text:
What can I do about a printjob in progress that starts to warp/curl on the edges?
I currently have a print job that is about 50% done, been running for 2 hours with 2 hours remaining.  One side is curling/warping pretty bad, and I'm afraid there's no possible way this is going to finish without serious problems if I don't intervene.
So what I'm doing is either brilliant or idiotic, I'm not sure which: I've paused the print job, stuck some elmers glue below the curling part (with toothpicks, careful not to budge anything else), added a couple degrees to the heatbed (for pliability hopefully), put a small book on top of it to smash it on the glue and let it rest for a little bit (I'll report back if this was a horrible idea or not).
So my main quesiton: Is there any other techniques that you folks can recommend for a scenario like this?  McGuyver'y techniques to repair your in-progress print jobs?  Has anyone tried this technique I'm attempting and if so how successful was it?
In case it matters, I have an ANET A8 and generally send my print jobs to Octoprint (Raspi) from Cura with a Octoprint plugin (Windows).  Printing with PLA filament.  I've done quite a few successful prints recently, but this is the first one that goes from corner-to-corner on the heatbed (this specifically).  Printing at 207c with 60c heatbed (bumped up to 64 while glue settles).  It's in a cooler room of the house, and doesn't have an enclosure so I'm afraid the cool temp is affecting it.
Thanks
Edit, last maybe significant (or maybe not) details: printing on glass with glue stick applied to it - been doing it for weeks and works quite well for the most part.  Also, printing on a raft.
Edit, here are a few pics.  Both are from the back of the printer looking forward.  I have one cam almost exactly level with the glass so I can see the hot-end extrude filament and another one slightly above it.  Sorry for the bad lighting.  Also included screenshots of my slicer settings for this print.
Btw, I've since resumed printing after glueing it down, so far so good - but as you can see in the first pic it may have some possible structural defects and still has a slight curl:

you gotta share some pictures

IMO there is no way to rescue your current printout. it's better to start new one with some extra preparation. #1 - put more paper glue - don't be shy - put thick layer - make your HB white from this glue. #2 - increase HB temperature to 70C. #3 - change raft inot brim/skirt. #4 - turn off fan for 1st layer. #5 - decrease print speed of 1st layer to 30%. #6 - overextrude 1st layer by 3%

I agree with @darthpixel - saving this print as-is seems unlikely.  I had a similar issue recently with a broader print than I'd typically done before.  Three angled "feet" of the model warped up and caused some issues further up as well.  I ended up going with blue painters tape that I rubbed down with isopropyl alcohol.  In the end, I still had two slight curls, but the print as a whole was usable (and still looked good despite the curling).  I tried to rescue one of these prints in a similar fashion and ended up spending a ton of time on it for nothing.  FWIW, it was a 26 hour print.

What brand filament?  There are some brands which do not supply decent material.  I've found Solutech to be one of the better ones.  The other thing to check is that your bed is perfectly aligned to the print head, i.e. z=0 is the same everywhere.  That curling could be an indicator that the bed in that region is lower than elsewhere, leading to poor first-layer adhesion.

Putting a large brim on it can help, I've seen people rescue prints with larger brims by literally adding weights to the brim around the areas that are peeling up. I've done it by taping brim edges down carefully as the print goes.

Three thoughts:

bed temperature
rim width
bonding agent

Bed Temperature:
Often the edges of a heated bed are not as hot as the center.  Making the heat pass through an insulator (the glass) makes the temperature profile on the corners more relatively cool compared to the center than if you were printing directly on the aluminum bed.
To offset that, you could:

Increase the overall heated bed temperature.
Wrap some insulation (such as ceramic felt) around the edge, keeping it out of the way of the print.
Add insulation to the underside corners of the bed, to reduce heat loss.

Rim Thickness:
I see that you are using a rim.  Since the rim was also pulling up, rather than the print pulling out of the rim, you might benefit from making the rim broader.
Bonding Agent:
It looks as if you are printing on blue tape, but that might be the picture.  IME, gluestick and blue tape aren't often used together.  If you are using only blue tape, the condition of the tape is critical.  Any grease or rubbing of the tape (such as by resting your hand on the bed when making other prints) can reduce the holding power.
If you haven't tried it yet, you might try printing PLA with the PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) gluestick.  I use the "purple until dry" Elmers gluesticks with good results.

More glue to hold it down and lower in-fill percentage will reduce the warping. Or adding more cut-outs to the design like you have further up the shaft.

This is not particularly accurate, and changing part design is not allowable in any case.


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How to edit G-code created in Cura to begin printing at a specified layer height?
I have an issue with implementing a G-code to print a large 3D object using the Creality CR-10 printer. The print went well for over 30 hours but the filament broke off during the print and stopped at a height of around 172 mm of a total height of 256 mm. 1753 layers total , stopped at layer 1170.
I want to restart the print so the extruder begins printing at a height of 172 mm rather that from the start.
I have tried several sites online and had removed the previous 1169 layers and also changed the start position of the extruder to the code below:
G1 X20 Y20 Z385; Center extruder above bed

The problem I have is that when I start the print, the extruder moves to the middle of the plate and begins moving upwards but I need the extruder to stay near the edge of the build plate and move upwards past 172 mm and then begin printing as it would have for layer 1169 and continue the print. At the moment the extruder moves upwards and towards the middle of the plate and will impact with the existing printed material (see picture attached) and this stops it from correctly positioning.

Can anyone help with the start code for the G-code that I could use ? I just need the x,y,z to home and then for the extruder to stay near the edge of the build plate but move past 172 mm in the z direction before then beginning to print. Any advice would really be appreciated , first question on this platform so apologies if the detail isn't there. If you need anything more please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Well, how about g1 x0 y0 z385  ?  And make sure there are no other move commands, including any "initialization" macros.

I have recovered a print from a similar issue before by re-slicing what I needed to print on the already printed object and then manually adjusting the z home position so the printer thought it was at zero and removing the z homing g-code from the start of the g-code file.
But this could cause some machines to damage them self.

Well this is a little complicated since nozzle height could collides with the part if the line 1169 has had started to be printed (part of the line), so the overlap will be the main problem, however adding the initial parameters to heat the extruder and getting the X0 and Y0 with G1 X0 y0 Z385 I recommend to increase Z by 3 or 5 mm, so the extruder will travel from a higher position to avoid the crash going for example, from Z390 to Z385.

Hey Fernando thanks for the advice I got it to work last night and start printing from where it left off but unfortunately I messed with the level of the bed so it was out by a couple of mm.

@CBable Oh, that´s corrrect. if the printer needs bed leveling the problem can be a total disaster; I forget to add this comment. I tried this several times and trying to start printing one layer above is perfect.

source: Stack Exchange

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

sort: votes


text:
Ramps 1.4 and extruder
I have ToyRep printer (RepRap), with RAMPS 1.4 on the board. And I am powering in from ATX power supply with 12V. And the problem is it doesn't heat to 230(for ABS), max value was 173 degrees by Celsius. Is it bad extruder or not enough power?

I had the same problem in one of my printers, the Arduino Mega was burnt due a bad instalation of limit switch Positive instead of Negative. So the shield was getting hot due abnormal signals. I change the Arduino Mega and everything is working.

Make sure that your heating device (resistor) is for 12v, not 24v (resistance is < 10Ohm)
Check if the temperature readings that you get in your system are (at least roughly) the same as actual temperature (thermocouple with multimeter or any other device that can measure ~200C will help)
Check if connections are good enough. Low voltage at hotend is an indication of possible problem. ATX power wires are often too thin to transfer enough current. Consider replacing them with at least 2.5mm2 (AWG 14)

Is 3A enough for RAMPS, heatbed and extruder? I am planning to change power supply to one charger 12V and 3A.

3A is not enough, the ATX power supply at least should be rated as 300W

You can easily calculate required current by summing up major consumers: motors (max current), main board (Arduino + RAMPS), hot end, heat bed (if any), plus add extra 1-2A to ensure that power supply won't overload. In other words, 6A may work, 3A - no.

@Mikhail Z i have done it, it still doesn't help. Before electricity was 10V now 12V. But it still writes printer killed in pronterface

Have you tried testing temperature with thermocouple? What is your heating resistor's resistance?

@Mikhail Z unfortunately no, I don't have anything to test, multimeter doesn't have this mode

I'm afraid we are starting to misuse the system. Please read my previous comment. Measure your heater resistance and read #1 in my answer

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


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Using the end of a spool
I've seen several Q&As on recycling and reusing plastic from failed prints, but what have you done with the last few meters of filament?  I've been keeping the ends of PLA (or sections I needed to cut) to maybe use for friction welding pieces together, but I only need so much for that.  I've considered just shoving the last bit in the tube and using a new roll to push it through (so long as retractions aren't necessary).
This is especially a concern for more exotic filaments where friction welding isn't useful and the price is higher for that 1m section (something like Copperfill).
Note: I have a Bowden extruder.  I imagine this is less of an issue with DD extruders.

The welding option is only appropriate if you have the tool needed for it, the lighter welding is really hard to do and if your printer allows it you could just watch for the moment the spool runs out and push the new filament as the last of the previous one gets extruded, that's what I used to do on my bowden extruder reprap and apart from a really negligible retraction problem on one layer it just works
Or you could go the cool way:

Use the last of the filament for friction/iron welding to fix or glue 3D printed parts together
Use it as regular filament with a 3D printer pen to fix 3D printed parts
"Use it for pin/studs/rivets/hinges in prints." as tjb1 said
Stock it with your failed/ waste 3D printed parts and use them in a recyclebot later to make new filament or simply melt it in an oven to make plastic boards/injection molding material
Throw it away but that would be a waste over time

Weld the fragment to the beginning of a new spool and use it that
way.  Most are made from metal so they aren't that easy to make
at home.  Here is another answer that lists other methods to
weld filament including using heat shrink tubing.
As you mentioned, you can use it for friction welding.
Use it for pin/studs/rivets/hinges in prints.
Throw it away.  1.75mm * 1Kg is about 330m of filament, 3mm * 1Kg is
about 110m of filament.  The leftover isn't worth much when you
consider how much is on a spool.

No, I get that the cost isn’t much at all. Just seemed silly to send it all to the recycler. I do like the idea of using it for rivets though!

I just went to a 3d part manufacturer and they sold me the ends of their spools. This was very helpful because i built my 3d printer from a 3d pen and the prints are so small that i can get lots of prints on material that was almost useless to him

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Is it possible to convert a Las /Laz file into an STL or OBJ file?
I would like to know if there is any tool/library (preferably python based) that could be used in parsing a Laz file to extract info that is normally found in 3d object files such as vertices. Which could be used to create printable 3d mesh.
I already tried Laspy and I could get the  x,y,z data from it but it is not a vertices info but rather a scale info. So I would either need a tool to give that or an algorithm for getting vertices from the data  from laspy.

It is working @Durodola Opemipo ?

Given that LAS/LAZ is LiDAR point cloud data, there is a GIS tool called las2tin to convert these files to a triangle based mesh called Triangular irregular networks or TIN by the GIS community. Other GIS tools should be able to do the same, for example ArcGIS.
Once you have the mesh, Google should be able to help you find a way to convert the TIN to an STL. You will need to scale down the STL after creation, as the TIN will probably be at 100% scale.
One example workflow for converting LAS data into an STL is:

Using ArcScene: open DEM > convert to TIN > export to VRML
Using MeshLab: open VRML > export to STL
Using Meshmixer: extrude base > scale to fit standard printing parameters > save as finished STL

More details for the process that I got from Google are available here

authors: ايمن احمد القحطاني

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
3D print leans in Y-axis
I have made a custom 3D printer with RAMPS electronics. I have printed a Benchy (ship) well, but when I try to print anything with teeth (spiral vase), gears (bearing), or a circle (rocket), the Y-axis skip steps in a regular rate giving 70-60 degrees skew along the printing the Y-direction, but each layer is perfect, this happen when printing gear bearing.

I have checked Y-axis ball bearing, motor, tension belt and  I have replaced my 6 mm glass with 1 mm without any difference in shift.

I have once make it work, but I don't why or how (I have lowered speed to 50 and did some random things).

I have printed from Pronterface and when I pause it, then home Y, the skipping in Y is corrected.

If I drive my X/Y-axis with no microstepping, then the skipping is much larger.

I only use Slic3r for G-code generation.

question:

What is the cause for that skipping?

If there is more than one possibility, how could I check them separately?

I have changed my Y-axis motor with no change.

I have swapped X&Y connections with no change - still Y skips.

I have lowered jerk and max. speed and it prints gear bearing well and it is spinning, but when I tried to print spiral vase Y motor skipped.

MIght be loose belts, leading to position hysteresis.  Check the tension.

Out of curiosity, what's the white horror on your build plate?

accumulated glue stick

I would assume it is either the stepper driver or the stepper motor. Try switching the motor wires for x and y axis and see if the problem stays with the motor or the driver. If its not physically getting hung up then this is likely. I had the same problem with my y axis and after switching the motor it was gone. It would only skip steps in one direction and that seems to be exactly whats going on. Most likely it was caused by bad windings on 1 of the 2 coils inside the stepper motor.

I have changed stepper motor with the result, so I think the problem with the inertia of my Y axis.

Maybe your motor skips?
I had my Z motor skip sometimes, this was the reason:
1) Acceleration was too high
2) I needed to tune the "amperage" (the current) of the pololu driver
3) Speed was too high
So, you can try to lower acceleration, speed and tune your driver:
Power on everything, see if you can turn the motor by hand (you shouldn't).
Turn the small potentiometer on the driver board counter clockwise until you can turn the motor, turn it back until you can't turn the motor any more and then add some 1/8 - 1/4 turn.
You might also want to check your 'jerk' settings so they are not too high either.

I set it to max where the motor doesn't heat up, should I go more than that?

Just lowering the current so the motor doesn't heat up might be not enough current. Classic NEMA motors can get quite hot (but of course, don't overdo it) without short term implications, so I'll say try some more juice and see if it fixes the problem! If it doesn't, lower the current to your old level.

I have did that but still Y axis skips when printing spiral vase,
so I think I should change the mechanics of my Y-axis or try nema 23. I am getting my mid-term exams atm.

I have had a Pololy driver fry, the ATMega board fry and both times, they actually worked, almost, okay. Try to switch pololu drivers (betxeen say X and Y), try to exchange the cable positions for X and Y motor, and eventually, try another Arduino.


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Meaning of G1 -2.000 F2400.000
I am working on g code for my homebrew 3d printer and i have found the line G1 -2.000 F2400.000. From what i understand there should be an axis before the number and x and y shouldnt have negative. I am using grbl which is for cnc milling but and i have been deleting this line with no problems but i am wondering what it does because i will be upgrading to a "real" 3d printer asap

G1 -2.000 F2400.000

Is not valid G-code. As you note, -2.000 should be prefixed with an axis (X,Y,Z or E).
Marlin would ignore the -2.000 bit and simply treat the command as equivalent to
G1 F2400.000

which doesn't perform any movement, but sets the feedrate for any future moves to 2400mm/min.

x and y shouldnt have negative

Not necessarily. Even though normally printing is done in the positive quadrant, negative values can be valid. Not only in relative movement mode, but even in absolute mode (for instance, if you set the center of your bed as (0,0) or if you use a negative z-axis offset the bring the nozzle closer to the bed).

G1 indicates a movement and -2.000 the distance, F2400.000 the feed rate mm/min, normally the (-) values are for retraction on extrusion E, for example:
G0 X12 (move to 12mm on the X axis)
G0 F1500 (Set the feedrate to 1500mm/minute)
G1 X90.6 Y13.8 E22.4 (Move to 90.6mm on the X axis and 13.8mm on the Y axis while extruding 22.4mm of material)
1. G1 F1500
2. G1 X50 Y25.3 E22.4

In the above example, we set the feedrate to 1500mm/minute on line 1, then move to 50mm on the X axis and 25.3mm on the Y axis while extruding 22.4mm of filament between the two points.
1. G1 F1500
2. G1 X50 Y25.3 E22.4 F3000

However, in the above example, we set a feedrate of 1500 mm/minute on line 1, then do the move described above accelerating to a feedrate of 3000 mm/minute as it does so. The extrusion will accelerate along with the X and Y movement, so everything stays synchronized.
So, in your case if some axis is not defined the feed rate applies to all motors.
(part of this content is from reprap-wiki)
You will see negative numbers if your starting point is on the center of the bed just like rectangular coordinates.
G1 X-50.318 Y8.849 E11.70313
G1 X-52.606 Y3.087 E12.26689
G1 X-53.240 Y1.297 E12.43953
G1 X-54.398 Y-2.097 E12.76562
G1 X-54.683 Y-2.995 E12.85132

So, in your case if some axis is not defined the feed rate applies to all motors.. This is misleading. The feedrate always applies to all motors.

It would be good to clearly delineate the text you took from the RepRap wiki by including it in a blockquote section. You can do this by prefixing the relevant lines by > . E.g., you might write "[...], RepRap wiki explains this in the following way:", followed by a quoted section.


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Z motor not moving during auto home
My Monoprice maker select recently fried its melzi board.  So I went out and purchased a ramps 1.4 kit.  I've wired it all up and Flash the firmware with marlin(most recent build).  When it boots up it boots up fine I go to prepare.  And then I go to move axis I can move the X Y and Z axis and the access is moving in the correct direction.  I go to auto home and the X and Y axis home properly but the z-axis does not move at all.  Even though I can move it manually.    Does anyone have any suggestions.  I checked the end stop for the z-axis even though I know it probably has nothing to do with it and it has continuity when the end stop switch is depressed.

Here's a little strange update,  when moving the extruder motor it doesn't move.  I just connected the extruder motor and Connect into the Y access.  The extruder motor then moved, I I am going to check continuity of those wires going up to the extruder.  But if that doesn't work I want to say it's a firmware issue and I might have to do a deep dive into my configuration.h. to figure everything out.  Makes sense that it's firmware driven as I selected 33 and I don't have any controls for the heated bed

I also tried 43

Well the motor extruder won't move until the heating element reach the melting temperature. About Z axis maybe there are a problem with endstops settings and Z travel for homing.

Alright figured out a little bit about it,  after loading a new configuration I now have bed Heating but the bed wasn't heating past 50 degrees Celsius. So I add the mosfet and now it Heats perfectly.  But now I have a new issue the extruder motor regardless of the hot end being heated is not working.  The physical part is working as I moved the stepper motor to the  y-axis and it worked. ideas?

Have you tried sending the printer "M119" to check endstop status and make sure it doesn't think the Z endstop is triggered?

Alright, I have figured everything out with the help of #reprap IRC community.
Issue #1 - Z axis not moving during zero.  Just as tjb1 suggested the issue was that it thought it was hitting the endstop, I needed to invert the logic of the endstop within the configuration.h
const bool Z_MAX_ENDSTOP_INVERTING = true;

Issue #2 - No Heated bed controls.  The issue resided with the configuration of the heated bed within the configuration.h.  The bed was not defined correctly(I do not have the solution for this one as I found a pre-configured configuration.h for the Monoprice maker Select and  after loading the firmware it worked
Issue #3 - The extruder motor would not move.  This was the biggest issue and came down to it being a cheap RAMPS/Arduino.  E0's pinouts were not working properly so I took off the driver and wiring from E0 and put it on E1 then altered the pins_RAMPS.h and swapped the values for E1 and E0 pinouts.  after reloading the firmware the extruder then moved fine.
#define E0_STEP_PIN        36
#define E0_DIR_PIN         34
#define E0_ENABLE_PIN      30

#define E1_STEP_PIN        26
#define E1_DIR_PIN         28
#define E1_ENABLE_PIN      24


text:
What happens when I print a 0,6mm thick wall with a 0,4mm diameter nozzle?

The wall thickness is 1,2mm but the lip is only 0,6mm thick. How will the 0,4mm nozzle solve this?
Alternatively I could choose a 0,8 mm thick lip, but then the connecting end should be 0,4mm that is too thin.

Which slicer are you using?

Nozzle diameter is almost always less than extrusion width.

I'd say you should experiment with Slic3r
it can manage extrusion in very sophisticated way
it can overextrude if you need a line wider than actual nozzle size
as same as it can underextrude if needed
it can even change extrusion continuously while extruding one line
here are simple examples

i use mattercontrol
take a look here - this is the same object the same layer and the same settings
please notice - this object has wall thicknes exactly 2 times nozzle diam
here is what i get with

native MatterControl slicer engine which gives this slice

and Slic3r engine which gives this slice


text:
Octoprint “using Google's DNS server”
octoprint seems to have a setting that involves googles DNS server.
my question is is that server used to access octoprint over the internet via printoid "android app" or via browser? if not then what does it mean?

The program is pinging that address to check the internet connection to "prevent resource intensive operations if it's already clear that they won't succeed anyhow".  It checks for connectivity, if it has it then it will check for update otherwise it won't check for an update.

Right, just a DNS server they can ping that is extremely likely to be up and ping-able. If google's DNS servers are down, the world has ended!

That's just Google's DNS (name resolution) server.  8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 are the Google values.  Your ISP will also have a DNS server that you could use, which is what it says to use Google's "if you don't know what to set here".
Using the Google values are your best bet since they'll pretty much absolutely always be online and available.


text:
How to tell machine how far travel limits without switches
I have a 3d printer that is homebuilt with salvaged parts. Occasionally there is some kind of error and when i start my code the minute it starts it max out on x and y axis and continues to do it until i kill the connection and reset everything. I have found that when i put G21 G90 into the first line of the file it doesnt do this anymore. But I'm wondering if i can "teach" my machine how far it can go before it stops? I am using "grbl controller" to send g-code to my arduino uno woth grbl loaded onto it.

Limit switches are dirt-cheap.  Install a set and save yourself a lot of pain.

The machine is tiny and it would be a pain. I was more wondering what was causing it to max out and after finally stopping coordinates displayed would be way farther than the work was supposed to be

there are micro switches, also you can do a couple with cooper; it just need to have spring motion or gap 0.5mm

Since 3D printers works with coodinates and the gcode generator requires the origin point and bed shape and bed size. knowing this your programs never will be out of the printing area.
My printer has a printing area of 16.5 x 16.5 cm, so I set this parameter to CURA, Slic3r and 3dsimplify and I can't generate the gcode if the part does not fit on the bed. So I print parts with 15cm maximum
Also the firmware has this limits to 16cm, the 0.5 cm is just for safety
Of course if I send a command with pronterface or any other gbrl controler I can go over the limits due the X0Y0 could be out of position (offset), but if you respect the origin point and don't try to go over the limits by yourself the machine will be ok.


text:
Stereo Camera and Projector Calibration for 3D Scanner
I am trying to understand what is the robust and clean way to calibrate structured light 3d scanner system. I have two cameras placed to be working as stereo and a projector between them.
I found the methods:
 - Just stereo camera calibration
 - 1 camera - 1 projector calibration
What about 2 camera and 1 projector calibration? Which way should be followed for calibration of this total system?
In addition to them I would control the 2 axis arm to rotate object and get complete set of point cloud.


text:
Extruder motor not running during print job but working after I preheat the extruder and test it
I have a Prusa i3 (from FLSun). I have assembled the printer, calibrated it (fairly decently), and have successfully demonstrated extrusion manually. However, when I try to run a print job (the G-code clearly contains E commands), the extruder motor never rotates. Is this a common problem? Any suggestsions for how to resolve/troubleshoot?
I can confirm that the extruder was pre-heated for PLA (up to a generous 220 C).
I load  an STL file into Repetier v.1.0.2, use the built-in slicer (Slic3r) to generate the G-code. I include a sample of that below:
; generated by Slic3r 1.2.9 on 2017-11-08 at 10:54:07

; external perimeters extrusion width = 0.50mm
; perimeters extrusion width = 0.72mm
; infill extrusion width = 0.72mm
; solid infill extrusion width = 0.72mm
; top infill extrusion width = 0.72mm

M107
M104 S200 ; set temperature
G28 ; home all axes
G1 Z5 F5000 ; lift nozzle

M109 S200 ; wait for temperature to be reached
G21 ; set units to millimeters
G90 ; use absolute coordinates
M82 ; use absolute distances for extrusion
G92 E0
G1 Z0.350 F7800.000
G1 E-2.00000 F2400.00000
G92 E0
G1 X76.952 Y76.952 F7800.000
G1 E2.00000 F2400.00000
G1 X78.055 Y75.850 E2.04824 F1800.000
G1 X78.650 Y75.324 E2.07282
G1 X81.121 Y73.387 E2.16997
G1 X81.780 Y72.933 E2.19472
G1 X84.467 Y71.309 E2.29186
G1 X85.167 Y70.940 E2.31635
G1 X88.143 Y69.602 E2.41730

As an update, I can no longer reliably get the extruder motor to run (even when I pre-heat) from the LCD. Sometimes, it works fine, but other times it doesn't seem to. Will confirm whether switching the motor connector to the z-axis to test the motor works when I get home this evening.
I can confirm 1) that there is no tension pulling on the cable connections during the run, 2) the mainboard and motor connector aren't burned, cracked, and the mosfets have heatsinks on them, and 3) the extruder gear is fixed and rotates freely on the motor axis (I tested this by switching it over to the z-axis connection temporarily and confirming rotation).
Here's a photo of my motherboard:

Check for proper T# assignment in the gcode.

What slicer app are you using to generate the gcode, and with what settings?

Extruder won't work of the melting temperature has not been reached. verify if you have this prior to print M109 S195 (waits for 195°C) or M104 S210 (sets 210° temp during printing )

I can confirm that the extruder was pre-heated to 220 C.
I loaded an STL file into Repetier v. 1.0.2, used the built-in slicer (Slic3r) to generate my G-code. Question has been updated to reflect these details and display some sample G-code.

To answer @ZuOverture's helpful question below, I was navigating in the LCD to move axis --> 1 mm --> extruder. Does that make sense?

@Davo what do you mean by proper T# assignment? As in, "are there E's in the code?" ?

Your symptoms are consistent with a line starting starting with T# where # is the extruder assignment; in this case, all "extrude" commands would be sent to a different head. See this RepRap G-Code wiki entry.

@Davo. There was no T# in the entirety of the G code. Is that part of my problem, or does that mean that the issue is something else?

Do the printer move during the print (but not extruding) or is it just sitting there waiting?

@Valmond it's moving all around.

Have you tried Valmond's suggestions, below?

According to all the information:

No reassignment of the extruder in the Gcode
You can extrude if you push the filament by hand
Extruder motor works when switched to Z driver
Z Motor works

I come to the conclusion that some of your electronics or the motor have fried.
What have fried? I tried to make a step by step check:
Switch drivers between E and Z, but plug the motors as usual:
1) Does the extruder extrude?
Yes: Your driver has fried
No:
2) Were you able to move the Z motor?
No: Motherboard And driver has fried
Yes:
3) Plug in the E motor on the Z driver, can you make the E motor turn?
Yes: Motherboard fried
No: Motor fried
HTH and keep us updated if it worked or not!

This should have been a comment: when you say "manual extrusion", do you mean moving filament by hand or using extruder position commands from printer menu? Is extruder motor working at all? You can for example plug it instead of a Z-motor to check.
Suggested points to check:

Motor wire connections, both on extruder and mainboard. Are plugs experiencing tension (being tilted, pulled out) from improperly fixed cables?
Hardware on mainboard next to motor connector. Does it look burned, cracked, lacks heatsinks on mosfets?
Is extruder gear not fixed and rotating freely on extruder motor axis? You will hear sound of working motor, but it will look like it's not pulling the filament.

This does not provide an answer to the question. Once you have sufficient reputation you will be able to comment on any post; instead, provide answers that don't require clarification from the asker. - From Review

Interesting. I'm feeling punished for trying to help someone. Is it supposed to help me help better?

Answers need to provide answers, this is not a forum.

@ZuOverture.
I can confirm 1) that there is no tension pulling on the cable connections during the run, 2) the mainboard and motor connector aren't burned, cracked, and the mosfets have heatsinks on them, and 3) the extruder gear is fixed and rotates freely on the motor axis (I tested this by switching it over to the z-axis connection temporarily and confirming rotation). What would you recommend be the next step in troubleshooting?

@Atticus29, your problem probably isn't with hardware, and that is good. You may try to double-check firmware and slicer settings related to extruding, remember which .gcode files were printing normally, try them again and compare to your last files. Tend to Davo's advice and check that your printer isn't set as model with 2 extruders in Repetier, try adding T1 (or is it T0?) explicitly to your code. Install Cura, use it to generate gcode, see if something changes. Also, if nothing else helps, you may try updating firmware on your mainboard.

Wait, you cannot extrude with your print software? Check for fried drivers would be a start, fried controller board a second...


text:
Filament not extruding
I've recently bought an Anet A8, and haven't been getting good prints with it. I noticed there was filament leaking from the top of the hot end and pooling, eventually dripping over onto my prints. I took the hot end off to clean it, and when I put it back on and tightened it, my printer wouldn't extrude anymore. I took the motor apart, and there was a lot of filament shavings inside. I tried tightening the screw that splits the bearing and gear that feeds the filament since I thought it may be getting caught in there.
I can manually push filament through and it works fine. There's no jam, so I'm thinking it IS something to do with that, but I don't really know what to do. Now that I've done this also, I feel as if I've screwed up the e steps.
Any ideas?

The spindle screws on the gear are shipped not tight enough. Try taking the fan off and make sure the gear is seated properly and tighten the screws down. Here's a video that might help. https://youtu.be/zkZKzF3J3NA

I did look at that video initially and tried repositioning it to no avail. I ended up taking my fan and heatsink off, pushing the bar at the top as far up as it goes, and tightening the pivot. This seems to have worked. I just keep the fan and heatsink off now, as it happened again when I put them back on after one print.

You could try some lock tight on the threads.

How would I go about doing that? It seems to be ok without the heatsink, so fingers crossed it doesn't screw up again!

You might want the heat sink for large prints. You can get lock tite that comes in a tube like a glue stick. Apply it to the threads and it should keep it from becoming loose again.. But it may require heat to remove if you ever have to take it apart again.


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How to tell if A 3d printing kit has a replaceable nozzle
I was looking at the prusa i3 3d(the original i3, not the mk2) on sale and I wanted to know how I could tell if it(and printers like it) had a replaceable nozzle, since I wanted to try out different nozzle sizes, and I need to be able to use a .1 mm nozzle for micro armor 3D printing(8mm height miniatures, I'm not too picky about their appearance) so anyways, does anyone know how to tell if a printer has a replaceable nozzle?

Prusa has a replacable nozzle. Usually all printer does have an replacable nozzle. Since this is a part of a printer which could get jammed during a printer life.
As written here: https://www.prusaprinters.org/prusa-i3-is-now-1-75-mm/ The Prusa i3 uses an E3D Hotend. This Hotend has many diffenez nozzles. You can search on E**ay for E3D V6 0.1mm nozzle and you will find a lot of offers.


text:
Anet A8 - first couple of layer are trash
I just got an Anet A8 and I'm pretty happy with it except for one small detail:

All my prints start like this. I tried to :

pre-heat the printer ❌
add a smaller height of the first layer ❌

I’m kinda new to this and i did not find a correct answer to my problem so here’s my Cura configuration:

Try to adjust the Z offset.

First off all your bed temp is way to high. Put it down to 50 or so. Second is that you should really put some time into leveling your bed properly. I had tons of problems with this and after sitting down for 10/15 minutes doing everything over and over again. I had amazing adhesion and i could print 10 or so prints before having to do it again. Since then i upgraded to an auto leveling sensor. Also support can be disabled for the print in the picture its totally not needed.

A phone picture of your computer screen showing your Cura setting isn't exactly the easiest to read or most accessible way of sharing those settings. Consider converting the image to text.

@TomvanderZanden thank you for your advice, i will apply it to my next post, since this topic was helpful enough to resolve my problem.

I think your issue is bed leveling.
I recently got my Anet A8 and the biggest kill for my print quality is bed leveling. If its too far from the nozzle, I get something like your picture. You might want to try the paper test where you manually move the nozzle to each corner of the bed and adjust the bed till the paper cannot move freely between the bed and nozzle.

The problem doesn't seem to be leveling per se but rather the distance between the bed and nozzle being too great (the bed might be perfectly level, but just too far from the nozzle).

@TomvanderZanden  nailed it.  That stringiness is a sure indicator that the first layer is about 25% of a layer thickness too high

@TomvanderZanden you were right !!!!

@TomvanderZanden Huh, your right that the term "bed leveling" may not have been perfect but if you read my answer, I talked about the bed being too far from the nozzle and gave the solution of adjusting bed screws to raise the bed to meet the paper test. Aside from that you can lower the heatblock/nozzle by unscrewing a bit from the motor. Or by lowering the z-endstop. Well either way I am glad OP has fixed their issue.


text:
Is Marlin capable to work with binary G-code?
I want to use a binary protocol like Repetier uses.
Can Marlin work with this/such a protocol?

No. Marlin only supports ASCII G-code, and does not (currently) support binary format. According to the List of Firmware, Repetier is the only firmware that supports binary G-code. Moreover, verifying with Marlin's source code, shows that the G-code parser can only handle traditional G-code.


text:
How to implement wall thickness Analysis for my .net project
I have .stl for the 3d printing. And I want to analysis wall thickness of this model before printing. I have no idea about any tools. Can I create any console or wpf app for calculating wall thickness and cost of the printing.
Please help me.

Hello, yes you can create an app to do wall thickness analysis but how to do it is a programming question not a 3d printing question

If your talking about a hollow object, such as a cube with a hollow center. The wall thickness is determined by the model.
If your talking about a solid object, the wall thickness is determined by your nozzle diameter multiplied by your # of walls. This is all adjusted by your splicing software. If you have a nozzle of 0.5mm and you print at 3 perimeters, your wall should be 1.5mm. If you want the wall to be 2mm, then you will adjust your perimeters to 4. Everything within those walls will be whatever you choose for infill.
I work with ASP.NET, Windows Forms, and Console Apps myself. I'm sure you can find libraries capable of taking 3D models but I don't think it would matter because the printed thickness is determined by your splicing settings.
Also for cost of printing, I recommend just using Cura which you just have to plug in some cost information about the filament and it will tell you estimated cost, mm of filament usage, and time.

That's not wholly true.  Most slicers allow for over- and under-extrusion for walls to allow walls that aren't bound specifically by the diameter of the nozzle you're using.  slic3r, Simplify3D and Cura, at least, all have these options.  I would imagine that you'd want to read the g-code to get specific details since how you slice a model varies, and the model itself is not always a good indicator.

I use slic3r myself. For my case every wall printed is consistent. I've never noticed a thicker or thinner single wall. They tend to be slightly larger than my 0.4mm nozzle but that is because they get squished alittle. But at 3 perimeters I should get 1.2mm walls but I get about 1.3mm when I measure it.

If your concern is that the stl file may have walls that are too thin to print on your printer, MeshMixer is a great tool from Autodesk to help check and fix mesh issues (including wall thickness).  It is free to Makers and Educators.
There are lots of helpful tutorials
Here is one https://all3dp.com/meshmixer-tutorial/

I'm not completely sure what you want to do but I will add some information that I think will help and then hopefully you can figure out what you need to know or ask another question.
When you are asking about wall thickness there are two different things you could be referring to. A wall in the model, so you could be talking about trying to print a thin wall coming out of the model. For analysis thin wall setting some slicers will change the extrusion amount to print thicker or thinner lines, and to find those settings you would need to look at the g-code.
Or you could be talking about the shell of the model, the outside surface, and for this you could also analysis in the slicer settings by looking at the number of perimeters the slicer will try and print.
For calculating the cost of the print you will want the amount of material used, this will also be in the g-code file. You can eather calculate this by going through each G1 command and finding out how much filament was extruded for each move the printer made. (Not some slicers reset this to zero after each layer and this gets tricky when the printer starts retracting the filament while traveling).
Or most slicers have a commented out line of g-code at the beginning or end of the file listing how much filament will be used.
If you do analysis the .stl file you also might find that you need to repair the model file as well, Because alot of .stl files are made for 3D graphics and not for printing and so they can have intersecting triangles and not be water tight.
Not all .stl files are the same they can be text or binary files, this is some c# code that will read both formats into a list of the triangles in the file for you.
using System.Numerics.Vectors;
void Main(){
var facets = readStl(@"C:\stls\teapot.stl");}

public class facet
{
    public Vector3 norm = new Vector3();
    public Vector3 vecA = new Vector3();
    public Vector3 vecB = new Vector3();
    public Vector3 vecC = new Vector3();
    public facet(Vector3 A, Vector3 B, Vector3 C, Vector3 N)
    {
        norm = N;
        vecA = A;
        vecB = B;
        vecC = C;
    }
}/* facet */

public static System.Collections.Generic.List<facet> readStl(string file)
{
    // check if binary or text fomat
    //Console.WriteLine("the middle");
    bool isText;
    System.Collections.Generic.List<facet> facets = new System.Collections.Generic.List<facet>();
    using (System.IO.BinaryReader reader = new System.IO.BinaryReader(System.IO.File.Open(file, System.IO.FileMode.Open)))
    {
        //Console.WriteLine("Checking if binary");
        string fileHeading;
        fileHeading = new string(reader.ReadChars(80));
        if (fileHeading.Contains(@"solid"))
        {
            isText = true;
            //Console.WriteLine("isText true");
        }
        else
        {
            isText = false;
            //Console.WriteLine("isText false");
        }
        if(!isText)
        {
            // process binary file
            Console.WriteLine("Is binary");
            uint numberOfTriangles = reader.ReadUInt32();
            //Debug.Log("Number of Triangles: " + numberOfTriangles.ToString());
            System.Console.WriteLine("Number of Triangles: " + numberOfTriangles.ToString());
            for(int i = 0; i < numberOfTriangles - 1; i++)
            {
                Vector3 normals = new Vector3();
                Vector3 vecA = new Vector3();
                Vector3 vecB = new Vector3();
                Vector3 vecC = new Vector3();
                System.UInt16 byteCount = new System.UInt16();
                normals.X = reader.ReadSingle();
                normals.Y = reader.ReadSingle();
                normals.Z = reader.ReadSingle();
                vecA.X = reader.ReadSingle();
                vecA.Y = reader.ReadSingle();
                vecA.Z = reader.ReadSingle();
                vecB.X = reader.ReadSingle();
                vecB.Y = reader.ReadSingle();
                vecB.Z = reader.ReadSingle();
                vecC.X = reader.ReadSingle();
                vecC.Y = reader.ReadSingle();
                vecC.Z = reader.ReadSingle();
                byteCount = reader.ReadUInt16();
                facets.Add(new facet(vecA, vecB, vecC, normals));
            }
        }
    }
    if (isText)
    {
        // read text format file
        Console.WriteLine("Is text file");
        //Console.WriteLine("reading text file");
        using (System.IO.StreamReader reader = System.IO.File.OpenText(file))
        {
            string line = @"";
            string fileHeader = @"";
            line = reader.ReadLine();
            fileHeader = line.Substring(line.IndexOf("solid") + 5).Trim();
            line = "";
            System.Console.WriteLine(@"file header: " + fileHeader);
            bool endOfFile = true;
            while (endOfFile)
            {
                line = reader.ReadLine();
                if (!reader.EndOfStream)
                {
                    Vector3 normals = new Vector3();
                    Vector3 vecA = new Vector3();
                    Vector3 vecB = new Vector3();
                    Vector3 vecC = new Vector3();
                    string[] nums = line.Replace("facet", "").Replace("normal", "").Trim().Split(' ');
                    normals.X = (float)System.Double.Parse(nums[0], System.Globalization.NumberStyles.Float);
                    normals.Y = (float)System.Double.Parse(nums[1], System.Globalization.NumberStyles.Float);
                    normals.Z = (float)System.Double.Parse(nums[2], System.Globalization.NumberStyles.Float);
                    line = "";
                    line = reader.ReadLine(); // outer loop
                    line = reader.ReadLine(); // vertex
                    string[] vecsA = line.Replace("vertex", "").Trim().Split(' ');
                    vecA.X = (float)System.Double.Parse(vecsA[0], System.Globalization.NumberStyles.Float);
                    vecA.Y = (float)System.Double.Parse(vecsA[1], System.Globalization.NumberStyles.Float);
                    vecA.Z = (float)System.Double.Parse(vecsA[2], System.Globalization.NumberStyles.Float);
                    line = "";
                    line = reader.ReadLine(); // vertex
                    string[] vecsB = line.Replace("vertex", "").Trim().Split(' ');
                    vecB.X = (float)System.Double.Parse(vecsB[0], System.Globalization.NumberStyles.Float);
                    vecB.Y = (float)System.Double.Parse(vecsB[1], System.Globalization.NumberStyles.Float);
                    vecB.Z = (float)System.Double.Parse(vecsB[2], System.Globalization.NumberStyles.Float);
                    line = "";
                    line = reader.ReadLine(); // vertex
                    string[] vecsC = line.Replace("vertex", "").Trim().Split(' ');
                    vecC.X = (float)System.Double.Parse(vecsC[0], System.Globalization.NumberStyles.Float);
                    vecC.Y = (float)System.Double.Parse(vecsC[1], System.Globalization.NumberStyles.Float);
                    vecC.Z = (float)System.Double.Parse(vecsC[2], System.Globalization.NumberStyles.Float);
                    line = "";
                    line = reader.ReadLine(); // endloop
                    line = reader.ReadLine(); // endfacet
                    facets.Add(new facet(vecA, vecB, vecC, normals));
                }
                else
                {
                    endOfFile = false;
                }
            }// while loop
            System.Console.WriteLine("finished reading file");
        }
    }
    return facets;
}/* readStl */


text:
RAMPS 1.4 losing power with more than 3 drivers mounted
I am rebuilding the electronics for an old Reprap with a RAMPS 1.4 setup.
If I plug in just the Arduino/RAMPS board into either 12 V or USB then it starts up fine, I can see this when I have the screen plugged in. However, when I start to add driver boards, the screen begins to dim. After I have three boards plugged in the power starts to drop to the point that the Arduino powers off and restarts, even when the screen is not plugged in. I have had this problem with two sets of RAMPS boards and Arduinos and with a combination of 7 different driver boards plugged into different combinations of location.
Has anyone else had any similar issues or have an idea of what might be going on? Any ideas are welcome, I am just about at my wits end with this.

I think this may be too general a question to be easy to answer here. If you really want to pursue this build, you will need to buy some test equipment, and learn how to use it.

Lots of possible things.  What is the voltage of the stepper drivers (this can be controlled with the POT, and measured with a multimeter)?  Some Arduino boards may not be supplying power properly.  Is it a Mega?  What version?  What brand?

I am using Arduino Mega 2560s, both an OEM R3 and a knockoff. They both behave the same. The steppers drivers are Pololu 8825s all set to between 1.8 and 1.9V when calibrated using a 12V power supply. This voltage drops to ~1.4 when one is plugged into the RAMPS, and down to 1.2V with two plugged in.

Try to use at least 12V@10A, and adjust the drivers according current calculation.  I´m using ramps1.4 with no problems on 3 3D printer made on my own.

Your power supply may not be able to provide enough current. Check it's output voltage, the input at the RAMPS and the supply voltage (both VMOT and VDD) on each driver.
If the supply is good, you can suspect the polyfuses on the RAMPS board. These are yellow rectangles, designed to protect against over-current. They age with stress, and typically fail to pass their full rated current (but you need to understand if there is a fault which damaged them). The link describes how to remove them.


text:
Connecting my OctoPrint to a Google drive folder
Is there a way where my upload folder on my OctoPrint server would be a folder on my Google drive so that I could save my G-code that was generated using Simplify3d to an existing folder on my desktop at which it would then automatically be uploaded into my RPi via the internet.
Or maybe a watched folder that can be accessed via internet?

You could mount your google drive using gdrivefs on your pi following this tutorial: https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=109587
However, I have to ask: why send the file to the internet? Is your printer/pi on a separate network than your desktop where you are slicing?
If they're on the same network, you'd be better off setting up a samba share on your raspberry pi (https://www.raspberrypi.org/magpi/samba-file-server/) and then mounting that directory from your desktop (https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-to-connect-to-linux-samba-shares-from-windows-10/).
In either case, you could set the directory (the gdrive directory or the samba share) as the watched folder in octoprint's config.yaml (http://docs.octoprint.org/en/master/configuration/config_yaml.html#folder).


text:
Acetone smoothing not working on ABSPlus-P430
I am using a STRATASYS Fortus 250mc to 3D print some parts. I have read a lot on internet and also on some scientific literature that Acetone dissolves ABS and cold/hot vapor has been successfully used to smoothen the surfaces. But it doesn't work for me.
I followed the instructions: soaking some papers with Acetone and putting the parts in a closed container with a fan for some time. But it had no effects. Then I tried dipping the parts in Acetone and I observed that they do not react to the substance at all!
Has anybody ever had a similar experience? Maybe ABSPlus-p430 is not soluble with Acetone? in that case what is a solvent for it?
I asked the same question here on Reddit.

Where did you get your acetone? Are you sure it actually is acetone? I have once been sold "eco-friendly bio-acteone" which turned out to be, well, not acetone but something else entirely.

I did not buy it myself. our technician gave it to me. how can I make sure it is really Acetone or not?

I'm not sure of any tests you could do, but perhaps there's some information on the bottle? Do you have a datasheet? Supplier information?

The bottle is not the original one. I'm going to bug the technician :)

@TomvanderZanden this was apparently the problem. The material given to me seemed to be a environment friendly Acetone  used for painting.

Make sure that your acetone is actually acetone. According to the MSDS, ABSPlus-P430 is indeed "ABS resin" so acetone smoothing should work. Some companies sell confusingly-labeled products that might be mistaken for acetone, but are actually "eco-friendly" alternatives such as 2-butoxyethanol. While these alternatives work for some of the uses for which acetone is normally used (such as cleaning or degreasing), they don't work for smoothing ABS.


text:
Inexpensive 3D printer for medical applications
We need a 3D printer, that can print with plastic suitable for medical applications. We have about $5000 for the printer. What printers can we choose? I am not a specialist in 3D printing, so please answer in detail.
We need to print breathing tubes with cuffs. The tubes should be flexible, but rigid enough in order not to collapse. The cuff material should be thin and collapsible, but very strong. Breathing tubes are inserted through the mouth and stay in contact with mucous membrane for many hours.

You need to be very specific about "medical" applications. Do you mean prosthetics? braces for broken bones? Inserts? Skull reconstruction? This site is mostly filled with 3D printing enthusiasts who work mostly with FDM printers(and some lucky may have SLA). While these printers are great for creators and hobbyist. It might not be "professional" enough for something serious like medical. But that depends on what your looking to make with them. Please refine your question.

I agree with Athanasios.  Additionally, a "plastic suitable for medical applications" is not well defined.  Different plastics may be suitable or unsuitable depending on the specific application.  On the body or in the body?  Strength (rigid) or flexibility?  If you want to make a brace or cast, most plastics are GRAS for external contact with skin, but prolonged contact may be a different matter.

It is materials that you need to research, rather than printers. The materials that you want to use will then define which printers (or types of printer) are suitable. What research have you done yourself? We are not here to Google for you. Google gave this as its first hit for "3d printing material for medical applications":
Medical Applications for 3D Printing: Current and Projected Uses

How about a Formlabs Form 2? You can use flexible resin (although expensive) to print. I dont suggest getting a standard 3D printer because of it being build up in layers. SLA printer create a solid 1 piece print.

I am not an expert but I think you will find that because 3D printers use a layer by layer construction method, and the boundary between the layers creates grooves along the surface or leaves a rough texture on the surface. That the textured surface left by 3D printer construction would trap microbes and make 3D printed objects not suitable for medical applications where you need the product to be sterile.
It might be possible to treat the printed object or post process it. By vapor smoothing or painting/coating, but I doing think this would work for flexible materials.
If you are considering 3D printing because of the ability to customize the design, then I would suggest considering combining 3D printing with molding or casting. You could then use a cheap 3D printer to create the mold and use a flexible resin to create the object you want.
I have heard of SLA 3D printing being used to create molds for casting fake teeth. There 3D printing is used to create a custom shape and the print is used to make a mold and the final product is cast using the mold to get the quality and finish needed.
And I have head of FDM printing being used in used in remote areas to print clamps for umbilical cords. But I believe this was because not no other option was available.

Not in that price range
5000 USD might sound much, but it is far outside of the scope of an industrial 3D printer. You ask to print parts that are safe for implantation, so you need a machine that is allowed to produce medical implants. A machine that makes medical products needs to have them certified by the authorities. These demand strict tests on quality control and the materials allowed are specifically listed.
Machines that could work with these materials in the quality demanded are expensive. For example I found with a quick search a nice article: there are SLS printed bones out there - yet an industrial (certified) SLS printer costs several times the budget you have at hand. The same article suggested that 3D Bioprinting has had enough advancements recently to produce heart valves, but the product is undergoing medical tests still. So pretty much both of these examples (and most others on that site) are out of bounds for the finances at hand or are not approved for use on humans.
There are some medical tool application that can be 3D Printed though: the mentioned umbilical cord clamps or other solid one-way articles like clamps or spreaders could be made safely from medical grade plastics, yet your chosen material and designed parts will need to undergo medical safety testing - and thus from prototyping to allowance to use it you will spend months or years waiting. This makes this over all much more expensive than using standard one-way baloon cuffed endotracheal tubes. These do contain one unprintable part even: the balloon.
Non-implant/non-invasive medical aides like the prothetics of enabling the future project are one of the safe applications for 3D printing in medicine at the time of this writing, and they are doable inside a 5000 USD budget.

Find another medical facility that is doing it, and ask what equipment and filament they use.  They may also have a source for medical related models.
I would expect medical stuff to be regulated by the FDA, so there are probably limitations on what you can get.


text:
How to concave a cylinder with Onshape?
If I have a 3D cylindrical extrusion (in Onshape), how can I scoop, carve, or indent a concave/parabolic curve in one of the ends?
The yellow surface is the target.

Here is the basic shape I'm trying to bore out (like a satellite dish, parabolic antenna, or even a contact lens.. You get the idea).

It doesn't necessarily have to be with Onshape. That's just what I'm using currently. If you can show how to do it with another CAD software, I can probably adapt the technique for my purpose.

As is typical with many CAD type programs, a feature in Onshape known as revolve may be your solution. As you have a clear formula for the cross-section, half of the work is complete.
You would generate a sketch representing the curve, then use the Revolve feature with the axis oriented to vertical. According to the Onshape video, you can generate a solid or a surface from the options that appear when selecting that feature.

As you can see in the images above, the axis selected in the tutorial video is horizontal. Other features of revolve are covered in the video. Your post suggests it will also be necessary to perform a subtraction action on the assembly in order to get the scoop/concave result.

Yes, that's right. Nice example by the way. The problem in this case is that I already have a solid object; I'll sketch a 3 point arc that starts at the edges of, and descends below the surface. -[-)-]- Set the revolve tool to cut, specify the arc, with the horizontal axis running through the middle. But it doesn't seem to work.

I also tried using different software, like Fusion 360. But I must be missing a crucial concept.

Just to clarify: I used this technique to redraw the object from scratch, but would prefer to simply modify the original 3D object.

There is no tool to create a parabola in a sketch in Onshape but you could use a 3 or 5 point spline to create a similar curve. If you knew exactly the curve you wanted you could create it with another cylinder but let's skip that for now and use a spline.
Once you have the curve, add a line to close it until the geometry is shaded in light gray. I would try using the project command to select the smaller circular edge of your part.
Now draw another line perpendicular to the first line, from the midpoint of the first line up to the curve. If you used a spline you can now use this second line to make the points of your spline symmetrical across that line so you can control your parabola-like curve. Once you're happy w/ your curve, select the split/trim command and delete the half of the curve and half of the first line until you have half the shape you want to cut out. Now complete the sketch.
Now use the revolve tool, select the sketch, select the second line you drew as the axis, and make sure that "remove" is selected and that the original body is selected for merging.
This will create the desired effect.

Create a midplane going through it, and then sketch half if a profile for what you want yo carve out on it that plane, and in the spot where you need it to carve out. Now revolve that profile around it's Central axis and this should cut wlthe piece you want out.


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Always keep printer hot and ready to print
We are using a Prusa i3 MK2 printer in a structural design firm to print the buildings we design as well as print individual panels and components. Projects can have 100s of pieces that need to be printed quickly, but the printer cools of quickly after the print finishes. When we go to start the next print we have to wait 10-15 minutes for the printer to warm up again.
We tried preheating it using the built in function hoping that it would keep the heaters on after the print is complete but had no success.
Is there any way to set the printer to stay warm after the print to be able to quickly print back to back?

Just set values in your end code for your slicer.  Set the bed to the temp you use, set the nozzle to roughly the Tg temp of the filament you use.  Typically the bed heatup time is the worst offender here.  I wouldn't keep the nozzle at extruding temps, though.

Depending on your slicer software, you should be able to find a location for setting end gcode scripts or sequences. Alternatively, you could create a simple gcode file containing only the needed commands and load it immediately after printing, then cancel it for the new print when ready.


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Missing print steps in e-waste 3d printer
I'm trying to create a 3D printer based on this instructable, EWaste 60$ 3DPrinter.
I have followed the steps provided there, and I'm facing the problem that the x-axis isn't able to move, i.e. the motor works fine but the z-axis part which is connected to x-axis doesn't move left and right. I have tried the following already:

Changed the design of 3d printer by attaching x-axis with y-axis and leaving z-axis separately
I gave a little force to the z-axis part and it starts to move left and right.

Any help on this would be appreciated!

The z-axis shouldn't be connected to another axis.  I've linked an image below for reference, but X/Y are your planar axes, and Z is your vertical (3rd dimension) axis.   https://revolution3dprinters.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/article_attachments/210571428/XYZ_Axis_Movement_Control_Diagram.png

But I am making an e-waste 3d printer..which it told to connect z axis with x axis..you can check the instructable.. I have provided the link in question. And thanks..if u got any idea..please let me know that

I looked over the instructable. I misunderstood what you were saying. It sounds like you z-axis stepper controller doesn’t have enough power. I don’t understand what you mean about attaching the X and Y axes if Y is driven at the base of the machine. I think this is where my confusion comes in.

In the instructable they mentioned to mount z axis in x axis so that x axis will move z axis left and right and z axis will. Move up and down

May be you should check this which was based on the same tutorial, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBFT_aXTuks

With the provided photos it is impossible to even guess how the design is supposed to work. Please provide much more information as otherwise, this is not answerable.

Firstly, the X-axis should not be attached to the Y-axis.
Secondly, with respect to the Z-axis not being moved by the X-axis, it sounds like the X-axis stepper either:

is dead, or;
does not have sufficient power to move.

I would suggest removing the Z-axis from the X-axis CD carriage, in order to reduce the mass and therefore the power required to move it, and test the X-axis in isolation. If it moves left and right correctly, then it is not dead (obviously). If it does not move, then try adjusting (increasing) the current to the stepper motor, by adjusting the EasyDriver (assuming that you are using an EasyDriver stepper motor controller):

If it still does not move, then replace the stepper (or the whole X-axis CD-ROM drive, which is probably easier).
Then replace the Z-axis and test the X-axis movement again. If it does not move then the stepper does not have sufficient power, or strength, to move the mass of the Z-axis and, again, will probably require increasing the current to it, by adjusting the EasyDriver (as above):

If that does not help, then it will probably need need replacing.

If it does move, then you've fixed it.

Addendum
Having re-read your question, you state that the X-axis stepper motor works fine. So, it could be that the mechanism to which the stepper motor is attached is broken (teeth, gears, etc.) and not moving the CD carriage correctly. Again, remove the Z-axis and check the mechanics of the X-axis.
If they are damaged, then you will probably need to replace the CD-ROM drive that was used for the X-axis.


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Hot end jamming very quickly
I have built a 3D printer out of parts from my tip, a ramps board, arduino mega, and a hot end. However, after doing a test extrusion some plastic was spewed out and then the print jammed un-expectantly and my homemade extruder no longer had the strength to push the filament.
I took the filament out and what I found was that the filament going into the extruder had formed a cylinder at the end. Then after pushing the filament through by hand to eliminate the possibility of my  weak extruder, I found that the filament was expanding coming out of the filament, and then cooling down unable to go through. I cut the filament, removing the bloated end, pushed it back into the extruder and then again after 30 seconds the same problem occurred.
After researching, I came to the conclusion that maybe there is a gap allowing filament to go out of the heating area, expand and then cool down, or even my wooden direct to bowden adapter is stopping the filament cooling causing it to clog. However I am not sure.
I am becoming frustrated as I am doing this for a school project, I only have two weeks left to finish and everything seems to be failing. Any help would be much appreciated.
For reference this is my hotend:  link to amazon
I brought the cheapest one available on amazon, so it has no fan and no way to connect a bowden tube. I have created a basic adapter between the thread and a bowden tube holder, out of wood. It's not good but it does the job.
Here is a picture of my hot end and what the filament looks like after I removed it. There appears to be a spiral shape on some of them.

You are suffering from what is called "heat creep". Molten filament is creeping up the heat break and into the bowden tube, where it is causing a jam. You need to install a proper radiator block that is cooled by a fan, not just a lump of wood as a "cold end". The cold end is not just a connector, its primary purpose is to act as a cooler. A hot end on its own is not enough. You also need a cold end. Here is my extruder disassembled (fan omitted). The radiator block is the red item.

Thankyou, until now I was not aware that the "cold end" actually needed to cool down the print. So, I guess the only thing to do is buy a better hot end then, one with a radiator block and a fan. With little time left, I have purchased this slightly more expensive hot end which looks similar to yours. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0734MR3JR/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Do you think this will solve the problem?

That should do the job. You need to keep the fan running all the time (at full speed). One tip: when assembling/disassembling the extruder, always hold it by the heater block, not the radiator block (using a wrench, obviously). The heat break is rather fragile and is easily broken.

Will do! After I have received the new extruder and tested it, I'll update this post with the results.  Thanks once again for your help.

Just a note - the cold end isn't to "cool down the print", but rather to cool down the system above the hotend.  If heat creeps anywhere that isn't the hot end or the bed, it can only spell trouble.  Additionally, ensure that your PTFE tube runs through the throat and is flush against the threaded end of your nozzle.  Since any space between the two is likely to be nearly (but not quite) as hot as the hotend, you can have filament swell and cause jams as well.

But, on the other hand, kudos for ingenuity... the wood block isn't the RIGHT answer, but it was definitely a valid option (learning experience) to try for your purposes.

[Moved to comment section] Just to stress this a bit more, you should most probably run the fan until temperature goes way down After the print too. I have mine hooked up all the time and, magic, no more heat creep.

Hello it's seems that your hotend's barrel get's too hot when your ar printing, have you try to make a heat sink on the barrell, with some washers and nuts? That worked for me, like this
I Took that idea from this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvICpdVONXM
Also make sure that the hotend's  aluminum block is properly insulated, you could do this with some Kapton Tape.

Nice trick! For the hotend insulation, you'll only get benefits for not jamming if you insulate the top, the rest of the hotend would just grant faster heat times / some benefits if you have a (too) big print fan, IMO.


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Can't connect printer to repetier-server on RPI3
I'm struggling to connect a K8200 printer to a rpi3 running repetier-server 0.86.2 armhf.
Everything works fine on a PC with the 0.86.2 windows version, but on the Rpi i'm stuck on the second step of the printer setup :
I define my firmware, Marlin, my baudRate at 250000, then I tried every port that seems involved (/dev/serial/by-id/usb-FTDI_FT231X_USB_UART_DA00DDXD-if00-port0, /dev/serial/by-path/platform-3f980000.usb-usb-0:1.2:1.0-port0, /dev/tty/USB0, /dev/tty/AMA0, )
but whatever I may try, I'm stuck on "En attente de connexion", that forbids me to go to step 3, as to see my printer connected.
I tried to use the reset button on the printer board, as unplugging-plugging the USB, with no more luck.
/var/lib/Repetier-Server/logs/server.log don't shown any error.
Note : CartesianVirtual port still works fine...
What else can I do ? Is there other relevant logs anywhere ?
I'm unsure if this question should have been adressed to rpi, 3d printing or linux community, I'm sorry if I offend anyone :)

Have you tried OctoPrint? Set-up is easy using the OctoPi distribution.

Thank you for the suggestion, but I already use a custom-image. Anyway, I found a fix for repetier-server, glory allelouia !

Thanks to the repetier team on git hub, we found that the problem came from a permission issue on /dev/ttyUSB0, as the user repetierserver couldn't access it.
Other people reported that these commands solves the problem:
sudo adduser repetierserver dialout
sudo adduser repetierserver tty
but in my case it seems I need to run :
sudo chmod 777 /dev/ttyUSB0
in order to solve this.


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Y-axis slipping causing failed prints
My Y-axis on my Monoprice maker select running ramps 1.4 and Marlin makes a thud noise when moving every now and then.  I have noticed a 1 to 2 mm shift in the print when this occurs.  I tighten the belts and alas no joy.  I ordered new bearings which should be coming Monday.  I also tried slowing the print down and still get the same result.  Anyone have any ideas.

The issue was the X-axis top smooth rod came out.  this caused the extruder to bang around and shift on the Y-axis when it shifted forward. thank everyone for their help.

A thudding noise is usually a belt slipping through its end-restraints. A clicking noise is usually a stepper motor missing a step. Seized bearings could be the cause.


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Double Image Along X Axis
Recently my printer has been creating double images along the X-axis, I just printed a calibration cube after checking all of my rods to make sure nothing was catching and here was my result:

It looks like there is another X to the right of the X that is supposed to be, would this be a retraction problem, or could it be a problem with the filament because I printed a calibration cube with another filament a couple of weeks ago and there was no double X.

Seems to be a several problems with your settings. Temperature too high for the quality filament, speed printing, aceleration printing and coast, due the problems appears also in Y axis.

I agree with @FernandoBaltazar. You have several things going on. If the problem is recent, you may have loose belts, but you may also need to perform acceleration and jerk tuning. Reducing your print speeds may also help.

Totally agree.  I was about to answer this.  There is severe backlash in the mechanism, likely because of a loose belt of flexible coupling.  The overshoot on all four corners could also be caused by the hot end being loose, and free to wiggle too much.

There are several problems, but lets start with a method for discovering them.
The first thing to do is look for any looseness or slop in the mechanism.  Try wiggling the hot end, looking for any free movement.  Try moving along the axes that move.  You haven't specified the machine, so I can't suggest the specific points to try moving.  If the bed moves, try wiggling the bed.  If the extruder moves, try wiggling the extruder on each movement axis.  Nothing should move at all until the motors skip.
If the mechanism is fully tight (and from this picture, I expect it to have some "wiggle room"), you could follow by slowing the machine, including reducing the acceleration settings.  If you find something moving, you'll need to investigate why -- what is allowing the movement to happen.  On a belt-driven machine, the belts can be loose, but one can also get movement from loose set screws, motor mounts, hot-ends which are coming apart, or loose thrust bearings or nuts on threaded shafts.  Applying force to the parts that move during printing and watching for movement is the best diagnostic.
In the future, when asking questions it can be helpful to include the type of machine, any modifications you've made, and information about the printing conditions.


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Z motors work synchronously ToyRep
I have a problem with Z direction. As you know it has two motors. And my problem is that one sometimes goes to the different direction (so basically one is screwing and another one unscrewing). It is like random, sometimes it is ok, sometimes this one goes to the different direction. Could you help me, please? Wiring is like in building tutorial. The tutorial is here http://reprap.org/wiki/ToyREP_Build_Manual . I am using Marlin and Pronterface. Code I took here http://reprap.org/wiki/ToyREP_User_Manual

The problem was in the wiring of the motor. According to different sources it says to check wiring, everything seemed ok, but I've found one wire was damaged.

Totally. And it's worth checking from time to time as weak soldering may appear a bit later.


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Outputting an STL file that contains multiple objects for import into Blender
I want to print a object that looks like a flat board with a set of matchbox-like lumps on top of it.
I have written a script that outputs an STL file. To keep the script simple, it creates an object that includes non-manifold edges. To be precise, the board and the boxes are a single model, but each has 6 faces made from 2 triangles. The underside of each matchbox rests on the top of the larger flat board.
If I understand correctly, the top face of the board should be broken up into many smaller triangles to take into account the position of the matchboxes, but coding this by hand (although it might be an interesting Exercise For The Reader) would not be a good use of time. Well-written code that already does this is built into FOSS applications like Blender.
However, Blender cannot merge or fuse shapes that are part of the same object. My current understanding is that I will need to:

Provide Blender with multiple objects
Select all the objects
Use Ctrl-J to merge them
Export the world in STL format

Is this a valid approach?
If so, my key question is: how do I format the STL file so that Blender will recognize that it contains multiple separate objects?
(I have found references to STL files containing multiple objects, but I have seen nothing in any of the STL files that I have examined that tells me: here is the end of one object and the beginning of another.)
Or should I just be clunky and export two STL files — one for the board and one for all the matchboxes — and then import both into Blender?

NOTE: I know that there are free services like Netfabb that will correct my simple files for me, but I would prefer not to include that in my workflow if possible.

You would have had an easier time getting an answer on the blender Stack Exchange, but it is a good question for here too.

Blender imports all STL files as if they are a single object. If you have multiple meshes in the object that you want to be separated, you can press tab to enter edit mode, select the parts that need to be separated, then hit P and separate by selected.
If you want to print those pieces as one part you have to get rid of any internal faces. The easiest way to do that is to select an object and then use the boolean modifier in union mode. Once you have the object that you want to fuse selected and in place, apply the modifier, that should leave you with an object without internal faces.

Let's look at it...
It's something like this: a closed box with protrusions that have no inner surface. like this cobbled together thing.

Let's just for fun export it as a .stl. yes, a single .stl file. And now open it in MeshMixer:

Looks not half bad, right? But a red box? What shall that mean? look at the blender model again: Oh right, the normals on those surfaces are backwards! W F in blender flips the normals, reexport the .stl, reload into MeshMixer!

Now we are talking! Let's look how we can fix this... Edit > Make Solid with a high Solid Accuracy with both a high Solid Accuracy and Mesh Density results in reasonable sharp corners and... DANG! One solid body, all neatly closed.

Now, test: Export (ctrl+E) and import into blender.

Yet, we got a problem: this thing that had been 11 faces and 16 vertices became almost 1.2 million vertices and 2.4 million faces. This surely can be condensed some, but we just achieved a well printable merge of the objects.

I think there's an easier way to do this - if you're not committed to using Blender, and it sounds as if you're not.
Take a look at http://www.openscad.org/ (which should run anywhere that Blender does). It's very easy to write code to produce your desired shape (in this case it would be a union of cuboids) in OpenSCAD's description language, and then you can use OpenSCAD itself to render that to STL. (It's even possible to automate this from the command line.)

Thanks for the tip! I plan to test your idea in a while when I'm working on this project again, and let you know how it goes.


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It seems my filament is burnt when I use PETG
I use the Cura; nylon default(recommended) settings for PETG. Upon my filament's box is written 200-240 for nozzle and 75-85 for bed. So I tried 245/80 - 220/80 - 220/60 - 245/60.
But I got same result as you can see in the pics:

My printer is PrusaI3 (actually a chinese kit that I assembled it myself). Also I had good print results with PLA before this. I was using 190/50 for PLA).

Good question.  I see signs of uneven extrusion (blobbiness), or perhaps bad bed adhesion, but it is hard to tell from the pictures.  Is there one full, even layer (I see a nice smooth coloration around the print)?

@cmm: the support layers are very nice and smooth but the problem is about center layers. I will change the Teflon today and hope it will solve.

Have you had this result more than once, or only this one time?  @Mick answer is pretty likely if this is the first and only time.  If you've reproduced this more than once, the problem could be elsewhere.  Do you have a direct-drive extruder or Bowden?  If direct drive, you might be heating the drive wheel so that the grip is not strong enough.

It looks like you have a clogged nozzle/hot end. I use 225°C @ 40mm/s for PETG with 235°C @ 30mm/s for the first layer.
If you print at 245°C, you risk burning the PTFE liner in your hot end. You really need an all-metal hot end to print at such temperatures.
It is possible that you have already damaged the PTFE liner, and this may be the cause of your problem. However, I would check for a clogged nozzle first.


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Strange leveling problem by PrusaI3
I have a PrusaI3(Chinese kit that I assembled myself). my strange problem is that: when I try to leveling the bed, upper-left and bottom-right corners of the bed, are more far than the nozzle, respect to upper-right and bottom-left.
I don't know why, but I can't level them with the screws(because upper-left and bottom-right screws goes to be free sooner than their opposite side screws!!). I thought maybe the heated bed is not flat but I use a glass upon it! and it's not possible both of them are not flat!
EDIT: I can remember the last time I used my printer, there was a knocking sound when Y-AXIS was moving about the half of it's way. I very tried to find the cause of knocking sound but I couldn't. now, I have opened the heating bed and there is no sound when I move Y-Axis by hand.
I hope you can understand me and help me too!
EDIT2: I did measure the rods and bed corners, I found that this corner(pointed by finger) is about 2 millimeters lower than other 3 corners! (It seems the bed part is not flat).

How can I fix this?

If the bed base is physically bent, then you are best off replacing it.  Trying to bend or press it flat is unlikely to work.

@CarlWitthoft: I don't know really if its bent. because it's ok when I see by eyes. but when I measure the height of corners, one of them is about 2mm lower.

I could solve my problem by this strange system for both opposite sides but I couldn't find the really reson of this problem!:

The Prusha I3 design uses two rods to guide the Y axis, which moves along the rods on linear bearings.  If the rods are not strictly planar, there will be movement of the bed as it moves to and fro.  You would not be able to correct this with the leveling screws.
Be sure that the rods are planar, and that there is no torque on the bed from uneven rods.  Even if the bed doesn't flex, the frame may flex if the rods are not planar.

But how can I find the problem? I did open the bed and the Y-Axis belt, it seems it moves smoothly by hand and I can't detect any problem by eyes!

I can remember the last time I used my printer, there was a knocking sound when Y-AXIS was moving about the half of it's way. I very tried to find the cause of knocking sound but I couldn't. now, I have opened the heating bed and there is no sound when I move Y-Axis by hand.

The Y-xis bearing-rods must be planar.  You can evaluate that in several ways.  The easiest might be to remove the bed completely to fully expose the rods.  Lay a known-flat material on the bearing-rods, and verify that it lies completely flat against the rods, touching evenly along the length of both rods.  If there is any gap, or the object rocks, then the bearing-rods are not planar, and that should be fixed, such as by adjusting the threaded rods that support the bearing-rod ends.

What is the carriage made of?  Is that completely flat?

When the carriage moves forward and back, watch the bearing rods and the rest of the mechanism carefully.  There should be absolutely NO movement, other than the motion of the carriage.

How did you measure the bed corners (caliper, ruler, spirit-level)?
I had a similar problem in my 3d printer (Geetech Prusa REpRap I3) I solved by using an indicator (distance amplifying instrument). what I did was to set-up my heating bed completely, with the glass, screws with spacers, springs.
I had fix on the z-axis my indicator set to 0, and I started moving the printer with small increments to each corner of the bed, slowing adjusting each corner screw to keep my bed on level. It is a very dull and time consuming process, but, now I have an offset from one corner to the other of just 30 µm.
Keep in mind that during a normal printing, the heating bed due to thermal expansion may increase the deviation of your calibration step.
If you have any doubts do not hesitate to ask!
Cheers

Hello, and thanks for help. If it isn't hard for you, may you take some photos from what you did? or post the photo of the part you bought?

I did measure the corners by simple ruler

Yes @user145959, Right now i am at work, as soon as I get in my home i will send some photos of how i did my calibration!


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How to increase the printing quality when using abs (slicer config)?
I have checked several different sites giving different configurations for the slicer. Let's say that the average extruder temperature is 230°C. I know that the complexity of the object matters a lot for the printing quality. What I am concerning is the deposition rate (mm/min), and, the infill type (e.g. honeycomb, rectangular). Which impact the inner infill has in the printing quality? Due to time reasons maximal allowed infill is 50%.
I have a Geetech Prusa REpRap I3.
Thanks for you help guys!!

maybe this will help you out...
Iam using a Ultimaker 2+, only with ABS filament, and the software Cura. Cura is a good software but you cannot edit every option like in other slicers, Iam just using the default ABS profile.
Most of the times Iam printing in 0.2mm quality, speed varies, smaller objects get printed slower. My max speed when printing is 40mm/s.
The Buildplate heats up to 90°, I tend to increase the heat to 98° - 100°.
The more I increase that the lesser warping I will get. But Iam using bluetape also, so warping is no big issue anyway.
The noozle should be heated to 260°, thats the cura default.
On very small or thin parts I activate the fan immediatly, on big parts Iam not using the fan. I also print the small parts really slow.
I had no problems regarding the outer-walls and the infill (no cave building or stuff like that), but this is maybe dependent on the outer-wall-thickness. I mostly use a wall-thickness of over 1mm. Iam always using rectangular pattern, and mostly an infill under 30%.
I get good quality prints, and nearly no warping because of the bluetape.
Otherwise I didnt change any options in Cura, the flow rate is default.

Sorry for the late edit, here are my default cura settings:

Hello @ LWS-Mo. Interesting, so your speed configuration is dynamic. It is a bit abstract for me to imagine your deposition rate just with what you wrote. I will take a look at the Cura software and I will select the parameters that you have said. I did not try to make the nozzle temperature so high (I need to check if it is possible for my printer to achieve such high temperatures). I agree with you, for most of the applications 30% infill or less is enough. Does you it have problems with detachment of the abs from the heating bed?

I will also check Cura again to post more of my settings. I had problems with the detachment of the object on the start, but than I discovered bluetape. Since using this all prints stick really good to the bed. I have to remove the prints from the still hot buildplate, otherwise its really hard to get the object of the plate. So it really sticks.


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Cement or another solid pore filler suitable for ABS?
I want to paint my ABS parts. But I foresee a problem that will arise from 0.16mm layer - those layers will be perfectly visible, even with primer. Sanding them wouldn't be a good idea, because walls are just 0.8-1mm thick, and probably acetone bath isn't right thing too. I want to use some sort of cement or paste, and cover parts with it using some paint scraper or knife before painting. Do cements suitable for this task exist? Would they stick to ABS?

Why are you printing such thick layers?  Can you re-print at, say, 0.08 mm?

Those parts took more than 50 hours even with 0.16mm layers. Using thinner layers was out of question. I think I can make them look like 0.08 or better significantly faster.

Make walls thicker or just get some really (really) fine sandpaper to get rid of what is excess material anyhow.

Consider these moments:

You can sand primer coating. Every layer adds about 0.1-0.2mm, and somewhat levels the surface by itself because surface tension forces primer to fill cavities more. Primers can be sanded after thorough drying and are guaranteed to stick to plastic if applicable for that sort of plastic. Though, with transparent primers it's hard to tell whether your surface is smooth even after sanding.
Acetone vapor won't bend thin walls if applied shortly, but will make surface sticky. If you apply powder coats (say, cement) right after acetone vapor treatment, then it will create really good base for paint, primer, or basically any coating, because the powder will be embedded into surface. Clear ABS surface is quite tricky to paint, but if you contaminate it a bit, you might end up with better results.

Hope this helps.

Some quick research shows me that ABS can be slightly affected by the composition of polyester resin. Automotive body repair filler, commonly called Bondo (brand name) is mostly polyester resin. I've found in my reading that some consider the "slightly affected" aspect to mean that it adheres well, others believe that the material will weaken and damage the ABS.
You could, of course, purchase some body filler and perform tests. It sands well and would certainly remove the layer lines.
If you determine that such material is not a good solution or would rather not take the gamble or perform the tests, you have an option with another product called microballoons or microspheres. It is a product that has an accurate description. The material is hollow spheres of glass of such tiny dimensions that they will blow away if you breathe on them.
The primary purpose of this product is to fill gaps, create fillets and similar structures without adding appreciable weight. One would use them with thin epoxy resin and mix to desired consistency. Some descriptions include "mayonnaise or peanut butter" depending on the application.
With both of these products, easily sanded is also in the description, although your choice of epoxy will also contribute to that aspect. Because the microballoons are mostly air, they do sand quite cleanly when mixed to heavy or thick consistency.


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Printing with Polycarbonate keeps warping
I'm trying to print a large piece with polycarbonate but it keeps warping, I'm using a Taz 5 printer and setting 290 C in the extruder and 145 C in the heating bed.
Other setting I have are:

printing speed: 20 mm/s
layer height: 2.5mm
infil: 20%
brim: 15mm

Can anyone tell me any tips or suggestions to avoid warping?

other configurations that i'm using are:
printing speed 20mm/s
layer height 2.5mm
infil: 20%

You may need to provide a heated enclosure, not just a heated bed. Polycarbonate is known to be tricky to print.

Are you using a hangprinter by any chance?  Or is 2.5mm just a typo and you meant 0.25 mm?  If it is the former, then you could try printing on a physically corrugated surface, like roughed-up plywood or a surface covered in skateboards grip film...

Adjusting the design may also be able to help limit the amount of warping you get.
One of the major causes of warping is upper layers contracting while cooling when laid down over now-cool(er) lower layers which no longer contract so much but are still thin enough to flex when subject to tension along their upper edge. Insertion of strategically placed gaps in upper layers can reduce the tension such layers are able to apply.
I was printing some long thin beams in ABS. I inserted horizontal-axis holes along the beams (making them look a bit like LEGO Technic beams rather than solid pieces). It did the job for me.

I would take a look here and here.
Literally the first two results of Google.
To summarize what they say,
You need good bed adhesion to keep the first layer from warping near the edges like you will get normally with ABS or PC(Polycarbonate). Some use hairspray or gluestick. I manage myself with buildtak surface. I would stay away from blue painters tape. Your looking for something very sticky. This of course makes it a nightmare to get the part off the bed but well worth the trouble if it keeps your print on the bed and flat.
Make sure the part receives adequate heat. Like someone wrote in the comments, a enclosure works best to keep the temperature of the entire print warm instead of just the few layers closest to the bed.
More perimeter layers works very well by providing more structural strength to try and combat the warping. I've stumbled upon this solution when I had trouble with ABS.
Lastly, first layer is always the most important part of any print. You want to make sure it is as level as possible and a good tip is to raise your bed just so slightly than usual so the first layer is jammed hard against the bed. This provides better surface area. Just be careful not to clog your printhead cause if you constrict the flow out of the nozzle too much, you'll might end up with plastic trying to flow upwards or maybe grind the filament with the extruder gear.

"More perimeter layers works very well by providing more structural strength to try and combat the warping".  This sounds very counter-intuitive.  I would imagine more perimeter layers will contribute to more warping as they are contracting in the most effective direction to create curling, not less....  Could you elaborate more?

@mac Everyone's experience is different. Since I don't enclose my printers I have difficulty printing large ABS prints. I usually go at 3 perimeters but that causes warping and splitting. When I print at 6 perimeters I actually avoid the splitting but I still get some warping on the bottom. It is an improvement but not a solution.

I had the same problem with ABS. I tried first painters tape and it was a very bad. Double-sided adhesive tape was good at the beginning but there was wrapping after several layers. The best solution was a mixture of acetone and ABS. I applied it onto the surface of the heated bed and there was no wrapping.