Fine tuning retraction
Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2016 10:04 pm
Hi folks
Until recently I have been very happy with my retraction settings, however as I've started doing more challenging prints, I've run into problems. I'm using an e3d v6 LITE with a 0.4mm nozzle. Travel speed 150mm/s.
Original settings
PLA, 200C, max 50mm/s print speed
5mm retraction at 30mm/s, no z-lift, no wipe
Result: very good, no major blobs, zero cobwebs
This was fine, but my nozzle would always knock over supports, so I enabled z-lift.
Settings 2
PLA, 200C, max 50mm/s print speed
5mm retraction at 30mm/s, z-lift ON, no wipe
Result: acceptable, supports don't get knocked over, a lot more cobwebs though
Then I started printing some tall objects. I have found that objects above 150mm in height will result in a very high chance of what I believe to be a nozzle jam. The extruder will dig a groove out of the filament and no longer be able to push it through the hot end. If I manually reverse and feed filament in, it seems to flow normally.
Steps taken to resolve:
- Replaced bowden clamp on EZ-struder.
- Replaced nozzle with a new one
- Checked that bowden tube was pushed all the way up against the nozzle inside the e3d v6 lite
Settings 3
PLA, 200C, max 50mm/s print speed
2mm retraction at 20mm/s, z-lift ON, wipe ON
Result: calibration object prints OK, but when printing other items like support pylons, there is a lot of stringing between.
Settings 4
PLA, 190C, max 50mm/s print speed
2mm retraction at 20mm/s, z-lift ON, wipe ON
Result: stringing persists, lowering the temp doesn't appear to have made a difference.
-----
Do I just have to accept stringing as something I have to deal with, or is it possible to get jam-free prints without stringing?
Here's a picture of my most recent failed print. Note how the filament flow appears to have stopped for a number of layers and then started going again.
[img]http://i.imgur.com/RfLpyhV.jpg[/img]
Until recently I have been very happy with my retraction settings, however as I've started doing more challenging prints, I've run into problems. I'm using an e3d v6 LITE with a 0.4mm nozzle. Travel speed 150mm/s.
Original settings
PLA, 200C, max 50mm/s print speed
5mm retraction at 30mm/s, no z-lift, no wipe
Result: very good, no major blobs, zero cobwebs
This was fine, but my nozzle would always knock over supports, so I enabled z-lift.
Settings 2
PLA, 200C, max 50mm/s print speed
5mm retraction at 30mm/s, z-lift ON, no wipe
Result: acceptable, supports don't get knocked over, a lot more cobwebs though
Then I started printing some tall objects. I have found that objects above 150mm in height will result in a very high chance of what I believe to be a nozzle jam. The extruder will dig a groove out of the filament and no longer be able to push it through the hot end. If I manually reverse and feed filament in, it seems to flow normally.
Steps taken to resolve:
- Replaced bowden clamp on EZ-struder.
- Replaced nozzle with a new one
- Checked that bowden tube was pushed all the way up against the nozzle inside the e3d v6 lite
Settings 3
PLA, 200C, max 50mm/s print speed
2mm retraction at 20mm/s, z-lift ON, wipe ON
Result: calibration object prints OK, but when printing other items like support pylons, there is a lot of stringing between.
Settings 4
PLA, 190C, max 50mm/s print speed
2mm retraction at 20mm/s, z-lift ON, wipe ON
Result: stringing persists, lowering the temp doesn't appear to have made a difference.
-----
Do I just have to accept stringing as something I have to deal with, or is it possible to get jam-free prints without stringing?
Here's a picture of my most recent failed print. Note how the filament flow appears to have stopped for a number of layers and then started going again.
[img]http://i.imgur.com/RfLpyhV.jpg[/img]