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Issues with direct g-code transmission via serial port | Mine is a wild guess, but judging from:
echo:Unknown command: "starto"
ok
echo:Unknown command: "SD init failstartuthor"
ok
echo:Unknown command: " (none, default config)50.00 Z2.50 E2rBy00.00 Y0.00 Z0.00echo"
ok
echo:Unknown command: "Unknown command"
ok
echo:Unknown command: " "starto"own comm"
ok
echo:Unknown command: "aximum XY jerk (mm/s), Z=maximum Z jerk (mm/s), E=maximum E jerk (mm/s)echo"
ok
echo:Unknown command: "PID settings"
ok
It looks like you may be looping back the output of your printer as an input to itself. I am very suspicious of your line: tail -f /dev/ttyACM0 & as that seems to indicate your are trying to perform other actions in the same terminal window after you started to monitor the serial connection.
If this is the case, you should definitively open the monitor in a separate terminal (tail -f /dev/ttyACM0) and feed the input in a different one (note that yo must not use the final &).
Finally, you probably want to use cat >> /dev/ttyACM0 instead of cat > /dev/ttyACM0 as you want to append your commands without truncating the existing stream. |
Creating a 3D modelled "mold over" an imported object | Instead of using FreeCAD, I would import the mesh data into a vertex-based 3D modeling software, such as blender.
After stitching the model in any areas where you still have gaps, you remove any vertex belonging to areas you do not want to use for the mask. This leaves you with pretty much a skin-tight base for your mask. Select all the remaining surfaces and scale S them in all directions in regards to the origin so you create a little airgap 5% extra (1.05) should create enough space to sit somewhat comfortably, but you might prefer a little more. As a stand-in for the face, I use this approximation of a forehead...
Next, we thicken that surface using the modifier menu: Select the Solidify modifier and set a thickness that looks good to you and that might be printable. Then make sure it pushes away from where your face is. Also make sure the Offset is at 1 or -1 to ensure that it does not stick out from the face-scan surface to the back!
Now you got a perfect base to model on the outside of using the sculpt features while retaining the inner surface! Do yourself a favor though: print at least part of this model as a test fit and adjust the mask as needed. |
Printer homes to Z stop-switch, but presses on heat bed during printing | The correlation between the endstop switch -- or sensor -- and the surface of the bed is not known a priori . In your case, there are two possibilities. I'd say the more likely is that your g-code generator is not setting the Z-height offset from the bed correctly. The other is that your bed is tilted, so proper Z-home at one corner does not match the entire bed.
Try this: first manually move the extruder head to all four corners and adjust the bed screws until the separation is identical at all times. Then let your gcode start up -- and don't worry if the extruder depresses the bed during homing, as that doesn't matter. See where the extruder is once the print starts. Adjust the endstop switch up or down to compensate until the print head when printing is just off the surface and the first layer adheres well.
If all that doesn't work, then you may have the wrong printer profile settings in your slicing softwqre. |
Is my 5A polyfuse on my RAMPS board bad? | As @Mikhail Z commented, it does sound like the fuse may be bad.
The first thing to do is put an ohmmeter across the fuse (with power off!) -- if you get high resistance the fuse is definitely bad. However, if you get low resistance that does not prove the fuse is good -- see @Tom's comments below re. polyfuses in particular, and how to disconnect from the rest of the circuit.
If you don't get lucky testing a fuse in-line, remove it and put the ohmmeter on it in isolation. Whether good or bad, it's good to put in a fuse-holder or socket, so you never have to de-solder the fuse again.
Some boards use auto-resetting fuses or circuit breakers, which might have more complicated ways of failing (you can always replace the part to be sure). I personally avoid auto-resetting for anything that supplies heaters; if there's a problem I want to intervene rather than letting it try again endlessly.
Since the heaters and the motors are both down, it's a good bet it's the fuse or something very early (that is, "near" the power supply). If it were a single motor or single heater, then the output control (typically a solid-state relay, or perhaps the logic controlling it) would be a better bet. Though unlikely, it's possible for two or more such controls to fail at once, so don't rule that out completely.
Let us know what you discover. |
What modifications do I need to make to Marlin if I completely replace the heated bed assembly? | Dimensions if they differ, maybe endstop offsets and possibly a different thermistor type. |
Getting started with converted STL to DXF | I figured it out. Need to go: Network -> conversion to surface
Then we get a surface that is already easy to work with. |
Is there a way to convert a file to .dwg? | I found this site and tested it a moment ago. I uploaded a simple .STL file (crystal) and had to register as a user (free, unremarkable) in order to perform the conversion.
http://www.cadforum.cz/catalog_en/stl2dwg.asp
The downloaded file was in .DWG format and opened without a problem in AutoCAD 2013 as a 3d object.
Note the placement of the pivot point in Meshmixer (first image) and the corresponding location in AutoCAD. |
Upgrading printer controller | If you own a Raspberry Pi , you may first want to try Klipper firmware. This firmware does the heavy lifting on the RPi itself and sends commands to the printer board via USB.
My Ender 3 pro works much better with this firmware. |
Prusa i3 MK3S Z axis moving down in calibration wizard | Answer taken from OP's comment
the issue has been resolved (the PINDA probe was too high) |
Wanhao Duplicator 6 / Monoprice Maker Ultimate thread pitch or number of steps? | If you navigate to e.g. the Marlin printer firmware configuration file for the Wanhao Duplicator 6 you will find that the steps per mm are defined as:
/**
* Default Axis Steps Per Unit (steps/mm)
* Override with M92
* X, Y, Z, E0 [, E1[, E2...]]
*/
#define DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT { 80.0395, 80.0395, 400.48, 99.1 }
Sidenote, somebody who posted this has diligently tried to tune their machine, this should read:
#define DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT { 80., 80., 400., 100. }
From these values you can tune your own if needed.
Now we do the math with the following assumptions:
400 steps per mm,
standard 200 steps per revolution stepper motor (1.8°) and
assuming that your board uses 1/16 µ-steps
Dividing the physical stepper steps per revolution by the firmware steps per millimeter we can calculate how much the nut advanced in a single revolution, i.e. 200/(400/16) = 200/25 = 8 millimeter. The nut therefor advanced 8 mm per complete revolution of the stepper. This means you will most probably have Tr8x8(P2) lead screws.
Do note that there are online calculators that can help you out doing the math for you, e.g. this RepRap calculator page. |
Delamination in resin prints | With the information provided my thought is that your layers are underexposed for their thickness. Each layer is just barely bonding to the layer above it. After being pulled on by layers below eventually one of the layers fails. This is especially likely to happen on a thin part of the print any may need more support if it is followed by wider layers. But I would suggest trying to increase your exposure time first.
option two: it could be your FEP if that has seen too much use it may be time to replace it.
calibrating a resin 3D printer |
Anet A8 with Marlin firmware: Auto Home is crashing into bed | You should un-comment the following line to get rid of the Probing failed error message:
// #define MIN_SOFTWARE_ENDSTOP_Z // Line # 0907 Commented
to
#define MIN_SOFTWARE_ENDSTOP_Z
You have basically disabled the use of the minimum Z endstop, while in fact you are using one, the difference is that it is a sensor now, not a mechanical switch.
Please note the distance of the sensor to the bed, it looks as though it is pretty far away. Before sending an auto home command, it is better to test the endstop triggering beforehand; an external application (e.g. Pronterface, Repetier-Host, OctoPrint, etc.), USB cable and a laptop/computer can be used to send G-code commands through the terminal of the external application. Code M119 will output the endstop trigger status to the terminal. |
I've exported 3D models from the game, can I print them? | No. Such figures are generally covered by copyright, which means that nobody but the copyright holder is allowed to (re-)produce copies of the work. Copyright also covers personal use. In the US there are limited fair use exceptions but they do not apply here.
The only way to do this legally is if it is specifically authorized in a license or if you get permission. |
Very messy prints with lots of fuzz on edges | I figured out the problem. I reduced printing speed and printing temperature and the print came out decent. Still some issues but worlds better then before. I will try a few more settings to determine exactly what was the actual Issue. I will also try what @Fernando Baltazar recommended and update here what exactly changed the printing quality. |
How to print a voxel object? | Magicavoxel supports export as .obj, natively or with the right plugin.
While .stl is the standard for 3d-printing exchanges, as it contains a "1-unit" length,(typically that corresponds to 1 mm), .obj is also accepted by most slicers.
To get to MagicaVoxel's native export, look in the lower right corner, click export and see this pop up:
Press the top-left OBJ option and you get a save position window where you can store it. Then open it with your slicer and choose a scale - most .obj files do not contain a scale as the format does not contain a unit measure by default like .stl and has to be given one. |
Inconsistent Layer Issues | These lines could be caused by a mechanical issue with the printer; it looks as if the positioning is not up to par.
This can be related to loose belts of the X-axis and Y-axis, or play in your system, e.g. look at the rollers of the carriage.
I've experienced an issue with play between the idler mounts and the smooth linear rods on a cheap 3D printer kit myself, but that is not the case here. Just added to explain where play may come from. |
How to 3D Print 5-pointed star object that doesn't have flat bottom and hole in the middle? | Typical FDM desktop 3D printers might struggle with this model as it requires you to either print large overhangs and use support structure (when printed laying down), or lacks a natural flat bottom surface to get good print adhesion (when printed upright). A couple of suggestions:
Some FDM printers are great at printing support, and some even allow you to print dissolvable support structure. If you find one of these, you are home safe.
You could split the model in two, print those parts separately, and then glue them together afterwards. This is quite common for complex models, and allows you to print your model on even basic FDM printers. Tom's answer illustrates this well.
There are naturally other 3D printer technologies too (SLA, resin etc.), but I have no practical experience with these myself, and leave it up to others to give you a good answer regarding these. |
Triangulation adapted to curvature | For 3d printing this is not very relevant. The triangles only exist in the File read by the slicer. And there are file-formats that can describe rods without the need to use triangles.
If you create a model in a format that uses triangles than just use enough of them to get your model described fully. (millions of very small triangles) That is probably a waste on part where it has less details, but that just makes the file a bit bigger.
The problem of best print quality doesn't end there.
The slicer looks at the triangfles and creates a 2d image of the intersection of the triangles with the layer hight. It then creates g_COde paths along the lines in this 2d image for every Layer. Using triangles to describe the model will only give small line segments for these 2d slices. Therefore the G-Code creates will only have straight line movements (G0, G1).
With a format that can describe curves, the slicer could end up with circles and arcs on the 2d slice and could then use G2 and G3 moves. And if the Firmware of your printer understands these commands you would get the best possible quality with rather small model files. |
Where to find "Heat deflection temperature" , "Impact resistance Charpy" and "Tensile strength" for a specific brand Filament PLA? | Unless the Manufacturer offers them, you have to extrapolate from other brands. Most PLAs are very close and hit within 10% of one another. |
MINTEMP BED Fixed error when running consecutive print | The bed minimum temperature is defined in your configuration file, e.g.:
#define BED_MINTEMP 5
If the error is displayed, it means that the measured temperature drops below this level.
What I am noticing is that upon finishing the first print
This could hint to a faulty heatbed connector where the connection is lost because the bed moves to the end positions (hard to say without seeing the end G-code).
Basically, you could have a connection to bed thermistor that is intermittently failing, or a bad bed thermistor. If connection is lost the temperature defaults to 0 °C or a lower setting. |
How often should I replace the glue layers on the bed? | Depends on the glue and on your tolerance for messy undersides on your prints. It's fairly common for some of the glue to come off with the print. Or you may have marks from scrapers or rafts. Do you want to touch up that spot and have some artifacts on the bottom of the next print, or clean and redo the bed to get everything flat?
Gluestick is pretty easy to wash and reapply. It can also be freshened up with a gentle spray of water, smeared flat, and redried, or more gluestick added on top. It will really come down to your preferred workflow. |
M4 screw and nut for 3D printing? | You can get a model for nearly everything McMaster-Carr sells from their website.
M4 Hex Head Screw - https://www.mcmaster.com/#91280a140/=15dmpx8
M4 Nut - https://www.mcmaster.com/#90592a090/=15dmqjy
The options to download models are to the right of the drawings.
NOTE: the site does prohibit use of these models for direct printing.
You shall not use a CAD model to engage in 3D printing or other
fabrication of the object depicted in the CAD model for any other
purpose. You shall not otherwise redistribute or make available the
CAD models (or any design drawings or prototypes that incorporate
them) to any third parties, including third parties in the business of
selling products similar to the products sold by us. |
How to eliminate stringing and regulate flow rate? | Stringing can be fought by increasing the retraction length, but 6.5 mm (the default in Ultimaker Cura) is already pretty much. Please do note that too much retraction can lead to sucking air into the nozzle, which can lead to air pockets/holes.
Basically there are 3 mechanisms that are in play:
Retraction
Temperature
Speed
You have tried changing multiple parameters already. You may have better luck in reducing the temperature of the nozzle even further, start with a decrease of 5 °C. All that is left to do is increasing the travel speed.
There are many stringing test prints to print to fine tune stringing. |
POM filament not sticking to the build plate? | Great material but very hard to print as it does not stick easy to the build plate as it has a low friction coefficient to grip onto the heated bed. Also, the material sets quite fast, once the filament leaves the nozzle, it soon hardens so you need to be careful with retraction and Z-hop (leaving small peaks that will be hit later by the nozzle knocking over your print).
My experience with printing this material is based on printing with an Ultimaker 3 Extended (on glass) using a modified material profile (based on Nylon). It is printed at 240 °C (+5 °C for the first layer), no usage of the part cooling fan (if you do use cooling, the layers will not adhere well), a heated bed temperature of 80 °C, and a slow printing speed of 40 mm/s (20 mm/s for the first and second layer).
Ultimaker 3 Extended with printed POM bearing:
First thing I learned is to use quite large brim's (the image above shows a rather small one for this short bearing, for the longer bearings the brim size was more than doubled, e.g. 20 mm), brims enlarge the surface area so that there is more material that grabs hold of the heated bed. Also ensure to get it to stick long enough is heating the bed to 80 °C after smearing ABS juice (ABS dissolved in acetone) and spraying a PVA based spray over the dried ABS juice layer (3DLAC has been used, but other hairsprays or even gluesticks may work as well, as long as there is PVA in it). The temperature of 80 °C is chosen as this is the temperature where my PVA spray has the most tack/sticky-ness.
Other solutions like heating the bed up to 110 °C using 3DLAC or specifically designed sprays for higher temperature like e.g. Dimafix did not work well for me.
Note that complete infill may also give problems as filling out the whole surface area sometimes creates excess material that curls up, which is an easy target to be hit by the nozzle on the next layer.
This image shows an example of using the printed customized igus® POM bearing that is as long as the mount height:
Collection of POM printed bearings:
Another application of POM bearings:
CoreXY hot end carriage |
Print contaminated by chips of previous filament colors | My bet is your extruder knurls are scratching the filament. If it happens for specific filament then probably it doesn't keep its diameter. It means you can avoid these grains by using better filament.
If it happens always then you could do 3 things
reduce stress on the spring which pushes filament to extruder gear
make extruder gear less sharp
eventually change the great itself |
How thick does an aluminum print bed need to be | Main factors that control the process of the print bed selection are
weight: too thick plate increases inertial force, limiting maximum acceleration/jerk (decreased print speed)
stiffness: too thin plate will warp when heated or bend during calibration (decreased print quality/printer reliability)
For table sizes around 400x400mm I would think of 4mm plate, but it still can warp if heated unevenly.
Sometimes it makes sense to use a sandwich-type table: lower level is MDF, cork panel for heat insulation and thin (1.5-2mm) aluminum heated bed on top. |
How to avoid warping when using supports | If I am iterpreting your picture correctly, what you are referring to as "cracking and warping" is simply the irregularities of the plastic where it rested on (and partially bonded with) the support material.
Unluckily, apart from upgrading to a dual extruder printer (and use water-soluble filament for the support) or switching printing technology entirely (e.g.: using a sintering printer) you can only mitigate the problem, but the defects will remain, and will require post-processing to be rectified.
So, in no particular order, here's a list of the most common way to tackle this:
Use a slicer that allows you to place support only where strictly needed. I have never used it myself as I am a FLOSS enthusiast, but - at the time of writing - among the mainstream ones only Simplify 3D offers this feature.
If your slicers does not support that, tweak your support material settings. In Cura (and for my printer/filament) - for example - it helps using "support interfaces" and leaving quite a XY gap between model and support.
Instead of printing your model in one go, print it in multiple parts that you can then glue or assemble together. For example: the spaceship you took pictures of could be printed without any support at all if you were to cut it in half (back and front of the ship, the cylinder connecting cockpit and wings also cut in two).
Use a material that can be chemically smoothed. Traditionally that would be ABS + acetone vapour, both of them cheap and toxic, but more recently it polysmooth has hit the market with a safer (and way more expensive) system. This approach will also improve the look and finish of the rest of the print (as also the layer marks will be smoothed out).
Again though... support material marks are sort of part of the game, when using FDM technology, so you should expect some sanding in most prints that required support. |
Missing print steps in e-waste 3d printer | Firstly, the X-axis should not be attached to the Y-axis.
Secondly, with respect to the Z-axis not being moved by the X-axis, it sounds like the X-axis stepper either:
is dead, or;
does not have sufficient power to move.
I would suggest removing the Z-axis from the X-axis CD carriage, in order to reduce the mass and therefore the power required to move it, and test the X-axis in isolation. If it moves left and right correctly, then it is not dead (obviously). If it does not move, then try adjusting (increasing) the current to the stepper motor, by adjusting the EasyDriver (assuming that you are using an EasyDriver stepper motor controller):
If it still does not move, then replace the stepper (or the whole X-axis CD-ROM drive, which is probably easier).
Then replace the Z-axis and test the X-axis movement again. If it does not move then the stepper does not have sufficient power, or strength, to move the mass of the Z-axis and, again, will probably require increasing the current to it, by adjusting the EasyDriver (as above):
If that does not help, then it will probably need need replacing.
If it does move, then you've fixed it.
Addendum
Having re-read your question, you state that the X-axis stepper motor works fine. So, it could be that the mechanism to which the stepper motor is attached is broken (teeth, gears, etc.) and not moving the CD carriage correctly. Again, remove the Z-axis and check the mechanics of the X-axis.
If they are damaged, then you will probably need to replace the CD-ROM drive that was used for the X-axis. |
Can parts that have warped (after being printed) be un-warped? | PLA stays a thermoplastic in printed shape. And as you saw when unpacking your things, tropical heat and force are enough to get a lasting deformation. Other people had PLA prints ruined from having them sit in the car, I had seen deformation on a purple print I had let sit in the sun on an edge.
This also means that the reverse is true: under load to shape the part and some heat you can try to unbend parts. A hairdryer air of about 60-80 °C, which is more than enough to make PLA formable. |
How to build CuraEngine? | I'm assuming you actually want to build Cura, rather than simply install Cura. If you instead want to install Cura, you can try sudo apt-get install cura-engine
The following instructions were tested on my own Debian 8 (Jessie) distribution; they should be mostly, if not entirely, the same, for Ubuntu. Note that I did not follow the exact steps as described on the github/Ultimaker/CuraEngine README.
Before we begin, let's make a build directory and do everything in there.
mkdir ~/Downloads/curabuild
cd ~/Downloads/curabuild
The instructions will be broken into
1. Install dependencies
Some or all of these may already be installed on your computer. To be sure, we install them anyways:
sudo apt-get install git curl libtool dh-autoreconf cmake python3-setuptools python3-dev python3-sip sip-dev
2. Install protobuf
Clone and enter the protobuf git repository:
git clone https://github.com/google/protobuf
cd protobuf
Build and install for C++:
./autogen.sh
./configure
make # this will take some time
sudo make install
Install for Python 3:
cd python
sudo python3 setup.py install
3. Install libArcus
Clone and enter the libArcus repository:
cd ../..
git clone https://github.com/Ultimaker/libArcus
cd libArcus
Build and install
cmake .
make
sudo make install
4. Install CuraEngine
Clone and enter repository:
cd ..
git clone https://github.com/Ultimaker/CuraEngine
cd CuraEngine
Build and install
cmake .
make # grab a cup of coffee
sudo make install
5. Celebrate!
If all went well, you're done! You can now use the Cura engine via CuraEngine. Enjoy. |
What is a printer console/terminal? | There are several programs that could serve as a console to connect to a printer, put let's start somewhere: the USB connection.
Connection with USB
When connecting the printer via USB for the first time, we will get a notification that some unknown item is connected. If we use windows we can learn what device it decided we now have via the device manager (Windows Key then typing in manager and Enter). It should be a COM Port as this picture shows.
In this case, we have connected to COM4. To change the COM port, we can do so via a Rightclick->properties, then the connection settings and advanced. In the new window, we can change the COM port number to anything from 1 to 256, but it is recommended to keep the number somewhat low.
Make sure you run the printer's power supply and the connection via USB, as you can't use motor control commands if you have the power supply for the printer off.
Using the COM-port
Now, we need a program that can use the COM port to connect to the printer. There are, as said, several out there. One such is Repetier Host, which comes with slicer and a good graphical interface. Another is Ultimaker Cura, which has the same capacities but lacks logging of all the commands exchanged. Because many are familiar with it as a slicer, I will look at it first. As a third option, I will take a look at Pronterface.
CAVEAT: Only one program that actively uses the COM port may be running at the same time, as the first program accessing it will claim all uses for the COM port till it is shut down.
Ultimaker Cura
After launching Ultimaker Cura, choose your printer. many printers are available as presets by now, so just import the printer you use or make a custom profile. At the moment the latest version of Cura is 4.1.0, and will look like this:
After switching to Monitor, it will automatically connect to the Printer via the COM port, in my case 4.
Once more we test the connection via Home and then use the Send G-Code prompt, confirming lines via Enter.
Repetier Host
After running Repetier Host the first time, you need to configure your printer. Ctrl+P opens the config window for the printer. We need to know the Baud Rate of our printer, so I looked up the documentation of my Ender3, which told me 115200 is the right setting. Most printers seem to run on this setting. The other tabs decide the speeds, extruder number and limits and the bed shape. The rest isn't needed for this. My settings for the Ender3 are these:
Ok, we made our settings and saved via OK.
Now, we press the Connect button on the left side of the menu:
It should change to the blue Disconnect button and display other parts of the print now, showing that we have connected. Note that at the bottom of the screen a log is filled with all the commands and exchanges.
On the right side, we now can choose the Tab Manual Control
Before sending any commands, it is a good idea to press the Home button. This also serves as an extra test to see if the printer is connected correctly. Now we can use the Prompt G-Code to send our commands. The commands will be put into the log below.
Pronterface
This is the first time that I used Pronterface. The first thing to do after downloading the Printrun package and running the Pronterface application, is to press Port, then set the right Baudrate (115200 seems to work for many machines) and press connect.
The GUI will saturate and the right log will show lots of things tested in connection. Note that in the lower right of the GUI, there is a temperature curve log, which can be very handy for troubleshooting, as it shows the change over a little time.
Below the log, we find the input for commands, and if we send a command, we get a log entry of it: |
How are infill paths connect to form an efficient path that respect the object's geometry? | The answer to this is pretty much basic algebra: The software tackles the problem by using a set of functions that generate the infill pattern for ALL the build volume, then discard anything outside the shells. Which is determined by algebra:
Basics
Outline Function
Assume the outline of the body is a function $O(l)$ that has a parameter $l$ for its length. This function can be calculated into XY coordinates, giving us $y\mapsto O^{xy}(x)$, that is parameterized after $x$, and should give us the values of $y$ for a closed function $O(l)$.
Infill Functions
Now, let's generate a function for infill pattern. Let's make it easy for us and use a diagonals pattern: $I_n(x)=x+n\times d$
where $d$ is a fixed parameter for "distance to last line" and $n\in\mathbb Z$ is the number of the line with 0 passing the origin.
Comparation: Outline=Infill
Now basic algebra! Let the computer solve for each $n$ the term $O(x)=I_n(x)$. The result should be (in the best case) paired points, all on the linear function $I_n(x)$. Sort these points by their correlating $n$ value first, then the $x$ values.
Dealing with the results
Let's assume we have some banana shape and our solutions for n=0 are like this: $P_{i=1 \to 4}=\{\{1,1\},\{2,2\},\{3,3\},\{4,4\}\}$
Modeling starter
On the most simple cases, we hope to only have paired results - the outline is closed and thus each line passing it has to cut it in multiples of two. Because we don't allow geometry to be below $\{0,0\}$, the line in this example will pass into the body at the first solution of these points and pass out of it at the second and so on. Generally: It moves in at odd and exits at even i. So our infill lines in the example need to connect $\{1,1\} \to \{2,2\}$ and $\{3,3\} \to \{4,4\}$.
Enhancing the Modeling
checking for tangents
Now, we might have an odd number of points that solve O(x)=In(x) for a given n. Let's assume $P_{i=1 \to 5}=\{1,1\},\{2,2\},\{3,3\},\{4,4\},\{5,5\}$.
Now we need to be careful as one of these points is guaranteed to be a point in which $I_n(x)$ is a tangent at of $O(x)$. So, we need to know the first differential of $O(x)$ in the points, which is the tangent at $O(x)$. But we don't need to solve all the points: We know the first should enter and the last exit the body, so we need (for most cases) to only solve this for the points $P_i$ with $i=2 \to i_{max-1}$. When $O'(x)=I_n(x)$, we got a tangent and remove this point from the list of points to connect with infill lines.
Because we could have several tangents in a set of points, this check has to be done for all sets of points to eliminate these points.
Also, I used the "usually" there by intent: there are cases where the first or last point is a tangent, and because it is easier to cose, we should run the elimination process over all $P_1 \to P_{max}$!
The new, reduced set of points will be a paired list: $Q_{i=1 \to 4}=\{1,1\},\{2,2\},\{4,4\},\{5,5\}$. The Infil connects $Q_1 \to Q_2$ and $Q_3\to Q_4$.
Turning Points into vectors
Now, we have our points $Q_1$ and $Q_2$ (or any other pair of $n \land n+1$, where n is an element of the odd numbers), both on $I_{n=0}(x)$. How to connect? Easy! $I{n=0}$ is a function, most likely a linear one. Along this line has to be our connecting line from $Q_1\to Q_2$, so the movement we have to plot is the function of our pattern between the points. For a simple, linear pattern this would be:
$L_1=\frac{I(x)}{|I(x)|} \times |\vec{Q_2}-\vec{Q_1}|+\vec{Q1}$
Optimisation
Sorting properly
Now, we have a set of Lines $L_n$, where, as established in the last paragraph, n is an odd number declaring it has the lower-end $Q_n$, and the upper-end $Q_{n+1}$. How do we sort these lines smartly so we have the least movement? Let's take a look at our lists:
The list of Pi, which contains all tangential points and end points. Not very helpful.
The reduced list of $Q_{n}$, which contains all the start and end points; it is sorted in a way that odd numbers are starts, and even ends.
The list of $L_n$ with i always being an odd number, that contains the movement paths (=lines) from each $Q_{n}$ to its corresponding $Q_{n+1}$
Shortest movement between prints?
Now, let's do some math again: What is the closest $Q_{a}$ to the $Q_{n+1}$ we did end at after doing the $L_n$ movement? Well, first of all, we need to make sure we don't get back to already moved paths so let's make a new list $R_{i}$, which contains all the $Q_{i}$ we have not yet moved to.
So what is the closest $R_{i}$ to the end point of the path $L_e$ we just moved? Well, easy! Solve $min|R_i-L_e|$ with i being all the odd numbers in the list of $R_{i}$ and $L_e$ the point where the printhead was sent to at the end of the last movement
fewest direction changes?
Always moving just the shortest distance might create a large number of direction changes. So it might be a good idea to keep the point-lists sorted by the parameter n of the function $l_n(x)$ that created the points in the first place, and run down that list from minimum n that generated points (which can be below 0) to the maximum n that generated points.
optimizing direction changes & movement paths
Now, we have 2 approaches that pretty much only follow the pattern. However, we might make our average movement paths more efficient by using a simple trick:
Up to now, all our line functions $l_n(x)$ had the same vector and just a different starting point to one another. So all the starts were on one side of the body, all the ends on the opposite. With a very simple trick on the infill function we can generate a group of functions that alternate the sides of the end-points between each line, jsut by adding an inverse element:
$L_n(x)=-1^n\times l_n(x)$
Now, after all the movements with the same $n$ are done, check for the closest starting point (which should be on the same side, but is not necessary the neighboring line), and go down that line fully, eradicating these points from the list of remaining points $R_{i}$. Once back on the side we started first at, we look for the closest unused point again, run down that line, rinse and repeat. |
Minimum Solid Figure traced by a Delta 3D Printer | I think you misunderstand. It's the nozzle width and extruder step size, not the axis step sizes, that limit detail. Positioning resolution on a typical printer is on the order of 0.01 mm, but nozzle size is at least 0.1 mm and typically 0.4 mm. Also, lack of perfect rigidity in the mechanical parts will produce gradually increasing error as you try to go smaller and smaller in detail. So, it really makes no difference to the achievable detail whether the printer is a Cartesian or a Delta. |
Slic3r not interpreting STL correctly | Sketchup is notorious for creating non-manifold models for 3D printing. The first recommendation would be to consider using a different resource for your models. I'm not a big fan of TinkerCAD, but it is similar in operation to many features of Sketchup. I've used it on a couple occasions where it was the fastest simplest way to create a particular model.
There are other programs that are more complex in the learning curve. Meshmixer is good for more organic shapes, although it will perform reasonably well for engineering-type models such as yours.
Blender is a great piece of free software with an extremely steep learning curve, but again, better suited to organics.
I'm quite a fan of OpenSCAD which is script/text based and quite well suited to creating engineering-type models, especially if you need parametric modeling. The model you have in your pictures would be an easy build, perhaps twenty minutes creation time, a few dozen lines of text. I see two cylinders, some boolean subtraction and some radial primitives. If the code is clean (easy to do), the result is a manifold object.
On the even more challenging level, there are programs such as SolidWorks but the learning curve there is steep too. In the same ballpark would be Autodesk Fusion 360, for which a free hobbyist version exists.
Of course, with all of the above, there are YouTube tutorials to assist your learning process.
More to the point, one can use an online 3D model repair service. I've attempted to use a couple with mixed results.
Netfabb is a commonly recommended online repair service. I've not used that one, or if I have, the results were poor. A bad model (your example) will likely fail with most services.
I've used MakePrintable in the past as well. Again, a bad model will fail and Sketchup is the culprit here.
You can use Meshmixer in Analysis mode to find the errors and use Auto Repair All, but the results aren't going to be pretty! |
Hot end jamming very quickly | You are suffering from what is called "heat creep". Molten filament is creeping up the heat break and into the bowden tube, where it is causing a jam. You need to install a proper radiator block that is cooled by a fan, not just a lump of wood as a "cold end". The cold end is not just a connector, its primary purpose is to act as a cooler. A hot end on its own is not enough. You also need a cold end. Here is my extruder disassembled (fan omitted). The radiator block is the red item. |
How does one use a heat tower? | When you slice an STL of a heat tower, you need to tell the slicer that you need a different temperature at a certain level and maintain that new temperature until another change is requested.
The way I usually do it is by using a post processing script in Ulltimaker Cura, but you can do it yourself quite easily by changing the G-code file manually.
To get it to work in Ultimaker Cura is to:
open a heat tower STL model onto the virtual build plate,
choose the correct print settings, e.g. fan speed, print speed, layer thickness, etc.,
now navigate from the main top menu bar Extensions -> Post Processing -> Modify G-Code,
select Add a script and choose ChangeAtZ,
you now are presented with an option (called Trigger) that you can change options at either a certain Height or at a certain Layer No. number, you decide what you want to use based on the model and layersize used, but height can be chosen safely when you know the height changes in the heat tower model
set a certain height at which you want to change the print properties by specifying a height in option Change Height,
now put a checkmark in Change Extruder 1 Temp (be sure that the box Behavior is set to Keep value so that it maintains this value until you specify otherwise, else it is only valid for a single layer),
a new input box will be presented to you where you can enter the value of the extruder,
repeat this adding of "changes at certain height" e.i. instances of ChangeAtZ until you have specified all the temperatures for all the levels
now slice the model (if not done automatically) and save the G-code file for printing.
If you look into the generated G-code file (the snippet below is taken from a G-code file for an Ultimaker 3) you will see that the post processing script will add extra lines in your G-code file. E.g. the following snippet shows you 2 changes of temperature, one at 5 mm (extruder 1 @ 250 °C), the other at 10 mm (extruder 1 @ 245 °C):
...
;LAYER:48
G0 X93.4 Y132.161 Z5
;ChangeAtZ V5.1.1: executed at 5.00 mm
M117 Printing... ch@ 5.0
M104 S250.000000 T0
...
...
;LAYER:98
G0 X93.4 Y132.35 Z10
;ChangeAtZ V5.1.1: executed at 10.00 mm
M117 Printing... ch@ 10.0
M104 S245.000000 T0
...
The bottom line is that the extruder needs to be instructed to be heated or cooled to a new temperature. This is also something you could have inserted yourself manually by adding the codes M104 SXXX.000000 T0 at specific levels where XXX is the extruder temperature you need for that level.
Basically this describes how to print the heat tower calibration prints, not the selection of the settings (e.g. extruder temperature) to use for your prints. When you created the print file you are ready to print the tower and observe the quality of printing. You can look at the print and visually inspect the temperature giving you the best aesthetic performance, the best overhang performance, the best "filling" performance, highest speed, etc. It is you that decides what is best for your application. Alternatively you could print some coupon tests and see which are structurally the best. Please note that additional towers for different settings like layer height, print part cooling and print speed to may be necessary to optimize the print process.
Sidemark, I prefer the use of parametric models (e.g. in OpenSCAD) over the STL models found on the internet, this way I can embed the exact printer setting in the tower for reference. See e.g. this answer. |
Are any 3D printed materials biocompatible (safe for implantation in the human body)? | Perhaps more than biocompatible, which generally refers to a material that does not illicit a harmful inflammatory response inside the body, you should be looking at bioresorbable materials, which are materials that dissolve inside the body after a certain time period without needing mechanical removal.
As an example, FDA approved poly (lactic acid) is available in pellet form from Corbion (formerly PURAC biomaterials) and can be extruded into 1.75mm filament for use with any desktop 3D printer (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214860416301385). Similarly, researchers have used poly (caprolactone) to 3D print scaffolds with using a stratasys FDM machine (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/1097-4636(200105)55:2%3C203::AID-JBM1007%3E3.0.CO;2-7). |
How to automate printing of multiple parts continuously? | The only thing I can think of off hand is an old mod for the early MakerBot machines. It first was released for the Thing-O'-Matic I believe, but is compatible with Replicator 1 machines (and its knock-offs). Here's the Thingiverse page, but look up Automatic Build Plate.
Essentially, you can use the Replicator G slicing program and there is a setting for "ABP" or Automatic Build Plate. This will basically tell the ABP to run its routine after the controller receives the response that the printing program is done and roll the finished part off the edge of the build plate, then start the same program over again.
Drawbacks:
I don't think it's easily compatible with newer machines/slicers. But, it's open source
Pretty sure you have to use Replicator G, which is outdated now and may make your machine sound like it's going to fall apart (I know from experience)
Going off of @Pete's answer about solenoids. It reminded me that someone integrated a solenoid "ejector" (aka Boxing Glove) for their machine.
Update (06/08/2016):
Forgot to mention that if you choose to create your own "Boxing Glove" or conveyor belt, some software such as Octo-Pi and Repetier-Host allow plugins. So, you could interface with your hardware via customized code and integrate the functionality directly into the slicing application for the full closed loop operation. |
Which outdoor filaments for unheated beds? | PETG is good for your project.
You can also print transparent ABS on unheated bed with ABS juice.I tried transparent ABS in outside environment and it work fine.I live in India where outdoor temperature reach to 45C in summer.It is easy to print small parts.ABS juice may or may not work with large parts depending on your ambient room temperature.Ambient room temp should be above 30C for ABS on unheated bed.I suggest you to use a enclosure for printer if you are in cold area. |
Problems with the right Z axis | I've had this happen before on various Prusa i3 style printers, especially with my homemade tight self printed POM linear bearings for the Z linear shaft. The problem is that the right side Z axis has some sort of friction caused by a skew frame, probably caused by the incident you had earlier.
You need to check whether the X axis carriage goes up and down smoothly. Unscrew the lead screw couplers or the trapezoid nuts and check the movement. If it catches friction, try solve where it comes from. The friction is causing the stepper to skip steps and causes the unsynchronized up/down movement. Please check if the frame or the rods have not bent, the distance between the linear guide rails needs to be the same over the complete height. |
Printing material for methanol tank | Most commercial blow-molded fuel tanks for model airplane fuel (methanol or ethanol, nitromethane or nitroethane, and some combination of castor, mineral, or synthetic lubricating oil) are made from HDPE. This material isn't commonly seen as filament, in my limited experience, but it ought to be possible to arrive at settings that will give a liquid tight tank without further sealing if you can find some. As you note, limonene might be used to smooth/seal HDPE prints, but likely won't be necessary if your settings are right.
You might want to test PETG filament for its resistance to your fuel mix(es) -- this material is available as filament, prints with settings little different from generic PLA (in my experience, higher nozzle and bed temperature, and a little more bed clearance for the first layer), with good layer adhesion and, with a good print, is liquid-tight as printed. It's not particularly flexible (as is the case with HDPE), but since you can customize the shape of your fuel tank, it may work for you -- or it may be more flexible in vase mode, as PLA is.
Sealing PETG may be as simple as baking it (similar to "heat treating" PLA to increase print strength, albeit again at a higher temperature) -- this partial remelting will ensure that layers are adhered throughout the print, which (presuming you have avoided under-extruded areas) should be all that's needed to make a printed tank liquid tight. |
Why and how am I supposed to change the extrusion multiplier? | In an ideal world, you will not need to change this parameter once it is properly calibrated.
In a non-ideal world, some filament may be out-of-spec, and some filament may slip when it passes through the extruder. So for a flex (or more flexible) filament, you might increase the extrusion multiplier a little to compensate. If the compensation is material specific, it should be consistent (and might even be advised by the filament manufacturer).
You might want to increase/reduce the multiplier whilst printing the first layer (in lieu of fixing your bed leveling properly).
Maybe you want to fine-tune the top surface (which will be 100% fill) and you prefer to slightly under-fill this (because over-fill results in more noticeable surface defects).
It is for quick hacks or fine tuning, there is probably no scientific approach to setting any value other than 100%.
When it comes to material specific variations (due to melt viscosity, thermal expansion or drive efficiency), there are many factors which affect the tuning. Machine geometry, temperatures, colourants (and other additives in the filament), as well as the base material. |
Y-axis layer shifting on my Ender 3 | Check for wobble in the X gantry and Y gantry also your Y-axis belt should vibrate like a snare when you pull it and let go. Same goes for your X-axis belt. If that doesn't work see if going back to Cura 4.6 helps (it did for me) and lower your acceleration in Cura (advanced settings movement). |
Building a 3-D printer | Building a 3-D printer is actually very easy, assuming that you are electronically and mechanically competent, and there are a whole bunch of websites devoted to doing just that. The principal of which would be the RepRapWiki.
There are a number of different designs, mostly from a few basic designs:
Cartesian
Delta
Polar
Scara
Take a look at 3D Printers Explained: Delta, Cartesian, Polar, Scara, for further details.
I, personally, would suggest looking at the following 3D printer designs (although there are many more out there):
Prusa i3 (arguably the most common/popular), or its derivative the P3Steel
Wilson II
Kossel
On the web, i.e. eBay/Amazon, there are plenty of ready assembled versions, DIY kits, or you can source all of the individual parts yourself. I seriously recommend reading this question What are the pros and cons of collecting parts yourself, versus getting a DIY kit and then modifying it?
I would strongly suggest that you do a lot of googling, and read around the subject for a couple of weeks:
Reading other peoples blogs;
Watching construction videos on YouTube to get a better understanding, and;
Going through the issues that other people have experienced whilst building there own printers
Doing this will help you glean a greater understanding of what is required, and what to expect when building yours - as well as getting an understanding of the individual parts required and how they all fit together.
Spending a fair bit of time on this site, SE 3D Printing, and slowly going through the questions and answers is also strongly recommended.
Building your own printer is, ultimately, more rewarding that purchasing a ready built one. This is because, due to its nascent nature of 3D printing, the printer that you purchase will, most likely, go wrong, and you will need to fix it. If you have built it yourself then you should be able to easily understand what is wrong, and then be capable of repairing it yourself. It is somewhat similar to the situation when the automobile first became popular, back in the 20's/30's (?) - the driver was, usually, also a mechanically competent engineer (unless they were filthy rich and were able to afford to pay a dedicated mechanic to accompany them - which was also the case, in those days). |
Weird stepper issue when setting up Marlin printer | lower the moving speed of the Z-axis motor, search for
homing feed rate
in config.h as it looks like the given speed is to high. |
How to get Sunlu PLA to adhere to the printing bed? | 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 FarO).
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, glue stick or even better a dedicated adhesion spray. 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, 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. Also there are many troubleshooting threads on the web, like this on Reddit: SUNLU PLA+ will not adhere to build surface, or; this on Thingiverse: SUNLO PLA+: does not stick.. |
No stepper motor movement on Ender 3 Pro | This is theoretical assumption, but I suppose that your steps/mm values are now wrong in EEPROM - specifically they are set to 0 (zeroed steps per mm)? Could you please use LCD and navigate to Configuration > Advanced Settings > Steps per mm and check what values are set there? If there are zeros, could you set them to positive values (e.g. =80) and check homing again? Than you may save changes using Configuration > Store Settings.
I just made following test proving that this may be the cause. I set steps per mm for X=0 (executed G-Code: M92 X0 from serial terminal) and tried to move X. The stepper motor was enabled (quiet noise or hiss), but it not moved at all. There was no additional feedback e.g. on LCD. Pretty similar.
If this is not the only broken setting, then option Configuration > Restore Defaults should reset EEPROM to values defined in Marlin's configuration. I needed to perform Configuration > Store Settings to make it persistent. But this will reset many other values, so I would suggest to write down all current values from LCD before doing the reset, for reference in future (in case they were valuable). And still you may not see all settins in LCD, therefore I would use g-code for this operation - see below.
These operations can be also performed from serial terminal using G-Code commands: M503 to verify and copy current configuration, and M502 followed by M500 to perform factory reset. |
3D scanner data acquisition | The Creaform EXAscan is according to the manufacturer a laser based machine. This means that it determines data points and their positions by some triangonometry done with a laser, 32.000 times a second, resulting in very high density point clouds. This demands a powerful program to work with.
At some point, your company used Rapidform, which costs a wooping 10 to 30 grand for a license. Other software in this niece are - according to a solidworks thread - Geomagic and PolyWorks. The gist of the thread seems to be that these "big 3" were the best ones at the market in 2011. However I have no idea if they work together with the given hardware or what the later two cost. |
Issues with connecting Pronterface to Anet A8 printer | After some trial and error, I discovered you need to set the baud rate to 115200 in the printer settings. I went through and tried each of the baud settings available until it connected. Glad I started with Pronterface, as RepetierHost has a lot longer baud list :o) Setting the baud rate is not inuitive as to the issue, as getting back "access denied" to me implied something else was going on. After that, was able to run direct commands to the printer through the USB port without issues. |
Which is more durable to sunlight/weather - PLA, ABS or PETG | Ok, I tried all 3 materials.
PLA failed after less then one day, I believe it deformed from the constant pressure and fell out (I didn't find the part but I didn't really search for it, there's some tall grass below the window)
ABS lasted about a year, it fell strait down and I found the part, it looks ok if probably deformed by just a few mm so it doesn't pressure fit anymore.
PETG still going strong as I write this |
Can I repurpose the ISP pins in the lower right corner of the Melzi board? | In theory, you can; but, you may need those pins to attach an external programmer to bring your system back to life when playing around with the code.
Here are a couple of articles that could help if you still want to pursue that path:
Can SPI programmer interfere with other components on same pins?
Can I reuse ISP pins for other tasks?(Target: Atmega164p)
Another option (the one I chose) is to just buy a RAMPS board set. I got one on ebay for $19 and it have lots of more options for IO. That way you can play and still go back and plug in your stock Melzi and print whenever you need it.
I got all this for $40 - boards, display, cables, power supply, and even shipping
Here is a really nice detailed description of converting a Duplicator i3 from Melzi to RAMPS. The process would likely be very similar for your printer.
The biggest challenge will likely be setting up the firmware
BTW, what printer did you get? |
3d print aluminum valve cover for car | This is a very large part. My estimate for the cost would be a few thousand to get this printed in metal, if not tens of thousands (assuming it even fits the maximum build volume of the printer, which is only 440mm on its longest axis).
3D scanning also isn't a very reliable way to reproduce parts, especially for something mechanical that needs to be precise. You can not just scan something and then print it like making a photocopy. A lot of manual design and reverse engineering work would be involved. |
Prusa I3 mk3 - Not your average inconsistent first layer | If you repeat a test and the problem occurs in the same location, then you probably have a problem with your bed or build plate. However, picture 3 suggests to me that you may have a partially clogged nozzle. Manually extrude some filament. It should fall straight down. If it curls as it comes out of the nozzle, then you have a partial clog. Brass nozzles do wear out, so if you've put some hours on your printer, it might be a good idea to fit a new one.
Edit: I meant picture 3, not picture 4. |
Ender 3 nozzle gets closer and closer to the previous layer as the print progresses | Finally I've found the damn problem: Adjustable rollers of all axes were flat on one point making layers to shift in all directions.
The effect was less visible on the X and Y axes but it was more notable in the Z axis as the flat part was right from the start of the print. I think that flat part was making difficult for the Z axis to move upward, and making my prints fail when printing at higher resolutions (I guess the finer the displacement the weaker the torque).
It seemed to me that the nozzle was getting closer to the previous layer but instead it was resting (or barely moving) on the flat part of the Z right adjustable roller first and then on the other adjustable roller of the same axis.
To diagnose the problem disable the steppers and moved the axes manually and feel if there are notches, so to speak, in various spots on every axis.
The solution is to replace the rollers with new ones and to not close them too tight otherwise they'll deform over time. |
FDM layer bonding strength | I have not been able to find a simple model for FDM part strength. FDM parts are pretty complicated as they have a LOT more things that affect their strength than just layer adhesion. Since any "solid" part will have infill, the part can't really be modeled as a laminant. There are so many settings you can play with in the slicer that effects part strength, the model would have to have tens (if not hundreds) of parameters. Also, you would likely have to establish them for your own printer since lots of things can affect them (like room temp, ventilation, humidity, material, material storage, ...)
One empirical example discussing the affects of FDM choices on part strength is a video done by Angus at Marker's Muse. In the video he discussed how orientation and wall thickness affects strength. Angus is not a math/ME guy (by his own admission). FEA or other modeling would not be his approach; but, you can get some insight from his experience.
On the modeling front, I have seen one company that did create an FEA model to test whether their product would be strong enough if they produced it using FDM. Here is the publication they wrote showing their analysis approach. It will give you some insight on how they approached what I think you want to do.
Note: They do offer a service where you can pay to have your part analyzed for a considerable amount of money. I have no idea how much money; but, based on jobs I have quoted in the past, I would expect it would be a least a few hundreds dollars.
As for me, I really enjoy basing my decisions on models and understanding how a part/process works. In this case; however, an empirical/experimental approach might be more cost effective. If you really want to take an analytical approach (and have the time to spend doing it), I would recommend choosing several key parameters and run an analysis using DOE (Design of Experiments).
If you come up with something, I would love to see it posted here.
Good luck and happy printing. |
How do the E commands in G-code work, exactly? | Yes, the absense of an EX.XXX (or an EX.XXX with the same value as the previous one) means nothing will be extruded during the move. The extruder is treated as an imaginary fourth axis and works exactly the same as any other axis: if in a G1/G0 no new coordinate for it is specified, it retains its original position. |
Can I use a multimeter to test the outgoing voltage of this power supply? | If your multimeter can handle the voltage, it should be safe. 12 V should be in the capability range of common multimeters, so I would tend to say yes, - but make sure that your multimeter can handle the voltage and be sure it is set to voltage mode in the appropriate range (if set to current measurement mode for example, it will not survive).
Also take the typical precautions when measuring with a multimeter, as described in, for example, Safety equipment and precautions for DC circuit experimentation and development. |
Is there any way to correct uneven bed temperature? | I had this exact issue with my Qidi X-Plus. After checking with a thermometer there was a spread of 9°C - enough to burn in (always the same) certain areas when printing at higher extremes of temperatures, or causing poor adhesion in other certain areas at lower temps. Very similar scenario too, I noticed this primarily when switching over to glass from the stock magnetic plate.
My solution was quite straightforward - I set the bed temperature on the printer's control panel and preheated it before sending it a print. As long as I left it there for a solid 10 minutes after getting up to temperature it balanced within around 1°C. I observed far more consistent results from print to print.
Now I don't know your exact machine myself, so I don't know if this is possible on the control panel on an Ender 3. However if it's not, as an alternative possibly consider looking up how to stick a pause in the initial gcode in Cura to see if you can achieve the same effect. |
What is this called? A tube flange bearing threaded for threaded pushrod | To the best of my knowledge, it's just called a lead screw nut or lead nut. The flange and holes for attaching it to a surface are inherent in its role in letting the lead screw move something. |
Laser cutting on RepRap | Please do not go down this road. First, not all lasers are equally absorbed by the material and the energy converted to heat to vaporize the material. The light not absorbed is reflected right back into your eyes. This is especially dangerous because it doesn't make you go blind instantly, fooling you into thinking there is no harm. You got the other part right, the lower the laser power, the less turned to heat, the longer it takes to cut, the longer you risk exposure to your eyes. That's right, a low powered laser is MORE dangerous than a big one. Next, the only way to properly cut is with air assist. This means a stream of air blows away the vaporized material so the laser can keep cutting deeper. This also prevents fires. The thing we haven't even touched is a proper safety enclosure, proper bed design to not reflect the laser beam back into the laser killing it and your eyes, and finally smoke/particle exhaust.
Simply put, these cheapo DIY lasers are dangerous, and are also illegal. |
3d printing for outdoor use: what types of filament are most weather resistant? | PET(G) is a strong contender. It is very strong and water-resistant, and as such is often used to make pop bottles.
PLA has a reputation for being "biodegradable" and therefore it is often discouraged to use PLA outside and/or in contact with water. However, PLA only biodegrades under very specific conditions which it won't generally be exposed to so it can be used (though, as a harder and less flexible material it is more likely to be damaged by hail).
ABS and Nylon are good choices as well. Basically, any plastic you have on hand will last for years, even in an outside application. |
Can PETG be used as support material for PLA? | PETG works as support material for PLA, see video
In theory, PLA printed on top of PETG will be fine because PETG softens and gets sticky at higher temperatures.
Printing PETG support on top of PLA may cause remelting of PLA, but if PETG is kept quite cold (220 °C) the issue will likely be minor. As shown in the video, it works.
PLA/PETG may still be better than using PLA/PLA because of this difference in extrusion temperatures that, for example in bridges where PLA is printed on top of PETG support, should result in very easily removable supports.
The type of supports used should be tested: tree supports could minimize the contact surface between the two and thus minimize marring by the hotter PETG being deposited onto the PLA at the expense of more PETG and normal supports could be used on a limited surface, so they can be removed easily. If the two materials really don't adhere much to each other, you may even be able to fake dissolvable supports, which increase the contact surface but provide a far better finish for bridges and bottom surfaces.
Using a single nozzle may require experimentation. In my experience, I print PLA at 230 °C so it wouldn't be an issue, and 220 °C would also work, but if PLA is printed cold, below 215 °C, you may need to heat/cool the nozzle. In any case, switching filament (especially PETG -> PLA) requires quite some filament to be discarded, so there is time for the heating. It is however to be kept in mind that cleaning of the nozzle between PLA and PETG (or in fact after any material swap) is difficult: some residue can remain in small gaps or low flow areas of the hotend and will be blended into the stream for quite some time after the swap, resulting in hybrid materials of unknown properties.1
As I said, experimentation is needed for this kind of task: my experience, with a 2012-era hot end, may not even be representative of the behaviour of modern hot ends.
1 - this effect is easily noticeable even with similar materials if switching from dark to light color filament, especially if not doing a cold pull to remove most of the material from the melt zone. |
How to make sure we reach the total feedrate despite jerk | The simple answer is that there's no way to guarantee you reach a specific maximum speed, with a given acceleration limit. You have to accelerate and decelerate along the length of a line, so the distance you're accelerating is roughly half the length of the total line. Imagine you can only accelerate at 50 mm/s2, and you've got a line that allows you to reach exactly 100 mm/s before you start decelerating. If you have to print a shorter line, you're going to reach a lower speed. Any combination of maximum speed and maximum acceleration can be defeated just by printing a shorter line than you tested with.
As far as a sweet spot goes, I'm not sure quite what you're asking there. There are tradeoffs to be considered for any combination of speed, jerk, and acceleration.
Prints with high jerk settings will be able to "skip" a certain portion of the acceleration and just jump straight to some minimum speed. This tends to result in echo artifacts on the print around corners.
Prints with low acceleration settings tend to exhibit some irregularities in line width over the length of the line due to the interaction between pressure and extrusion rate inside the extruder. I went into some detail on the third section of this previous answer of how and why this happens.
Prints with high top speeds, but low acceleration and jerk, can suffer from under-extrusion if you set your maximum speed too high, and it can be a little difficult to diagnose this in some cases. If you think of the extruder as having an internal "buffer" of molten plastic, that buffer tends to fill at low print speeds, and empty at higher print speeds. You may think you've got your maximum speed set appropriately, when in reality your extruder drains the buffer over maybe 50 mm of max speed printing (hypothetical nonsensical number), and attempting to print very long straight lines may result in the extruder emptying its buffer until it slows down again. My recommendation is to do some trial and error testing to figure out the fastest extrusion rate your printer can support for an extended period of time, and then put that maximum limit into your printer firmware to prevent printing too quickly. Acceleration and jerk settings should be set as high as you can tolerate without causing echoes and other odd artifacts, with attention paid to the printer itself; it gains you nothing to shake your frame to pieces trying to chase some theoretical maximum printing speed limit. |
Wave shift pattern on the Z axis | This is classic Layer Shift in the Y plane. This happens in one of three cases:
Belt too loose
Belt too tight
Bed movement hindered
The belt should ring and resonate when tapped, giving a nice tune. I haven't really tuned mines, but my ender3 (250 mm bed movement in total) has about a G major.
The bed movement should be, with motors off, easy and smooth. If there are spots where it hangs, you might need to rearrange cabling or check if there is a bad spot on the linear motion system. If the movement is hard, you might need to lessen the pressure. Since the CR10 is pretty much the same as the ender3, the eccentric nuts should be turned so the bed does not wobble or move side to side but not to a degree the friction slows the movement. Carefully tweak here, use increments of about 10° till the layer shift vanishes.
Be careful where you place your printer: cabling can snag on other items or things can brush onto the bed. That should not happen. On the Z-axis it can unplug the X-axis motors and extruder, or in worst case, yank at the heater cartridge and damage it. |
How can you both reliably print and remove your item, without breaking it when detaching it? | If your print is sticking too well, try printing directly onto the glass.
If then, your print isn't sticking well enough, try using something like a glue stick instead.
Most people use a paint scraper (a small one, like this) to remove prints from build surfaces. |
Where to get the Slic3r configuration files for the 3D PrinterWorks Creatorbot printers? | Looks like 3dprinterworks.net went down sometime after March 2018 and 3dprinterworks.com went down in January 2019. Luckily the Wayback Machine still has the machine's specs.
Here is the instructions for entering settings in Slic3r as found here in lieu of importing a profile. (Please note that I have not used Slic3r so the following is solely based on the link)
The key settings under General are
Bed size*: X = 305 mm; Y = 305 mm; and Z = 457 mm
Print center**: X = 152.5 mm; Y = 152.5 mm
Extruders: 2
Heated Bed: Checked
Under Extruder (each extruder should have its own settings so be sure to set up both)
Nozzle diameter: 0.4 mm
Extruder 2 offset: 30.9 mm (good job, OP on finding the email stating this)
Everything from Retraction and on is up to what works best for you
There may be a set of setting for acceleration (there is in Ultimaker Cura) which is 3000 mm/s2 for most printers, I think. This is the max acceleration, not to be confused with acceleration settings when slicing the model.
The next set of settings, though outside of the Slic3r link, regards the filament. The diameter should be 1.75 mm and the nozzle temperature should be within the range of the filament (e.g. PLA should be set within 180-220 °C) and a heated bed set to 50-60 °C. These parameters are filament dependent and not printer dependent (other than diameter).
That should be the settings that a profile would set for you. Thankfully there's not too many.
*There is a wizard for this section that may make input easier, but here is the build volume.
**This setting may require whole numbers and may, in fact, not be a necessary setting at all. |
How much insulation do I really need? | Since 50% of the bed is uninsulated, you're definately into diminishing returns as soon as you start adding any insulation.
With that area, I think you are looking at 1.2W per kelvin for a 2mm thickness.
I'm guessing a bit with these powers, but roughly, maybe from 100 W un-insulated, 75 with 2mm, 60W with 4mm. You can get a reasonably accurate measure of the power by looking at the duty cycle of the heating element.
Actually, its not clear if your primary goal is to reduce energy/maintain a very high temperature, or speed the initial heating. You can place a temporary sheet of cork on top of the bed (preferably extending over the edges to prevent convection) and this will significantly improve heat-up times. |
What air filtration options exist for enclosures? | My residential materials expert referred me to these links (3D Printing Fume Extraction Solutions, and ABS 3d Printer Nanoparticle and Chemical Exhaust Air Filter) and thinks that you're pretty much on track with the idea of using activated carbon.
We both primarily print with ABS with my Replicator Dual and what's worked enough for me (in the past 5 years) is to keep my printer next to a window or vent in my den at home. The window is obviously a good ventilation option, but the variability that it creates in the ambient temperature screwed with my prints. Later, I moved my machine into its own hutch, which, if it is an option, would greatly help the overall environment for both the machine and any stored filament.
We'll keep poking around, but hopefully that helps in the mean time. |
Anet A8 - X and Y axis not square - how to fix? | I recently went to the same issue on my CoreXY printer (culprit was uneven belt tension in the 2 belts), but you have a Prusa style printer like my first Anet A8 printer.
If you just found out (because you are printing large models now) but always had this issue it could be frame related. You should check your printer and try to fix the geometry that is causing this. If this is impossible you could fix this by changing the firmware (see below). If large prints used to be accurate, but are now skewed, you could be facing stretched belts. Replacing them will fix the issue.
Skewness compensation in Marlin:
When X-Y are skew (or any other plane like X-Z or Y-Z) you can fix that through the firmware software in Marlin Firmware. Please go into the Configuration.h file and look at the instructions; please search for "Bed Skew Compensation".
Basically you are required to print a giant square and measure the diagonals, these should be the same, but apparently are not in your case. |
How to calculate linear Y rod length for a larger replacement bed? | Basically, your setup is the following:
The overhang of the bed, assuming the bearings are in the center, equals (300-105)/2 = 97.5 mm on each side. So the distance from the leftmost bearing face (when bed is at y = 0 mm) to the center of the Y rods assembly equals 300 - 97.5 = 202.5 mm. Knowing this distance for the other side of the center to the right when y = 300 mm is the same, the minimum length of the rod will therefore be 2 x 202.5 = 405 mm which equals the addition of the bed length and the outer bearing distance 300 + 105 = 405 mm.
Please note this excludes extra length for e.g. a limit switch, and some extra space around the bed. Basically the extra length of the bed 300 - 220 = 80 mm needs to attributed to each side of the bed, so 40 mm on each side extra.
For a 220 x 220 mm bed, the minimum length would be 2 x (220 - (220 - 105)/2) = 325 mm. When I measure the rods between the acrylic flanges it measures about 365 mm, about 40 mm extra for clearance around the bed (20 mm on each side).
The overhang for the 300 mm bed is not that much, and a construction under the heated plate will be used to fasten the bed at the corners, as long as that construction is not to flimsy, the current distance will be alright. For other distances you should change the value of 105 in the formulas above. E.g. for an outer flange distance for the bearings of 120 mm, you would require rods of at least 420 mm. |
Printer shaking - Marlin 2.0 | The problem turned out to be mechanical. The arm that I mounted the camera on had developed a crack where it connects to the build platform. I used some superglue to repair the crack and the camera shaking went away.
The lesson here is to check EVERYTHING mechanical before trying to blame shaking on the firmware. |
OpenSCAD render (F6) fails with "ERROR: CGAL error in CGAL_Nef_polyhedron3()" | Reading between the lines on other forums, I found that the GCAL renderer will render a malformed object, but it will fail when a binary operator, such as union or intersection, is applied to that object.
There was a discussion about degenerate points (two points in a polygon list that were the (nearly) the same values. I had this situation, but fixing it did not solve the problem.
I rederived the face lists, and found that for one face the vertices were listed in the opposite order from the others. Rather then using right-hand-rule, I had used left-hand-rule.
Reordering the vertices for the one face fixed the problem. There was no way to see the problem from the preview.
A more useful diagnostic message would have been helpful, or a tool for checking polyhedra for being manifolds could have saved me hours of experimenting and failing. |
Can I replace hotend on Lulzbot Mini 2 with upcoming E3D Hermes? | Yes, E3D has a guide "LulzBot Taz6 Hemera Upgrade" if you'd like to make your own.
The upgrade requires you to print parts beforehand which are found here; note that:
We recommend printing the Hemera Mount in PETG, and the Fan Duct in ABS/ ASA or another high-temperature material.
Use an infill percentage of 25 % or higher.
The Hemera (the new name for the Hermes) toolheads are also available for purchase, e.g. here. |
Filament choice for coasters | Even if you pour in boiling water in a cup, the outside of the cup will have a lower temperature. When resting on a coaster, usually a small part of the cup actually touches the coaster. Also, the design of the coaster could influence the heat transfer, a more open structure of the coaster may be beneficial. Some people print coasters in PLA although the glass temperature (temperature at which the plastic becomes soft, this is usually the temperature of your bed when you print the material) may be lower than than the temperature of the cup, the filament will weaken (for PLA at about 50 °C), but not melt , melting of PLA happens at a higher temperature (for PLA above 150 °C) than your mug can get (unless you pour liquid metal in it). It should therefore be doable in PLA, I have printed a PLA coaster that has very small ridges (about 1 mm) of an embossed image and placed a cup with boiling water on it, to find that the coaster is able to withstand the temperature of the cup without deforming (the ridges do not fail or deform).
To elaborate on the filament materials other than PLA; there are many filament types that have higher glass temperatures, but are still very printable. Various types of co-polyesters exist, like PETG, that have a higher glass temperature (> 85 °C), are a substitute for ABS and still very well printable. Nylon is also a material that can be used, there are brands that have low warp nylon.
Note that there are a few options to print ABS while you have a non-enclosed printer, you could
fabricate some cardboard pieces for a temporary enclosure,
place the printer in an non-draft room or
print the skirt height at the height of the print part.
Note that coasters have a relative low profile height, it should not be that big of a problem to print ABS coasters on an open printer. |
Best 32 bit electronics for delta? | Note that I am not stating this as the best 32 bit solution, as that is too subjective. Although you might want to read Recommendations for a good 32 bit microprocessor to run Marlin, which I cover in On which board can 32 bit Marlin run?
So, to clarify, yes, while the MKS-BASE is based on the 8 bit ATmega2560, the MKS-SBASE is powered by 32 bit ARM, 100M Cortex-MS MCU-LPC1768.
Anyway, SmoothieWare can indeed run on MKS-SBASE. There is an extensive guide on Instructables - Configuring MKS SBASE V1.X 32-bit controller basics and into to SmoothieWare.
You first need the drivers (for Windows). Plug in the MKS-SBASE board and then install the driver.
Connecting USB
Plug in USB to the board and look at the LEDs at the upper left
corner. Immediately the D7 led lights up. After a bit D1 also
starts lightning while D2 and D3 blinks rapidly.
Open device manager and update drivers for the new Smoothie/Serial USB
device with the signed drivers you just downloaded from Github located
in the easy to find folder:
\MKS-SBASE\MKS-SBASE\Driver\smoothieware-windows-signeddriver-v1.0
Then to install the firmware:
Installing firmware
Firmware from MKS are just and old copy of Smoothieware, so we always just want to use the newest version from Smoothieware.
In other words: always use firmware from Smoothieware.
If you can't find config.txt file from original Smoothieware, just use the one from MKS.
Download official firmware from Smoothieware's firmware page which is a subpage on their own Github page (you might want to
download their full Github repository (folder) in order to find their
config.txt file)
Start by using the Stable version. When everything is working fine, you can use the Nightly version instead. It is the newest
version, but not fully tested yet, and considered as beta/test.
Insert the SD Card into the MKS Sbase board and plug in the USB Cable. Your SD Card is now going to show in your file-Explorer.
If not, you need to make sure you have the Drivers installed.
If you can't find the config.txt file from Smoothieware, just locate the config.txt in \MKS
Sbase\MKS-SBASE-master\MKSSBase-firmware and copy it to your SD Card.
Smoothieware suggest disabling auto-Mount on the SD when connecting to USB. Especially when using a Mac, as OSX tends to do
funky stuff at strange times.
I have changed nothing on my Win10. And nothing bad has happened the past year.
The D7 lights up, shortly after D1 follows. D2, D3, D4 blinks and then D4 turns steady while D2 and D3 continues blinking.
At this point, the firmware.bin had changed to firmware.cur file on the SD card
After successful updated, the file name will turn into firmware.cur.
Changing or Updating firmware
Just delete the firmware.cur file from your SD, or rename to
firmware.cur.old or similar, and copy on the new firmware.bin file
to your SD. Powercycle your printer (also unplug USB) and you can see
your new firmware.cur file on your SD card.
Note: After making any changes to your config.txt file in the future, you need to power-cycle your controller, meaning disconnect
both power (if in use) and USB. You can send a reset command, but only
through true terminal use and not through Printrun/Pronterface or
similar.
The guide, as stated above is extremely detailed, and goes on to explain all of the other aspects. The contents are as follows:
Table Of Contents:
Connect and install
Connecting USB
Installing firmware
Configuring Smoothieware compared to Marlin
Obvious difference from Marlin
Less obvious differneces
Firmware and Config file(s)
Configuring firmware
Comments
Firmware Step 1: Default feed rate
1/32 Multistepping
Connecting Motors
External Motor Controllers
Firmware Step 2: Cartesian axis speed limits, pins and current
Pins
Current
Firmware Step 3: LCD, SD and Extruder
LCD and SD
Extruder Setup
Delta driver current
Firmware Step 4: Hotend temperature control configuration
Thermistor Type
PID Tuning
Hotend Thermistor - Physical Layout
Hotend Heater Pins - Physical Layout
Firmware Step 5: Heated bed temperature control configuration
Thermistor Type
Temperature Control Bed BANG-BANG
Heated bed thermistor - Physical Layout
Heated bed heater pins - Physical Layout
Firmware Step 6: Configuring Endstops
Homing direction
Disable unused endstops
Define axes size
Reversing endstop output
Fast and slow homing rates
Firmware step 7: Network Settings
Step 8: What's next?
More advanced setup?
Using Switches
As there is way to much to cover here, please visit the Instructables page for the complete guide, in order to complete the configuration. |
Print came out like a wafer | The phenomenon you experience is called under-extrusion. Under-extrusion is the effect of extruding lesser filament than required for the print. The result of under-extrusion (depending on the amount of under-extrusion) can be described as spongy prints, gaps in prints/layers, failed prints, etc. As the amount of plastic flow is less than required for the print, the quality and print strength is much lower than that of a normal filament flow printed part.
Most severe under-extrusion is usually caused by incorrect filament diameter setting. E.g. Ultimaker Cura (to date, April 2019, the version is 4.0) is notorious for resetting the filament diameter to 2.85 mm after you upgraded to a newer version (because that is the diameter of the filament the Ultimaker machines use) while most people use 1.75 mm diameter filament.
From the settings if appears you have set the correct filament diameter (i.e. if you use 1.75 mm filament). Please measure the filament over a few meters and determine the average filament diameter to be sure.
In your case it must be something else!
A higher temperature causes filament to be more fluid (do check if the temperature you use fits the type of filament you use), so an increased temperature should help against under-extrusion (less friction for the extruder to push the filament through the nozzle). Please do check the extruder stepper; is it skipping?, is the tension the extruder gear exerts on the filament enough to prevent slipping?
Finally, blockage of the nozzle; partial blockage of the nozzle can prevent consistent flow from the nozzle. It is advised to rigorously clean the nozzle (e.g. using the atomic cleaning method where you heat up the nozzle insert filament and turn off the heat to pull the filament out when temperature is about 30 °C lower than the printing temperature of the filament) or replace the nozzle.
To complete the answer, another source for under extrusion that is seen from the beginning of 2020 of Marlin firmware operated 3D printers is that instead of normal extrusion (where E in the G-code file denotes extrusion of filament movement in units of length), the printer assumes it is volumetric displacement. From the Marlin menu of the graphical controller you can change volumetric displacement to length displacement by disabling volumetric flow. |
Prints are now sticking too well to the bed. What to do? | Options to check (in order of probability of occurenece and success):
Z-calibration
Maybe you should perform calibration again. It's possible that nozzle is now too close which causes the filament is spread on the heatbed, which causes that the bottom surface is "too flat". It means all separate filament tracks are spilled and they create "glass flat" surface. You did mention that the model sticks too much even to kapton. It suggests z-calibration.
Temperature calibration
Check if the temperature is not too high. Reducing it a bit can reduce sticking. If filament is too soft then material sticks usually better (causes the same as in #1)
Heatbed cleaning
If your HB is scatched (even not visible scratches) then it's possible that previous printouts left little grains in such scratches. Cleaning HB could then help. Are you using glass? if yes - change glass side to check this option. Eventually replace glass with new one.
Heatbed surface
If your heatbed is scratched then filament can penetrate such scratches and increase sticking.
Filament
Did you change filament vendor? If not then maybe your filament had changed during a time/humidity/sun/cigarete smoke. This is very doubtful option but who knows.
What methods you can use to detach model
Paper knife
I also have the same problem when I use paper glue stick. Some vendors produce such sticky glue that I affraid to break a glass (which I use of course). When this happens I use a paper knife. Glass is scratchproof enough. Be careful - if your model suddenly detaches releasing knife... just be careful. Unmount HB or unmount glass first of course.
Hammer
I know people use hammer to detach sticked model. I would suggest this method only for big and relatively simple elements. Especially for solids (fully filled with the material, without any grid/honeycomb inner structure). One short hit in the same surface as the HB. Be careful of course and unmount HB or unmount glass first.
Fridge
As HB material and filament have most likely different thermal shrinkage factor it might help. And guess what - unmount HB/glass first ;) |
PLA support material suddenly a problem on Ender 5 | As the commenter suggested (thanks, 0scar!), the culprit appears to have been a Cura update and a change to the support material settings.
In my case, the defaults for Z distance and even the X/Y distance for support material, in addition to the density, was creating very effective supports, but very tricky to remove. I should add that the model was a character sculpture, which I've since learned creates much more complex support scenarios versus the more uniform models I've been accustomed to printing. |
Can I make this extruder work by changing motor? | In general I would use https://github.com/rcarlyle/StepperSim which takes into account more parameters.
You can play with voltage and current to see which combination gives you the best results for your motor.
Or you can change to a TMC driver with higher voltage (35-50 V) to keep torque at much higher speeds and push the current motor more.
Since the torque you require is likely not so high, you can increase the speed of your stepper motor with 3D printed herringbone gears, for example 4:1. They don't need to be super accurate, backlash is totally fine considering the ridiculous 40:1 reduction. |
How to switch firmware from 12 V heated bed to 110 V SSR heated bed? | How does Marlin know that the heated bed pins are controlling a relay now instead of a bed directly, and therefore should limit their current output?
Marlin does not (need to) know this. Simply put, all Marlin does is switch on/off the voltage at the heated bed output. The amount of current that will flow is a function of the voltage and the device connected. If you connect a heated bed to a 12 V voltage, a high current will flow. If you connect your relay to 12 V, only a small current will flow.
In other words- I am worried that if I just drop in the relay, it will burn up since the board still thinks it needs to supply high current to the bed.
You do not need to worry about this. Your question is essentially equivalent to this: "if I replace my 100W incandescent lightbulb with a 1W LED one, do I need to replace the light switch in the wall?" The switch (i.e., your printer board/Marlin) does not care what load is connected to it, so long as it does not exceed the maximum rated current. |
Eryone Thinker SE ignoring endstop, gantry only moves down | You do a critical error in your order of operations: you home. Then you home again.
However, the firmware does not check if the switch is already depressed, it waits for a signal to cut out. But the signal is already not there. And as you will notice, it moves into X+ and Y+ before rehoming into 0, but does not do so in Z.
To prevent that behavior, you need to move the printer up a little till the switch no longer is engaged, then it will properly home the position.
The proper fix would be to alter the home-Z behavior to include a movement upwards by 2 mm before starting the actual homing. This does require a knowledge of Marlin though. |
How can I determine whether my borosilicate glass is fake or not? | Google turned up this thread: http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?t=96214
There don't seem to be any easy, definitive tests. You have two main options, both of which seem to require a fairly high level of laboratory skill (but nothing fancy in terms of equipment).
The refractive index of Borosilicate glass is very similar to vegetable oil (implying no reflection from a boundary if you have a pool of oil on the glass).
The density of the glass can be measured too, using a water bath. This should also be able to give a fairly accurate answer.
Stress testing seems the most reliable way to determine if you have a 'good' sample, but may be more expensive. |
Different infill in the same part | This answer explains that you can have different infill within the same part. Firstly the implementation in Ultimaker Cura is described, secondly how you can do this in Slic3r.
Ultimaker Cura
I've used a feature in Ultimaker Cura that can be used to alter the infill density locally. What you need to do is load your model into Cura, then load other objects (models) at the size of the area/volume you want your infill differently and position those at the position you want a different infill. So basically, you use other models to intersect with your primary model to create intersections that can take a different infill percentage. This is extremely useful for lugs and brackets where you need some extra infill (e.g. extra stiffness for compression stresses) at the fastener holes. Note that this is an advanced feature which is not easy to use, but quite handy if you master it.
I could not find the video (on second thoughts, I think it was animated GIF) posted by Team Ultimaker, so I quote a section of one of their forum topics.
A short how-to: (italic font is not in the reference, but added to reflect recent version of Cura)
Unselect "keep models apart" (now called: "Ensure models are kept apart") and "drop models to build plate" (now called: "Automatically drop models to the build plate") in Cura preferences
Import a second object (for example a simple cube)
Put Cura in "custom mode"
Select the cube, and use the button "per object settings" on the left side
Select "Infill Mesh" (now called: "Modify settings for infill of other models") and enable that setting
The cube now turns transparent gray.
Position the cube to overlap part of your model. It should overlap with the section that you want to change the infill for.
Also with "per object settings" (now called: "Per model settings") select the option "infill density"
Set it to the desired value. All is more or less illustrated in the screenshot below
The picture shows a cube on the buildplate with infill 20 %. Locally, with a rotated 2nd cube, the infill % is raised to 100 %.
What happens is that the volume where the cube intersects with your object is locally sliced with different infill.
Please find below another example of a simple bracket that has extra cylindrical objects loaded to create the intersections with the bracket at the fastener holes. In the example, the infill at the fastener holes is set to 99 %.
After slicing, you will see that the infill at the intersections is adjusted accordingly.
Note: I've tested this in Ultimaker Cura 3.4.1, and confirm it works. I sliced a part with the inserts for fasteners and it actually is not very difficult, it just requires a little more work. You will have to make some STL's of cylinders and position them correctly. If you make your own 3D models it will be a very easy task to add extra components while you design, positioning will be a lot more easy then (as they align with your model). An example is the following linear Z rod bracket of a Hypercube Evolution CoreXY printer, this bracket requires local enforcements for the bolts clamping the bracket onto the aluminum extrusion profile:
Inserts are modeled together with the development of the bracket:
When combined, it looks like this:
Now the infill can be modified locally to 100 % to increase compression strength.
Note that this will also work if you want a different infill percentage at the first X layers, just use a large cube (larger than the model) and position it correctly. Note that Cura already has an option called "Gradual Infill Steps" to adjust the density at the top layers.
Slic3r
This reference describes how to do this for Slic3r in detail.
The blog describes the use of a simple volume (the green volume loaded from an STL file). After loading:
Right-clicking on the main part brought up the object settings menu.
From there, clicking "Load Modifier" and selecting the previously
saved model adds it to the part as a modifier.
The green "+" was selected and "Fill Density" was added to modifier
list and set to 100 %.
This shows that the functionality in Slic3r is very similar to the functionality in Ultimaker Cura. |
XYZ cube's layer is shifted, How can I check my TEVO Tarantula axis? | The two most common things to check:
1) make sure your belts are properly tensioned. If there's significant slippage in the y-drive you could get the results seen.
2) Make sure the base layer is well attached to the base plate. you've got plenty of reference pattern on the plate shown, so check whether the lower chunk of print moved relative to the imprinted pattern at some point. |
Issues with OctoPi connecting to FlashForge Creator Pro via Serial Communication | I got the same problem.
Auto-detect baud rate was not working too.
So I manually tried every baud-rate and finally found one working, for me it was 115200.
Good luck! |
Strange vertical lines on X-axis direction of parts | In your slicer check your z-seam overlap. Lines like that are what happens when a slicer is systematically trying to hide a seam while not adding a ton of time onto the print by adding in a bunch of additional time for travel. |
Square and parallel infill patterns | ... does Square really benefit a whole lot over parallel?
That would depend by the definition of "a whole lot", of course! :)
Strength
Generally speaking, the variable you want to operate to tweak the overall sturdiness of your part is not the type of infill, but rather its density. According to the literature I have access to, sturdiness grow fast until about 60 % infill, then the gains become progressively more marginal.
Different types of infill modify the way the part reacts to stresses. The two you showcased, for example, are strongly anisotropic: a part with those infill will resist a lot more to stresses along the Z axis than along either the X or Y ones.
Also, relative to the squared infill pattern, my experience is that parts with a parallel infill pattern typically have a bit more give when squashed.
In case you wonder: cubic, cubic subdivision (and solid) infills are those regarded as offering the most equal resistance along all axis.
However, the way the infill will affect rigidity and sturdiness of a part is as much dependent from the type of filament and the shape of the part as much as from the infill settings, so - if you are after precise numbers - you should most definitely run some tests.
Time
That depends entirely from the part shape and size.
Typically, a printer will spend most of its time printing the shell. This is due both to the settings (you want to go slow on the shell to increase quality) and to physics, the shell typically requiring many more changes of direction (and thus accelerations and decelerations) than the infill.
So, even if the parallel infill requires about half the work of the squared one (50 % faster), in a small print with a sparse infill, the total time spent doing infill may be 10 %, thus the net gain would be only 5 % of the total printing time.
Quality
This is very printer-dependent. For me, when printing with two shells, I can't tell the difference on any infill. For the top layer, the quality is affected more by infill density than type (with the filament sagging slightly between walls if the infill is very sparse). |
How can I set the position in Pronterface? | G92 X0 Y0 Z0
tells the printer that the current position is (0,0,0). |
How small can I expect FDM 3d printers to print? | 1) If we're talking about FFF/FDM printers:
Accuracy of the electronics and motors allows it, yes.
But how FDM printers work it might be very hard to lay down layers of molten plastic so small as to preserve little details in the X and Y axis, not much of a problem doing 20 micron layer height though (Z resolution).
Check this answer to find out what the X and Y resolution is and what it depends on: https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/509/381
You'll need both a small enough nozzle, as well as somehow cool the plastic because since the printed objects are so tiny the nozzle keeps contact with the surface surrounding it and heats it longer, which might melt the whole object or even char it.
I've seen very few people do tiny prints with success. And the smallest nozzles I know are 250 micron.
Not trying to dscourage you, just letting you know. If it was easy to do I think more people would be doing it and more companies would be advertising their printers as capable of such a thing
So you'll have around 20 micron Z resolution and around maybe 200 in the X/Y.
If that's enough for you, then you could try. Calibrating it all won't be easy, tiniest backlash will be noticeable.
2) It's a lot easier with curing resin 3d printers (SLA or DLP). Most of them actually have trouble printing larger objects, ironically (trouble sticking to the bed and cracking of the 3d print).
Even here badly calibrated lasers would prevent you from doing this and even many Form 1 users have reported their lasers being assembled poorly resulting in poor beam profile.
Size of the laser beam profile (aka laser "spot size") is what determines the X/Y resolution for SLA 3d printers. With the Form 2 its 140 micron, unless you'll get a badly calibrated printer.
For DLP printers it's easier, it's the resolution of the DLP projector divided from the size of the print area. |
Infill keeps "shoveling", but perimeters are fine | Normally, what you're calling shoveling is caused by having the bed too high - when you deposit enough material for a space that should be the nominal layer height high, but significantly less volume is available, it has nowhere to go but up around the edges of the nozzle.
However, in your case your temperatures are also seriously wrong for PETG. The normal recommended range of nozzle temperature for PETG is 230-250 °C, and in my experience, you need the full 250 °C to have any hope of printing fast. At 220 °C I'm really surprised you're not having problems with underextrusion instead.
The bed temperature is likely even more important. Minimum bed temperature for PETG is 80 °C. If the material is hitting a 58 °C bed as it comes out, it's likely to cool way too fast. This may lead to what you call shoveling (especially if you see both pits and ridges rather than just ridges), but even if not, it's going to prevent the material from bonding to previously laid down lines, so that your print will end up more brittle than PLA.
One additional detail I initially missed involves your 0.8 mm nozzle. It might be hard for the hotend to keep up with properly melting that much PETG at normal print speeds. As noted in the comments, a 50 mm/s linear extrusion rate with an 0.8 mm nozzle is equivalent, in volumetric extrusion rate, to a 200 mm/s linear extrusion rate with a typical 0.4 mm nozzle, which would be extremely fast for PETG. It's unlikely that any hotend except a "volcano" or similar (with extended melt zone length) could keep up with raising that much material to 250 °C that quickly. |
How to remove a resin print stuck to the FEP tray bottom | Wash the resin tray in the normal way, with hot water and dish soap. Once the FEP sheet is warm, run a finger alongside the bottom of the sheet, opposite the side where the failed print is stuck. The slight warping of the FEP sheet will cause the print to come loose. If this does not occur the first time, try again. Proceed patiently and delicately, making sure to wait for the FEP sheet to be sufficiently warm. |
Is it safe to use photon-resin-calibration for Epax printer? | Yes, it seems to be.
I tried the test and it worked well. |
How close should the nozzle be to the substrate? | This photo isn't exact, but may help
Edit: Whoops! Forgot to include source. This is from the Wanhao User Manual/Build Guide. I can't quite find the webpage at the moment. |
My Hatchbox PLA filament only allows me to use rafts | It is unlikely this is a filament material issue since many of us have used Hatchbox PLA without this issue. This is a first layer adhesion issue.
Your bed may not be clean, or the bed may have had an adhesion layer you cleaned off.
Your nozzle may be too high on the first layer.
Your bed my not be level.
Glue sticks can help adhesion. Glue sticks usually don't post the composition on the packaging, but Elmer's glue sticks work. Elmer's washable makes it easy to remove the old layer before adding a new one. There are also glue sticks specified for 3D-printing.
Here's a discussion on glue sticks: Are all glue sticks PVA-based? How to find out? |
Identifying PLA/PETG or ABS | There is a trick. However I would like to mention that chances are that the random spool you pickup from most stores, especially no name brands, are either completely lying to you about its material or is mixed / cut with cheaper fillers. All about finding a good brand. Course rarely does one actually need pure PLA, a mixed material will often perform as well without you even noticing. Aside from the temp difference. Not to say it is right.
Now the trick is this. While I don't advise ever breathing in potentially carcinogenic plastic smoke. You take a lighter. Burn it. If it smells sweet it is PLA.
From this link from digital trends about PLA VS ABS you can see why it has this smell.
The thermoplastic is also more pleasant on the nose, as the sugar-based material smells slightly sweet when heated opposed to the harsh smell often associated with ABS. However, while PLA might seem like a better overall choice at first glance, it features a far lower melting point than ABS.
Also not responsible if you burn yourself or your property. At your own risk.
Just warming it with lighter might work too. But just burning a small section. It will be real clear.
Or you could just drop a bit into aceton and see if it melts. PLA will mostly just look like crud after being treated is aceton. ABS is 100% dissolve.
We see from these forums that PETG does not dissolve via Aceton. So you can test you material. If it does disolve it is ABS. If it smells sweet when burned it is PLA. If it melts at 240 and does not dissolve it is likely PETG.
Solid forums
3d printboard
We are a bit lost on a test for PETG. However we do know its melting point. Which is 240-260c. I would say it is likely you have ABS
Once we know the material we can get to the meat of your question.
Best way to proceed is to start with simple calibration prints. The thin wall. Cube, and part fitting. Once those pass you are good to go. Other than buying simplify3d I do not know of any short cuts. Back when I used slic3r I kept a spread sheet. I would change a temp by 5 degrees and give it a quality score. Repeat with speeds. Far as fan, I would expect that it wont effect much. Maybe need to calibrate your PIDs.
Once you have it dialed in, all you will need to do is calibrate the temp when switching materials. Remember you need to calibrate even between different colors (okay its best to.. I often skip) I usually do the temp adjustments live on the printer. Increase and degrease a few degrees. For me the goal is to have the plastic as cool as possible. That allows for highest quality prints (ie less oozing and such) |
PID tuning 50 W cartridge in Marlin | Besides the P, I and D values, you may also have to tune PID_FUNCTIONAL_RANGE and PID_INTEGRAL_DRIVE_MAX.
Basically, the functional range disables PID control when more than the set number of degrees away from the target temperature and just puts the heater to zero/maximum power. The integral drive max parameter limits the value of the integral term of the PID controller.
The RepRap wiki notes: (note this wiki is dated! some options might not be available)
In Marlin, the parameters that control and limit the PID controller can have more significant effects than the popular PID parameters. For example, PID_MAX and PID_FUNCTIONAL_RANGE, and PID_INTEGRAL_DRIVE_MAX can each have dramatic, unexpected effects on PID behavior. For instance, a too-large PID_MAX on a high-power heater can make autotuning impossible; a too-small PID_FUNCTIONAL_RANGE can cause odd reset behavior; a too large PID_FUNCTIONAL_RANGE can guarantee overshoot; and a too-small PID_INTEGRAL_DRIVE_MAX can cause droop.
My hunch is that the functional range may be too small; the PID doesn't kick in until close to the desired temperature at which point you will already have overshot the target (due to the high power heater and delay in the measurements). Once you've overshot the target temperature the integral term starts growing (negative) which causes the massive undershoot. |
How to feed the filament through the material shortage sensor? | I've designed similar sensor casings, sometimes the filament catches a ridge/ledge or part of the cavity, even when it is chamfered or rounded. The arm of the limit switch pushes the filament up, away from the filament straight path.
Have you tried cutting the filament under a very sharp angle, that may work. |
Typical plastic strength at 1500 RPM | Really the only thing that would matter for this project is the amount of torque the motor has available and subsequently how heavy your setup is that is connected to the motor. A part that size may just be too heavy for a CD-ROM motor if you intend on adding more parts.
However, to answer your question, ABS should be able to endure the stress. I recommend paying attention to how the hooks are printed. You'll want to make sure that the hooks are printed in profile, meaning that the profile of the hooks should be printed with each layer. This will help provide structural integrity to, what sounds like, the most stressful area of the part (the outer edges of a spinning device and a clamping feature).
Something to keep in mind for projects like this is that most of the time the design will likely be the cause of failure, not the capabilities of the material. |
How to solve ABS deformation at the bottom? | The up-curling of overhangs is frequently seen when printing PLA or PETG when the just deposited layer hasn't been cooled enough. The residual heat will allow the curling as the plastic has not been fully set (above the so called glass temperature) because of insufficient part cooling.
Knowing that ABS doesn't need much cooling (to improve the inter-layer bonding), you most probably will not require full power of the fan (depending on the cooling power of the fan). You do need a little cooling though, but not for the first (few) layer(s), so keep the fan off at the first layer. Be sure it is up to speed at the layer you require the cooling as the first few percentage of the fan is generally not enough to rotate the fan. E.g. my fans start spinning at about 20-25 %. |
Thoughts on designing and printing 3D miniature house | Answering your questions in turn:
On the scale you're trying for, printing brick with FDM won't show up - you'd have much better results, and could be possible, with SLA. You won't see every brick, but you will see the texture at least.
Same as for brick, You wont see shingles, but you can differentiate that there is a texture difference. If you were to paint it after the fact the color plus the texture will make it clear.
Yup, but both won't hurt.
Doable if they're big enough. SLA would be required I think to make them look good.
For something like this I'd suggest Blender, if your modelling skills are pretty solid. If not, Fusion-360 would work really well. But that's purely opinion based.
SLA if that wasn't clear as of yet.
Sounds awesome. I think the hardest part on this is going to be the modelling, the structure I'm picturing isn't all that complex so it should be doable. |