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Getting the hang of it, however...

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by Elizabeth, Apr 15, 2014.

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  1. Elizabeth

    Elizabeth New Member

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    So I've pretty much gotten the hang of things. At least it's printing :)

    Hairspray seems to work better for me than tape and after getting the print head just right things seem to be going well (with PLA at least).

    But I do have some questions, I've tried both engines in MatterControl - Slic3r and CuraEngine. For me Cura seems to be a bit cleaner but I've got one problem I cant seem to nail down with it. The flat surfaces are not filled. They're filled when I print the same thing in Slic3r but not in Cura, I'm sure it's just a setting I've missed. Anyone have suggestions? (See pic below)
    [​IMG]

    The other issue I have may not be an actual issue. I am keeping in mind that this is a $700 printer and NOT a 3k makerbot. That said I'm wondering about quality of the prints themselves and if I'm getting the most out of the printer.

    I seem to be getting very noticeable horizontal lines in the prints, even at .1 layer height. Way more than the makerbot examples I've seen. Are my expectations too high? Am I being too critical about it? The picture below doesn't really detail what I'm talking about but you can easily feel the horizontal layer lines.

    [​IMG]




    Aside from those nitpicks - I'm loving the printer and having way more fun with it than I originally expected with my startup issues. Anyone see any additional glaring issues in the pictures that I may need to fix?
     
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  2. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    Can you share your print settings? Speeds, temps, etc
     
  3. Elizabeth

    Elizabeth New Member

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    Right sorry about that - it's the same for both engines.

    Extruder Temp - 190
    Bed Temp - 60
    Infill - .2
    Speed and Extrusion Multiplier set at 1


    Everything else set to defaults – not sure what else would help
     
  4. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    Looks like maybe a hobbed bolt issue. Do you notice it skipping?

    How many top and bottom fill layers do you have set? I find 3 is pretty good.

    Might be a clogged nozzle as well. Under-extrusion is a tricky thing to troubleshoot.

    here's something I wrote up:

    1) Friction on the input filament. If it's hard for the hobbed bolt to pull the filament from the spool it can cause skipping to occur. Make sure it doesn't take excessive force to pull the filament on the spool holder. If you're using the stock setup you should be fine.

    2) Gunk on the hobbed bolt. As filament is fed in bits of plastic break off and can gunk the hobbed bolt. You can clean this with a bristle brush and spinning the drive gear. If you clean it and it's still bad you might look into replacing the hobbed bolt with one that has deeper teeth.

    3) Dust in the extruder. If a piece of dust blocks the extruder it can cause it to have difficulty pushing out. Try forcing filament through the heated nozzle. If it's difficult to push it might have dust or lint in it

    4) Your extruder steps/mm is not properly calibrated. You can test this by marking your filament at ~100mm above the entry point. Tell the printer to extruder 50mm of filament, then measure the mark again.

    5) If you have a brass nozzle on your hot end you have the old style where the internal PTFE tube is prone to cracking. If it cracks filament will ooze out the top and sides of the hot end causing under extrusion.
     
  5. Elizabeth

    Elizabeth New Member

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    Thanks for the help Mike!

    I assume the top/bottom fill layers are the ones listed under 'Horizontal Shells' (Number of Solid Layers on the Top/ Bottom)? If so I have both set to 3.

    I'm not sure about the skipping, as it's my first printer I don't have any knowledge on what isn't normal. If it is skipping it's not readily apparent.

    Would skipping cause the errors in the print in the below picture?
    [​IMG]

    What's the best way to determine if it's a clogged nozzle or a hobbed bolt issue?
     
  6. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    That looks like it's slightly clogged to me, but they take on very similar forms. Usually a clog is more inconsistent.

    Generally I can tell if mine's clogging by the OD of the filament extruded. At a .4mm extrusion it'll expand to around .45-.5mm If you're closer to .4mm chances are good somethings clogging.

    You can also try pushing in filament. If it seems to take an excessive amount of force to extrude it might be clogged.

    If you look at the hobbed bolt and it seems full of plastic gunk, or if there's a large amount of shavings around it it might be skipping. Some people have found good luck buying a replacement hobbed bolt.
     
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