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Ender 3 Pro: Flow rate drops after time
I have to set my print flow setting extremely high (up to 180 % and more) as otherwise, I get an under extrusion. I have also noticed that from time to time I have to update that setting to an even higher value.
Question:
Is my feed motor broken? Or do I wideness the slow death of it? Or is the calibration getting lower after a while (I would not know why/how this is possible, but still)?
I am using:

Cura as slicer (correct 3D printer selected)
Ender 3 Pro
0.4 mm Nozzle
ERYONE PLA Filament 1.75 mm PLA 1.75 mm 3D Printing

Similar Question: Why is my 3D printer over extruding when I have set the flow rate very low
Edit:
@Oscar pointed me to have a close look at the extruder and found a very used feeder-weel:  Could that be my problem?

Look at the extruder lever, when broken, which is very common, this can happen. There is a recent similar question. I'll link it later.

@Oscar Thanks for your input. The Lever looks fine. I have updated my question, as the feed-weel might be the Problem. Do you mind having a look at it?!

It does look a bit worn.

It's hard to tell from the photo, but it looks like there is a set screw on that feed-wheel which would make replacement fairly easy; finding a replacement is a different matter.

If worn, the feeder gear doesn't grip the filament, and hence slips. You need to compensate for a larger extrusion length as you encountered. Looking at the feeder gear, I don't know where the filament is being gripped, but there sure are parts of the teeth missing, you need to replace the feeder gear.

Thanks to you all! There are plenty of replacements on amazon alone. I will make sure to come back and answer the question if the replacement solved my problem.

If the feeder gear has worn out, the feeder gear doesn't grip the filament, and hence slips. You would then need to compensate for a larger extrusion length, as you encountered, by e.g. bumping up the flow modifier.
Looking at the feeder gear, I don't know exactly where the filament is being gripped, but, there sure are parts of the teeth missing and some parts are shiny brass colored indicating wear, you need to replace the feeder gear.
It has been reported that some of these feeder gears are crimped onto the stepper shaft, but from the photo you posted a hint of a grub screw can be seen, which would simplify replacement.
Quick fix:
Losen the screw on the feeder gear and adjust the height of it. This way the filament is being fed by not-worn-out teeth (set it above the groove you can see in the question picture). A replacement of the gear is recommended anyway!

@Paul I've accepted your edit, but I encourage you to post it as a separate answer! It seems a valid quick fix while a spare is on its way!

@Paul Trying to work through to a root cause - it could be that your extruder has been pushing against some resistance.  Do you remember having a blockage in the past?  Or has the printer been used for something tougher than PLA?    Could be your hotend is providing too much resistance, or the Bowden tube is burned ?

@Criggie After the quick fix I still have to set the flow rate fairly high (better print results though), but if I remember correctly that was always the case (i bought a new device). I have mostly used the same PLA. I have not noticed any resistance, yet, but I will make sure to disassemble the extruder head and have a closer look at it. Thanks a lot for your very important thoughts!!! I really appreciate it.


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My Anycubic i3 Mega S stops working
I have an Anycubic i3 Mega S and I'm using Ultimaker Cura. I'm using it for 1-2 years but 1-2 months ago this issue has started: The printer is starting to print then usually after 2-3 loops, it just stops working. I can't stop & pause the printing (it gives an error) and I have to turn off the printer.
I reinstalled the firmware multiple times with both Ultimaker and SuperSlicer but it is still happening. I have tried to use different slicer software, models (STL files), SD cards, and none of them worked.
Also recently I noticed something weird: this problem happens when the model is bigger than 5-8 cm. Like it happened when I tried to print a 10x10 cm model but I split the model into two parts and it worked fine. Also, it's about the area of the model's bottom. For example, if the model has a skirt bigger than 5-8 cm, it causes this issue but when I remove the skirt then it works fine.
BTW, I checked the G-code and didn't notice anything unusual and even with different slicer software, the exact spot where the printer stopped doesn't change.
I don't think the STL file is causing this because, for example, if I want to print a 5x8x3 cm model, I can't place it horizontally (5x8 area at the bottom) but I can place it vertically (5x3 area at the bottom) and it works fine.
Settings:

Print speed: 50 mm/s
Travel speed: 100 mm/s
Nozzle temperature: 200 °C
Bed temperature: 60 °C
PLA filament
Retraction distance: 6 mm
Retraction Speed: 40 mm/s

I'm using a Volcano V6 hotend
I'm using stock 1.1.5 firmware:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/176Zdtz8-ZvCqL7MgupIVYgKVEnWnkPmW/view

Have you checked the bed dimensions in your slicer? The presets may have changed for some reason, which might be causing you issues.

Yeah I was using same settings I used before in Cura  and When I was testing in different slicers, I certainly know  it's the right dimensions I entered (210x210x250 mm)

I was having the same issues with the Mega S. After checking all the connections and switches, I saved all the files that were on the SD card to my laptop. I then performed a standard format (not a Quick format) on the SD card. After that was accomplished, I put the files back on; success, the printer works fine. Apparently the random writes on the SD card and not knowing where the G-code or STL was dropped can make the printer confused seeing a G-code file that has to be read continuously step by step.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Plug simple stepper motor NEMA 17 on E2 slot of the main board on Creality CR10
I have build a Syringe Pump with a simple stepper motor (NEMA 17), and now I want to actuate it through my 3D printer.
I successfully replaced the main extruder with it and it worked, although I had to still warm up the hot end as Marlin doesn't want to actuate the extruder at cool temperature.
Anyways, I am realizing that my Creality CR10 v3's board has a slot for a second extruder, so I would like to plug the syringe pump there.
I did it but when trying to control it through OctoPrint, I have an error saying that my printer reported a default.
I guess it's not plug-and-play, and it's probably complaining about the absence of second thermistor and so on , right?
What should a complete newbie like me do to be able to control E2 with just a stepper motor connected to it?

To prevent extrusion at cold temperatures, you should enable the feature called "allow cold extrusion" using G-code M302 S0.
Using a spare stepper slot requires building new firmware and uploading it to your board. The most obvious choice is using Marlin firmware, as this is the software that runs on your current board. You need to add an extra extruder in the configuration file.

Thanks, I think I will validate this as the answer. Maybe one precision: I looked again at the board, where the drivers are supposed to be integrated into the board itself, and I don't see any heat "dissipator" above the E2 slot, which makes me wondering if the E2 driver itself is present. Is it possible that Creality shipped a E2 capable board without the E2 driver? Can I solder it myself or is it a waste cause?

@Myoch That sounds as an excellent new question! Please post that as a new question and link back to this question. Add the exact version of the board you have and possibly an image/photo. Maybe others that have that board can answer your question. Here in comments it is not likely to be answered, not is it meant to be answered. Keep the questions coming! :-)

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


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How to fill big holes that Meshmixer couldn't inspect?
How to fill these holes in mandibular jaw in order to 3d print it?

i've manually edited meshes of .stl before.  I used FreeCAD to do it.  pretty time consuming though so there might be a better way these days.

Have you tried using Windows 10 3DBuilder? Those areas are not so severe as to fail in 3DBuilder, from my experience.

I have not used meshmixer, but both blender and meshlab have features to repair non-manifold meshes, including a way to manually fix large holes.
With both of these packages, you can have it select holes, and then either attempt to fill them automatically (which frequently gives terrible results), or manually select a few edges of a specific hole and add a few triangles at a time until it is fully covered (which gives much better results if you choose edges carefully).


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Will my 3D printer significantly get quieter after upgrading from Creality board 2.5.2 to BTT SKR Turbo 1.4
I have a Creality CR10 v3, which includes a board v2.5.2 with built-in TMC2208 stepper motor drivers.
I have read that it is still 8-bit (I thought that advertising a "silent board" meant it was 32-bit) and that upgrading to a 32-bit will improve a lot the background noise.
I don't really understand how noise is generated in the first place, but I have the strong feeling that a big percentage of the noise is in fact the result of the fans!
These are the ones bothering me when I work in the same room as the printer.
So will the upgrade from a creality board to BTT SKR Turbo 1.4 (already in my possession) with TMC2209 or TMC2226 (not yet in my possession) drivers help?
Will I be able to remove some of the fans, or will I keep the same noise from these fans?
How to make sure that I am not already in the best noise configuration I can hope for with a CR10 ?
Side question: will any of the hacks found online (dampers, for instance) really help ?

"Silent" board means TMC steppers. It has nothing to do with whether the microcontroller on it is 8- or 32-bit, and a 32-bit microcontroller will not in general get you any sound-reduction benefits. What it would let you do is build Marlin firmware with more advanced options switched on. (Note: this doesn't apply to Klipper, which is happy running advanced stuff on a slow 8-bit board because the main logic runs on a full CPU like a Raspberry Pi.)
If you want to reduce fan noise, you'll need to buy quieter replacement fans or look for passive cooling (big heat sinks, heat pipes, etc.) to use in place of one or more of the fans.

Thanks, that's sad (for me) to read. I guess I'll soon reach a point where I'll have so many spare parts from my printer pimping mistakes, that I'll be able to assemble a second 3D printer. Can you share some readings on alternative cooling systems, please?

Also, how can I determine all the advanced options that are not running currently with my 8-bit board? For me, I thought I was using full marlin 2.0.9 capabilities.


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How to center prints with Octoprint and Prusa Mini?
Octoprint is printing in the top right corner of my Prusa Mini. What is causing this and how can I fix it?

I had the wrong dimensions set in PrusaSlicer, under Bed Shape:

I needed to change X and Y to 180:

Indeed a slicer error, not a print server error. OctoPrint Just prints where you have sliced it.


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How can I create a geometrical texture on a section of an STL file?
I have an already existing STL file of a car headlight but I want to add a specific raised geometrical texture, not just a PNG image but an actual texture that can be felt when it is 3-D printed. Anybody here know how this can be done?
I want the raised texture to be applied in specific places that I choose. It is a grid pattern that can be felt dipping up and down by 1mm.
Looking forward to your replies!

Would you be able to post an image representative of the destination model and of the texture to be applied? Is the source already an STL or do you require that to be created?

Just edited the post to show the pictures. The STL is already created. Just need the raised texture on the three sections you see in the photo. It has to wrap around each side following the curvature of the model.

currently, FDM printed replacement parts are not allowed for light covers in many countries.


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Ultra thin skin of cured resin found floating in vat, possible sources?
I've been repeatedly finding small fragments of extremely thin cured resin floating in the vat of my elegoo saturn resin printer.
They're maybe a couple of CM across and so thin that I can't measure them. Thinner than the thinnest Suran wrap by at least half. They're very delicate and flexible so they haven't caused any damage, but I don't know where they are coming from.
I've cleaned my vat between each print, and used new resin, but it's happened 3 time now so it looks like it's being generated when I do a print run rather than coming from an old bottle.
Is this a known issue?

EDIT
This seems to be forming on or around the skate that supports the model, and probably only during the forming of the bottom layers. Large skates seem to form thicker chunkier "bits" while small skates form thin skins.
Is it possible that this is some kind of light spill during the bottom layer only?
The rest of my models seem to come out perfectly, so whatever is happening does not seem to be happening on every single layer.
I ran my printer for about 10-15 layers without a vat in place, and couldn't see anything unusual with the naked eye.

can you share a photo? That sounds like either it is a film that is ripped free from somewhere (your screen protector?) or a problem with your screen at times flickering and letting light through.

It's 100 percent definitely resin due to its color being distinctive, I'm not sure a picture will help, it's just a thin layer of semi cured resin about 10 by 15 mm.

A photo of the floating slices would suffice, just so we can try to see what you see

It's a little crumpled up, but this is it.

Are you experiencing any light ingress, either from the cover being removed or dislodged? Stray UV light of low intensity or extremely short exposure might cause this but it would have to be a very peculiar situation, a reflection from a shiny UV reflective surface?

Could it be a layer that didn't attach to a print?

The prints came out perfectly and are dungeons and dragons figure s so the only part that is large enough on them is the base, it's probably not light ingress as I store my printer with a  blackout cover over the top.

If your prints are coming out OK and you do not see obvious failures, then it's most likely that your screen started leaking light. In general, LCD screens does not fully block UV light and some does get through even through "dark" pixels. With time it gets worse and more and more light is able to get through the screen. At some point, that parasitic light becomes enough to cure some resin over a longer printing time. And this is what you are seeing. The only solution to this is to replace your LCD screen with a new one.

Thats not good.
I've been having the same issues and my Photon Mono X is only 6 prints in from being new.
I was chalking it up to the newb way I was cleaning my FEP and the scratches that are letting light spread everywhere. I am changing my FEP today to see if that fixes the issue.

This does not really answer the question. If you have a different question, you can ask it by clicking Ask Question. To get notified when this question gets new answers, you can follow this question. Once you have enough reputation, you can also add a bounty to draw more attention to this question. - From Review

Hi and welcome. This answer seems to be a cross between a "me too" type comment and a speculative fix (which, again, would serve better as a comment). Please [edit] and update your answer with a definitive solution as soon as you are able, otherwise this answer may be converted to a comment under the question... Also, please take the [tour].

I think that what they're trying to say is that the problem could be being caused by a scratches on the FEP causing resin to cure unevenly?

Any update on whether the FEP change fixed the issue? If so (or not), please [edit] and update the answer. Otherwise your answer may be deleted or converted to a comment


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Ender 3 inconsistent Z homing
I have an Ender 3 with an MKS GEN L V2.0 with Marlin firmware and a BLTouch.
When I first turn it on, it homes all axes correctly but after the first print it thinks the z axis is off anywhere from .02 to .06 mm when really it still homes to 10 mm.
What would be causing this? As you can see in the picture it thinks it's at 9.94 mm when it's really at 10 mm after homing.

Is this the position directly after leveling, i.e. the state of the machine after G29; I read you say after the first print, do you mean a completed print or the leveling of the first print? What does the state of this display express? Is this after printing an object of 10 mm high?

The height after leveling is determined by the firmware configuration.
#define Z_AFTER_HOMING  10      // (mm) Height to move to after homing Z

After G29 the display of my machine doesn't show 10 mm either, it shows 11.8 mm instead:

The difference is exactly the Z-probe offset (trigger point to nozzle distance + paper thickness).


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60 watt heater into 40 watt heatblock
This might be a dumb question, but can a 60 watt heater be used on a 40 watt unit?
Simply put, I was wrong in thinking that more power was simply stuffed into the same dimensions.
It extends about 5 millimeters beyond my heating block. Can it be used in general or will it lead to some consequences?

I'd expect the heater sticking out as pictured to cause problems -- the exposed part of the heater will tend to overheat (it's not conducting heat away into the heat block) and isn't protected by the thermistor and software PID acting as a smart thermostat.
It might be possible to install the heater in a more centered position, so less of it protrudes beyond the block, but this is likely to leave the wire end sticking out instead.  I'd have to recommend either getting the correct heater, or upgrading your entire hot end to accommodate the larger heater (which involves also verifying the driver circuitry on your control board can handle 50% higher current, resetting your nozzle offsets so you don't print off the build surface on prints that run close to Ymin, and likely modifying or replacing your part cooling fan and/or its shroud).

Can a 60 W heater be used on a 40 W unit?

Yes, you can, I used various heater cartridges with different powers ranging from 40-80 W.
Where you need to look out for is that heating is not too fast that you get overshoots such that it triggers alarms, see PID tuning 50 W cartridge in Marlin. It is best to PID tune the hotend heater once you replaced it with a new cartridge.

It extends about 5 millimeters beyond my heating block. Can it be used in general or will it lead to some consequences?

Try to center it better, do note that the heat is produced by a wound resistor wire, it usually doesn't extend all the way to the end of the heater cartridge.

Image taken from Vsec Temperature Sensor Manufacturer

I just wanted to come up with an "extension" for the heating block, I have a small supply of a copper bus. It reminds me of orc technology from the w40k universe.

Thanks for your reply. The scheme is interesting, according to it it turns out that the active zone will be 95% inside the block.

One simple consequence is that you're going to have a hard time finding a sock that fits properly. If you cut one, or have one that has a hole where the heater protrudes, it will physically fit but then not do its job preventing radiative/convective heat loss and transfer to your printed part, or preventing stray material from sticking to the heater. You could make a custom one with molded RTV silicone, of course.

I'm wondering if it's possible to make a homemade sock out of caulk used for fireplaces, for example?

@ОлегАнатольевич: Yes, it is, but you want RTV silicone like automotive "gasket maker", and it's a pain to get it to cure and release. I've been making nozzle socks this way (prevents gunk from sticking to nozzle and prevents heat loss to fans and transfer to part).

authors: Олег Анатольевич


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Are those cheap ANYCUBIC 3D printers worth it's money?
I would need a simple 3D printer for small 3D objects. I have seen that for example ANYCUBIC has very cheap ones. Are they worth it's money?

This question is too vague (which printing process are you hinting to: FFF, SLA?), furthermore, this is very subjective.

likely to get opinions as answers.  how cheap can you get them? it may be worth it just to have a toy to learn with before moving on to something slightly more robust.

From what I have heard from a friend using Anycubic printers is that they are good for the money. They claim that the printers are reliable and rarely get any faults in them. Some cheaper printers may not have the most up-to-date spec however if you're going to be doing just basic printing then I'm pretty sure it'll be good enough to get you going. The budget here isn't clear however my current printer for the last 2 years has been the Creality Ender 3 Pro. It is an extremely good printer for the money (around $200) and has everything to get you going as well as being fully upgradeable if you are into that and I personally would argue this is as good as you can get for the money.


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Control a 2D printer like a 3D printer
Probably barely on-topic, but I'm wondering if there's any way to control a 2D inkjet/laser printer similar to 3D printer. Specifically:

Shifting the XY axis by a certain amount
Controlling the paper feeder by small increments
Dispelling ink at defined amounts

2D printers have a very high resolution and can be useful for some things, which is why I'm asking.

Do you imply to fit it with a controller board other than the circuit board that is in the printer already? Or do you want to control the printer through the original circuit board?

As far as I'm aware, modern printers take in documents in some form and print from there. As a 3D printing analogy, the "slicing" is done on the printer, not the computer.

I think that there are options for using a new controller board integrated with the 2D printer that would best answer this question. I found some YouTube videos of people selling homemade boxes with custom controllers (for too much money). But I don't know what they are or how to make them

No

Most 2D printers use very different motor setups - 3D Printers use steppers, Paper printers usually use simple motors and encoders.
Printers take input in special data formats. These can be pretty much normal Text files of what characters to print but a print job sent from the printer driver also contains specific orders and might not even be readable to humans. This file of instructions and pattern to print then is processed into the actual movement of the printhead and paper only in the printer itself.
2D Printer software is super locked down. You can only get the firmware of a paper printer in formats that are absolutely nonreadable. Compare how hard it was for Itkin and Balmas to reverse engineer just the fax protocol of modern printers. Then, amplify that by a few notches because the fax protocol has a known standard it needs to uphold but the printer itself does not.


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Can you snap fit 3D resin printed parts?
I would like to create something like a treasure box model. I want to print two parts: one is the base and the other one is the lid. However, I want them to snap fit together like LEGO pieces when pressed against each other, creating a perfect seal.
For example, something like this egg where it has two sided, but when pressed against each other they "click-in".

Is there a mechanism to attach two printed part?
(Note:I am using Solidworks and a Formlab resin printer)

The mechanisms for "click-in" joining are varied. It's important to note that they are not resin-printer specific, although one should make considerations for the material from which the parts are made.
Some resin printed models will be brittle and would require that the click-in feature be constructed with minimal distortion, while others could be printed with more flexible resin and tolerate much greater distortion, but may also release more easily.
From a Pinshape site:

Note that in this image, the joint requires a matching spherical portion to accept the male portion. This is presented as a sample, not as a complete answer.
The upper most portion of the male segment is a cylinder of slightly larger size than the main body. The top of the cylinder has a taper which enables the receiving hole to force the sides inward, beyond the matching notch in the receiving hole.
The underside of this larger cylinder can be bluff, making removal difficult, or can be tapered to match, allowing for easier removal.
Consider that the cylinder can be stretched out, flattened in such a way that the cross sections of the male portion and the receiving hole are slots rather than cylinders.
The pages at hubs.com provide greater insight to designing snap-fit joints in 3D printing. The following image represents fairly closely the above dissertation regarding deflection:

Much more detail regarding design can be found on the linked site.

Do you know if there are any good snap-fit mechanisms especially y good for trapping water?

If you wish to entrap a fluid inside a 3D printed item, it might be easier to incorporate a channel and some form of gasket, akin to an O-ring to accomplish that task. One could envision a groove in the channel of the last image, sized to fit an appropriate O-ring, which would be compressed and sealed when the snap portion engaged. That would require a full perimeter snap, though, which isn't particularly practical. Surface grooves would be easier.


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What is the quality setting in Ultimaker Cura do? (Super, Dynamic, Standard, Low)
In the Ultimaker Cura print settings menu, there is a dropdown menu labeled "profiles", with Super Quality, Dynamic Quality, Standard Quality, and Low Quality. What do these settings do exactly? If I set it to Super Quality for example, it changes things like the layer height settings, but I am able to then change those settings back to whatever I want and profile remains on Super Quality.
What are these quality settings? I know this is probably an obvious question but I am basically a beginner and for some reason can find little info on google.

According to the Ultimaker Support website, these are called "Quality settings". You could think of them as "resolution" settings.
There are 3 different adjustments made when changing these settings:

Layer height
Initial layer height
Line width

A smaller layer height will produce a smoother surface. Initial layer height can create a stronger adhesion to the build plate. Line width will determine how much plastic material will be extruded.


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What Setting In Cura Determines The Value Of "G1 E-{switch_extruder_retraction_amount}" At The Beginning Of A Print?
I am trying to print the Chep calibration cube sliced in Cura on my new Sovol SV04 Dual Extrusion printer. When I print the model the extruder prints the wipe line on the left of the bed, moves to the centre of the bed to begin the print and does a huge retraction (enough that it's almost the amount needed to change filaments), enough so that there is no filament in the nozzle and nothing comes out, I had to manually feed the filament back down in order to get it printing again.
The beginning of the G-code that Cura produces is as follows:
;FLAVOR:Marlin
;TIME:2593
;Filament used: 1.41417m
;Layer height: 0.1
;MINX:133.2
;MINY:133.2
;MINZ:0.2
;MAXX:168.8
;MAXY:168.8
;MAXZ:21
;Generated with Cura_SteamEngine 4.12.1
M82 ;absolute extrusion mode
;Single 01 start
M140 S60.0;
M104 T0 S210.0;
M280 P0 S160;
G4 P100;
G28;
T0
M190 S60.0;
M109 T0 S210.0;
G92 E0;
G1 X10.1 Y20 Z0.28 F5000.0;
G1 X10.1 Y200.0 Z0.28 F1500.0 E15;
G1 X10.4 Y200.0 Z0.28 F5000.0;
G1 X10.4 Y20 Z0.28 F1500.0 E30;
G92 E0 ;Reset Extruder
G1 Z2.0 F3000;
G92 E0
G92 E0
G1 Z{retraction_hop_height_after_extruder_switch} F12000
G1 E-16
G92 E0
G92 E0
G1 F2400 E-3
;LAYER_COUNT:199
;LAYER:0

The problem seems to be caused by the line G1 E-16 which I think comes from the extruder start G-code, however, I cannot seem to find what causes the retraction to be so large. The Start G-code for my printer is:
;Single 01 start
M140 S{material_bed_temperature};
M104 T0 S{material_print_temperature};
M280 P0 S160;
G4 P100;
G28;
T0
M190 S{material_bed_temperature};
M109 T0 S{material_print_temperature};
G92 E0;
G1 X10.1 Y20 Z0.28 F5000.0;
G1 X10.1 Y200.0 Z0.28 F1500.0 E15;
G1 X10.4 Y200.0 Z0.28 F5000.0;
G1 X10.4 Y20 Z0.28 F1500.0 E30;
G92 E0 ;Reset Extruder
G1 Z2.0 F3000;

And the Start Gcode for the extruder is :
G92 E0
G1 Z{retraction_hop_height_after_extruder_switch} F12000
G1 E-{switch_extruder_retraction_amount}
G92 E0

All of the settings that I have for the printer in Cura are copied over directly from Sovol's own version of Cura as I wanted to try and use one programme for all of my printers. When I slice the model in the Sovol Cura it does not seem to produce the same problem with the G-code for the model as follows:
;FLAVOR:Marlin
;TIME:2394
;Filament used: 1.43625m
;Layer height: 0.15
;MINX:136.5
;MINY:136.5
;MINZ:0.2
;MAXX:165.5
;MAXY:165.5
;MAXZ:20.3
;Generated with Sovol Slicer 1.3.0
M82 ;absolute extrusion mode
;Single 01 start
M140 S60;
M104 T0 S190;
M280 P0 S160;
G4 P100;
G28;
T0
M190 S60;
M109 T0 S190;
G92 E0;
G1 X10.1 Y20 Z0.28 F5000.0;
G1 X10.1 Y200.0 Z0.28 F1500.0 E15;
G1 X10.4 Y200.0 Z0.28 F5000.0;
G1 X10.4 Y20 Z0.28 F1500.0 E30;
G92 E0 ;Reset Extruder
G1 Z2.0 F3000;
G92 E0
G92 E0
G1 Z{retraction_hop_height_after_extruder_switch} F12000
G1 E-3
G92 E0
G92 E0
G1 F2100 E-3
;LAYER_COUNT:133
;LAYER:0

The G1 command is set to -3 instead of -16 and I cannot determine why.
Any help that you can give will be greatly appreciated.

The -16 is an option in Cura, please filter on switch, to make it visible:

The search for the "switch" option shows a default value of 16 for the Nozzle Switch Retraction Distance.

Your interpreted G-code contains the line G1 Z{retraction_hop_height_after_extruder_switch} F12000 which is not expanded/translated. This is defined in your extruder change start script. Please check if the Z Hop After Extruder Switch is enabled.

The Dual Extrusion options are not available due to the way the printer is set up, as copied from the Sovol Cura build, single extruder printing on the dual extruder is set up as its own printer called "Sovol SV04 Single-Mode 01" (the 01 designating the left extruder 02 the right), with only one extruder added, with dual, mirror and copy each having its own individual printer profile.


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Which K-Value would you choose here for linear advance?
I'm new to 3D printing, but my printer supports Linear Advance. I heard that it offers improvements in print quality. I used Marlin Linear Advance Pattern Generator to generate a print with horizontal lines at a variety of k-values.
Which K-Value would be best from my below image?

0.65-ish. Though Linear Advance on a Bowden printer may impact print speeds due to the high K value.

@towe: Because the Ender 3's extruder is ungeared, it can handle wild speed and acceleration needed to make the impact on print speeds "not too bad". Just make sure you have non-zero E-jerk (maybe 5?) and E speed and accel limits set to something like 150-200 and 5000-10000, respectively. If you have them set slow, everything will become ridiculously slow as soon as you turn on LA.

Just for experiment try this K-factor tower generation tool. It might give you a better insight.

As a general answer to evaluate the effectiveness of the K-factor, when the K-factor Calibration Pattern generator output print is inconclusive (probably not in this case), printing a tower at various K-factor values might give you more insight, e.g. like:

To vary the K-factor with height, a similar procedure as in How does one use a heat tower? can be followed to insert a new K-factor with G-code M900.

This. I would look for corner bulge/rounding, NOT the single-layer Linear Advance test pattern.

Go with the sort of tower 0scar suggested and look for corner bulge/rounding. It's a lot more useful than the single-layer test pattern from the Marlin site, which I've found can be misleading.
With that said, just looking at your test print, I would go with the lowest K factor that gives acceptable-looking results, so around 0.5 or so. Overshooting is more likely to harm your print quality than undershooting, and will limit your print speed too. When I used the original bowden on my Ender 3, my calibrated K factor for PLA was 0.6, so I think this is in the range of what's expected.


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3D printing layer shift on power outage resume
I have an Ender 3 pro. In my country electricity outage is an issue, though it comes back pretty instantaneously, when I hit the resume button on the Ender 3 pro after heating the hot end and the bed when the hot end lifts the Y-axis or X-axis shifts a little bit, I do not understand why as when there is no power outage the prints are just flawless.
I have also tried tightening everything but feels like the motors are having their own fun tilting an extra step for no reason. I have thrown away many prints because of this problem as I work in robotics and prototyping is a necessary thing for me and so is the accuracy.

Not sure on your exact firmware, but it could be that it is using a M413 power loss recovery rather than a power loss interrupt pin. Possible you might be able to change this with your current firmware, but worst case you could install a new controller that does support this power loss interrupt pin.
Depending on the frequency and duration of your power outages it may be worth getting an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). With the heat bed off this UPS would run a full print easily. It would even handle a heat bed for shorter outages.
Where you work in robotics, you are probably electrically savvy enough to set your printer up on direct DC battery power, which would be cheaper than a UPS of equivalent energy storage. If you need help going that route just post over on electrical engineering stack exchange with the power supply info.

you'll need a UPS with EMI filter. I had this same issue and I opt to a regular desktop UPS and the problem was still there. So, I connected a EMI filter and it worked.

Hi and welcome. Could you expand upon your answer and explain why the EMI filter was required? Also, for the uninitiated, maybe explain what an EMI filter is and how it helped.


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"TO Monitor abnormal" with my Anycubic i3 Mega S, what is a TO and what happens when it's abnormal?
I've been getting into 3D printing last year, when I started to print a coaster yesterday, I ran out of filament. I used the filament option to take out the filament remaining... but when I heated it up, I got, something like,

I'm not sure what will happen next. I shut it off as quick as possible, so what is it?

is this a screenshot or a recreation of the screen? We prefer a photo of the actual screen and would need to know what kind of filament you fed, what temperature it was set to and the exact name of the function you used.

@Trish I didn't get an actual screenshot so I had to design it, I was "removing" the filament and the filament I was removing was a GizmoDorks PLA 1.75 mm Blue


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In Cura, is it possible to display where retraction occur on any given model?
In Cura slicer, it is possible to display\visualize where in the print process retractions occur for any given model?
For example, to have them highlighted in the preview window.
I'm making my own models\sculpts and want to optimise them to reduce the amount of time that retraction occurs.

Yes, it ss possible to visualize the retractions in the preview of the sliced object in Cura.

In the "Preview" window mode with "Layer view" option enabled (after you sliced the object), you are able to select the "Line Type" of the "Color scheme" and enable travel lines. Dark blue lines are unretracted and light blue is retracted.


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Extruder Motor knocking backwards and forwards even when removed
I was printing something using TPU via my Micro Swiss extruder and hot end on my Creality CR-10. Unfortunately the filament started squeezing out of the extruder because the nozzle was too close to the bed.
I raised the Z-axis, kept the nozzle heated, and retracted filament. I had to go backwards and forwards a bit and ended tugging quite hard to finally get the filament removed.
When I loaded filament again (any type) I just got a knocking sound but no movement.
I removed the extruder motor and tried driving it again and it was just making a small step forwards and backwards continually while trying to extrude or retract.
I ordered a new extruder motor and fitted it today but found it was doing exactly the same. I am using the EZBoard Lite from TH3D and am worried that I might have damaged the stepper driver. Has anyone got any advice about what I can try next? It was printing fine, with well calibrated E-steps prior to the TPU filament problem, so I can't believe this is in any way related to a firmware/settings problem. I would appreciate any ideas, particularly if anyone knows whether a stepper driver can be replaced on the TH3D EZBoard Lite. Yes, of course I am heating the nozzle.

Did you completely unassembled the extruder so that you only tested the bare stepper with no other parts attached? The question is not clear enough about that.

You've not noted if the Bowden tube was connected to the hot end during your testing process. Consider to disengage the Bowden tube at the hot end/carriage and command an extrusion. This will tell you which side of the tube should be checked.
If the stepper motor feeds filament with the tube disconnected, the problem is in the nozzle. Ensure to heat the nozzle prior to removing it. Exercise appropriate hot item caution. Alternatively, perform a nylon cold pull cleaning process, but that works best with nylon.
If the stepper motor does not feed filament with the tube disconnected, your focus on the stepper driver may be accurate, especially considering the replacement you've performed.


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Can I safely look at my Resin printer screen while it's printing?
I have an Elegoo Saturn resin 3D printer. I'm getting floating pieces of resin in my vat that 100% aren't just pieces that have broken off of a print (I found a huge piece in the VAT that absolutely couldn't have come from any part of my model). This was from a freshly cleaned VAT and the piece couldn't have been in the bottle as I would have noticed when pouring it out.

Can I remove my vat and build plate and run a print dry. And look directly at the screen while it's printing, to see if there is any damage or light bleed. Or if there is some kind of corruption in my file that's causing it to create floating blocks of resin from geometry that shouldn't exist?
I'm more concerned about damage to my eyes from looking directly at the LCD than damage to the screen. I've got a welding mask that should filter out any UV, but it might make if difficult for me to see if there is a problem.

The cover blocks UV light. A sheet of paper like fred_dot_u mentioned is a good idea for reducing the intensity too. For extra protection you can record a video of the empty print with a phone/camera and look at it after it is finished.

Your printer has a cover that blocks UV light from getting into the resin vat, but also prevents it from damaging your eyes. There should be sufficient illumination passing through that filtering for you to determine flaws in your LCD panel.
I'm not intimately familiar with that model and my Elegoo Mars has a test pattern that is a non-filled rectangle. To test my panel, I created a 1 mm block model to cover the entire bed size and "test printed" it in the manner you've described.

As you can see in the photo, I placed a sheet of paper over the LCD panel to get a clearer visualization of the now-obvious damaged LCD.


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Adjust E-step on Ender 3
I was getting some weird under extrusion and noticed that the gear on the extruder was a bit worn.
I decided to replace it with a dual-drive extruder, but that makes the E-step way off. I tried to run 100 mm through without any PTFE tube and only got 67 mm.
I am trying to figure out where I need to change the number.
I have the 4.2.7 motherboard, and I also put on the Creality touch screen.
It doesn't seem to have any place to enter those settings that I can find.

Which firmware are you using and what version?

@agarza according to the screen on the printer, it's version 2.0.1.4, and I put on the firmware that goes with the touch screen and cr touch bed level sensor

If you are using the Marlin firmware, 0scar's answer will work for you. If you are using something different, i.e. Jyers' UI, that firmware will store the setting in EEPROM.

@agarza I'm using the stock firmware, so Marlin I assume. It looks like Jyers is for the Ender-3 V2, and I have the original, though I did upgrade the motherboard to the 4.2.7 so I could put on a CR-Touch... Will it work for me?

You should be fine with the CR Touch. It is Creality's own product so there shouldn't be any problems.

If there is no interface to set the value through the display, you can always set the E-steps per G-code.

M92 Set axis_steps_per_unit

There are at least 2 options, the first is to connect a USB cable and connect to a console (What is a printer console/terminal?) or second "print" the applicable G-codes by creating a text file (with a .gcode/.g file extension) and place the M92 E139 on the first line and M500 on the second line. The latter option requires you to print the file once as it stores the new E-steps value.

E.g. the current value for the Ender 3 is 93 which gives you 67 mm, to get to 100 mm you would need: $\displaystyle \frac{93\times100}{67} \approx 139$ steps, so M92 E139 would set a new value. Store the value with M500. Note that this board stores the settings on the SD card as it has no EEPROM, so have an SD card present in the slot of the board! If you're unable to store the value you can also put it in the start G-code of the slicer, but that is not a preferred method.


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ABS bed adhesion on a textured glass bed (AnyCubic Chiron)?
I have printed a lot of ABS in the past and understand the issues of shrinkage and adhesion. My previous printer had smooth window glass surface, and both clean surface and hairspray would usually do the trick.
My new AnyCubic Chiron has a textured surface and heat bed, which has so far worked great for PLA. For ABS however it de-laminates before the print is even 5mm tall. Tried the print with a clean surface and with a hairspray coated surface; the part quickly de-laminates. Any one with experience using these textured surfaces for ABS?
Don't really want to go the ABS juice route if possible. Just debating if I should cover/replace this fancy new textured glass with old-school smooth window glass.

The (basically) BEST way to optimise bed adhesion is to follow the instructions from https://magigoo.com/blog/3d-printing-perfect-first-layer-magigoo/
The summary is: print the wedge they provide at different bed temperatures (keep the filament constant) and see which one adheres the best. You will build a table like

then you can see what works best.
I did it with nylon and it improved things a lot. Since I use bed levelling, I printed the wedges on different spots of the bed because it was faster (print the coldest, remove and heat the bed further, and so on), but another option is to remove the wedge, clean the bed, reapply spray, and proceed.
I haven't printed much ABS since I got my current printer, but when I did I can tell you that Dimafix worked very well, holding the print flat when hot (90+ °C) and releasing it by itself below 40 °C. It needs to be reapplied each time, contrary to hairspray (which I usually use, it also works).


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XYZ da Vinci 2.0 Duo Y-axis slipping
I have a "da Vinci 2.0 Duo" that when I start a print or jog is okay. But when it finishes the brim, it starts to slip on the Y-axis, the print then begins to shift farther back and it happens again in the same spot making it like multiple shadows. I have checked the belt tension and connections but nothing has worked

Could you [edit] in a photo so we can see what exactly is happening? This will help to find a solution to the problem.

This sounds like layer shifting, good that you checked the belt, maybe adding a photo may help to diagnose the issue!


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G29 difference between Q and D
I was wondering what the exact difference between the switches Q and D for the G29 command is? They seem to do the same:
[D<bool>]
Dry-Run mode. Just probe the grid but don’t update the bed leveling data

[Q<bool>]
Query the current leveling state

TL;DR
Yes they are different, but whether Q is active depends on the a configuration setting, else it gets ignored and a regular G29 will be executed.

Option 'D'
With option D the G29 code is being run in dry-run mode:
 *  D  Dry-Run mode. Just evaluate the bed Topology - Don't apply
 *     or alter the bed level data. Useful to check the topology
 *     after a first run of G29.

If you look into the source code of G29 for ABL the D option will set the boolean abl.dryrun:
abl.dryrun = parser.boolval('D') || TERN0(PROBE_MANUALLY, no_action);

This boolean will cause many parts of the code to be excluded, e.g.:
// Unapply the offset because it is going to be immediately applied
// and cause compensation movement in Z
...
// Auto Bed Leveling is complete! Enable if possible.
...
probe.preheat_for_probing(LEVELING_NOZZLE_TEMP, LEVELING_BED_TEMP);
...
// vector_3 planeNormal related code
...
extrapolate_unprobed_bed_level();
...
// Create the matrix but don't correct the position yet
...
// Correct the current XYZ position based on the tilted plane.
...
// Unapply the offset because it is going to be immediately applied
// and cause compensation movement in Z
...
// Auto Bed Leveling is complete! Enable if possible.

Option 'Q'
Option Q in command G29 code is available when manually probing is active in the configuration.h file:
/**
 * The "Manual Probe" provides a means to do "Auto" Bed Leveling without a probe.
 * Use G29 repeatedly, adjusting the Z height at each point with movement commands
 * or (with LCD_BED_LEVELING) the LCD controller.
 */
//#define PROBE_MANUALLY

From the sources:
 *
 *  To do manual probing simply repeat G29 until the procedure is complete.
 *  The first G29 accepts parameters. 'G29 Q' for status, 'G29 A' to abort.
 *
 *  Q  Query leveling and G29 state

Using the Q in the command will set the boolean variable seenQ  which enables extra output as if in debugging mode.
  // G29 Q is also available if debugging
  #if ENABLED(DEBUG_LEVELING_FEATURE)
    if (seenQ || DEBUGGING(LEVELING)) log_machine_info();
    if (DISABLED(PROBE_MANUALLY) && seenQ) G29_RETURN(false);
  #endif

When going through the code, you stumble again on:
abl.dryrun = parser.boolval('D') || TERN0(PROBE_MANUALLY, no_action);

In the first option ('D') the first part of the statement already was true, so the latter part was of no interest as this statement is an OR statement. Now (for the 'Q' option) the latter part is of interest, the first part rendered false. The latter part is a Marlin ternary macro:
TERN0(OPTION, T)    If OPTION is enabled emit T otherwise emit 0 (false).

So, if PROBE_MANUALLY was enabled/defined in the configuration.h file, the ternary macro returns the no_action (a "one"/true, as this a boolean: no_action = seenA || seenQ), otherwise a "zero"/false. And if so, the abl.dryrun is true and all code as listed in the 'D' option will be omitted as well. But, additional exclusion apply for the no_action; this will cause the function to be exited early (line 478):
if (no_action) G29_RETURN(false);

So far a generic answer, the following is specific for the Ender 5 Plus.
In looking into another question from you it appears that the printer used is the Ender 5 Plus. If you are using stock firmware, you can peek into the sources as they are being shared (through their Google Drive) by Creality for the Ender 5 Plus.
Digging into the sources, the firmware version is from the 1.1.x branch, they reference to 2016/2017 Marlin development. If you look into the sources, the configuration file doesn't define the needed PROBE_MANUALLY for the Q to become active in a G29 Q sent to the printer, in such a case the Q is ignored and a regular G29 will be executed. Do note that the implementation of the G29 code is able to handle the Q option, but because it is not enabled in this configuration it will not work.


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Can you have a perfect seal to maintain moisture?
I would like to create a water chamber (Box) that maintains moisture. My main idea right to use a snap-fit model (Two faces). However, I feel that the areas where the two face snap-fit will allow air to go through and evaporate the water. In simple terms, I would like to create a snap-fit box that can maintain water inside like a water bottle. (Moisture cage)
Note:

the snap-fit edges are small (gasket is hard to implement)

the web part will be covered (ignore it)

I use Formlab 3 SLA resin printer

I there something I can use to perfectly seal the moisture inside? or coat my box from the inside to prevent air exchange?

RTV aka caulk is a common sealant. usual trouble with it (and most other methods) is that once you seal, you'll have difficulty unsealing again.  It is possible to make extremely thin gaskets with the right mold.  You may want to try designing a mold that fits one side of the clam.  If you have issues with RTV, there are vinyl compounds that are thinner- sometimes used for applying grips to tools.

I don't understand how you can keep moisture, since the model you show is full of holes.
However, assuming you are closing them or something else, then you can use "rotational moulding": put some liquid sealant inside the box, close the box, then start rotating it in every direction so that the sealant coats all the internal surfaces.


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Reinforcing inter-layer seams
I'm using my printer for some baby toys. My last print was one of those pillars for stacking rings, base 5. The basic format includes a base and a pillar coming up perpendicularly in the middle. A box with a cylinder sticking out of it.
Settings:

0.3 mm layers,
5 layers of base/bottom/shell,
20 % gyroid infill,
PLA,
80 mm/s,
210 °C, bed at 60 °C.

Three hours of printing later, I took it out of the printer, it feels really solid, all the surfaces are rigid, no compression or anything.
I hand it to my kid, she drops it and the pillar just detaches along the Z layer seam at the base.
Is there anything I can do, either model or printing-wise to reinforce it, aside from printing it horizontally with a bunch of supports?

Thanks Trish, 0scar, and FarO for the edits. And thanks to all for the answers, I didn't know I was this far off the mark. Turns out it was far weaker than I expected, the cylinder fell again and broke in the middle, snapped clean off. AFAIK I can't play around meaningfully with the infill on fusion 360 to ensure proper support on the middle. I'll try printing slower, hotter, thinner, with a bevel and infill changes, see if that does the trick, but boy it's going to take forever to print. Not all printers are vorons :)

So you are printing at 80 mm/s speed * 0.3 mm layer height * something about 0.5 mm line width, which is about 12 mm3/s which is likely too much for many printers.
Try keeping linear speed at 60 mm/s and, if you have a 0.4 mm nozzle, never go above 0.24 mm layer thickness if you care about strength.
That will likely solve your problem.
If you want to go further, try to print this test piece at 210-220-230 °C (if you notice the walls are not nice anymore, increase cooling). Change ONLY the temperature.
Try then to break them and see which one is the strongest. PLA can be quite strong but not at 210 °C, it's too low. I can tell you that you will likely need 220-225 °C to squeeze every possible strength from PLA.

The problem, in this case, is in part the missing internal support at the change from the elevated cone to the base plate.
This could be helped with a geometry change - I personally would add a bevel in that area, which gives us a little wider area over which the pressure will be dissipated.
Another option would be to use an intersecting circular disk or hollow cylinder that is set up to modify the infill to 100%. This would transmit the force down to the base plate.
As R. correctly notes, changing from a 3D to a 2D infill also can increase the strength, as now the layer boundaries in the infill have about twice as much crossection.

The other answers are good, but a big part of your problem is also the gyroid infill, which has very poor layer adhesion strength due to being a 3D infill pattern where there's very low surface area contact between consecutive layers of infill. This isue is amplified by the thick layer height, which makes the gyroid paths differ from layer to layer more than they would with thin layers. If you switch to a fully 2D pattern like triangles where the overlap between consecutive layers is 100%, it should be stronger.
If your extruder is strong and you're not pushing the limits of your printer's extrusion rate, this doesn't matter so much. But I found it was a big issue on the original ungeared extruder of my Ender 3 (before replacing that) when trying to print at anything above 30 mm/s or so. For example, printed M8 bolts came out looking fine, but immediatey snapped at the head when tightened - a failure mode very similar to what you're seeing. Switching to a better infill pattern mitigated it.

If you don't object to using adhesive to assemble the model, consider that you can succeed with your objective by performing a plane cut in the vertical direction. This allows you to print the model in the strongest orientation without supports. It will also result in an internal set of faces due to duplication of (as-printed) bottom surfaces in the best orientation.
For plane cuts, Meshmixer (free) and Fusion 360 (hobbyist version, free) as well as other programs, will allow you to chop the part directly in half and export the individual pieces. I'm unfamiliar with the software for your printer, but it may also have the ability to cut a model in this manner.

If I'd have to assemble it, I would actually use a cylindrical cutout on the base so the cone would be glued into the plate, making the positional precision much better


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Can 3D printed bottle caps make a perfect seal?
I am using a Formlabs 3 resin printer and I am would like to create a bottle design with a cap. my objective is for the cap to completely prevent any liquid from going in or out of the bottle (even it was shaken) and also prevent dry air from seeping in and effecting the moisture inside.
(Note: I am not planning to cure my print with UV light as I feel it ruins the smoothness and flexibility of the model. tell me if I am wrong)
Is that possible by just printing? or do I need some coatings or extra steps?

Yes and no
If you can print very tight tolerances and the bottle itself does deform a tad to press into the cap, then yes, you will get a perfect interference fit.
If you want to go absolutely sure, a little seal of rubber into which the mouth of the bottle presses can add the last bit needed. alternatively, a viscous grease on the threads can act as a sealant.
In case you want to pretty much seal the bottle forever and not remove the cap, you might just as well add a few droplets of liquid resin or glue to the threads of the cap before screwing it on, then make sure that it sets and seals. Loctite is one such sealing glue often used.
CURE IT
However you are wrong not to cure your model: unless cured, the model is not safe to the touch without gloves as the bonds are not set and liquid resins are dangerous skin irritants. If you want to use the flexibility of not fully cured resin to seal your containers, you might want to seal the bottle with the raw caps and then cure the combined item right after.

I am washing the printed part with Isopropenyl. is that not enough?

@AnwarElhadad it is not. Bonds inside the item are not set and the surface of the resin can have very reactive chains that are bonded on one side, but aggressively react still.

Thank you. Currently, I am curing under 60 C° for 3 minutes. This causes my clear resin to be not as clear. any tips!

@AnwarElhadad sadly no, but that'd be a good followup question: how to prevent the surface from clouding on a 3D print?

I like the o-ring idea. Could use a rubber garden hose seal from the hardware store if it’s the right size, or model in a channel for rubber O-ring from the plumbing section. You leave a little empty space in the channel for the cross section of the o-ring to deform/flatten. 10%-30% compression is good.


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Is it normal for clear resin to lose transparency after curing?
I am using a FORM LABS 3 printer with clear resin. After printing the model, I wash it with Isopropenyl and dry it. Then I cure it using Formlabs Form Cure for 5 minutes under 60 C°.
After curing the model, the clear print loses some of its transparency.
Is this normal? can it be avoided?

This happens to most resins and the amount of haziness is directly related to the type of resin.  Not all clear resins do this mind you, but it has to do with the curing sprlectrum of light(natural sunlight cures do this way worse.)

Clouding is a known issue with colored transparent resins, as is yellowing with clear resin.
Uncle Jessy did quite a good video explaining the issue and how to best avoid it.
The conclusion was that you should wash and dry them with as little UV exposure as possible (Drying them inside a box in a warm room rather than in direct sunlight), then coating them with Clear Coat lacquer or a similar product, then curing them.
enter link description here


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How does Cura slice the bottom layers in vase (spiralize) mode?
Cura 4.x doesn't seem to honor normal bottom/skin settings when slicing in vase (spiralize) mode, and does something weird where it alternates at each layer between filling the skin region with lines (like a normal bottom layer) and doing concentric fill for some number of loops before switching to lines. The Cura 5.x beta (Arachne) seems to use just concentric fill. Is the behavior documented anywhere, and is there any way to tune or override it? I'm hitting problems with the concentric part not being sufficiently water-tight (while normal lines fill in alternating directions is always water-tight for me).
I build CuraEngine myself from source, so answers citing where this logic lives in the source would be acceptable for me (so I could just change it there) if there's no better configurability.


text:
API for checking manufacturability of 3D models
I am wondering if there is an API that can check for some basic (hopefully configurable) design rules such as manifolds, hanging edges, overhang lengths etc. for a given 3D model (say, in STL format).
I am looking for such an API to create a score for a number of 3D models for research purposes.

You could probably get pretty far just slicing them from the command line with Cura or another slicer and extracting the comments for overhangs, bridges, etc. with appropriate settings to detect them.

I see, thanks. Does Cura have an API that I can call in my code?

Cura engine source code should be up somewhere so yes...


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I'm having a weird issue with bed leveling (Z-Axis) ?? Ender 3 V2
I'm having a weird issue with bed leveling (Z-Axis) ?? Ender 3 V2
Every time I try to level it when I go to the bottom left corner and so on and come back to that corner the Z-axis drops about .1 mm each go around. It used to drop more than that, this is the lowest I've got it to drop by and can't stop it.
Still nothing, I squared everything off with a T-square and tightened everything precisely.
I watched these and did one by one:

I did what this site recommended which was part of the first video:
https://3dsolved.com/ender-3-x-axis-sagging-how-to-solve/
Mind you I've checked numerous sites and videos and these explained everything properly and were the most up-to-date.
I ordered another Z-axis making it a dual and seeing if that will fix the problem.

Do you still have stock bed springs and knobs?

No I've switched them out a while ago. I have new gold springs, about a week old. The weird thing is I've started printing again and everything prints normally. Only in bed leveling the z axis sags

SOLVED just add another z axis, printed a spacer for the bottom of the z motors at 1.4mm and leveled both sides with corner levels(post pipe levels) from lowes. Add a washer to the nuts towards the back side inside of the new z axis lead screw bracket and done. No more sag https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08RJDW5W6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The extra Z-axis did help but it was all the eccentric nuts. Make sure you can move them with little force, not you trying to open a bottle of soda but a little lighter than that
I solved the issue by just adding another Z-axis, I also printed a spacer for the bottom of the Z motors at 1.4 mm and leveled both sides with corner levels (post pipe levels) from Lowes. Add a washer to the nuts towards the backside inside of the new Z-axis lead screw bracket and done. No more sag.
Creality Ender 3 Accessories Dual Z-Axis Kit


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Best way to print a very thin rod?
I'm working on a project using 3D printed parts, everything is working very nicely except for one part that needs a 3 mm x 1.2 mm diameter rod. I can print with PLA/PLA+ but such a thin object doesn't seem viable for 3D printing. Is it still possible or am I better off using a 1.2 mm metal dowel?
The bigger part (5 mm x 7 mm diameter) near the back isn't an issue, it's the small rod that I can't seem to print correctly

It would be impossible to print this standing with the rod straight up, and even if you got it to print the part would be very weak due to the thin cross-section of the rod aligning with the layers.
The only way to print this part and get a usable result is to print it in the orientation shown in the picture, with the rod part being horizontal. Because the layers will now have a much larger cross-sectional area, this not only makes the print much stronger but also prevents issues with the plastic not cooling off sufficiently between layers. Though this will still be a tricky print, because now you'll need lots of support material.
Using a metal rod is probably the better option. Another option is printing the rod lying flat on the bed, and gluing it in place later. This would avoid the issue with support material.

"Horizontal" I think is what you mean instead of "vertical".  Could print the rod on the bed, with enough extra length to glue into a hole in the thicker part -- or use an extruded or molded part, as suggested.

I've actually gotten something like this to print vertically before, but it's tricky. The outer wall width has to be equal to the diameter, and retract at layer change has to be off, and Cura will basically print it as a single extrusion line in the Z direction. Naturally your cooling has to be really good and your extrusion needs to be tuned (pressure advance, etc.) such that it doesn't ooze or over-extrude.

Yea I think I’ll just use a metal part then, 3d printing such a thin part seems like too big of a hassle for something prone to breaking

If you insist on printing it entirely, I would suggest cutting the model in two halves through the centerline, printing them flat and gluing both parts together after printing. This will make sure the axial direction of the rod is in the XY plane, and doesn't require support.
However, the beauty of 3D printing is that it can be easily combined with other materials and techniques. In this case, you are far better off by printing the big cylinder with a hole in it and glueing a metal rod in. It is less trouble, stronger and possibly more functional since it will have a much better surface finish.


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Ender 3 Pro Glass Bed print fails midway
Since upgrading to the glass bed my prints are failing right after the point where I finally feel confident that they are adhered well and printing smoothly. They seem to be coming loose from the bed and dragging around following the extruder while it prints into the air (or worse it builds up around the nozzle bc the print is moving along directly under the nozzle). I thought it was an issue with the print settings I was using so I went back to a .gcode I have printed dozens of times on the old bed with great success and it also had the same issue.
I had issues with initial adhesion and tried gluestick and hairspray. There still seems to be a little issue with the PLA not catching hold immediately which can cause a little glob/tail to form. Once the filament sticks it does it doesn't have any gaps or thin spots. If those tails from the beginning of the print snag on the extruder as it passes over that area again it will pull them up but if it doesn't the new layers all lay down smoothly and don't seem to have gaps or get the nozzle dragging through the filament. On new files, I tried increasing the heat to 65 °C but didn't seem to fix this issue. The old files are set at bed temp 60 °C and extruder 200 °C.
I was able to print a tiny (1x2 cm and 7.5 mm) item at 0.08 mm layer height and it's beautiful. Everything that is getting messed up is at least 1 cm tall when it fails.

basically you either have a discrepancy in where the top of the part should be vs where it is or an issue with the part curling and detaching due to thermal issues.  check bed leveling, verify the bed moves how much it thinks it moves via calipers, and check the filament diameter vs your programmed settings.  Also try to print a bit cooler; you need to find the sweet spot that is hot enough to stick but not so hot that the part curls a lot when it cools.

Sounds like either a leveling problem or a greasing glass bed... Can you share a photo of the underside of the prints?


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What is the maximum input ratings for current, voltage and power for RAMPS 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6?
I need to know the maximum input for current, voltage and power for:

RAMPS 1.4
RAMPS 1.5
RAMPS 1.6

I want to build a DIY 3D printer. RAMPS 1.6 can deliver only 270 W. but if I total my heatbed + hotend + other components, it will be 300 W which exceeds the amount of RAMPS 1.6 output.
I have 24 V 24.5 A power supply. Is it okay if I connect it to RAMPS 1.6?

I guess the heated bed is the main power consumer here, if this is drawing more than 10 A you definitely need to insert an external MOSFET, these are cheap external modules that can handle even larger currents than the board itself. Found easily on those typical online market places.

P.S. RAMPS shields on top of AtMega Arduino boards are pretty outdated, they will work, but there are plenty of other boards available to choose from. You should look into 32-bit microprocessor boards.

Furthermore, this question should be reworded, instead of focusing on the RAMPS 1.x board differences, you should focus on the real question where you are interested in: "How to get more power from a board than they are rated for?" or "The current required for my printer exceed the current ratings of my controller board, how can I mitigate this?".

And change the title to reflect that fact...

“maximum input for current” doesn’t make sense. You could connect the board to a 10000A power supply, but the board will only draw ~12A. Also RAMPS is ancient tech.

@Navin - good catch, that should probably be "maximum output". I hadn't noticed that.

RAMPS power consumption
The power consumption for all three versions of the board should be, essentially, the same.
RAMPS 1.4
The info is on the RepRapWiki - RAMPS 1.4 - Power supply:

The board has two pairs of connectors for power, one labeled 11A and the other 5A, both of these pairs are 12V connections.

and

Your power supply should be able to deliver 16 amps, is ok if it delivers more.

and

Other variants are the S-480 and S-600 for 480W and 600W respectively.

So, $I = 16 A$, $V = 12 V$
You can then calculate the power from $$P = IV$$
$$P = 16 x 12$$
$$P = 192 W$$
Alternatively, considering each circuit in isolation:

$I_1=11 A$ for the heated bed only;
$I_2=5 A$ for the stepper motors, hotend, etc.

$$P_1 = I_1V$$
$$P_1 = 11 x 12$$
$$P_1 = 132 W$$
and
$$P_2 = I_2V$$
$$P_2 = 5 x 12$$
$$P_2 = 60 W$$
so the overall power consumption,
$$P_T = P_1 + P2$$
$$P_T = 132+60$$
$$P_T = 192W$$
Important note: While the overall power may indeed be 192 W, it is important that you only draw the maximum individually rated current/power (5 A and 11 A) from each of the respective circuits - you can not draw 16 A (192 W) from just one of the circuits alone. To attempt to do so would be dangerous and may result in a fire or worse.
RAMPS 1.5
From RepRapWiki - RAMPS 1.5

The layout of the RAMPS 1.5 is virtually identical to that of the RAMPS 1.4. The only real difference between the two are the MOSFETs and the fuses.

Only the form and type of the fuses are different, not their ratings. Therefore, the voltage and current specifications would appear to be the same as RAMPS 1.4
RAMPS 1.6
From RepRapWiki - RAMPS 1.6

It maintains the surface-mounted fuses and flush MOSFETS of the RAMPS 1.5.

Therefore, the voltage and current specifications would appear to be the same as RAMPS 1.4

Note that there are other variants of the RAMPS board that you may need to consider, such as the 24 V version and so forth.
Supplying additional current and/or power
Using an External MOSFET
To draw more current than the RAMPS can supply for the various heating elements, you could use an externally switched circuit (whose MOSFETS are triggered by the RAMPS outputs), in place of the RAMPS outputs, to supply this additional current.
See Modify RAMPS 1.4 adding external MOSFET for heat bed: can I remove original mosfet? which links to the excellent Howto Connect your Hotbed (and or extruder) to a Mosfet:

External MOSFET schematic

Apply a second PSU ( 12 or 24 volts)

Apply a second MOSFET (for the extruder)

See also MOSFET Band Aid in 0scar's answer to Which 3D printer controller should I use?:

Power consumption rethink
Alternatively, and probably better, rethink your power consumption, so that it matches that which can be supplied by the RAMPS board. Your current draw, and hence power requirement, shouldn't need to be so high.
24 V capable RAMPS
Another alternative is to get a RAMPS which can handle 24 V, which, whilst not supplying more current, will provide you with more power (approximately twice as much). However, this may require that you get a different set of heating elements (if your current set isn't dual voltage capable) - which obviously isn't ideal and will entail even more expense. See Do I have to buy all new components if I were to get a RAMPS 1.4 that supports 24 V power?


text:
How to calculate a rough 3D printing time?
So I have little to no idea regarding 3D printing and was building web-based software for a client, I have 3 values in my access,

Material: PLA
Material Cost: 1300 kr per kilogram
Infill Percentage/Density: 50 %
Material length: 13000 mm
Printing Cost Per Hour: 70 kr

Given this information, what would be the formula to calculate the rough estimation of the time required to 3D print this? I know that it's different for all the 3D printers but still, I would like to have a way to calculate a rough estimation of the 3D printing time, that possibly but not necessarily, touches the reality of most 3D printers.

The slicer should give you a good time estimate.  There is no sane way to estimate time without generating the slices and tool path.  There is just too much variation influenced by the part geometry.

@user10489 I can't use a slicer, there are only somefor web-based software, the ones that exist are too complex

You really can't get a good estimate at all without a slicer.  Geometry factors can easily change print time by a factor of 10, and slicer parameters (like infill pattern and density) can change print time by a factor of 2-3 or more.  There really is not a good way to escape using a slicer of some sort.

You'd certainly need to know more information than that provided. 3D printers have speeds ranging from 20 mm per second to as high as ten times that (extreme 3D printer sports!) and the speed during printing varies with the geometry of the object being printed.
More considerations involve printer nozzle size, object layer thickness (if uniform throughout), printer model, slicer software used, slicer software profile used.
For a rough estimate with the information, you could expect a variance fifty percent or more, if someone was willing to take the risk of making an estimation.

Yes, as I said there is need of more estimation but I'd like to get a rough estimation with the given information, what to expect?

Too many variables left unfilled to provide any answer of note.

Okay, I've actually got some more info now. Should I edit this existing question or post a new one?


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PLA not sticking to the build plate
I have an Anycubic Chiron printer and use Ultimaker Cura for slicing.  Recently I printed a simple clip, had no problems whatsoever.
I have since upgraded Cura to the latest version, and now the PLA will not stick to the build plate.  The printer will make 3 passes whilst printing the brim, then it all collects into a ball.  I have checked the level, all is OK,  I have increased the temperatures, with the EO now at 225 °C (was 200 °C) and the bed at 75 °C (was 60 °C)
Does anyone know how much or what was changed by Ultimaker in the latest upgrade?

I doubt this is slicer related, if so, change back to an older version and test. You could even look into the G-code both versions generate. I would look into your initial gap between nozzle and bed. Please update the question accordingly, else this question is very hard to answer.

Could this be the infamous Cura filament diameter issue? If it sliced for 2.85 mm filament, that would give extreme underextrusion that would fail to adhere to the bed.

@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE That has been fixed now for quite some versions.

What was the version to begin with? And do you mean the latest version?

@0scar: CHEP mentioned in a recent video on upgrading Cura that he lost his profiles.

@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE That used to happen at any version update for some, I even posted my experience on the Ultimaker forums, but they fixed that. Strange that it is back. Nevertheless, it is a slicing problem, when you select the correct parameters it should yield the same result.

I don't think it's because of Cura. You can try if it still works with the older version.
Otherwise, clean your print bed with isopropanol before printing to remove residues or level again.  Without pictures of the condition of the print bed or the first layer, it is difficult to help.

Agreed - Cura is a portable binary, so one may just download and run the previous version and eliminate that as a possibility.

Have tried all the possible answers and found the older version of Cura works better with the Chiron.  The printer is 3 months old, bed is cleaned after each print.
I then tried the new Cura version again but with glue for adhesion,  that works.  It seems that it is changing the bed temperature, and using a lower default.  Have tried changing the bed temperature in the software before slicing, but found I have to manually set the temperature on the printer, I have been using the generic settings for the PLA, as the ones I have (E-DA) are not in the selection or in the market place.  TPU and PETG are printing fine.
Will have to determine the optimum set-up and create my own defaults.


text:
Formula of calculating 3D printing time
So I have the following pieces of information based on which I want to calculate the estimated time It would take to 3D print something.

3D Object's width, height, and depth (millimeters)
Its weight
Printing Speed (millimeters per second)
Layer Height
Printer Nozzle Diameter
Printer Nozzle Height

Given this info, how to calculate the 3D printing time?

You would need at least the layer width too in order to calculate it.

@Ezra Are you sure? and if so what is the formula of it?

you miss infill percentage, and printer flow speed,as well as line width, because actually print speed is a function of the material flow and the deposited material (=line width * layer height * line length)

In general, there is no easy way to compute 3D printing time from those quantities. Unless you have a printer with extreme kinematic capabilities (and to some extent even then), print speed is highly limited by acceleration and deceleration for toolpaths that are deeply a function of the specific geometry of the model to be printed. This makes it really hard to get a good estimate for time without actually slicing the model and simulating the printer's execution of the resulting gcode.
If the object is sufficiently simple, or if your print speed is so slow as to make acceleration to the max speed nearly instantaneous (but travel speed isn't so slow as to be a dominating factor), you may be able to use any one of the quantities you know to estimate print time half-decently.

Weight/mass: if you actually know the mass when 3D printed (with the wall/infill settings you'll be using) then mass divided by material density gives you material volume, and you can divide by the extrusion rate in mm³/s (computed from layer height, line width, and print speed) to convert volume to seconds.

Object dimensions: if it's roughly a cube or other geometric object you know surface area and volume formulae for, you can compute surface area, multiply by shell thickness, then add the infill percentage times the volume to get an estimate for printed material volume, and use the same above volume to time conversion.

If the conditions under which you might be able to get a reasonable estimate don't apply, your best bet is to actually slice the model and see what the slicer software estimates, or feed its output to a gcode analyzer/simulation software.


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Only Z offset for BLTouch?
I'm having a hard time getting my Ender 5 Plus (I'm using stock firmware 1.70.2 BL) trammed and in the pursue of that I decided to check my probe offset values. As it seems there is only a Z offset configured? Or does M851 only show the Z value?
Send: M851
Recv: echo:Z Offset  zprobe_zoffset= -2.08
Recv: ok

For Marlin 1.1.x, the Z-offset is shown with M851.
For Marlin 2.0.x it is also possible to change the X and Y offset values through the M851 G-code using X and Y (outside the default Z) parameter options. Without parameters, M851 returns the following in a terminal:
Send: M851
Recv:   M851 X0.00 Y55.00 Z0.00 ; (mm)

Considering this from All3DP:

First up is the official Creality firmware, which is based on older versions of Marlin. Creality doesn’t mention which exact version of Marlin it’s based on, but it’s likely a variation of Marlin 1.9 that’s slightly changed to match Creality’s needs.

What is meant here is that Creality is secret about their use of which version of firmware they use, but it is most likely based on the 1.1.9 code base. If so, this implies that in your case, while running stock firmware, you should only see the Z-offset, not the X and Y offsets.

Digging even further, it appears that Creality has released the Ender 5 Plus firmware through their Google Drive. When you look into the code, the firmware version is indeed from the 1.1.x branch, they reference to 2016/2017 Marlin development. If you look into the sources you will see that M851 indeed only returns the Z-offset.


text:
Bumps on outer walls consistantly affecting lower layers
I recently purchased a Creality Ender 3 Max as my first 3D printer and overall I am quite impressed with the print quality after only leveling the bed.
However, every print I have done so far has had bumps on the outer walls, limited to a section of the lower layers, usually around 6 layers in height.

Standard print settings:

1.75 mm PLA filament
0.2 mm layer height
20 % infill

I have tried:

Prusa Slic3r (default settings) vs Cura for my slicing. Prusa Slic3r exaggerated the effect compared to Cura.
Increasing the extruder and heated bed temperatures (200 °C & 50 °C, 210 °C & 60 °C, 225 °C & 70 °C). Higher temperatures seem to reduce the effect.
Reducing the print speed from 50.0 mm/s to 35.0 mm/s. Slower print speed seems to reduce the effect.

My next experiment will be to combine a higher extrusion temperature with reduced print speeds however I suspect that this is just making the print more forgiving and masking a different cause.
Does anybody know of a way I can eliminate these artifacts?
Further experiments I can run to debug this or even the correct terminology or search terms for this (I'm having difficulty finding anything that looks like this problem online) would also be greatly appreciated.
Updates:

Test print with 0.1 mm Z Offset shows a slight improvement but does not resolve the issue.
Test print with 0.2 mm Z Offset shows no improvement over 0.1 mm Z Offset and nearly compromises bed adhesion.
I printed a 20 mm cube benchmark. X and Y measurements are spot on but the Z axis measures 19.2 mm.

Try keeping the bed temperature no more than 55 °C, check extruder calibration (extrude 100 mm, check if it really extruded 100 mm), increase cooling.

This question looks very similar to "PLA Issue printing first 3 mm with Ender 3 Pro"! I'd vote to close this question as a duplicate question.

Good match @0scar, I'll try the answers on that question and see if the solve my issue. I don't believe this can be marked as duplicate yet as my prints don't have the elephants foot characteristic of print bed being too close. I could be wrong, please bear with me.

I think I found an answer.
When the gantry is low (Z less than 100 mm high) the Xmax (right hand) side of the gantry has some play, if I move the gantry higher the rollers tighten up.
I went through Luke Hatfield's X Gantry Rework (PDF section 4.1.2, video tutorial), making deviations for my own machine (the vertical extrusions are mounted to the side of the base on the Ender 3 Max rather than the top).
Tightening the rollers using the eccentric bolts and trying to get the gantry as level as possible seems to have improved the issue immensely.

The Z measurement for the 20 mm cube benchmark is now 19.7 mm (0.5 mm improvement)

And the bumps on the boats are a lot less noticeable.
While reassembling I had some difficulty lining up the screws on the top horizontal extrusion, which would suggest that the vertical extrusions are not aligned correctly as suggested in item 1 of this post discussing problems found on a stock Ender 3 Max:

The vertical extrusions are out, there appears to be a fault in the design and the extrusions are about 2.2mm closer together at the bottom than at the top.. what this means is if you move the carriage to half way up and adjust the wheels perfectly, when you move it to the top the outside wheels will be too tight, and when you move it to the bottom the inside wheels will be too tight!

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ender3Max/comments/qa93m6/problems_i_have_found_with_stock_ender_3_max_and/
The suggestion in that post is to install a printed 2.2 mm shim between the vertical extrusion and the base. I'll give the shim fix a try at a later time, for now the quality of the prints is good enough.


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How do you make a new CR-10 Smart do auto bed-levelling?
I have just bought a Creality CR-10 Smart 3D printer, and - as part of the rite of passage of newbies - I am struggling with getting a usable initial layer. Whilst trying to make sense of what I was seeing in the net and correlating it with what I was experiencing with my printer, I thought to check the printer's credentials (I had assumed it was a recent model). However, looking at the information on the LED screen, I see:

Machine type
CR-10 Smart

Firmware version
HW 1.0.6

Screen version
T18

Hardware version
DWIN 4.3

Can anyone comment on whether this is recent or ancient? Is it a V1 or a V2?
As a software engineer of several decades standing, but a complete newbie to 3D printing, I'm suffering from culture shock, and I'm struggling to understand why my printer doesn't just work "out of the box" like my line printers do.
I find it particularly difficult sorting out the information about Creality's various CR-10* models, partly because of the naming conventions, but chiefly because my CR-10 Smart doesn't look like any that I have seen referred to anywhere in the net. I was told that the CR-10 Smart had auto bed levelling (ABL) built in, but when I search for CR-10S ABL I only find stuff about add-ons like BLTouch, and nothing about the CR-10 Smart with built-in ABL.
Add into the mix the now traditional Internet problem that the date of web pages and whether they are still relevant is often unclear.
Then I found a Youtube video by WillCaddy, which suggested that CR-10S printers with Creality firmware do not have ABL enabled, and that to get functioning ABL you had to install TH3D.
Is this true?
If anyone can help me with any of this, I would be very grateful. I am working my way slowly through Michael Laws' excellent "Teaching Tech" channel, but I'm impatient...

@0scar asked me to post this answer and accept it (see the comment above). I'll try to describe everything I did, most of which helped a little bit but didn't really solve the problem. Bear in mind that I'm a complete newbie to 3D printing.

Although I knew my printer was a Creality, I didn't know that a CR-10 Smart is not the same thing as a CR-10S. Mine is a CR-10 Smart.
I upgraded the firmware from 1.0.7 to 1.0.10. I managed to brick the computer entirely doing this, but I managed to fix it in the end. I found this post particularly helpful whilst doing this.
I used OctoPrint's Bed Visualizer to update the mesh for my printer's ABL. The mesh is stored in EEPROM, so this doesn't have to be done often.
I didn't understand how OctoPrint's Bed Visualizer managed to produce the shape for the print plate that it did, so I checked the bolts under the glass plate, discovered they were loose, tightened them up, re-ran the mesh generation and got a considerably more plausible plate geometry.
I discovered that Creality Slicer (a variant of Cura) does not include G29 or M420 S1 in the G-code that it generates by default for the CR-10 Smart, so I added M420 S1 to the printer's machine settings which tells it to use the mesh stored by Bed Visualizer.
I have been following Teaching Tech's 3D Printer Calibration and, after upgrading the firmware, I started setting up my first layer generation and got a reasonable result. At this point I thought the problem was solved.
I celebrated by printing a 3D Benchy, but that was a sobering experience and I returned to Teaching Tech.
The next step in Teaching Tech's 3D Printer Calibration that I tried was temperature tuning. That was a complete disaster, so I moved on to retraction tuning, since the Benchy had lots of stringing. Retraction tuning was also disastrous, so I decided to stand back and think a bit.
For some reason I looked more closely at my printer's nozzle. For some reason, I assumed 0.4 mm was a kind of standard for a hot end nozzle, so I was using that in my settings, also because I thought my printer had a 0.4 mm nozzle. However, closer examination revealed that the nozzle is at least 1.0 mm, if not 1.5 mm. Not surprisingly, once I told the slicer the correct nozzle size, printing improved dramatically.

In the meantime, I believe that my basic problem was always the nozzle size, though – as you can see above – there were a number of other things that I corrected on the way.
So now @0scar and I believe that the problem addressed in the title has been solved, and – in accordance with @0scar's wishes – I will accept my answer, though his input was instrumental in finding the solution.
I shall now devote myself to the rest of Teaching Tech's 3D Printer Calibration.

Leveling (actually scanning the surface) can be done manually prior to executing a print job.
From the graphical interface you can command the Automatic Bed Leveling on the CR-10 Smart (Settings -> Level):

It appears that the print head is sensitive to the pressure the head (nozzle) exerts to the build surface.
The procedure start in the middle of the bed for you to determine the nozzle to touch the build surface. The printer will then proceed the scanning of the surface (25 point in the video1)). This procedure is done prior to printing a print job and stores the scanned surface into memory. Unless you hit the gantry, put extreme pressure on the build surface or move the printer to a different location, this scanned level should at least last for several prints. Alternatively, you could add G-code G29 to your start G-code which will cause it to scan the surface before each print, see for details Using auto-bed leveling, do I need to initiate G29 before every print?.
So far, this is how it is supposed to work! Does it actually work?
According to this review,

it clearly does not compensate for the surface geometry. The reviewer hints that this is "not optimized or not activated in the firmware".

to get functioning ABL you had to install TH3D.
Is this true?

So activating this requires a firmware update to become active. From a notice by Creality on this leveling issue:

After receiving feedback from a number of users regarding the leveling capabilities of the CR-10 SMART 3d printer, Creality's product researchers quickly responded with an update to the CR-10 SMART firmware.Following are the Tips for better leveling.One-click upgrade to the latest firmware version v1.0.10.

it appears that it is fixed if you update to the firmware version v1.0.10 released at 10 Sept., 2021.

1) It is not advised to do a 25 point scanning of the surface before each print, this takes about 3 minutes. These higher scanning grid points meshes are useful for once in a while scanning. The validity of the use of 25 point is also up for debate, the build surface is glass which is inherently flat due to its production process, less points may work as well to scan the print plane/mesh.

Thanks for this. I have tried to upgrade the firmware to v1.0.10, but I've only succeeded in bricking the machine. This appears to be par for the course from other comments on the net :-(   It looks as though the SD card has to be formatted on a PC for the upgrade to work, and I only have Macs and Linux. I'm going to bed now and I'll look at it again tomorrow.

I have managed to unbrick my printer and install firmware version v1.0.10. I have updated the ABL mesh using OctoPrint's Bed Visualizer. I noticed that the Creality Slicer does not include G29or M420 S1by default, so I've added the latter to the Slicer's configuration. However, there is no substantial improvement in the first layer: the filament is not sticking to the bed, so I assume the print head is still too high. The control line output before the print is perfect, but the gcode content comes out badly.

Aha! Using Teaching Tech's 3D Printer Calibration First Layer Generator I get much better results (30% perfect, 60% head too low, 10% filament not sticking). I can proceed again from here. I'm awarding @Oscar the points! Thanks!

@StephenWinnall Consider buying an adhesive like 3DLAC or an equivalent, this sticks so well that even the final percent will stick. I'm not affiliated with the brand, just sharing years of usage. I never ever had problems getting filament to stick except for the first time printer use in 2016 which had ad tape from the OEM on it, ditched it the same day and printed directly into Aluminium heatbed with 3DLAC. I also use is on all my glass build surfaces.

I've found out what was causing me most of my problems. It may not have been ABL after all. For some reason, I assumed 0.4mm was a kind of standard for a hot end nozzle, so I was using that in my settings, also because I thought my printer had a 0.4mm nozzle. However, closer examination reveals that the nozzle is at least 1.0mm, if not 1.5mm. I simply used what was on the printer when it was delivered. There are two replacement nozzles that look like they might be 0.4mm. Not surprisingly, once I told the slicer the correct nozzle size, things started working properly :-)

@StephenWinnall Great news! That is really unexpected, > 0.4 mm are pretty uncommon to be fitted from factory. Good find, it meant you were under extruding the whole time, that causes the filament to adhere badly as in it isn't squished enough. Please add (and accept) your own answer, I'll leave mine for people that stumble upon this question with leveling problems as this is common with this printer with old firmware.


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Issue with uneven surface when printing speed changes
I'm trying to get good-quality thin wall prints with PLA on my Creality CR10s Pro V2 using Cura. After hours of calibration and testing, I'm getting quite good results. However, there is one issue I can't figure out. It seems that I'm getting uneven extrusion and blobs when the printer deaccelerates or accelerates. This issue causes problems with rounded corners on my test prints (see photos). In Cura, there is no retraction or anything in the arc, just accelerations. I have experimented with acceleration and jerk without success. I also tried to decrease the print speed from 50 mm/s to 20 mm/s, and it seems to have a minor positive effect. Anyone got any ideas on what values I need to change? Can this be a mechanical problem?
General print settings:

Temp: 210 °C
Layer: 0.2 mm
Infill: 0 %
Retraction distance: 3 mm
Retraction speed: 60 mm/s
Cooling: 80 %
Flow: 102.5 %
Acceleration: 500 mm/s
Jerk: 20 mm/s (Tried values from 5 to 20)

Printed at 50 mm/s:

Printed at 20 mm/s:

Cura:

Have you tried setting linear advance? https://marlinfw.org/tools/lin_advance/k-factor.html

Look at the gcode for those curves either manually in a text editor, or with a gcode analyzer tool (e.g. gcode.ws) and see if there's anything strange about them. Cura is notorious for numeric instability problems with high resolution curves, where it will end up generating a few tiny moves (on the order of 0.005 mm) here and there that get truncated to zero motion on one axis and nonzero on the other (due to fixed rounding to 3 decimal places). To the printer firmware's motion planner, these look like sharp corners (because the angle changed severely from the last move), forcing it decelerate and re-accelerate.
The right fix for this is fixing Cura's numerical precision flaws. @piezoid has a WIP branch doing this that might eventually push upstream to improve, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Short of that, there are a couple good workarounds:

Check the "Maximum Resolution" and "Maximum Deviation" settings in Cura. You might have to unhide them if they're hidden. The defaults on modern Cura versions are 0.5 and 0.025 which tend to avoid the problem well, but older versions had bad values. (And of course, make sure you're using a recent version.)

Lowering the resolution (having it use a coarser triangle mesh) exported from your CAD software tends to avoid the problem.

Some people have reported success with the Arc Welder plugin, but I'm not sure this is a good idea, and it depends on your printer having firmware that accepts the arc motion commands.

If you haven't already, try rotating the object about the Z-axis to give a different orientation with respect to X and Y.  May not correct the problem but if the effect changes it may shed some light on the cause.

It could be that the pressure in your nozzle is too high. I would switch on Coasting in Cura and see what effect that has.


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Can you use OctoPrint on an Ender 5 pro with the stock firmware?
Is it possible to use OctoPrint with an Ender 5 Pro that is still using the factory default firmware (any version) from Creality, or is changing the firmware an absolute pre requisite for even basic functionality.
This is for a situation where there are a dozen Ender 5 printers on lease hire, and no unauthorised modifications are permitted.

Yes, OctoPrint is a print server which works independently from the controller board hardware. It simply sends commands to the printer. If you have a USB socket on the controller board and know the communication speed you can connect the printer to OctoPrint.
It will not work if the printer has a faulty or no USB connection. From an internet search it appears that the economical Ender hardware does have some issues with USB, but in theory you should be able to connect.
You only need to flash the Ender 5 controller board if you want to use Klipper firmware and use the OctoPrint Klipper plugin.
Here is a video showing how to setup OctoPrint in conjunction with an Ender 5:

I'm  at that pi case because, mounted on a printer, it's just asking for screws, nuts, clips, etc. that get dropped during maintenance or rattle loose to fall on the pi and short something out.

@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE, indeed, also not my choice! I once wrecked a Pi because a cooling element had come loose and caused a short circuit...