Difference between revisions of "Getting a good print"

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(Printing overhangs)
(Tips and tricks to 3D printing)
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==Tips and tricks to 3D printing==
 
==Tips and tricks to 3D printing==
Additive manufacturing is not a magical process. The physics of classical mechanics, thermal dynamics and fluid mechanics are all fairly well understood. The difference between traditional (subtractive) manufacturing and 3D printing (additive) manufacturing is the application of the physics involved. Below is a study of the science and art of physics applied to 3D printing.
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Additive manufacturing is not a magical process. The physics of classical mechanics, thermal dynamics and fluid mechanics are all fairly well understood. The difference between traditional (subtractive) manufacturing and 3D printing (additive) manufacturing is the application of the physics involved. Below is a study of the science and art of physics applied to 3D printing.  
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===Diagnosing a print Problem===
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- If the print quality is suffering first slow down the print speed. This will help you to determine the nature of the problem. Information determined by watching the print process will be easier to see when printing slower.
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====Hot-end is too cold====
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The hot-end temperature for PLA should be between 185-220C. Increase temperature for:
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# Thicker layers
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# Faster print speed
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Here is an example of printing at too low hot-end temperature:
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[[File:Cold_print.jpg]]
  
 
===Importance of the first layer===
 
===Importance of the first layer===

Revision as of 17:42, 23 August 2014

Tips and tricks to 3D printing

Additive manufacturing is not a magical process. The physics of classical mechanics, thermal dynamics and fluid mechanics are all fairly well understood. The difference between traditional (subtractive) manufacturing and 3D printing (additive) manufacturing is the application of the physics involved. Below is a study of the science and art of physics applied to 3D printing.

Diagnosing a print Problem

- If the print quality is suffering first slow down the print speed. This will help you to determine the nature of the problem. Information determined by watching the print process will be easier to see when printing slower.

Hot-end is too cold

The hot-end temperature for PLA should be between 185-220C. Increase temperature for:

  1. Thicker layers
  2. Faster print speed

Here is an example of printing at too low hot-end temperature:

Cold print.jpg

Importance of the first layer

The layer wise building process of 3D printing relies on a flat building surface. The first layer deposited on the build plate is the foundation for your print.

Detailed instruction on these three steps can be found here: Calibrating your Gigabot

  • Taking the time to ensure the build plate is flat and parallel to the head movement
  • Setting the Z home position for the build plate
  • Calibrating the filament feed rate

Printing on a raft

You can use the raft feature in Simplify3D and Slic3r to create the perfect print surface. The filament you are printing with will adhere to itself better than it adheres to anything else. This is a great reason to build a raft under your part.

You can turn on the raft feature in Simplify3D in the Edit Process Settings -> Layer -> Raft (Check box). You raft settings should be:

  • Raft Layers = 1
  • Raft offset = 3mm
  • Separation = 0.20mm
  • Raft Infill = 85%


With raft.jpg


Removed raft.jpg

Printing overhangs

There are two things that will help in printing overhangs without support material

  • Increasing the filament extrusion rate
  • Increasing the number of perimeters in the slicing parameters

Overhang test2.jpg

Printing narrow tall objects

It sometimes happens that printing tall thin objects will result in poor print quality. This happens when there is too much heat being applied to a small area and the plastic is not cooled quickly enough. Visual indications of too much heat in the print:

  1. Curling of the edges and not maintaining a flat top layer
  2. Sagging of the plastic

To fix this problem-

  1. Increase the minimum time for each layer:
    1. Slic3r -> Filament Settings -> Cooling -> Cooling Thresholds -> Slow down if layer print time is below
    2. Simplify3D -> Edit Process Settings -> Cooling -> Speed override -> Adjust printing speeds for layers below
  2. Reduce the minimum print speed:
    1. Slic3r -> Filament Settings -> Cooling -> Cooling Thresholds -> Min print speed
    2. Simplify3D -> Edit Process Settings -> Cooling -> Speed override -> Allow speed reductions down to
  3. Reduce the hot-end temperature