cooling of the part as it prints (presumably to limit warping).
Direct Drive v.s. Bowden has no relation to the maximum print temperature. What determines the maximum print temperature is the design of the hotend itself. There are "all-metal" designs, where the PTFE tube (Bowden or not) stops in the cold zone and the heatbreak and all other components that get hot are fully made of metal. Other hotend designs have the PTFE tube run all the way down into the hot zone and this limits the maximum printing temperature. It has nothing to do with whether the hotend is Bowden or not.
So, do I need a direct drive extruder for nylon and TPU, or do I need an all metal hot end, or both?
@ZeissIkon: For TPU you absolutely don't need an allmetal hotend (print temperatures are in the same range as PLA or slightly higher) and you don't need a direct drive, but it helps a lot; with a bowden you'll be stuck going really, really slow. For nylon, some variants can be printed at low enough temperature not to need an all-metal hotend, but you'll be limited to those. Bowden vs direct drive should not matter for nylon any more than it does for other non-flex materials. (Direct drive is always better, but not essential.)
Direct drive may not be needed for 98A or 95A TPU, but anything floppier than that will either require ridiculously slow print speeds or a direct drive. I printed nylon on a 60 cm Bowden drive and it works.
So I need direct drive to print very soft TPU (for things like gaskets) at reasonable speed, but for nylon not specifically formulated to minimize print temperature, I need an all metal hot end, not direct drive. Looks like I get to spend some money before printing nylon.
@ZeissIkon Exactly. However Polymaker Copa, Fillamentum Nylon FX256 and Formfutura STYX-12 Nylon will print easily at 250 °C, or even less. Copa is tested by Polymaker when printed at 240 °C, for example (see datasheet).
Bowden tubes extending to the nozzle to make a seal will damage the Teflon (PTFE) tube if exceeding 250°C for an extended time. An all-metal hotend for a Bowden would have either the nozzle sealed against the heatbreak or an integrated nozzle and heatbreak. Then the Bowden tube would attach with a minimum gape with either the heatbreak or heatsink.
Note: The heater block needs to be at the maximum operating temperature When making a seal between the nozzle and heatbreak.
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16571 | Hotends where heatbreak is not load-bearing?
Having started with an Ender 3, it just seemed natural to me that the heatbreak should not be load-bearing; Creality's stock hotend has 2 bolts holding the heat block to the heat sink, which of course waste some heating power and increase the cooling needed to avoid heat creep, but serve the important purpose of keeping the nozzle position rigid relative to the carriage and making it so you don't bend or snap the heatbreak when changing nozzles.
Looking at hotends (especially all-metal ones) for a possible future printer build, I'm surprised to see that many (most?) don't have this property, and have the heatbreak playing a load-bearing role. This seems really undesirable. Only the Mosquito makes a point of doing this right, and supposedly has a patent on this or related design decisions. Is that really the case? Are there basic all-metal hotends that are designed to avoid making the heatbreak load-bearing that don't cost $150?
The drop-in replacement all metal hotends for the Ender 3 that I've looked at seem to have the two screws -- though I've read/heard opinions that these are intended to be removed after assembly, these are common Mk. 8 type hot ends, but with 2 mm bore through the entire heat break instead of 4 mm. That seems to be the only modification (other than not anodizing the aluminum heat sink).
While the brand name units of this type run approximately 65 USD at retail, they're available from Chinese vendors for under 10 USD plus a few dollars shipping, if you don't mind waiting a few weeks instead of a couple days to receive your part -- and if they aren't from the same production but sold without extensive vendor support, they're very close physical copies, according to review videos I've seen.
It's also possible to replace just the heat break for similar cost, either in stainless or titanium, with a 2 mm bore unit; this would obviously preserve whatever additional mounting hardware exists on/between your original heat block and heat sink.
BTW, if they aren't already, replacing the screws with stainless will significantly reduce heat loss through the screws -- stainless is a much poorer conductor of heat than common steels used with plated screws.
As mentioned in the question, I'm looking at this more from a standpont of a future build, not Ender 3; I just mentioned the Ender as the basis for what I'm used to. Maybe the right solution is what you're saying, just putting a suitable heat break in a mk8 type hotend. Are these readily available with proper mating surface to avoid clogging where they meet the nozzle?
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE I've seen them in both stainless and titanium on Amazon, never mind AliExpress. I recommend stainless -- lower heat conductivity and a bit cheaper, plus not prone to brittle fracture. I'd also suggest looking for a brass or copper heat block, it'll give less trouble at higher temps than aluminum.
I eventually ended up doing just what you suggested: replacing just the heat break with this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TCD4M1S. Moreover, OEM-equivalent heater blocks and heat sinks are available dirt cheap (like 5 pieces for under $10) so this also seems like a very good way to go if you're not starting with a Creality printer but want a cost-effective and structurally-sound hotend.
You ask in general, not specifically for Ender, so since you mention the Mosquito, which has a characteristic shape and a size, the obvious alternative which doesn't cost that much is the Phaetus Dragon.
It copies the idea of the Mosquito, but it is repackaged in a shape and size fully equivalent to standard v6 hotends so it's a drop-in replacement for any v6 hotend. You don't have one, but in general...
Footnote: Slice Engineering got the patent in US, but not in Europe and China, yet. Also, in Europe their idea apparently was found as not original. Who knows...
Yes, I saw the Dragon (Phaetus = rebranding of Triangle Labs?) and it seems to be a near full clone (with better compatibility with other ecosystems) of the Mosquito and as such it's still rather expensive, and arguably also clones things for which Slice's patent is justified (unlike basic structural soundness with obvious prior art). I'll definitely consider it.
It's not clear who's cloning who. I heard that Phaetus is the original Chinese, and TL licenses it from them. This would make sense, since Phaetus still sells the product, while TL stopped due to pressure from Slice Eng. Concerning the features where the patent is justified, we can discuss it in the chat if you want, ping me in that case.
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE an advantage of the Dragon variants is that you can completely remove the circular v6 connector and screw the top of the heatsink directly to your carriage/toolhead (it is not warm anyway) which allows you to get a more compact carriage and a sturdier mount (it doesn't rotate when you change nozzle). By reducing its height this way I could fit a direct drive extruder too
Yes.. wait, the Mosquito can rotate on its mount? That's rather bad if it's not absolutely perfectly centered on the axis of rotation, since it will affect positioning accuracy... Dragon does indeed sound nice, but mk8 style has that property (screwing top of heatsink directly to effector plate) too and is a lot cheaper. Hmm, options...
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE no, but you mention a "future printer build" and I was thinking about v6 connectors, which are round and may rotate. Mosquito cannot rotate, it's screwed like the Dragon, just bulkier.
Ah, thanks for clarifying. Yeah, the E3D v6 mount design doesn't make sense to me.
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16613 | 3D printer clog. Nozzle keeps getting screwed in crooked
My 3D printer has got a clog, and i think it is because the nozzle hole has just recently started to only screw in crooked. I’m not sure how this happened. I have tried with multiple nozzles, but they all screw in crooked. Is there a way to fix this? Or is my only option to get a new hotend.
My 3d printer is an Ender 3
The technical term for this is "cross threading".
Note: if the threads on the heater block and /or nozzle have residual filament material on them it is easy to cross--thread the nozzle, especially when cold.. In this case it is easier to attach the nozzle with the heater hot so the filament material is soft.
You should be able to purchase only the heater block for your hot end. The nozzle should thread in by hand without undue force. Having to use a wrench at the outset is an indication of a problem which should have stopped the attempt.
There are many sources for the "heater block for Ender 3" when used in a search. One such result is an Amazon seller of three pieces for US$11.99
Image via linked site.
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16684 | Use raft pattern instead of wall
This might be an odd question, as rather than being disappointed by the raft material that Cura produces, I actually love it.
It prints quickly, is sturdy yet flexible...
I was wondering whether anyone knew of a way to make the walls / base of a print use the raft patterning? Is there a strategy for using this kind of material in CAD apps, or has anyone tried implementing a plugin for Cura to turn all walls into rafts?
Hi and welcome to 3DPrinting.SE. Could you add an image of the pattern? Rafts aren't often used, but remembering the pattern I think this is already available in Cura as infill, not sure what you mean by walls. An image of what you mean might help out to make the question more clear. Thanks.
Cura, like many slicers, allows one to set the number of passes for top, bottom and sides. By setting these values to zero, your model becomes completely and only infill. The pattern selection for infill allows you to choose the design which would appeal to you and possibly match that of the raft.
I've just now imported a mostly monolithic STL file and tested the above. By varying the percentage of infill, various patterns result. Low infill percentage values make for a mostly empty print, while the higher numbers provide attractive geometric results.
Of course, one would want the original model to have sufficient wall thickness to create the objective.
excellent idea! Unfortunately my printer's motherboard recently gave up the ghost, but once I've resurrected it I'll definitely give it a go! Thanks
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16629 | What reasons are there not to convert Ender 3 to direct drive extrusion?
A Bowden tube extruder (like the stock one on an Ender 3) is known to have issues with printing the most flexible TPU, and with filaments that (either due to composition or condition) don't take well to too much retraction -- though the latter can be ameliorated somewhat with slicer settings. Direct drive extruders, on the other hand, by reducing the extruder to hot end distance to the practical minimum, greatly reduce the amount of retraction needed as well as the effect of filament compression and stretching.
One potential down side I'm aware of is that putting the extruder stepper and drive on the X carriage adds mass that the X drive motor has to both accelerate and decelerate; this could in theory have an effect on print quality, increasing ringing and overrun on the X axis (though this isn't generally a problem with the steppers used on the Ender 3 and similar printers).
What other reasons might there be to prefer a Bowden tube over direct drive?
Would you keep the ptfe tube with a direct drive extruder as a filament guide? With the filament exposed, the X axis moves back and forth it pulls on the reel, rather than the reel advancing smoothly as the extruder pulls in the filament. No personal evidence it affects print quality, but I wonder if it’s a good idea.
The option certainly exists to keep a PTFE guide tube from near the spool to the extruder inlet side. My initial expectation was to rearrange the stock (top, behind the frame) spool location to be on top and in front of the frame; this would put it almost directly above the extruder's path along the X axis and motion would be in line with winding -- this would almost eliminate the need for even a hoop guide.
Have you considered the alleged benefits of a remote direct drive such as the Zesty Nimble? You get the advantages of direct drive without the mass of the stepper motor on the carriage.
Not familiar with that -- flex shaft from stepper to extruder? For an Ender 3, that's a bunch of stuff to buy and add, vs. a printable bracket to mount the extruder and its stepper, literally fifty cents worth of filament and a couple hours of printer time.
direct is noisier, slower, wears the stepper/belt more, and uses more power.
Direct drive is always worth it, especially since it enabled you to use Linear Advance / Pressure Advance, which improves print quality much greater than the added mass might reduce it. If ringing is an issue, go with Klipper and its Input Shaper.
There are really no reasons not to convert to direct drive, provided you use a good one. Many of the direct drive kits, especially the ones that reuse the existing giant NEMA-17 stepper, are not very good and have tradeoffs due to excessive mass on the toolhead, imbalanced mass, interference with frame reducing print volume, etc. The modern way to do direct drive is with a "pancake" stepper far smaller and lighter, and gearing between 3:1 and 6:1 reduction to get the needed torque - look at the Orbiter, Sherpa Mini, etc. - or even a remote direct drive.
Teaching Tech recently posted a video on this very topic, titled Why direct drive is not automatically better than bowden tube but then pretty much concluding that all the old reasons not to go direct drive no longer apply.
So, essentially, "the only reason not to go direct drive is to avoid spending more." Because the advantage of literally just moving the existing extruder to the X carriage is that all it costs is a dollar's worth of filament and a couple hours of machine time -- plus the disassembly and assembly.
@ZeissIkon: Yeah that sounds about right. Just moving the motor/extruder has some of the disadvantages I described (not to mention the stock extruder just being really bad), and if you want to get a new motor, gears, hob, etc. you'll spend some more money.
So it's back to where everything else is -- if you want decent stuff, you can't afford it, and if you can afford it, you'll be futzing with it every other time you use it.
@ZeissIkon: The extruder is the main part I'd replace on an Ender 3 anyway to take it from being a mediocre printer to an excellent one. Don't shell out a lot of money for the light stepper; anything with the right RPM and torque specs is perfectly fine, and 0.9 degree is worse in this application. The most important thing is good hob and reduction gearing.
Other than higher carriage mass as you already noted, the only other reason to not go with Direct Drive over Bowden is the higher level of maintenance required. In most cases Direct Drive will provide advantages such as increasing the maximum flow speed, enabling the use of Linear/Pressure Advance, shortening Retraction moves, and better resistance to obstructions in the filament path, and more reliable printing of flexibles as you have already noted. As well, A direct drive system would allow a less-powerful stepper motor to be used, which cuts down on the carriage mass problem.
How does direct drive require more maintenance? You eliminate the need for replacing worn tube and fittings.
LA/PA can be used with Bowden or direct, but is more essential with Bowden. On direct you can almost get by without.
Sorry, Mustve had it backwards, I had seen somewhere that it's useless with bowden, maybe i'm just confused. Personally, I've had to do more maintenance on my direct-drive setup than bowden.
A bowden has hysteresis effects (tube takes time to return to unstretched state after being stretched) and some change in effective length with curvature (from toolhead moving) that make the LA/PA model insufficient to model the error fully. But unless you're sticking to print speeds so low you hardly need it, it's still better to run a bowden with LA/PA than without.
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16716 | What makes a new nozzle clog before I can finish the print?
I found my Ender 3 was skipping extruder steps a lot, mainly while printing infill (tri-hex at 30%), to the point I saw several layers of infill with spotty extrusion or nothing adhered at all.
When I pulled the filament, I had to use pliers to get enough grip to back it out of the hot end.
I disassembled the hot end and found melted filament in the end of the Bowden tube, though I'm not sure that indicates heat creep, because I had to dismount the fan in order to reach the heat block and nozzle with the wrenches, and then preheat to get the nozzle out (meaning the heat sink got a lot hotter than it normally would with the constant blast of its fan).
Since the nozzle was full of melted plastic as well, I simply replaced it, made sure the heat break was clear by pushing the Bowden tube through it (and removed all melted plastic from the end of the Bowden tube), then reassembled the hot end with a brand new 0.4 mm nozzle. I then started a new print, gratified initially by the clean, even extrusion.
Until it stopped printing infill about 10 layers into the print.
At that point, I simply aborted the print and turned everything off, as I didn't have time to deal with another disassembly cycle (Sunday evening and had to be up early for work today).
What should I look for in trying to troubleshoot this issue with the nozzle or hot end clogging repeatedly?
I'm printing Amazon Basics PLA, a spool that was purchased the first week in May but only unsealed two days ago; my nozzle is set to 200 °C and the coated glass bed (now using a glue stick wash for adhesion assistance) at 55 °C. My nozzle clearance is set by homing, jogging the Z axis up by 0.075 mm, and leveling snug on a 0.08 mm feeler gauge (set so I can barely push the feeler under the nozzle and have palpable drag when in place, done with bed and nozzle preheated); this should give clearance between 0 and .005 mm. My first layer (standard 0.2 mm thickness) was perfect, no extruder step skipping and nice, even line width; this problem started only when the machine began to print infill -- infill prints faster than walls and top/bottom, but I'm not sure this is related to that, as I could see skipping on the walls on the second or third infill layer. This part was printing with 3 line walls and 30% tri-hex infill.
The Bowden tube was replaced when I installed a new hot end two weeks and ten or so prints ago (which included a new nozzle, the same one that I was using until yesterday); I made the cut in the PTFE with a tubing cutter (the kind with a wheel that revolves around the tube), so I'm confident it's square, and I ensured the tubing was butted firmly on the nozzle and the lock ring installed on the push-in coupler.
Usually extrusion completely stops with heat creep. Does you Ender 3 still not have an enclosure? Thus, better heat sink cooling. Your description indicates that the Bowden tube fits against the nozzle. Have you verified that your heater-block termperature is correct with an external measurement?
No enclosure. In normal operation, the tube coupler end of the heat sink is only warm (comparable to the heated bed temperature of 50+ C). I have no reliable way to externally measure heat block or nozzle temp, but I can't manually extrude PLA (by pushing the filament through a disengaged extruder) until nozzle temp reads about 185 C, so I don't think it's off by a lot. And extrusion stopping completely isn't far from where I'm at...
@PerryWebb Hmmm. And now, after sitting for almost 24 hours, I'm getting another perfect first layer. I wonder if it'll run five-plus hours this time, or if it'll start clogging again in a half hour or an hour?
...and it finished the print nicely. The infill I saw before going to bed printed without a single lost extruder step (had a few in the second layer, but that cleared up on its own). I swear, this machine is haunted (and the part I'm printing is the last of the support brackets to immobilize the relocated power supply).
That sounds like heat creep. It sometimes happens when the extruder doesn't cool down before starting the next print.
I sounds like you are on the edge of almost heat creep if you start printing before the extruder cools off. See if letting the extruder cool down to near room temperature solves the problem.
It occurred to me this morning that I had kept the machine preheated, bed and nozzle, for a longish time before printing that day -- I'll try switching to preheating only the bed (to ensure the glass is as warm as the thermistor reads the aluminum bed). It seems okay when actually printing -- filament flow soaks up excess heat -- but when idle and hot, there's nothing carrying that heat out the nozzle.
Starting from a cold nozzle before *Print from TF", I've now gotten two successful prints (one 5+ hours, the other just over an hour) from the same nozzle that clogged right after being installed.
I've seen the same need to let the nozzle cool before starting a new print when printing PETG.
Got an all metal hot end on the way, should be here in the next week or two (from China) -- that should improve things some (I think).
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16766 | Does updating the firmware on an Ender 3 V2 erase its previous settings?
A few months ago, I flashed my Ender 3 V2 with JyersUI fork of the Marlin firmware and I like the options and settings that are available with this firmware. The author has put out another update (v1.3.4) and was curious if all my settings will be erased.
Does flashing the firmware erase all settings on the Ender 3 V2? If so, what settings should I record to update the new firmware once installed?
No, settings are stored in memory (or the equivalent storage location).
When a new firmware is uploaded, the values set in the newly configured firmware can be set by Restore Defaults from the Marlin printer LCD the user interface. Alternatively, you could print a G-code file containing M502 and M500, or send them over using a console.
M502
Reset all configurable settings to their factory defaults.
To also reset settings in EEPROM, follow with M500.
M500
Save all configurable settings to EEPROM
See M502 will reset all configurable settings to their "factory defaults", which settings are those? for more information.
This answer hints to a similar description:
Installing firmware does not by itself alter the EEPROM, so these settings needed to be seeded into SRAM via M502 and then saved into EEPROM via M500.
Please note that the EEPROM on 32-bit boards are emulated. There are several ways to emulate EEPROM storage via flash storage in the ARM processor or using an SD card. There is a solution for an actual EEPROM, but that requires buying an EEPROM chip and breakout board on the I2C connector if it has such an output port. Selection of which is done in the Configuration_adv.h config file.
For verification of any changes, could I send an M503 to the printer before flashing the new firmware, save that to a .txt file, then flash the firmware, send another M503, save to another .txt file, and compare the two files for changes?
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16736 | Layer Shifting When Printing Tall Prints (Consistent Per-Model)
I have tried to print Baby Groot , but every time I print the head, there are always layer shifts like the photos below. I have printed three heads and the layer shifts happened all in the same place.
I tried to print something else that is the (more or less) same height and the layer shifting also happened.
I was thinking maybe because z-rod bent. But apparently the layer shift happened in different height.
What is my problem and how to solve this ? I am using Ender 3 with BLTouch.
What I have done:
Using lowest hotend temperature 170 °C
Using highest hotend temperature 220 °C
No wobble in extruder (x-axis)
No wobble in gantry (x-axis)
No wobble in bed (y-axis)
No wobble in z-rod (z-axis)
Bed levelling to my perfect
Shorten and slower the retraction, from 8 mm and 70 mm/s to 6 mm and 50 mm/s
Enabling and disabling retraction
Enabling and disabling z-hop (z-lift in PrusaSlicer)
Formatted the micro SD card
I have tried using Cura as well. I thought maybe different slicer will result differently.
Position the z-offset from -2.20 mm to -2.15 mm
Position the z-offset from -2.15 mm to -2.10 mm
Printing a bigger round, vase
All of those don't solve this issue. Then I realized that while my z motor rotates there were some occasions where the rod wasn't rotates. I changed the hex bolts and tighten them up properly to solve this issue.
Layer shifting has two basic causes: the partially printed part moves or flexes, or the bed or Y carriage (almost always -- they seem rather uncommon on the X axis) skips one or more steps in one direction or the other.
Permanent layer shifts -- that is, where the entire print above the shift is and remains shifted -- are more likely to be the latter; temporary shifts (where the shift creates a bulge or groove, and then layers above that section are back in line with those below) are more likely due to part movement.
In your case, you appear to have temporary shifts. Those on the Groot head seem (in the photos) to line up with heights at which some of the peaks on the head end; they might be a result of changes in the nozzle interaction with a print that's becoming tall enough to flex as the path changes due to those sections finishing. The ones on the pink block look more like temporary overextrusion, but since we can't see the opposite side of whatever that is, I can't say for certain that they aren't the same thing.
One thing you might try is reslicing both of those objects with Z-hop enabled. That will reduce nozzle dragging over earlier parts of the current layer, which can flex the part (or temporarily block the nozzle, causing pressure buildup that will lead to momentary overextrusion).
To save time, you might look for whether you have any objects that exhibit this without as many hours of printing time (and tens of grams of filament) already spent -- perhaps you can sink Groot into the virtual bed in your slicer, so as to print him only from the eyes up (or even higher) -- though that might reduce flex enough that finishing the peaks on his head won't result in a significant change.
I always use 0.4 mm z-lift (z-hop in PrusaSlicer). And the pink block has the opposite side more or less the same. Is this more into a bent z-rod or a wobble bed? I feel you are more inclined toward wobble y-axis than z-axis.
For a screw-fed Z axis, that has correctly adjusted gantry rollers, the Z screw won't do much of anything to the Y axis position. This has to be the bed being out of position.
Hey there, I have tried to tighten the bed to no wobble. Using this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liJ0DbuMeZ4 as a guide. But the problem is still persist.
That puts us back to nozzle/print interaction.
Hey there... I just found out in case of the pink vase, it is happened due to the nozzle dragging the the shell/perimeter! My question become, why is it happening on specific height consistently?
I'm going to guess that print doesn't have the Z-lift, and the nozzle drag happens when the nozzle runs back over already printed material from the same layer; it happens at the same height because that's the height at which the combination of Y-axis acceleration and print flex put the part in the way. There'll be a change in bed acceleration on Groot when each peak finishes, too -- which might be why you have the artifacts at those heights.
Zeiss Ikon's answer is good - but just in case that doesn't solve it, have you printed larger / longer prints before? There's a well known problem with the Ender 3's 4.2.2 motherboard that causes layer shifts as it overheats on longer prints. You can try elevating the printer and putting a fan underneath to see if that changes anything. (I had that problem and it drove me nuts until I got a 4.2.7 motherboard)
https://www.reddit.com/r/ender3v2/comments/lmf1v2/an_faq_on_layer_shifts_and_mainboards/
https://www.reddit.com/r/ender3v2/comments/kn8u72/layer_shift_investigation_data_and_video/
https://www.reddit.com/r/ender3v2/comments/kxeikz/as_promised_thermal_camera_captures_of_a_layer/
However, I do see some other layer issues on the head further down the print. I would probably loosen and readjust all the gantries again, check all the belt tensions, do another bed level (you changed out the stock springs with the yellow ones right?). After hours of use, not uncommon for there to be a hiccup, maybe a piece of plastic / dust stuck in a track.
If you've double checked and adjusted all the gantry's and none are loose or too tight, look at your table the printer sits on. If possible, put the printer on something really heavy (slab of concrete, thick wood) with a little padding underneath that heavy surface. Put a half glass of water on the top most surface (not on the printer) to see if the table is vibrating while printing (water should be still the entire time). It could be the table is moving a little as the printer is printing - with fractions of mm's it doesn't take too much.
Hmm. This makes me glad I've got a 4.2.7 mainboard on hand, I can swap it in an hour or so if I decide the 4.2.2 that came with the printer is causing trouble...
"Zeiss Ikon's answer is good - but just in case that doesn't solve it, have you printed larger / longer prints before?" ---> I printed Baby Groot's head couple months ago just fine. But that was before I have done many upgrades to my Ender 3. This is the first tall print since those upgrades.
I have replaced the board with the 32 bit one. It is "BigTreeTech SKR Mini E3 Version 32 Bit Mainboard with TMC2209". And for the firmware, I am using Marlin 2.0.7.2 with BLTouch Z-Homing. Do you think this cause the problem?
I am very very sure I have properly tighten all belts for x and y.
The prints in my case were printing for about 12-15 hours before the layer shifts started. It's easy to test though - try to raise the printer, take off the motherboard cover, put a small fan underneath to keep it cool See if it does it.
The fact that they're happening around the same height makes me wonder. Did you try my glass of water trick to see if the table is moving? Maybe when the Z gantry gets high it shakes more.
Also, check the squareness of your Z extrusions. It could have shifted, which might also cause layer shifts.
These are (at least almost certainly) not layer shifts. A layer shift is when the physical toolhead position becomes inconsistent with the logical one because a stepper motor missed a step or the bed surface shifted or something else went wrong. It's possible for them to reverse if the same happens in the opposite direction at a later layer, but very unlikely.
What you have seems to be geometry-dependent inconsistent extrusion. If you look at the slicer output in an analyzer, you probably have some geometry difference in terms of number of components, travel moves needed, etc. at the affected layers, causing more or less material to be oozed/lost in the model's interior, thereby producing more of less extrusion thickness in the walls that follow, relative to other layers.
While there are probably other ways to reduce the impact, the right way to fix this is find the cause of the oozing and stop it. It's almost surely unretracted travel moves inside the model interior, which Cura calls "combing"; I don't know the Prusaslicer terminology for it. You can either turn it off (which will make your print a lot slower and might harm quality in some ways) or set "Max Comb Distance With No Retract" to something very small, like 1 mm. This will create a lot of additional retractions, and you need to make sure your retraction settings are right (in terms of distance and speed) not to make the problem worse - you can also ooze material while waiting around for a slow retraction to happen. Doing a retraction tuning tower can help you get them right if you don't have them right already. On an Ender 3 you should be able to set the retraction (and unretraction) speed to at least 100 mm/s, with distance somewhere around 4.0-6.5.
For readers using Cura, also be sure to set the "Minimum Extrusion Distance Window" option to 0. Otherwise Cura will start skipping retractions again once there are too many of them, which will bring the problem right back, possibly far worse since it might skip them even in the places they matter most. I don't think Prusaslicer has such a problem but I'm not sure.
Does combing (crossing parameter) be taken care of if I am printing in vase mode?
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17895 | How to stop Fusion 360 from creating a new version on STL export
Everytime I export to STL in Fusion 360, a new Version (V1, V2, V3, V4, ...) of the file is created. But I would really like to use that feature to mark bigger changes instead of creating a new version everytime I change a minor detail to see how the Cura reacts to it.
For some reason, no new version gets created when I send the model to Cura via the tools tab. But then no new STL file gets created, but Fusion 360 opens a new instance of Cura instead. Even if Cura is already open.
That's not what I want. I want to overwrite the old STL file so Cura offers me to reload the STL file and I can keep working in the instance of Cura which is already open.
I already deactivated the checkbox to create a new version everytime I save the file. That settings works as expected
Ops, I meant the setting that creates new versions when I close, not when I save. As I understood it, clicking save is the action that actually should create a new version. But I just realized that setting doesn't work as expected either. So right now, it's not possible for me to close Fusion 360 without losing my work and without creating a new version.
But that's a different story.
Not sure if this will solve your issue directly for you but when I save a STL/3MF from F360 I don't use the File/Export in 360.
Instead I just right click the body in the browser tree and save the STL/3MF directly from that menu.
Select "save as mesh" This does not add any version number, and also the usage of cloud processing is not required so it's much faster.
Yes, thanks, that solves my problem. Not the way you think, but it solves my problem.
I noticed this basically gives me the same window I get when I send the model directly to a slicer over the tools tab. The difference is, the checkbox to send it to a slicer isn't checked by default and a file gets created instead. Before, I didn't even realize this checkbox is there.
The way you describe also solves another problem. I can export multiple bodies as separate STL files. That will help me as soon as I start using the dual extrusion feature of the printer I just bought.
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17926 | What does the "Control Module" setting in FlashPrint 5.1 do?
I don't understand the description of this setting in FlashPrint and have been unable to find a better description online. What does it do?
On Reddit, someone pointed out that this likely refers to which items temperature is being adjusted by the tickbox above (and table below). It seems quite obvious now :-)
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17996 | How exactly can a 720P DLP print at a higher resolution than a 2k LCD?
I'm still confused on this. The Anycubic Photon Ultra is coming out soon, and it features an internal 720p Projector. The 720p resolution seems like a far cry from a 2k LCD (1280×720 vs. 2560x1440). Despite having 4x as many pixels, many articles are praising DLP as being much higher in resolution / detail. This is very counterintuitive... How can a DLP projector with less pixels produce a more detailed item than a 2k LED exposure?
How can a digital camera produce images several times the resolution of the sensor? They move the sensor and overlay multiple exposures. Optically or physically moving the DLP chip or its projected image can give a combined "image" from multiple scans anywhere from 2x to several times the linear resolution of the DLP itself.
Such a print might be slower than an LCD, because of multiple exposures for each layer, but it might also be faster, because the light source can be far brighter than can be used with an LCD without damaging the liquid crystals themselvs.
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14662 | How to test all pins of a STM32 board?
I have an SKR PRO control board with a dead (shorted, it's burning hot) main processor. I ordered a new board, it was my mistake.
The voltage regulators work, so I ordered a replacement STM32F407 processor from STM (a free sample actually) and I'll repair the board in my free time.
How can I test all pins of the new board, so that I can ensure the board is working when I'll sell it/when I'll use it for my next project?
I think that programmatically turning on and off each pin would be enough, then I would use an oscilloscope or a LED to verify the result. The pins which have special functions (heater, fan, MOSFET in general) would be tested accordingly, but I still need the pulsating input.
A good starting point could be to use one of the two versions of the RAMPS1.4_TestCode.pde testcode, which is linked to by this thread on the RepRapWiki, RAMPS 1.4 test code:
Please note it will switch on and off your heated-bed and extruder hot-end too besides moving all the motors and flashing the leds. Disconnect them if you do not want any heating while testing.
There is a later version, in this post on the same thread, which also checks the individual stepper motor steps:
#define X_STEP_PIN 54
#define X_DIR_PIN 55
#define X_ENABLE_PIN 38
#define X_MIN_PIN 3
#define X_MAX_PIN 2
#define Y_STEP_PIN 60
#define Y_DIR_PIN 61
#define Y_ENABLE_PIN 56
#define Y_MIN_PIN 14
#define Y_MAX_PIN 15
#define Z_STEP_PIN 46
#define Z_DIR_PIN 48
#define Z_ENABLE_PIN 62
#define Z_MIN_PIN 18
#define Z_MAX_PIN 19
#define E_STEP_PIN 26
#define E_DIR_PIN 28
#define E_ENABLE_PIN 24
#define Q_STEP_PIN 36
#define Q_DIR_PIN 34
#define Q_ENABLE_PIN 30
#define SDPOWER -1
#define SDSS 53
#define LED_PIN 13
#define FAN_PIN 9
#define PS_ON_PIN 12
#define KILL_PIN -1
#define HEATER_0_PIN 10
#define HEATER_1_PIN 8
#define TEMP_0_PIN 13 // ANALOG NUMBERING
#define TEMP_1_PIN 14 // ANALOG NUMBERING
void setup() {
pinMode(FAN_PIN , OUTPUT);
pinMode(HEATER_0_PIN , OUTPUT);
pinMode(HEATER_1_PIN , OUTPUT);
pinMode(LED_PIN , OUTPUT);
pinMode(X_STEP_PIN , OUTPUT);
pinMode(X_DIR_PIN , OUTPUT);
pinMode(X_ENABLE_PIN , OUTPUT);
pinMode(Y_STEP_PIN , OUTPUT);
pinMode(Y_DIR_PIN , OUTPUT);
pinMode(Y_ENABLE_PIN , OUTPUT);
pinMode(Z_STEP_PIN , OUTPUT);
pinMode(Z_DIR_PIN , OUTPUT);
pinMode(Z_ENABLE_PIN , OUTPUT);
pinMode(E_STEP_PIN , OUTPUT);
pinMode(E_DIR_PIN , OUTPUT);
pinMode(E_ENABLE_PIN , OUTPUT);
pinMode(Q_STEP_PIN , OUTPUT);
pinMode(Q_DIR_PIN , OUTPUT);
pinMode(Q_ENABLE_PIN , OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(X_ENABLE_PIN , LOW);
digitalWrite(Y_ENABLE_PIN , LOW);
digitalWrite(Z_ENABLE_PIN , LOW);
digitalWrite(E_ENABLE_PIN , LOW);
digitalWrite(Q_ENABLE_PIN , LOW);
}
void loop () {
// if (millis() %1000 <500)
// digitalWrite(LED_PIN, HIGH);
// else
// digitalWrite(LED_PIN, LOW);
// if (millis() %1000 <300) {
// digitalWrite(HEATER_0_PIN, HIGH);
// digitalWrite(HEATER_1_PIN, LOW);
// digitalWrite(FAN_PIN, LOW);
// } else if (millis() %1000 <600) {
// digitalWrite(HEATER_0_PIN, LOW);
// digitalWrite(HEATER_1_PIN, HIGH);
// digitalWrite(FAN_PIN, LOW);
// } else {
// digitalWrite(HEATER_0_PIN, LOW);
// digitalWrite(HEATER_1_PIN, LOW);
// digitalWrite(FAN_PIN, HIGH);
// }
if ( millis() % 60000 < 30000) {
digitalWrite(X_DIR_PIN , HIGH);
digitalWrite(Y_DIR_PIN , HIGH);
digitalWrite(Z_DIR_PIN , HIGH);
digitalWrite(E_DIR_PIN , HIGH);
digitalWrite(Q_DIR_PIN , HIGH);
digitalWrite(HEATER_0_PIN, LOW);
digitalWrite(FAN_PIN, HIGH);
digitalWrite(HEATER_1_PIN, LOW);
digitalWrite(LED_PIN, HIGH);
}
else {
digitalWrite(X_DIR_PIN , LOW);
digitalWrite(Y_DIR_PIN , LOW);
digitalWrite(Z_DIR_PIN , LOW);
digitalWrite(E_DIR_PIN , LOW);
digitalWrite(Q_DIR_PIN , LOW);
digitalWrite(HEATER_0_PIN, HIGH);
digitalWrite(FAN_PIN, LOW);
digitalWrite(HEATER_1_PIN, HIGH);
digitalWrite(LED_PIN, LOW);
}
digitalWrite(X_STEP_PIN , LOW);
digitalWrite(Y_STEP_PIN , LOW);
digitalWrite(Z_STEP_PIN , LOW);
digitalWrite(E_STEP_PIN , LOW);
digitalWrite(Q_STEP_PIN , LOW);
delay (200);
digitalWrite(X_STEP_PIN , HIGH);
digitalWrite(Y_STEP_PIN , HIGH);
digitalWrite(Z_STEP_PIN , HIGH);
digitalWrite(E_STEP_PIN , HIGH);
digitalWrite(Q_STEP_PIN , HIGH);
delay (200);
}
As your board isn't a RAMPS you will probably have to change some of the #defines, to correspond with your board, but that should just be a simple search-and-replace exercise.
Well I got some problems with a batch of STM32 boards where some work and some don't. I'm trying to figure out the same thing.
The initial plan is a simple board with a socket for the micro and some LEDs, hopefully not 64 of them, and put in it a simple firmware that just goes around testing all the GPIOs, but I fear that the test could not be enough.
Did you ever manage to come up with some firmware to test your board? Just a thought, but you could use a multiplexer to reduce the number of LEDs required, or (maybe) use a form of Charlieplexing instead.
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18204 | Ender 3 pro Z axis homing
Whenever the printer homes, the nozzle ends up digging into the bed and causing damage. This also happens when I start prints, the first layer is shoving the nozzle into the bed, this happens every time.
This only happens when the bed is level. It only stops when I lower the bed completely. And when I do it is too far down and the nozzle is about a centimetre away from the bed.
I haven't thought much about it until now as I am thinking of replacing the bed because of the damage.
Have you checked to see if the Z-axis sensor has moved? Has this been happening all the time, i.e. since you bought it, or did this just recently happen? If so, did you change anything?
When my ender homes Z, it has moved the platform out of the way so the nozzle can go below the platform without touching it.
Sounds like you have incorrectly set up your machine, specifically the Z offset.
Or your Z endstop is physically too low and not set up properly.
I'd suggest recalibrating your machine from the start as that would help dial it in as well as potentially solve this issue.
I recommend following this guide at the Teaching Tech 3D Printer Site - it's extremely good. (there's also a page for troubleshooting different issues including testing your Endstops to confirm they are working)
Good Luck. 3D printers can be hella finickity but all in good fun.
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18300 | Which way should the throat tube be oriented?
I have an Anet A8 clone printer. I see the throat tube is different on each end. I'm trying to ensure I understand which end should go up and which should go down. To me, it appears (from the photo below) the one on the right is the proper orientation (teflon down, metal up). Is this correct?
There are a couple of reasons I ask this question. First, I had the teflon oriented up, and one time the teflon pulled out of the tube while I was pulling the filament out after a print was finished. Secondly, I recently experienced where melted filament was leaking from between heater block and the throat tube right after I replace the tube and nozzle. This was with the teflon down. In this case I think I didn't have the tube tight enough in the heater block (tightened against the nozzle) so there was room for hot filament to ooze out and up past the tube.
This design just makes no sense to me.
The PTFE liner should be in contact with the nozzle. Normally, they are cut about half a millimetre too long, to ensure that good contact with the nozzle is made. I used these throats for several years before I switched to an all-metal hot end. If you take care to tighten the nozzle with the hot end at the highest working temperature that you intend to use, you should have no problems with leaking filament.
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18372 | What is the best glue for the task of assembling a 3D printed part with other materials?
I have printed some connectors from PLA, in order to make a frame for a "tent" cover for my Ender3 printer
Since printing rods would be a long process with likely poor results, I'm using some cheap thin-walled metal tubes as the main structure, and printing the corners.
I plan on using 2 part epoxy to secure the metal rods into the sockets in my printed part, but can find no real chart of what glue to use with which FDM plastics.
Is 2 part epoxy a suitable adhesive for PLA and other hard items?
I'm thinking this question might be extended to cover all combinations of FDM plastics, and common other materials, if there are sufficient combinations. Or if it is only "superglue plastic to plastic and epoxy plastic to everything else" then there's not enough depth for a CW.
your epoxy plan should be alright.
https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/q/6723/23523
Does this answer your question? What glues for bonding printed PLA to injection-molded plastic?
@Trish Good spotting but no, that's about injection molded plastic to 3d printed PLA is a different combination. I'm wondering if there should be a community wiki answer that charts all the combinations.
For example, PLA, PLA+, Wood PLA, PETG, ABS, TPU....
And down the other side, the same list of plastics plus non-printable things, like steel, aluminium, grown-wood, processed wood, glass, paper, fabric, leather, concrete, Injection Moulded plastic, Polystychrene, etc etc etc. That could be a "knowledgebase answer" or Canonical answer to expand over time.
The answer there is actually very much "any - any", only few polymers can't be used with those glues.
@Trish hmmm - maybe there's a shorter question by itself - what glues/adhesives are incompatible with various printed plastics ? ABS and Acetone, for example.
Confirmed - 2 part epoxy works fine between PLA and other things.
I used "selleys" brand, and found that the fastest-setting 5 minute version worked fine, but on paper produces a "weaker" bond than the slow-curing one.
The 5 minute version also has a distinct odour of cat pee, which is not present in the slow version.
Downside, the slow version took 2 days to harden completely, but my item is definitely secured together well.
https://www.selleys.co.nz/products/adhesives/heavy-duty-repairs/selleys-araldite-super-strength/
NOTE that the above link says
Not suitable for bonding plastics such as Polypropylene and Polyethylene
Because of the "Not suitable for bonding plastics", I would recommend to keep checking the integrity of the connections. It could be that over time the connections fail with plastics.
Yup - will report back in a few months with an update. Above photo contains 12 printed items (4x joiners, 4x corners, and 4x pipe corners)
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18411 | When do you need a silicone sock? What problem does it solve?
I'm returning to 3d printing and there's all sorts of new things going on. One of which is a silicone sock. I suspect it's part of the engineering where you want to keep certain parts hot, and certain parts cold, and it assists with that, but I'm not sure. Internet searches have been degrading, and have degraded a lot in the past year or so, so I can't find anything on the subject on how and why, just products.
When do you need a silicone sock? What problem does it solve?
My Ender 3v2 came with one, but apparently previous generations did not. My other printers do not have an option for them.
A silicone sock helps keep the heat from the hot end from radiating down onto the freshly-printed parts, which have a blower fan cooling them.
The sock also helps keep the hot end hot and away from that stream of room-temperature cooling air blowing at the part.
As such, the sock is a thermal isolator, helping to keep the hot bits hot and the cooler bits cool.
Additionally, silicone rubber is pretty good at not sticking to hot filament. If your print goes bad and produces "spaghetti" then the sock will mitigate how much plastic gets stuck to the hot end.
Are there certain heat blocks that are more or less susceptible to this problem? FOr example copper vs aluminum.
Might want to add if your print goes bad and produces "spaghetti", the sock will mitigate how much plastic gets stuck to the hot end.
@YetAnotherRandomUser sorry, I don't have an answer for that. Since the Ender came with one, there's no gain in removing it.
Good answer, one other benefit of the sock is less heat radiates up on the bottom of the cold end fins, helping a little with heat creep.
I experienced that the heater block can compensate an always-on part cooling fan very good, but I run into thermal runaway (9 out of 10 times) if the fan kicks in after N-layers. A silicon sock keeps the temperature of the block quite stable.
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18381 | What filaments are appropriate for a case that will contain mains voltage wiring?
I have some relay boards which I want to build into a case for my Pi. The relays are GPIO controlled and will turn on/off things like a 12 volt DC light, and the 240 volt 50 hertz AC printer itself. The relays are rated for these levels and current draws.
However I would prefer to put the pi and its relays inside a case. No commercial case exists to neatly hold the relays, so I have to design and print something.
What filaments can and can't be used to encase mains voltages?
What other considerations should be accounted for - minimum thickness?
Any filament except made-to-be-conductive metal infused filaments should be capable of acting as a suitable insulator, but you'll also want to consider things like failure modes under overheating, mechanical damage, whether it might be subject to spills of conductive fluids, etc. These are not so much a matter of filament choice as structural design and safety design on the electrical level (proper fuses, etc.), and may involve compliance with electrical code. I think those questions are outside the scope of 3D Printing SE, but would be appropriate on a sister site like DIY or Electronics.
From the 3D printing side, you might want to avoid PLA unless you can guarantee shutoff if anything exeeds about 55˚C, since you'll quickly get warping and loss of structural integrity past that. Although I do have an under-hood automotive part in PLA (wiper fluid connector) that's held up fine for a few years now. PETG or ABS/ASA would probably be preferable.
Thank you - sounds reasonable. I only have PLA right now, and have never tried printing anything else. This could be the motivation, and the PLA one can be a draught print.
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18425 | My Ender 3 Pro power switch is stuck to on
Started up my Ender 3 today and the print killed halfway because my cat was messing with the cable to my octopi, but when I went to shut it off to reboot and the actual switch seems permanently on (as in stays on regardless of position). do I need a new PSU? and is this a known issue?
You might need to consider how to keep the cat off the printer. I mean I find it hypnotic to just watch - a cat will want to get involved and mess up your print. Some form of enclosure might be a good idea,
on my todo list already.
The mains switch is easily replaced - the part is widely available. Just make sure that the spade connectors go on securely and to the same positions as the old one.
Here's how the wires are connected in my Ender 3's mains input:
The IEC mains connector is on the right in the first image. You can see the yellow wire goes to the earth connection of the PSU. The black wire goes to the neutral connection of the PSU. The live input goes via a wire strip to one end of the fuse, the other end of the fuse is connected to the central pole of the switch, and the on-position of the switch is connected to the live connection of the PSU via the red wire which leaves the picture.
The switch is on the left in the first image, and at the bottom in the second image.
tiny issue i forgot what way the spades go........
@TristanAdams Hang on... I'll take a photo of my Ender 3's mains input.
now I just have to order the parts and install. and thanks your a life saver (I'd probably get zapped without your advice)
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18409 | CR-6 SE rebooting at fixed moments in print
My printer seems to be responding poorly to some of the prints I provide it with. At a certain time, usually after at least half an hour.
For example, the print I tried today (twice) kept crashing somewhere after 52 minutes. Both times at the same spot. It would instantly reboot, ask to continue and even if I did it would crash again at the end of the backtracking.
A couple of things come to mind:
PSU/motherboard responding poorly to some set of actions. Doing the same actions again triggers the same problem.
Slicer producing illegal actions in some situations, causing the motherboard to panic.
Firmware being bugged, responding poorly in some edge cases.
Other prints work fine.
How would I go about finding what's causing the reboots?
As a workaround, I'd accept a method of finding out whether a specific print would have this behaviour (incl. looking at the resulting gcode if that helps), without having to waste an hour (or more) of time and material each time.
System:
CR-6 SE.
Recent Community Firmware.
Stock parts except for the cold-end extruder, that's switched out for an all-metal dual-gear.
Creality Slicer 4.8.2.
Note: I feel obligated to mention the printer is on an unearthed power socket (old building, only ground floor has a couple of earthed sockets). This might make parts of the system less forgiving than it would otherwise, but I'm not sure about that. Internal wiring of the printer (for as much as it's accessible) seems fine.
Turns out this is the behaviour of files that get corrupted. This has very little to do with the slicer and everything with how some SD cards are just intent on getting themselves a bad name.
In this case, the file was corrupted enough not to be readable on the machine that put the data on there. If the file can't be opened and made look readable by a normal text editor, it's probably corrupted and not worth trying to print. A quick scroll-through to check it's all there might be a good idea as well.
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18562 | How hot is too hot for magnetic beds?
How hot is too hot for any given magnetic layer holding a steel bed surface? Are certain types or grades of magnets more or less suited for this purpose? How can I ascertain which kind I have if the manufacturer doesn't tell me?
I've heard that some magnetic beds should not be used for certain materials because those materials require a very hot bed for adhesion. But in the modern age where resellers and even manufacturers don't usually know what they are selling, what are the rules of thumb, and where are the limits?
Depends on the magnets used
Magnets demagnetize under heat and are fully demagnetized once their Curie temperature is reached. This Curie temperature depends heavily on the type of magnet, and it is not the point where they already suffer demagnetization but where they have none left. This means, that the useable temperature band is much lower - and in some cases, low temperature can negatively impact a magnet's holding force.
Typical Magnet tapes and foils as one uses them for example kitchen magnets can start to fail as early as 65 °C and have Curie temperatures around 80-85 °C - making them unsuitable for printing high-temperature printing.
The Chromium-Oxide magnetic tapes on cassettes are totally demagnetized at 113 °C.
Neodymium-iron-boron magnets stuffer permanent damage over 100 °C and totally lose their magnetization at the Curie temperature of 320 °C
Samarium–cobalt magnets only suffer damage over 250 to 550 °C and have a Curie Temperature of 700 to 850 °C,
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18604 | Why is a 3D Benchy considered a good test print for FDM printers?
the 3D Benchy is everywhere. It is one of the top test prints if you look away from a simple cube.
But what makes the Benchy a good test print at all? It does have almost no critical dimensions that would be measurable to see if the printer is calibrated correctly!
the 3D Benchy isn't a specific calibration test
With the Benchy you don't see if your printer is calibrated in any axis, but it is a general use-case test for a model that can show you many of the issues you might face in a normal print. For all intents and purposes, it is more a general Benchmark item than a specific calibration test like a cube, stringing test, or temperature tower, where you go through iterations of a profile to dial in settings and printer properties.
the 3D Benchy is a Benchmark for printer and settings
Most of the printing issues that can be seen on a Benchy are related to the print settings, though some are also related to the physical properties.
Overhangs
The bow of the Benchy has a shape that is very conducive to seeing how much the printer can handle overhangs due to proper cooling and settings.
The arches in the sides of the cabin, as well as the back window, have a rather challenging overhang pattern (the extension needs to be larger and larger), and the front of the Benchy has a short bridge, which shows if cooling is happening properly.
The upper edge of the hull also is a little overhang, which shows how well small oversteps can be printed.
Small Diameter
The funnel of the Benchy is of sufficient small crossection, that with bad settings it can result in printing layers upon one another too fast, which can result in bulging, misinformation, or totally blobing that area.
Sharp corners
The front and back corners are rather sharp and can show the effects of ringing on the area next to them due to bad acceleration settings
Benchy is cute. That goes a long way in attracting attention.
The benchy is one of the earlier STLs that was freely available to download, dating from April 2015, and was released under the Creative Commons Sharealike licence, which clearly states the requirements and limitations/requirements.
Curiously, a printed Benchy can float in still water, provided no print problems crop up. It will also sit nicely on a shelf, with no risk of rolling off and makes a nice ornament.
Links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3DBenchy and one of the earliest download sites https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:763622
I've had my printer for a year now, and have never printed a benchy.
Curiously, the internet is full of examples of benchy not floating - at least until early 2020 - without accessories.
People must have been using some ridiculously high infill, or poor extrusion hardware preventing it from being water-tight, if Benchy wouldn't float. Floating upright is a hard problem, but just floating is the default for any 3D printed object that's not so thin not to admit a sizable infill region.
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18148 | What is the operator precedence in OpenSCAD?
OpenSCAD User Manual's section on operators does not mention precedence. Quick Web searches found nothing. I assume the usual order of exponentiation, then multiplication, then addition does hold, but how does e.g. a conditional operator or unary minus interact with these? Is there an official document describing the precedence of operators in OpenSCAD?
I'm not sure if/where it's documented but I think largely they follow C or C++ precedent for precedence.
If you aren't sure, use parenthesis to force precedence.
@0scar That's what I'm doing, but it would be nice to know.
Within OpenSCAD expressions, the order of precedence is:
Operators
Description
() []
group, vector, or range
() [] .
function call, indexing, member lookup
^
exponentiation
! + -
unary operations
* / %
multiplication
+ -
addition
< <= >= >
ordering
== !=
equality
&&
logical AND
||
logical OR
?: function() let() assert() echo()
ternary operator and unary pseudo-operators
There are no bit-wise operators, and neither comma nor "=" are operators.
Source: openscad/src/parser.y
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18720 | How to properly run a PID Tuning and update the firmware?
The Firmware Step-by-step guide remarks to only mess with PID-Tuning settings in the firmware when you know what you are doing. Apparently, defining those settings in the firmware is a somewhat involved process, so this begs the question:
How do you acquire the PID-tuning settings properly and update the boars of a printer so it retains these settings through power cycling?
Let's for simplicity assume there is a Marlin Firmware or a derivative using the same command codes is installed, so we can assume all the commands from the Marlin G-code repository work.
Step 0: Terminal connection
To do any work on the settings of the board, you'll need to run a Terminal - for setting that up, please see the relevant question here.
Step 1: What do we have?
The second step is dissecting the settings that are set already. To do so, send M503 to read the relevant settings from the SRAM of the board and display them in the Terminal of your choice.
Step 2: Try a PID Autotune
To run a PID Autotune, just start by sending this for your first hotend to enforce a 3-cycle PID tuning for the 200 °C region:
M303 C3 S200
For your second hotend, you'd send M303 C3 E1 S200 - the E-value is 0-indexed and defaults to 0 for the first hotend, so E1 is the second hotend.
For your heatbed (and PLA) you send M303 C3 E-1 S60 as -1 is the function dependant value for the heated bed.
Step 3: Setting the PID settings
After having obtained the PID settings from running the tuning cycle, we need to send those to the chips. To do so use M301 for a hotend and M304 for the heatbed, using the given values from step 2 as parameters.
Note again, that if you have more than one hotend, you absolutely need to have an E-value if you try to set the second hotend, as the default value is, again, E0 for the first hotend.
Step 4: Saving
To properly save the values into the EEPROM - provided it is enabled - is to just send one command to finalize:
M500
If your EEPROM is not enabled, you'd need to take the line you wrote for Step 3 and insert that into your pre-print G-code, thus overwriting the PID settings in the SRAM before each print.
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18769 | Replacing PTFE tube in Mk8 heatbreak
I am trying to replace a Mk8 heatbreak on my printer. But which orientation do I need to put into the heatblock? The left image or the right image? Note that this specific heatbreak is missing a PTFE tube.
I quickly looked at the other questions on this forum but could not find a clear result with images.
The PTFE liner should be in contact with the nozzle, and is normally cut half a millimetre over-size to ensure that it remains in contact.
Thanks! That makes sense. To make it absolutely clear, that means that the right picture should be screwed into the heatblock, right?
@zwep Yes. That end should be partially stopped, so that the PTFE tube cannot pass through it (but the filament can).
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18798 | What is the thickest sensible layer height that an Ender 5 will print at?
I'm going to 3D print a series of scaffolds and armatures that I'm going to use as the skeleton\structure for clay sculptures as an alternative to using twisted wire, because I can print dozens of identical ones off faster than I can twist them out of wire.
They don't need to look pretty, they just need to be able support a little weight.
What is the thickest sensible layer height that I can uses to get them printed off quickly?
I assume you are interested in it to print faster. Consider using a larger nozzle instead, so that you need to print only one perimeter instead of 2 (or 2 instead of 3) before increasing the layer height. You may get faster prints and better quality. Also, keep in mind that no matter the layer thickness or nozzle diameter, the maximum melting rate will likely not exceed 10 mm^3/s with the original stock extruder. If you place a dual gear direct drive then you can reach much more.
Your maximum layer height is related to the nozzle diameter. Typically, a printer is sold with a 0.4 mm nozzle diameter, unless otherwise specified. One expects to be able to print safely to eighty percent of nozzle diameter, which would be 0.32 mm layer height. Quote from linked Prusa site.
Layer height vs nozzle diameter
Layer height should not exceed 80 % of the nozzle diameter. If you are
using the standard 0.4mm nozzle, the maximal layer height is about
0.32 mm. However, with a 0.6mm nozzle, it’s possible to achieve up to a 0.48 mm layer height.
Exactly this - I've seen a concrete-based printer that can do a 2" or 50mm layer height, but it had a nozzle that looked like a fire hose.
There might be a different formula involved with concrete printer nozzles. Due to the faster flow of semi-liquid concrete, it might be a max layer at 50 percent nozzle diameter.
Or this one which lays down what looks like half-inch-thick and inch-wide lines
Flow rate is certainly a factor, but most plastics have a maximum flow rate too, although it can be more than proportionally higher with a larger nozzle. But then there's also a max caloric rate needed to melt the plastic too. You can also slow down linear head movement, but this introduces stresses that can cause other problems in the final part. This would all be different for concrete vs. plastic.
Workable flow rate depends on both the filament material and the hot end design. If the flow rate is too fast, the material will not have adequate time to melt. If the flow rate is too slow, one gets heat creep. Of course print speed affects flow rate.
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18825 | How to fill big holes that Meshmixer couldn't inspect?
How to fill these holes in mandibular jaw in order to 3d print it?
i've manually edited meshes of .stl before. I used FreeCAD to do it. pretty time consuming though so there might be a better way these days.
Have you tried using Windows 10 3DBuilder? Those areas are not so severe as to fail in 3DBuilder, from my experience.
I have not used meshmixer, but both blender and meshlab have features to repair non-manifold meshes, including a way to manually fix large holes.
With both of these packages, you can have it select holes, and then either attempt to fill them automatically (which frequently gives terrible results), or manually select a few edges of a specific hole and add a few triangles at a time until it is fully covered (which gives much better results if you choose edges carefully).
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18843 | Are those cheap ANYCUBIC 3D printers worth it's money?
I would need a simple 3D printer for small 3D objects. I have seen that for example ANYCUBIC has very cheap ones. Are they worth it's money?
This question is too vague (which printing process are you hinting to: FFF, SLA?), furthermore, this is very subjective.
likely to get opinions as answers. how cheap can you get them? it may be worth it just to have a toy to learn with before moving on to something slightly more robust.
From what I have heard from a friend using Anycubic printers is that they are good for the money. They claim that the printers are reliable and rarely get any faults in them. Some cheaper printers may not have the most up-to-date spec however if you're going to be doing just basic printing then I'm pretty sure it'll be good enough to get you going. The budget here isn't clear however my current printer for the last 2 years has been the Creality Ender 3 Pro. It is an extremely good printer for the money (around $200) and has everything to get you going as well as being fully upgradeable if you are into that and I personally would argue this is as good as you can get for the money.
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18857 | Which K-Value would you choose here for linear advance?
I'm new to 3D printing, but my printer supports Linear Advance. I heard that it offers improvements in print quality. I used Marlin Linear Advance Pattern Generator to generate a print with horizontal lines at a variety of k-values.
Which K-Value would be best from my below image?
0.65-ish. Though Linear Advance on a Bowden printer may impact print speeds due to the high K value.
@towe: Because the Ender 3's extruder is ungeared, it can handle wild speed and acceleration needed to make the impact on print speeds "not too bad". Just make sure you have non-zero E-jerk (maybe 5?) and E speed and accel limits set to something like 150-200 and 5000-10000, respectively. If you have them set slow, everything will become ridiculously slow as soon as you turn on LA.
Just for experiment try this K-factor tower generation tool. It might give you a better insight.
As a general answer to evaluate the effectiveness of the K-factor, when the K-factor Calibration Pattern generator output print is inconclusive (probably not in this case), printing a tower at various K-factor values might give you more insight, e.g. like:
To vary the K-factor with height, a similar procedure as in How does one use a heat tower? can be followed to insert a new K-factor with G-code M900.
This. I would look for corner bulge/rounding, NOT the single-layer Linear Advance test pattern.
Go with the sort of tower 0scar suggested and look for corner bulge/rounding. It's a lot more useful than the single-layer test pattern from the Marlin site, which I've found can be misleading.
With that said, just looking at your test print, I would go with the lowest K factor that gives acceptable-looking results, so around 0.5 or so. Overshooting is more likely to harm your print quality than undershooting, and will limit your print speed too. When I used the original bowden on my Ender 3, my calibrated K factor for PLA was 0.6, so I think this is in the range of what's expected.
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18867 | In Cura, is it possible to display where retraction occur on any given model?
In Cura slicer, it is possible to display\visualize where in the print process retractions occur for any given model?
For example, to have them highlighted in the preview window.
I'm making my own models\sculpts and want to optimise them to reduce the amount of time that retraction occurs.
Yes, it ss possible to visualize the retractions in the preview of the sliced object in Cura.
In the "Preview" window mode with "Layer view" option enabled (after you sliced the object), you are able to select the "Line Type" of the "Color scheme" and enable travel lines. Dark blue lines are unretracted and light blue is retracted.
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18848 | What is the quality setting in Ultimaker Cura do? (Super, Dynamic, Standard, Low)
In the Ultimaker Cura print settings menu, there is a dropdown menu labeled "profiles", with Super Quality, Dynamic Quality, Standard Quality, and Low Quality. What do these settings do exactly? If I set it to Super Quality for example, it changes things like the layer height settings, but I am able to then change those settings back to whatever I want and profile remains on Super Quality.
What are these quality settings? I know this is probably an obvious question but I am basically a beginner and for some reason can find little info on google.
According to the Ultimaker Support website, these are called "Quality settings". You could think of them as "resolution" settings.
There are 3 different adjustments made when changing these settings:
Layer height
Initial layer height
Line width
A smaller layer height will produce a smoother surface. Initial layer height can create a stronger adhesion to the build plate. Line width will determine how much plastic material will be extruded.
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18898 | Can 3D printed bottle caps make a perfect seal?
I am using a Formlabs 3 resin printer and I am would like to create a bottle design with a cap. my objective is for the cap to completely prevent any liquid from going in or out of the bottle (even it was shaken) and also prevent dry air from seeping in and effecting the moisture inside.
(Note: I am not planning to cure my print with UV light as I feel it ruins the smoothness and flexibility of the model. tell me if I am wrong)
Is that possible by just printing? or do I need some coatings or extra steps?
Yes and no
If you can print very tight tolerances and the bottle itself does deform a tad to press into the cap, then yes, you will get a perfect interference fit.
If you want to go absolutely sure, a little seal of rubber into which the mouth of the bottle presses can add the last bit needed. alternatively, a viscous grease on the threads can act as a sealant.
In case you want to pretty much seal the bottle forever and not remove the cap, you might just as well add a few droplets of liquid resin or glue to the threads of the cap before screwing it on, then make sure that it sets and seals. Loctite is one such sealing glue often used.
CURE IT
However you are wrong not to cure your model: unless cured, the model is not safe to the touch without gloves as the bonds are not set and liquid resins are dangerous skin irritants. If you want to use the flexibility of not fully cured resin to seal your containers, you might want to seal the bottle with the raw caps and then cure the combined item right after.
I am washing the printed part with Isopropenyl. is that not enough?
@AnwarElhadad it is not. Bonds inside the item are not set and the surface of the resin can have very reactive chains that are bonded on one side, but aggressively react still.
Thank you. Currently, I am curing under 60 C° for 3 minutes. This causes my clear resin to be not as clear. any tips!
@AnwarElhadad sadly no, but that'd be a good followup question: how to prevent the surface from clouding on a 3D print?
I like the o-ring idea. Could use a rubber garden hose seal from the hardware store if it’s the right size, or model in a channel for rubber O-ring from the plumbing section. You leave a little empty space in the channel for the cross section of the o-ring to deform/flatten. 10%-30% compression is good.
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18901 | Is it normal for clear resin to lose transparency after curing?
I am using a FORM LABS 3 printer with clear resin. After printing the model, I wash it with Isopropenyl and dry it. Then I cure it using Formlabs Form Cure for 5 minutes under 60 C°.
After curing the model, the clear print loses some of its transparency.
Is this normal? can it be avoided?
This happens to most resins and the amount of haziness is directly related to the type of resin. Not all clear resins do this mind you, but it has to do with the curing sprlectrum of light(natural sunlight cures do this way worse.)
Clouding is a known issue with colored transparent resins, as is yellowing with clear resin.
Uncle Jessy did quite a good video explaining the issue and how to best avoid it.
The conclusion was that you should wash and dry them with as little UV exposure as possible (Drying them inside a box in a warm room rather than in direct sunlight), then coating them with Clear Coat lacquer or a similar product, then curing them.
enter link description here
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18921 | Formula of calculating 3D printing time
So I have the following pieces of information based on which I want to calculate the estimated time It would take to 3D print something.
3D Object's width, height, and depth (millimeters)
Its weight
Printing Speed (millimeters per second)
Layer Height
Printer Nozzle Diameter
Printer Nozzle Height
Given this info, how to calculate the 3D printing time?
You would need at least the layer width too in order to calculate it.
@Ezra Are you sure? and if so what is the formula of it?
you miss infill percentage, and printer flow speed,as well as line width, because actually print speed is a function of the material flow and the deposited material (=line width * layer height * line length)
In general, there is no easy way to compute 3D printing time from those quantities. Unless you have a printer with extreme kinematic capabilities (and to some extent even then), print speed is highly limited by acceleration and deceleration for toolpaths that are deeply a function of the specific geometry of the model to be printed. This makes it really hard to get a good estimate for time without actually slicing the model and simulating the printer's execution of the resulting gcode.
If the object is sufficiently simple, or if your print speed is so slow as to make acceleration to the max speed nearly instantaneous (but travel speed isn't so slow as to be a dominating factor), you may be able to use any one of the quantities you know to estimate print time half-decently.
Weight/mass: if you actually know the mass when 3D printed (with the wall/infill settings you'll be using) then mass divided by material density gives you material volume, and you can divide by the extrusion rate in mm³/s (computed from layer height, line width, and print speed) to convert volume to seconds.
Object dimensions: if it's roughly a cube or other geometric object you know surface area and volume formulae for, you can compute surface area, multiply by shell thickness, then add the infill percentage times the volume to get an estimate for printed material volume, and use the same above volume to time conversion.
If the conditions under which you might be able to get a reasonable estimate don't apply, your best bet is to actually slice the model and see what the slicer software estimates, or feed its output to a gcode analyzer/simulation software.
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18954 | Issues with layer changes/z-seam
I have a Creality cr-10 printer. Everything is stock except for the direct drive extrusion system (I bought a conversion kit from Micro Swiss).
I have been working to dial in my settings, and I think they are almost there, with a few exceptions. There seems to be roughness/blobs at the layer transitions on my prints. This was present before my conversion to the direct drive system as well. I calibrated the steps/mm after the change as well. What settings should I focus on to try to get rid of this? Or is it some sort of mechanical issue? I've included some example pictures:
From your pictures, the blobs are (at least mostly) not at layer changes but at speed changes where the toolhead has to drastically slow down and speed back up to go around a sharp corner (including as a special case a corner in the Z direction, i.e. a layer change). This happens because, when the toolhead slows down, there is still pressure in the nozzle due to forces that cause the plastic to resist being extruded to a degree that scales with the speed of extrusion.
The right solution to this problem is enabling and calibrating Linear Advance, which directly models and compensates for the phenomenon. Unfortunately, most printers including yours are still shipping with firmware too old to have this feature, or built without including it. So, your options are:
Update to firmware with linear advance and calibrate it. The factor for PLA on a direct drive is likely to be around 0.04-0.06. This is the best solution but might be unnerving if you're not comfortable with making that kind of change to your printer.
Print at lower speeds, so that there's less difference between the cruise speed and the speed at/near the corners.
Print at higher acceleration/jerk, so that the decel/accel cycle at corners happens much faster giving less time for the residual pressure to push out more material.
Some of the issues in your pictures, however, look similar to "blobs" but apppear to be warping/curling from insufficient cooling or excess bed temperature. These are the ones in the first few mm of the print, below the lettering on the back (the lettering clearly has actual blobs). Using a lower bed temperature or even unheated bed, and/or improving your cooling (replacing the part cooling fan with a larger one, or pointing a desk fan at the printer during printing) should make these issues go away. You can probably also avoid it by printing significantly slower, or possibly by reconfiguring your slicer to print the outer wall first, before inner walls.
Lots of stuff to try, thanks. I'll certainly lower my bed temp, and I've heard of people having success using 3D printed fan ducts to deliver more airflow directly to the nozzle. I think I've underestimated the importance of cooling. I'm certainly open to updating my firmware and messing with the Linear Advance setting, sounds like it might be exactly what I need. It might take a while, but I'll report back with what happens!
I updated my printer firmware to Marlin 2.0, enabled linear advance, and calibrated. I printed another Benchy and it looks worlds better. Much finer detail at edges. Still some blobs, but I agree that some of that is probably from insufficient cooling.
@Nick: Great to hear it helped!
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18960 | How Do I Determine The Appropriate Magnet Strength For A Tight Seal On A Box
I want to use magnets to hold the lid of a box down tight enough to keep it relatively airtight (along with a rubber seal etc.), but I am not sure what strength of magnet to use, that will still allow it to be opened without causing damage either by having to be pried open or by crushing the print layers. I cannot seem to find any guide to how magnets are used for 3d printing at various strengths and I cannot afford to buy too many types that I am not then going to use.
Any help that you can provide will be greatly appreciated.
This sounds more like an engineering/physics question than a problem with 3D printing. Please clarify the 3D printing problem you are having.
I thought that someone with more experience with magnets and 3d printing could clarify things like magnet strength to part strength/infill etc.
This looks like an appropriate 3d printing question to me. 3d printed parts need vitamins sometimes.
You can vary the “strength” of the magnet by making a membrane of 3D printed plastic in between the magnets. The strength of the attraction is something like a logarithmic relationship to distance- small changes in thickness of material in between the magnets have a large effect on how strong they stick to each other. You could dial in your print by buying strong rare earth magnets and experimenting with attenuating the strength with the membrane. Could even use sheets of paper to get the right feel, then measure the thickness of the stack.
If using an fdm printer, it could be helpful to insert the magnets with a pause in the printing, and print over the top, if there isn’t a good way to otherwise capture them.
I had a similar experience using magnets to hold two plates together. Currently also building a device (3d-printed) that clamps together with magnets. For both of these scenarios, I typically start by looking at what size and force you need. I would look into maybe 3 options of different magnets to start with. It could be in the range of 0.6 lbs, 4lbs and 6lbs. Do you know how much the "opening force" would be? As in what would keep it opening? If its substantial, I could see more the 6lbs but this is a very very very rough estimate that honestly would be best supported with trying a few ranges of magnets first. Try McMasterCarr if you're in the US. They have affordable sized magnets that I've worked with, ranging from different sizes, thicknesses and magnetic forces.
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19107 | Obtaining a smooth solid .stl from voxel data
I have a (preferably in matlab) 3D array of Booleans describing a voxel structure. I want to turn this into an .stl file but I don't want the final result to have the jagged cubes.
I have tried putting the voxel array into a marching cube algorithm but the resulting STL is not a solid, some parts are infinitely thin sheets. I want every voxel to be represented by something solid.
Is there a way to achieve this?
I’d say that there’s something wrong with your Marching Cubes algorithm. It ought to produce a solid object. Then, you can smooth the triangles in that solid object.
@bubba I think that was the case. I needed to surround the structure with 0, to make the code acknowledge the boundary as a facet of the solid.
Voxels are pretty much an interpolation of data points and you can only smooth them out by reducing the fidelity. Why? Because in acquiring the voxel, you already lost fidelity. Let me take you through an example.
The basics
For our basics we take a circle of Radius $R$. It can be fully described the following: $$x^2+y^2=R$$ All solutions to this give us points on the circle.
Its representation as a single voxel with resolution length $r$ is that of a square. The square with its center on $\{0,0\}$ we will call the voxel of resolution $r$ around that coordinate. It is defined as $$x =\{0.5r,-0.5r\} \land y=\{-0.5r \to 0.5r\}$$ $$y=\{0.5r,-0.5r\}\land x=\{-0.5r \to 0.5r\}$$ Other squares then can be created by simply adding the respective cell's center's coordinates $\{a,b\}$ for $$x' =\{0.5r,-0.5r\}+a \land y'=\{-0.5r \to 0.5r\}+b$$ $$y'=\{0.5r,-0.5r\}+b\land x'=\{-0.5r \to 0.5r\}+a$$
Looks complicated? True, but you see: the first formula is a circle with radius $R$ containing an area of $A=\pi*R^2$. The latter two blocks define the square of length $r$ and area $A=r^2$. By clever positioning, the grid with $R=r$ has its $\{0,0\}$ Voxel wholly contained in that circle. Or in a picture, it looks like this, using $r=R=50$ (and thus a diameter of 100).
As you see, there is an area between the circle and the square - this is fidelity that is lost when converting to voxels. In a typical voxel transformation, there is only one choice: at which point of filling does a voxel get filled to 100% and at which it gets filled to 0%. Let's assume the circle there is actually a cylinder of 50 units height. Depending on where we set the cutoff, we now get one of three solutions. We could end with one voxel, using 50% as the cutoff point. We could end with a plus shape using 45% as the cutoff point or a square using any filling above 0% as a cutoff, as shown in the following picture.
It gets even more complicated if you don't have the circle and the grid's center overlap like n the example above: there is a "2x2x1" voxel solution that reflects a differently aligned circle with the same cutoff point as the "1x1x1" solution! That circle is (in the next graphic) centered around $\{3.5 r,0.5 r\}$ and thus shifted half a unit up and right so its center overlaps with a corner of the voxels.
Lost fidelity can't be regained
You see, you have lost a lot of fidelity in voxelizing. All circles have become squares. All squares also are squares. Likewise, all curves in between have become squares.
The problem
So, it is nigh impossible for a computer to identify, what once was a circle square or square before all was made squares. Think... Colors: I take a picture of a smiley. I split it in half and then desaturate the upper half of the right side to black and white and totally saturate the lower. Those are two different ways to totally loose the color information. In the upper case you retain one information more, because the algorithm of making all colors but black white retains the black information, while the lower parts algorithm only retains the outer shape.
If you only had the black and white smiley, you have lost the information about its color in total. If you only have the black outline, you have lost also the information of the face.
Voxelizaion does loose about that much information, depending on the settings.
Reversing Voxelisation is interpreting the voxel structure
It's not possible for a computer algorithm to simply invert the process. However, there are ways to interpret a voxelized object and try to re-create one of the possible objects that have led to this item, assuming that an "any fill is a voxel" algorithm has been used.
For such, you'd import the model into a software such as Blender, solidify it so that it is one mesh without internal faces, and then running a smoothing operation. You don't get the object that generated that voxel structure, but you get an Object that would generate that voxel structure.
How good the interpretation of the voxels is, depends on the resolution chosen in the start. If $r$ is small enough, then the resulting interpretation, together with some artistic definition of which corners are sharp and quite some manual post-processing (which requires the human eye) can lead to a somewhat good approximation of the actual object you believe lead to the voxel structure.
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19129 | Tips on incorporating a robust hinge
I'm working on a gadget a bit like a jewelry box. I want the lid on a hinge. Are 3d printed hinges robust enough for daily use long term? Perhaps with a metal pin?
I want to incorporate the hinge into the design but my thinking is that it would be a waste of time if the hinge will break as I'd need to reprint the whole gadget.
You can make a print-in-place hinge as a horizontal cone with a 45-degree angle. The opposing face will be a similar conical hole with a 0.25 mm gap between the faces (or whatever your printer's tolerance needs to be).
The strength of this (as in the other answers) depends on the diameter of the hinge. The strength you need depends on how heavy the thing it holds up will be.
There are many parts on Thingiverse that use conical hinges like this if you need examples.
The above is a disassembled conical hinge from thing:5143964 (sturdy infinity cube) which I split into parts and then arranged the hinged coupling next to the block it fits in. (Technically I suppose this is a frustrum. But things that come to a zero diameter pointy tip tend to not print well.)
There are 4 holes in the linkage, and the whole assembly is printed at once.
I cannot visualise what you mean with a conical hinge. Quick google search hasn't helped, can you describe it better please.
Ok, added an example, hope that helps.
Looks useful and robust... cheers
More detailed information would be valuable. A hinge the size of a soft drink can is going to be stronger than that of a pencil, generally speaking.
A substantial portion of determining the strength of a specific printed object relies on the layer orientation and of the material from which the object is printed.
Consider to examine others' creations on sites such as Thingiverse and PrusaPrinters to see how the result fare against your objectives. I've noted that the better designs will have substantial wall thickness to the barrel portion of the hinge. Additionally, if one can print the hinge with the cylinder axis oriented vertically, the layer lines will "encompass" the pivot. This provides the better strength characteristic of the layer.
The pin aspect is not as important when considering strength, although a 3D printed pin can be weak if printed vertically.
The reliability of hinges depends on the design, the material, and the slice parameters. I've printed reliable hinges that snap together using somewhat flexible materials such as PETG and ABS. PLA will tend to crack eventually if remaining flexed. Pins can avoid flexing the hinge. You could also use screws to hold hinge pieces together. Gluing pieces of a small hinge together would be difficult to do without interfering with the movement of the hinge.
Maker's Muse has a video on how to design hinged objects for printing. It's quite old and might be outdated with regard to materials, slicer functionality, etc. but I think it provides a good background on the topic and a source of ideas. One of the good tips is to look at the abundance of existing hinged designs on Thingiverse and other model sharing sites - that way you can study how they work and test print some before you spend time designing your own thing that might not work.
I looked at thingiverse, decided it was mostly kids posting up their homework projects..
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19143 | Infill line distance at 100% infill density
I want to understand what the infill line distance of 0.4mm signifies. I am printing at 100% infill.
Presumably your nozzle width (and thereby your default line width) is 0.4 mm. The infill line distance of 0.4 mm means that the centers of lines are spaced 0.4 mm apart from each other, so that they exactly touch their neighbors at their width (0.2 mm from the center in either direction).
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19081 | How do you level (or tram) your build surface correctly?
There are numerous topics found on first layers that do not adhere properly causing prints to fail or cause print quality defects.
The advice is often to properly level or tram the build surface. How does one tram the build surface?
Definition of leveling
Tramming, often referred to as "leveling" in the 3D printer world ("tramming" and "leveling" is used interchangeably, but "tramming" is the correct nomenclature), is the process of creating a 2D plane of the build surface that is parallel to the nozzle at the whole print area (usually the X-Y plane).
Why tramming?
In order to adhere the hot filament from the nozzle it is essential that the distance between the nozzle and the build surface is as constant as possible. Increase of the gap may cause the filament to not be squished enough and it may be dragged instead of deposited or create an insufficient bond to cause problems later in the print job when e.g. shrinkage of the object comes in play.
How to tram the surface?
To tram the build surface (a build surface comes in many shapes and forms, sheet of glass, bare aluminum plate, some sort of coated heated surface, etc.) most printers are equipped with at least three so-called "leveling screws". Why at least three? It takes a minimum of three screws to fixate a plane in space, more screws cause the bed to be over-defined or indeterminate, but with a flexible build surface it is quite common to have 4 screws although it is causing a statically indeterminate system. So, these screws need to be adjusted as such that the build surface if parallel to the nozzle.
First step is to home (What is homing? What is the purpose of homing?) the printer, homing from the tag wiki reads:
The process of determining the location of a 3D printer nozzle in
three dimensions using a reference point (home location) is referred to
as "homing". Homing should occur before every print and involves
bringing the X, Y and Z-Axis motors to pre-defined limit locations
(usually these are endstops). Pre-recorded homing data offset values
determine the position of the build plate origin with respect to the
endstop locations.
Once homed (with G-code G28 or through the graphical user interface of the printer display) , the origin (0, 0, 0) of the printer is known, from this origin you can determine the level. Note that the X and Y is usually correct (if not, see How to center my prints on the build platform? (Re-calibrate homing offset)) the Z offset depends on the height of the Z endstop and the leveling screws. For a surface that uses a sensor as endstop (see e.g. Automatic Bed Leveling (ABL) with a sensor (BLTouch, inductive, capacitive), how does it work?) the offset is defined by G-code (M851) or through the user interface of the printer display. Note that automatic bed leveling (ABL) is not magic, you still need to provide a trammed bed that is as level as possible, the sensor merely scans the surface and adjusts for larger imperfections of the build surface. After homing, move the nozzle at a certain Z value to the corner of the origin, which is usually the front left) (0, 0, Z) or close to this corner (10, 10, Z), put a piece of paper (A4/Letter) on the build surface and lower the Z to 0 (or if you hit the build surface before you reach zero height, then lower the build surface) raise the build surface until you can feel the the paper drag slightly when pulled between the nozzle and build surface (alternatively you can use a feeler gauge, A4 paper is 0.08 to 0.11 mm thick, so a 0.1 mm gauge will do fine). To be sure that the carriage hasn't been moved by the tramming, issue a homing command and move to the corner to the right and repeat the process to crete a slight drag of the paper when pulled between the nozzle and build surface. Note that tramming this point may have influenced the first point. Now repeat the homing and moving (for corners back right and back left) to start over again at the front left corner and repeating the whole process at least one to two times. This iterative process will deliver a trammed bed, the bed should now be parallel to the nozzle.
Trammed, but filament not adhering...
Once trammed the build surface should be parallel to the nozzle, if the distance (usually paper thickness) is too far or too close, adhesion or first layer deposition may fail or cause surface defects like ripples. If not adhering the initial gap between the nozzle and the build surface (paper thickness) might be too big, making this smaller may help squish the filament more so that it adheres better to the build surface. Alternatively use an adhesive in between the build surface and the first layer, nowadays there are multiple dedicated sprays and liquids available, but some house hold product like wood glue, glue sticks and hair sprays could be used.
Build surface cannot or is difficult to tram
When the build surface isn't perfectly flat, tramming is a challenge, or doesn't provide a 2D plane at a fixed distance of the nozzle. In such cases, scanning the build surface and adjusting during printing might help to get the filament to adhere properly; this process is called automatic bed leveling or ABL (see Automatic Bed Leveling (ABL) with a sensor (BLTouch, inductive, capacitive), how does it work?). An alternative is UBL (see What is ABL or UBL? Is this the same?).
Tramming frequently?
The frequency of tramming depends on the quality and (mis)use of the printer to maintain the 2D plane parallel to the nozzle. For good quality printers the tramming is performed very seldom.
For fine tuning I get good results by loading a model of any object with a rectangular footprint and scaling it to a size close to the printer's limits.
With the skirt set to around 10 passes, start the print job, let the skirt print then kill the job.
Peel the skirt from the bed and measure its thickness near the leveling screw locations with digital calipers or a micrometer and adjust the leveling screws as indicated.
This works well once you have the level appproximately right, but you need to do that first or you'll risk damaging your build surface, bed, and/or nozzle.
Agree with the above comment. That's why I characterized it as a fine tuning methodology. Leveling and zero height have to be close enough to print a viable, measurable skirt before this technique is useful.
Yes. Hope I didn't make it sound like that was a criticism of the answer; I +1'd at the same time.
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19173 | Is there an extensive XYZ Cube diagnosis resource?
I love the idea of the XYZ test cube to help diagnose my bad prints. I’m able to find online very common print issues however am looking for a resource that is more extensive. Often I run into a situation where my issue is not covered.
Would be great if there was a resource that had pictures of numerous bad or less than ideal XYZ prints with cause and fix for each. I’m thinking of more than 50 examples.
Does anyone know of such a resource?
An XYZ cube is a calibration test for dimensional accuracy testing, it is not meant for extensive trouble shooting. Therefor, there are no specific resources for cube irregularities, the regular resources can be used for trouble shooting.
One of the better resources for troubleshooting print problems is found at Simplify3D or one at All3DP.
Do note that the dimensions in X and Y and Z are based on mechanical ratio's of the steppers with their pulleys or threaded rods, you can calculate the amount of steps required for the dimensional accuracy. It is only necessary to adjust this if e.g. the pulley is of a different diameter than the specification (as in poor quality dimensional pulley accuracy). In the basis you should not adjust the steps per mm based on small sized calibration cubes.
What type of test would you recommend for extensive testing ?
@wallwalker What kind of printer is this? E.g. did you check the belt tension, it appears you have positioning problems. The initial distance also might be a bit too large, but it is difficult to see. On Thingiverse there are many calibration tests to be found.
One of the sites that I have gone to for identifying problems is All3DP.com's page "3D Printing Troubleshooting All Common Problems". Here are the FDM and SLA issues they cover:
FDM 3D Printing Problems
Nothing is Printing
Out of Filament
Nozzle Too Close to Print Bed
Blocked Nozzle
Print Head Misses the Bed
Snapped Filament
Stripped Filament
My Print Failed
Extrusion Stopped Mid-Print
Print Doesn't Stick to Print Bed
Supports Fell Apart
My Print Looks Bad
First Layer is Messy
Print Bows Out at Bottom (Elephant's Foot)
Print Edges are Bending (Warping)
Infill Looks Messy and Incomplete
Gaps Between Infill and Outer Wall
Infill is Visible from the Outside
Cracks Have Appeared in Tall Objects
Layers Don't Line Up Well
Some Layers are Missing
Print Leans When it Shouldn't
Overhangs are Messy
Surface Areas Beneath Supports are Rough
Print is Unusually Weak/Looks Wrong (Non-Manifold Edges)
Fine Detail Not Printing Correctly
Ripples and "Echoes" in Print (Ringing)
Diagonal Scars on Print
Print Looks Stringy and Droopy (Over-Extrusion)
Print Layers Look Uniformly Thin/Weak (Under-Extrusion)
Print Looks Melted and Deformed
Pits and Hollows in Top Layer (Pillowing)
Web-like Strings Cover the Print (Stringing)
Print Has Lost Dimensional Accuracy
Print Offset in Some Places
Bridges are Messy
Something Else
Print is Stuck to Print Bed
SLA 3D Printing Problems
Nothing is Printing
Resin too Cold
Printing too Fast
Underpowered Laser
My Print Failed
Prints Not Adhering to Print Plate
A Section of the Print/Supports Detached or Moved
My Print Looks Bad
Layers Have Separated (Delamination)
Small Fins and Disks Attached to Print (Ragging)
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19191 | Which 3D printing material is best for floating designs?
I am trying to print a shape (e.g. square container) using clear resin. However, I am facing the problem of the design sinking when I put it water. I am right now trying to make it hollow from the inside in some spots to reduce its density, but not sure how far can that take me. It is necessary for me that the print floats!
Do you guys have any tips? like a different print mater? or a change in shape that will help the design float?
My understanding of resin is that it's less suitable for this than FDM because it doesn't admit leaving air gaps in the interior. You probably need to make it hollow with a hole for a plug.
@github Resin printing is generally better for water and gas-tight fittings than fdm, which must be painstakingly calibrated and sliced to not have little pinhole gaps that leak. Suggestion of leaving a drain and making/finding a plug is good.
It appears your design has holes in the side near the bottom. It might be that these holes are letting water in and that's causing it to float. Simply tape over the holes to see if it will float, and if so, reprint without the holes. After all, boats float. At least, until they get holes in the hull...
@ChinchillaWafers: That was traditionally an issue but is becoming less and less so because of better hardware and software. Particularly, the advent of geared extruders with serious grip on the filament, rather than the ungeared flat hob stuff like a stock Ender 3, has made it practical to actually push out very close to the exact amount of material requested. And firmware advances (linear advance/pressure advance) as well as slicer advances (not leaving stupid gaps) have made it possible to actually get that material put in the right places.
The material doesn't matter*
Floating designs are exactly that: designs. If the design is made to float, and your printer can create a watertight shell (which is a different problem than the material), then you can use any material. Well, almost any, because:
Only one caveat remains
The only type of material that isn't suitable is any material that will dissolve in the fluid it will swim in. Like PVA in water.
Otherwise, the material only matters for other properties, but not for "it can float".
How to design a floating item?
When does a design float? Well, the rule described by Archimedes is often described as "An item floats if when the volume of water it displaces is lighter than the item." In other words: if its density is lower than water.
However, it's not that simple after the first look: What is the volume and weight of the boat? After all, we can make steel, which weighs upwards of 3 tons per cubic meter float while water is only 1 ton a cubic meter. What is the mystery part? It is simple: the underwater ship does not allow ingress.
Draft depth
So, we want a solid wall from the lowest part to the line the item will sink into when it reaches equilibrium. That's the draft depth. For ships, there is a formula to quickly calculate the draft depth based on knowing how much water will be displaced:
Seal all the holes and gaps in the boat. Now measure the volume the item displaces when it is put onto the water. Call it $V$.
Take the surface area of the boat. Call it $A$.
The Draft $d$ is now $d=\frac V A$
In the alternative:
Make a volume item by removing the holes into the contained volume and filling those voids to the upper rim. Have your CAD tell you the contained Volume. This is $V_w$.
Weigh your printed item. This is $M_p$. We turn that into Displaced Volume $V_d$ by using water density: $V_d=M_p*1000\frac {\text {mm}^3}{\text g}$
Make a plane cut of our volume item, so that the lower part of the item has the same volume as the displaced volume. That is how much of the boat will be underwater.
The second method also works for tilted or very asymmetric shapes (like a bot listing), while the first is roughly over the thumb.
Now, how does that help with the design? Remember, we had sealed the slots earlier. If the slots are in any way below our draft depth, then water ingress happens through that slot - and the slot will have to be moved above the draft depth.
Dasign adjustments
There are several adjustments to get the item to have a lower draft, but all of them boil down to reducing the density.
In the case of your design, the hanging floor of the basin can have a lot of it cut away and turned into a grid of sorts, which would reduce the impact this part of the print has to the total density.
You could also move the slots up enough so that it will be above the waterline, even if filled to an expected degree.
If you really need to include voids, you will need to alter your printing code in between layers, because resin printers don't typically raise the print fuly out of the resin vat and have such hollows filled with resin as a result. And please try to avoid Cupping
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19210 | My Ender 3 v2 has randomly turned off and no longer turns on. Any suggestions on how to fix this?
About a day ago my Ender 3 v2 just shut off while printing. It didn’t really bother me since this has happened many times before and switching the power supply off and then turning it on would fix the issue. This time though the printer is no longer turning on. I opened up the power supply and the indicator light is turning on, but when I check the outputs with a voltage meter it says 0. What could be the problem here?
Could be a fuse or some other part blown... are you certified to perform mains voltage work?
Is it under warranty still? There's no reason to fiddle with something that should be replaced under warranty.
And there is even less reason to fiddle with mains voltage inside a running power supply unit - which might kill you if you mishandle it.
Check all the connections - I had something similar and fixed it by pushing a plug back into its socket.
Thanks for the suggestions guys. There was no fuses that were blown and all the wires were secured in their sockets. My printer was already out of warranty so I ended up just ordering a new one which will arrive today.
I don't know what the PSU of an Ender 3 v2 looks like, but lots of PSU have a last-resort fuse: a fuse that's internal, only works once and is not easily replaced. It's quite possibly that one blew out and that's why the indicator still works while the rest doesn't.
I'm not familiar with that particular power supply, but usually they have a fuse. In your case it's more likely to be a capacitator causing the problem though as fuses are not intermittent problems and they're usually situated before any board lights for obvious reasons. They normally either work or fail.
I'm assuming you checked for loose wires and connections.
This is a job for an electrician, capacitators cannot easily be tested without proper equipment and need some good soldering skills to replace properly. If they're liquid filled then you can sometimes see doming on the top of the capacitator where it looks a bit deformed. Or even a leak. If they're solid state then there is no easy way to see if they're failing.
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19252 | How thin should I print a logo so that it is flexible enough to wrap around a curved object?
I want to print out a flat object without any support structure straight onto the build plate of my ender 5. It's going to be PLA and I need it to be thin enough to still be flexible.
I don't have a picture available, but imagine that I wanted to print out the Coke Cola and then wrap it around a bland soda can, so that the logo is raised up slightly?
Alternatively, what is the best layer height to use, and how many layers should I use?
This isn't an answer because you specified you want PLA, but TPU works really great for this at a thickness of around 1-2 mm and it's indestructible. You don't have to worry about bending it too sharply and creasing it, or about it being brittle from being so thin.
I'm really new to 3D printing, so I'll ask a naive question: Why not just print it to the desired curve in the first place? Or, is flexibility the purpose, and the Coke can example was simply a way of saying it needed to be flexible?
@FreeMan printing flat negates the need for supports and is stronger and faster with zero chance of failure regardless of complexity. So you could print a 5cm high logo on it's edge with a curve, but that is 250 layers and if it was thin would be a problematic and brittle print. Or you could print it flat faster, stronger and cheaper.
@Kilisi thanks. As I said, possibly a naive question. That mostly makes sense.
@FreeMan You're welcome, we all have to start somewhere
For text such as the Coca Cola label consider a negative image, i.e. a thin, flat, rectangular piece with letter shaped holes.
This question makes little sense, each material is different. It takes very little time to print test samples and try. Do that.
@FarO the OP specified PLA
With PLA you can just heat it to curve around the object. I've done this with up to 2mm. Real easy with 1mm.
I haven't tried thicker but assume it would work ok.
You'd have to glue it though to make it stick. My attempts were just to shape the prints, I didn't want them sticking so I shaped them around a glass bottle.
If you want it flexible in it's own right, then I suggest 2 * 0.2mm layers. I have a large 2 layer print in front of me that bends easily.
This can be rolled up into a tube, but as soon as you let go it will return to flat.
1 layer is even more flexible but tears along the lines with a bit of effort. So if you want it really flexible I suggest you print 1 layer at slightly lower than normal nozzle height to really get the lines melded together. Or a bit hotter than normal.
+1 for the heat reference. You'd be able to wrap something approaching 2-3 mm with enough heat. The thicker parts may experience some distortion. Leave a PLA part in a hot summer car and watch how much flexibility results!
@fred_dot_u Yeah, I've bent PLA around quite a bit for various reasons, usually to avoid layer line weakness or fasten things together. You can even make quite strong PLA rivets.
2x 0.2 mm layers will flex very nicely, but will crease and crack if you bend them sharper than a certain limit.
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE yes, they'll take quite a bit of abuse though, well within the parameters of the question. I use it often enough that I have a sheet lying around so I can cut pieces off it when I need to.
1 layer, of whatever thickness your device can print.
I did something like this to print letters for a flat sign. The letters were 1mm thick and didn't bend, but I'd accidentally printed quite a lot of brim lines which were a single layer thick, and they'd merged into each other.
The brim worked superbly as a "net" to hold the letters in place, so in theory you could print as little as one layer thick.
Nozzle height will have to be exactly right to merge the lines together. There are no lines crossing-over on the next layer to help bond them all together.
Let the print bed cool to ambient before removing it from the bed, to help keep the lines connected. Could take an hour or so.
Use a wide flat scraper to pull job off bed - you might want to design in a "tab" that can be damaged while getting the tool started, and trimmed of later.
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19256 | Do unused PEI sheets degrade over time?
Will build surfaces coated in PEI lose their qualities, such as adhesiveness, if left unused but removed from packaging for long periods of time?
The PEI will be fine. It's widely used in industrial high impact, high heat and high repetitiveness parts because it doesn't degrade easily. Probably some in your car.
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19340 | Can I Print With a Fan Missing 3 Blades?
I recently broke the cooling fan on my Voxelab Aquila while doing some maintenance, and I'm in the middle of a multi piece print that I would like to finish soon. I found the fan replacement I need, but it's not going to arrive for over a week. I was wondering if it would be ok to print a few things with the broken fan, or if that would be bad for the motor or anything else.
Is there some reason you cannot get it quicker than a week? That looks like two broken vanes, it's going to make something vibrate somewhere if nothing else.
@Kilisi It does make it vibrate a lot, and it's really loud. I can't find only the fan to buy anywhere, except for on the Voxelab website. There is a set of the print cooling fan and the heat sink cooling fan on Amazon that will come tomorrow, but they're for the Ender 3. They look identical to what I have, but I want to make sure they will still work for my Aquila.
Fans are much the same if the currents match. Haven't done it with a printer but used different fans a few times on other machines for temporary or in some cases permanent fixes. Vibration sucks badly on machines with fragile wiring and connections
If you can get the specializations on the fan, size, voltage, air flow, it;s probably a standard fan that you could get quickly. You would need to wire it however.
The new fan works in case anyone was wondering!
Thats good to hear, have fun printing :-)
As long as your ambient temperature is not excessive and you're not using a very high bed temperature, you should be fine.
With insufficient cooling, there is a risk of heat creep - that is, of the heat from the melt zone working its way up to the area where the filament is supposed to be solid, potentially causing jams if it deforms and catches in crevices there. However, the hotend is made to operate in temperatures far above normal room temperature, e.g. in non-air-conditioned spaces, in enclosed chambers for printing ABS, etc.
Just keep the space you're printing in cool and go on printing while you wait for a new fan to arrive. Maybe reduce your bed temperature a bit if you usually use temperatures on the high end (over 50°C).
I think you'll get weird print artifacts and strange surface errors.
The fan is not balanced and will buzz. This added vibration could be seen as an effect in the finish.
Personally I'd suggest patience and wait for the replacement to arrive before continuing. Or scavenge a suitable fan from something else in the meantime.
I just ordered a fan for the Ender 3 from Amazon, but it is practically identical the the one on my printer. It's coming tomorrow, so hopefully it will work.
@FTyrrell if this is a common problem, consider having a spare in stock. I have a paper box filled with fans of various ages and specs, though the 240V AC metal bladed 125 mm one is waiting for just the Right Project, which may be a vegetable slicer :))
Luckily, this isn't a common problem. I had everything taken apart, and I was testing the fan to see if it was working well. I dropped it, and the blades hit the edge of my printer. Hopefully this won't happen again. You should definitely make that vegetable slicer though!
If the fan is the part cooling fan, you'll have reduced cooling on the part as it is printed. This isn't necessarily going to be a problem, although you may have irregularities in the print surface.
If the fan is the heat sink cooling fan, reduced cooling will be problematic. This could result in heat creep and clogging of the hot end.
It is, unfortunately, the heat sink cooling fan. Is there any way to temporarily get it to work decently? I only have about 4 hours of printing left to do.
It will probably work, but you need to watch for jams caused by heat creep, and if it happens, stop and wait for the replacement fan.
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19353 | Has anyone written a primer for hobbyists new to 3D printing?
Most of the guides I can find are just canned responses to specific questions. Instead I'm looking for something meant to teach good fundamental understanding and core needed skills. Beginner's guides are common in other hobbies but I am having trouble finding one for 3d printing.
Most printers come with a manual that teaches you the core stuff. Anything else would be specific questions I would think. It's not rocket science.
Yes, see this question for instance: https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/5215/3d-printing-references-for-beginners
Here's a brief outline I threw out in chat once. I'm marking this as a "community Wiki" answer so feel free to edit.
It is not a full Primer, so should date better than a Word6.0 manual.
Start by reading the instructions that came with your printer. There's a high chance that some assembly is required, and if you get something wrong then things may nor work right later. Some brands come complete, some are better than others in this regard. Take your time.
For most people, they spend the first couple of weeks failing prints for multiple reasons. For me it was bed levelling and getting the first layer-adhesion, and filament tension.
So work on getting the bed levelled, work out how much gluestick or tape your filament needs to work, and what temperatures work in your environment.
I use 210 °C on the hotend for PLA+ and 60 °C bed temp, though others get away with 190 °C on the hotend and 50 °C on the bed. My printer is in a garage though.
Try and print a 20 mm cube or a benchy.
After that, explore http://thingiverse.com or http://thangs.com looking for pre-made stuff that you would benefit from. Start small.
The Grab Toy Infinite is a great starter - it's very forgiving about tolerances, and kids like it. Expect rough handling to break it.
When you're happy printing other people's things, identify some needs of your own. In fact, make up a document / draught email / notepad of ideas of things to print. I add stuff to mine all the time.
When you've got a need that no one else can fill, you can start designing your own item and do the whole
idea --> ||: (re)design --> implement --> test --> curse :|| success!! loop.
Many people bang on about expensive fancy software, but you can make a perfectly adequate part using http://tinkercad.com/ as a grounding.
For example, I had too many spare hacksaw blades and none of the "holders" I could buy were perfect, nor even close. Here's my output:
https://www.tinkercad.com/things/9yQMmxRv4Lz-spare-hacksaw-blade-holder
Like many things in making, expect to fail and learn and do it again.
Sometimes it looks like we buy printers to print things for the printers for printing things for the printers...repeat.
Look for needs in your life and design something to fill them. It's most satisfying.
There's a huge gap between Functional prints, which do a job, and pretty prints which are just to look nice.
Functional things are great - you can therefore justify the cost of more printer upgrades. LOOK AT ALL THE MONEY WE SAVED!
But overall enjoy yourself and the time you spend making things.
@Kilisi: Maybe you printer came with good instructions. Not all printers even come with instructions at all beyond basic assembly. And when they do, more often than not the instructions are bad or outright wrong.
Thera are plenty of such guides. But from necessity they deal with specifics, there are too many things to cover otherwise.
Multiple types of printers, multiple brands, multiple slicers, multiple ways of modelling etc,. With more all the time. Reading up on something that tells me how to model and slice in Freecad & Creality, when I'm using Blender & Cura is a waste of time.
Generic instructions that apply to everything are so vague as to be essentially useless. (Plenty of those online though)
I'm doubtful of the claim that general instructions would be useless. The bigger problem is how much bad information there is out there, and finding a trustworthy source that's not full of bad information.
Generic instructions are... follow the instructions that came with your printer, use the temp range suggested on your filament... blah blah... useless...
Those definitely aren't good generic instructions. The temperature ranges suggested with filaments are marketing material to sell to people with PTFE-lined hotends; most of the time you actually need to ignore them and look up the right values for the material (which will be much higher), then tune it to your machine's temperature reading, which may be off.
Good introductory material would explain the whole process of 3D printing: model formats, what a slicer does (in detail! like concepts about walls, skin, infill, overhangs, etc.), bed leveling, homing/endstops, principles behind the extrusion system, typical menu controls, test prints, calibration, troubleshooting (high level principles and specific techniques), ...
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE all of which are a waste of time unless specific to what the end user is doing. Unless it's a school course I guess. I certainly am not interested in wading through irrelevant material to find what I need when I can just get specific answers
Pretty much all of that is relevant whatever FDM printer you have.
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE only relevant if there's an exam at the end, otherwise it's just theory. Millions of people use photocopiers and printers without the need to learn the details behind how they work. Same with computers and every other gadget.
And the ones who use them without any understanding of that stuff are helpless when it doesn't do what they want, because they don't understand any of the how or why. Then they listen to the first piece of random bad advice from somebody else who doesn't understand anything...
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE makes no sense to me sorry. Both my 10 year old and 13 year old have been happily printing for months. They're bright boys but I doubt their English skills would be able to handle your manual, let alone their patience. It's not rocket science.
Only helpless if you're trying to do things outside the norm. Most people don't want to do anything fancy like modifying hot ends and rewiring, just print. If a belt breaks they'll buy a new one, not utilise in depth knowledge and fabricate one out of a used bicycle inner tube.
"Only helpless if you're trying to do things outside the norm" <- no. Since you brought up the photocopier analogy, I'm going to run with it. If you don't understand the different ways it's treating black-on-solid-background vs grayscale/color content that lets you do things like copy from yellow paper to white paper and also copy illustrations, you're going to be trying random wrong things as soon as that stuff goes wrong trying to copy mixed content. You need to learn the principles behind a machine to use it effectively. Not just to press buttons like a robot.
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE yeah, pretty much proved my point, I just photocopy, no idea about this stuff you wrote about. Just like everyone else I know.
@RDragonrydr I would just want the specifics, not interested in learning the details of a slicer I'll never use. My printer came with assembly and levelling instructions, my slicer has a profile for it. No need to change anything to get started. I was printing fine from day 1. Only need to look up specific things to solve problems now. I've no idea why it is hard for you.
A better analogy might be a camera and someone who buys it and just points it at things and presses a button, then wonders why all their pictures are blurry and ugly. The level of understanding and control you need to operate a 3D printer well is fairly comparable to what you need to use a camera. In both cases, under certain conditions it might not matter and you might get decent results, but there will be a lot of conditions under which you'll get really bad results.
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE sure, once you get past beginner level you may need more... but the question is about beginners
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19359 | Best way to make a new model for custom part printing?
Looking to print a new part for a home appliance. There's going to need to be a new model created with the customizations made, but the model (after printing) will have to fit where the old part was. Is there any 3D modeling software that is better for this purpose? Will I just have to guess at proper proportions and hand-adjust the scaling of each dimension and angle through trial and error until a version fits?
You can usually measure most dimensions with a digital caliper and enter them as parameters into your model. But curves, angles and such are more difficult to get right. I often print small sections or slices of my whole model to check for fit against existing parts. For example in PrusaSlicer you can cut a model into pieces with a few clicks, and then only print the part that requires “verification in print.” This way you waste minimal amounts of time and filament, and can be relatively certain that the big, final part fits on first attempt.
Use software specifically designed for making parts with specific dimensions and then measure exactly what you need and design from the measurements.
I use Freecad for this sort of thing but there are plenty of others that let you precisely control the measurements.
Most 3d software could probably manage it, but if you use one specifically designed for this sort of work there is less of a learning curve and you don't have to mess around learning irrelevant stuff.
Basically any engineering cad package would work. OpenSCAD, fusion360, freecad, others that are not free..
My average record for doing this sort of thing is to measure carefully it but still have to print 3 prototype parts and tweak dimensions each time to get it to fit.
@user10489 I have better luck I guess, it usually works first time for me. But I'm an engineer so I'm used to fabricating things. And I drill holes and things rather than print them.
You have better luck or your printer is better calibrated or you are less picky. :) Sometimes I drill holes (or make them bigger), and then fix them when I find a second dimension that isn't perfect.
Any pros/cons in what software to select?
Pros and cons are really about what you want to do long term. If you won't be using it much pick something basic without a big learning curve. If you think you'll be doing a lot of part design then go for something more comprehensive. Just check the reviews on the software.
@user10489 it's just plastic, if I'm in doubt I'll print a section bigger than I need and cut or file it down. Heat and bend it or whatever. Not interested in printing 3 prototypes, thats just a waste of resources and time.
Use a CAD software
Whenever you need to make a part fit given dimensions, it is best to set those. There are tons of Computer Aided Design software packages around, starting at free and ending at thousands a year for a single PC license. There are so many, that Wikipedia made a comparison list
all3Dp always curates a list of free 3D software. Among them, I can point to the following as options:
I personally prefer Fusion 360 by Autodesk, which is quite powerful but slightly cut down in the free version. It is known to produce very good exportable designs but has a somewhat steep learning curve. It also allows parametric designs, very valuable if you need to customize items.
Onshape is similar to Fusion 360 in that Hobbyists get it free, but it is browser-based, making it possibly easier accessible. It is a full-powered CAD suite, including parametric design.
FreeCAD might not be as powerful or fancy as Fusion360 and Onshape, but it is a solid, well-working CAD package. It has also a somewhat easier learning curve than the likes. It allows entering OpenSCAD code, which means, you can add mathematic formulae to design your part.
OpenSCAD is the absolute barebone, but absolutely parametric. It takes mathematical descriptions of bodies to design them - which is hard to learn and master but allows to create some very intricate mathematical models.
SketchUp Free has a dubious reputation among printing enthusiasts, as its STL solutions at times have inverted surfaces.
Not on the curated list of all3dp is one entry I personally worked with and which is somewhat potent but easy to use:
DesignSpark Mechanical is a derivative of the powerful Ansys Space Claim CAD software and is offered for free. It is somewhat limited though.
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19378 | Blender add-on "3D Print Toolbox" and MeshLab
Blender software has a nice mesh analysis add-on called ”3D Print Toolbox". It is making us give it a second look for our 3D printing workflow.
On the other hand, MeshLab is very nice to have mesh repair tools.
I see the errors in the Blender, and then I close the program. And then I open MeshLab and make the corrections. The goal is to produce the model with a 3D printer.
Is there a possibility to do the analysis in MeshLab as well? How?
Meshlab has a bunch of tools for that under 'Filters', you'd need to read the documentation for specifics as your needs may vary from model to model.
But it's much the same as the Blender addon with the 'Cleaning and Repairing' options to merge vertices, close holes etc,.
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19367 | How do I check the belts on my Ender 3?
I need to check the belts on my Ender 3 to confirm they are properly set up, functioning, and undamaged. How do I go about doing this?
Loosen the screws holding the far right hand side of the belt cog in place on the gantry, tighten the belt by moving the cog outwards until the belt looks horizontal, tighten the screws back up and test. It's a pretty intuitive procedure.
To see if the belt is OK, just visually inspect it. It's just a belt, if it has splits or something then it has issues.
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19409 | What's causing this lack of layer adhesion after a crash?
I recently had a print failure/crash, where the print stuck to the nozzle and forced molten filament back into the print head, fans, and heater block.
I changed the nozzle for a new 0.4mm same as existing. I shortened the bowden tube by ~8mm to remove some crispiness, and the push-lock connector on top of the print head, which was full of solidified PLA.
The hotend was scraped clean of PLA, and the wiring was inspected. The silicon sock was unhappy but I managed to get it to stay in place.
The part-cooling fan duct was deformed, but I have reshaped it as well as I could. The part-cooling air is probably slightly less than it was.
I'm printing some Gridfinity bins, and the base just isn't filling in completely and there is also more stringiness.
The sides are not joining up at all, and are just a series of separate strands. They do merge somewhat at the corners.
My printer worked much better before the crash - what do I have to focus on to improve this?
All print jobs since the reassembly are lower in quality, with one in three showing these large "wire bundles" look but all of them are not as good as before-prints.
Judging from the picture, you have serious inconsistent/under extrusion, not just on the lines that aren't adhering but everywhere, and this is almost surely the source of your problems:
I shortened the bowden tube by ~8mm to remove some crispiness, and the push-lock connector on top of the print head, which was full of solidified PLA.
Ability to correctly extrude material is highly dependent on having an unconstrained path for the filament from the extruder gear to the melt zone. Cutting the hotend side of the bowden tube, or even just removing it from the hotend and reinstalling it, is very error-prone even if you're experienced with doing it. Here are some of the things that can go wrong:
End of tube not cut square (perpendicular): There will be a gap between the tube and the nozzle mating surface on one side, allowing material to squeeze into the gap and jam.
Tube not tensioned against nozzle: Again, material can squeeze into a gap and jam.
Tube overly tensioned against nozzle: Tube will compress, reducing the inner diameter so that the filament has a lot more friction going through it. Especially at the end, it may bend inwards and make a lip that's very hard to pass and that interferes with retraction.
Here's the procedure I recommend:
Use a miter-box type tool to hold the PTFE tube for cutting clean perpendicular cut with a razor blade. There are printable tools for this but you may need to find something else if your printer isn't working well enough to print one.
Carefully use a razor blade or x-acto knife to chamfer the inner and outer surfaces at the end of the tube just slightly so it can't get a lip from compression against the nozzle. The amount of chamfer should be very slight, maybe 0.25 mm at most. This probably isn't strictly necessary but helps make sure you have more margin for error. I've also seen folks do this with an appropriate drill bit, but I don't know how to do it that way. Make sure any debris is cleaned up when you're done so bits of PTFE don't clog the nozzle.
Thread the tube fitting all the way into the heatsink, then back it off by about 1/4 to 1/3 of a turn (0.25 to 0.33 mm) and press the tube in until it hits the nozzle. Then, tighten it the rest of the way to compress the tube against the nozzle by the distance you backed it out.
Another option if you already want to do this is switching to an all-metal hotend (can be done just by replacing the heat break, not the whole hotend), but that comes with its own set of gotchas so I wouldn't recommend it unless you have other reasons to want one already.
Well spotted! The issue was much more blatant than your description, once I looked in the right place.
Another suggestion from elsewhere was that the extruder motor was slipping - apparently enders are known for cracking the pressure arm over time. Not my issue, but worth including for future readers.
SOLVED!
Turns out I hadn't pushed the bowden tube completely home into the hotend on the print head. So there was a space where molten plastic was spreading out, interfering with both extrusion and retraction.
I've flipped the bowden tube end-for-end now, and my test job is well-underway.
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19461 | Software to Pose and Export FBX Character
I am a beginner and looking for software to easily pose a 3D character, which I currently have in an FBX file, and export the pose to an OBJ file.
For example, I could move the character's arm upward, then export that as an OBJ and print it.
Every software I know of either can not pose FBX characters (such as Fusion360) or can not export poses (such as Blender). How can I do this easily?
If you pose it in Blender you can export it and print it with the pose. It's very simple, you just export as a STL file and then print.
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19536 | Connecting controller fan on RAMPS 1.4 for Marlin
I have radial fan with 2 pins connector and always kept it connected to GND/5V pins (marked J5 at the left bottom on pinout image for my controller board).
I've stumbled upon the USE_CONTROLLER_FAN feature of Marlin which allows setting some pin to be used for PWM-controlling a control board fan. I think SERVO0_PIN should do fine (D11 at the bottom center on the pinout image), but I'm not sure how to connect it.
Should I split connector and use GND + D11 pins?
Or should I use some proper PWM fan for that (which are always 4pin and then how would one connect THAT to those pins?)
Is it safe to run a fan directly from board pins or should I resort to using either unused MOSFET outputs (e.g. FAN MOSFET pin marked as D9 on the left)?
Should I use dedicated MOSFET board to drive that fan using that SERVO0_PIN?
Servo pins are PWM pins, so yes D11 can be used, but not directly connected to the fan as the pins only allow a very low current. You'll need a MOSFET to drive the fan. You don't need 4-pin fans, 2-pin fans will suffice.
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19712 | How to take in account tolerances when coupling
I'm quite new to 3D CAD and printing.
I own a Dremel 3D45 and I use FreeCad / Ultimaker Cura as softwares.
My question is pretty simple.
Say you have to make one object with a pin and another with a hole. They should be coupled together. Of course if you set the diameters of the pin and the hole equal the won't fit!
Right now I'm setting the hole larger of 0.2 mm and the pin smaller of 0.2 mm. This allow a quite good coupling (not so hard but with some resistance).
I guess this tolerance (0.4 mm in my example) depends on a lot of variables: 3D printer settings, material, etc... so it may change using different setup.
How to correctly handle this?
Should I add a variable in my CAD spreadsheet and use it to change the nominal diameter of the coupling items?
I don't think so, but anyway: is there a settings in Ultimaker Cura that allow to compensate an hole or a pin by a specified amount?
Any other suggestion is gladly accepted.
I guess this tolerance (0.4 mm in my example) depends on a lot of variables: 3D printer settings, material, etc... so it may change using different setup.
Tolerances required depend on the geometry you're printing. A hole that is horizontal, vertical, or diagonal will need different tolerance (as I found out in a project that used the same steel dowel pins in three different orientations). And, vertical holes and pins are different from flat-sided shapes: the plastic will be pulled toward the center of a curve, so diameters come out small (and more so for holes since there's no material further inward to resist the movement).
That said, I think you can expect that the distortions of printing are fairly consistent, if your printer is functioning well. I have a Prusa i3 MK3S, and I have printed many parts other people have designed, and when those parts have been designed carefully, I almost always get very good fits between parts. So, my experience suggests that models do not necessarily need tuning for specific printers.
Should I add a variable in my CAD spreadsheet and use it to change the nominal diameter of the coupling items?
Yes. If nothing else, this allows you to define how the two parts should fit together separately for the printing error. Use separate numbers for different shapes/fits, so that you can adjust one without messing up another.
It may also help to design a calibration part with either a tapered hole or a tapered pin, and then fit check, and measure where it gets stuck. Then you have some clue what your actual tolerances are.
Once you understand how the parts will need to fit together to meet their purpose, you will need to define allowances on your parts in order to create clearance between them.
You will need to understand your printer's capabilities and accuracy by printing some test parts and measuring them. Tolerance is the amount of variation from the specified dimension that is acceptable on a part.
If your printer isn't accurate enough to achieve the tolerances specified on the part, you'll have to find some way to improve the parts so that they are within tolerance. Often this is done as a finishing step: filing, sanding, or grinding an oversized printed part; drilling out an undersized hole; etc. You should also consider other options: buy a more accurate resin printer, redesign the part to make the pin out of a commercially available metal rod or tube, pay someone else to make the parts for you, etc.
Armed with this information you can "design for manufacturing". That means you alter the design of your parts enough so they can be successfully produced with the tooling available to you.
I just posted a little Q&A that discusses this very topic of the difference between allowances and tolerances, and ways to achieve that.
I guess this tolerance (0.4 mm in my example) depends on a lot of variables: 3D printer settings, material, etc... so it may change using different setup.
Yes, this is true, you need to find out for yourself on your rig. Fine tune the printer. Note that filament also shrinks, although some less than others.
Once you figured it out, you can address the tolerance in the CAD design. E.g. I used to print with a material that has a lot of shrinkage, once you established the level of shrinkage, I scaled the complete model accordingly.
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19721 | Assembled my first 3D-printer: Lead screw problem?
A couple of days ago I got my first 3D printer: Creality 3D Ender 3 Pro. I finished assembling it last night. I booted it up, but ran into problems (which I guess is not a common thing for a beginner in 3D printing). After booting and running the motors, it seemed that the lead screw got stuck about halfway down the Z-axis. I heard a rattling sound. So I turned the 3D-printer off. I disassembled the lead screw and applied some Lithium lubricant on it. But the problem persisted. Looking more closely at it, I noticed some notches on the lead screw:
I tried to spin the Creality Z-axis stepper motor, and it felt smooth and did not have any resistance. The bolts on the rod holder were slighly loose so that the lead screw had a bit of play inside.
Im wondering if the lead screw may have been defect during manufacturing process? Are lead screws supposed to have notches like these, or are these manufacturing defects? Here's two photos of the lead screw:
Im guessing the notches are too deep for the z-axis to actually work the way it is supposed to.
The threads of the screw are very damaged, this causes your brass nut to be damaged as well.
This is hardly accountable by misusage, this is a production or handling error in the factory.
You need to contact the vendor for a new screw and new threaded brass nut.
Although the nut is softer and may run in on the damaged threads, there will always be a rough part of the screw, so it will always affect print quality, please replace the damaged parts.
The supplier provide me an entirely new 3D printer. They could not give me just one part. Im waiting for, it will take a few days
The notches are certainly abnormal. The screw appears to have taken an impact from a narrow cylindrical object. It's normal for rods and screws to be packaged independently, frequently wrapped in paper for shipping. The notches seem to be just a bit too small to have taken an impact from one of the guide rods, but it's difficult to determine from the image.
It could have been dropped, but that doesn't explain the notch shape. A fall would have flattened faces, not notched them.
It's time to contact the seller about replacement parts.
Both of the above answers are likely correct but also, I own an Ender 3 and it's kinda/sorta tricky to get it set up right. I had a similar problem and I was certain it was the lead screw -- and mine indeed does not have the marks that yours has -- but in the end the issue was that I had assembled the printer ever-so-slightly out of true, and I had to do a lot of adjusting and wobbling to get things lined up right. So just be prepared for that.
Yes I think the rod is damaged and send back for a replacement, but when it comes back be sure and triple-check that everything is adjusted properly following videos like this. You might also need to spend a little bit more money to replace some of the stock parts to really get it dialed in but once you do you won't be disappointed!
Not sure about this particular design, but if the lead screw is anchored solidly at both ends, it has to be really really square to avoid binding; some designs leave one end free/loose to avoid that problem.
The Ender 3 has one end free.
I tried to wind the screw with and without it being anchored. Same problem. Seems most likely to be an production failure
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19789 | No way to stick PETG on buildplate
I did my homework reading similar questions, like this, this and this.
Here a video that shows the issue:
The filament is PETG from JAYO and the printer is a Dremel 3D45.
As you can see, the filament does not stick on the buildplate. The manufacturer suggests to use 220-250 °C for the nozzle and 70-80 °C for the bed.
Here what I tried so far:
add purple glue from Dremel
bed temperature from 70 to 80 °C
nozzle temperature from 235 to 250 °C (below 230 °C it does not come out from the nozzle at all)
print speed from 50 to 70 mm/s
nozzle gap from 0.0 to 0.4 mm (in step of 0.1 mm). The video was taken with the maximum gap. When the gap is lower, almost all the filament sticks to the nozzle
fan speed from 0 % to 50 %
the filament is inside a filament dryer
clean up the nozzle
before each print I level and calibrate the buildplate
Honestly I don't know what to do further.
From your experience what should I do to avoid what you see in the video?
Your nozzle is very much too high to properly print just about any filament. If the filament sticks to the nozzle after it is positioned closer to the bed, you have two problems. The first is the initial layer position, sometimes called z-offset. The second is bed adhesion.
While the bed is cool, clean it carefully using the appropriate substance for your bed. I'm not familiar with that specific printer, but a glass bed can be cleaned by just about anything, while PEI beds should not have acetone as the cleaning substance. IPA or Denatured Alcohol is pretty safe.
Once you can get a clean bed and good adhesion, bring the nozzle back to an appropriate height. 0.4 mm is the most common nozzle diameter (perhaps until lately) and will provide near zero adhesion. 0.15 is the value I use for my printer, but each printer will be different.
You don't want ropy stringy build lines, nor do you want a nozzle that flattens the filament into something you can't remove when cool. I've had too-low nozzle height in which the filament was nearly transparent and was nearly impossible to remove.
With one brand of PETG I used 110 degrees on the build plate and 240 for the nozzle. Couldn't get a decent first layer before that.
I agree with fred_dot_u, you are too far away from the bed. If you can't get it after that, I would suggest using Bed Weld by Layerneer.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-21T12:54:43.665669 | 2022-08-19T11:56:47 | {
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19866 | How is the Prusa typical orange surface created?
Photos exist where the orange controller of Prusa printers is shown.
In most photos, it looks as if the surface is somewhat rough.
Here is such a photo:
It sparkles a bit, so I would assume that it's not perfectly even.
I do not own such a controller or Prusa printer, so I would like to ask if somebody could show a close up of what this surface really looks like and perhaps give me some information about how it could be re-created.
Thank you very much!
That texture you see is from the build surface, all prints you see are printed with the plane you see downwards.
There are several options to create such a surface finish. From texture coated heated beds to magnetic flexible build surfaces.
Thank you. I am a really newbie at this. I have a Kobra Max with 45 x 40 x 40 cm build size. Could you perhaps recommend a specific texture coated heated bed or build surface for that size? I actually really need 37 cm x 37 cm, so a smaller surface would not suit unfortunately.
@tmighty Smaller will always fit, larger sometimes!
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19914 | Are IDEX printers able to make gradients?
I know that a single mixing nozzle with dual filament input can blend them in order to make gradients. I also know that IDEX means you have two independent nozzles and you can make objects with different materials (or colors).
But I don't understand if an IDEX printer can still "mix" (on the layer of course) the two filaments to create a gradient. My common sense says it's not possible, but I didn't find a proof of that.
I'm NOT interested in a mixing nozzle as most of the time I will need two different kind of filaments. The gradient with IDEX is just a "nice-to-have" feature. Not mandatory, but I would know before choose my next printer.
There's much better ways to get gradients or indeed full colour pictures that only require one nozzle
@Kilisi it would be useful to add a link to some resources then
Just commented because it only touches the question tangentially, and I don't know if the resources exist as far as I know it might be just my lot
Consider the task from the creation reference. An IDEX printer requires the slicer to direct each nozzle to a specific location of the model while it is being created. No true gradient could be accomplished as it would require both nozzles to be in nearly-instant-extrusion proximity.
I suppose one could create a matrix of colors in a manner similar to that of RGB LED color displays, but that's a severe stretch of the imagination. It would require perhaps a strong understanding of full g-code control to place the individual lines. Additionally, there would be a limitation to two colors and the combinations thereof, although with the bi-color Quantum style filament, results might be interesting.
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19913 | How to find enclosed 3D printer that can host 1 kg filament bobbins?
I'm struggling to find out an enclosed 3D printer that allow to load the common 1 kg filament bobbins. Most of the enclosed ones accept only proprietary bobbins (like Dremel or Flashforge).
Do these bobbins ( = 1 kg) rely on a specific standard I can search for?
How to filter out the printers that match my request when making a Google search?
I'm aware I can "easily" put them out of the machine using a custom support (or even directly in a dryer as I do for my Dremel) but this partially nullifies the advantage of the enclosure.
What makes you think having the filament in the enclosure is an advantage?
@Kilisi because (at least on my machine) if you have to put it outside, you must keep the door open! Hence the enclosure does not work properly to keep the heat inside che chamber.
You could always use a "passive" bowden tube from outside of the enclosure to the input end of your extruder.
Most of the enclosed printers I've seen still keep the filament outside the enclosure, but they also have a specific place where the filament will feed in through a tiny hole, usually with a gasket of some kind. Bowden printers will often even run the bowden tube right up to the enclosure exit. No need to open a door for printing.
Even printers with a direct drive might use a tube to guide the filament on the way in and protect it from cabling or to constrict the movement.
There are standards for spools/bobbins/reels
Looking for standards for spools, I started at Alibaba and then came to an actual European manufacturer or retailer of reels: Häfner. They manufacture reels for wires, which are also used for 3D printers. They helpfully provide a chart of their products from about 250 cm³ to a whooping 98454 cm³ - which is about 250 grams of ABS to in theory 98 kilos. However, typically the largest spool you will find for privates is the 300/20 K type with about 3800 cm³, which is more than enough to get a 4-kilo reel of PLA onto it. At times you might find something in the order of 8000 to 10000 cm³ for a rather heavy 8-kilo spool, though that is industrial sizing.
As this single offerer shows, spools are very varied, and the hub diameter of them is not standardized, but the boreholes only come in very distinct sizes.
However, some of the items that are sold as 3D filament spools are actually welding wire spools, for which standards exist, such as this dictating "2‐1/32 inch" arbor holes.
Scale of spools is dependant on the market
Typical enclosed consumer FDM machines are small.
But spools below 1 kilo are not useful for mass-production of large parts and even then, 3 kilos is a sweetspot for handling between ease of moving and time spent changing spools. So industrial machines usually take larger spools - or propriatory cannisters/cartridges with a spool.
One of the big ones is the Stratasys F900. It has a print-volume of 914 x 610 x 914 mm and takes "up to 500 cubic inch" cartridges, apparently the largest size of FDM Filament cartridge offered by Stratasys. For the record: 500 cubic inch weigh about 8 kilos in ABS, and about 10 kilos in PLA.
Modification of existing printers
It is almost trivial to modify an existing printer that takes non-proprietary spools to allow taking in filament from the outside without keeping the door closed. A piece of PTFE tube can easily take the position of the spool inside the machine to guide the filament into the machine-mounted intake. The modification might only need a single small hole in the door for the tube or its fitting to get into the machine.
This way you mount pretty much an adapter for larger spools, but you bypass for example automatic filament detection with the spool unless you also open the door and slot in a "disk" of sorts that contains the RFID with the configuration of the mounted spool.
A random example setup, mounting the "outer intake" in an angled block at the center of the former door:
Nice find, it seems my favorite Dutch filament OEM uses these spools (up to 8 kg!).
@0scar those or at least some that are of the same construction or make - I am not sure Häfner makes them or retails them either... but it shows the variation of designs used.
@0scar also, seems Stratasys offers that sizing for PVA XD
I never buy bigger than 2.2 kg spools, to me the perfect balance between size and time it lasts, but indeed, the bigger the volume the larger the nozzle the faster the spool needs to be changed, hence the selling of 4 kg and 8 kg spools.
QIDI Tech makes a series of enclosed printers, which would narrow your search a bit. I own an X-Max model which has an internal spool spindle as standard equipment, along with an "ordinary" external mount. The internal spindle will take a standard one kilogram spool. It's considered good practice when printing moisture sensitive filament such as nylon to have such an environment.
With respect to search terms, it's fairly difficult to identify a phrase that would collect the information you require.
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19898 | How to convert a conventional Inkjet printer into a FDM resin 3D printer?
I searched about the subject in this website and could only find this question here asking "if there is an FDM Resin 3D printer", not how to build it.
The idea is to replace the inks for other fluids, such as resin and its hardener (and other fluids) and then add a Z axis "somehow".
The thing is: I couldn't find any tutorial on the subject.
The closest thing I could find was this project here called Oasis 3DP, an open source powder and inkjet 3D printer, but the objects are incredibly fragile.
The other type was this DIY that converts a creality 3D into a ink printer, but it uses homemade nozzles actuated by piezoelectrics instead of a inkjet printer nozzle, and the results aren't as good as a conventional inkjet printers (not to insult the creator this is hella cool still).
If you were looking to do this as a "personal project" for self-improvement, I would say "probably". Otherwise, the price of a 3D printer has come down that even Micro Center is offering an Ender 3 for $99 to new customers.
Such principles exist, but we use metal powder or wire and lasers. If you can cure the resin that is dispensed this is a viable option, but be prepared to a long R&D trajectory.
Sounds like you are asking for a kit. There isn't one, and there isn't likely to ever be one, because conventional resin printing and FDM printing use completely different approaches to take advantage of respective material properties, and combining them is likely to get you the worst features of both rather than something better.
Additionally, ink jet printing and things based on it inherently get you brittle parts, and attempts to combine this with FDM methods won't fix that.
Without a kit, you are designing this from scratch. This basically means you either need to be an engineer that can design solutions for all the problems up front, or you will be doing a lot of trial and error with repeated redesigns as you discover new problems -- not that an engineer wouldn't have the same issue without a lot of foresight.
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19936 | Why does Cura create this turquoise support structure?
I am just using Cura for the first time.
This is what my model looks like in Fusion 360:
Here is a close-up look:
And this is what Cura creates for me.
I assume the turquoise area is a support structure.
Why does it do that?
Also, I don't understand why it marks the edges as red. I assume this means that there is problem.
Thank you!
Each color has a special meaning:
turquoise: Support (in your case Build Plate Adhesion)
Red: Shell
Green: Inner Wall
Yellow: Top / Bottom
And so on ; you can see them if you click on "Color Scheme: Line Type" on the Preview Interface, and select what you want to see.
The turquoise is your support for bed adhesion (see the Build Plate adhesion tree on your Print Settings interface), the red one is your shell.
Nothing is wrong, please read the doc, it could be useful sometimes ...
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19987 | Why raft is printed much better than the actual first layer?
I'm facing a weird problem I cannot understand why it happens.
Most of my objects have a large planar base so I don't have any adhesion issue.
I'm using a PLA Silk gold filament from eSun (filament dryer is on while printing) and a Dremel 3D45 printer.
This is the bottom (first layer) of an object printed directly on the (glass) bed:
Then I tried another object (very similar) using a raft. The raft itself is almost perfect:
But, again, the first layer of the actual object (only 0,1 mm air gap from the raft) has the same problems of the first one:
The most relevant settings I'm using in Cura are:
layer height: 0.2 mm
initial layer height: 0.3 mm
top/bottom line width: 0.4 mm
initial layer line width: 100%
top/bottom thickness: 0.8 mm
nozzle temperature: 205 °C
nozzle temperature initial layer: 210 °C
bed temperature: 60 °C
bed temperature initial layer: 65 °C
print speed: 50 mm/s
print speed initial layer: 25 mm/s
cooling: 100%
initial fan speed: 0%
regular fan speed at height: 0.3 mm
I enabled the auto-calibration before each print.
Based on the scarring and the appearance of the printed holes, it looks as if the nozzle to bed distance is not good, it is probably too large (could be too close as well, if you consider the scarring where the nozzle might have picked up already deposited material). The bed is also quite hot, for PLA you could drop this to 50 °C
Note that an initial layer height of 0.3 mm is also quite large, it causes a lot of material to be deposited while there might be too much/too little room for the amount. Printing on glass should give you a shiny mirror glaze finish (unless the glass is textured); the images don't express that feature from printing on glass build platforms.
A raft generally shouldn't be necessary for PLA (but some exceptions may apply), but certainly not for large planar based prints with a decent amount of surface area in contact with the bed. It is hard to get a nice surface on top of a raft/support structure.
Rafts generally print very well as there is extra space in between the deposited lines, and there usually is some over-extrusion.
Rafting here was just an experiment. I'm going to play with the initial layer height but I have some issues to find the best nozzle gap. The Dremel procedure is long and (to me) seems not so reliable. By the way under 50 °C the PLA does not stick to the bed (even with the purple glue) and the manufacturer suggests bed temperature up to 60 °C (comments on Amazon says this as well).
I got a very shiny finish on the bottom raising the initial layer flow to 105%. But the down side was it detached easily from the second layer!
This hints more to an incorrect nozzle to bed distance. You shouldn't change flow of the first layer, normally there are already modifiers at play for the first layer.
Ok. Do you suggest to change the nozzle gap + or - 0.1 mm, try to print and see what happens?
You can easily redefine the height by editing the G-code file, see How to set the Z home offset or this answer.
I occasionally find a raft useful on PLA prints if I'm printing a model with very little contact to the bed. A raft under the part and supports can help keep it stable. Otherwise, yeah, a raft is a waste of machine time and filament.
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