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2020/12/01 | 770 | 3,162 | <issue_start>username_0: I bought a set of 5 [stepper motors](https://a.aliexpress.com/_mL7Tt7b) from Trianglelab's official Aliexpress shop.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/XZDW8.jpg)
Only one of these motors was given any kind of protective bubble wrap for shipping. The contents of the package shifted in transit and several of the motors got banged up with two of them suffering visible damage to their wire insulation.
I contacted Trianglelabs and was told to fix it myself for \$0.03 with a wire or to add some tape. This repair advice was accompanied with the weightiest assumptions of my personal expertise that I have ever received.
At this point I'm not planning to keep them if this is how the company does business; shaving pennies on shipping and telling the buyer to fix it themselves.
But all of this brought up an interesting question. How can I reliably test my stepper motors for basic functionality and measured compliance with the rated specifications?<issue_comment>username_1: For the AliExpress part, open a dispute and attach pictures to the dispute and ask for a partial, reasonable discount. It always worked for me.
As for how to test the motors themselves, it depends on what other hardware you have.
For example, you could wire the motors to your printer board, and try to issue a [G6](https://marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/G006.html) command to that motor.
If you find issues while testing the motors, that could be evidence for an even bigger discount, or even full refund if the motor doesn't work.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I would be far more worried about damage to the wire insulation (i.e. are they nicked/cut at all or just scuffed up?) as that could potentially lead to a short circuit situation against your frame etc. Assuming no serious cable damage, motors can take a fair amount of mechanical abuse so I'd just put them through their paces with short (a few seconds) forward/backward movements at various speeds listening for any scraping/grinding/other unusual noises indicating any interior damage. Assuming no issues found, then you could run them for a more extended period of time (5-10 minutes or so periodically changing direction/speed) and if that didn't reveal anything, I wouldn't worry about it. If it helps, you're probably going to inadvertently abuse them electrically/thermally far more than the shipment did over their service life.
Unfortunately, when shipping things overseas sometimes the packaging is insufficient (somewhat surprising for Trianglelab as that's one area I generally see people give them high marks for) and bad things can happen during shipment. I've received all sorts of mangled packages and, aside from the irritation of knowing it was probably avoidable but for the bad packaging, I usually try to be reasonable when tallying up any damage when asking for a refund (partial or otherwise). If you really feel like a seller fell short, then your best recourse is generally to ding them on their rating if it's really warranted. Yes, it's irritating, but it will happen from time to time.
Upvotes: 1 |
2020/12/02 | 1,016 | 3,352 | <issue_start>username_0: This question is related to:
[How to set Z-probe boundary limits in firmware when using automatic bed leveling?](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/8153/how-to-set-z-probe-boundary-limits-in-firmware-when-using-automatic-bed-leveling)
I am trying to figure out how to set UBL In Marlin to cover as much bed as possible.
So My bed is size of 300x255 mm
`#define NOZZLE_TO_PROBE_OFFSET { -34, -1, -2 }`
My Probe can physically cover 255 mm (whole Y) and 272 mm (of X size)
Let's give it a bit of margin of the 0Y -> 3 mm and from 0X -3 mm
So idea is to cover X from 3 mm to 269 mm and Y from 3 mm -> 252 mm
How should I set
`#define PROBING_MARGIN`
and
`#define MESH_INSET`
so it covers my bed and probes 100 points ?
I tried different options, most of the time it stops at 57/100 and printer HALTs.
Only setting I got it working with was:
`#define PROBING_MARGIN 30`
`#define MESH_INSET 50`
But that does not cover whole bed. I am struggling to understand how it's calculated.
Other settings I found was commented as below.
```
#if PROBE_SELECTED && !IS_KINEMATIC
// #define PROBING_MARGIN_LEFT PROBING_MARGIN
// #define PROBING_MARGIN_RIGHT PROBING_MARGIN
// #define PROBING_MARGIN_FRONT PROBING_MARGIN
// #define PROBING_MARGIN_BACK PROBING_MARGIN
#endif
```
Any suggestions ?<issue_comment>username_1: `PROBING_MARGIN` and `MESH_INSET` make the effective probing area smaller, so if you want to have more area, you should reduce the value of these constants.
As of Marlin 2.x, the probing area isn't defined directly by the firmware configuration settings, but calculated, based on the probe offset settings. The constants you mention are reducing the probing area to keep the carriage/nozzle on the build surface.
If you have enough space on your printer to accommodate probing the whole bed, you could minimize the marging and define edges:
```
#if PROBE_SELECTED && !IS_KINEMATIC
#define PROBING_MARGIN_LEFT PROBING_MARGIN
#define PROBING_MARGIN_RIGHT PROBING_MARGIN
#define PROBING_MARGIN_FRONT PROBING_MARGIN
#define PROBING_MARGIN_BACK PROBING_MARGIN
#endif
```
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: As far as I understand, this is how the limits are calculated:
1. The probing size is first calculated from `X_MAX_POS` and `Y_MAX_POS` and your `NOZZLE_TO_PROBE_OFFSET` values. If you changed the extruder or part cooling system or added a BLTouch you will have to update these.
2. This calculated area is reduced by `MESH_INSET` if you want to make the probing area smaller. I don't really know why you'd do this so I always just set it to 0, and also it seems totally redundant with `PROBING_MARGIN`. I don't know if they are calculated any differently, it would be great if the comments in Marlin were a bit clearer here
3. This area is further reduced by the `PROBING_MARGIN` for situations like if you have bed clips around the edges, or if you're using a contactless probe which can get bad values near the edges.
So basically, if you're using a contact probe like BLTouch and you don't have any clips or obstructions around the edges, you can just set both `MESH_INSET` and `PROBING_MARGIN` to 0 then provided your X and Y axis max positions have enough extra room compared to the nozzle to probe offsets, you should be able to probe all points without issue.
Upvotes: 0 |
2020/12/04 | 731 | 2,753 | <issue_start>username_0: For the purpose of cleaning, I need an aggressive solvent for cured or partially cured resin that will degrade resin down to its liquid state. I'm looking for one that would eat out specifically resin (I'm using regular Anycubic green resin) in a rapid fashion but would leave painted / metallic parts and screen of my 3D printer without damage.<issue_comment>username_1: **Wear Gloves.**
================
### Returning is impossible
Resin does not just *harden*, [it **polymerizes** into shape from monomers in a chemical reaction.](https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/138945/polymerisation-of-a-uv-curing-resin) That means to break it down, you need to destroy the whole chemistry. There is no solvent that can simply reverse it.
### Wiping is easy
As long as the rein is still liquid, you can wipe it off. Then clean the parts with Isopropylic alcohol.
### Manual work
Destroying Resin-Polymers is incredibly hard for most solvents. The most simple solution is usually oddly enough to use physical force. Resins are super brittle and chip off, but might damage the paint coat in the worst case.
### Thermal shock
If you can, you might put your printer in a cold environment and see the resin gaining cracks, as it shrinks slower and less than the metal. Then, putting it back into the heat adds more.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Concentrated nitric acid will remove all organics, including your skin, wire insulation, etc. It will work on a glass plate, but the fumes would eventually damage the plastics on your printer unless you remove the glass plate to clean it. Nitric acid will destroy most build surfaces that are added to glass. To a lesser extent concentrated sulfuric acid works, but it tends to leave carbon behind. With these acids it takes special gloves, and I would not even depend too heavily on them always working. The more concentrated the acids (the less water), the less they will attack metals. Note: this will quickly strip the paint off metal parts.
Thus, you probably cannot find an aggressive chemical that is practical for you to use.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I would try hexane, and then Dichloromethane and if those did not work, I would heat up sodium hydroxide to about 70-90 °C. These would work better if you print in PLA resin, it's available from a few sources now.
Bucktown polymers and 3Dresyns both have a water-soluble resin. You could also print, make a soft silicone mold, cast in chocolate or isomalt and quickly seal in b72 enamel to hold its shape for your next step.
Another great option is to cast the printed mold with Amazing Remelt as you can microwave it out of your shell afterward. Or heat up/steam.
Upvotes: 1 |
2020/12/06 | 1,205 | 3,691 | <issue_start>username_0: I am making a bed for my 3D printer. I have bought a silicon heater (31x31 cm) and I want to glue it to my custom aluminum bed. The tape that it had from factory was bad, so I removed it. I want to glue it to the aluminum and I don't know what type of adhesive to use, I was thinking gasket glue with silicon, but I think that it will have bad thermal conductivity. I found [this product, a silicon based, heat transferring paste](https://www.annapol.eu/product_info.php?products_id=137997&language=en), but I think that it will not stick good. What is a good adhesive for this purpose?<issue_comment>username_1: Heat Transfer PAste will not work as a gluing agent. What you need is a high-temperature glue that bonds Aluminium and a silicone rubber. The benchmark temperature that the glue needs to withstand is about 100 °C or approximately 200 °F.
[McMaster-Carr](https://www.mcmaster.com/glue/for-use-on%7Ealuminum/for-joining%7Erubber/) allowed me to search for glue-properties and suggests among others contact adhesives, which are cans or tubes with a very viscous glue. You let that pre-cure on the items and then push the two together, resulting in very strong bonds. One of the items they suggest is [3M 2262](https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/%7E/3M-Plastic-Adhesive-2262/?N=5002385%203293193728&rt=rud) for which McMaster-Carr lists 230 °F as the max temperature, so just in the *safe* range. However, a 32 oz. can for almost 100 $ is surely overkill, the [3M manufacturer catalog](https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/1015904O/3m-industrial-adhesives-and-tapes.pdf) lists only 1 qt and 5 gal as the available packaging sizes, so, unless you build printers for a living or know someone who uses this industrially, this is not an option.
The same catalog also lists the ["3M™ 200MP& 300LSE"](https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/%7E/3M-Double-Coated-Tape-9496LE/?N=5002385%203293242019&rt=rud) series with temperatures of 148 °C (300 °F) to 204 °C (400 °F). That is enough to print anything on. And it's the same glue that' used on my Build-Tak replacement surfaces to stick them to the Aluminium bed, so it could be suitable for gluing the heater to the bed on the other side too. However, I wish you good luck to find a reseller that sells you a fitting amount. Industrial packaging is available, but you'll need to find a reseller that offers a somewhat fitting size for you - I have seen Amazon listings for both types in sizes that have only small waste for most common heaters.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/t3S0H.png)
---
I am not affiliated with 3M or McMaster-Carr, but I have very good experience with 300LSE.
Upvotes: 1 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I suggest not gluing it. Starting from the top, make a sandwich this way:
Aluminium with holes for bolts - Silicone heater - Thin cork (the one from IKEA, 2 mm thick for office desks is fine) - Thin plywood with holes for bolts (or other stiff material holding at least 60°C)
This way you use the aluminium and the plywood to keep the silicone heater well in contact with the aluminium, and the cork insulates so that less heat is lost on the bottom side.
Also, cork is fire-retardant.
If the heater fails replacing it is simple.
Also, you can and should cut away from the cork some space for a thermal non resettable fuse at 180°C to cut power if the heater overheats.
In my case I should have used one more bolt, as you can see in the photo.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/0nwJN.jpg)
Upvotes: 1 |
2020/12/06 | 513 | 1,966 | <issue_start>username_0: Normally, I'm all fine with my printer and filament. But today I changed the filament for another brand and no matter what, it sticks to the nozzle so nothing comes to the bed and soon my nozzle is full of PLA... I use a sheet of paper for printer to level the bed at 0.1 mm. While leveling, I get the nozzle close enough to feel a bit of resistance from the paper while moving that sheet. Please help me...<issue_comment>username_1: I believe the problem is not so much that the filament is sticking to the nozzle; it's that the filament is not sticking to the bed.
You've confirmed that you have correct clearance for the nozzle to bed distance. The next considerations are bed temperature and nozzle temperature. New brands often require new parameters.
Consider to raise the bed temperature 5 °C. If you're not using any adhesive medium, perhaps a bit of glue stick will help to have the filament stick better/properly.
It's unlikely that the nozzle temperature is incorrect, as too low would result in a nozzle clog, while too high would "drizzle out" and be everywhere, but don't reject too-high entirely.
If you can get the bed adhesion correct, your nozzle should remain clear.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In addition to @fred\_dot\_u remarks:
Decrease initial layer speed
----------------------------
Try to print the initial layer at lower (very low speed). Start from 20 mm/s, move down even to 5-10 mm/s (e.g. just decrease speed% from the menu). I had many such issues when printing in too high speed (even directly on kapton tape): filament could not stick to the bed so quickly and rolled just after the nozzle - and slowing down almost always helped.
You may also decrease height of first layer e.g. by 25-50 %, and try to increase "Initial Layer Line Width" (e.g. 120 % in Cura). Increase temperatures by 5-10 degrees also helps sometime.
If this will not improve, then try to enhance adhesion.
Upvotes: 2 |
2020/12/07 | 527 | 2,024 | <issue_start>username_0: I was looking at purchasing the Creality CR-X or another similar dual extruder (note, NOT dual nozzle) printer. I know it was designed to print two colors of the same filament, but is it able to print two different filaments?
I would be printing HIPS with ABS or PVA with PLA, so the two filaments would have very similar characteristics. It's ok if the printer doesn't know there's two different filaments, I can make it work by playing with the slicing settings.<issue_comment>username_1: I believe the problem is not so much that the filament is sticking to the nozzle; it's that the filament is not sticking to the bed.
You've confirmed that you have correct clearance for the nozzle to bed distance. The next considerations are bed temperature and nozzle temperature. New brands often require new parameters.
Consider to raise the bed temperature 5 °C. If you're not using any adhesive medium, perhaps a bit of glue stick will help to have the filament stick better/properly.
It's unlikely that the nozzle temperature is incorrect, as too low would result in a nozzle clog, while too high would "drizzle out" and be everywhere, but don't reject too-high entirely.
If you can get the bed adhesion correct, your nozzle should remain clear.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In addition to @fred\_dot\_u remarks:
Decrease initial layer speed
----------------------------
Try to print the initial layer at lower (very low speed). Start from 20 mm/s, move down even to 5-10 mm/s (e.g. just decrease speed% from the menu). I had many such issues when printing in too high speed (even directly on kapton tape): filament could not stick to the bed so quickly and rolled just after the nozzle - and slowing down almost always helped.
You may also decrease height of first layer e.g. by 25-50 %, and try to increase "Initial Layer Line Width" (e.g. 120 % in Cura). Increase temperatures by 5-10 degrees also helps sometime.
If this will not improve, then try to enhance adhesion.
Upvotes: 2 |
2020/12/08 | 1,115 | 3,997 | <issue_start>username_0: So I've designed a few components in Fusion 360, but I'm kinda new to CAD. I did the tutorials AutoDesk have on YouTube, modelled an Arduino enclosure, a shampoo bottle, a lamp shade, etc. but what I'm doing now isn't as straightforward...
Before I used to create solids, but what I'm doing right now is essentially a flimsy plastic part, just a sheet of plastic with a rim, and some other "rib" features, and doing solids you have to make a sketch, and every line has to be doubled because of the thickness of the material.
Today I'm trying surfaces after being clued by the "Thicken" command, I figured maybe that was more efficient, but I'm not sure if I'm on the right track.
When I work with solids, I end-up with the option to *join* whatever new feature to the main body, but with surfaces I end-up with a bunch of bodies that are essentially supposed to be one, and I don't know how to join them together after.
I guess they could be put together in a "component", but I think components are more like a nut is a solid, a bolt is a solid, and a component is a nut and a bolt, not a bolt head, and a threaded cylinder... So the way the software is made right now at this point, while it clued me to use surfaces, now it's cluing me that there's something I'm missing, or nor doing right...
There's no CAD Stack Exchange site, and I realize this might be a bit specific, but the part is to be 3D printed, I bought a new 3D printer not long ago for a project, but I need to get better at CAD before I can make it...
Attached is a screenshot of what I worked on, it's paths that I've extruded to create surfaces (tall edges), thickened those surfaces to create bodies, patched some surfaces to fill areas, thickened those as well (ended-up with stair-shaped corners that I fixed somehow), then I cut some bodies from the bodies below to end-up with that you see now...
I think I'm on the right path with surfaces, but I don't think my workflow is right, and I was wondering if anyone could help me...
Right now, there's supposed to be two screw wells in two corners of the circle, essentially wells with a hole in the bottom for a thumbtack to go through, and there's going to be a cap to cap it off, it's kind of the same process as what I've done so far, but like I said, I don't think I'm doing it right...
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/BD7K6.jpg)
(source: [000webhostapp.com](https://forum-images-and-sharing.000webhostapp.com/img/2020-12-08.png))<issue_comment>username_1: Ok, let's go down the main two ways to a part, and in practice you usually use both to design for 3D printing. Only for machining, you try to keep to the cutting method only.
* Cutting Method
* Building Method
Cutting Method
==============
You start with a piece of "stock". A cube or cylinder created by extruding the simple shape. Now you go and create profiles that you either extrude into the part or rotate around the axis - your profile "cuts" the "stock". When doing this, you think of parts like a machinist: you remove the material as a mill or lathe would.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Nwo3F.png)
Buildup Method
==============
You start with the profile of the piece, then extrude it, then add the next detail and so on. I work a lot with that, and you can have a lot of sketches in the end:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/lkTrb.png)
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: After @username_1 posted their answer, I went back to my design, and used substractive design, because I watch a lot of machining videos, and instead of the "thicken" feature that kinda did what I wanted, I used the "shell" command that did exactly what I wanted, see below.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/vxzP0.jpg)
Upvotes: 0 |
2020/12/08 | 320 | 1,225 | <issue_start>username_0: The art in question is <https://www.instagram.com/p/CIfsO2ZD7Rj/> . I Think the concept artist, <NAME>, is dead.<issue_comment>username_1: While better fitted to our friends at [law.SE](https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/copyright), the general gist is: **No.**
Art is protected by copyright, and any adaption (*derivative work*) requires the OK from the right holders *per se*. Only 70-75 years after the death of the author (or publication for company works), a work enters the *public domain* and the copyright expires.
There are some exceptions (*fair use/fair dealing/*...), but *media transformation* is not one of them.
Giraud died in 2012, his estate or heirs - or whoever he/they sold the commercial rights to - own the right to ok derivative Works till around 2087.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: This is something that might have a precedent, where the line is blurry, someone might have already tried, and in that case the judge's decision in that court case is the official interpretation of the law towards that specific scenario.
There might also be definitive laws regarding "derived works"...
Like the others, I would ask the Law SE for help.
Upvotes: 0 |
2020/12/08 | 322 | 1,259 | <issue_start>username_0: Why does the Ender 3 only have 3 limit switches instead of 6?
How does it handle crashes on other sides?
Is it worth adding them with a new mainboard?<issue_comment>username_1: While better fitted to our friends at [law.SE](https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/copyright), the general gist is: **No.**
Art is protected by copyright, and any adaption (*derivative work*) requires the OK from the right holders *per se*. Only 70-75 years after the death of the author (or publication for company works), a work enters the *public domain* and the copyright expires.
There are some exceptions (*fair use/fair dealing/*...), but *media transformation* is not one of them.
Giraud died in 2012, his estate or heirs - or whoever he/they sold the commercial rights to - own the right to ok derivative Works till around 2087.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: This is something that might have a precedent, where the line is blurry, someone might have already tried, and in that case the judge's decision in that court case is the official interpretation of the law towards that specific scenario.
There might also be definitive laws regarding "derived works"...
Like the others, I would ask the Law SE for help.
Upvotes: 0 |
2020/12/09 | 1,299 | 5,964 | <issue_start>username_0: Recently I started looking on pressure advance and how it works and I'm a bit confused about where it is usually implemented.
My Idea of 3D printer was that its firmware is fairly dumb and only replays GCode, not knowing anything about the object being printed, material used, or even the printer itself.
But with pressure advance this whole thing changes and now the firmware needs to know the linear advance factor which combines information about the filament and filament path used. In addition the E axis is no longer controlled directly by the GCode, but it's motion is almost independently determined by the firmware.
Why is this? Is there a reason that slicer (or a post-processor) can't compute all this and directly store the needed extruder axis movements in the GCode?
Does the printer have some additional information that the slicer is missing?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> In addition the E axis is no longer controlled directly by the GCode, but it's motion is almost independently determined by the firmware.
>
>
>
This is the case even without linear advance. G-code does not directly control the movement of any of the axes. G-code only specifies the path the axes should travel, but not the acceleration and deceleration associated with following that path. If you are printing a cube, then the G-code might specify that the extruder has to extrude a square. It will specify that the 4 sides of the square should be printed, but it does not specify how the transition from one side to the next should be handled.
The printer cannot instantly transition from extruding one side of the square to extruding the next side, because the direction of the extruder cannot change instantaneously. It needs to smoothly decelerate and accelerate. This is handled by the firmware, which translates the straight line commands from G-code to smooth acceleration and deceleration of the extruder.
This is exactly where linear advance comes in. It is coupled to the acceleration and deceleration. There is no way to "implement" linear advance in G-code, because G-code does not even have any notion of acceleration and deceleration. The G-code (and slicer) has no idea how the firmware is handling the acceleration and deceleration, so therefore it is impossible for the slicer to know what linear advance is required to match.
Then you might ask: "why is acceleration and deceleration not implemented in G-code (rather than in firmware)?" This is simply a design choice. G-code is meant to be a very simple file format, and it simply allows you to specify straight line move commands. Representing smooth acceleration curves would either require breaking them down into many discrete, small steps, but this would greatly increase the file size. You could suggest a more complex G-code specification that would allow a more "compact" representation of acceleration and deceleration curves but then you're just shifting the computation back to the firmware (albeit with a more explicit specification in the G-code).
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: This is a really good question that sheds a lot of light on 3D printer software/firmware architecture, and Tom already said a lot of the things I wanted to say before getting a chance to write an answer. The basic problem is that, to do pressure advance accurately (and in a way that doesn't get it horribly wrong when inaccurate), you need to know the actual feedrate of the extruder at all times, and that's not available until applying the acceleration profile, which by convention happens in the printer firmware.
With that said, there were primitive and even somewhat advanced attempts to do pressure advance in the slicer. The first seems to have been "coasting", which, along with extra-priming after coast, is pretty much just "pressure advance, assuming a constant feedrate". It gets things horribly wrong if you mix different extruder feedrates (different print speeds or line widths, etc.) or if you have slow acceleration, but if your acceleration is so fast (relative to max speed) that it's approximately instantaneous, it might work okay.
Modern Cura also has Flow Rate Compensation, which is something like pressure advance. It's rate-sensitive, so in theory it can give accurate results with varying line width and print speed as long as acceleration is close enough to instantaneous. Since it appeared after Marlin added linear advance, I never bothered trying to play with it, so I can't speak to whether it actually works decently. There are still a lot of subtleties to when the advance is performed that it could get wrong, and I think you'd want to do some test cases just to read the gcode output and evaluate whether what it's doing is sufficiently close to reasonable.
If you wanted to do full pressure advance in the slicer, you'd need to let the slicer handle acceleration profile, breaking lines up into small segments each with nominal feedrate matching the rate they should end at, and sufficiently close to the rate they should start at, with the firmware acceleration limits set to accommodate the change. Then, knowing a very good approximation of the actual toolhead and thus extruder feedrate for each segment, you'd know the advance to apply, and could apply it as an additional subdivision at the end of the previous print move. And then in theory, it all works out. But this would make the gcode **a lot** larger/bulkier, and more demanding on the serial link speed and microcontroller's ability to keep up with parsing/planning. So it's almost surely a bad idea.
The Klipper firmware does this differently. It does the gcode parsing and planning (including pressure advance) in Python software (with some C for critical paths) running on a much more capable computer, and sends the precise generated stepper motor timings over the serial link to the microcontroller operating the printer hardware.
Upvotes: 2 |
2020/12/09 | 1,940 | 7,510 | <issue_start>username_0: Is there any research into use of thermoelectric cooler along with part cooling fan to get quicker cooling without strong air currents that apply pressure to the still-soft material? I experimented with custom fan ducts in the past trying to get better cooling and avoid warping for printing thin layers of PLA at high speeds, but found that the concentrated stream of air blowing on the part actually deformed it before it could cool. At the time I wondered if using significantly colder air, at a much lower flow, would work better. But every time I've searched for thermoelectric (peltier) coolers with 3D printing, I've found results that are about cooling motors or the heatbreak (especially inside heated enclosures), nothing about part cooling.
If there is no research on this and I want to experiment myself at some point, are there constraints I should consider for how to mount it (in my case on an Ender 3, but also in general)? Perhaps on a separate intake duct before the cooling fan? Or between the cooling fan and hotend assembly to let the waste heat dump into the assembly that the hotend fan is already cooling?<issue_comment>username_1: It is true that if you try to do bridges with a very hot filament the cooling air will deform or push away the hot filament if it's set at high speed, or it won't cool it enough if you run the fan slower.
I experienced it with PETG at 245 °C while performing a parametric optimisation as described in:
Still, the TEC are inefficient and they require a bulky heatsink to cool the hot side. Not only that, you also need a heatsink with thin fins to cool the air, which cannot be too small too because the air is flowing relatively fast.
Overall, it's clearly not practicable so I doubt you will find studies to confirm what is obvious.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: On the printhead?
=================
TECs or Peltier Elements are incredibly inefficient compared to airstream coolers. Their only benefit is perfect temperature control, from which you will have nothing because there is no firmware that cares for the temperature of cooling air or the cooling body of a Hotend. Also, a TEC creates a lot of heat on its output side - which means you heat the air just millimeters away from where you want to cool the air!
To get the heat produced by the TEC away, you either need a rather large cooling body - which is a lot of weight and space you need. As a result, you reduce the maximum print speed a lot. A water cooler isn't necessarily that much lighter, but it also gets us the trouble of having a highly conductive liquid right on the printhead.
lighter alternative: compressed air
-----------------------------------
You'd have much better efficiency by having compressed air decompress (as in: get out of a slim nozzle) slowly just a few millimeters in front of the air intake of your part cooling fan - expanding air cools down a lot, and running a compressor for a few moments takes less energy than running a Peltier element with the same temperature drop. In a pinch, a CO2 canister could provide the needed high pressure air, and a nozzle like you have it on an airbrush would work.
Move it off the printhead?
==========================
As the weight of the necessary secondary equipment is an issue, it might be better to move the Peltier element off the printhead. For example, by using a flexible hose that supplies the air to the cooling fan, and feeding that with precooled air - and now a Peltier element can shine: by having the weight be no longer a matter, we can use a rather large cooling body on the outside and cooling fins on the inside.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/FPAzi.png)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: **For cooling the printed object:**
1. Combined with air compresser
What seems the most practical is to use an air compressor with a tank large enough to ensure that the air in the tank has time to cool off. This gives you the option of adding an air dryer if needed. You could cool the compressed air just before blowing on the print though a Peltier cooler and get additional cooling as the air releases toward the print.
Information link:
<https://labincubators.net/blogs/blog/peltier-vs-compressor-based-cooling>
<https://labincubators.net/blogs/blog/peltier-vs-compressor-based-cooling>
2. Printer Ceiling
You could put a Peltier cooler on the ceiling with a heatsink/cold-sink covering most of the inside ceiling and fans only on the external (outside the ceiling wall) heated part of the Peltier. Convection would move the air. Without and enclosure, positioning the Peltier to use convection would be good because the fans, especially those removing the heat would not be fighting convection.
3. Printer Bed
You could use a Peltier cooler to both heat and cool the print bed. All you need for stitching is to change the polarity of the voltage on the Peltier. A Peltier could handle those temperatures well. While Peltier heaters/coolers aren't energy efficient, because they can do both, they have good and quick temperature control.
If you wanted to get fancy, you could have multiple Peltier devices across the bed, so that you could keep heat under the print and have all the other devices cool. You would need to know the fastest rate you could change temperature without cracking the glass on a glass bed.
**Cooling the heat sink on the extruder.** (answering a different question)
The most practical way to use a Peltier cooler is to take advantage of its temperature differential over a short distance. One could put it between the heater block and the heat sink, requiring a hole in the cooler for the filament to feed through. The Peltier effect has a limit of a 70°C maximum differential between the hot and cold side. Another limit is manufactures list a maximum temperature of 200°C on the hot side. This is usually because of solder joints.
1. The Peltier cooler would need to be customer made to fit between the heater block and heat sink a) hole in the middle, b) designed to withstand heater block temperatures >200°C.
2. The heat sink probably still needs a fan due to the maximum temperature differential of 70°C. A 70°C maximum temperature differential makes it difficult to be the only source of cooling. Rarely are Peltier coolers the only source of cooling. Only when they are in an insulated barrier such as in the wall of a ice chest. Other wise the heat from the hot side mixes with the cold side. Peltier coolers move heat from one surface of the material a short distance to the other side of the material. If you don't cool the hot side of the material, when using it in an open area such as an extruder, the heat will circle back around to the cold side.
Its main advantage would be a fast drop in temperature between the heater block and heat sink. However, it is an expensive project, and one needs to evaluate of this could be better achieved by other methods.
Links using Peltier cooling with 3D printers:
<https://www.thermoelectric.com/3d-printing/>
<https://dyzedesign.com/2020/02/water-cooling-and-peltier-cooling-in-3d-printers/>
<https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/bmwepl/has_anyone_tried_peltier_cooling_for_the_part/>
<https://hackaday.io/project/26369-better-cooling-for-3d-printer-extruders>
Visual example:
Cold plate
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/AcsEl.png)
Upvotes: 1 |
2020/12/11 | 1,304 | 4,900 | <issue_start>username_0: I would like to log each line of G-code to the serial port as it is processed.
**Steps to achieve**:
* the printer reads a file from the SD card
* each line it reads will be serial logged (this I can't figure out)
* those lines can then read via the serial monitor on a laptop
So by the end of the print, on my laptop I would have the reconstructed G-code file (plus whatever other logs the printer outputs).
The printer runs the Prusa Firmware. Ideally I would like to achieve the logging from altering the firmware rather than adding an extra plugin/server (For understanding and experimenting purposes).
**What I tried**
I have looked in code and found [the print functions](https://github.com/prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware/blob/MK3/Firmware/Marlin.h#L99) and examples of them in use in the code. This line is the "[command, which is to be excecuted right now](https://github.com/prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware/blob/MK3/Firmware/cmdqueue.h#L43)", but I think that would be the just one command not the full line.
The [cardreader](https://github.com/prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware/blob/MK3/Firmware/cardreader.cpp) or [SdBaseFile](https://github.com/prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware/blob/MK3/Firmware/SdBaseFile.cpp) are where I would expect a G-code line to be read such that I could add a print statement after it but I did not see where.
Would it be as easy as setting this [card.logging](https://github.com/prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware/blob/MK3/Firmware/cardreader.cpp#L30) bool to true?
I imagine this is quite an easy thing to do and that I have just overcomplicated it by trying to understand the firmware. Any advice would be great!<issue_comment>username_1: If you have the hardware at hand, you can use OctoPrint to collect the data you require. It's common for users to create an OctoPrint server on a Raspberry Pi, but it can be installed easily on a Windows or Linux machine as well. Once in place, logging is available for various types of information.
From the [OctoPrint blog](https://community.octoprint.org/t/where-can-i-find-octoprints-and-octopis-log-files/299):
The logs are crucial instruments of analysis and debugging, so it's usually in your best interest to provide them when asking for help or reporting a bug, even if not explicitly prompted for them:
>
> octoprint.log: OctoPrint's main application log file. Contains a
> general log of everything that happens while OctoPrint is running.
> Includes version information, installed plugins and a myriad of more
> data points.
>
>
> This must always be included when reporting a bug 47 to allow for
> further analysis and reproduction. It is also a very good idea to
> provide this when asking for help :wink:
>
>
> serial.log: A log of all of the communication going on between
> OctoPrint and your printer. Usually disabled for performance reasons,
> enable it through Settings > Serial Connection.
>
>
> Either that or at the very least the output in OctoPrint's Terminal
> tab is crucial for analysis of any kind of communication issues or
> misbehaviours observed with your printer, so it's important to include
> it when discussing such issues.
>
>
> plugin\_pluginmanager\_console.log: A log of the command line activity
> of the plugin manager. Very important for analysis of such questions
> like "Why can't I install plugin $xyz?", so if you have such a
> problem, best include this.
>
>
> plugin\_softwareupdate\_console.log: A log of the command line activity
> of the software updater. Very important for analysis of such questions
> like "Updating OctoPrint always fails, why?", so if you have such a
> problem, best include this.
>
>
>
Third party plugins might also have special log files here. If a plugin author asks you to provide a special log created by their plugin for further analysis, this should be where you can find it.
The above selection is from the linked site, which also includes embedded links for more information regarding the log files. Note that serial.log is specifically referenced to collect data between OctoPrint and your printer, although it defaults to disabled on install.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: In `cmdqueue.h` the `CMDBUFFER_DEBUG` macro is defined ([see here](https://github.com/prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware/blob/MK3/Firmware/cmdqueue.h#L47)) which will log lots of information related to the commands being processed. Probably more information than you need...
To log only the commands as they are processed (i.e. when the printer moves and extrudes etc.) you need [this line from marlin\_main.cpp](https://github.com/prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware/blob/MK3/Firmware/Marlin_main.cpp#L3696): `SERIAL_ECHO(cmdbuffer+bufindr+CMDHDRSIZE);`.
You can copy this outside of the `#ifdef CMDBUFFER_DEBUG` condition and compile the firmware then when you connect to the serial port each G-code line the printer processes will be logged.
Upvotes: 1 [selected_answer] |
2020/12/12 | 392 | 1,341 | <issue_start>username_0: So I'm making my friend a Monado sword replica and I've printed the handle in 2 pieces as to fill it with electronics and then superglue the 2 halves together.
I seem to have put too much on and it's leaked out and spread as shown in the picture..
Does anyone know how to get the dried glue off?
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/h0LGa.jpg)
Thanks,
(PS. The glue is called "NO NONSENSE SUPERGLUE")<issue_comment>username_1: I've used Acetone before. However that said I've not had the need to remove it from PLA. Not sure how PLA reacts to Acetone.
A link that may be of use.
<https://www.art-us.com/how-to-get-super-glue-off-almost-anything/>
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: In agreement with what username_1 said, pretty much all "super" glue is CA (cyanoacrylate) glue, which is soluble in acetone. PLA itself is does not dissolve in or react with acetone, but the pigments, additives, etc. likely do, so you should wipe with a paper towel or cloth (the latter might be better to avoid getting fibers stuck on the glue) soaked in acetone rather than pouring it over the piece or submerging it, to limit the effects. Also, test first on a scrap piece printed with the same filament to ensure the results aren't unacceptably bad.
Upvotes: 2 |
2020/12/12 | 931 | 3,503 | <issue_start>username_0: I have a problem most likely very similar to some reported by other users: extruder stepper is visually skipping a step from time to time. It rapidly rotates in the direction opposite to the one it is supposed to rotate.
I noticed the following:
* The extruder stepper jumps totally randomly - there is nothing specific in the pattern printed, position etc.
* Stepper jumps more often on the infill, rarely on the walls.
Details about print:
* PLA (Devil Design - various colors, they doesn't matter)
* Filament guide installed on top, but not yet before the extruder (it is printing right now, I'm waiting for the ball bearings too)
* Filament mounted on the top - in the place defined by Creality
* Extruder is already replaced with the aluminium one
* The mainboard is SKR E3 mini V2 (replaced recently)
* 95% flow set in Cura
* Printing on glass, leveled bed (the jumping occurs on all layers, not only first)
* 215 °C hotend temperature, 60 °C bed temperature
* Stepper motor current settings (from Marlin menu): 580 for X, Y & Z, 650 for E1
Other observations:
* What's interesting is that extruder motor jumps even if I manually unwind some filament, so that the only force that it has to overcome is only pushing filament into the head.
* I did a quick DIY wooden spool holder, so that the filament was fed almost horizontally. This actually seemed to make things worse - stepper jumped more often. I moved spool to the top again and it reduced jumping a little.
* Prints are done beatifully (after changing the motherboard, that is) - no lost lines or layers, walls connected with infill, perfect first layer etc.
What may be the cause of stepper motor jumping? How can I solve it? Does it pose a threat to the motor or stepper? I need to print filament guide and spool holder with ball bearings, so that I can minimize force required by the extruder motor, but then the stepper will probably jump during the prints. I already damaged the original mainboard because of stuck filament, I don't want to destroy another one.
---
This is how regular extruder retraction looks:
(10 seconds)
This is how stepper skipping looks:
(13 seconds)
---
Today I replaced the whole heat block (radiator, heater, thermistor and nozzle) to a new one (original, for now) and motor stopped skipping - at least on the calibration cube. I will see, how will it perform on more complex prints.
However, even having the prior one in hands, I couldn't find the reason, why motor was skipping - other than the fact, that I couldn't extract the bowden tube from the radiator (so maybe some filament indeed was dripping inside?)<issue_comment>username_1: I've used Acetone before. However that said I've not had the need to remove it from PLA. Not sure how PLA reacts to Acetone.
A link that may be of use.
<https://www.art-us.com/how-to-get-super-glue-off-almost-anything/>
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: In agreement with what username_1 said, pretty much all "super" glue is CA (cyanoacrylate) glue, which is soluble in acetone. PLA itself is does not dissolve in or react with acetone, but the pigments, additives, etc. likely do, so you should wipe with a paper towel or cloth (the latter might be better to avoid getting fibers stuck on the glue) soaked in acetone rather than pouring it over the piece or submerging it, to limit the effects. Also, test first on a scrap piece printed with the same filament to ensure the results aren't unacceptably bad.
Upvotes: 2 |
2020/12/13 | 1,841 | 7,279 | <issue_start>username_0: I am new to 3D printing and just purchased an Ender 3 V2 about two weeks ago. Since I've got it, I've been having trouble leveling the bed. I've tried watching videos, but they don't say how much friction on the paper is good or bad. I have even tried foil, playing cards, and a business card but still can't tell if it's good enough or not. Then when I would try printing calibration squares and adjust as it prints, but when it prints all looks good when printing the outside ring, but when it gets to the square parts there are bumps on the print from the nozzle being too close. Also when I seem to have corner perfect, when it gets to the center it's too close to the nozzle and doesn't even print. I'm using the stock glass bed so I'm not sure if that could be the issue. This is getting frustrating as I really want to start printing. And I want to save money for other parts and try avoiding purchasing a BL Touch if I don't need to. Am I doing something wrong? How can I get this resolved?
Forgot to mention, I upgraded the springs to these yellow ones on Amazon.<issue_comment>username_1: Don't worry too much about it. If you print with a first layer height of 0.3mm, bed levelling only needs to be approximate. If that doesn't work, and you cannot get good bed adhesion, try printing onto blue painter's tape (ScotchBlue). This makes a very forgiving build surface. You will need to clean it well with isopropyl alcohol (or acetone), since it is coated with a wax-based release agent that may prevent the filament from sticking. Once you have got used to printing, you can then refine your bed-levelling techniques.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: First, make sure the slate of glass is straight, this can be checked with e.g. a metal ruler on its side against the glass surface. If the glass isn't straight (which should be per the production process of glass, but there have been reported bad glass beds) you never get a perfect level over the whole bed. Also make sure the glass sits on a clean heated bed plate (no debris between the heater and the glass).
Second, level the bed, start with powering the printer. You need to sequentially do the following as adjusting the one corner (screw), affects the other corners (continue this until the bed is level and the one corner doesn't affect the other corners anymore):
* Home the machine,
* heat up the bed and nozzle to e.g. PLA printing temperatures,
* move the nozzle close to a corner (a different one than the previous corner),
* put a piece of plain printing paper on the bed,
* lower the nozzle to Z=0,
* adjust the screw in that corner until the piece of paper can be dragged under the nozzle with a slight resistance,
* repeat by starting with homing the printer.
After several rounds of leveling and having a level/straight bed to begin with, you should have a leveled bed that has been leveled against the printers' X-axis.
Now, when printing something it should be level, the only thing that might not be correct is the distance between the nozzle and the bed. E.g. some users prefer a larger distance between bed and nozzle when printing PETG [(not my personal experience, but a generally accepted truth)](/a/11177/). This distance can be tuned without having to re-level your bed; you could if you want to use a thicker or thinner paper, but you can easily change the Z=0 by [redefining the Z=0 level](/a/4746/) at e.g. 0.10 mm height if the nozzle to close. Some slicers even allow you to add an offset (e.g. the ["Z Offset Setting" plugin in Ultimaker Cura](/a/5939/) from developer "FieldOfView").
When you have dialed in the distance also correctly, you should get perfect prints.
Do note that a common issue with these over-constraint "cantilever" printer designs is that by powering a single side, the opposite needs to follow exactly, that is a challenge with that many parts. My preference is using dual lead screws, preferably driven by a timing belt for Prusa type printers.
Addressing the BLTouch part in your question; before you wander in the world of automatic bed leveling (AB) you should first master getting a level bed, or fix the X-axis rollers on Z beams. For ABL you also need to level your bed first else you get non-square prints. The roller solution is one of the major drawbacks of these printers, you need to make sure the X-axis (aluminum extrusion bar) stays level (or better trammed) in relation to the bed level, loose rollers should be properly tensioned.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: If you find the bed on an Ender 3 doesn't seem to "take" a level - in other words, if you keep trying to level it and things seem right, but then it's obviously wrong when you actually start printing, and checking the leveling doesn't seem to match what you set before - the problem is most likely in the Z axis mechanics. The Z assembly (including the X axis gantry) is highly *overconstrained*, between the 6 wheels, the lead screw nut, and the 4 screws attaching the gantry to the Z carriages. When it's not functioning properly, whether from fighting constraints, overtightening, undertightening, etc. you can end up with really bad reproducability\* of position in the Z axis, so that homing and moving to a particular Z coordinate gives different results each time you repeat, due to which components bind and which ones give.
If this is your problem, I don't have a good system for solving it. I've fought with it on and off over 2 years of owning one of these machines. At least you should check that the 2 screws holding the left side of the gantry to the Z carriage are very tight (note: they're hidden and inaccessible without taking off the top bar and raising the assembly off the Z extrusions) and that the gantry is mounted level to the carriage bracket, since any play here will ruin everything. One easy thing you can try to confirm whether you have leveling reproducability problems from Z axis problems is disconnecting the right side carriage entirely and tying it off at the top so it doesn't interfere; you can do this without disassembling anything else. This lets you operate the Ender 3 "as an Ender 2", i.e. with a cantilever setup. It's less rigid and probably not a good choice overall, but if it solves your problem then your problem is almost surely something in the overconstrained Z system and now you know where to look.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: Step 1: stop using paper and get some feeler gauges. The gauge should be able to just barely pass under the HEATED nozzle.
Step 2: What are you using for bed adhesion? I use Elmer's white glue. After you think you've trammed (aka levelled) the bed, apply a generous layer of the glue in a coat on the bed. Let it dry.
Step 3: Verify bed level with a large square print that will cause the head to move to the outermost parts of the bed. Stop the print after a few outlines. Try to remove the print. If some areas are easier to remove than others, apply another coat of Elmer's glue to those areas.
Note: Do not hold down all four (4) corners of the glass bed. The aluminium plate is not going to be flatter than the glass. Only attach the glass to the bed on one side of the bed. I use the side that is furthest from the nozzle.
Upvotes: 2 |
2020/12/16 | 562 | 2,182 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm trying to print [a gear for a robovac deal](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4461654).
The issue I'm having is with gaps between the walls of the top part of the gear. It needs to have the corners filled to provide stability or else the tabs easily snap. I've tried adjusting the nozzle size, line width, filter gaps and print thin walls but seems to slice with variations on the same issue. Is this a Cura issue? Is there anyway to slice and print this to fill those gaps?
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/0g7zy.png)<issue_comment>username_1: The problem isn't Cura, rather its the precision of the 3D model. If parts of the model is smaller than the line width the model cannot be printed. A solution to this would be to increase the thickness of the cylinder, decrease the size of the square or reduce the line width to allow that region to be properly fabricated, another solution would be to decrease the line width (line width option) however, keep in mind that you should not reduce the line width beyond the nozzle hole size (nozzle hole > line width). As mentioned before, if the model requires sections that are smaller than the line width, Cura will ignore it. From the image you provided it would seem that the corners are extremely close to the wall of the cylinder which prevents Cura from making a extrusion path, the reason of which I explained above.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: You can fix it by changing **Experimental** > **Slicing Tolerance** > **Exclusive**
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/htVjk.jpg "Cura screenshot of a model with the Slicing tolerance set to Middle")
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/JGAoE.jpg "Cura screenshot of a model with the Slicing tolerance set to Exclusive")
Upvotes: 1 |
2020/12/17 | 922 | 3,324 | <issue_start>username_0: Before I start, I'll give you my setup:
* Ender 3 Pro
* Marlin 2.0.7.2
* Material/Nozzle: PETG 0.4 mm @ 215 °C
* Bed: Glass @ 80 °C
* Default printing speed: 70 mm/s
* Standard part cooling fan
Since I've updated the Marlin FW on from factory default to 2.0.7.2, my printer stops printing and gives out an thermal runaway exception message. Note that, after the firmware flash, I performed a PID-Tune multiple times.
The problem is absolutely repeatable and happens always on beginning of layer 2 (more precisely: 40 seconds after beginning layer 2). Changing PID values doesn't change anything to the moment of the error occurring.
I managed to run it longer by repeatedly dropping the temperature set-point and making a photo of the temperature plot. First photo is right after the initial drop from 215 to 205 °C. Second is when the temperature started rising slowly again.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/b67wW.jpg "Right after the initial drop from 215 to 205 °C")
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/BNF1j.jpg "Temperature starting to rise slowly")
After this temperature drop, the hotend temperature seemed to be much less stable and reached only 205 °C.
At Layer 12, the same thing happened again. But dropping the temperature far too low for PETG and having the "same" issue again, making me stop the print.
This problem is pretty urgent and I haven't found any suitable solution by now. Do you have any ideas of what may cause this trouble? New heaters and thermistors are on their way right now. But I fear that this is not a hardware problem since none of the components are damaged and dysfunctional, nor the moment of failure is random.<issue_comment>username_1: It turned out, it was a faulty heater, that wasn't able to reach and maintain temperatures over 195 °C in a stable manner. The order came, had a new 50 W heater, thermistor and a PTFE-Bowden tube. It works just fine again, now!
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I find my Ender 3 Max has "phases" where each and every print will end in a thermal error, always at layer 2. During these phases, I disable retraction to keep the flow of filament constant through the hot end and into the nozzle. While my prints are a little messier than I would like, more often than not they actually finish.
Another thing that helps is to lower the initial bed temperature as much as possible, or even have it at room temperature (Max has a carborundum glass bed with blue tape over the top) and raise it as the hotend moves away from the bed. I feel that layer 2 is the "transition layer" where the hotend is no longer using the heat from the bed to maintain its temperature, so the controller lets it have a big burst of energy to compensate for any temperature variations and more often than not gives it too much, resulting in our beloved E1 error.
I may be wrong, but I would love to try a thermal camera to see if it's true!
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Wrap all the heat system (above nozzle) with heat tape. I solved my problem with this!
Upvotes: 0 |
2020/12/20 | 441 | 1,650 | <issue_start>username_0: While printing a [paint rack from thingiverse](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3932302) I keep getting jams. Other prints (shorter) work fine. Can anyone give me a clue?
Here's a [video of the printer](https://photos.app.goo.gl/PQuJwqNdYWSMTiwm6)
I thought it was heat creep so I increased the speed and decreased the hot end temperature. It generally prints for several hours then jams.<issue_comment>username_1: When I started printing ABS with my Prusa i3 MK3 MMU2+ printer, I started experiencing jams on some longer prints, which was heat creap, possibly combined with old filament.
I improved the cooling by filling the gap between the sides of the heat sink and the plastic extruder body. I think I stuffed it with some soft foam rubber, but anything that can handle the (what should be fairly cool) temperature should work.
My hypothesis is that with gap allowed too much of the air to pass without engaging the heat sink, compromising the cooling.
With that change, I haven't had heat-creap jams.
You aren't printing ABS, but the temperature is high, and PLA softens as a low temperature. IMO, it would still be worth making the change.
It is the gap on the front and rear sides that I blocked. The heatsink fins are fully open for air flow.
Some people here have changed out the Noctua fan for one that is noisier and pushes more air, which should also work. I appreciate the quiet fan, so I tried to get more work out of the fan I had.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: The maker geeks formulation of PLA requires much hotter temperatures. The plastic was not melted enough for good flow.
Upvotes: 0 |
2020/12/21 | 630 | 2,504 | <issue_start>username_0: Odd question for everyone, hope it has a distinct answer. I'm often printing bone models derived from CT scans (I work in a hospital) and they often have something on the order of 5 million faces +/-. Now, I know from experience that I can decimate them down to 10-20 % of the original faces and they still pretty much look the same, so I often do that to help my computer run faster. I also know that "GrabCad" (the software for my j750) can handle these face counts and the limiting factor is more so the actual physical print resolution. But it got me curious:
Lets say I was using other software. Lets say more universally available software such as PrusaSlicer or Cura. Now obviously if I'm printing on a Prusa I probably don't need to worry about capturing all the detail from 5 million faces because I doubt I can print that intricately, but lets take the actual printing out of it (and I guess even before it gets to the G-code stage).
Can Cura/PrusaSlicer handle that many faces? Is there a limit? Do files get "dumbed down" at all when they come in? What I'm trying to ask exactly is outside of the G-code and actual printing step, can the software side of things handle something with 10 million faces? 20 million? Is there a limit?<issue_comment>username_1: When I started printing ABS with my Prusa i3 MK3 MMU2+ printer, I started experiencing jams on some longer prints, which was heat creap, possibly combined with old filament.
I improved the cooling by filling the gap between the sides of the heat sink and the plastic extruder body. I think I stuffed it with some soft foam rubber, but anything that can handle the (what should be fairly cool) temperature should work.
My hypothesis is that with gap allowed too much of the air to pass without engaging the heat sink, compromising the cooling.
With that change, I haven't had heat-creap jams.
You aren't printing ABS, but the temperature is high, and PLA softens as a low temperature. IMO, it would still be worth making the change.
It is the gap on the front and rear sides that I blocked. The heatsink fins are fully open for air flow.
Some people here have changed out the Noctua fan for one that is noisier and pushes more air, which should also work. I appreciate the quiet fan, so I tried to get more work out of the fan I had.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: The maker geeks formulation of PLA requires much hotter temperatures. The plastic was not melted enough for good flow.
Upvotes: 0 |
2020/12/21 | 1,440 | 5,317 | <issue_start>username_0: I recently upgraded my Creality Ender 5 with an SKR Mini E3 V2.0 running Marlin 2.0.7.2. The printer has also been modified with an all-metal hotend and a direct drive conversion kit that uses the extruder stepper motor. In test prints of the XYZ calibration cube, I have found that the edges of the cube are rounded over. After some research, it appears this is due to either the acceleration/jerk settings or the junction deviation settings.
The issue now comes in that no matter what setting I change, the prints do not change. Currently in the Marlin firmware, I found that the Classic Jerk is disabled in Configuration.h line ~786. The default JUNCTION\_DEVIATION\_MM is 0.013. Since Classic Jerk is disabled, Junction Deviation shows up in the menu under Menu --> Configuration --> Advanced Settings. I printed 4 cubes for 4 different Junction Deviation settings: 0.013, 0.075, 0.130, 0.300. All cubes have the same characteristic over-corrected corner with no visible changes (Picture below)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/eue3y.jpg)
My questions are:
* Why aren't the prints being affected by changing the Junction Deviation setting via the menu? The Junction Deviation setting is stored in memory using Menu --> Configuration --> Store Settings and I have confirmed the values remain in memory after cycling the printer.
* If Classic Jerk is disabled in Marlin firmware, would an M205 X[Jerk] Y[Jerk] Z[Jerk] command before a print enable Classic Jerk for that print?
* What happens if an M205 command is sent that sets XYZ as well as J? (e.g. M205 X[Jerk] Y[Jerk] Z[Jerk] J[Dev]). Would it ignore Classic Jerk values if Classic Jerk is disabled in firmware?
I have read through the following posts already
* [Setting Junction Deviation in firmware has no effect](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11261/setting-junction-deviation-in-firmware-has-no-effect)
* <https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,739819>
* <https://blog.kyneticcnc.com/2018/10/computing-junction-deviation-for-marlin.html>
* <https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/dx8bd/here_is_why_you_should_disable_junction_deviation/>
My next steps:
* Re-enable Classic Jerk in Marlin and see if the print behavior changes
* Other?<issue_comment>username_1: Contrary to what's implied by its name, *junction deviation* does not produce rounded corners. It merely allows violations of the acceleration profile at corners that would be allowed *if the corner were rounded* by the deviation. So you should not expect changes to it to create or eliminate unwanted "rounded corners".
However I don't think what you're seeing are rounded corners. They're *bulging* corners, likely produced as a consequence of the toolhead moving slower just before and after the corner in order to honor the acceleration profile. My guess is that your acceleration limits in Marlin 2.0 (500 mm/s² if I recall correctly) are a lot lower than on the original Creality firmware.
You can and probably should increase the acceleration limits. The machine should handle 1000 mm/s² easily and up to 3000 mm/s² or even higher with some ringing; I use lower acceleration for the outer walls and let it run wild for inner walls and infill. But the real solution to your bulging corners problem is to enable and calibrate [Linear Advance](https://marlinfw.org/docs/features/lin_advance.html) to get a consistent extrusion rate with varing speed. For my Ender 3, the right constant is around 0.5-0.6 s (yes the units are seconds - it's mm/(mm/s)) for PLA. You can use the [calibration pattern generator](http://marlinfw.org/tools/lin_advance/k-factor.html) to run the calibration yourself, but I would expect the same results.
This will significantly impact your print speed, since Marlin applies E-axis speed, acceleration, and jerk limits to the advance offsets. You can get a lot of it back though by increasing those limits though; the defaults are a whole lot lower than what the machine can handle. 200 mm/s speed limit and 10000-15000 mm/s² acceleration limit (vs 25 and 5000 defaults in Marlin, respectively) are within reason.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: When a junction deviation is set too low it will mess up every other thing you have been trying to do to perfect your extrusion.
It messes up
* retraction,
* linear advance,
* s-curve,
* the entire print.
I had been messing around with my jerk and acceleration values, my retraction values, and my linear advance values, and no matter what I did, nothing fixed the actual issues. I even gave up on Bowden and tomorrow a Hemera direct drive will be delivered.
Now I found this setting in my printer menu, changed the value from 0.017 to 0.2 and those bulging corners are now gone (in fact I had to up my linear advance a bit because it was actually rounding off the corners making them too thin).
The stringing is gone now as well (low jerk on retraction and you might as well not retract at all).
Seriously, unless you are using a CNC or CoreXY, I don't see why you would even use junction deviation.
As to why nothing is changing for you, this is because other settings are bad as well. So it's still slowing down too much in the corners while material is still oozing out.
Upvotes: 1 |
2020/12/22 | 649 | 2,296 | <issue_start>username_0: I am planning to upgrade my printer with a second extruder. Since my printer is a Tronxy X8 it's frame is not exactly vibration resistant, so I'd like to keep the print head weight down. At the same time I really don't want a Bowden setup.
I came up with the idea of making a dual extruder driven only by a single stepper with a gear shift setup that switches the stepper between the two extruders.
The idea seems simple, but googleing didn't turn up anything else.
Is there anything I am missing that would would make such a setup unfeasible?
Did anyone else build something like that?
A clarification, because it came up in an answer:
What I imagine is this:
One stepper motor is connected to a gear shift system that is either connected to Extruder A or Extruder B, depending on the gear. When shifting it just connects the stepper motor to the other extruder. So it is still similar to a regular direct driven dual extruder system, except that it only uses a single stepper to drive two extruders, each connected to it's own hotend.<issue_comment>username_1: You'll need a custom firmware.
Yur custom firmware will have to react to the "Change extruder" command differently than a normal firmware: instead of just swapping to a different extruder, you'll need to perform some operations to alter the gearing (possibly a solenoid?), and possibly include some kind of "break" to make sure that the filament is not slipping back without the extruder attached. However, there already is a setup that pretty much does this: the Prusa MMU2 uses something similar. The MMU does use a Bowden setup, but you could use Bowden and direct drive in combination, especially if both motors run in sync.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: That is perfectly viable these days in Marlin firmware, there are options for setting this up using the configuration file, e.g.:
```
// :[0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
#define EXTRUDERS 1
...
...
...
// A dual extruder that uses a single stepper motor
//#define SWITCHING_EXTRUDER
#if ENABLED(SWITCHING_EXTRUDER)
#define SWITCHING_EXTRUDER_SERVO_NR 0
#define SWITCHING_EXTRUDER_SERVO_ANGLES { 0, 90 } // Angles for E0, E1[, E2, E3]
#if EXTRUDERS > 3
#define SWITCHING_EXTRUDER_E23_SERVO_NR 1
#endif
#endif
```
Upvotes: 1 |
2020/12/23 | 440 | 1,423 | <issue_start>username_0: High temperature PTFE tape is rated up to 550°F, which is 288°C. I'm wondering if it would be useful for components on the hot end to prevent oozing. Has anyone tried it?<issue_comment>username_1: You'll need a custom firmware.
Yur custom firmware will have to react to the "Change extruder" command differently than a normal firmware: instead of just swapping to a different extruder, you'll need to perform some operations to alter the gearing (possibly a solenoid?), and possibly include some kind of "break" to make sure that the filament is not slipping back without the extruder attached. However, there already is a setup that pretty much does this: the Prusa MMU2 uses something similar. The MMU does use a Bowden setup, but you could use Bowden and direct drive in combination, especially if both motors run in sync.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: That is perfectly viable these days in Marlin firmware, there are options for setting this up using the configuration file, e.g.:
```
// :[0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
#define EXTRUDERS 1
...
...
...
// A dual extruder that uses a single stepper motor
//#define SWITCHING_EXTRUDER
#if ENABLED(SWITCHING_EXTRUDER)
#define SWITCHING_EXTRUDER_SERVO_NR 0
#define SWITCHING_EXTRUDER_SERVO_ANGLES { 0, 90 } // Angles for E0, E1[, E2, E3]
#if EXTRUDERS > 3
#define SWITCHING_EXTRUDER_E23_SERVO_NR 1
#endif
#endif
```
Upvotes: 1 |
2020/12/24 | 1,101 | 3,660 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm getting weak prints on Ender 3 Pro with Cura after Cura upgrade.
Prints on my Ender 3 Pro have been good until I was forced to update Cura due to having to update the OS on my laptop. Now my prints are weak even after using Infill 50 % from 20 %.
Upgraded to Cura 4.8.0.
I noticed that it seems my print settings were saved from the older non-working Cura version. I went ahead and printed an XYZ Cube with the same settings from my older Cura version where prints were printing fine/acceptable. It fell apart as I tried to lift it off the build plate so I printed a second XYZ Cube with 50 % infill from previous 20 % pictured below:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/2hnqO.jpg)
The above print is noticeably weak, with layers not bonding or maybe something else.
Below is an image of when an XYZ Cube printed with my older Cura version. It is not perfect but it is much stronger without visible separation and actually noticeably heavier than the grey XYZ Cube printed with Cura 4.8.0 :
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Z0Mon.jpg)
The green and the grey 1.75 mm PLA I use and shown in the photos are different brands but both printed very much the same with the older Cura version.
I'm thinking this is an issue with the new Cura 4.8.0 that I'm using as nothing about my printing has changed besides the new Cura version assuming that my original print settings were saved which it looks to me that they were.
Has anyone had a similar issue or is there a known fix for this?
---
*Posting settings pics below:*
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/wkGz5.png)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/lnXOD.png)
12/28/20 :
Went to <https://www.chepclub.com/cura-profiles.html> and noted that they mention to use the Cura 4.8.0 Built-In profiles. Below are two pics of test print while using Cura 4.8.0's Built-In Standard Profile :
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/e2Dd0.jpg)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/R0i8m.jpg)
12/29/20 :
Screenshot showing Nozzle Diameter (still using the 0.4 mm stock nozzle) & Flow @ 100 %. Please let me know if these are not the correct settings you asked me to look in :
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/cq4yH.png)<issue_comment>username_1: There are three settings you will want to check in Cura to help with this.
**Nozzle Diameter**
Check your "Nozzle Diameter" if you've moved to a larger nozzle and haven't changed it in the new Cura version then it'll be under-extruding, or the default option may just be incorrect for you, most printers (Like the stock Ender 3 Pro) use a 0.4 mm nozzle.
**Flow Rate**
Flow rate usually requires a calibration test, however you should reference your old Cura profile for this, if in doubt, 100 %.
**Filament Diameter**
This needs to be set to 1.75 mm on almost every printer, which yours is.
If you can't get it figured out with these, generate G-code With two versions of Cura side-by-side.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Total user error on my end. With the new version of this app somehow I did not catch that material selected on the UI dropdown was set to some custom material and not Generic PLA. Once I selected the proper material, all worked as expected.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer] |
2020/12/28 | 456 | 1,775 | <issue_start>username_0: I haven't ran into the issue yet, but I am sort of expecting it to here soon towards the end of my print. Actually, I am not even sure if it should be something that I should be worried about or not.
Basically I have some overhang on a helmet piece (it's a vent piece) and I see that there is a 90 % degree overhang. It doesn't look too big but just curious if this should be something that I should be worried about. I forgot to add support in the vent, it's my own fault and I'm definitely going to fix this in my next print for sure, but do you all think it will fail if I keep the current print going?
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/r3LV5.png "Screenshot showing unsupported overhanging vent")
I use Cura, Meshmaker, and I have an Ender 3 printer.
I'm just getting started with 3D printing so I wasn't sure if I should be concerned or not.<issue_comment>username_1: That depends on various parameters if an overhang will work or not, material, hotend temperature, speed, cooling, size of the overhang, etc.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Many parameters will influence success. That overhang, as flat as it is and unsupported, will need to have support-structures enabled to become printable.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: I wouldn't worry about that overhang. It should settle in a few layers. Just make sure you have a decent cooling fan on it.
Given the fact that you are making a helmet, I assume you are going to sand and apply putty to the whole thing at least 2 times and then sand in increasing grit. A little filing on that overhang will be an easy task.
Upvotes: 0 |
2020/12/28 | 992 | 3,546 | <issue_start>username_0: In OpenSCAD, I am trying to make a linear\_extrude on a shape imported from an svg. The svg file contains multiple path. I would like to scale each path separately. I have tried the following code, but the whole import is considered a single shape resulting in the image below.
```
linear_extrude(height = 5, center = true, scale=1.2)
import(file = "xxx.svg", center = true, dpi = 96);
```
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/cg1Rq.png)
How can I have each of the letters to have 'its own pyramid' ?
I know I could create one SVG per letter. But for simplicity sake I would like to have only one SVG file, as I want to create much more complex motives in the future. My final goal is to create stamps from SVG drawings.
Edit:
Alternative tried after Mick's comment (same result):
```
module pyramidChildren(height){
for ( i= [0:1:$children-1])
linear_extrude(height = height, scale=1.5)
children(i);
}
pyramidChildren(5)
import(file = "xxx.svg", center = true, dpi = 96);
```
I have tried to use the basic svg (multiple paths) and also to group each path (with only itself) without changes in the result.<issue_comment>username_1: Lame solution: creating stepped pyramid with offset. I realized that scale will not worked for motives with holes inside. Offset seems then more appropriate than scale for my application (creation of stamps)
It takes ages to render, but it could be enough for simple patterns. Any better solution are still welcome...
```
module buildPyramidalExtrude(height,maxOffset,nSlices){
heightIncrement = height/nSlices;
offsetIncrement = maxOffset/(nSlices-1);
for(i=[1:nSlices])
linear_extrude(height=i*heightIncrement)
offset(r = maxOffset-(i-1)*offsetIncrement)
children();
}
buildPyramidalExtrude(4,2.5,20)
import(file = "Farm/cow.svg", center = true);
```
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/pGUnC.png)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: What you seem to want is not per-path scale but offset. This is an [open PR in OpenSCAD](https://github.com/openscad/openscad/pull/2079) and hopefully will be upstream soon.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: One option is to use `minkowski()` to combine the svg with a cone. On the positive side, it gives a rather nice result, but the downsides are:
* it's pretty slow
* it fattens the bottom rather than shrinking the top, so depending on your needs you may have to invert the image, run `minkowski`, then invert again.
Another option is to convert to grayscale **png and apply a blur** with an external tool, then to import using `surface()` (the gray blur will become a nice slope). That will both fatten the bottom and shrink the top, but keeping only the top half should give the desired result.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: Late to the question, but I'm working on a similar project as the question presents. My solution is to open the SVG file in Inkscape (version < 1.x) and use the [Path to OpenSCAD](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:25036) extension to create a set of points for each entity.
The extension generates paths based on the desired extrusion height and places each set of points in its own module. In so doing, one can scale each individual entity and manipulate each one as desired.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/CoOQa.png)
Image from linked site.
Upvotes: 1 |
2020/12/28 | 2,160 | 7,756 | <issue_start>username_0: I am very new in the 3D printing scene.
After a lot of searching for my specific problem (and didn't find any answers, of course) I decided to reach out.
I bought a Creality Ender 3 Pro in November and after a few days of lovely prints
I decided to upgrade the printer with a glass bed and "Aluminum Dual Gear Pulley Dual Drive Extruder Kit".
The Problem, as you might expected already, is with the installation of the dual gear extruder. I have watched a dozen of YouTube videos, and all of them have something I don't – a screw in the stock gold gear on the extruder motor.
How can I install the Aluminum Dual Gear Pulley Dual Drive Extruder Kit if I take the gear out? Should I try remove it with force?
Please if someone has come across the same situation, that there isn’t a screw In the stock gear on the extruder motor and mange to take it out, please tell me.
I'm adding a picture so you understand what I mean.
<issue_comment>username_1: If you cant see any grub-screw on the extruder gear, it's likely that it has been permanently press-fit onto the motor shaft. It is possible to remove the gear if you have something like a Dremel to cut it off, however, do note that it would be a permanent modification, and that your warranty (if you had any) would be void. If you do go this route, be careful not to Dremel into the shaft of the motor, as this would likely cause the new gear to not fit properly.
If this is a new printer, I would recommend assembling it with the stock extruder assembly first, and ordering a secondary extruder motor without the gear press-fit onto its shaft. Then you could swap them out and not need to worry about damaging the existing motor.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: This brass extruder gear is either press fitted (see [other answer](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/15132)) or hot crimped onto the shaft. Brass has about twice the thermal expansion rate as stainless steel, so you could heat the gear while cooling the shaft (e.g. stepper upside down with the shaft in water, heating the gear with a small torch lighter, a makeshift aluminium foil shield could be used to protect the stepper base) to get the gear off.
Grinding it off would be easier (or even more easy is to buy a new stepper motor) as when you get the gear off, the shaft is round, so you need to grind a flat spot on the shaft anyway to make sure the dual extruder gear can be screwed on tightly.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: This is an older Ender 3 Pro, they at one point came with these press-fit gears, these are not intended to be removed which is a poor design decision. I would recommend buying a new motor than going through the hassle of removing it.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Heating it proved futile in my case (I didn't have a blowtorch either), I was able to get the gear off by using a Dremel, I also flattened a small side for the screw.
However, to my extreme frustration, I found out that the actual height of the shaft is not long enough to reach the dual extruder's filament hole and thus had to order another motor.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I had exactly the same problem with an Ender 3 Pro I bought a couple of weeks ago (Mar 2021) and I was able to remove the gear easily with a small gear/bearing puller... take a look at Amazon and you will find plenty of selection.
The 3-arm puller works better as it's much more stable when pulling the gear (this is the one I have). Both work in the same way; the arms/jaws attache to the bottom of the gear and the tip of the top screw pushes the motor shaft down.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/cP87H.png)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8TD3R.png)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: I had the same problem with the pressed on gear. With WD40 and a center punch the gear came off alright.
The next problem was the shaft that is to short and perfectly round. With a small grinder (Dremel) I created a flat spot. I carefully tapped the shaft from the bottom of the motor until it was sticking out enough on the top side. Now it works perfectly with my dual extruder.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: Same problem here. I removed it by force using a pliers and a hammer, then drill a spot on the shaft using ikea drill. Everything works fine so far.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_8: I had the same problem. Bought my Ender 3 Pro in July 2021, so not sure if the new or old versions have this problem. I solved the problem slightly differently.
I could not pull out the gear it was too tight, so I put the pliers on top of the gear and then hammered the gear *down*, not up. Then on top of it I have put the gear that came with the dual drive on top of the old gear and screwed it according to nozzle position. After e-step calibration, to my surprise the whole thing worked and printing fine.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_9: I accomplished this by using a pair of open-end wrenches and some heat.
1. Heat the brass gear end with a butane torch or a MAP gas torch
2. Clamp the stepper motor into a vice
3. Position two open-end wrenches such that you can use the open-end part of one open-end wrench underneath the brass gear while the second wrench is positioned perpendicular to the first one, underneath it (photos in below article will help visualize)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/qK4U5.jpg "Using a couple of wrenches to pop the brass gear off of the motor")
4. ***Gently*** tap on the end of the first wrench, to release the brass gear
5. Install the new gear, but you will need to grind a small flat on the shaft of the stepper motor so that the set screw has a landing.
The idea is basically making a lever out of one wrench, and using impact force to release the gear.
See this article for visuals: [Micro Swiss Direct Drive Installation for Creality Ender 3 Pro with a Press-Fit Extruder Gear](http://leftbraintinkering.blogspot.com/2022/01/micro-swiss-direct-drive-installation.html)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: I picked up a used Ender 3 Pro, which needed a *lot* of work. I discovered the same annoyance, the extruder "gear" was press-fitted, and the shaft was too short for the manual add-on wheel. I had a look-alike motor (with the same connector) in my parts bin, so after some effort1, I removed the gear and installed it on the new motor.
Once in place, I have plenty of shaft to mount the handwheel. One additional comment, the connector was the same, but the wiring was not. I had to ohm-out the windings and move a couple pins in the female connector. Runs great now, and all is wheel (pun?).
BTW, I saw someone above using a pair of wrenches to remove the gear. If I understand what they're doing, it's likely to damage the bearings of the motor. Always best to support the shaft and never use the bearings as something to press against. My 2c.
---
1 I mimicked the effect of a gear puller. Using a small arbor press I supported the gear with a cross bridge made of two short pieces of 1" dia. dowel (as the pillars on each side) and a pair of 1/4 inch square steel rods to span the distance under the gear. one on each side of the motor shaft. The motor is now dangling in free air, supported by the gear. I then pressed down on the end of the motor shaft, eventually the motor broke free and dropped, leaving the gear on top of the rods
Upvotes: 1 |
2020/12/29 | 1,073 | 4,271 | <issue_start>username_0: I assume SLA printing only works on Earth and upright.
But would fused-filament printer (e.g. Prusa Mk3) work in zero gravity? What about upside down or sideways? If not, could it be modified to work in other orientations? Have there been any demonstrations of it?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes!
3D Printing upside would only potentially have an issue with the first layer if you're using an extremely large gap on the first layer, however in normal circumstances there's enough pressure that the filament is squished into the bed, if you've got one yourself you can put it on it's side, the question when it comes to 3D Printing *isn't* upside down, but not the correct way, as it's presuming that gravity pushing down is the important thing, while in every other orientation it also works.
In theory SLA printing would work just fine, as long as you're able to seal the build plate and vat together so no resin leaks out.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: username_1's answer is absolutely correct, *provided the printer doesn't have gratuitous dependencies on gravity*. For example, a lot of high-end CoreXY designs I've seen, with 3 Z motors for automatic true leveling, rely on gravity to move/hold the bed in the -Z direction and only drive the +Z direction. This is often done for the purpose of decoupling from error in lead screws/ball screws, as in the [HevORT ZR V2](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4387638). Such machines can't print in alternate orientations or zero/low gravity. However, they can be adapted to drive the Z in both directions.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Lulzbot used to do this at trade shows -- printers on their side, printing all day long.
So long as it sticks to the bed, and sticks to the subsequent layers of the part, it works.
The determining factor is gravity -- if the part being printed has overhangs or unsupported areas, the extruded material would fall back at the extruder, instead of down onto the part. You may get around this with dual extrusion supports, but if there's any layer separation, it would probably fail quickly, lol.
Zero gravity? Easier than upside down with gravity, I'd think!
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: SLA printing wouldn't just work on earth, it just needs some sort of gravitational pull just to keep the liquid down. On the other hand, "normal" 3D printing in theory could print upside down, sideways or in 0 gravity because the process that takes to print is it squishes melted filament down onto other filament that has been melted and cooled or the print bed, the only constraint with doing that is making sure that making sure that the print doesn't slip or fall
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: I think it's safe to say that there's at least one model of 3D printer that works in microgravity -- since [one was sent to the International Space Station a few months ago](https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/3d-printing-in-space-long-duration-spaceflight-applications). I presume the one there is an FDM type, as those need not be dependent on gravity; my Ender 3, for instance, has positive drive both ways on all three axes, so as long as the filament source is kept captive, the printer ought to work the same as it would on Earth.
Beyond that, there is the Quinly setup, in which a common FDM printer like the Ender 3 is set up at about a 45 degree angle, using a polymer coated glass bed, to allow network printing part after part (the printer pushes the parts off the cooled bed with the X gantry and hot end housing before preheating for the next print). Similar methods are used to print at a significant angle on a flat build surface for conveyor bed printers that can both print very long parts, and print sequences of parts one after the other (the belt carries the parts to the turn-around, then the flex pops them off).
The operation of common FDM printers depends on mechanical grip of the filament, screw or toothed belt drive of the axes, and adhesion of the first layer to the build surface and of subsequent layers to those already laid down --- this ought to work even upside down, against gravity, at least until the weight of the part starts to compete with its adhesion strength.
Upvotes: 2 |
2020/12/30 | 435 | 1,650 | <issue_start>username_0: I have a Monoprice Maker Select Plus (Wanhao Duplicator i3 clone) and I'm having issued with the top layer of my prints. The bottom surface and the sides always come out perfect but my top layer is left with gaps in it. I have tried adjusting the print temperature, flow rate, print speed and layer height all with no success. I use Cura for my slicing software. If anyone knows how to help it'd be much appreciated
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/MZFpf.jpg "Closeup of failed print")
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/45rzs.jpg "Failed print")<issue_comment>username_1: This is probably caused by too few top layers in combination with a too low infill percentage. Increase skin layers and increase infill percentage.
If you have multiple layers already (at least about 4 for 0.2 mm layer height, for smaller layer heights even more), you might be printing at a too high temperature and or too few part cooling percentage and a too low infill percentage.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: To combat the bad top layers, I usually use usually 5 top layers for any model of layer height 0.1 to 0.3 mm. I generally don't print with less than 9 % infill for PLA, which I have found sufficient to support even complex geometry on top.
Also, I generally use a mixed setup of layers: the outermost layers I demand as concentric because this is the most beautiful setup, while the lower levels are Zig-Zag patterned, as this gives the best layer-to-wall connection.
Upvotes: 1 |
2020/12/31 | 373 | 1,541 | <issue_start>username_0: I just got a new Ender3 version two for Christmas and was very excited to use it so I put it together and used the sample filament that came with the printer and everything worked okay for a bit.
That was until I switched something in the settings, or in Cura, or something happened, because the nozzle is too far away from the bed when printing. I will use the auto home feature to level my bed with a piece of paper and once I get that pretty close I try and start my print, and it starts a few millimetres further away from the bed than when levelling it.
Any ideas to solve this?<issue_comment>username_1: This is probably caused by too few top layers in combination with a too low infill percentage. Increase skin layers and increase infill percentage.
If you have multiple layers already (at least about 4 for 0.2 mm layer height, for smaller layer heights even more), you might be printing at a too high temperature and or too few part cooling percentage and a too low infill percentage.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: To combat the bad top layers, I usually use usually 5 top layers for any model of layer height 0.1 to 0.3 mm. I generally don't print with less than 9 % infill for PLA, which I have found sufficient to support even complex geometry on top.
Also, I generally use a mixed setup of layers: the outermost layers I demand as concentric because this is the most beautiful setup, while the lower levels are Zig-Zag patterned, as this gives the best layer-to-wall connection.
Upvotes: 1 |
2020/12/31 | 379 | 1,399 | <issue_start>username_0: I am building a toolchanger CoreXY 3D printer. I am in big trouble to find mic-6 aluminium toolplate in my country. Can you suggest me an alternative to mic-6? In my country, I can find easily 5083, 6082, 7005, etc. I don't think, that theese aluminium plates are suitable as heated bed. The design of the bed is the same as the [jubilee 3D printer](https://jubilee3d.com/index.php?title=Main_Page), so it will be best to have minimum warpage.<issue_comment>username_1: This is probably caused by too few top layers in combination with a too low infill percentage. Increase skin layers and increase infill percentage.
If you have multiple layers already (at least about 4 for 0.2 mm layer height, for smaller layer heights even more), you might be printing at a too high temperature and or too few part cooling percentage and a too low infill percentage.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: To combat the bad top layers, I usually use usually 5 top layers for any model of layer height 0.1 to 0.3 mm. I generally don't print with less than 9 % infill for PLA, which I have found sufficient to support even complex geometry on top.
Also, I generally use a mixed setup of layers: the outermost layers I demand as concentric because this is the most beautiful setup, while the lower levels are Zig-Zag patterned, as this gives the best layer-to-wall connection.
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/01/01 | 146 | 578 | <issue_start>username_0: I have OctoPrint set up on a Raspberry Pi (OctoPi). I have loaded a number of G-code files to the SD card on the printer.
My question is: If I initiate a print from the SD card via OctoPrint, can I then turn off the RPi so I can use it for other things while the print continues?<issue_comment>username_1: Your printer will stop printing. So no.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Disconnecting the USB or connecting it triggers a reboot in the printer. As a result, you can not disconnect or turn off the print server running OctoPrint.
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/01/01 | 459 | 2,003 | <issue_start>username_0: I am a complete beginner so I apologise ahead for probably an obvious question. From what I understand up to now, slicer software basically takes a 3D model and turns it into instructions that say move your print head to this and this position and extrude up to this position and so forth. If that is correct then each slicing software can result in different "filament paths" in printing of the same model ultimately having the effect on the quality of print (unless the "Slicing algorithm" is some open industry accepted one and everyone uses that). But then, it would be advantageous to use other slicer software than the one supplied with the printer. On the other hand, if a slicer gives the instructions to the printer and assuming the G-code is a universal instruction kit (standard each printer understands), it needs to know, at the least, the parameters of the printer.
So the questions are:
1. Can I use any slicing software with any 3D printer and are there any things that may cause a problem (e.g. "How do I set up the slicing software for a particular printer?")
2. If not, am I stuck with the software provided by the printer manufacturer and thus, before buying a printer, one should also analyse the slicing software provided or is there some compatibility chart?
Regarding 2. I looked at both PrusaSlicer, Slic3r, Cura. None of them provide any information on the compatibility. I have access to Creality CR-10S printer but when I saw e.g. PrusaSlicer compared to the Creality, it has more options it seems. But during the installation of the Creality slicer, it forced me to choose the printer that I will be using which suggests that printers are locked to the manufacturer slicer.<issue_comment>username_1: Your printer will stop printing. So no.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Disconnecting the USB or connecting it triggers a reboot in the printer. As a result, you can not disconnect or turn off the print server running OctoPrint.
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/01/02 | 583 | 2,127 | <issue_start>username_0: I keep having a recurring problem with my ender 3 pro. The bowden tube keeps popping off here (pictured)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/hWvUQ.jpg)
I've read elsewhere online where people are having a similar problem, i.e. the ptfe tube is actually popping out, but I don't know if thats the case here. It's staying attached to the metal coupler, but that metal coupler is unscrewing during the course of the print and falling out. Any tips to fix it? New one? Some sort of loc-tite to get it to not unscrew? Any ideas?<issue_comment>username_1: If the fitting is remaining attached to the PTFE tubing, that would indicate that the threaded end of the fitting is pulling out of the drive assembly. This implies that the internal threads of the drive assembly have stripped out. This is not unusual for a plastic drive assembly.
The best solution is to replace the drive assembly. I believe I paid about US$12 for the last one I purchased and it was aluminum, not plastic. A quick search for "Ender 3 drive mechanism" returned a number of choices. One of them from [Amazon](https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/com/B07SY745CF) (14.98) is anodized aluminum and purports to be improved over the original.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/bT6mO.jpg)
A less than ideal solution would involve drilling out the stripped threads and installing an insert (sometimes called a Heli-coil™) but that could be as expensive as a replacement mechanism.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The fitting can be defective and no longer hold upon the PTFE tube anymore. In that case, you need to cut off a short piece of the tube and most likely replace the fitting.
If the metal coupler *unscrews* you can fix that by properly screwing it *tight*. If it does not stay put after applying some torque upon it, then the screw thread is broken, and the whole extruder gearing-setup needs to be replaced. An aluminium swap part costs about 10 to 15 €.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer] |
2021/01/06 | 712 | 2,882 | <issue_start>username_0: The image below I indicated where the point where the tip of my extruder returns after changing the layer height, I don't know if I am right to call this point "Start Point" ...
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/mZmgC.jpg)
The problem I am having is possible to see in the photo, because there is a slip of material and sometimes "webs" are created that compromise the quality of the print.
I tried to modify the retraction parameters, such as: speed and retraction length ...
Is there a parameter that I can modify to improve my print?
The slicer software I use is the : FlashPrint\_4.5.1 (because I have a FlashForge Dreamer NX)<issue_comment>username_1: Photo interpretation: I understand that the image on the right presents the actual error: it happens on many layers, following the red "Starting Point" line (so above it on the photo). Interesting issue. Btw. which side of the print is the bottom (zero layer)? - I believe the left side, and the right side is the top of the print.
The problem seems to apeear only in the middle of print. Top and bottom layers are usually printed slower, this could be some hint to find the reason. Also, I guess that the vertical cross section is not just a rectangle, but is wider on the top part? - then print parameters (e.g. speed) may change because of overhangs.
Could you share what type of filament do you print with? For example flexible materials will specifically react to the pressure and should not be forcefully retracted and pushed.
What type
Is there any exccessive material anywhere on the table? Like oozing or stringing? Do you see any material lost before printing the first layer? If not, the retraction is good enough or even too heavy - then try to minimize it: you may go down until you see any oozing, and then check the wall.
Could you share what range of parameters you have tried- especially the speed and retraction values? Jerk and accelleration? Do you use coasting or other pressure affecting techniques?
What is the hotend diameter? - the specs says 0.4 mm and the direct extruder. And (in comparision) what is the wall's line width for extrusion? What is the real width of this wall? (Is it properly sliced and reflected in G-Code? I advice to use G-Code viewer and inspect the details in given area.) What is the infill %, and how many wall lines do you have configured? And the layer height?
I hope this is of some help for diagnosis.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I have recently looked into "print outer walls first" in an attempt to make the seam vanish. But turning that setting on creates a webby structure on the following area for my printer.
Turning the setting off again (and reducing the outer wall speed to 30 mm/s) completely eliminated the ringing again.
Upvotes: 2 |
2021/01/06 | 640 | 2,553 | <issue_start>username_0: I was able to connect my terminal program (Putty) to my 3D Printer (Creality Ender 3 Pro) and was able to send G-code commands to my printer and it obeys.
Now suppose I sent long command like
```
G29 ; auto bed leveling
```
and it is still executing. Printer writes me
```
echo:busy: processing
```
How to interrupt it?
I tried to send `M0`, but it didn't work.<issue_comment>username_1: Photo interpretation: I understand that the image on the right presents the actual error: it happens on many layers, following the red "Starting Point" line (so above it on the photo). Interesting issue. Btw. which side of the print is the bottom (zero layer)? - I believe the left side, and the right side is the top of the print.
The problem seems to apeear only in the middle of print. Top and bottom layers are usually printed slower, this could be some hint to find the reason. Also, I guess that the vertical cross section is not just a rectangle, but is wider on the top part? - then print parameters (e.g. speed) may change because of overhangs.
Could you share what type of filament do you print with? For example flexible materials will specifically react to the pressure and should not be forcefully retracted and pushed.
What type
Is there any exccessive material anywhere on the table? Like oozing or stringing? Do you see any material lost before printing the first layer? If not, the retraction is good enough or even too heavy - then try to minimize it: you may go down until you see any oozing, and then check the wall.
Could you share what range of parameters you have tried- especially the speed and retraction values? Jerk and accelleration? Do you use coasting or other pressure affecting techniques?
What is the hotend diameter? - the specs says 0.4 mm and the direct extruder. And (in comparision) what is the wall's line width for extrusion? What is the real width of this wall? (Is it properly sliced and reflected in G-Code? I advice to use G-Code viewer and inspect the details in given area.) What is the infill %, and how many wall lines do you have configured? And the layer height?
I hope this is of some help for diagnosis.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I have recently looked into "print outer walls first" in an attempt to make the seam vanish. But turning that setting on creates a webby structure on the following area for my printer.
Turning the setting off again (and reducing the outer wall speed to 30 mm/s) completely eliminated the ringing again.
Upvotes: 2 |
2021/01/06 | 616 | 2,216 | <issue_start>username_0: I have two otherwise-identical machines (called "Lefty" and "Righty"), so I have a baseline to compare. I am running Marlin 2.0.7.2 on both machines. They are Creality CR-10 printers with BTT SKR e3 Mini v1.2 boards, with Marlin I compiled myself. Both machines are (as far as I know!) running the same exact firmware binary.
When running **the same G-code** on both printers, Lefty prints fine. But, Righty fires the plastic through -- I need to set the flow rate to 50 % (!) to be correct. I have checked the esteps, both are identical at 415, and this produces 39.5 mm of 40 mm commanded when bumped through 1 mm at a time via the extrusion menu, even on Righty. The XY movement on both machines is 100 % correct.
Volumetric extrusion is disabled in the firmware on both machines, and disabled in the slicer. Both machines are running TMC2209 drivers, set to Spread Spectrum at 650 mA for the extruder. Both machines are set to 1250 accel. The steppers are rated for 1 A, and they are not skipping steps.
The machines were working side-by-side perfectly until I killed Righty's stepper driver with static, and replaced the board. No other hardware was modified.
Why do both machines behave the same with identical G-code, until extrusion moves? Why does Righty try and extrude nearly double what it should be, only during printing, when Lefty works perfectly?<issue_comment>username_1: For both machines did you compare extruder's (E) steps/mm setting in Marlin and possibly stored in EPROM (so check from the LCD in Configuration>Advanced settings) ?
Also stepper motors ... I believe they are exactly of the same type? There are 1.8 degree and 0.9 degree stepper motors on the market - so exactly doubled flow could be related to rotation. Also the stepper driver board may be configured for mcrostepping ([e.g. full steps agains half steps](https://www.creality.com/blog-detail/10-v2-vs-cr-10-tmc2208-moto-driver-silence-print)), and this may equally influence the behavior. (I do not have CR-10, so I cannot advice in more details.)
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Annoyingly, this went away with a replacement board. I don't have a better fix.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer] |
2021/01/07 | 560 | 2,186 | <issue_start>username_0: The Y-axis belt just broke on my Ender 3 v2. I believe that it was over tensioned from the factory. When I initially assembled the printer, I noticed that the Y-axis tensioner was tightened almost all the way. The belt itself felt very stiff. The X-axis belt, which I installed upon assembly, didn't require a lot of tightening. I have ordered replacement belt material and clips to make new belts.
What is the proper tension for both the X- and Y-axis belts?<issue_comment>username_1: Generally, a timing belt is a complicated device and many things depend on its internal construction and materials (it may be damaged when bound in wrong direction, or when cut, and when overtighten of course, etc.). There is also physics and math applicable, based on [Mersenne's laws](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mersenne%27s_laws).
Some vendors provide calculators (online or as phone apps), which can calculate tension (force in Newtons or lbs) or the frequency (Hz). Therefore often the advice is to tension the belt until some (bass) sound is present - and professionals would tune belts with a sound tuner. There are also hints that belts should be possible to connect with fingers with slight or significant pressure (so not consistent). There is also visual guideline: when you slowly move the carriage with hand, the belt should remain straight. (Slowly, because belt is elastic and may behave different when moving carriage stronger and faster against friction of pulley.)
I would suggest to read [this article on 3dprintingspot.com](https://www.3dprintingspot.com/post/3d-printer-belt-tension-everything-that-you-need-to-know) for many practical suggestions.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Mine came from the factory tight enough that it doesn't sag at all, but not so tight that it feels hard or stiff or difficult to deflect a bit with gentle pressure. With the bed pushed all the way to the back, I can push the y-axis belt to the side about 1/8" with gentle pressure, and it feels like that's about as far as it's going to go even if I were to push harder. Seems to work really well without a lot of unnecessary force.
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/01/09 | 860 | 3,196 | <issue_start>username_0: I am making a DIY 3D printer based on the Prusa mini. So, I doubt whether RAMPS can control only 4 stepper motors as it has slots for 5 stepper motor slots and one will not be used in my case. If I can, in what order should I connect the drivers and also how will Marlin figure out which slot the extruder is connected? Sorry for the lack of knowledge if it is really obvious :|<issue_comment>username_1: There is no problem with using 4 motors instead of 5. The 5th slot is provided to enable use of a second extruders, but many people only have a single extruder printer and leave the 5th slot unused.
>
> how will Marlin figure out which slot the extruder is connected
>
>
>
Which stepper motor is in which slot is something you can configure in the firmware. There is no way for the firmware to "figure it out" without help.
It is quite involved to change it in the firmware, so it is best to follow the default placement. You can easily find [wiring diagrams for RAMPS](https://reprap.org/wiki/File:Rampswire14.svg) (showing the default assignment of motors to slots) on various resources such as the RepRap wiki.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: RAMPS capabilities
------------------
To be more speficic: RAMPS board (versions 1.3 - 1.6) offer possibility to connect **5 stepper motor drivers** (on the board marked X, Y, Z, E0, E1) and **6 stepper motors**, because the Z axis motor's connector is doubled (this is classic design of reprap printer). I could also see other RAMPS versions/clones (1.6+, 1.7 prototype) which have doubled connectors for X and Y axis motors - so allowing 8 motors in total.
Firmware configuration
----------------------
Marlin firmware allows to setup in *Configuration.h* the motherboard with RAMPS configuration (extruder, fan, bed, etc.) and number of extruders. Look for lines:
```
#define MOTHERBOARD BOARD_RAMPS_14_EFB
#define EXTRUDERS 1
```
Firmware behavior
-----------------
RAMPS wiring (as in diagram at username_1's response) is reflected in Marlin's file *pins\_RAMPS.h*. When `EXTRUDERS` is set to `1`, Marlin will use `E0_..._PIN` setings from this file to communicate with proper stepper driver board (and the driver will communicate with the motor).
Marlin will enable steppers only when required (for example it will not refer to E1 in the basic configuration). Even when they got idle, they will remain powered for some longer period, defined in *Configuration\_adv.h*:
```
#define DEFAULT_STEPPER_DEACTIVE_TIME 120
```
Important remarks
-----------------
Be careful installing drivers and cables. Double-check the driver board's orientation in slot of RAMPS. Solder cables properly, mount them tightly, fix to the frame, etc. Use ceramic or plastic screwdrivers for motor power regulation (I bought one which doesn't fit well, and sculpted my own from 2.85mm filament). It is important to remember to never unplug powered motors and drivers. (There is LCD menu option "Motion > Disable steppers", but I always power off the machine to do something. Also, I had non-intentional accidents of broken wires causing unreliable work of extruder, and fortunately the board survived.)
Upvotes: 2 |
2021/01/09 | 1,929 | 7,005 | <issue_start>username_0: From my understanding, the power of heater must higher than heat dissipate to ambient air so the bed can heat up. The reason why a bed heats up too slowly is due to its heat capacity compared to heater power.
As the heater is a resistive load, I think we can put higher voltage to get more heating power.
The PCB heater has two parts: copper and laminate. The reason of failure is that the copper can come off the board due to high temperatures. In this case we can control temperature with firmware. The questions are:
1. Will this method work?
2. What can go wrong or what is the risk of this method?<issue_comment>username_1: Not necessarily
===============
**Potential differential U**, aka *Voltage* of a part, is not to be ignored: a 24 V part needs only 24 V, not 36 V. A 12 V heartbeat is only safe for 12 V. There is a little tolerance for those measurements, but rule of thumb is about 10-15% of the rated voltage, so a 12 V bed should not be operated at more than 13.8 V for an extended period.
What actually facilitates heating is the **Current I** aka *Amperage* going through an item, as the formula for the Work Ph (dissipated in the shape of heat) of the electric resistance R is $P\_h=R I^2$.
As long as you stay below or at the maximum **rated Power Pr** or *Wattage* of the heating pad $P\_r=U I$, you can increase the Current up to the limit of $\frac {P\_r} U=I$. On the bench, with a regulated power supply, we can use that to get a perfect, maximum output as we want it. But the printer isn't a bench with an expensive PSU, we get only something akin to 12 V out of it, so... what to do?
DON'T route in extra Power!
---------------------------
Yea, in DC circuits we can just add batteries behind one another to get twice the Voltage and push a circuit. Or we can put them in parallel, to sum up the current. But that doesn't work just as straightforward in AC circuits (phase shift between parts has to be taken into account). And routing in an extra pair of wires providing 12 V into an already 12 V part would get us something in the order of 24 V and fry the part. You'd accomplish nothing more than turn your heated bed into a fire hazard or a hunk of scrap!
So straight routing in another 12 V on top of what is rated? **NOPE!**
Unhooking from the same PSU?
----------------------------
Some printers unhook the bed from the board's PSU, running a (differently) regulated power source. In the best case, it's set up to a Voltage/Current pair that maximizes the bed's heating. In such a setup, the whole heating power runs through a MOSFET that acts as a switch: A signal comes from the board to the MOSFET to allow current to flow. No signal on the Gate of the MOSFET leads to no current reaching the bed and no heating.
However, that is a complicated setup - yet one of the only ways how a "mains voltage bed heater" can be done with a board that runs on 5 V. You *also* will have to route the high power through a properly rated set of wires and connectors. These thicker wires will need proper strain relief as they need larger bending radii than what is installed before. In other words: **you need to know what you do!**
Finetuning the power supply to the bed!
---------------------------------------
In many printers, there's also a less invasive method to finetune the power curve of a bed. usually, there is a Potentiometer that is used to tune the output of the heating wires. Altering the potentiometer's setting with a screwdriver results in the output voltage shifting. $U=R I$ does not change when flipping to AC but U and I became wave functions instead of constants. However, R of a long wire (such as a bed) does depend only on the frequency of the signal and not on either the current nor the driving potential, we can assume R to be constant. So, we know we want to maximize I². So what can we do easily?
A 24 V heatbed has something in the order of 2 Ω and accompanied mainboard in my Ender3 is - according to the labeling - good for about 13 A on the bed output, while a typical 12 V bed runs in the order of 1.2 Ω while such boards typically are limited to 10-11 A. $U= RI$ to the resuce and... Voila: For the 11 A/1.2 Ω case we can tune the potentiometer to get just a smidge below 13.2 V - just at the 10 % point, for the 13 A/2 Ω case is *technically* safe at 26 V - and still well within the 10% rule of thumb. However, if you have a 1.2 Ω bed and your borard only allows to draw 10 A, then you are limited to 12 V.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes, this method will work. Some (LED) power supplies have a small potentiometer that you can use to slightly adjust the voltage. On a 12 V printer, adjusting the supply from 12 V to 14 V will give a 36% increase in power.
Obviously there is a limit to how much you can increase the voltage. The voltage itself is unlikely to be the limiting factor, but there is a limit to how much heat the bed can dissipate.
>
> The PCB heater have 2-part copper and laminate. the reason of failire is the copper go off the board due to high temperature. In this case we can control temperature with firmware.
>
>
>
This is true, but you have to consider that firmware is not infallible. If you increase the voltage (and thus wattage) of the bed a lot, you risk creating a dangerous situation if something fails. Ideally, you should choose the wattage of the bed such that it does not create a dangerous situation even if it is left on permanently by accident. In extreme cases (e.g. 220V to a nominally 12V heated bed) damage will be almost instantaneous before the firmware can intervene.
You also have to consider that increasing the voltage also increases the current. The wires need to be thick enough to handle the additional current. You also have to pay special attention to the MOSFET that is used to switch the bed; it also needs to be able to handle the current (and voltage, though this is usually less of a problem). Usually the integrated MOSFETs on 3D printer control boards can only handle about ~10 A which is what the bed might normally draw. Also pay attention to fuses and to screw terminal connections. They might not be able to handle the increased current either.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: You can add a boost converter to the bed's power supply. Assuming that you are using an external MOSFET to control the bed (and you should). Verify what the MOSFET's max voltage rating is, then obtain a boost converter and configure it to give a voltage that is 10% less than the max. I once used this technique when driving a 24V hot end heater using a 12V power supply. Be forewarned, however, the boost converter I was using exploded during use one day.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/3gAB6.png)
Or you could get an additional higher voltage PSU and use that as the bed's heater. They make them up to 80V I think now.
Upvotes: 0 |
2021/01/10 | 1,975 | 7,083 | <issue_start>username_0: I first want to say **thank you** for taking the time to read this. I've been trying to print out some parts for another project of mine. These parts use up around 70% of the bed so they are fairly large, unlike the smaller trinkets and things I normally print.
However, I have yet been able to print one of these larger parts without any layer shifting. The part I've been trying to print is a lid to the bottom of a case. It's square, with rounded corners, about 160mm x 160mm.
It will print the first layer without shifting most of the time. However, upon starting the second layer it will almost have at least one layer shift. I have tried a number of things to remedy this, which I will list further down this post.
The layer shifting seems to be unrelated to jerk, acceleration, bed shifting, and z offset at the very least. There is an audible clunk sound that can be heard when it does this. In the image I've linked, you can see the correct path of the print head through the green arrows. However, upon a layer shift, it follows the path of the red arrows. It never shifts during a direction change, only when it is following a straight path. It's almost as if one of the motors gives up for a second. I am aware the print is under extruded, this is one of my trials hoping it was merely the nozzle clipping against the print.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ltqzA.jpg)
Allow me to share with you my setup:
* I have an Ender 3 V2, with the stock mainboard, stock glass bed, and stock hotend.
* I've replaced the extruder assembly with an all-metal one from Creality.
* I have the stiffer bed springs. As well as the better PTFE tube fittings and Capricorn tubes.
* I've put together a cooling pack on Thingiverse. <https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4644985> The mainboard and hotend fans were replaced with Noctua performance fans that I'll talk more about later.
* The hotend assembly is a hero me gen 5 with dual 4010 fans and a BLTouch.
* I'm using Smith3D's 5x5 high-speed firmware (Previously the 4x4 high speed).
---
Now let me share my tried solutions.
* I firstly, disassembled the printer, checking all belt teeth and motor gears (which are pressed onto their shafts without a grub screw). Afterward, I readjusted all eccentric nuts to get the perfect amount of tension while maintaining smooth operation on both X and Y axes. I've used brake cleaner and dish soap to remove the grease on the Z-axis lead screw and replaced it with WD-40 dry lubricant.
* Continuing, I've releveled the bed and checked all axis operation to ensure it was smooth and without any bumps, hitches, or anything of the sort.
1. I tightened all the frame screws, hotend screws, fan screws, grub screws. Nothing moves even a millimeter.
2. The belts were tensioned so that they can be strummed like a guitar string when I move either the hotend or bed to its end stop.
3. I checked my aftermarket fans to ensure they are working. The mainboard and hotend fan run nonstop at their optimal 12V. The PSU fan turns on and off as it needs to cool the PSU...
4. The cables are nicely managed in the mainboard compartment and I'm sure that the larger fans provide it plenty of airflow. Not to mention the printer was raised by the use of squash-ball feet.
5. I have slowed my print speed from 75mm/s to 60mm/s with this print. This means a 30mm/s inner/outer wall along with 60mm/s infill speed and 150mm/s travel speed. Acceleration and jerk are at their defaults: 500mm/s^2 and 10mm/s.
6. I've adjusted my Z offset so that it slightly under extrudes to prevent the filament from bunching up.
7. I've calibrated my e steps.
8. I've formatted the SD card and changed my firmware from Smith 3D's 4x4 high speed to 5x5 high speed.
9. I've updated Cura to the latest version 4.8 and ensured my hero me home offset is correct.
10. I've tried moving the model to different corners in Cura and ensured the software's jerk and acceleration control are disabled.
11. I've checked the bed movement with its clips, it doesn't move easily and both clips have very good tension.
12. I've checked the stepper driver voltages (I did not change them). E: 1.34V Z: 1.16V Y: 0.99V X: 1.15V.
13. I have Z hop enabled with a 0.2mm hop, no issues or noises when it moves across the print.
14. I've purchased a filament dry-box from SUNLU along with a new spool of SUNLU black filament. The dry box has Capricorn PTFE tubing that leads the filament straight into the extruder. There is very little friction inside the tube.
15. I've slightly tightened the tension on the extruder although I didn't have problems with it skipping.
---
Again, I'd like to reiterate, nothing is loose on this printer, it doesn't skip when it rapidly changes directions, only when following either a straight or diagonal line. The printer movement is very smooth and near-silent with all of my modifications. It's frustrating to me that I can't solve this problem. I feel like the printer has a mind of its own. I have begun to suspect either the mainboard or something else hardware related is amiss. However, I have chosen not to mess with it until posting this. If you've read through this, **I thank you for your patience and time reading it**.
---
Any advice or possible causes to this problem are welcomed. I am at a complete loss and am desperate for a solution.<issue_comment>username_1: You mentioned a noticeable 'clunk' when it shifts, are you sure it isn't a physical obstruction? You said you checked that all axis run smoothly but are you sure you checked the full extents of the printable area?
Watch carefully when the issue happens, are any of the cables getting snagged on the machine or surrounding workspace? Check under the bed in particular, I've noticed on my Ender 3 V2 the bed will sometimes bump into part of the base if the leveling screws are tightened too far.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: **SOLUTION**
Unscrewing the mainboard enclosure and tilting it to allow better airflow like in the picture shown below. This is the same issue as many others.
---
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/SeBgx.jpg)
---
<https://forums.creality3dofficial.com/community/ender-3-v2/layer-shift-ender-3-v2/>
<https://www.reddit.com/r/ender3v2/comments/kn8u72/layer_shift_investigation_data_and_video/>
I appreciate the assistance.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Not sure if you're still actively working on this but my setup mirrors yours almost perfectly, I added an all metal extruder, Micro Swiss hotend, a BLTouch, yellow bed springs and Capricorn tube and got great results but needed more cooling so I changed to the Hero Me Gen 5 using 2 5015 blowers and a Noctua 40x20 fan with a buck converter set to 12 V and noticed I had shifting so I printed 35 mm standoffs and wired another Noctua fan, 80x25. It helped reduce shifting but still not perfect and I as well has combed through every possible issue.
Upvotes: 0 |
2021/01/11 | 1,572 | 5,012 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm struggling with bed adhesion for nylon on a glass bed (122 °C measured) in an enclosed chamber (45 °C near the front, likely more on top of the print bed). I used a glue stick to enhance adhesion, but after around 20 minutes the print comes off the bed.
I tried a [no-brand glue stick](https://www.123-3d.nl/123inkt-lijmstift-medium-21-grams-i1326-t7445.html) and a [Pritt glue stick](https://www.123-3d.nl/Pritt-stick-medium-22-gram-i1329-t7445.html).
Now I wonder whether they are suitable for the purpose, because nylon should really be printable in these conditions. Maybe the glue cannot hold those 100+ °C temperatures.
How to find out whether a glue stick is PVA-based and suitable for nylon (or polycarbonate, ABS) printing?<issue_comment>username_1: Not all glue sticks work! The working ingredient of a glue stick is [Polyvinylpyrrolidone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinylpyrrolidone); a more elaborate answer is found [here](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/11183/) on question: ["Why does hairspray work as an adhesive for ABS?"](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11182/why-does-hairspray-work-as-an-adhesive-for-abs/).
There are very good alternatives to glue sticks and hair spray nowadays. Specific adhesion sprays exist for several years now (e.g. Dimafix, 3DLAC, Magigoo for PA, Plasticz, PrintaFix, Dr.Mat, etc.; my personal experience is with the first 2 mentioned, both work for nylon: Dimafix has more tack at higher temperatures > 80 °C, up to 80 °C 3DLAC works perfect).
E.g. Dimafix has a higher temperature application range than e.g. 3DLAC. From the [manufacturer](http://www.dima3d.com/en/home/dimafix/) can be seen that:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZBZny.png)
*Source: <http://www.dima3d.com/en/home/dimafix/>*
This image shows that the spray has its maximum tack/adhesion at about 120 °C and holds this adhesion level at least up to about 145 °C according to the image.
However, not all glues get stronger with temperature! PVA (also called PVAc) glues soften very quickly, making them good only at low temperature. See "[Influence of temperature on the strength of bonded joints](https://bioresources.cnr.ncsu.edu/resources/influence-of-temperature-on-the-strength-of-bonded-joints/)" which discloses this graph for PVAc Rhenocoll 3W, 4B Plus:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/KB1lM.png)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Elmer's apparently doesn't reveal its glue stick contents. Elmer's has at least four different glue sticks without giving the difference in composition. You can find glue sticks that specify use for 3D printers. They contain PVP. Many wood glues have PVA. PVA may be labeled also as PVAc, or as "VA/crotonates/vinyl neodecanoate copolymer" (for example in hairsprays).
It looks like you will need to search patents to find contents of glue sticks. Her are examples.
According to Elmer's patent 6268413, Wood Glue Sticks have PVA, but I haven't seen such a thing:
This Elmer's patent has PVA: High-strength adhesive paste and dispenser
Patent number: 6268413
Abstract: The present invention includes a high strength adhesive and includes a dispenser containing a high strength adhesive. The invention is an adhesive composition comprising: (a) water present in an amount of from about 40 percent to about 70 percent by weight; (b) polyvinyl acetate present in an amount of about 15 percent to about 35 percent by weight; (c) dextrin present in an amount from about 5 percent to about 35 percent by weight; and (d) starch present in an amount from about 0 percent to about 5 percent by weight; the adhesive having at least 30% by weight solids, having a paste-like consistency, and having a bond strength greater than about 2000 p.s.i. as measured by ASTM D-905. The adhesive of the present invention has a very workable consistency that is very much like room-temperature butter or shortening used in cooking.
Elmer's patent with PVP: HIGH-STRENGTH GLUE STICK FORMULATION, Publication number: 20110301260, includes water; a defoamer; a bactericide; an oil; polyvinylpyrrolidone; a plurality of polyurethane dispersions; dipropylene glycol n-butyl ether; sodium stearate; casein; sodium hydroxide; and at least one adhesion promoter.
Another Elmer's patent has PVP: Adhesive applicator crayon
Patent number: 6066689
Abstract: Adhesive compositions exhibiting fast cure time in solid form, e.g. in the form of an applicator crayon or glue stick. The adhesive exhibiting polymer of the composition is based on a mixture of critical amounts of high molecular weight polyvinylpyrrolidone polymer, with a lower molecular weight polyvinylpyrrolidone polymer, with water, an organic solvent, and a salt of a long-claim fatty acid, e.g. sodium stearate. Color indicators and other optional ingredients, e.g. mildewcide, can be included.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer] |
2021/01/13 | 796 | 3,360 | <issue_start>username_0: From what I've seen, you can take a typical extruder heater, apply the designated supply voltage without temperature control, and as long as the heater isn't contacting something with a flashpoint below the temperature the heater reaches, the heater will not catch on fire. Thus, unless one catches the filament on fire, it seems that thermal runaway of the extruder heater wouldn't normally start a fire.
I'm not sure what would happen if someone installed wrong components, such as a 12V heater to a 24V supply. What are situations that could cause a 3D print to catch fire?<issue_comment>username_1: A normal hotend will not melt or cause fires, usually, see first video. However, if the power regulating unit fails as well and higher voltage is supplied (19 V on 12 V cartridge are enough) it can happen, see second video.
Fires are more likely caused by overheating wires, especially where joints are presents.
Hotend runaway does not cause fires from the hotend itself, but it could cause fire related to its wiring. Also, the uncontrolled temperature may make the hot end fan fail, worsening the situation.
Issues canbe caused also by a runaway on the bed and overheating MOSFETs.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In short:
* The control board does not have thermal runaway installed
* The heated bed connectors are loose and begin to heat up until the wires catch fire
* The power supply or it's connectors begin to heat up until they catch fire
* The modifications that you made to your printer were not well thought out resulting in a capacitor to explode (raises hand; that's happened to me.)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Another source of fire comes from connections, not the heaters themselves.
As the connection and connector ages, the electrical resistance of the connection increases. Up to a point, this is not a problem. A portion of the energy goes to heating the connection, and less energy goes to the heated element. These are in closed loops, so energy is applied longer to compensate.
The connection is using the lost energy to heat itself. This increases the corrosion rate, and also can cause plastic in the connector to flow, which relaxes the connection pressure, which further increases the corrodion, resistance, and heating.
This situation is unstable, and ends in one of three ways:
1. the extrusion hot-end or the bed don't get as hot, with implication on the print quality,
2. the connection opens, and the heated system simply fails,
3. or the worst case, where the temperature increases to the point where the connector housing, wire, heater PCB, or dust and fur on the connector catches fire.
The only real mitigation of this risk is to periodically check power connections for warming. If a connection is warm, it should be watched more carefully. If it is hot, you already have a problem and should fix it.
If you are concerned, focus on preventative maintenance, and on being sure that there are no flammable materials near the printer. Don't put your printer in a simple foam case. Consider the flammability of any enclosure components.
You might also consider adding a smoke and high-temperature detector connected through a relay to disconnect main power. If a connection starts sputtering, you might detect it before the fire can transfer to your house.
Upvotes: 2 |
2021/01/14 | 420 | 1,837 | <issue_start>username_0: Let's say, I want to print a box for putting game tokens in.
It is an empty cube, but the top layer is missing.
I do not need full walls. It could have holes in it resulting in a mesh structured wall, like a fence or a shopping cart.
What pattern should I use for the best object stability and print speed?
What programs can I use to design this? (I do not want to manually add 100 holes in my design).<issue_comment>username_1: Holes in vertical walls will make it take significantly *more* time to print, not less. Rather than being able to make a continuous path around the box on each layer, keeping the print head at the desired speed the whole time, the printer will have to run around each connected component of the layer separately, slowing down, retracting, speeding up to travel, slowing down at the destination, unretracting, and speeding back up *each time*.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Definitely the speed will be worse after adding holes (or the quality otherwise, if object's skin is printed fast), though some filament savings may appear.
But regarding "object stability": because adding holes will normally cause the slower printing (because of "skin structures" around holes), then walls might get bit stronger or have better layer adhesion (comparing to line speed, the material, the printing temperature, etc.). Then stability might indeed improve, especially when walls are thin. Or may be reduced, depending on the pattern :) Also number of walls may count (n \* nozzle diameter) or lack of skin overlap - then printing holes would support consistency of the structure. Thus the question of stability may be significant. Construction sience would most probably lead to [triangles](https://sciencemadefun.net/blog/triangles-the-strongest-shape/).
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/01/15 | 1,904 | 7,204 | <issue_start>username_0: I have a Creality Ender 3 that printed a spool of Sunlu PLA with no issues, so I bought a second to replace it, just in a different color.
The problem is I can’t get it to stick. The bed is level, I’ve tried printing at different temps, even adjusted the fan, but no luck. No matter what, the print still only partially sticks to the bed before eventually being knocked loose by the nozzle, if it even sticks at all. Mostly it just extrudes in a spaghetti ball next to the nozzle.
Does anyone know how I can fix this issue? I have tried everything!
Update:
More info for those who have asked:
I have adjusted the temps of both the hot end and the bed to various temps within what is recommended with this filament (200-230 and 50-90 C)
The bed is level
I have attempted prints with both the plastic and glass beds (glass bed has never been printed on)
Attempted to use hairspray
While the print is somewhat sticking, it now produces a glob of pla while making its first pass down, which it then hits and completely unsticks. I think the glob is caused by the pla not sticking to the bed from the very beginning but am unsure.
Hope this helped!<issue_comment>username_1: Level the bed
=============
Make sure that the bed is level. The nozzle must be equally high over heated surface, otherwise only part of the print will have chance to be smeared and adhere properly.
Clean thoroughly
================
First thing I do when I notice that increasing bed temperature does not work anymore, is washing the glass with soap or detergent. Some advice to use also isopropyl alcohol. My impression is that the main mistake is to use alcohol to wipe the glass instead of **dismounting and thoroughly cleaning the glass from any grease**. This is a bit more work, and for me works great.
Applying alcohol, brake cleaner or similar no-trace solvent could enhance the effect (as suggested by username_2).
Reduce the air flow
===================
Disable fan for the first layer (or even more layers above).
Isolate the printer from environment - e.g. buy or build enclosure. Remove any drafts. Ensure that ambient temperature is not cooling prints down too fast (for example printing in garage or shed may fail until the space is heated).
Use kapton tape
===============
You may like the idea to put kapton tape on the surface (only glass?). Wide kapton roll would be needed to cover big area at once, to cover the whole glass with good quality and in reasonable time. Created surface should be as ideal as possible, because any bubbles will cause later trouble, it is not easy but doable. The outcome is great. Any accidents with hotend should be avoided, and prints removed with some care, to remain tape undamaged as long as possible.
(I use 50 mm tape. And I save this surface for printing ABS, and only occasionally for PLA, because it sticks so well that I had problem to remove prints saving the surface, even after cooling down.)
Apply adhesive
==============
You can use adhesives like [hairspray](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/11182/why-does-hairspray-work-as-an-adhesive-for-abs/11183?r=SearchResults&s=4%7C13.2803#11183), [glue stick](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/15281/are-all-glue-sticks-pva-based-how-to-find-out/15282?r=SearchResults&s=1%7C20.5123#15282) or even better a [dedicated adhesion spray](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/15282/). It is suggested especially for larger parts, which tend to wrap without this kind of adhesive aid. There is no one good solution. You may want to experiment, starting from cheap and widely accepted to commercial and wildly advertised products, with regards to your local market. Look for example links at the bottom.
Expand line settings for initial layer
======================================
Make sure that amount of extruded material is correct. This mean proper calibration regarding settings like: steps/mm for E axis, flow rate. Small difference in amount of extruded filament will reduce the quality of the rest of the print. Bigger differences may ruin print at the initial layer, and for sure will spoil the rest.
Use slicer settings to increase line width for first layer. Values of 120-140% are standard settings for improving adhesion.
Slightly increasing height of initial layer may also help to overcome bed surface
roughness or slight leveling errors.
Decrease speed to 20 mm/s or less
=================================
Reduce printing speed for initial layer [to 20 mm/s or even lower](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/14958/filament-sticks-to-nozzle/15231#15231), and raise it carefully after trouble is really resolved. (In my opinion it is better to decrease speed to let plastic melt and stick, than to increase temperature.)
Modify temperature
==================
The temperature of heated bed should be high enough to keep the initial layer of filament within glass transition zone. This usually means more than 60 °C for PLA (between 50 °C - 80 °C depending on contents). (I usually print at 70 °C, and raise to 80 °C when meet issues.)
Increasing the temperature of nozzle also may improve the adhesion. But it may also be temporary success, because of negative effects related to temperature differences, and for example cause wrapping - ruining especially wider prints. So decreasing the nozzle temperature is also an option to check, when wrapping is observed.
Experiment with more advanced techniques
========================================
If you are still failing, then try experiment following many advices around (contrary, but sometimes working). If the firs layer adhere to the bed, but problems appear later, then other advanced techniques may help - like slicing model with additional structures (brim or raft).
The best advice may depend on kind of heated bed, surface or environment. This checklist may be of some use: [3D Printer Bed Adhesion: All You Need To Know](https://all3dp.com/2/3d-printer-bed-adhesion-all-you-need-to-know/). Also there are many troubleshooting threads on the web, like this on Reddit: [SUNLU PLA+ will not adhere to build surface](https://www.reddit.com/r/ender3/comments/di1j2t/sunlu_pla_will_not_adhere_to_build_surface/), or; this on Thingiverse: [SUNLO PLA+: does not stick.](https://www.thingiverse.com/groups/ender3/forums/general/topic:41047).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In addition to the suggestion of cleaning the glass with soap (dish soap works very well) and THEN also with any alcohol or brake cleaner or similar no-trace solvent, you can use hairspray or glue stick for larger parts.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Just to add to username_1 answer.
**BED WARM UP TIME**
Ensure the bed is at the temperature. I have a new Creality glass bed and noticed that when the temperature hit 70 degrees I would touch the bed and glass would still be cold. I would give it a good 5 minutes to warm up.
**NOZZLE DISTANCE**
It is possible that you were on the borderline of sticking/not sticking with the last batch and this batch is mostly on the non-stick side. Move the nozzle a fraction closer using Z offset. We are talking like 0.01 increments.
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/01/15 | 656 | 2,632 | <issue_start>username_0: I have an array with holes that I have to fill with different materials. My question is there is an easy way to fill them directly? I tried array, array draft and it is annoying to adjust them. In Blender, it easy to select the vertices and fill. Maybe it is a stupid question, but I am not really an expert.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/7VwUW.png)<issue_comment>username_1: If you are asking for print then it is yes with FDM (fused deposition modeling) with multiple extrusion you can fill with different material easily. But if you are trying to change the material in your digital design then you need to work on every hole in the array, especially with FreeCAD. If you find any, please update here.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: The problem
===========
FDM printers slice models in STL or OBJ format. Neither of these formats can transmit properties like *Materials*: they consist **fully** of surface definitions.
But... Multi-Material printing is a thing, yes?
===============================================
Yes, but Multi-material prints use a simple trick: a single STL object can contain *more* than one surface definition, and you can slice more than one STL at once. But since slicers usually can't separate these from one another, they usually load multiple STLs and define the materials for each differently. For example, [Adalinda](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3197896) has 4 different STLs, some containing multiple chunks of material, each STL corresponding to one printed color. And [in this video Joel](https://youtu.be/MnOWX4Ujtv8?list=TLPQMDIwMjIwMjHXGYYAQZ7qbw) explains how printing that way works for an older version of the MMU.
So, to print the "cubes" in a different material, you'd need to have two STLs: The grid as one export, and the cubes as another. Then the **Rest** is slicing.
Way around?
===========
Now, you might not have a Multi-Material Printer? Then you might want to design your item in parts that snap into place or have an interference fit. For example, you might print a plate with all the cubes on one side, and a grid that has a relief on the back where the plate goes. Then you print two times with different materials and push the cube part into the grate, some glue in between, and voila! It looks like one print from the surface. With a clamshell design, you might even completely hide the existence of the carrier plate - by having two grates that surround a hollow cavity for the cube-plate, and the cube plate pushes out into either of the clamshells.
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/01/16 | 770 | 3,031 | <issue_start>username_0: I am looking for a way to generate 2D horizontal templates for manually carving an object. My thought was to produce an STL of the model, generate the G-code, and then transform that into slices. Appreciate any suggestions for where to start. I'm not afraid of getting my hands dirty with python, R, matlab, whatever.<issue_comment>username_1: I would approach following way. I saw interesting example of using *Autodesk Fusion 360* to generate moves (G-Code) for carving in vertical slices. Fusion generated moves like for CNC tool in "parallel mode". You can see details in the video [3D printer cutting styrofoam like CNC router](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkRDLPbVNo4) (software setup is presented at 11:00-14:30). Steps/settings important for manual work would be:
* selecting parallel strategy
* steup length and width of tool - reflecting "depth/width of slice"
* check the simulation
* create NC program - creating the G-Code file
I think that even if really working manually, the benefit of such approach would be that you focus on one layer/slice at time, and carve in one depth from the top of "material block" to the line defined be two points (the move in G-Code). The trouble could be actual number of such "G-Code lines": there will be probably too many of them, e.g. to measure each by hand and draw on the sufrface. But maybe this could be reduced with resolution (and quality). You could try to use any G-Code visualizer to project lines (of given single layer/slice) with beamer on the material sufrace.
The depth (real width of slice) could be controlled only manually, to avoid carving too deep.
The video uses parallel carving strategy to work in vertical slices. "Adaptive cleanring" strategy could be used to work horizontally.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Carving decorative patterns?
============================
If your templates needs to be used like one does a stencil, that's doable... but paper-thin is not as you can't make that with an FDM printer.
But if you allow 0.2 or even better, 0.5 mm thickness, it is as simple as making a vector graphic, importing it into a suitable CAD package, then extruding it to the relevant thickness, and sending it into the printer.
If you really need it to be thinner, invest in a vinyl cutter, and use the same vector graphic to cut a foil template for one use. Upside: you could use the vinyl to *etch* the patterns in metal.
Carving figurines?
==================
Yes, that's possible too, even easier! Make a 3D model of the finished object in a CAD or 3D modeling software. Either cut up the model right there and export each slice as STL for the printer, or export the whole model and use a secondary software such as MeshMixer to do plane cuts onto the model.
The slices should be at least 0.5 mm thick to allow handling.
It might *also* be a good idea to use the same model and cut it from a cube, which then is sliced up - that way you get a pattern to press against the outside of the model.
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/01/17 | 1,853 | 6,706 | <issue_start>username_0: After watching every possible YouTube video on the subject and reading any source available, and although I'm a PhD and quite computer savvy, I still can't make my Anet A6 (no probe) behave in terms of Z offset. I upgraded to silicone bed buffers instead of the stock springs; now my bed is ~5 mm raised, and I don't know how to proceed. Some observations:
* **G28** makes the nozzle go to the center of the bed. Display says X 111 and Y 111. Is it preferable to set the home to the bottom-left corner, or is the center just fine?
* **G28** makes the nozzle squish the bed ~5 mm deep.
* I've tried the **G92** approach and the **M428** approach. I can't quite understand what's the difference between them. Can anyone explain why sometimes the former is used and sometimes the latter?
* I had high hopes for **M428**. What could be simpler? You physically guide the nozzle to where you want it to be, send the command, and that's your new 0,0,0. But I guess not. Since my "home" is at 111,111 and apparently M428 can only be used at a maximum of 20 mm from 0, I get a "too far from reference" error message.
* At any rate, both approaches (also **M206**) haven't helped. When I **G28**, the nozzle still squishes the bed. The display either says Z 5 or Z -5 or whatever I've played with, but the nozzle still squishes the poor bed.
* In my LCD menu (Marlin 1.1.9), I don't have Control -> Motion -> Z offset. Since many videos recommend using this, this is quite sad. Can anyone tell me why this option is absent?
* On a very conceptual level, I can't quite understand why in all the video guides the bed screws are completely ignored when discussing Z offset. One guy showed how he's correcting his Z offset 0.3 mm using G-code. But he could've easily done it by adjusting his screws... They all say "Z offset means the distance between your nozzle and bed, and here is how to adjust it". Now comes G-code, or LCD menu, etc. But why is everyone forgetting that you can adjust the distance between your bed and nozzle using the screws?! I can't seem to wrap my head around this. In my case, of course, I can't use the screws -- they've reached their limit, so I need to add extra using G-code. But nobody seems to really explain this nicely...
**Summary:** I urgently need a walkthrough for 6-year-olds. Make that 4-year-olds.<issue_comment>username_1: Setting any offset will move the whole print ("effectively shifts the coordinate space") - so you can set up for printing above or below bed, or shifting several cm to the right, for example - and then your print may not actually fit the printing space. For example: my frame is blocking X moves at the top, I can set the 20 mm X offset to avoid accident when printing high (so shift the print). Or when setting the new print on top of another print, thus shifting the position, etc. If you call `M428` in any position, then current position will become the new offset. Current offset settings is reported by `M503` (or `M206` without parameters).
Also `G92` is used as ad-hoc operation when relative positioning is used. It makes sense for extruder movements, but is not used for moving the printing head in practice. I would say that any such calls for X,Y,Z sound like some hacking, and you should know exactly what you are doing for tricking printer's logic this way. I would avoid this at all.
Normally (0,0,0) for cartesian printers is nearest-bottom-left point of the bed. If properly zero the printer is what you are trying to achieve, then you should:
* zero any X,Y,Z offsets: `M206 X0 Y0 Z0` (unless some is justified like in the frame example)
* save this setting for future: `M500`
* home the printer - it zero the position, and then automiaticall backoff to some "safe distance" (programmed in firmware)
* use LCD to move carriage back to zero: at least for the Z axis
* regulate bed screws to fit the zero position of printing head
There are settings in [Marlin's file Configuration\_adv.h](https://marlinfw.org/docs/configuration/configuration.html#homing):
* Marlin 1.1:
```
#define X_HOME_BUMP_MM 5
#define Y_HOME_BUMP_MM 5
#define Z_HOME_BUMP_MM 2
```
* Marlin 2.x:
```
#define HOMING_BUMP_MM { 5, 5, 2 } // (mm) Backoff from endstops after first bump
```
They do not change the zero (do not set offset), but force the carriage to move away from zero during homing operation and (Marlin 1.1) after homing, becuse usually it is convenient. Marlin 2.x offers separate parameter for final backoff:
```
//#define HOMING_BACKOFF_MM { 2, 2, 2 }
```
If you would like to center the head after homing, I would suggest to use these settings.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: So the new silicone buffers raised the bed by 5 mm? When this happens, you should raise the endstop also with 5 mm. Else the printer will go down to the Z endstop that is effectively 5 mm below the level of the bed. I guess the buffers cannot be compressed by 5 mm, so you need to move the endstop up to the level your buffer compression is in reach of.
No software offset will work (for your current setup: homing on the bed surface does not work as the switch need to be triggered prior to having any offset in play) other than a hardware change or compression of the buffers of 5 mm. It would only be possible to use a software offset when the nozzle homes off the bed surface (next to the bed). The only thing you would have had to do is add in your start G-code:
```
G0 Z5 ; Move the head to 5 mm
G92 Z0 ; Call this Z = 0
```
If `#define Z_SAFE_HOMING` is enabled, you should comment the line in the configuration file to make it home Z at the homed X, Y position.
I will not go into all G-codes, details are read on the [G-codes Wiki pages](https://reprap.org/wiki/G-code) and [Marlin firmware G-codes](https://marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/), these won't be able to help you out unless you fix the homing on the bed surface. Currently, you need to do a hardware fix, your endstop is below the surface level of the bed. Alternative is to remove homing Z above the bed surface and redefine the Z offset. A hardware fix is a better solution, and if you manage to print a fancy Z endstop holder and counterpart with a screw you will be able to level the bed more easily.
E.g. [`M428`](https://marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/M428.html) can set an offset, yes, but, it needs a reference; that reference is the homing reference or the current position. The current position of a printer that is just turn on is meaningless, it can be everywhere in the print volume. So you need to trigger the endstops first, that is not possible when it is not reachable (without compressing the bed).
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer] |
2021/01/18 | 552 | 2,033 | <issue_start>username_0: I just bought an Ender 3 Max and from the start I knew something was wrong. I figured out the problem: it is with the first few millimeters of the Z axis movement.
I turn on my 3D printer, go to prepare, move axis, move Z, move 1 mm.
Then I tell the printer to move up 1 mm. But in reality it only moves up 0.3 mm. I then tell it to move up another millimeter, except it only moves up 0.4 mm. When I tell it to move up another millimeter, and it moves up only 0.45 mm. I then tell it to move up another millimeter and it moves up 0.6 mm. And then anytime after that when I say to move up a millimeter it actually moves up a millimeter. Below is a little chart to help you understand what is happening.
```
Set height | Actual height
--------------------------
0 | 0
1 | 0.3
2 | 0.7
3 | 1.15
4 | 1.75
5 | 2.75
6 | 3.75
7 | 4.75
8 | 5.75
9 | 6.75
10 | 7.75
```
As a result of this error on my printer, the test prints I have run so far are splayed out and uneven at the bottom, making my prints warped at the first 5 mm and several millimeters shorter than they should be.<issue_comment>username_1: Your printer probably has an issue with binding in the lower region (binding means extra friction possibly causing the Z stepper to skip steps). Disconnect the lead screw an manually move the X gantry up and down. If there is binding, you need to find why this happens, with the unfortunate design of the Ender, many people experience issues when the rollers on both posts are not correctly installed.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The problem turned out to be that the two extruded pieces of aluminium on the z axis were too close together - I tightened the screws too tight. This made the gap between the z axis bars smaller than desired and the z movement only lifted one side of the bar in the beginning.
After I loosed those screws holding the gantry crane on, everything works now!
Upvotes: 0 |
2021/01/18 | 1,204 | 4,781 | <issue_start>username_0: I've had an Ender 5 Plus for a few weeks now. It's printing great and I've got my tuning pretty good at the moment. I've noticed some horizontal inconsistencies matching feature/geometry changes. It seems to be associated with maybe layer time(?) I only have a picture from two models, but the problem will appear in other places on different models, always matching some change in the layers.
The problem is consistent all around the model and changes position with different prints, so I know it's not a mechanical problem. Say I printed a 2x2 cm tower 20 cm tall, it will not have any of these imperfections because every layer is identical.
I highly suspect the layer time/temperature change, but I don't know how to fix this, I'm a bit stumped. They both were printed at 200 °C and I'm trying a new one at 210 °C (best temperature with the spool I have) and it has the same problem. All three models are from the same spool of PLA.
Also, I use Cura with mostly default settings for the Ender 5+.
Here are the pictures :
I tried to highlight the idea, but every line matches with some change in the model
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/EwjN7.jpg)
On the benchy it's harder to see, but the hull line match with the solid floor of the model, and the top ones match with the top window sill starting.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/STS4C.jpg)<issue_comment>username_1: This is varying underextrusion due to loss of material to oozing in the interior of the model.
When printing the infill pattern, the nozzle doesn't follow a single continuous extrusion path, but moves from the end of one path to the beginning of the next, and under Cura defaults, *does this without retracting the filament*. This causes unpredictable amounts to ooze out during travel from one to the next, thereby desynchronizing the planned/intended amount of material extruded so far and the actual amount. This means, when the next outer-wall extrusion starts, there's an unpredictable deficiency between the amount of material at the nozzle to extrude, and the amount the slicer intended to extrude. The result is what you're seeing.
To fix it, you need to eliminate oozing, not just outside the model where it appears as visible stringing, but inside too. Either disable "Combing" entirely in Cura, or set "Max Comb Distance With No Retract" to something very low (0.8 mm or less). Also set "Minimum Extrusion Distance Window" to 0 to ensure Cura doesn't skip retractions for other reasons.
You may also want to play with extrusion length and speed. Too short or too long can be bad; 5-7 mm is the reasonable range for PLA with a bowden. Higher speed generally helps too; the printer should be able to handle 50 mm/s or faster.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: If this matches the horizontal planes - like "solid floor" than I would advice to check overlap settings. My suspicion is slight overextrusion, which might be the reason of many small horizontal differences. Using 3 mm filament I often suffer of similar inconsistencies, until I find proper flowrate to avoid overextrusion. Adding first to second, the solid plane will push walls more to sides.
Do you print "Infill Before Walls" (Cura setting)? You may try to disable this checkbox and observe if the result persisted. Also you may enable "Outer Before Inner Walls" - to ensure, that outer wall is printed first with least interference (though some other issues may appear after travel, layer change, etc.).
* So try print from outside to inside (outer walls > inner walls > infill).
* Then try to reduce "Flow" until you see no overextrusion (or even small gaps in the surface).
* Finally revert these settings (infill > inner > outer) and check again.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: The issue with the "[hull line](https://help.prusa3d.com/article/the-benchy-hull-line_124745)" is known. It depends on the fact that the material shrinks after extrusion and faster layers give less time to the previous layer to shrink, so they appear continuous, while slower layers take more time, so the previous layer has more time to shrink and there will be a visible change in the outer dimensions.
So, larger layers are the slower ones. You can increase the temperature a bit, so that it will take more time to cool down to the shrinkage temperatures, you can print faster, you can increase chamber temperature to have more time before shrinkage, or you can cool more the part so that no matter the current layer time, the previous one will always be already shrunk.
In the Polymaker Discord server there is a channel about the "hull line". You can find an invitation to the server and check there.
Upvotes: 0 |
2021/01/20 | 876 | 3,601 | <issue_start>username_0: My CR-10 S5 has a feature, that stops the print, when the filament runs out.
However, when the printer pauses, the bed cools down and the print plops if the bed. Is there a way to tell the printer to keep the bed heated, when paused (by the runout detector)?<issue_comment>username_1: This is varying underextrusion due to loss of material to oozing in the interior of the model.
When printing the infill pattern, the nozzle doesn't follow a single continuous extrusion path, but moves from the end of one path to the beginning of the next, and under Cura defaults, *does this without retracting the filament*. This causes unpredictable amounts to ooze out during travel from one to the next, thereby desynchronizing the planned/intended amount of material extruded so far and the actual amount. This means, when the next outer-wall extrusion starts, there's an unpredictable deficiency between the amount of material at the nozzle to extrude, and the amount the slicer intended to extrude. The result is what you're seeing.
To fix it, you need to eliminate oozing, not just outside the model where it appears as visible stringing, but inside too. Either disable "Combing" entirely in Cura, or set "Max Comb Distance With No Retract" to something very low (0.8 mm or less). Also set "Minimum Extrusion Distance Window" to 0 to ensure Cura doesn't skip retractions for other reasons.
You may also want to play with extrusion length and speed. Too short or too long can be bad; 5-7 mm is the reasonable range for PLA with a bowden. Higher speed generally helps too; the printer should be able to handle 50 mm/s or faster.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: If this matches the horizontal planes - like "solid floor" than I would advice to check overlap settings. My suspicion is slight overextrusion, which might be the reason of many small horizontal differences. Using 3 mm filament I often suffer of similar inconsistencies, until I find proper flowrate to avoid overextrusion. Adding first to second, the solid plane will push walls more to sides.
Do you print "Infill Before Walls" (Cura setting)? You may try to disable this checkbox and observe if the result persisted. Also you may enable "Outer Before Inner Walls" - to ensure, that outer wall is printed first with least interference (though some other issues may appear after travel, layer change, etc.).
* So try print from outside to inside (outer walls > inner walls > infill).
* Then try to reduce "Flow" until you see no overextrusion (or even small gaps in the surface).
* Finally revert these settings (infill > inner > outer) and check again.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: The issue with the "[hull line](https://help.prusa3d.com/article/the-benchy-hull-line_124745)" is known. It depends on the fact that the material shrinks after extrusion and faster layers give less time to the previous layer to shrink, so they appear continuous, while slower layers take more time, so the previous layer has more time to shrink and there will be a visible change in the outer dimensions.
So, larger layers are the slower ones. You can increase the temperature a bit, so that it will take more time to cool down to the shrinkage temperatures, you can print faster, you can increase chamber temperature to have more time before shrinkage, or you can cool more the part so that no matter the current layer time, the previous one will always be already shrunk.
In the Polymaker Discord server there is a channel about the "hull line". You can find an invitation to the server and check there.
Upvotes: 0 |
2021/01/20 | 670 | 2,473 | <issue_start>username_0: After a long battle with SKR Mini v2, TFT35 and BLTouch and creating the right firmware. I thought I was through it all and ready to start printing again after finally being able to set the Z offset and auto level the bed. My printer has other thoughts. Now my bed temperature will only heat up to 10 °C below the set point temperature and after a few minutes it starts beeping and says this on the screen "`Heating Failed: Bed Printer Halted, Please Reset`". As an example, set it to 60 °C, it will get up to 50 °C normally and stop at 50 °C.
Anyone gone through this? I'm sure there is some setting in the firmware that I have missed up. I'm hoping someone can educate me on my mistake.<issue_comment>username_1: Searching the error message "Heating Failed: Bed Printer Halted, Please Reset" seems to indicate that the bed heater is timing out from not reaching temperature.
1. If you measure the voltage applied to the bed heater before the error message, does the voltage stay at Max.; i.e. 12 V for a 12 V bed heater? Or, does the voltage stay constant?
2. If you raise the target bed temperature, does is still error out at stop at 50 °C?
3. Since you only indicate changing firmware, we would assume the bed heater is the same as when previously working. Is this true?
4. Is the resistance of the bed heater a few ohms and not megaohms?
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I was having the same issue after installing BTT SKR Mini E3 V2 and BLTouch on my Ender 5 Pro.
I did two things and my bed heats normally now, but I changed/did both things and can't say which fixed the issue for me.
* I noticed the case fan wasn't coming on. I had it plugged into `Fan 1` on the board. In my Marlin firmware, I noticed in `Configuration_adv.h` the `USE_CONTROLLER_FAN` was commented out, so I enabled it (removed the '//' in front of `#define USE_CONTROLLER_FAN`). After I flashed the firmware with this change, the controller box fan did start kicking on as I'd expect.
* I also did PID tuning on the bed. The firmware I'd compiled had the `PIDTEMPBED` enabled as I prefer to tune the bed when I do the hotend too. I hadn't yet tuned the bed when I was getting the 10-degree heating failure. My bed was set to 60 °C and it wouldn't heat above 52 °C without giving the "Heating Failed: Bed Printer Halted, Please Reset". After PID tuning (which I did after the fan firmware change too) the bed heats up to 60 °C and stays there now.
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/01/21 | 681 | 2,664 | <issue_start>username_0: I am looking to 3D print some small molds that will allow wood glue to dry but ***not*** stick.
Is there a recommended filament that is known to ***resist*** binding to simple wood glue?
Alternately, is there an inexpensive adhesive (like wood glue) I could use instead that will ***not*** stick to the 3D printed mold?<issue_comment>username_1: You are looking for a filament that does not bond to wood glue, or as weak as possible. You misunderstand how wood glue "bonds" to plastics:
Wood glue is typically PVA. It *bonds* to wood and paper by seeping into them before curing and hardening. The mesh of the glue entangles fibers of the wood/paper and itself, bonding with not only the exposed surface but also with material up to the depth it penetrates.
When such a glue is applied to a typical print surface, it seeps into the cracks and through print imperfections but does not penetrate the print to the same degree as it does in the open wood fiber setup. It clings to the surface and only bonds - if it does - only to the surface layers. The *same* effect happens when you cast resin into for example a silicone mold: there is much less chemical bonding, at best at the interface, and quite some interlock.
To prevent such, two things should be made: first, you need to smooth the mold as much as possible and have all the angles right. It might be easier and faster to coat the hard molds in a smooth lacquer, which not only removes the creep areas but also acts as an interlayer, making release easier.
Then, you should use a mold release agent. Mold release agents come in many shapes: I have seen Talcum Powder being used effectively for both metal as well as cold casts, if the shape of the mold was well made (no undercuts, no unpowdered areas). Easier to apply are usually mold release sprays for many applications - careful, some are PVA based and would be the same as the glue you want to cast. For a concrete casting, I had used plant fat as a decent mold release agent.
What might be an alternative to wood glue depends on what you want to do with the finished product.
As far as materials that actively don't bond go, you could look into POM (Which is a pain to print and expensive - it's a bearing material) or nylon (also a pain to print).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Considering my experience, SOME nylons don't bond to PVA at all. I tried at 70 °C and 110 °C and my nylon print can be pulled out from it manually with almost no resistance.
It's however difficult to know which type of nylon, since I used a trimmer line of unknown composition (except that it should be mainly nylon).
Upvotes: 2 |
2021/01/21 | 1,894 | 6,949 | <issue_start>username_0: I've been dealing with 3D printing for 1.5 years, but now own a CR-6 SE myself since the beginning of 2021. Most things are already quite clear but for 2 days I have had a problem with the adhesion of the prints.
Nearly all prints I have done so far used the filament shipped with the printer (PLA 1.75) and they came off the building plate after some cooling time by themselves. I used the default printer settings for PLA: 200 °C nozzle temperature, 60 °C printing bed.
Then 2 days ago the prints began to not stick to the bed anymore and I thought this could be because of dust and from touching the bed. So I cleaned the bed with IPA. The microfiber towel was yellowish afterward - so I thought that this must have been printing residues. Since then every print is kind of "welded" to the bed. There is no chance of loosening it without more IPA or way too much force.
I already tried:
* cleaning the bed with clean water - unfortunately, didn't work
* setting the Z-offset from 0.1 back to 0.2 mm - also no success
Today I also tried a spool of brand new PETG, with the following recommended settings: 240 °C nozzle temperature, 80 °C print bed - but the problem stayed the same.
Am I doing something wrong? Did I destroy the "Carborundum" coating (silicon carbide) of the glass plate?<issue_comment>username_1: It is likely the surface was damaged by the chemical cleaning, based on your description and [octopus8's comment](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/15392/cr-6-se-glass-build-plate-no-lifting-possible#comment28974_15392). If you are unable to mechanically release the print, there is a chemical method that has worked for me (and at least one other SE user) in the past.
Bring the bed up to about 40 °C and turn off the heat to the bed. Apply with a dropper or swab a 50/50 mixture of denatured alcohol and water. It will seep under the part as well as evaporate. Attempt the mechanical release. If it fails, apply additional mixture and repeat. Continue to do this until the mixture does not evaporate as quickly.
If the part has not released, it may be necessary to repeat the heating and application.
If you wish to return to "normal" circumstances, a bed replacement is indicated.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Sounds like the bed came with a coating on it. If you can't find out what the coating is, but believe you already removed it, you could try glue sticks or hair spray. You can also find glue sticks specified for 3D printing. Elmer's glue sticks work. I'm yet to try glue sticks specified for a 3D printer. You can Search on 3D Printing for answers where people used adhesive sprays. The link in octopus8's comment mentions a resin coating. There are resin coatings being sold for a bed adhesive.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> Am I doing something wrong? Did I destroy the "Carborundum" coating (silicon carbide) of the glass plate?
>
>
>
I doubt it. Silicon carbide is tough stuff: it's a 9.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, just half a notch below diamond. They make router bits and end mills and the teeth of table saw blades out of it, and people clean all of those with much stronger solvents than isopropyl alcohol. I don't know what other ingredients Creality uses in their carborundum coating or whether they might be susceptible to solvents, but I'd be surprised if the alcohol you used did any real damage.
>
> So I cleaned the bed with IPA. The microfiber towel was yellowish afterward - so I thought that this must have been printing residues. Since then every print is kind of "welded" to the bed.
>
>
>
I had a similar experience, except that I cleaned with acetone instead of alcohol. My impression, too, is that the yellow stuff is some sort of residue left by PLA. If you print the same object several times in the same spot on the bed, you can begin to see a slightly shiny footprint of the object on the bed. You'll eventually notice a loss of adhesion in that spot, and the bed will feel a bit slick there. A small amount of acetone on a paper towel removes the footprint entirely, but you end up with a yellow spot on the towel that doesn't appear if you use the same procedure in a spot where there's been no printing.
I've also had object stick so strongly to the bed that they seem like they won't ever come off, and I think it's just a sign that a clean carborundum bed does its job very well. The best way to get them off, at least for me, is to apply a liberal dose of patience. I usually want to remove the part right away, but I find that if I let the bed cool down even to 50 °C, it's much easier to pop the part off.
**Update:** With the carborundum bed, adhesion is very sensitive to the height of the nozzle above the bed. If you have the bed set a bit too close to the nozzle, the PLA seems to really smoosh into the bed and grab on making the print hard to remove. If the bed is set lower, the PLA lines sit on top and don't smoosh in at all, and you don't get enough adhesion. There's a sweet spot in between the two, where the print sticks well enough that it takes a little effort to remove, but pops off with some coaxing. For me, using a sheet of printer paper as a gauge, it's about where I can feel the vibrations of the fan through the paper, but just barely, and the paper still slides easily between nozzle and bed. Your results may be different depending on the paper you use. Another way to tell you're on the right track is that the individual lines in the skirt should fuse together, but you want to be close to the point where they don't.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: I have had similar issues, and I have learned three tricks:
1. Some slicers (i.e. Cura) let you specify the height of your first layer, and I have found that slowly incrementing up from 0.16 mm by 0.2 mm to find the sweet spot of adhesion without warping. Every brand/type is different. But, usually, for me, fall between 0.18-0.22 mm.
2. Blue painters tape. If you don't need the glass flat finish of printing directly to glass, I always use blue tape. It makes for great adhesion, and also easy removal of super stuck prints, and you can just peel it off the build plate. With blue tape, I tend to add 2-3 °C to the bed temp.
3. Glue sticks (instead of hairspray). But, Elmer's glue sticks that go on purple and dry clear. When you use these, if a print is stuck, you just need to spritz some water around the print. The print and the glue will wick the water under the print, and reconstitute the glue. Once the glue is tacky again, the print will pop right off. The only downside is a slight texture to the print and not glossy glass flat.
The reason I like the colored glue, as it reconstitutes it activates the cobalt chloride and turns purple again. This is great for knowing when it is good to start printing again. And also tends to become less of a sticky mess than hairspray.
Upvotes: 2 |
2021/01/22 | 533 | 1,970 | <issue_start>username_0: After a year of printing smaller models, I finally went to print something that would take up most of the build plate from left to right and realized that my nozzle cannot reach "true" X home.
As seen in this picture:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/h4oFv.jpg)
the X-axis endstop does not allow a true X0, thus losing me precious mm of print space! I over-exaggerate, but truly is there any way to shift the X-axis more to the left or the Y axis/build plate more to the right to gain full bed usage?
Additional photo showing that the actual hotend plate is hitting the endstop:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/b5NRV.jpg)
Is this an Ender 3 problem in general that I have missed in my internet searches on this or is it just a manufacturing lottery that I unfortunately lost?<issue_comment>username_1: You do have hit the true home. You will have to physically move the endstop to alter that position. Your problem is, that the endstop-home is on the build area - and that is printer dependant. My Ender 3 has about 4 mm diagonal distance from the bed in its physical home, for which I accounted via a firmware swap, including a "virtual" firmware home.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: The rated build space for the Ender 3 takes into account the few mm of inaccessible bed width at the Xmin side, along with a similar strip at the Xmax where the hotend carriage runs into the bracket that holds the wheels for that side's Z frame. If your slicer has an Ender 3 profile, the space it allows you to use will print on the Ender 3 (unless you have bull clips holding a glass build surface in place; then they'll interfere, but mainly on the Ymin and Ymax edges).
Don't forget, even though your actual bed is 235 mm square, the *usable* build volume is rated as only 200 mm square (by 225 mm high).
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/01/24 | 1,012 | 3,929 | <issue_start>username_0: I am using PLA and I am looking for ideas on using the `Tune` option to tune my Prusa i3 MK3 to increase the speed to 300 %.
The 300 % speed works perfectly fine for some of the models.
However, for some of the flat surfaces, the printer cannot handle the speed. The issues are pointed in the image below:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Hm8p0.jpg)
It seems that printer is struggling to supply enough filament.
Can I solve the issue by using the `Tune` menu by changing settings like temperature or flow?
**Answer:**
While @dandavis is informative, but this is how I did it:
* increasing z offset so nuzzle has enough space to dispense.
* Increase temperature +10
Please note that this degrades the print quality, but I am just printing a few organizer boxes. Quality is not essential and not something I expect from a 300% speed.<issue_comment>username_1: extruder clicking means you're getting backed up, grinding.
* Make the hotend hotter so you can melt filament 3X faster than expected; most materials have quite a range; aim high.
* Slow down the cooling fan; a lot of them can cool the hotend.
* You have a silicone boot on the nozzle? that will help some.
* Use a larger diameter nozzle to reduce backpressure and allow thicker layers.
* Try cranking the feed rate
Lastly, consider that you simply might not get acceptable results pushing speed THAT much.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Changing "Flow" will affect whole print. So even if it helped for the middle part (I doubt), the next it would ruin the print on sides by overextrusion. However: **if sides are printed ok, then why the middle couldn't?** Because walls are printed slower? Indeed, the under-extrusion may quickly rise along with speed because of plastic deformation between extruder gears under pressure and slight slipping, which actually increases with speed. The video "[How fast can your hotend print?](https://youtu.be/0xRtypDjNvI?t=301)" presents experiment on this phenomena and its outcomes.
Then we go into master question: **300% of what?** Turning the speed knob during print will override all considerations that slicer took into account during calculations - and defintely override [Max volumetric speed](https://help.prusa3d.com/en/article/max-volumetric-speed_127176), which is key factor to limit **pressure in the nozzle** (vide clicking noise).
The real limit seems to be this middle part of print, and outer part is just cosmetics (probably calculated to print slower because of quality). So if you ensure, that printing these middle surfaces is **planned (in G-Code) with similar speed** as walls, then (at least in theory) you may be able to increase overall speed, playing e.g. only with temperature. (I actually mean the speed of extrusion, so this may not be simple as just setting equal speed for perimeters and infill, but this does not change the conclusion below.)
So I say **all it starts in the slicer** software: increase speed there and re-caclulate. This will ensure to not exceed key limitations. Then you may manipulate maximal values in slicer for further experimentation.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: Provided you find a way to increase the extruder limits, as replied by @username_1 , you will still get underextrusion in the infill if the infill is printed faster than walls.
You need to enable some option in the slicer to label each part of the print, so that you get a comment in the gcode to mark walls, infill, and so on.
Then you need to process the generated gcode, so that when you find the label "infill" you replace it with a flow multiplier to increase flow. How much has to be tuned by try and fail.
You also need to replace every remaining label (walls, ...) with a 100% flowrate setting to bring back the setting to the standard value, obviously.
Upvotes: 0 |
2021/01/24 | 1,413 | 4,803 | <issue_start>username_0: I was printing an object and it started to drag so I stopped it.
Went to move the Z-axis up so I could clear the bed and Z-axis would not budge.
I switched the printer off and manually turned the motors to get the Z up.
Cleared the bed, switched on and homed the printer. When it came to home the Z, BLTouch deployed and then nothing. Motors will not turn.
Things I tried:
* Recompiled the firmware (Marlin 2.0.x)
* Different motors - Motors were free from the printer, just resting on a desk so I know it's not binding or anything.
* Swapped stepper driver with a known working one.
Info about the printer:
* CR10s
* SKR1.4 Turbo board
* TMC2208 Steppers
* BLTouch
* Octopi to control the printer.
Output of `M122` for the Z:
```
Recv: Z
Recv: Address
Recv: Enabled false
Recv: Set current 1000
Recv: RMS current 994
Recv: MAX current 1402
Recv: Run current 17/31
Recv: Hold current 8/31
Recv: CS actual 8/31
Recv: PWM scale
Recv: vsense 0=.325
Recv: stealthChop true
Recv: msteps 16
Recv: tstep max
Recv: PWM thresh. 0
Recv: [mm/s] -
Recv: OT prewarn false
Recv: triggered
Recv: OTP false
Recv: pwm scale sum 10
Recv: pwm scale auto 0
Recv: pwm offset auto 36
Recv: pwm grad auto 14
Recv: off time 4
Recv: blank time 24
Recv: hysteresis
Recv: -end 2
Recv: -start 1
Recv: Stallguard thrs
Recv: uStep count 40
Recv: DRVSTATUS Z
Recv: sg_result
Recv: stst
Recv: olb
Recv: ola
Recv: s2gb
Recv: s2ga
Recv: otpw
Recv: to
Recv: 157C
Recv: 150C
Recv: 143C
Recv: 120C
Recv: s2vsa
Recv: s2vsb
Recv: Driver registers:
Recv: Z 0xC0:08:00:00
Recv:
Recv:
Recv: Testing Z connection... OK
```<issue_comment>username_1: extruder clicking means you're getting backed up, grinding.
* Make the hotend hotter so you can melt filament 3X faster than expected; most materials have quite a range; aim high.
* Slow down the cooling fan; a lot of them can cool the hotend.
* You have a silicone boot on the nozzle? that will help some.
* Use a larger diameter nozzle to reduce backpressure and allow thicker layers.
* Try cranking the feed rate
Lastly, consider that you simply might not get acceptable results pushing speed THAT much.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Changing "Flow" will affect whole print. So even if it helped for the middle part (I doubt), the next it would ruin the print on sides by overextrusion. However: **if sides are printed ok, then why the middle couldn't?** Because walls are printed slower? Indeed, the under-extrusion may quickly rise along with speed because of plastic deformation between extruder gears under pressure and slight slipping, which actually increases with speed. The video "[How fast can your hotend print?](https://youtu.be/0xRtypDjNvI?t=301)" presents experiment on this phenomena and its outcomes.
Then we go into master question: **300% of what?** Turning the speed knob during print will override all considerations that slicer took into account during calculations - and defintely override [Max volumetric speed](https://help.prusa3d.com/en/article/max-volumetric-speed_127176), which is key factor to limit **pressure in the nozzle** (vide clicking noise).
The real limit seems to be this middle part of print, and outer part is just cosmetics (probably calculated to print slower because of quality). So if you ensure, that printing these middle surfaces is **planned (in G-Code) with similar speed** as walls, then (at least in theory) you may be able to increase overall speed, playing e.g. only with temperature. (I actually mean the speed of extrusion, so this may not be simple as just setting equal speed for perimeters and infill, but this does not change the conclusion below.)
So I say **all it starts in the slicer** software: increase speed there and re-caclulate. This will ensure to not exceed key limitations. Then you may manipulate maximal values in slicer for further experimentation.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: Provided you find a way to increase the extruder limits, as replied by @username_1 , you will still get underextrusion in the infill if the infill is printed faster than walls.
You need to enable some option in the slicer to label each part of the print, so that you get a comment in the gcode to mark walls, infill, and so on.
Then you need to process the generated gcode, so that when you find the label "infill" you replace it with a flow multiplier to increase flow. How much has to be tuned by try and fail.
You also need to replace every remaining label (walls, ...) with a 100% flowrate setting to bring back the setting to the standard value, obviously.
Upvotes: 0 |
2021/01/25 | 1,134 | 4,065 | <issue_start>username_0: I am looking at printing a fair amount of text, ideally using some custom fonts. I quite like [Stay Classy](https://pixelify.net/download/free-fonts/script-handwritten/stay-classy-font-free/) but will likely have to consider change if it causes issues.
I am a little stuck on where to start with using these in some tools. I have tried creating an SVG using the font and importing to Tinkercad however that always fails. I only want to print the text, nothing else.
How do I properly convert my font into .svg and import that so I can make my bodies? While I have tried Tinkercad I am open to alternative tools if this can be achieved more easily.<issue_comment>username_1: Fonts are not saved in a format that is .svg compatible. However, text that is written in a font and saved as a black-and-white picture can be turned into a .svg by software. This .svg can be imported by Tinkercad then.
Step 1: Text Picture
====================
Use any software to create a .png or .jpg or something similar. Among the multitude of programs that can do this are GIMP and Adobe Photoshop. Even Paint can do this, or any word processor and then screen capture. If you know your Inkscape, you can skip this.
Step 2: making the .svg
=======================
Either you use software like [Inkscape](https://inkscape.org/) to import your picture and trace the outlines, or you use a web service. For example [Convertino](https://convertio.co/jpg-svg) or the [Fontquirrel Webfont generator](http://www.fontsquirrel.com/tools/webfont-generator). You only need the outlines, no filling!
In Inkscape the rundown to tracing is:
* File/Import
* Path/Trace Bitmap
* Update
+ OK
Step 3: Import
==============
You got your outline .svg, so import that into any software and you can start making your embossed letters. Personally, I would use Fusion360, but most CAD software support importing an SVG and treat that the same as if you had sketched in that software.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I think @username_1 answered your question more specifically, but an alternate route (that I think its simpler assuming you don't mind the learning curve) is using Blender.
Rather than creating an svg in a different software and having to go from something like photoshop to inkscape to tinkercad to your printer software... Blender could do most of that in one step, and its free.
In Blender, add text:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8vXWf.png)
Hit tab to go into "Edit" mode and in edit mode you can simply backspace and type whatever you want.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/UdUXU.png)
In the "Font" menu, you can choose from any font on your computer.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/1hkC1.png)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/zMbeY.png)
And you can make it "3D" by extruding it:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/SzlG0.png)
When it looks good and you're ready to print it, make sure to convert it to a mesh, then export as .stl for your printing software. (Cura/Slic3r/etc.)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/5V2yx.png)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/03VPQ.png)
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Tinkercad and Inkscape is likely the easiest method, requiring very little to learn anew. The key in Inkscape is to use Path, Object to Path, which converts the text format to "ordinary" vectors supported by Tinkercad.
If you're comfortable with both programs, there's no reason to divert to a new package.
Tossing a conversion from vector to bitmap and back to vector is going to "damage" the image, while the suggestion I've made will retain all detail.
Upvotes: 0 |
2021/01/25 | 746 | 3,116 | <issue_start>username_0: In the past we had printers with poor mechanics and with primitive software algorithms, therefore we used to print inner perimeters faster than the outermost one. See for example (generic, found online):
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/DJeIV.jpg)
However now we have pressure/linear advance which reduces extra oozing/extrusion in corners or areas with variable speed, and in Klipper we also have [resonance compensation](https://www.klipper3d.org/Resonance_Compensation.html) which takes care of imperfect mechanics allowing printers to be pushed to higher acceleration without visible artifacts (in my case from 2000 to 6000 mm/s^2), see (generic) photo:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/SZhB5.jpg)
However printing slower has a clear disadvantage: E steps calibration is speed dependent with more filament being pushed out at lower speed, see
Is there any reason left to print outer perimeters at a lower speed? Using one speed only except for specific areas (small perimeters, bridges, support) seems to make more sense to me to improve quality and reduce printing times.<issue_comment>username_1: Thanks to Input Shaper, you can print faster, sometimes to the point of reaching your speed limit on the max nozzle flow speed. At that point, if all speeds are hitting that threshold without any changes in quality, you could print every part at the same maximum speed.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: Lowering speed on outer perimeter has always been mostly wrong, but possibly useful. Usually, it's a poor approximation for what you really want to do, which is lowering *acceleration* on the outer perimeter, to avoid surface quality and dimensional accuracy errors due to ringing and backlash. However, on bowden printers without compensation for pressure ("linear advance" in Marlin, aka "pressure advance" in some other firmware), slow acceleration and high speeds give really bad error in extrusion consistency, so you're better off just lowering the max speed too whenever you lower acceleration.
It's also possible that you may want to print at extremely high speeds for inner walls and infill - speeds so high that you get a lot of extrusion consistency problems. If so, it would make sense to retain a sensible max speed on the outer wall. This won't avoid the part strength problems from printing too fast, but if your models are just decorative, it might be worth it.
Generally, though, I'd recommend solving these problems right (using linear advance if your printer needs it, lowering outer perimeter acceleration to get rid of artifacts, printing at a speed your hotend can handle, etc.) and deem "slower outer perimeter" an idea whose time has passed.
Also, note that if you're using a bowden printer *without* linear advance, sticking to the *same speed* for all extrusion will largely paper over the problem. This is probably the source of your observation that it "improves print quality" for you.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer] |
2021/01/25 | 713 | 2,434 | <issue_start>username_0: I need to print a rotor for a DC motor I'm designing. In the process of testing the behaviors of the motor performances, I would need a material that will not deform at a temperature range between 100 °C to 150 °C.
Since I don't have a 3D printer yet, I would like to know what would be the best choice for my need.
I was planning to buy an Ender 3, but I'm not sure this entry-level 3D printer will allow me to obtain the results I'm looking for. I'm excluding PLA material because I think it's the most "fragile" material from this point of view and for my needs.
My questions are:
1. Which material should I use in order to have a 3D printed object (rotor) that will not deform at a temperature that varies from 100 °C to 150 °C?
2. Can an Ender 3 (planning to use full metal hotend and also hotbed) be used to print the filament that is heat resistant? Should I buy a resin 3D printer?<issue_comment>username_1: PEEK (poly ether ether ketone) has a glass transition temperature of 145 °C (293 °F).
Melting temperature
345 °C (653 °F)
Nozzle temperature
370 - 410 °C
Heated bed
120 - 150 °C
---
Polycarbonate has a glass transition temperature of about 147 °C (297 °F)
---
Polypropylene has a glass transition temperature is 215 °C
---
Polymaker PolyMide CoPA (specialized Nylon) Filament has a softening temperature of ~180 °C, but they don't specify the glass transition temperature. Other materials have the glass transition temperature about 5 °C below the temperature the material softens.
However, the glass transition temperature is only an indication of a physical change: while uncommon, a material may be rigid enough well above it's glass transition temperature. [How to interpret various thermal-related filament properties?](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/15490/how-to-interpret-various-thermal-related-filament-properties)
A side issue to consider as far as layout is FDM prints are weakest between layers (layer separation), so you want a layout where this affects your print the least.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Using an Ender 3 for high temperature materials is possible but you need to enclose it to be able to heat the air up to 100 °C.
It's quite involved and it would be much better, if it's something you do seldomly, to have the parts printed professionally.
Many thing start warping or breaking at 100 °C.
Upvotes: 2 |
2021/01/26 | 1,062 | 4,011 | <issue_start>username_0: I just installed my BLTouch clone (Marlin 1.8) on my Anycubic i3 Mega Ultrabase and finding confusing information about the `Z_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER` or the `M851` command.
I understand `M851` command does the same as `Z_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER` in the Configuration.h. (see [marlin docs](https://marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/M851.html))
So according to Marlin, this value is the distance of the nozzle to the distance of the triggering point of the sensor.
If I manage to measure that accurately, Marlin could probe the bed, knowing distance of probe to nozzle, add a margin for perfect distance (around paper thickness) and my bed would be forever perfectly measured with every autolevelling process and perfect distances could be calculated.
Instead, I find tutorials around the `M851` (e.g [here](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/5857/z-offset-on-autoleveling-sensor-setup/5858#5858?newreg=7ba284617c6d4de7834be73f67dd4e6b) telling to manually level the bed, then take the current Z-value of the extruder and put that into the `M851` value. In my understanding it makes little sense, as it has no reference to when the sensor triggers, its distance to the bed.
Sure, maybe this way it can get an understanding of slight derivations in the planarity of the bed, but it would not have automatically "levelled" my bed, just compensated for imperfections.
I am confused by the amount of tutorials that suggest so. Whats the case now? Is Marlin not really able to really level to my bed?<issue_comment>username_1: What may be confusing is the use of the naming of the mechanism "Auto Bed Levelling", or short ABL, does not make your build plate to level itself with respect to the frame of the printer1). Hence you are instructed to always tram (level is rather misleading as it doesn't involve bubble levelling, instead it is meant to tram the bed with respect to the X- and Y-axis) the build surface as good as you can.
The ABL process could better be described as "Height adjusting to scanned bed geometry" or something like that, as that is exactly what is being done. The `G29` command scans the bed surface and (depending on the firmware options) it generates a mesh or a plane through the measured points. When printing, the nozzle will follow the bed height geometry and fades this out over about 10 milliliters (depends on setting). So, if you do not tram the bed correctly, you will end up with a skew bottom of the print as the fade out will cause the printer to print eventually parallel to the X- and Y-axis.
Note that specifying the Z-offset in the firmware is rather useless, you cannot measure this beforehand. It is far better to do this later using `M851`.
[This answer](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/5858) describes in some more detail how the offset is generated and applied to the scanned surface.
---
*1) It is possible to actually level/tram the bed (e.g. in Marlin firmware), but that are different processes. E.g. a tramming assistant is available when using the [`G35`](https://marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/G035.html) G-code. And, automatically, (for specific printers) possible on build plates that are moved up/down by several lead screws (look into `NUM_Z_STEPPER_DRIVERS` in Marlin's Configuration\_adv.h file). But still, this maintains a certain level, it does not scan the complete surface, that can be achieved by the ABL process.*
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Just thought that BLTouch could automatically measure the nozzle height. If it goes down slowly till nozzle touch the bed and then push down a little more then it will see sensor isn't moving anymore then it means nozzle already pushes the bed down. Beds are usually have springs and shouldn't hurt to push it a little (~1mm) by nozzle. Not sure if such function is implemented. Just an idea. This procedure doesn't need to be used every time. Could be an option after changing the nozzle or other adjustments affecting the nozzle height.
Upvotes: -1 |
2021/01/26 | 955 | 3,132 | <issue_start>username_0: I have an Ender 5 with an auto bed leveling sensor (TRU-LEV 600).
It is working fine, however, as the sensor probes the bed, the nozzle and the bed cool down and are not staying heated as it is getting the points, even though they were heated up in the first place.
How do I stop the bed and hotend from cooling down while the bed is being probed?
Here is my start G-code:
```
M75; Start Print Timer and Engage Fil Sensor if USB Printing
G92 E0; Reset Extruder distance to 0
G1 E-2; Retracts filament to prevent blobs during probing
M84 E; Disable E Motor for probe accuracy on direct drive systems
G28; home all axes
G28 Z; home Z to get more accurate Z position
G29; TRULEV mesh generation
G4 S10; wait for heaters to recover
M117 Purge extruder
G92 E0; reset extruder
G1 X0.1 Y20 Z0.3 F5000.0; move to start-line position
G1 Z1.0 F3000; move z up little
G1 X0.1 Y100.0 Z0.3 F750.0 E15; draw 1st line
G1 X0.4 Y100.0 Z0.3 F5000.0; move to side a little
G1 X0.4 Y20 Z0.3 F750.0 E30; draw 2nd line
G92 E0; reset extruder
G1 Z1.0 F3000; move z up little
M117 Printing.....
```<issue_comment>username_1: For Marlin firmware, you should **check the setting `PROBING_HEATERS_OFF`** in *Configuration.h* file:
```
//#define PROBING_HEATERS_OFF // Turn heaters off when probing
#if ENABLED(PROBING_HEATERS_OFF)
//#define WAIT_FOR_BED_HEATER // Wait for bed to heat back up between probes (to improve accuracy)
#endif
//#define PROBING_FANS_OFF // Turn fans off when probing
//#define PROBING_STEPPERS_OFF // Turn steppers off (unless needed to hold position) when probing
//#define DELAY_BEFORE_PROBING 200 // (ms) To prevent vibrations from triggering piezo sensors
```
It is probably enabled in your case. You may want to switch this off and reinstall firmware to maintain constant heating during probing.
However, you may want to take into account possibility of **electrical or magnetic intereferences during probing** from heaters and their circuits. Disabling them for a while may eliminate these influences and give more reliable measurements. Unless the bed ot hotend are unable to maintain stable temperature for a while and cool down too much (e.g. bed changing shape). So may want to experiment what works the best in your case, maybe including other settings listed in given section.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Eco mode under settings shuts off the bed after a 30 minutes ish maybe an hour. Either way it is probably the issue
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: I had this problem after installing BLTouch as well, but didn't want to compile the firmware from source to solve it. I'm using the stock firmware for the Ender 3 with BLTouch from Creality's website.
To get around this problem, I added the `M109 S200` instruction to my custom G-code in Cura after the auto-leveling instruction. [`M109`](https://marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/M109.html) resets the nozzle temperature and waits for it to heat up.
ETA: obviously the downside to this is that you have to edit the custom G-code every time you want to print at a different temperature.
Upvotes: 0 |
2021/01/26 | 893 | 3,289 | <issue_start>username_0: After seeing a question about FDM printing of temperature-resistant parts, high-temperature 2-part epoxy came to mind. Are there any (experimental or production) FDM extruders for laying viscous, fast-curing epoxy, mixing it at the last moment before extrusion? Or likewise other cured/resin materials, either 2-part or UV-cured (with whole print volume flooded with UV)?<issue_comment>username_1: Is this what you're looking for?
(<https://the3dprinterbee.com/how-does-a-resin-3d-printer-work-sla-dlp-lcd-explained/>)
Material Beam
Material blasting is a unique 3D resin printing technology that can be compared to an office inkjet printer. It is also considered one of the fastest and most accurate 3D printing technologies available for resin printing today.
Material Beam 3D printers are similar to inkjet 3D printers in that they also have a print head from which thousands of tiny resin droplets are applied to the building platform and then cured with UV light. Once a layer has been completed, the building platform automatically lowers to the height of a layer and the process is repeated until the object is completed.
The technology of material blasting enables high dimensional accuracy, but speed is also a convincing point. The process in which the resin droplets are ejected from several print heads, which in turn move back and forth over the building platform, is known as line-by-line cutting. This ensures that multiple parts can be produced without affecting the build speed. As a user, you also have the choice between matte and shiny surfaces on your 3D printed object. However, the individual components for material beam technology are very cost-intensive. Other disadvantages are the waste of material when you choose to print matt surfaces and the low strength of the 3D printed parts.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Apparently now the answer is yes. A company called MASSIVit has a system they call GDP - gel dispensing printing - that's essentially what I asked about, on an extremely large scale. 3D Printing Nerd has [a video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSE2q_ejjKc) from their booth at Formnext 2021 in Frankfurt, Germany.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Yes, it has been done for many years - but it's not referred to as FDM when you use deposition of resins. At room temperature it's often called **Direct Ink Writing** (DIW, [example](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352940721000445)), and if heated it's often called **Hot Melt Extrusion** (HME, [example](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29859323/)).
*Disclaimer: I work for Hyrel 3D, a 3D printer manufacturer which has been making heads that deposit one- or two-part resins since 2015. See [over 300 published papers](https://hyrel3d.com/wiki/index.php/Published_Papers), many of which cite this exact process.*
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: There is this [enter link description here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3CY3P28qyQ) printer which uses a liquid resin that's cured using UV at the very tip of the nozel, it prints in layers like an FDM printer and is extremely fast but can't do small details.
I've only ever seen it print at a large scale I don't know if there is a prototype for a desktop version.
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/01/27 | 512 | 2,059 | <issue_start>username_0: I got this message from my Creality Ender 6 printer.
Now every time I want to print, or when it heats up, the printer gives me this message.
Can anyone please help with this?
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/oCLzI.jpg "Heating failed error")<issue_comment>username_1: Someone with experience using an Ender may give a more specific answer to you question. This is a general answer, not for a specific model.
"Soon enough" is saying the printer timed out before reaching temperature.
1. Do you see the temperature increasing on both the hot end and bed? If one doesn't, that's where the failure occurs.
2. Are you setting a temperature higher than you have ever used on this printer? If so, check to see if you are beyond the printers capability.
3. The hotend will reach temperature first. Does it reach the target temperature? If so, the issue is probably with your bed heater. If not, the issue is with your hot end.
4. If you are pushing the extremes of your heaters, especially the bed heater, and your printer isn't in an enclose, you may need and enclosure to run that temperature.
Once you determine where the issue is at, there are things to can do to determine what is failing.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I've seen a version of this error on my Ender 3 when I heated the hot end without the silicone sock (or any other insulating wrap).
If this occurred after changing a nozzle, replacing a heat break (or entire hot end), installing a new cooling duct, or similar, it's likely you just inadvertently left off the insulation that should surround the heat block, making it take much longer and require much more power to reach working temperature than is normal.
This can also occur if the thermistor or heater cartridge are not correctly seated in the heat block -- the same problems that can result in a thermal runaway halt (assuming your printer has that feature) if it does get to temperature before timing out.
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/01/29 | 476 | 1,489 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm using Cura to slice prints from a biodegradable polyester called PCL ([Polycaprolactone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycaprolactone)).
I need to print @ ~70 °C but extruder does not run until nozzle reaches 175 °C.
Which setting to change so extruder will turn on when nozzle temperature has reached 70 °C?
Here are my settings for the material:
**[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/IIh9C.png)**<issue_comment>username_1: 70 °C is a specialty filament. It is well below the `MIN_TEMP` defined in any sane firmware. In Marlin, you **can't** turn on the extruder in any way, while this is online.
You do need to define your firmware to allow such a print - either by dropping the value in the firmware or disabling Mintemp-protection and then *flashing that firmware*. That is quite invasive.
To [temporarily](https://marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/M302.html) disable the `MIN_TEMP`, you need to run the G-code `M302 P1` or `M302 S0` - `M302` on its own does nothing. However, some firmware distributions might explicitly prevent these two commands of *turning off* the check.
In that case, you might use `M302 S65` or similar to drop the `MIN_TEMP`.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In Cura Machine Settings, add `M302 S70`.
Apparently, `M302 P1` and `M302 S0` do nothing, you need to define a non-zero minimum, and in my case, 70. Thanks to 0scar and username_1 for your help.
Upvotes: 2 |
2021/01/30 | 786 | 2,651 | <issue_start>username_0: ***TL;DR** - Please help me rebuild my CR-6 SE so that I can move on*
---
Here's a link to the latest issue that I had to make proof of in a video: [CR6-SE failed](https://youtu.be/9vChL7Il_9Y)
Basically, it's failing to reach/maintain temperature (set point of 240 °C, fails to heat above 230 °C), issues start to happen at temps as low as 210 °C.
Creality support is evasive/dodgy. First, they want to see a video proof for the problem reported, and after a while and emails from me asking, suggested something obvious (set temp to 200 °C).
And without any video, they don't respond. Just like last time when I ran into the defective/burned power switch and failed bed leveling.
*If you have some spare time, please quickly check the video and provide some feedback.*
I already fixed the burned power switch and auto-leveling (Creality ignored me, so I got the parts from Amazon).
This is the last issue that I need to do a "mercy" fix, so that I can either repurpose it or, just give it away (but I still have to make it working again and safe!).
I already placed an order for an i3 MK3S+, should've bought this in the first place to help me study 3D modeling, *not working my degree towards fixing Creality printer failures* :)
Thanks in advance.
My troubleshooting steps so far after a screw fell off during print:
* Disassembled the hotend: found heater block loose, screws were bent and somewhat stripped
* Heater resistor has a bad crimp
* Thermistor is reading temp, but I don't know if it's accurate (don't have a multimeter+thermocouple)
Ordered a hotend from AliExpress, hopefully, that's it<issue_comment>username_1: 70 °C is a specialty filament. It is well below the `MIN_TEMP` defined in any sane firmware. In Marlin, you **can't** turn on the extruder in any way, while this is online.
You do need to define your firmware to allow such a print - either by dropping the value in the firmware or disabling Mintemp-protection and then *flashing that firmware*. That is quite invasive.
To [temporarily](https://marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/M302.html) disable the `MIN_TEMP`, you need to run the G-code `M302 P1` or `M302 S0` - `M302` on its own does nothing. However, some firmware distributions might explicitly prevent these two commands of *turning off* the check.
In that case, you might use `M302 S65` or similar to drop the `MIN_TEMP`.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In Cura Machine Settings, add `M302 S70`.
Apparently, `M302 P1` and `M302 S0` do nothing, you need to define a non-zero minimum, and in my case, 70. Thanks to 0scar and username_1 for your help.
Upvotes: 2 |
2021/01/30 | 752 | 2,520 | <issue_start>username_0: I've just changed the motherboard on my Ender 3 Pro with a MKS GEN\_L v1.0 and flashed the latest Marlin version on it.
I've calibrated my bed manually using the default XY and Z auto home commands on OctoPrint and a piece of paper.
I'm happy with the calibration, however whenever I launch a print the Z axis moves up from the calibrated position by about 4 mm and starts extruding.
I've checked my Z endstop status with `M119` and it's triggered at the right calibrated position.
How can I correct this?<issue_comment>username_1: If you are already sure that homing is performed correctly and in valid position, then there are few reasons why printer may start printing in unexpected position.
Do the following checks to narrow down the actual one:
* **steps/mm**: use [`M503`](https://marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/M503.html) (or [`M92`](https://marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/M092.html) without parameters) to check if currently configured steps/mm match [your hardware setup](https://blog.prusaprinters.org/calculator_3416/#steppermotors) for each axis
* **offsets:** use [`M503`](https://marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/M503.html) (or [`M206`](https://marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/M206.html) without parameters) to check that there are no offsets configured
* **backoff:** look in *Configuration\_adv.h* for following line:
```
//#define HOMING_BACKOFF_POST_MM { 2, 2, 2 } // (mm) Backoff from endstops after homing
```
(Having the backoff set is nothing wrong, actually. But be sure to also check final positioning in the generated file.)
* **slicer's Start G-code:** review slicer configuration, if there is nothing suspicious injected to the print file, which could temporarily overrid printer setup - esepecially [M428](https://marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/M428.html), [M206](https://marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/M206.html), [G92](https://marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/G092.html) *(set position is normal for E in relative extrusion mode, but suspicious for X,Y,Z)*
* **generated file:** review initial part of generated G-Code file, if there are any similar surprises, and if on initial layer section there is expected move to valid Z position before extrusion is made
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I've actually found what the issue was. It turns out that my Z steps were way out of whack (i.e. 4000 steps/mm instead of 400). Apparently, that's the default value in GitHub for version 2.0 of Marlin. Not sure if that's a typo or a valid value, anyhow setting it to 400 fixed it.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer] |
2021/02/01 | 327 | 1,206 | <issue_start>username_0: I've read a bunch of articles about getting better springs for my bed levelling screws so that I don't have to adjust it as often because standard springs vibrate loose as it prints.
However, would it be simpler and more effective to just use Nyloc nuts tightened against the adjustment wheels so that the wheels cannot rotate? Or some other form of mechanical prevention of the wheels turning? For example, tie a piece of string between the spokes in opposite wheels, so they cannot rotate much relative to each other.<issue_comment>username_1: It's because the bed heats up. Since the bed can heat up to the point that locktite or nylon can soften, using those products to keep the screws from turning will have exactly the opposite effect.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Does your bed already have washers on the screws? The neopreme (red) washer under the screw head (in picture). This is the German Reprap X400 design and is worth trying.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/jucy3.jpg)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/V3qrL.jpg)
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/02/01 | 652 | 2,276 | <issue_start>username_0: What should I take care of to replace the nozzle of the hotend assembly the right way?
What kind of data, precautions, tools, steps, and verification are important for replacing the nozzle?
The procedure seems straightforward but tutorials differ greatly and seem often incomplete. Online videos are great but long, sometimes misleading, and difficult to compare if they use another printer model.
For example:
* This [Prusa 3D tutorial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txt6sxV6X88) starts from heating the nozzle to 280 °C, which is dangerous for some hotend setups. Also, it is created around a direct drive extruder, so it does not advise to what to do with a Bowden tube.
* Another [Changing Nozzles & Bowden Tubes video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRzsGttNMyk) seems to be a great tutorial but advises heating only to ~210 °C. So I need to make sure I know my hardware limits first? Should I take something else into account about temperature, or just act by experience, [starting from 230 °C](/a/11648/26170)?
* Is that heating mandatory, or only [when there is residue filament inside](/a/5123/26170)? If there is something to consider about [replacement nozzle](/q/8064/) before installing it, or cooling down again, like PID calibration?
So I am looking for a general overview: **what should I think of** to be in control? And maybe a bit of **why**, but not necessarily how. (As always, each detail may be a separate study, so please don't to fall into troubleshooting, which could be done in separate questions like [E3D V6 nozzle seized into heater block](/q/11646/)).<issue_comment>username_1: It's because the bed heats up. Since the bed can heat up to the point that locktite or nylon can soften, using those products to keep the screws from turning will have exactly the opposite effect.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Does your bed already have washers on the screws? The neopreme (red) washer under the screw head (in picture). This is the German Reprap X400 design and is worth trying.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/jucy3.jpg)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/V3qrL.jpg)
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/02/04 | 832 | 2,922 | <issue_start>username_0: Apply / find / create a stainless steel coating to apply to a PETG or PLA part to make it react to a magnet.
My goal is to make a small tubular and conical shapes that can be painted with a stainless steel coating and will react with a magnet.
I know I can buy iron filled PLA but these rust which I want to avoid. **I'm trying to get the magnetic properties of stainless steel (no rusting / reacts to magnets)**
I have found videos on how to coat with copper / silver / carbon but I'm looking for stainless steel no rust / magnetic properties.
---
*I'm looking for a "low-cost" solution just for testing.*<issue_comment>username_1: The surface won't work
======================
The only true-metallic surface treatments I know to be actual metal in large enough amounts to conduct electricity would be leafmetal, akin to leaf gold, and electroplating. However, you can't use the procedures for stainless steels, and even then, the thickness is in the tenth of a µm area and lower. Not only would that be far too thin to adhere a magnet to, it also would be super easy to damage with rubbing.
Filling?
========
PLA itself does not block magnetism - I have printed a PLA holder for a magnetic GPS device, into which I inserted a simple 0.5 mm steel plate for a magnetic surface with 0.5 mm of PLA acting as the container and seal against water.
If the prints can be done with one end open and no infill or have a dedicated area that a cheap piece of steel can be inserted into, this method can be used too. The only requirement is that there is a cavity on the inside that at some point is accessible. This also can be during the print.
This cavity could either take a piece of shaped steel sheet or be filled with a different magnetic filler, for example, simple iron powder. The powder could be bound in a non-oxidizing polymer, for example, epoxy resin. This method has been used to [create cast stators for electro motors](https://www.windstuffnow.com/main/poured_stator.htm). It's [not the most efficient](https://www.fieldlines.com/index.php/topic,136931.msg902507.html?PHPSESSID=f201710e153b4520d5b59ec4d1475370#msg902507), but might work in your application - if your walls are thin enough.
With the correct mixture, such a material can be used to coat or fill the inside with enough magnetic material to give the magnets something to stick to and not rust away - the shell and the resin together would shield the iron from any air that could rust it. Indeed, a quite stuffed Resin-Iron-mix and a strong magnet have been [used in 2012 to create furniture by the name of "Gravity Stools"](https://www.sightunseen.com/2012/04/at-the-2012-milan-furniture-fair/) or other art pieces like in [this video](https://youtu.be/pxUUTIUOkW0)
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: No rust but has magnetic properties? You could try varnishing the iron filled PLA.
Upvotes: 0 |
2021/02/04 | 825 | 2,960 | <issue_start>username_0: I have a 3D printer built from generic, scrap parts.
It's controlled by a 2+ years old `MKS GEN L` board running Marlin version `1.1.x`.
I want to do a complete bed assembly replacement, including:
* Heated bed
* Thermistor
* Y-carriage
All the hardware bits, including the z-endstop are sorted and ready to be installed.
**My question is:**
* Once I replace the assembly, what kind of software / firmware modifications do I need to do to Marlin configuration for my printer to work correctly?
I understand that I need to modify dimensions and offsets but I am unsure what else will I need to change within the codebase before flashing Marlin.<issue_comment>username_1: The surface won't work
======================
The only true-metallic surface treatments I know to be actual metal in large enough amounts to conduct electricity would be leafmetal, akin to leaf gold, and electroplating. However, you can't use the procedures for stainless steels, and even then, the thickness is in the tenth of a µm area and lower. Not only would that be far too thin to adhere a magnet to, it also would be super easy to damage with rubbing.
Filling?
========
PLA itself does not block magnetism - I have printed a PLA holder for a magnetic GPS device, into which I inserted a simple 0.5 mm steel plate for a magnetic surface with 0.5 mm of PLA acting as the container and seal against water.
If the prints can be done with one end open and no infill or have a dedicated area that a cheap piece of steel can be inserted into, this method can be used too. The only requirement is that there is a cavity on the inside that at some point is accessible. This also can be during the print.
This cavity could either take a piece of shaped steel sheet or be filled with a different magnetic filler, for example, simple iron powder. The powder could be bound in a non-oxidizing polymer, for example, epoxy resin. This method has been used to [create cast stators for electro motors](https://www.windstuffnow.com/main/poured_stator.htm). It's [not the most efficient](https://www.fieldlines.com/index.php/topic,136931.msg902507.html?PHPSESSID=f201710e153b4520d5b59ec4d1475370#msg902507), but might work in your application - if your walls are thin enough.
With the correct mixture, such a material can be used to coat or fill the inside with enough magnetic material to give the magnets something to stick to and not rust away - the shell and the resin together would shield the iron from any air that could rust it. Indeed, a quite stuffed Resin-Iron-mix and a strong magnet have been [used in 2012 to create furniture by the name of "Gravity Stools"](https://www.sightunseen.com/2012/04/at-the-2012-milan-furniture-fair/) or other art pieces like in [this video](https://youtu.be/pxUUTIUOkW0)
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: No rust but has magnetic properties? You could try varnishing the iron filled PLA.
Upvotes: 0 |
2021/02/04 | 839 | 3,174 | <issue_start>username_0: So, I'm pretty new to 3D Printing, and to quote Spock from *Wrath of Khan* I would say "He is intelligent, but not experienced". Now everything I have been reading about Z-offset seems to talk about a 0.2 mm gap and using a piece of paper.
Wishing to be accurate, I have tried to use my 0.2 mm feeler gauges and this is too high.
However, the thickness of paper depends on the GSM (grams per square metre). A Google search tells me that the average thickness of paper is ~0.1 mm but how can we be accurate with this variation.
I tried using a 0.1 mm feeler gauge and even this seemed too high. Is this because of the lack of give in the metal? Anyway, I have now settled for a Lotto slip (UK Lottery) which has a thickness of 0.1 mm and seems to allow me to set a good offset.
However, I would welcome someone who can explain the science behind this.<issue_comment>username_1: They are all generic guidelines. Don't count on them too much.
What you need is a reproducible offset to get the same value everywhere in the bed, then you can correct the overall offset via gcode at the beginning of your print.
You can also get an approximate Z-offset value, then print a solid 30x30x5 mm cube.
If, starting from the third-fourth layer, you see some over-extrusion, you need to adjust the extrusion multiplier or the E steps calibration and reprint.
Once the solid cube looks good starting from the third-fourth layer up, then you can tune the Z offset by printing a cube which is only 0.2 mm high (or 0.25 mm, or whatever your first layer height is).
If you see over-extrusion, the Z offset is too big. If you see visible gaps between extrusion lines, the Z offset is too small.
If unsure, better get some small remaining gaps rather than overextrusion and excess material.
The idea is that extrusion issues in the first layer can be caused either by the offset or by the multiplier, so you must adjust the multiplier first by looking at the print after about 1 mm height (the first layer issues tend to disappear after some layers). Once you know the extrusion is right, set properly the first layer.
---
**Edit**
For a good guide check [Andrew Ellis' guide](https://github.com/AndrewEllis93/Print-Tuning-Guide/): set first the [extrusion multiplier](https://github.com/AndrewEllis93/Print-Tuning-Guide/blob/main/articles/extrusion_multiplier.md) and then the [first layer squish](https://github.com/AndrewEllis93/Print-Tuning-Guide/blob/main/articles/first_layer_squish.md).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Measuring a gap with paper is just a rule of thumb. Personally I didn't measure anything, I've just made sure my bed is level and adjusted z-offset bit by bit until I was satisfied with the results. I couldn't tell you how wide the gap is.
On the other note you might not have to reconfigure your Marlin. You might be able to configure your z-offset by adjusting it directly in your printer config menu or alternatively if you are using Cura you can download a plug-in that allows you to adjust z-offset. You just have to remember to reslice your model if you print on multiple surfaces with different thickness
Upvotes: 0 |
2021/02/07 | 686 | 2,257 | <issue_start>username_0: Since I have lots of PETG, I ran tuning to 230 °C (average temp for my filaments).
What is it good for, in terms of temperature ranges?
For the same printer configuration, and just different filaments, will I need to run it again and again?
Let's assume that I'll be printing between 200 °C and 240 °C.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/SOVjm.png)<issue_comment>username_1: It's not a straight answer, but you don't have to run PID tuning every time you decide to print with different temperature. (Until you change something in a hardware near or related to the hotend.)
You can tune PID for different temperatures and grab necessary values, for example:
```
M303 C16 D1 E0 S190
22:14:31.872 > PID Autotune finished! Put the last Kp, Ki and Kd constants from below into Configuration.h
22:14:31.886 > #define DEFAULT_Kp 30.87
22:14:31.886 > #define DEFAULT_Ki 3.06
22:14:31.886 > #define DEFAULT_Kd 77.75
```
and then store respective G-code commands (like `M301 P30.87 I3.06 D77.75`) as few different "PID profiles" as new entries in *[custom menu for Marlin](/q/7676/)* or *menu.cfg for Klipper* for quick switching.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: PID tuning can be performed multiple times and the results saved for future use, since the question is about "what are the usable ranges for PID tuning", based on my experience
1. a slightly suboptimal tuning will not make the temperature oscillate more than 2-3 degrees, which is more than enough for most traditional filaments
2. if you have a 30-40 °C temperature range you can likely keep a tuning in the middle and be done with it
3. an accurate tuning is needed if you run the hot end at its maximum rated temperature: mine was rated 250 °C and without a good PID tuning the temperature was overshooting by 2-3 degrees, which was enough to trigger a over-temperature safety shutdown. Using the printer at 245 °C would have resulted in no issues even with sub-optimal PID tuning.
Of course, people with high temperature hot ends (up to 270-300 °C or more) will need a tuning for the usual range (200-240 °C) and one for the higher temperature range to obtain better prints.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer] |
2021/02/07 | 1,832 | 7,482 | <issue_start>username_0: I manage four 3D Printers for my college's robotics team. They are used pretty constantly throughout the school year; that is, they are used more as manufacturing printers than hobbyist printers. The environment they are in is less than ideal: The outdoor climate is typically cold and has low humidity, and the room they are in has fine dust particles that are less than 80 microns diameter and have electrostatic properties. The room's temperature also fluctuates week to week. As such, static electricity is fairly common in that room.
What effects does static electricity have on our 3D printers? I have had numerous problems recently with a motherboard with resistors that failed and another printer with an unknown issue that we suspect also has to do with the motherboard. Could the static electricity be causing these or other issues, or affecting the quality of our printed parts?
We use ZylTech filament, and print using a Creality Ender 3 Pro, CR-10S Pro, Ender 5 Plus, and a FlashForge Creator Pro. The dust particles mimic "regolith", or lunar soil, that comes from one of our team's test facilities.<issue_comment>username_1: Static electricity is detrimental to nearly all electronic devices. A stray zap from touching the frame of your printer could migrate to the controller boards, terminating normal operation. If you wish to protect the printers from static electricity, connect the frame to a confirmed electrical ground. The power supply may be grounded via the electrical cord, but you'd want to ensure that the entire structure shares that ground. Additionally, provide a [grounding strap](https://www.glinkster.com/how-to-use-anti-static-wrist-strap/) to which an operator would connect prior to using the machine.
Image below courtesy of linked site.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/4DSQE.png)
The more unfortunate aspect of your description is the issue of particulates in the air. Moving parts will be subject to excessive wear and your printer has plenty of moving parts. The stepper motors may "ingest" particles and the fans on the power supply will certainly pull in abrasive dust. The rails and bearings are going to be collecting as well.
If you wish to ensure a longer lifespan for the printer, a filtered enclosure with an overpressure environment is going to be needed. This presumes that one desires to provide cooling air to the printer and power supply. The box around the printer would have to be fed by a fan which is protected by a filter capable of preventing the dust you describe from entering. One could create a box around the printer without fans and another around the power supply with fans and filters.
One could use the reverse concept, that is, build a box from filters and have a fan suck the air into the box, into the fan and back out into the environment. This would provide for a greater surface area of filter material, reducing the frequency of filter changes. In the first example, the box is created from a solid material and the fan forces air for cooling, into the box, as dust-free as the filters will allow. In the reverse method, the box is created from filters and the fan is used to move air from the box to the outside, pulling clean, cool air into the enclosure.
It sounds like a tough place to be a 3D printer.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Static electricity does not affect the printing process but it can destroy or disrupt the electronics of the system. The dry air environment is really good for the printing process because keeping moisture out of the filament is one of the most important concerns for a good quality print. Dust is the other. If you can find a solution where the filament is drawn directly from the dry box; that would be best. (I am assuming that you have a dry box ;)
One problem that can occur in especially dry environments is static build-up during printing. A 3D printer can become a mini Van de Graaff generator with static being generated on the spool, being transferred to the nozzle. Normally this is a very rare problem but it sounds like your environment is very dry. You should try earthing the nozzle. Determine a spot on the cold side of the hot end assembly onto which you can connect a wire to earth, and ensure that it is connected via a very large ohmage resistor (100Mohm). This should keep static away from the stepper which should keep it away from the controller.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Regolith is one of the *worst* stuff known to man that could accumulate on electronics and moving parts. NASA replicated Regolith and has a [manual](https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/nasa_tp_2006_214605.pdf). Researchers studied [Regolith as a 3D print material](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12217-019-9674-5) - and found it can be used. We even have the formula to make [Concrete from it by adding water and refined regolith or even dry refined regolith.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunarcrete)
Also, we understand [how Regolth behaves electrically.](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23872637_Lunar_sample_electrical_properties) It's not a good conductor in the dry state but at least a conductor. However, just a little water rapidly changes that and makes it a rather good conductor! Tiny amounts rapidly increase the conductivity, making it very dangerous to electronics in combination with dew - which happens in low temperatures.
Dust on bearings gunks them up and then starts to grind away the rails.
Dust on filament gets pulled into the hotend and can create clogs.
So, it's rather clear that **we don't want this regolith-dust on our printers.**
Danger mitigation
-----------------
You immediately need to take measures to prevent dust from accumulating on the electronics and secondary on moving parts!
If possible, housing the electronics in a dust-sealed box would be preferential, but
housing the printers as a whole in an enclosure might mitigate most of the trouble for the start.
The most simple enclosure that would allow for such would be a simple large wood box, provided that the door contains a seal. For fire protection and to reduce the risk of one spot of the housing getting too high, the inside air should be constantly mixed, best by some sort of permanent running large fan. For further protection, the setup needs to be vented at least when the internal temperature gets too high, allowing to use of the heat of the printers to stabilize the internal temperature - and best even log it.
A venting-trigger temperature should be below 100 °C air temperature, better even 80 °C. But how to reduce the temperature?
The easiest cooling solution is to intake air from the outside, but we need to get the dust out of that. An easy solution would be a HEPA-filter unit. There are permanently running types, that would keep the printer-box(es) under over pressure compared to the atmosphere, keeping the dust from creeping into the box, but that doesn't give us control to heat the chamber if it gets cold.
But we could salvage an old printer board for that! Setting up the thermosensor in such a way that it measures air-temperature is easy. Using the bed and/or hotend exit of the board to some sort of heating element with grids at the filtered intake should be doable, evening out the temperature in the printer box to a minimum safe temperature.
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/02/09 | 618 | 1,825 | <issue_start>username_0: 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:**
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/mAOAA.png)<issue_comment>username_1: 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.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/86dAH.jpg)
You will need to set a printing offset [(`M206`)](https://marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/M206.html) in Marlin: via **Start G-code** in Cura, or any other suitable way (LCD configuration, configuration files, etc.).
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: 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 ] ]
]
}
```
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/02/09 | 1,200 | 4,013 | <issue_start>username_0: I currently use a BLtouch 3.1, which is known to stop operating at about 35-40 °C. In fact, when I preheat the bed at 100 °C close to the probe, I sometimes get issues with the pin not retracting correctly.
I would like in the future to enclose and heat the printer chamber, therefore I need a probe capable of operating at higher temperature. My target is 100 °C.
As of now, I'm aware of this solution:
<https://hightemp3d.com/products/remoteht-bed-level-probe-3d-printer>
>
> This high temperature probe uses a mechanical switch in combination
> with a servo motor to probe the bed. The servo motor is outside the
> enclosure and retracts the probe pin by pulling on a steel string
> inside a spring guide tube.
>
>
>
Microswitches are known to work at high temperatures (that's what the link above uses), but usually need a servo or other mechanism to extend/retract them when needed. Servos typically don't operate at such high temperature, not to mention that they are usually not very accurate.
I saw a [Hall filament sensor](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4138933) which uses Hall effect sensors "[ss49e](https://sensing.honeywell.com/honeywell-sensing-ss39et-ss49e-ss59et-product-sheet-005850-3-en.pdf)" and which could be easily [modified to be used as bed probe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLC-4S0aWJmLgpsTpdV56nfbFBFBC1jijn&v=-UwGZgZvYmw&feature=emb_title). Those Hall effect sensors are rated up to 100 °C but at that temperature they have up to 8% shift of the null value and +3/-9% change in sensitivity. The linked project uses two of them in differential mode so the temperature compensation should be much better, but it is not clear how much better. A [discussion](https://3dua.info/topic/21-datchik-diametra-filamenta/?page=2) about it on a Russian forum does not talk about this.
Are there other options operating at 100 °C?<issue_comment>username_1: Have you considered using or adapting Prusa’s P.I.N.D.A. V2 or SuperPINDA? Seems that within some bounds they’ve solved the temperature compensation issue.
The older P.I.N.D.A. V1 sensor seems to be temperature-sensitive. See more information in [P.I.N.D.A./SuperPINDA Sensor testing](https://help.prusa3d.com/en/article/p-i-n-d-a-superpinda-sensor-testing_2091) article of Pruse Knowledge Base.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: There are various designs which can be made to work at 100 °C.
For example this [solenoid probe](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4390007) uses a solenoid to lift a plunger during print, letting it drop during probing. The design uses a rare earth magnet which usually loses strength at 60-80 °C, but there are high temperature versions or a ferrite magnet will do. It also uses an Attiny13, rated 80 °C, but there are higher temperature versions of the chip. It is likely that it would work out of specs at 100 °C too, but it uses an optical endstop, which is the limiting factor with 85 °C typical.
[This other design](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4689074) uses a solenoid to push up and down a tactile switch. I see no reason why the solenoid would not work at 100 °C, maybe only the external wires may require replacement to withstand the temperature. There is no electronics limiting the operating temperature.
Other [designs](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3593971) with a servo are limited by the temperature range of the servo, which is typically 50-60 °C max. I think they would work fine up to 80 °C since they are not operated continuously and they are loaded with little force, but there is no guarantee.
Another [design](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2752968) working perfectly and with an even lower total weight is based on a microswitch and... the user placing the probe in position manually. It can probably be automated by mounting it on a hinge and by using something on the side of the bed to move it in an upright position and in a tilted position, where it could be held by (ferrite) magnets.
Upvotes: 1 [selected_answer] |
2021/02/09 | 1,308 | 5,080 | <issue_start>username_0: I have PLA and PETG filament.
I hear that 3D filament absorbs water and causes problems when printing but after printing they can be used with water and they are water proof.
So my question is why is it different after printing/what has changed to make it now waterproof?
* Is PETG waterproof or does it absorb water?
* Is there a limit on how much water PETG can absorb or will it keep going until it splits and turns to mush?<issue_comment>username_1: Filament that absorbs water prior to printing is subject to boiling temperatures as it passes through the heater block. In extreme cases, steam will be visible and a spitting sound will be heard. The filament will expand as the water exits, causing multiple structural and printing problems.
Once printed, dry filament may absorb water from the atmosphere, but is unlikely to be subject to boiling temperatures.
Waterproofing as a general consideration usually means the ability to keep water out, which is possible if the model is sealed and some printing conditions will adhere each layer well enough to the previous one to provide floating-type waterproofing.
PETG is hydroscopic, which means it will absorb moisture from the air. When printed properly (layer adhesion), the model can be waterproof.
These terms are independent and should not be used interchangeably.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Let's distinguish first three things:
* Hygroscopic behavior. The ability of a substance to absorb water. Salt is very Hygroscopic.
* Watertight open-shell. A boat is watertight against water from below. But you can pour water into it. Putting a lid on seals such a body somewhat, but the gap allows water to seep in.
* Watertight closed-shell. A sphere is water tight against water from all sides. You can not pour water into it, no lid needed.
Now, hygroscopic behavior of filament has can create a huge hazzle when printing: Waterlogged filament creates lots of problems, like spazzing, steam, foaming and others. This *can* result in a watertight designed print being printed in a *gappy* fashion or result in lack of strength or many other results.
Watertightness of a shell - open or closed - is primarily a result of the design and well fused lines. In my experience, 2 shells can be watertight, 3 shells upwards is almost always watertight. The main problems are with tops, where I experienced that the minimum tops and bottom layers need to be 4, better even 5. But this is dependant on your print quality - and you might need more or less dependant on your settings.
Under stress, like in an RC boat hitting into waves, the inter-layer bonds are the ones that would break first, breaking the shell likewise. To strengthen both the shell and ensure water tightness, polymer lacquers like acrylic paint, guitar lacquer or even epoxy resin (2-component epoxy resin is a very common glue) have been used successfully to create much strengthened and polished surfaces in RC projects. But you don't need to go through these steps unless you really want to.
After printing, a hygroscopic filament still undergoes the same processes and might undergo strength shifts. Sintered-Nylon for example might become heavier and softer if waterlogged. Such material also can't be frozen, the contained water can destroy the print.
For a bath-plug, I just would print the item as a "solid" body from TPU - TPU is after all the opposite of Hygroscopic: it's Hydrophobic. The next best "easy" material is ABS (as you can seal the surface using a little acetone vapor and can withstand 80 °C water for some time without deforming), then PLA (it's barely hygroscopic, but does not like hot water), and likewise PETG will do for some time, possibly better with the heat. Unless you put it in a freezer, it will keep the water in the tub long enough to take a bath.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: The properties of the maternal are not what changes after you print. It is how you use the material. PLA and ABS prints aren't usually subject to +100 °C after printing.
When PLA absorbs moisture it becomes brittle. PLA filament will break when trying to print. Your PLA print may be thick enough so that brittle doesn't cause a problem. However, this can be a problem if you intend your PLA print to be flexible.
The main issue with PETG absorbing moisture is the water changing to steam in the extruder. PETG becomes soft and will distort with force applied at +100 °C; so generally moisture isn't a issue with PETG prints, due to application.
PLA and PETG absorb moisture, but do not dissolve in water. Usually what a person means by waterproofing is water won't seep through the layers of the material and leak out of a container. Note: most glass will absorb small amounts of moisture, but are still waterproof.
If one wants a hermetic seal this is a similar issue. One person printing hermetic prints said thicker layers make it easier to be hermetic. Thicker layers also tend to make the printer stronger, but can also give less detail in the print.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer] |
2021/02/11 | 560 | 2,160 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm having a "minor" stringing issue, where I'm only getting stringing in helpers/support and infill area.
Background: Calibrating printer with 1 roll of PLA. Still getting minimal stringing, but mainly, stringing in helpers/support and infill areas. Tried different temps, but didn't seem to affect this.
Suspect some kind of slicer optimization settings? I mean, it's logical to not care about how pretty supports & infill look.
I would like to understand why this is happening.
Please point me to the right direction.
Thanks in advance.
Example photo: Outside in: brim, shell/wall, support, brim.
From [Thingiverse](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4512926).
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/hEX6f.jpg)<issue_comment>username_1: It would be great if you could add an image showing the stringing that occurs on the filled and helper/support part of the print. It's quite difficult to visualise what is happening/your problem.
I would assume that the density/fill of the print will be different for infill versus helper/support parts of the print. As a result, there are more gaps in the helper/support parts and stringing can more easily occur between them.
Have you tried enabling z-hop/retraction to prevent further stringing?
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: If the problem occurs in or immediately following printing of support material, it's probably Cura's *Limit Support Retractions* option, which defaults to on. This is probably the single worst default Cura has, and it causes all sorts of problems - surface defects, difficult-to-remove support, underextrusion, etc. - due to basically skipping all (necessary!) retractions while printing support.
If the problem occurs in infill area, it's probably *Combing*. Lowering *Max Comb Distance With No Retract* to something very low (150-200% of the nozzle width, so like 0.8 mm) should make this problem go away, but at some nontrivial cost to print time. If you make this change, you almost surely need *Zig-zaggify Infill* enabled if you want to avoid very high cost to print time and excessive retractions.
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/02/11 | 735 | 2,889 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm quite new to 3D-printing. I need to build a curved piece with a hole pattern and I was wondering whether it was possible to print such a hole pattern accurately, with such a thin (3 mm) thickness of the piece. In the past, when I tried printing thinner pieces with holes, the piece warped and holes were not printed properly. Therefore is there any changes to the model I need to make to improve the quality of the print, or add any supports?
I am using an Ender 3 Pro, with PLA.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/o2h6A.png)<issue_comment>username_1: That depends on the printer, the print material and your experience level (and maybe print orientation, but that depends on the load case), but, the depicted part should be printed very well at a thickness of 3 mm (that is not really "thin"). PLA will be easier than higher temp materials like ABS and PETG, but not impossible.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: People like PLA for dimensional accuracy. It's disadvantage is it becomes brittle, which can be an issue especially with thin prints if the application tends to bend it (applying force). Working with settings and with a 0.4 mm nozzle, typical for most printers using PLA, you can print walls as thin as 1 mm, but strength may be an issue.
To prevent warping, you need the PLA to stick to the build surface; something like a PEI tape surface. glue stick, or hair spray. Slowing down the print speed decreases warping. With a heated bed, you can print you first layer hotter (e.g. 75 °C) so that the PLA sticks well to the build surface, then use a lower temperature for subsequent layers (e.g. 60-65 °C) so that the PLA is stiffer. A level bed is also important to prevent warping. Using a brim also helps prevent warping.
Your print orientation is good for the print accuracy of your curved ends, but not as good for keeping a perfect circular shape of your holes. However, the smaller the holes the better the circular shape as long as they are large enough to print with your printer.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: 1. Use the smallest nozzle possible to get better rounded edges on holes.
2. Slow down the print speed to increase accuracy and prevent errors.
3. Print it face down against the bed if possible to reduce support requirements for overhangs and increase hole quality.
4. Clean the bed well, increase bed temperature, stick glue, enable brim, or add 'mouse ears' to prevent warping.
5. Make sure the bed is levelled properly to prevent warping and increase finish surface quality.
6. Use a 'stringing tester' to find the best temperature to print at so that you can prevent stringing between holes.
7. Enable z-hop retraction to prevent stringing and errors.
8. You can bore through the holes with a drill to clean them flush.
Upvotes: 2 |
2021/02/11 | 1,634 | 6,565 | <issue_start>username_0: I've never built a 3D printer before, but I understand dynamical systems and control theory, and I imagine a lot of the distortion/inaccuracy that happens during the FDM process (especially at high speeds) is due to position inaccuracies because of inertia. For example, a heavy print head moving fast enough might overshoot its position target if the system expects it to stop instantly. Does any existing 3D printer controller software try to measure the mass of the print head/movement assembly and then use that to come up with better movement instructions?
To speculate a bit: This additional accuracy might not be useful with many normal stepper-driven printers because they lack resolution and/or control, but I think in some cases it would. I imagine with enough positional accuracy and acceleration control you could model the print head position with a dynamical system and get extremely precise movement right up to the mechanical limits of the system.
Am I wrong that inertia has a large effect? Would this be theoretically impossible for some reason I'm not thinking about?<issue_comment>username_1: Inertia is not what you think it is
===================================
Inertia is technically speaking something that in physics is not what you commonly understand under the term. There is no mysterious "Inertia Force" that slows your actions on a setup. Inertia is not what makes you overshoot a print's endpoint.
Inertia is just the principle *why* you need to *break* (negative acceleration) before you reach the endpoint of travel and how much you need to and *how fast you can step on the break* (jerk).
Recap on Newtonian Motion Mechanics
-----------------------------------
Inertia is the fact that an item that is under movement and does not get acted upon just does nothing, as Newton's first law prescribes. That your applied force only takes effect on a body over time (the *common* thing understood under inertia) follows directly from the description of the 2nd Law of Newtonian Mechanics:
>
> Mutationem motus proportionalem esse vi motrici impressae, et fieri secundum
> lineam rectam qua vis illa imprimitur.
>
>
>
>
> The alteration of motion is ever proportional to the motive force impressed; and is
> made in the direction of the right line in which that force is impressed.
>
>
>
$$F=\frac{d}{dt} (m\times v)$$
The **F**orce onto a body is the change over time($\frac{d}{dt}$) of **m**ass and **v**elocity. In the classics physical case with constant mass, this becomes the much more well known formulation: $$F=m\times \frac{d}{dt} v=m\times\dot v=m\times a$$
Now, we have an item of known mass and a known initial velocity $v\_0$. The speed of the item at any moment is thus $$v(t)=v\_0-(\frac F m\times t)=v\_0-(a\times t)$$
### Momentum
Another thing that is often mingled into the therm inertia is actually the momentum of an item. It follows directly from the newton text: the force is proportional to the change of momentum. $$F=\frac{d}{dt}p=\frac{d}{dt}(m\times v)$$$$p=m\times v$$ Momentum can be best understood as an amount of "energy" (it's not, energy is $E\_\text{kin}=m\times v^2$)
The *principle of inertia* is looked at in the slicer
=====================================================
Most slicers set a *maximum acceleration* for machines and *jerk* for machines. These values are decided based on the mass of the printhead: Maximum acceleration times the mass of the printhead is the maximum force. [Jerk is the derivate of acceleration over time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerk_(physics)), so it flows into motion mechanics back as $F(t)=m\times j\times t$. So choosing the Jerk and Max-acceleration does include information about the mass of the printhead, without expressly stating it.
One *could* write the code in reverse and decide on a maximum allowable **Force** and include the mass of the printhead, resulting in automatically calculated settings for the maximum allowable 2nd and 3rd derivate of the position, acceleration and jerk.
Printer control boards just throttle
====================================
Likewise, printer control boards just throttle acceleration and jerk to a value in their firmware. They don't need to know the mass of the printhead if they put maximum values on both, and those account for the behavior wanted.
There is no accuracy to be gained from doing the calculation the other way around in the firmware: Even knowing the mass and some allowable force would not get you any way closer but spend quite some code on a function that is called for a few static values.
What is more influential, the acceleration and jerk settings are very heavily influenced by how your printhead is mounted, not just the mass of the printhead: Do you have a feather mounted on linear rails and moved with a screw? Or do we have a kilo chunk of lead mounted on a cross of 2 mm aluminium rod rails, pulled with a super soft rubber twist?
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Stepper motors "want" to keep their position as they are told to by the firmware, therefore they do whatever it's needed (accelerate and brake) to follow the orders they received.
The question is: is the firmware telling them to move/accelerate/brake faster/harder than they can? if yes, they won't keep up (because of inertia and much more) so you'll see artefacts. If not, they will follow the orders exactly (well, mostly, but it's not important now) and no distortions will be there.
Whether they keep up or not is up to you: you are setting their power (the motor current) and you are telling them how fast/hard to move/accelerate/brake. If you push them too much, the motors will try... and fail to keep up. That's why you have max acceleration, speed, jerk in the firmware and in the slicer.
Additional info: even if the motors keep the position as they are told to, the motors have no knowledge of anything past them: belts, leadscrews, and so on.
Imagine the X axis belt (which connects the motor to the printing head) is made of an elastic band: the motors will be where you order them to be, but the inertia of the printing head will stretch the elastic band and the printing head will NOT be where you expect it to be.
It is again up to you to reduce the max acceleration to a value below what the motors could be able to do, if needed. Motors are often not pushed to their limit also because other factors cause issues before the motors fail.
How to know how much to limit the acceleration and speed? the only way is trying.
Upvotes: 2 |
2021/02/13 | 905 | 3,151 | <issue_start>username_0: 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](https://github.com/tncbbthositg/cold_shoe_light_mount/blob/795489c90f412502a2545536e906ad8971cfd691/cold_shoe_light_mount.scad) and this is what it looks like:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/StF93.png)<issue_comment>username_1: 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](https://github.com/Irev-Dev/Round-Anything) 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:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/DWbgd.png)
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If you're modeling as a 2D object and extruding with `linear_extrude`, you can use the [`offset` tranformation](https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/OpenSCAD_User_Manual/Transformations#offset) with positive `r` on the (initially undersized) 2D object to smooth corners.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: 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.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/NQll4.png)
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.
Upvotes: 0 |
2021/02/17 | 437 | 1,687 | <issue_start>username_0: I have a Creality Ender 5 Pro which has been working properly for some time. During my last print, the axis motors just suddenly stopped working while the extruder motor continued to work properly.
In fact, when I connect the extruder motor wire to any of the axis motors, they respond correctly (mimicking the extruder motor) but neither works or moves when connected to its own wire(s). As a result the printer does not print anymore.
Here's what I've tried:
* Switching the wires around to check if any motors are damaged (none are).
* Restarting the Creality
* Checking the output on the power source (which is 24 V and about 14 A)
* Checking to make sure all motor wires are connected correctly on the SKR MINI CONTROLLER (all seem fine) and checking that the board is powered.
* All external connections also seem fine.
I'm quite confused why the axis motors would not be working all of a sudden. I'll appreciate your help if you've faced this problem before.<issue_comment>username_1: The Creality V1.1.5 board was fried. I replaced it with a BIGTREETECH SKR MINI E3 V2.0 32BIT CONTROLLER. After struggling to find a corresponding firmware for the Ender 5 pro, the axis motors worked correctly.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Usually, steppers not working can be found when the lines are broken. Often this is an unplugged Stepper, but OP checked that.
That 3 steppers at once failed could indicate a bad firmware update, which OP didn't do. So it is sadly a case of blue smoke from the board. Most likely the stepper drivers are either shortened out or get no signal.
I am sorry, but replacement seems necessary.
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/02/18 | 1,304 | 4,218 | <issue_start>username_0: I am starting a new company using 3D printers and doing an advertisement, and I want to use the word FabLab to describe the kinds of field that my company is in.
Can I be sued by using the word FabLab in an advertisement? Is it a trademark? I mean, I can find [this](https://www.ebay.fr/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=fablab&_sacat=0) and [this](https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=fablab&_sacat=0).
From the links it looks like they all trademarked the same non-dictionary word:
<https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmtext/page/Results><issue_comment>username_1: Sorry, I needed to learn to use the site. This site shows Fablab as a word mark, the same way it shows Apple: <https://www.trademarkengine.com/free-trademark-search/trademark-search>
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: I did a simple search at [www.huski.ai](http://www.huski.ai), and found 11 trademarks with the mark word "FabLab".
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/PXPXU.png "Screenshot of search")
As you can see, most of them are abandoned, but there are 3 alive ones by a company called JO-ANN STORES, INC. Their categories are something like "paper goods", "fabrics", or "furnitures", etc. So I think there's still room for you to register it under electronics.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It depends on where
===================
**Trademarks are national.**
In the United States of America, the USPTO is administering trademark registrations, but they are not mandatory to get basic trademark protection. The search is available at <https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/>. FabLab is registered in the US with two Marks that are alive in 2022:
* [FABLAB](https://uspto.report/TM/85185255) is registered for a motion picture production company and STEM project since 2016.
* [Hybrid FabLab](https://uspto.report/TM/79264365) is apparently offering Rapid Prototyping, prototyping advice and renting out a fabrication space.
In Germany the DPMA is administring. Unless you register your mark in Germany, you might not have trademark protection in Germany, even if you have the mark or some protection in a different country - unless there is a mutual agreement to update registers between countries. This is how some marks get an EM entry or an IR entry: European mark or international mark. Their search is available at [https://register.dpma.de/](https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/marke/basis) and yields these live results as of 2022:
* EM: [FabLab](https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/marke/registerHABM?AKZ=011804846) is a registered mark from Spain which is not famous and only protects the whole picture-and-text mark.
* EM: [We Found! Fablab ###](https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/marke/registerHABM?AKZ=018284863) is one of two marks that are owned by the same company, it is very narrow and fablab here is not the actual protected part, it is descriptive of the origin.
* EM: [FabLab](https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/marke/registerHABM?AKZ=018559769) is an English-French word-mark on nutrition products
* IR: [Hybrid FabLab](https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/marke/registerIR?AKZ=1480492) mirrors the USPTO entry above
* DE: [FabLab](https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/marke/register/3020192277493/DE) is for an image mark for only category Nizza 42.
* DE: [FabLab München](https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/marke/register/3020212157382/DE) is again an image mark, with a broader list of services than the FabLab mark right above (Nizza 40, 41, 42). overlapping with the mark right before only insofar that they both are for category Nizza 42. However, they are both image marks and look nothing alike, so no confusion is likely.
in general: it might not be registrable (on its own)
====================================================
Do however note that in most countries a mark is only registerable if it is not descriptive. FabLab, short for fabrication lab, might actually be a little *too* close to being merely descriptive to be registrable on its own for fabrication services. However, as an image mark a lot more can be registered.
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/02/19 | 1,419 | 5,066 | <issue_start>username_0: Just as the title says. I feel like I have tried everything. I am compiling the firmware for Marlin on a Megatronics board from RepRap. That shouldn't be relevant, because I have validated that it is a firmware issue (and not a pin assignment/hardware issue).
When I turn it on, the Y-axis is active and just constantly holding. The stepper driver on Y-axis gets pretty warm constantly holding (as does the stepper motor).
When I swap the pin assignments for Y and X then the physical Y-axis moves fine when I manually change the X-axis so I know all the hardware and pin assignments are correct.
All the endstops are correctly reporting open (Z is BLTouch but that is also working).
Relevant software endstops are currently disabled, and default homing position is set to 50 to make sure it doesn't think it is at the bounds on boot.
I have a test firmware that checks all the endstops, temperature, and servos, and all servos work fine. As a sanity check, pin assignments match what is in the pins file.
Does anyone have any idea of what in the latest Marlin firmware would cause a software condition to just hold the y axis and not move? I should note that when I try to manually move it in Repetier-Host it shows that it is moving. When I try to give the home command, no movement on the Y but Repetier changes from red to black indicating it received confirmation of homing.
I am completely out of ideas at this point.<issue_comment>username_1: Sorry, I needed to learn to use the site. This site shows Fablab as a word mark, the same way it shows Apple: <https://www.trademarkengine.com/free-trademark-search/trademark-search>
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: I did a simple search at [www.huski.ai](http://www.huski.ai), and found 11 trademarks with the mark word "FabLab".
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/PXPXU.png "Screenshot of search")
As you can see, most of them are abandoned, but there are 3 alive ones by a company called JO-ANN STORES, INC. Their categories are something like "paper goods", "fabrics", or "furnitures", etc. So I think there's still room for you to register it under electronics.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It depends on where
===================
**Trademarks are national.**
In the United States of America, the USPTO is administering trademark registrations, but they are not mandatory to get basic trademark protection. The search is available at <https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/>. FabLab is registered in the US with two Marks that are alive in 2022:
* [FABLAB](https://uspto.report/TM/85185255) is registered for a motion picture production company and STEM project since 2016.
* [Hybrid FabLab](https://uspto.report/TM/79264365) is apparently offering Rapid Prototyping, prototyping advice and renting out a fabrication space.
In Germany the DPMA is administring. Unless you register your mark in Germany, you might not have trademark protection in Germany, even if you have the mark or some protection in a different country - unless there is a mutual agreement to update registers between countries. This is how some marks get an EM entry or an IR entry: European mark or international mark. Their search is available at [https://register.dpma.de/](https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/marke/basis) and yields these live results as of 2022:
* EM: [FabLab](https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/marke/registerHABM?AKZ=011804846) is a registered mark from Spain which is not famous and only protects the whole picture-and-text mark.
* EM: [We Found! Fablab ###](https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/marke/registerHABM?AKZ=018284863) is one of two marks that are owned by the same company, it is very narrow and fablab here is not the actual protected part, it is descriptive of the origin.
* EM: [FabLab](https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/marke/registerHABM?AKZ=018559769) is an English-French word-mark on nutrition products
* IR: [Hybrid FabLab](https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/marke/registerIR?AKZ=1480492) mirrors the USPTO entry above
* DE: [FabLab](https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/marke/register/3020192277493/DE) is for an image mark for only category Nizza 42.
* DE: [FabLab München](https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/marke/register/3020212157382/DE) is again an image mark, with a broader list of services than the FabLab mark right above (Nizza 40, 41, 42). overlapping with the mark right before only insofar that they both are for category Nizza 42. However, they are both image marks and look nothing alike, so no confusion is likely.
in general: it might not be registrable (on its own)
====================================================
Do however note that in most countries a mark is only registerable if it is not descriptive. FabLab, short for fabrication lab, might actually be a little *too* close to being merely descriptive to be registrable on its own for fabrication services. However, as an image mark a lot more can be registered.
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/02/19 | 541 | 2,130 | <issue_start>username_0: I recently tried cleaning my CR-10S Pro heat bed with acetone and it made this white stain on it.
Anyone have any solutions to this?<issue_comment>username_1: If you use a build surface such as PEI, acetone frosts your surface, leaving a white film appearance. If you have no additional surface on a glass or metal bed, it is incomplete cleaning. If incomplete cleaning, you could try isopropyl alcohol (IPA) immediately after acetone, followed immediately by a water based cleaner or DI/distilled water. (IPA dissolves acetone and water dissolves IPA. Once the film dries the next step may not work.)
You can't clean off a frosted surface. The black surface of the hot bed in images of the CR-10S Pro appears to indicate that the steel bed has a build surface with a plastic material such as PEI. Reviews of the build surface being difficult to remove prints also implies a plastic build surface on the steel. Thus, it appears that the white film after cleaning with acetone is actually a frosted surface.
If you use an Elmer's washable glue stick or one with PWP, it will form a barrier between your print and the build surface, that not only will protect your build surface, but will make it easier to clean your build surface with IPA or water based cleaners.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Acetone is quite an aggressive solvent, so white residue could be part of your heatbed print surface that is dissolved, and then when the acetone evaporates the dissolved part crystalise on the heatbed again.
Acetone should only be used on PEI sparingly, not at all on powder coated surfaces. Use IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol) to clean of residue between prints. If you have problems with adhesion, you can also start by washing the build plate or surface with water and dish soap (with no other additives). The surfactant in the soap traps oils and other impurities and flush them away, instead of dissolving them temporarily and then depositing it on the build surface again when the solvent evaporates.
Like mentioned in other comments, use IPA or water/dish soap to clean off any residue.
Upvotes: 2 |
2021/02/19 | 1,091 | 4,056 | <issue_start>username_0: This is printing PETG extruding at 250 °C, 1st layer bed at 80 °C then 60 °C on other layers. Nozzle is 0.4 mm; printer is German Reprap X400. The all metal extruder is clean with no oozing. The print gets a blob when the wall width changes from 2 mm to 1 mm. The extruder squishes the blob out the sides of the wall with subsequent layers. Images below show both sides of wall. I'm looking for the cause to come up with a fix. I consistently get the same results in the same location when printing this file. The reduced area of the layer does cause reduced speed to increase the print time for the layer (speed reduced when layer would print in less than 30 seconds; minimum speed 15 mm/s).
When I printed two, there was only one blob on one of two. Below shows the speed settings. The perimeters are three vertical shells, so the walls are all perimeters. My understanding of the setting is the 2 mm wall printed at 20 mm/s and the 1 mm wall at 15 mm/s.
Printing similarly with 2 mm walls only and the same settings, the print is nearly perfect with only a few stringers. Printing with only 1 mm walls does not have the blob, but does have stringers.
See solution at the end.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/T0WBA.jpg)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/xDyNO.jpg)
**Solution:**
Speeding up the print speeds and using thicker walls not only eliminated the blogs, but also completely eliminated stringers, and gave a near perfect print. Apparently, the actual temperature that PETG extrudes is highly dependent on how fast it extrudes. Printing too fast clogs the nozzle because the filament doesn't have time to melt. Printing too slow causes the hotend to stop extruding from heat creep. Here, the actual temperature of the extruded PETG was decreased by speeding up the extrusion.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/7STxh.png)s://i.stack.imgur.com/Uhv61.png<issue_comment>username_1: If you use a build surface such as PEI, acetone frosts your surface, leaving a white film appearance. If you have no additional surface on a glass or metal bed, it is incomplete cleaning. If incomplete cleaning, you could try isopropyl alcohol (IPA) immediately after acetone, followed immediately by a water based cleaner or DI/distilled water. (IPA dissolves acetone and water dissolves IPA. Once the film dries the next step may not work.)
You can't clean off a frosted surface. The black surface of the hot bed in images of the CR-10S Pro appears to indicate that the steel bed has a build surface with a plastic material such as PEI. Reviews of the build surface being difficult to remove prints also implies a plastic build surface on the steel. Thus, it appears that the white film after cleaning with acetone is actually a frosted surface.
If you use an Elmer's washable glue stick or one with PWP, it will form a barrier between your print and the build surface, that not only will protect your build surface, but will make it easier to clean your build surface with IPA or water based cleaners.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Acetone is quite an aggressive solvent, so white residue could be part of your heatbed print surface that is dissolved, and then when the acetone evaporates the dissolved part crystalise on the heatbed again.
Acetone should only be used on PEI sparingly, not at all on powder coated surfaces. Use IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol) to clean of residue between prints. If you have problems with adhesion, you can also start by washing the build plate or surface with water and dish soap (with no other additives). The surfactant in the soap traps oils and other impurities and flush them away, instead of dissolving them temporarily and then depositing it on the build surface again when the solvent evaporates.
Like mentioned in other comments, use IPA or water/dish soap to clean off any residue.
Upvotes: 2 |
2021/02/23 | 1,199 | 4,596 | <issue_start>username_0: For a school project, my teacher gave me a brand new Longer 3D printer to create parts with. After one good job, the printer cannot get past the raft creation without air printing. The thickness of the printed filament tapers down until no filament is coming out. I do not believe there is a jam in the hot end because if I remove the filament and cut off about 4 inches, the printer extrudes as normal.
I am using 1.75 mm PLA on a Longer 3D LK4.
When the problem occurs, the extruder continues as normal but prints out very little filament. The extruder drive gear also ticks backward as if it cannot supply enough force to move the filament forward.
I have tried decreasing the speed, increasing the temperature, turning off retractions, but none of those options seemed to have any effect on the problem.
If videos or pictures could be helpful let me know what to include.
My working idea of what's wrong is that heat creep is causing the filament inside of the heat sink to soften causing the filament to thicken and Jam. I could be wrong.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/T7Rxz.jpg "Failed Raft")
Figure one highlighting how the filament thins over the course of the raft creation until no more filament is extruded.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/7UhUH.jpg "Thickened Filament")
Figure two showing how random parts of the filament is thicker than others. The thickness is noticeable and once I cut this section off, filament flows freely through the Bowden tube without friction. With this section, the filament is difficult to remove and requires more force.
I have tried:
* increasing the interface thickness to 0.4 from 0.27 mm and from 0.4 to 1.0 mm
* increasing the print speed from 50 mm/s to 90 mm/s
allowing the printer to cool off.
decreasing the temperature to 190 °C
During the print, I have noticed that the heat sink is hot to the touch during the raft creation but cools off once the fan starts spinning.
The fan does not spin at all during the creation of the raft. But spins at full speed once the actual print has begun. Longer does not have a setting inside their software to change this.
I have gotten a few really small prints to work with print surfaces smaller than 2 cm wide
The prints themselves turn out great if they get past the raft stage (only for small prints). This additionally leads me to believe that heat creep is the problem and that the fan not being on is the cause.
Let me know if you have any ideas.<issue_comment>username_1: If you use a build surface such as PEI, acetone frosts your surface, leaving a white film appearance. If you have no additional surface on a glass or metal bed, it is incomplete cleaning. If incomplete cleaning, you could try isopropyl alcohol (IPA) immediately after acetone, followed immediately by a water based cleaner or DI/distilled water. (IPA dissolves acetone and water dissolves IPA. Once the film dries the next step may not work.)
You can't clean off a frosted surface. The black surface of the hot bed in images of the CR-10S Pro appears to indicate that the steel bed has a build surface with a plastic material such as PEI. Reviews of the build surface being difficult to remove prints also implies a plastic build surface on the steel. Thus, it appears that the white film after cleaning with acetone is actually a frosted surface.
If you use an Elmer's washable glue stick or one with PWP, it will form a barrier between your print and the build surface, that not only will protect your build surface, but will make it easier to clean your build surface with IPA or water based cleaners.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Acetone is quite an aggressive solvent, so white residue could be part of your heatbed print surface that is dissolved, and then when the acetone evaporates the dissolved part crystalise on the heatbed again.
Acetone should only be used on PEI sparingly, not at all on powder coated surfaces. Use IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol) to clean of residue between prints. If you have problems with adhesion, you can also start by washing the build plate or surface with water and dish soap (with no other additives). The surfactant in the soap traps oils and other impurities and flush them away, instead of dissolving them temporarily and then depositing it on the build surface again when the solvent evaporates.
Like mentioned in other comments, use IPA or water/dish soap to clean off any residue.
Upvotes: 2 |
2021/02/24 | 645 | 2,507 | <issue_start>username_0: 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.<issue_comment>username_1: If you use a build surface such as PEI, acetone frosts your surface, leaving a white film appearance. If you have no additional surface on a glass or metal bed, it is incomplete cleaning. If incomplete cleaning, you could try isopropyl alcohol (IPA) immediately after acetone, followed immediately by a water based cleaner or DI/distilled water. (IPA dissolves acetone and water dissolves IPA. Once the film dries the next step may not work.)
You can't clean off a frosted surface. The black surface of the hot bed in images of the CR-10S Pro appears to indicate that the steel bed has a build surface with a plastic material such as PEI. Reviews of the build surface being difficult to remove prints also implies a plastic build surface on the steel. Thus, it appears that the white film after cleaning with acetone is actually a frosted surface.
If you use an Elmer's washable glue stick or one with PWP, it will form a barrier between your print and the build surface, that not only will protect your build surface, but will make it easier to clean your build surface with IPA or water based cleaners.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Acetone is quite an aggressive solvent, so white residue could be part of your heatbed print surface that is dissolved, and then when the acetone evaporates the dissolved part crystalise on the heatbed again.
Acetone should only be used on PEI sparingly, not at all on powder coated surfaces. Use IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol) to clean of residue between prints. If you have problems with adhesion, you can also start by washing the build plate or surface with water and dish soap (with no other additives). The surfactant in the soap traps oils and other impurities and flush them away, instead of dissolving them temporarily and then depositing it on the build surface again when the solvent evaporates.
Like mentioned in other comments, use IPA or water/dish soap to clean off any residue.
Upvotes: 2 |
2021/02/26 | 1,177 | 3,875 | <issue_start>username_0: I have had my Ender 3 v2 for just over two months and have had a blast working with it. I have printed some mods to personalize it.
One of the things that I have done to help mitigate the vibrational noise is to place my Ender 3 on a concrete paver that sits on top of 3 inches of upholstery foam. This has made a huge difference.
With the vibration noise down, now I can hear the fan on the extruder like never before.
Both fans are listed as "brushless" EFS-04D24L; of course, they look different in the pictures below:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/3xxsc.jpg)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/CDnem.jpg)
What options are there to help reduce the fan noise? I wasn't sure if a baffle or enclosure would help. Or would it be easier to replace the fans with quieter ones?<issue_comment>username_1: Fans driven by brushless (BLDC or BL) motors1 are the quieter option (when compared to cheaper brushed motors).
Mounting the fans using rubber anti-vibration standoffs/mounts2, instead of bolts, would also reduce vibration (and hence noise).
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/rRS7h.jpg "Rubber anti-vibration mounts")
Or, failing that, if using bolts, at least use rubber washers/grommets, between the fan case and the frame/mount (maybe on both sides - frame side and bolt head side).
A baffle or enclosure *would* reduce the noise, but would also reduce airflow, which may not be desirable, and even detrimental to the cooling, and longevity of the electronics (assuming your fans are cooling a RAMPS board, or whatever).
Alternatively (and I don't necessarily recommend these courses of action):
* Put up with the noise. After a while, you'll get used to it, or become sufficiently deaf, so as not to hear it so much;
* Try to reduce the *number* of fans somehow. Maybe use passive cooling more - using larger heatsinks on active electronic devices maybe remove the requirement for a fan altogether.
---
### Footnotes
1 Also known as electronically commutated (EC) motor and synchronous DC motors. Source: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brushless_DC_electric_motor)
2 Also known as pin, rivet, nipple, peg, etc.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: There are companies making fans with blade design based on owl wings to make the blades quieter. Here's an example <https://www.moduflow.co.uk/owlet-fans/> and I've seen other designs. I don't know which design ended up being the quietest. First, you would need to find out who makes these fans the right size and flow rate for you, then try to find out which is quietest.
Here is another example: <https://www.bequiet.com/en/casefans/718>
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I saw lot of mods out there, but after study the problem I can say that I've resolved with not much effort.
The stock fans are good, but they are 24v due to PSU that is 24v and add a dc-dc converter make everything more complicated and rise costs.
So those are my mods easy and effective.
On hot end a Sunon MF40202V2-1000C-A99 DC 24V 0.68W 40x40x20mm
still 24v but rated for 21db. You have to build a custom fan holder to achieve 4020 fan.
On motherboard and PSU I've left stock fans but added two mianiture Mini-360 dc-dc bucks. You can regulate the voltage between 12-15v and choose the noise you prefer. The fans are still fast to move good airflow inside PSU and mainboard.
PSU on Ender 2 V2 Neo has a black cover with small holes, it's way restrictive, it's better to remove this cover or enlarge holes or cut a big hole with 50mm cupsaw.
If you remove the whole cover you can print my small cover for the high tension cables.
<https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6015148>
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/02/26 | 637 | 2,259 | <issue_start>username_0: I have an Ender 5 pro and upgraded from the magnetic bed to the glass version. I print with Prusament PLA on 65 °C bed temp and 220 °C extruder temp. I measured that the glass surface has ~58 °C in the center and ~56 °C on the corners. That should be in the specs of the spool which has a printed recommendation of 50 +- 10 °C for bed and 215 +- 10 °C for extruder temps.
Now I also have a BLTouch and use the TH3D firmware so Z offsets should work correctly and are done with the Z offset wizard present (nozzle touching the bed).
The problem I currently have is that the first layers have "lifts" in them. Also, it seems that the layer itself is not 0.2 mm everywhere. It's close to 0.23 mm on the edges but on the inner there are variances up to 0.36 mm.
Currently, I slice with Cura 4.8.0 on Standard Quality 0.2 mm
How do I get rid of the lifts and irregularity in the layer? Is it a problem with the bed?
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ScOMF.jpg)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/wmNBR.jpg)<issue_comment>username_1: I haven't seen lifts that aren't on the edge of the print, such as warping, or the entire printed surface lifts. When I get something like in your photograph, it's because the print surface isn't flat and the first layer matches the surface topology. If the second image shows the print surface, it looks like blobs on the surface that may be keeping it from being flat.
The first layer thickness greatly depends on how high the nozzle is above the print surface. If this distance varies, the first layer thickness will vary. Also make sure your print surface is free of any substances that the hot extruded material might cause to boil.
Any chance you are removing the print from the bed before it cools down. This can distort the print if the material is still soft.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: The only time I've seen lifting, away from the edges of the part like this, is when the bed is contaminated with something which will stop the print sticking, like fingerprints and such.
A thorough wipe-down with IPA on the heated bed is usually enough to stop it.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer] |
2021/02/28 | 361 | 1,484 | <issue_start>username_0: 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<issue_comment>username_1: I haven't seen lifts that aren't on the edge of the print, such as warping, or the entire printed surface lifts. When I get something like in your photograph, it's because the print surface isn't flat and the first layer matches the surface topology. If the second image shows the print surface, it looks like blobs on the surface that may be keeping it from being flat.
The first layer thickness greatly depends on how high the nozzle is above the print surface. If this distance varies, the first layer thickness will vary. Also make sure your print surface is free of any substances that the hot extruded material might cause to boil.
Any chance you are removing the print from the bed before it cools down. This can distort the print if the material is still soft.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: The only time I've seen lifting, away from the edges of the part like this, is when the bed is contaminated with something which will stop the print sticking, like fingerprints and such.
A thorough wipe-down with IPA on the heated bed is usually enough to stop it.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer] |
2021/03/01 | 292 | 836 | <issue_start>username_0: I have found a video about Invisalign. I saw a 3D printer in the video but I did not understand its type. Can you help me? Do you share a brief piece of information about its type?
Below is the video on YouTube.<issue_comment>username_1: If you look at the video at 37 seconds, it appears to be SLA or DLP.
Further reading: <https://www.solidprint3d.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/SLA_vs_DLP.pdf>
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: In the video, there is this still from [0:32](https://youtu.be/bKsGNrEKx9M?t=32):
[](https://youtu.be/bKsGNrEKx9M?t=32)
The labeling is iPro 8000, which is a [3dSystems resin printer using SLA technology.](http://infocenter.3dsystems.com/product-library/sla/ipro-8000-9000)
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer] |
2021/03/01 | 601 | 1,913 | <issue_start>username_0: This is my first 3D printer so I'm not entirely sure what could be the cause of this issue.
I recently got a SUNLU S8 3D printer and have been trying to print the first test file, however, the layers end up stringy (for lack of a better word -- if anyone knows whether this is called something else, I'd appreciate the knowledge because Google searching for stringy layers does not yield similar results).
Anyway, I tried to increase the nozzle temperature from 205 °C to 215 °C and that seems to help slightly (filament is PLA and came with the printer). I also noticed that the extruder's feeder gear is grinding on the filament so I suspect that may be part of the problem.
Before I purchase an extruder kit, I figured I'd reach out and ask this community what they think could be the problem.
Does anyone know what might be causing this issue?
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Pzyj9.jpg)
**Edit**
I cleaned the tubing and nozzle, and then releveled the bed. The filament was still stringy and whispy, however, I decided to let it print for a while. Although the picture is a top-down view, the walls of the print are also holey.
[](https://i.imgur.com/HQhQQuv.jpg)<issue_comment>username_1: If you look at the video at 37 seconds, it appears to be SLA or DLP.
Further reading: <https://www.solidprint3d.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/SLA_vs_DLP.pdf>
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: In the video, there is this still from [0:32](https://youtu.be/bKsGNrEKx9M?t=32):
[](https://youtu.be/bKsGNrEKx9M?t=32)
The labeling is iPro 8000, which is a [3dSystems resin printer using SLA technology.](http://infocenter.3dsystems.com/product-library/sla/ipro-8000-9000)
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer] |
2021/03/01 | 1,583 | 5,382 | <issue_start>username_0: I printed this [Curvy vase](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4775702) from Thingiverse and it came out pretty well on my Chiron.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/AP0wQ.jpg "Curvy vase print")
However, I am not happy with the Z-seam that is very large. When I look at other people's problems with this, they often seem to have too little filament at the seam, but I have too much. What setting should I change to make it less visible?
* Printer: Anycubic Chiron with Marlin 2.0.7
* Material: PLA
* Slicer: Cura 4.8.0.
* Nozzle: 0.4 mm
All Cura settings are [here](https://www.telder.com/bilder/stackexchange/curvy_vase/Curvy_Vase.html) (except that I lowered printing temperature to 200 ºC while printing).
All files used and some pictures are [here](https://www.telder.com/bilder/stackexchange/curvy_vase/).
---
2021-03-07 **Addendum** after I made 19 test-prints of a small portion of the vase's neck. Below are some of my notes:
8. Combing Mode=All is better than Off
9. Speed=60 is worse than 40
10. Retract Before Outer Wall=On is worse than Off
11. Outer Wall Line Width 0.45 to 0.35 gave a Z-seam on the outside with more build-up
12. Inner Wall(s) Line Width 0.45 to 0.35. Some places has less contact between layers, so less appealing and less robust. Also less material use.
13. Outer Wall Wipe Distance 2.0 spread ot the seam (too much), and also made a ditch before the Z-seam (on the outside of the ring).
14. Coasting tripled to Vol=0.588 and Wipe Distance 5.0 is more appealing. Two changes at once make it impossible to know which one helped. 5 mm is not enough to completely wipe.
15. 50% printing speed improved Z-seam and surface smoothness
In the future I will use slower speed for Outer Walls, test Wipe distance=2\*Line Width, use Combing (turned Off because of some advice to do so when LIN\_ADVANCE is used) and experiment with faster retractions and Z-movement.
Pictures and complete notes are available [here](https://www.telder.com/bilder/stackexchange/curvy_vase/).<issue_comment>username_1: This [Cura support page](https://support.ultimaker.com/hc/en-us/articles/360012512340-Shell-settings) lists the options for Shell settings, specifically:
>
> Seam corner preference
> ----------------------
>
>
> The Z-seam is hidden as much as possible by default. However, for some projects, specifically those that require post-processing, exposing the seam can be necessary for the post-print processing. To do so, you can adjust the following settings:
>
>
> * **None:** The seam will remain on the Z-seam alignment location.
> * **Hide seam:** The seam will be hidden as much as possible.
> * **Expose seam:** The seam will be exposed as much as possible.
> * **Hide or expose:** The seam will be hidden when possible and exposed when there is no other option.
>
>
>
In your setting, you have "None". You may need to set it to "Hide seam".
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: There is a [Cura option](https://support.ultimaker.com/hc/en-us/articles/360012512340-Shell-settings) to choose a random seam alignment in the shell menu:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/I6UXi.png)
>
> Z-seam alignment
> ----------------
>
>
> This setting allows you to choose where each new layer in the Z direction starts and affects where the seam of the model will be. This is useful for models with consecutive equal layers as the seam can be visible. By changing the Z-seam alignment you can decrease the visibility of the seam. The options available are:
>
>
> * **User-specified:** Set a coordinate for the X and Y direction of the Z-seam. This coordinate is absolute by default. Example: X 100, Y 200 will move the seam to the center back of the model.
> * **Shortest:** The next layer starts at the endpoint of the previous layer. This is the fastest way of printing, but also creates the most visible seam.
> * **Random:** The next layer starts at a random point of the previous layer, which eliminates the chance of a seam. Print time will increase due to the necessary travel moves.
> * **Sharpest corner:** This puts the seam in the sharpest inward or outward corner of the model, when available. This is the best method to completely hide the seam.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Use Cura's "Vase Mode" (known as `Spiralize Outer Contour`) for seamless printing.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: A bulging seam is caused by a mix of factors, especially:
1. Material oozing while dwelling too long at the point of layer change (including the time spent in the Z move). This can be mitigated by ramping up the max Z speed and acceleration and/or enabling retract at layer change *with a very fast retract and unretract speed* (without doing it very fast, the time spent retracting has the same effect as the time spent on Z move).
2. Excess extrusion due to pressure remaining at the nozzle when decelerating. This can be mitigated by enabling Linear Advance and tuning the K factor for your printer's bowden tube and material properties. A value around 0.5 is probably needed for PLA on your printer. Increasing your acceleration limit to reduce the time spent accelerating/decelerating can also go a long way to mitigate this.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer] |
2021/03/03 | 944 | 3,684 | <issue_start>username_0: I needed to know if typical UV curing resins, such as the ones from Anycubic, can withstand solar radiation over extended periods of time with little to no degradation. It has been quite difficult to find information about the subject online, so I'm wondering whether anyone here has experience here to share.<issue_comment>username_1: Sunlight contains the full spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, including the wavelength to photoinitiate your resin. Most UV-curable materials are kept in opaque containers for this reason. The extent to which your material is crosslinked will depend on your material and how much sunlight it receives.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: What seems to be a difficulty is the stabilizers for plastic absorb UV. So if added to UV resin, they probably greatly increase the exposure time needed.
The following show characteristics of some plastics, taken from <https://www.coleparmer.com/tech-article/uv-properties-of-plastics>
>
> Unmodified types of plastics that are regarded as having unacceptable resistance to UV are POM (Acetal), PC, ABS and PA6/6. Other plastics such as PET, PP, HDPE, PA12, PA11, PA6, PES, PPO, PBT and PPO are regarded as fair. Note that a PC/ABS alloy is also graded as fair. Good resistance to ultraviolet rays can be achieved from polymers extruded by Zeus such as PTFE, PVDF, FEP, and PEEKTM. The only plastics found with excellent resistance are the imides, Polyimide (PI) as used in the Hubble Space Telescope and Polyetherimide (PEI).
>
>
>
>
> PTFE has particularly good UV resistance because of its very strong carbon- fluorine (C-F) bond [almost 30% higher than the carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bond], which is the common side bond that surrounds the carbon (C-C) backbone in a helix and protects it. Most fluoropolymers also do not have the light absorbing chromophore impurities in their structure that can act as an initiator for photo-oxidation.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Yes, it is actually pretty hard to find that information. First thing is that the resin never stops curing. Additional exposure to UV will continue to degrade the material over time. This is true of even plastics (and human flesh), however, in the case of UV resins we're talking about years not weeks. Each manufacturer of resin, even from different batches, will exhibit different performance characteristics with their formulation. As a general rule of thumb resin prints should not be used as an end product. They are used to either create a mould for the final object or used as a fitness test where the dimensions and tolerances are tight. The cured resin is typically not 100% safe to handle, and as such should not be used on bare skin or inside the human body or as any form of eating or cooking utensil. Colour degradation of resins (they become cloudy) will also occur for resins that were once colourless.
EDIT: (Didn't want to expand this but it seems I have to) Companies that release 3d printed with branded resins have custom formulas to match their printers. This is perhaps to ensure that the customer keeps coming back for the consumables. These custom formulations are most undoubtedly patented, however, it seems that they are keeping the formula a secret (until you reproduce it and they claim you've breached their patent). Due to the fact that the formula is unknown to the end-user no one can certify that the cured resin is 100% non-toxic and safe for contact with skin; either on the outside of the body or the inside ;) Speciality dental adhesives have different formulas (and are perhaps more expensive than) 3d printing resins.
Upvotes: 1 [selected_answer] |
2021/03/04 | 1,354 | 5,152 | <issue_start>username_0: I decided to finally purchase an Ender 3 v2. It arrived today and after a few hours of making sure everything is straight, I tried to power it and do a test print...
I was disappointed to see that the screen stays black after more than 10 seconds from power on.
I did not insert any SD card in the printer or anything that could interfere with the presumably stock firmware on it.
Because of this, I opened up the power source and the motherboard case and checked the voltages/checked LEDs. The motherboard blue led is on, the power source green led is on as well. I did a few measurements - I get 24 V to the motherboard with a small spike of 35 V when it starts.
The hotend fan is always on.
I checked the display connection and I am sure it is placed correctly.
I tried to upload firmware onto the mainboard first by clearing the SD card (8 GB given by Creality) using `diskpart`. I wrote the 4.2.2 (same as motherboard version) firmware version (stock) onto the SD attempting to upload on the mainboard. I tried renaming it, unplugging the power cable, unplugging the screen cable, etc and nothing would work.
I tried rewriting the `DWIN_SET` files but the screen would not turn to black/blue/orange colors. I tried [more or less everything suggested here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ender3/comments/j04s40/how_to_fix_the_ender_3_v2_firmware_upgrade_black/).
Is there anything I didn't do? What do you suggest? I already contacted the company where I bought it from, but I don't want to go through the assembly process twice - maybe I can make it work?
---
* The correct voltage for the power supply is set at 230 V (Europe) and was set to this all the time. I tried switching it back and forth without power too. No result.
* I've contacted the supplier yesterday.<issue_comment>username_1: Sunlight contains the full spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, including the wavelength to photoinitiate your resin. Most UV-curable materials are kept in opaque containers for this reason. The extent to which your material is crosslinked will depend on your material and how much sunlight it receives.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: What seems to be a difficulty is the stabilizers for plastic absorb UV. So if added to UV resin, they probably greatly increase the exposure time needed.
The following show characteristics of some plastics, taken from <https://www.coleparmer.com/tech-article/uv-properties-of-plastics>
>
> Unmodified types of plastics that are regarded as having unacceptable resistance to UV are POM (Acetal), PC, ABS and PA6/6. Other plastics such as PET, PP, HDPE, PA12, PA11, PA6, PES, PPO, PBT and PPO are regarded as fair. Note that a PC/ABS alloy is also graded as fair. Good resistance to ultraviolet rays can be achieved from polymers extruded by Zeus such as PTFE, PVDF, FEP, and PEEKTM. The only plastics found with excellent resistance are the imides, Polyimide (PI) as used in the Hubble Space Telescope and Polyetherimide (PEI).
>
>
>
>
> PTFE has particularly good UV resistance because of its very strong carbon- fluorine (C-F) bond [almost 30% higher than the carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bond], which is the common side bond that surrounds the carbon (C-C) backbone in a helix and protects it. Most fluoropolymers also do not have the light absorbing chromophore impurities in their structure that can act as an initiator for photo-oxidation.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Yes, it is actually pretty hard to find that information. First thing is that the resin never stops curing. Additional exposure to UV will continue to degrade the material over time. This is true of even plastics (and human flesh), however, in the case of UV resins we're talking about years not weeks. Each manufacturer of resin, even from different batches, will exhibit different performance characteristics with their formulation. As a general rule of thumb resin prints should not be used as an end product. They are used to either create a mould for the final object or used as a fitness test where the dimensions and tolerances are tight. The cured resin is typically not 100% safe to handle, and as such should not be used on bare skin or inside the human body or as any form of eating or cooking utensil. Colour degradation of resins (they become cloudy) will also occur for resins that were once colourless.
EDIT: (Didn't want to expand this but it seems I have to) Companies that release 3d printed with branded resins have custom formulas to match their printers. This is perhaps to ensure that the customer keeps coming back for the consumables. These custom formulations are most undoubtedly patented, however, it seems that they are keeping the formula a secret (until you reproduce it and they claim you've breached their patent). Due to the fact that the formula is unknown to the end-user no one can certify that the cured resin is 100% non-toxic and safe for contact with skin; either on the outside of the body or the inside ;) Speciality dental adhesives have different formulas (and are perhaps more expensive than) 3d printing resins.
Upvotes: 1 [selected_answer] |
2021/03/05 | 1,125 | 3,751 | <issue_start>username_0: I had the BLTouch (3.1) working with stock firmware on an Ender 3 v2 but wanted to get a 5x5 mesh instead of the 3x3 so I installed the TH3D firmware. With the stock firmware my Z-offset was -2.95 mm.
After installing TH3D firmware, my Z-offset has to be in excess of -6 mm to reach the same nozzle-to-bed height. I've tried setting the Z-offset via LCD and through G-code, saving to EEPROM. I'm having 2 problems with this that I assume are connected:
1. Z-offset seems to not be applied when setting Z axis position. When I autohome and then set Z axis to 0, even the extended probe from the BLTouch does not touch the bed (it's actually 1-2 mm away from touching). And this is with the Z-offset set to -6 mm.
2. I tried running a print, which includes an ABL request (`G29`), the print head crashed into the bed immediately after finishing levelling. My hunch is that when starting to print the -6 mm Z-offset starts being correctly taken into account.
Could this be the result of something I did in the Configuration.h when compiling the firmware?
I made the following changes:
[CrealityV42X/Firmware/Marlin/Configuration.h](https://github.com/th3dstudio/UnifiedFirmware/blob/2.0.x/Board%20Configuration%20Files/CrealityV42X/Firmware/Marlin/Configuration.h)
* Line 24: uncommented `#define ENDER3_V2_V422_BOARD`
* Line 43: uncommented `#define CUSTOM_PROBE`
* Line 66: changed `#define EZABL_POINTS` from 3 to 5
* Line 124: changed `#define NOZZLE_TO_PROBE_OFFSET` from `{ 10, 10, 0}` to `{ -44, -6, 0 }`
* Line 233: uncommented `#define BLTOUCH`
* Line 235: uncommented `#define SERVO0_PIN PB0`
* Line 636: commented out `#define Z_MIN_PROBE_USES_Z_MIN_ENDSTOP_PIN`
* Line 636: added `#define USE_PROBE_FOR_Z_HOMING`
In [Configuration\_backend.h](https://github.com/th3dstudio/UnifiedFirmware/blob/2.0.x/Firmware/Marlin/Configuration_backend.h) the only change I made was increasing `Z_PROBE_OFFSET_RANGE_MIN` from -5 to -20.<issue_comment>username_1: I'm pretty sure something is wrong with the firmware I downloaded. I flashed the 3/5/21 version of Marlin firmware from <https://marlin.crc.id.au/> and it is somehow working better with the LCD firmware (which I got from TH3D), the Z offset is working as it should, and the leveling process has more points and goes faster.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Do you still have this issue? My Ender with a BLTouch won't respect the Z-off set setting in **Motion** > **Control** > **ZOffset**. You can change it to -10 and it will still start printing about 1 cm above the bed.
All of this started to happen after I used **Bed Leveling** from the prepare menu. To work around the issue, I reset the settings **Initialize EPROM** in the control menu.
1. Reset All settings **Initialize EPROM**
2. Set the Z-offset (In my case -3.3)
3. Store settings in the control menu
4. Switch off the printer (settings won't take effect even if you select to load settings)
Then start printing. This doesn't solve the issue because it defeats the purpose of having a BLTouch in the first place. but at least I'm able to print again.
In a nutshell, avoiding auto bed leveling does the trick (or at least in my case)
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: A friend and I ran into this problem with TH3D and this was the workaround for **our** situation. Pretty sure I know what's causing it, but I haven't had the chance to rebuild the firmware yet to test it.
Autohome, update your bed mesh, either through the menu or via the terminal with `G28` & `G29`. Store settings via menu or `M500` via terminal.
Reboot/power cycle the printer, autohome/`G28`, and insert `M420 S` into your print file G-code **after** `G28`.
Let me know if it works.
Upvotes: 2 |
2021/03/05 | 1,251 | 4,646 | <issue_start>username_0: I made two updates to my Ender 3 Pro: Silent Mainboard and BLTouch. My printer head is way out of sync now. After I Auto Home, it moves along the X-axis to the left, hits the stop switch & moves back to the right. It does not move at all on the Z-axis and remains 3 - 4" above the bed during and after Auto Homing.
Here's the detail :
I installed a Creality Ender 3 Pro New Upgrade Motherboard Silent Mainboard V4.2.7 with TMC2225 Driver Marlin 2.0.1 & bootloader pre-installed & then a Creality BLTouch 3D Printer Upgraded Auto Bed Leveling Sensor Kit (the kit that comes from Creality with everything you need to install). I imagine I attempted too many upgrades without verifying the printer worked properly when I did the first upgrade which was the mainboard?
I purchased this Ender 3 Pro back in April 2020. It was working great until I decided to make the upgrades. I assume it came with an 8-bit board but not 100% sure. The new board is 32-bit and not sure what that would negatively impact besides maybe the LCD screen which does work fine after the upgrade.
Here's a video of the printer attempting to Auto Home :
Note: Disregard the unhooked cable under the printer bed in the video. It is totally disconnected and leftover from the BLTouch install.
Here's how I did the upgrade :
First, I simply replaced the new mainboard, and with the mainboard cover and fan back in place, I powered the printer on. The only thing I did here was to verify that the printer would power up ok.
It powered up just fine. The nozzle head did not move I don't think when powered on.
Next, I followed the instructions for the BLTouch that came with the kit. I followed the instructions for the Creality V1 Mainboard 32-bit. Here, I upgraded the firmware via an SD card as suggested. The firmware I upgraded to is the `Ender-3 Pro_4.2.7_BLTouch_Marlin2.0.1_V1.1.2_TMC2225.bin`.
Finally, I powered on the printer with the BLTouch plugged in and new firmware installed. The BLTouch lights up and the touch sensor clicks out and in and few times.
Now, when I hit auto home the nozzle head moves like I described above & remains in a position that I can not attempt to print from. I attempted to follow step #6 Platform adjustment 32-bit, working through the screenshots in the instructions. This did not work.
If helpful, here are the positions of the nozzle head during the two upgrades :
* Position of the print head before install: 3-4 inches above the bed and maybe a little off-center on the X-axis.
* Position after install mainboard upgrade: remained the same as before. I just remember it powering on ok and then I turned it off / unplugged power to start installing the BLTouch.
Position after install of BLTouch: remained the same. BLTouch lights up and the sensor tip moved in and out as if it was checking something or verifying it was working.
I'm a bit lost on this issue. Any help will be greatly appreciated!
---
I'm using 3D4LYF's wiring scheme as I'm using the same set up I believe he is using. The two wires (white & black) on the red connector go in the Z-axis endstop port on the mainboard. For the three wires on the black connector I have: blue=Ground, red=V, yellow=IN that goes in the other 5 pin port on the mainboard. I rearranged the wiring from red/blue/yellow to blue/red/yellow as suggested by 3D4LYF again because I am using the BLTouch Creality Kit. Adding photos of 5-pin port and the connectors:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/cjHJv.jpg)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/LAtyD.jpg)<issue_comment>username_1: Resolved : connected the white & black wires to the 5 pin output on the board. This solved the homing issue.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I had the same issue and thought I bricked it, so thank you for getting me on the right path! For Ender 3 Pro v4.2.2 motherboard, no Pinboard A, ISP Pinboard, or Burner required! In my case, I had used the provided pins (white housing) that were on the v4.2.2 motherboard itself.
In doing so I had to switch the positions of the red and blue wires in the 3-pin connector (glad I pay attention to those types of things), connected white and black connectors right beside it as the OP has figured out (the connector my BLTouch came with was a little big so I had to cut a wall of the white housing a little; it fits really well), and re-connected the original Z-axis cable (did not need to remove to start with, but still unused as the BLT pretty much replaces it).
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/03/06 | 893 | 3,442 | <issue_start>username_0: I have been using an Anycubic i3 Mega for about a month now and it worked fine. But when I designed a simple model in Fusion 360 and sliced it with Cura it started to have issues sticking to the bed. I thought the problem was the model so I tried to print a Benchy, but the same problem occurred. I readjusted the bed but it's still not working. I'm not sure how I can trouble shoot this.<issue_comment>username_1: The proper answer could be not related to Fusion, as you already noticed.
I suppose the issue is that the Ultrabase surface (or any other glass surface you have installed) was **not cleaned during the first month**? So it should be cleaned from grease and possibly dust. The general cleaning method is to use isopropyl alcohol (IPA) from time to time (btw. I am curious if it is advised in a printer's manual). If it does not fully help, I suppose using a dish soap with hot water prior to IPA is good step. Though I do not own this bed, so could not be 100 % sure of impact. (Definitely do not use any extra adhesion helpers for Ultrabed, because it has some specific microstructure which will get stuffed.)
You could want review other threads like this [How to get Sunlu PLA to adhere to the printing bed?](/q/15327/) to get other hints and supplement your checklist. One thing to check first (and regularly) is proper bed levelling at current moment - and compare to initial layer settings in Cura (thickness, width, flow percentage).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Keeping the print bed clean as mention in other answers is key. Dish soap (without any additives) and water to wash away oils from your hands the printer itself is the first step. Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) is also good to keep the bed clean between prints, but when you run into adhesion problems, wash with soap first. IPA in many cases just move the oils around the bed instead of removing them. Also, always wipe from the centre of your bed to the outside.
The next step is to also ensure the bed is level (unless you have auto-levelling). If the bed is level, then you need to make sure your z-offset is correct. The first layer must be printed with the nozzle low enough to press the first layer into an oval shape onto the bed so that the surface area in contact with the bed is increased. If the z-offset is too high the first layer filament is going to have a round shape which means the printer is basically printing in the air.
Be careful not to decrease the z-offset too drastically because the nozzle should never come in contact with the bed because damage to the bed, nozzle or heat-break is possible.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/BOXXV.png)
[Image source](https://cults3d.com/en/blog/articles/6-main-factors-for-perfect-first-layer-3d-printing)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: A "hack" I used was to print with a raft. I decreased the width of the raft in Cura so I'm not printing with excess plastic and the raft ensures my print always sticks.
Another thing to look at is to look at the print speed, a slightly slower speed might help with the build plate adhesion. This is something I noticed from printing with a raft
For reference, I print with a glass bed and the plastic failed to adhere to the bed even after washing it and using sanitizer to clean it off. IPA is the real deal though but I didn't give it a try.
Upvotes: 1 |
2021/03/06 | 352 | 1,127 | <issue_start>username_0: Comparing trends show that 3D printing stepped over to another level around 2012~2013. Why?
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/9tFj9.png)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/N488f.png)<issue_comment>username_1: A great story on the history of 3D printing is published by [3DSOURCED](https://www.3dsourced.com/guides/history-of-3d-printing/). It shows that the patents for FDM and SLA expired a few years earlier and the [RepRap](https://reprap.org/wiki/RepRap) 3D printer self replicating project became very popular. Also, 3D printer manufacturers emerged and electronics, software and parts became available at a larger scale, so that it was more affordable for a hobbyist to dive in.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Another opinion received:
>
> That’s the result of MakerBot and others promoting the tech to the general public for the first time after the patents expired. They were just running up stock prices to make a lot of money
>
>
>
Upvotes: 0 |
2021/03/08 | 1,452 | 4,869 | <issue_start>username_0: I want to be able to run my Chiron during night-time, but my neighbours tries to sleep at that time of day. I have put a lot of effort into making the printer silent. The controller-fan and power-supply-fan now run slower and only when needed, I have put the printer on those [damper feet](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3225296) found on Thingiverse, I have added rods to stabilize the gantry and I have switched to TMC2209 for X, Y and Z. I have made sure the TMCs are tuned for 24V and are using 'stealth chop' below 225 rpm (120 mm/s). The result is impressive compared to how noisy the printer was when I bought it.
One problem was not solved, when Y-axis moves at between 35 and 45 mm/s, the printer starts to loudly vibrate at 220 to 280 Hz. To mitigate that, I first tried to slow down printing, but then print quality was hurt by oozing. Now I have reverted back to my desired print speed, but limited Y-axis feed-rate in Marlin to 32 mm/s using `M203 Y 32`. It is quiet enough, but many movements are slowed down, affecting quality.
What can I do to stop or mute these vibrations?
**ADDED 2021-03-30**
I have no proper accelerometer, so I used a MPU6050 accelerometer and some code in an ESP8266. It samples roughly 400 times per second and gives a vibration-value that can be used to *estimate* the level of vibrations. It is not frequency-compensated, but gives a hint of what is happening. And it can be used to compare settings.
I also made a program based on an example in TMCStepper so I could run the stepper and see/change all settings. This program also relays the measurements from my accelerometer so I can make graphs.
To do this I removed the stepper from the chassis, as I need to be somewhat quiet when doing these tests. It looks like this:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/MSc3m.jpg)
This graph sums up my findings pretty well:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/5OYRE.png)
X-axis shows motor-speed in full steps per second, fsps. fsps corresponds to the frequency of the noises I want to conceal. 200 fsps = 1 revolution per second = 60 rpm. On Chiron Y-axis 60 rpm = 32 mm/s = F1920.
Y-axis is shown with the scale log10(accelerometer values).
Here are the TMC-settings I used during the tests, which are same/or close to what Marlin use for 24V Chiron:
(TPWMTHRS was set to 0 when I tested StealthChop)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/bclvk.png)
What I read from this chart (and my many measurements):
TMC2209 is much quieter below 120 fsps.
StealthChop is fantastic at low speeds.
StealthChop shall ONLY be used at really low speeds in a 3D printer. If at all, since switching mode also is noisy.
SpreadCycle use 256 usteps/fstep. A4988 use 16 usteps/fstep. I think that is the reason for TMC to be more quiet at low speeds.
**What I do not understand:**
Why is TMC2209 seems to be more loud at higher speeds. It might make different vibrations that my makeshift accelerometer rates worse, of course. But can I have a defective TMC2209? Or are the BigTreeTech boards bad? Or have I got fake TMC2209 with worse performance?<issue_comment>username_1: Have you tried a concrete tile for garden with foam below it?
Check <https://www.cnckitchen.com/blog/reduce-your-3d-printing-noise-with-a-concrete-paver>
The same is on
Frequencies at 200+ Hz should not get to the neighbours, the walls and floor will absorb them. Lower frequencies are transmitted much more (see the video).
Try that, it's super cheap, and if not enough let us know for further help.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I noticed that my TMC drivers make a loud KLANK sound when switching from stealthchop to spreadcycle. The solution is to keep the in stealthchop at all time by butting the threshold really high (I set mine to 1000 mm/s). You may also look for resonance in your frame. If you’re using Klipper, you can use input Shaper with an accelerometer to lower ringing, it will improve your print ans make your printer quieter at the same time.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: Since you have already invested in reducing the noise of you printer:
1. Move it away from the wall shared with your neighbor, or better a different room.
2. Reduce sound transmitted through the floor. Set the printer on some type of isolation table. This can be from an elaborate marble table to some type of homemade setup. You can put cushioning under the printer. The heavier the furniture the better.
3. Add an acoustical barrier to the wall, from a blanket to shaped acoustical foam.
4. Invest in noise cancelling equipment. Some are as low as $50.
Upvotes: 0 |
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