How to make beautiful prints

[teoman]

Ok, I have completed the manual. I get OK prints if they are box shaped and relatively non-existent overhangs.

How do i get the beautiful prints. Where is the rest of the "perfect printer" manual.???


I am now fiddling with the settings of bed temperature and hot end temperature but most of my prints are so and so. I can use them practically but the overhangs look like nano-spagetti.


What should i learn, what should I empirically test to get whatnot results. So far i am using repetier firmware .91 and repetier host. Which parts do i have to massage or what new software do i need to install to create bridges and all the other stuff?

[Polygonhell]

There are several things you need to get right to get great prints.

Good mechanical calibration.
Extruder properly calibrated, you can get away with under extruding slightly, but if you are over extruding, you end up with an uneven finish on the walls.
Sufficient cooling, with PLA in particular you want to print it as cold as possible with as much cooling as you can get on it.
Good filament, I know it's tempting to buy the cheapest filament you can, but buy at least one roll from either Ultimachine or other known good supplier (I don't like the PLA I've gotten from SeeMe), you'll then at least have some idea what issues to attribute to the plastic.
Use the right slicer, honestly I think some of the defaults in Slic3r are braindead stupid, IME Cura and KissSlicer produce higher quality prints.

A lot of it is experience, if you know what you are looking at, you can get to high quality prints very quickly, I'd you don't, it can take a lot of messing around.

[DavidF]

The perfect printer manual is still being written. Posting pictures of your prints would be a big help..
There are alot of variables so being as descriptive as possible is a must when seeking help on print quality. Temps, material, slicer settings..PICTURES!!!

[teoman]

You typed as i was posting pictures...

[teoman]

Settings on slicer,

first layer 230 other layers 200
Bed temp, first layer 80, other layers 70


I also do get very low bed adhesion. Most of the parts lift up. I do have a draft in the room. (living room) it is 30 deg C and very humid at night, impossible to stand without a ceiling fan. I have tried to put down cardboard barriers but not sure how effective they are.

Printing blue ABS from dealextreme that is a year old.

[Captain Starfish]

200 seems a little low for ABS, but it might work. What bed prep are you using for ABS? Kapton? Purple glue? Hairspray? ABS juice?

[teoman]

I have tried hairspray with %30 success.

And a pritt glue kockoff with %40 success.

[Polygonhell]

The first thing to do is to decide exactly which problem you want to fix first, and design a test part that let's you try things out reasonably quickly. Then change one thing at a time noting changes, iterate iterate iterate.

FWIW I would not drop the bed temperature after a first layer, 80 is marginal for ABS to start with, I'm surprised the part doesn't detach when the temp drops.

In general I prefer to print all layers at the same temperature in PLA if you change temperatures! you can actually see the change in the layer where the temeperature changes.

In ABS you have trade offs to make for overhangs you can ray and print slower and cooler, but you may find the layer adhesion becomes unacceptably poor, or you can print hotter and run a cooling fan, which can have it's own issues.

If you are using Slic3r ensure you explicitly set the extrusion widths to say 0.55, though personally I would suggest using something else to slice the prints.

[teoman]

Kind of a noob here... As you can see I am still printing the fan shroud.

What do you recommend to slice the prints? PS: I am using a Mac.

[DavidF]

When I first started printing I was backwards with my printing temps and printed abs at 195 without much issue, but at the layer height increased off the bed the print layers began to separate. so it is possible to print at abs at low temps IMHO.
Im am partial to cura for a slicer, but I run a pc. If there is a mac version please give it a try.
Have you added a cooling fan yet?? one to cool the filament below the nozzle that is. Might help you out. I have been printing for all most a year and still havent added one but have seen where they can be very beneficial when printing the tips (small high points) on smaller prints. I only run 50 c on the bed for both abs and pla. Abs juice to get the print to stick has worked the best for me (for abs). I would suggest trying the colorfabb filament as it is easy to get good adherance and great prints.

Im not the best source for guidance, but to me it looks like your under extruding and could use some cooling on th print.

[teoman]

I am currently runing DX abs

I have Octave and ESUN abs aswell. Will give them a try at some point.

[Polygonhell]

To me it looks like you have the default extrusion width in Slic3r which is always way too large. This is my biggest gripe with Slic3r, I think the extrusion width calculation is just plain broken.
I use Cura, KissSlicer and occasionally Simplify 3D, they all run on Mac.
My goto slicer is still KissSlicer, I really like the latest Cura, Simplify 3D is not worth the $140 IMO today, but f it continues evolving, it might be one day.

[Polygonhell]

FWIW Esun filament has one off the worst reputations of any.
The difference between good filament and bad filament is basically consistency, both in the mixture of the filament and color which dictates the extrusion temperature and in diameter, which impacts exterior finish. I would buy at least one roll of known high quality filament like Ultimachine.
Most cheap filament isn't crap, but if you get a crap roll it's virtually impossible to get a decent print out of. And if you've never used good filament you tend to assume the filament is the last problem.

[teoman]

AAA shizz... The guys who sold it, highly recommended it. They claimed to be getting the best prints out of them.

FYI, I paid 49 usd /kg for the ESUN

and 42 USD / kg for the Octave

the DX one cost 31 usd.

[teoman]

Yep, i noticed that cooling was important.

The best print of the shroud i got was with 2 of them printed at the same time.

[teoman]

Would printing on rafts have an advantage? And how does one go about doing that?

Fiddling with CURA at the moment.

[DavidF]

Yep, i noticed that cooling was important.

The best print of the shroud i got was with 2 of them printed at the same time.

That shows its a cooling problem. IMHO No cooling on the part I assume??? keep going with the multi part print, and lower the print speed to allow more time to cool.

[DavidF]

Would printing on rafts have an advantage? And how does one go about doing that?

Fiddling with CURA at the moment.

No no raft!!! but it does make up for bed leveling issues...but no your not allowed to do it, brim only!!!

[Polygonhell]

The esun stuff is usually dirt cheap ~$14-$18 a kilo, which is comparable to other cheap Chinese filament. Your roll might be fine.

[teoman]

I printed this funnel for the filament entry point.

Speed %200

Hotend 230 C All the way.
Bed 80 C All the way.


Now i am printing 2 of them with %75 speed.

[teoman]

On cura i selected DeltaBot while it was asking for a printer. Then it ocurred to me that delta bot is probably a brand name. Anyone have the configuration info for CURA? Link will also do.

[teoman]

So my prints are ready.

THe sides that face each other have lots of artifacts.

The other sides are much better, however, they do not have the standard layer lines, it looks almost as if the layers have cross fused. On some parts, i think the layer has been slighly pulled towards the inside of the funnel.

[Jimustanguitar]

FWIW I would not drop the bed temperature after a first layer, 80 is marginal for ABS to start with, I'm surprised the part doesn't detach when the temp drops.

Fully agreed. Keep the bed temp up the whole time, and higher if possible. Any shift in this will make the part expand and contract and break loose.

[teoman]

Thank you for the tips. The parts have started to look better with the bed constantly at 90 degrees.

[teoman]

FInally got round to installing the PEEK fan.
Now i have bumped up the nozzle temp to 245 degrees, and the bed is at 90 degrees. Will see how it goes.
Speed is at %75