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Solved Thin walls crack apart

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by Shane Simino, Aug 19, 2016.

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  1. Shane Simino

    Shane Simino Member

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    Ive made changes for better quality and adhesion but can't seem to make thin walls keep from cracking. I've slowed down to 30 temp at 200 and quality is fantastic on everything except thin walls. I'm using PLA. Is that just the nature of PLA being brittle or is there something else I should do? Here's a pic of the riser feet I just made. image.jpeg
     
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    How thin are we talking?
    What size nozzle?

    You can CAD walls (or any detail really) that are too thin for a given nozzle, some slicers do a better job than others, but mechanically speaking you can do it :)

    If you really need a resolution that exceeds what the nozzle is good at I'd suggest a smaller diameter nozzle (which will mean slowing down the print speed as well).
     
  3. Shane Simino

    Shane Simino Member

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    It's a stock nozzle on the Robo 3D plus. The walls aren't super thin. It's 2mm. It seems to happen whenever it's not large enough for infill so you end up with layers and layers of piling up straight lines. Hope that makes sense.
     
  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Sure, it does.
    Again this is slicer dependent.
    Some will not try to do infill below the "impossible" threshold and convert those to solid walls.
    You probably need to start experimenting with other slicers or at least dig through all the options on the one you are using.

    Here the FAQ entry from Simplify3D (not precisely your issue or slicer, but interesting to read):

    I’m having problems slicing models with very thin exterior walls and details
    The first place to investigate is to compare your extrusion width setting to the size of your model. In order for the software to slice your model, your extrusion width setting needs to be smaller than the model dimension. For example, if the wall of your model is .35mm thick and you have the extrusion width set at .40mm, the extrusion is actually larger than your model. This will cause slicing problems because the software is attempting to place the line of filament "inside" the dimension of your model. When the extrusion width is too large, the filament will be forced "outside" the model dimension. Therefore, the model will not slice properly and your model will will have holes in the Previewer. To resolve this, there are two methods- you can decrease the extrusion width or make your model larger. If you cannot change the size of the model, try reducing the extrusion width. For example, on the .35mm thick model described above, reduce the extrusion width from .4mm to .3mm and the model will slice perfectly. Note, the extruder head will have trouble printing an extrusion width smaller than the nozzle diameter so try to keep the extrusion width setting within a close range of your extruder nozzle diameter for optimal print quality.
     
  5. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    You can also just adjust the "Outer/Perimeter Shells" which will add more of them and less infill.
     
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  6. Shane Simino

    Shane Simino Member

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    Thanks Mark. I just watched the video on calibration as well. I'm wondering if it's possibly an under extrusion situations too. I'm going to calibrate later on and see how that is as well. Could this occur from that?
     
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  7. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Yes. under extrusion would affect the entire model, but smaller/thinner parts would be worse off
     
  8. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

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    Could it also be moisture in the PLA? THe rest of the print looks fantastic. Is that the stock robo blue sample filament? That has had a history of not being the greatest quality PLA.
     
  9. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Moisture (I like to cal it wet filament) will normally only cause visual imperfections, but the smaller the part I would imagine the more likely it is that these would become structural imperfections. I have never managed to have wet filament cause any structural issues (your mileage may vary).
     
  10. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

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    No wet filament in Orlando? Must be in a well A/C home. Haha! I am surprised by my dad having his filament just sitting out in FL and no signs of moisture issues. Floridians like their A/C.
     
  11. Shane Simino

    Shane Simino Member

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    That's not stock. It's a new hatchbox roll, but it happens on others I have too. My Robo is in my AC office that's maintained at 69 and filaments are kept bagged with the silica pellets when not in use.
     
  12. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

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    69! Man you don't have to worry about keeping your beer cold.
     
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  13. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    All wet filament :) with the exception of rolls still sealed (darn few)
     
  14. Shane Simino

    Shane Simino Member

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    Lol. I have a machine shop and I keep the whole thing at 69. Have to for quality and inspection. I have a fridge for the beer.
     
  15. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

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    Man...I wish I had A/C in the screw machine shop I worked at in my early years. It was 100F outside and greenlees, brown&sharpes, and header machines running all around me making it much hotter and loud. On top of that full pants and jean bibs and the ever so present machine oil in the air being blown on me with the one fan I had at my station. Good times...I actually do miss them ever so often. Now that shop is mostly CNC machines and they do have A/C in most of it.

    Fridge for beer...that's the way to do it. :) 5 o'clock somewhere!
     
  16. Shane Simino

    Shane Simino Member

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    Yeah. I don't miss those days. So when I started my own, I said I'd never work in a sweat shop again. I also have ventilation and filtering to keep the air as clean as possible. We measure down to .00005" now, so the temp is kind of necessary. Tech has come a long way.
     
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