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Auto Bed Levelling - Printer not detecting, but sensor is triggering
Today I installed an inductive sensor (4 mm sensing distance, NPN) on my printer to perform auto-bed leveling. The sensor works at 12 V and the board at 5 V, so I used a voltage divider (as suggested in many places online) using a 10kOhm and a 15kOhm resistor.
In testing the sensor, I noticed that the sensor's LED turns on, but the printer (Anet A8) doesn't recognize the fact that the sensor is triggering. I'm running the Skynet3D firmware, though I still have not switched to the version with auto bed-leveling. Regardless, the inductive sensor should still act as a limit switch, yet the Z-Axis motor does not stop when the sensor triggers. Am I doing something wrong, or missing a step?
I have also measured the voltage across the leads that connect to the board and the voltage is slightly over 5 V when the sensor is not triggered, and lowers to around 2.5 V when the sensor triggers. I get the feeling it should be closer to 0 V.
Thank you very much for any help.

Perhaps the culprit is a pull-up resistor on the board. Normally, endstops on 3D printers use the microcontroller's internal pullups. These have a resistance of around 50kΩ, which is far too high to be a problem. However, if lower value pull up resistors are used on your main board, this could cause a problem.
The resistor of your voltage divider form, when the output of the sensor is low, a parallel pair of resistors to ground, with an effective resistance equal to 1/(1/10+1/15) = 6kΩ. If there was (let's say) a 4.7k pull-up resistor on the board, you'd expect to see around 2.8V on the output (because the pull-up resistor, together with the two resistors of your voltage divider, forms another voltage divider).
I don't have the Anet A8 main board myself, but on pictures I do see a set of 6 resistors suspiciously close to the thermistor and endstop connectors.
You could verify my suspicions by unplugging the endstop, powering down the electronics and then measuring the resistance between the endstop signal and 5V pins.
Possible solutions:

Desolder the offending resistor. This is pretty easy with SMD parts: you just alternate between heating up both sides until it slides off.
Use a diode in place of a voltage divider. Anode goes to the endstop connector, cathode to the signal of the probe. This prevents the high voltage of the probe from being seen by the electronics, while allowing the probe to drain the current from the pull-up resistor.

With this last solution, make sure the reverse leakage current of the diode is not too high. If it has a reverse current of (let's say) 50uA, then 50uA flowing through the (supposed 4.7k) pull-up to ground would raise the voltage at the signal pin to 5.002V. This is unlikely to be a problem, but with higher value resistors or higher leakage you'd see the voltage raise higher above 5V (which the microcontroller won't like).

Thank you very much. I will try to verify if it is in fact due to the pull-up resistor. If that is indeed the culprit I will try to install the diode as you suggested. If not, I will try an optocoupler. Thank you very much.
Also very nice to see a fellow puzzle designer answer my question ;)


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Looking to use 3D printing to make a master plate for rubber stamp vulcanizing
I am an art rubber stamp maker, using a vulcanizer to make art rubber stamps from molds that are usually created with a magnesium plate.
The normal process is to send artwork off to an engraving firm to acid etch the magnesium plate (11 pt depth is desired) and that metal plate is then used with uncured matrix boards (a bakelight type material) that is "cured" in the vulcanizer that is then used over and over to make as many images of the rubber stamps as one would want.  The vulcanizer heats up to 300 to 320 °F, and one usually uses 2000 to 2500 p.s.i. of pressure for 10 to 15 minutes to cure a mold.  Once the mold is cured, it is impervious to the heat used in the vulcanizer, and the heat is used to cure the unvulcanized rubber (again, 300 or so degrees, 2000 psi, or so, for 8 to 10 minutes.
In reading up about the melting points of PLA and ABS, the 200 °C equates to around 460 °F, so there doesn't seem like the heat of the vulcanizer will be an issue, and the pressure isn't applied all at once, one usually allows the uncured matrix board to heat up before the high pressure is obtained, I'm just curious if any other stamp makers have had success with this method and/or have any suggestions about STL files for this type of printing, if there needs to be 2 or 3 degree shoulder angle added to the file configuration, or any other suggestions.

Having done this form of rubber stamp creation in high school, so many decades ago, I like to see that it's still around. Consider to use a hobby-grade CNC machine for your metal masters rather than a 3D printer. I expect you could use aluminum for the block rather than magnesium, although the wear factor would be higher. If 3D printing is still the focus, also research nylon SLS printing. Nylon melting point is 200°C but I don't know if it has a glass transition temperature.

A hobby grade CNC is still pretty damn expensive, my son has a new 3D printer, so the experiment here is to see if a plastic master can be made, if it will in fact work in the vulcanizer, and if so, then look into purchasing a machine for my own uses.  Whether it is PLA, ABS, Nylon, or a PLA/metal hybrid, whatever works best would be of interest.  I just read a little on glass transition, I'm not sure it would be an issue for what I'm trying to do.  My use of the master shouldn't have any movement, other then vertical; maybe an issue.

@B.Lyon: Only if around $200 is "pretty damn expensive". It's roughly the same price as you can get a good 3D printer for these days. Granted that's a lot more than "using something you already have", but it's nowhere near the inaccessibly-expensive this stuff used to be.

This would likely not work. ABS has a glass transition temperature of 105 °C. It doesn't have a melting point because it's amorphous. Rather, as you heat the part up, it gradually transitions from a solid to a viscous liquid, but there is no "hard" transition from solid to molten at one particular temperature.
The glass transition temperature, at 105 °C, is significantly lower than the 200 °C "melting point" of ABS you quoted. At 160 °C, while ABS would not be molten sufficiently for 3D printing, it definitely becomes flexible and would deform easily.
I do not think it would hold its shape very well over the long period of time it has to spend in your vulcanizing machine, under high pressure and well above its glass transition temperature.
The surface of 3D printed objects also usually has a somewhat rough finish. If you wanted to make satisfactory stamps, you would probably need to spend a long time manually finishing the 3D printed master before making a mold from it.

I wasn't sure which material would be best use, so apparently the ABS is out; possibly using PLA might work, or if the temperature is still iffy, maybe a metal/PLA hybrid would do the trick.  I'm not too worried about the possibly "rough" finish of the 3D object, since what I am wanting to do is to make a 3D relief object from a 2D artwork image.  The only part that is important is for the top surface of the 3D item to be smooth (that would be the artwork image part) which would then be used to make the mold.  Buffing out the sidewalls could be done with a Dremel, if needed.  Thanks.

The glass transition temperature of PLA is even lower than that of ABS. It's around 65C. PLA can melt and deform if it's left in a car on a hot day. I think that to get this to work, you'll need to use an exotic material such as PEEK (which is very expensive, and challenging to print with).

I'm pretty sure I understand the concern about the glass transition temps; I'm just not sure that it would be an issue, let me explain.  The machine, a vulcanizer (mine, at least) looks similar to a bench top wood planer.  The top plate (platten) is fixed, the bottom one sits on a heat sealed hydraulic jack that moves straight up and down.  Both platens are heated up to around 315 to 320F.  An uncured board is heated for a bit before the pressure is applied, then everything is held in place for 12 to 15 minutes.  If I get one board out of a 3D print, everything is good.  Thanks.

PEI filament has glass transition temperature higher than or close to 200 C. It is difficult to print with as it is printed about 350 C and requires heated chamber reaching to 90 C.

Could you add something about how PEI is a suitable material for this application?

Upgrading to a printer that can print PEI is going to cost an order of magnitude more than a cheap CNC mill...

@Trish Well, he is basically looking for a plastic that can handle 160C. What more can I add?

@R..: Sure it will be costly (not ten times as much though), but a cheap CNC mill probably will not be able to carve delicate (probably) patterns on a stamp. It is not difficult to convert a 3D printer to a cheap CNC mill, but results for routers < 1mm is less than stellar. Also running costs of CNC mill is quite higher than a 3D printer.

@CemKalyoncu The only thing you are right about in regards to CNC is, that converting a printer to a CNC is not a good idea. For a tenth of the cost of a decent PEI-able printer (which start at about 3000 $), you can get quite decent micro-CNC mills that have sub-0.1mm accuracy - if they are extremely inacurate. Most will manage to get down to half or a third of that.

I am not arguing CNC is better fit. I am arguing it will probably cost more in the long run. Problem with cheap small CNCs is not the accuracy of movement. It is the vibrations. I guess you can fix it to a much larger desk and have good stability or use soft and smooth material (wood is terrible). I have seen many 0.3mm routers breaking due to the tiniest vibrations. Also, I probably will need less than 100$ on top of 150$ I paid for my printer to be able to do PEI. But that will require someone with experience which I presume the OP lacks.

I don't know if I understood your question properly. You using the mold to create a rubber stamp and then you use that to stamp over stuff? If so, you simply can use 3D printing to create the stamp, if not, my answer is rubbish.
You can use a flex material to create the stamp itself and then use some hard material to create the handle. Also, you can create a mold around the stamp and use resin to fill it and/or create a resin mold and then use that mold to create the stamps by filling the "holes" with more resin.

The mold is used to create the same image multiple times; the product I am selling is the rubber stamp image itself, for consumers to use for their own creative uses.

Ok, sorry! I misunderstood the question.

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Marlin acceleration issue on corners
I use Simplify3D to slice my prints, and I've set it to print everything with 4000 Acceleration and 50 Acceleration for outer perimeters only.
Everything works fine, Marlin changes acceleration settings without issues, but with low accelerations my corners are bigger than they should:

The object I'm printing is this one: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2478785
As you can see in the model, highlighted parts in the picture should have 90° corners with perfect straight lines.
It seems that Marlin adjusts acceleration just for print speed, without adjusting it too for the extruder, so the extruder extrudes a constant amount of filament, which on slow speeds (corners) results in an overextrusion and on high speeds (lines) results in an underextrusion, causing bad corners and inaccurate prints.
This happens with acceleration between 50 and 300. If I use 1000 as acceleration for perimeters the problem is gone, but I need to use small numbers in order to have clean corners and avoid ghosting.
Am I the only one experiencing this? What could be causing the issue?

It seems that Marlin adjusts acceleration just for print speed, without adjusting it too for the extruder, so the extruder extrudes a constant amount of filament, which on slow speeds (corners) results in an overextrusion and on high speeds (lines) results in an underextrusion, causing bad corners and inaccurate prints.

This is not the case. Marlin accelerates the extruder perfectly in sync with the printhead, and the speed of the extruder is perfectly proportional to the movement speed. However, the extruder itself has a certain amount of "lag": as you feed in filament, pressure builds up. As you stop feeding filament (or slow down), the built up pressure causes the extrusion to continue for a while. Thus, even with "correct" control of the extruder, you don't necessarily get the desired amount of extrusion.
Marlin has a feature, that you can enable in the advanced configuration file, called "extruder advance" or "linear advance". It looks at the acceleration/deceleration of the extruder, and advances the extruder a few extra steps when the speed increases, and backs it off again as the speed decreases. You will need to tune this feature to get rid of the overextrusion at the corners.

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Is my 5A polyfuse on my RAMPS board bad?
My printer stopped printing during a few prints, and i found that the extruder had stopped heating, and the motors had stopped running. I checked the code, and nothing was wrong. My 5A fuse though, was extremely hot. I wanted to verify whether it was my fuse that had turned bad or there was some kind of short in my circuitry.
With the power switched on, none of my appliances drew any current. However, the RAMPS board drew about 0.16 amps.
Is that normal?
If that is normal, does it mean that my fuse needs replacement? Because none of my loads seemed to draw unnecessary current.
Thanks in advance.

RAMPS should draw some current as it has Arduino, drivers and LEDs attached to it. If the fuse gets too hot, most likely it's broken. Better replace it with normal replaceable fuse kit.

As @Mikhail Z commented, it does sound like the fuse may be bad.
The first thing to do is put an ohmmeter across the fuse (with power off!) -- if you get high resistance the fuse is definitely bad. However, if you get low resistance that does not prove the fuse is good -- see @Tom's comments below re. polyfuses in particular, and how to disconnect from the rest of the circuit.
If you don't get lucky testing a fuse in-line, remove it and put the ohmmeter on it in isolation. Whether good or bad, it's good to put in a fuse-holder or socket, so you never have to de-solder the fuse again.
Some boards use auto-resetting fuses or circuit breakers, which might have more complicated ways of failing (you can always replace the part to be sure). I personally avoid auto-resetting for anything that supplies heaters; if there's a problem I want to intervene rather than letting it try again endlessly.
Since the heaters and the motors are both down, it's a good bet it's the fuse or something very early (that is, "near" the power supply). If it were a single motor or single heater, then the output control (typically a solid-state relay, or perhaps the logic controlling it) would be a better bet. Though unlikely, it's possible for two or more such controls to fail at once, so don't rule that out completely.
Let us know what you discover.

Instead of taking the fuse out of circuit (which requires desoldering it), you can simply unplug the terminal with the 4 power wires. The fuse just connects the power input to the rest of the circuit, so if you unplug the power supply the fuse is effectively out of circuit.

Also, odds are he'll get a low resistance reading on the fuse anyway. It's a PTC fuse. They increase their resistance as they get hotter, and as they increase their resistance they get hotter. They're designed to stay cool when operated at under their rated current, and thermally run away when you try to draw too much current. If you measure the fuse when it's cold, it will have low resistance. It's possible either the fuse is faulty (and trips below its rated current) or the motors/heaters are drawing too much current. You can't tell by measuring the resistance because it's a resettable fuse.

Its very likely the polyfuse is bad. In an ideal printer, given the heater cores and great deal of power, polyfuses are some of the worst things you can use. Polyfuses have a tendency to fail in "interesting" ways, especially around their trigger amperage. Fire is one of those failure modes.
Not only that, but if this is a noname chinese RAMPS 1.4, then you're also looking at 1/2 oz pour (it should be 1 oz or more for power traces) for the circuit board and cheaping on everything possible. I've a few boards like this that are a firetrap, along with a badly poured PCB heated bed. In that case, I would consider getting a better controller. If that's outside of your budget there is another way to do this.
Unsolder the polyfuses and put wire between them. Normally, this is unprotecting yourself. But we're going to fix that. Head to the local automotive shop and get yourself inline fuses (think of 2 wires with a fuse in a pill shaped device). You want a 5A and a 11A fuse. Or if you did the math and know better, get the fuses you calculated for. Now, make sure they're inline with the + side of the power.
You now have external fuses that you know are rated for the appropriate amperage, unlike polyfuses.

It is not entirely clear to me how zou want to use the 5A AND the 11A fuse. I think it is rather dangerous to give advice about fuses on a controller board without being totally clear how things should be done, especially because most of the questions in this field already show that the knowledge about the matter is not too deep. It creates a similar kind of firetraps you've been talking about without people realizing it. My downvote will be removed if the (in principle good answer) is a safe answer.

Right now, doing nothing, a RAMPS with the polyfuses is ALREADY a fire hazard.
I think I was also quite clear. You unsolder the polyfuses, and put heavier wires in their place.
Then you go to the automotive store and get inline fuses to hook on the power inputs. So it looks like   12v->wire->fuse->wire->screw terminal  for each 12v line going in.


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XYZ calibration without PINDA probe
I have been happily printing with my Original Prusa i3 MK2S for a few weeks now. I have been thinking about replacing the PINDA probe with a BLTouch tactile sensor.
If I do so, how will I be able to do the XYZ calibration? I believe that the tactile sensor would only be able to do Z calibration. If I need to redo the XYZ calibration in the future for some reason, is it possible to do manually? Or would I need to remount an extruder with a PINDA probe temporarily?

What features of the BLTouch make it preferable to the PINDA or conversely, what features of the PINDA are you replacing with the BLTouch?

If you want to replace the PINDA probe (whatever reason for) then you can go with the BLTouch Sensor but only for certain operations.
It will be good for leveling the bed before printing because here, only the bed level is important and not the skew of the bed.
If it comes to calibration of the skew itself, the BLTouch Sensor will not be usable because the PINDA Probe detects the boundaries of the copper circles on the print bed. The BLTouch cannot detect these copper areas.
The PINDA Probe is a proximity sensor.
If you want to do a recalibration you have to mount the PINDA again.
Therefore, it is possible but not recommended.

The copper dots are there because "PINDA" is, from what I could find, an inductive proximity sensor which requires metal.  My guess is that they were concerned that the heating elements would not allow a consistent offset due to the pattern being different at locations or something else so they added copper target to make everything consistent.  Also, the BLTouch sensor pin raises and lowers electronically.  It does not interfere with the hotend and it is mounted above the hotend when in the retracted position.  See - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bPx5PDBLzc

There is no need to add/remove the BLTouch between uses, it is made to be mounted and left alone.  It will work effectively the same as PINDA but may have variation if the bed isn't clean where it probes where the PINDA is sensing the copper without touching it.

Right, PINDA is a proximity sensor. And it detects the boundary of the copper circles. The Controller can then calculate the skew of the bed and do a compensation

The BLTouch doesn't need to detect these copper circles because it physically touches the bed.  They both will accomplish the same thing but different ways.

yes sure, it detects it for leveling the bed. so it detects if it touches the surface of the bed. but it cannot detect the boundaries of the circle. this is required for calculating the skew of the bed during the calibration. Calibration is not the same than bed leveling is!


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Heater cartridge connector for Original Prusa i3 MK2S
I am thinking about rewiring the extruder heater cartridge. What is the connector on the Rambo Mini? I'm thinking about putting a similar connector close to the extruder to make replacement easy. I tried looking through the schematic but could find the part number for the connector (I believe on page 4?).

I removed the first question.

This is referred to as a Terminal Block Connector.   More specifically this is a 2-position pluggable terminal block connector commonly manufactured by Phoenix Contact and others.
Newark.com Sale Page: Pluggable Terminal Block, 5.08 mm, 2 Positions, 24 AWG, 12 AWG, 2.5 mm², Screw
Larger Picture: 2-Position Terminal Block Connectors


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How to make an object hold water
I made a tea bowl, but it leaked when making it in PLA...
What are the key points to keep in mind when designing and printing an object that is intended to hold water using an FDM printer?

See this question: https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/2832/is-it-possible-to-make-a-hermetic-sealed-3d-printed-case

If you use ABS to print your object, also take a look at using Aceton. This can help melt/weld the 3d printed layers together. This should also remove tiny problems and create a smooth surface.

I've found that a double-walled base seems to give better results than trying to make the base very thick. Any imperfections in the print, or cracking caused by removing the print can lead to leaks - but if there is layer/infill/layer, the result seems to turn out better for me.
Vase mode can be effective (although won't be easy to combine with the above unless you slice your model in several parts), and I've had success whilst using 100% vase mode for vases to hold water. This demonstrates that a single wall thickness is sufficient to achieve a watertight print.

When designing the object, you should make sure your object is completely enclosed (obviously). When printing, try increasing the print temperature so that the layers stick to each other well. The most important thing is the print temperature, because if the layers don't adhere to each other well, you will get a leak. The wall thickness of the object can be thin, as long as it isn't so thin that it has too little strength to hold anything.
Some tips:

Printing in vase mode can save loads of time, otherwise the printer wastes time doing each layer separately.
Your nozzle should be 0.4 mm and up, otherwise the print will take forever.


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Layman term explanation of the difference between voxel and point cloud
can anyone explain in the simplest terms please what is the difference between a point cloud and a voxel mesh?

A point cloud is often derived by sampling.  Each point represents an observation.  Sometimes, a point cloud is turned into a surface by fitting triangles to the points in the form of an STL file.
A raster is a 2D grid of pixels.  It divides the area of an image into constant-sized little squares.  Each of these squares has a value.
A 3D raster is made of voxels.  It divides 3-space into constant-sized little cubes.  Each of these cubes has a value.
Pixels and voxels are rendering techniques.  A point cloud is a sampling technique.
The Wikipedia article, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voxel, is helpful.
In a real system the pixels may not be square or the voxels not strictly cubic, but in every system I've worked with, they do form a regular tiling of the plane for pixels, and fill 3d space for voxels.

I believe a point cloud is just a collection of points, while voxels - "3D pixels" - define location and a cube area. They seem to be pretty equivalent mathematically.


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What is a good book to read about 3D printer settings?
I've google searched many forums, blogs, and articles about 3D printer settings. There is a lot of guess work. Most of the materials are of amateur technical quality lacking the keen and systematic insight of an expert. Usually books are high in quality and written by experts.
I have built a 3D printer and would like to maximize my print quality. Are there any good books that have an in-dept analysis of printer settings?

There may be books out there, but purchasing a book isn't in your best interest. The reason so much of the information seems to be from amateurs is because every 3d printer is different.
To find the correct settings for your printer you need to calibrate it based on the material, slicer software, hardware, and firmware. Your best option to find a good starting point is to check the manufacturer's website and look for a forum.
Even using the same printer and material as someone else has the potential to yield different results.


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Anet A8 extruder is clicking and not extruding
I was printing with my Anet A8 and it pulled the filament spool off of the shelf I have the printer on and forced the filament out of the extruder. I took apart the extruder and removed the debris that was left inside, re-leveled the bed and tried to start another print. When the extruder tries to feed the filament it makes a clicking sound and won't extrude. How do I fix this?

There are a number of unanswered questions which may serve as a guideline to narrow down a solution.
Instead of attempting a new print, consider to remove the filament again. Shine a light from below and look into the barrel of the extruder to determine if you can see light. If this is mechanically impractical, move to next option.
Manually feed the filament into the extruder. Use the panel to advance the filament rather than creating a print. Does the filament feed properly?
If yes, the problem is not in the extruder system, nor the heat block or hot end. You said you re-leveled the bed. Double check that the nozzle is not being blocked by the bed, preventing filament from extruding.
If the filament does not feed properly, you may not have completely cleared the heat break, hot end, or nozzle. If you can get or have nylon filament in the correct size, perform a nylon cleaning operation. This involves removing the existing filament, raising the nozzle temperature to 240°C while pushing nylon through. You have to be able to manually force the filament through until you see only clean nylon from the nozzle.
I have had to push nylon in at the correct temperature, then pull it back out without any extrusion due to the depth of the blockage.
After you've pushed as much as you can to get clean nylon (or none), cool the hot end to descend below 140°C. After a moment or two, set the temperature to 140°C and forcibly remove the filament from the upper portion of your assembly. It may require pliers and substantial force to get this out.
Repeat the heating, extrusion (or attempts), removal until you get clean nylon from the nozzle and clean nylon at the tip of the removed filament.
Only just today, I had to clear my nozzle using this method, but I was unable to get a reasonable extrusion of clean nylon. I have a 0.4 mm nozzle drill and applied that to the tip of the nozzle, carefully.
I found a burned on segment by this additional step and succeeding nylon cleanings went well and my nozzle is printing cleanly again.
If you don't have nylon, you can perform similar cleanings (called cold pulls) with ABS or PLA.


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How may I identify the firmware in use on my 3D printer?
I have a generic printer with no support documentation.
How do I determine what firmware is in use so that I can research how to make the print run?

Send M115 to the printer. This command is

Request the Firmware Version and Capabilities of the current microcontroller.

Response example:

ok PROTOCOL_VERSION:0.1 FIRMWARE_NAME:FiveD FIRMWARE_URL:http%3A//reprap.org MACHINE_TYPE:Mendel EXTRUDER_COUNT:1

For more info see here, RepRapWiki- G-code - M115: Get Firmware Version and Capabilities.

Of course, this isn't guaranteed to tell the truth, just whatever your generic clone firmware had in its source code.

Please excuse my beginner state.  I have the printer assembled and turned on.  It has an SD card. I was hoping to learn how to 'send' it anything. How does one send an M115 to the printer. Create a .bat file for the SD card?

Your board probably talks serial. Use Marlin or Repetier host to send the G-codes to your printer

After much research I am still with no answer.  The printer is stand alone. I cannot connect it via marlin or repetier as I believe that requires connecting by USB.  USB connect fails with Device Descriptor Request Failed.  How do I identify the printer in order to get a drive for it? or am I barking up the wrong tree.

@Gord It is very unlikely your printer needs a printer-specific driver. Take a look at the mainboard to see if you can identify the USB-to-Serial converter, and install the driver for that. It's usually either an FTDI (clone), CH340 or AtMega32u4-based one.

Another option to send gcode to your printer is the "Terminal" tab in OctoPrint. In general OctoPrint is very convenient, worth the $20 for a RaspberryPI.

Sending G-code commands to a printer is described in this question: What is a printer console/terminal?.

Startup
Usually, when a printer starts up, the screen shows a boot-screen. This contains usually the firmware version, but not who or what the settings are.
LCD: About Printer
Some printers have an LCD main menu item that is "About Printer" or similar. It would one of the last items if enabled.
In Marlin it is disabled by default, and you'd need to uncomment #define LCD_INFO_MENU in Configuration_adv.h.
Terminal
Connect a terminal and send M115. In most cases, this will tell you the current Firmware and version, as it is annotated in the firmware. This doesn't mean that those lines always were updated by who changed the files, but it is a good indication what was the basis for the installed firmware.


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How to set up USB camera for Octoprint on Debian system
I installed OctoPrint on my nettop (Foxconn NT-330) to control custom-built Delta printer. I also have generic USB endoscope-type camera attached to the nettop.
Basic setup went well, printer is visible and controllable by OctoPrint server.
USB camera is visible via usb-list and mplayer can output live video.
The problem is that on the OctoPrint Webcam configuration tab it requires "Stream URL" which I don't know where to get from.

You need to install a web-cam server on your Nettop. Octorint recommends Yawcam for windows and mjpg-streamer for linux.
mjpg-streamer: https://github.com/jacksonliam/mjpg-streamer
Yawcam: http://www.yawcam.com/
OctoPrint has instructions for installing mjpg-streamer on a raspberry pi. The process should be very similar for a Nettop running Debian so its a good starting place. The instructions are a little ways down the page: https://github.com/foosel/OctoPrint/wiki/Setup-on-a-Raspberry-Pi-running-Raspbian

Thanks for the answer but why would I need webcam server for Windows?

I didn't notice that you said you were running debian in the title. You'll want to use the mjpg-streamer webcam server.


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3ds Max STL Export Resets Pivot
I am trying to modify the pivot of a STL file. Correct me at this point if this isn't even possible. So I load my obj in 3ds Max, center the pivot and center the object via the pivot in the world to 0 0 0.
Then I export my one selected centered object as a STL. After that I import the same stl again and the pivot is not centered. But the pivot isn't located at the original reset-point, it is slightly offset from the center. It looks like the centre of gravity. My object is a rim. How can I center the pivot in the STL?

You need to revisit what you are describing to us as 'pivot'. I assume you mean the origin of the STL object around which your slicer will rotate the object? I will take a guess that your slicer is only allowing you to rotate about a point of it's choice.

Solved it. It was a 3ds Max-problem. Worked just fine with blender.

Is there something you can post as a self-answer?

@SeanHoulihane Not really. Still don't know why this is behaving like this. Im exporting with Blener now. This works for me. But i'm still interested in a solution.

Hi Tom, Have you found a solution yet? Even if you haven't and are still waiting for someone to come up with an adequate solution, it could still be worth putting together your two comments and post them as a temporary workaround answer. You don't have to accept it (so that someone else will feel that they should post a solution), but your workaround could be useful for someone else with the same issue


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What could be causing this spotty extrusion?
I'm getting this printing where it's not laying the plastic down very well. What could be causing this? I've printed with these settings before, and it turned out just fine. If you need any other info to properly diagnose this, let me know.
I'm using a Robo3D R1+
[

This is too fast extrusion vs temperature, slow down the infill speed or increase 15° more the temperature.

@FernandoBaltazar Make an answer?

Double-check the layer height.  @FernandoBaltazar 's comment is probably the answer, but if the amount of extruded material is too little for the Z-height, the material won't adhere to the previous layer.

Fernando I think you are correct. Add it as an answer, and I'll mark it for you.

I´ve seen this in my Prusa due two parameters that may vary your results depending on climate if your printer has not a temperature chamber or having a mechanical issue too.
Lack of extrusion is due a cold filament which it can't reach the melting temperature due a fast extrusion feed; I mean in normal conditions we can print @70 mm/s with 195 °C but on wet or colder days is not possible so I need to slow down the speed (feed rate) with 10 % less than normal to get @60 mm/s or less until get a good flow with out modifying the G-code. If I try to print faster on normal conditions I will get the same lack of material due 195 °C is a low temperature (this is an example).
If I set the temperature 200 °C or 210 °C I will get a better flow and also print faster than @80 mm/s (not affected too much on climate on 100 % feed rate).
For first layer I´m using an speed of 40 mm/s to allow a good adhesion and Z height 90 % of layer height (0.22 typically or 0.18).
Mechanical side: The extruder is not feeding all the filament due a missing pression on the traction gear (filament slip).

I had this problem also. After a few hours of troubleshooting and changing the extruder temp, printing speed, layer height, and infill density. I realized that I had set the PLA diameter at 2.85 mm when it was 1.75 mm. Changing that fixed all my problems.

Hi and welcome to SE.3DP! It would seem that the OP had a different issue. Your issue would appear to be Test print coming out spongy

@Greenonline I had a similar problem as OP. When trying to making test cube it turned out solid bottom and soft, spongy top. Issue? Poor quality filament causing partial blockage to the nozzle.


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Help! 3D Printing Corals for Aquarium Decorations
We manufacture artificial corals for aquarium decorations.
We are trying to use 3D scanning and printing to duplicate live corals. Please see attached photos, left is 3D printed model, right is coral molded using resin.
The problem is lacking detail, the real corals have pores (tiny holes).
Can anybody please help to add pores to the 3D printed corals? Maybe using Blender 3D software?

Unless your anticipated sales are less than a couple dozen per month,  you will be much much better off with molded products.

we need 3D printed corals for molding. To open molds, samples have to be damaged. Real corals can be used only once, then they are gone. Thanks

Realistically, this can only really be achieved with a DLP printer (search Carbon 3D Printing). There are too many variables for this to be feasible with FDM, SLS/SLA, or other types. To get the level of texturing to come out will require very fine (~50-75 microns) layer heights which are difficult to achieve consistent results on anything other than DLP.

@tbm0115 SLA and DLP are both resin based and both can achieve this, SLS and DLSM are powder based but might achieve this depending on powder grain size - with very fine powders they come even to resin based SLA/DLP.

First thing to check it's, What printer are you using? is FDM or SLA/SLS? Technology used is the great bottleneck to achieve the results that you want to.
Also, going cheap in 3D printing it's a way to get bad results. A good setup it's really important to get a great XY and Z resolution.
FDM it's not able to achieve the same resolution as SLS/SLA has, but it's cheaper.
If you using FDM try reducing wall speed, that will increase the detail level. Using a smaller nozzle and lower layer settings will increase it as well.
EDIT: Also, you need to check in the 3D model how the model is. If the details that you're looking for are not there, there is nothing else to do but start doing it by hand.

The 3D printer I am using is LulzBot TAZ 6, 3mm PLA. I think the loss of detail occurred during the 3D scan process, STL does not have tiny pores. I can not find any other 3D scan equipment or technics that have high resolution to pick up the tiny pores. So I am trying to add the pores using some sort of editing software, maybe Blender or Microsoft 3D Builder? if you could provide any suggestion, I'd really appreciate it.

It depend on what software you learn or want to learn. I use fusion360 but don't know if it's going to be able to handle that job, never did that before

I'll continue doing research, if found a solution, I'll post it here. Thanks again :)

As you told in a comment, you are using an FDM printer. Now... here's the problem:
FDM can't do details this small with a standard nozzle. I do print occasionally an item that has a 0.2 mm circular depression in its wall. To show, I need to print with a 0.2 nozzle. So take note: smaller nozzle = smaller achieveable details. As a rule of thumb, the nozzle diameter is the smallest visible detail in XY and 2 layer thicknesses in Z. Remember, that some intricate details can become SUPER fragile.
Next up is print time: The smaller the nozzle, the longer the print, as you need more movements to follow the now more complex outline and to achieve the same density of interior, more (but thinner) interior walls too.
So, FDM has two limitations:

Nozzle size is limited downwards, limiting the achieveable details.
Print time is the great unequalizer, as halving the nozzle diameter usually results in more than double the print time.

But fret not, there is a way out: Go even tinyer! Stereolothography and other resind based systems (DLP/SLA) are more time efficient when it comes to details and can manage even smaller details. Under some conditions (very fine powder and precise laser) SLS and DLSM might achieve the size, but nylon based prints don'T work under water while metal prints might not serve the purpose really.
In either case, your print file needs to have the details you wants to print: it makes no difference if your 3D scan does not include the pores what system you use - information not included can't be printed. Check your Slicer if the model has the surface you want.

Perhaps with the scanned data you could import it into some sort of 3D modeling application such as Blender and add the pores either manually or with a modifier. See Blender - modifiers.

authors: Вася Медвідь


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prusa i3 not extruding enough plastic
I built my 3d printer from a kit a few weeks ago, and initially, it was working fine. However, when I took it with me to college, something must have went awry. The first layer comes out fine, but afterwards, the infill breaks apart. It extrudes the entire time, but there are gaps in it that make prints porous, unisitely, and brittle. The printer is a prussa i3 knockoff. I have included a gallery of a recent print attempt of mine. I hope you guys can help me diagnose the problem.
Gallery: https://i.stack.imgur.com/xRiJT.jpg

For your troubleshooting process, I would suggest to use a simple model, perhaps a small cylinder of 20-25 mm diameter, 5-6 mm height.
You've not indicated what material you are using, nor the extruder/nozzle temperatures, but the print appears to be suffering from low temperature problems. You would also include the slicer software name although I don't believe this matters.
The initial layer will print reasonably well, if your slicer performs a reduced speed layer one. The slower filament movement through the nozzle allows it time to heat up for an acceptable layer, while the faster later layers will prevent enough heat to be imparted to the filament.
Increase your temperature at least 10°C for the initial test, as your part is quite a bit below temperature, in my opinion. If the first test is not acceptable, increase by 5°C for each succeeding test.
Keep in mind that individual brands will have different optimum temperatures and within a specific brand, different colors will require temperature adjustment.
The "initially working fine" reference does not include information regarding filament change, color change or other useful information such as print speed, layer thickness, etc., but I'm aiming for a temperature adjustment as the most likely answer.


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Correct amount of force on piece of paper when leveling bed
I am having some problems with bed adhesion and curling of the edges. Also my printer causes a lot of stringing when creating the first layer. This can cause the print to let go of the bed and then it just drags around with the nozzle.
I have a Anet A8 and I tried multiple different amounts of force pressing down on the paper. However, what is the desired amount of force pushing down on the paper? Is it supposed to move freely, or is it supposed to be quite hard to move around under the nozzle?
I'm using basic filament from Gearbest: Gearbest Filament.

Actual task in your case is to find correct nozzle height for the first layer, so the force for pulling out the paper is not important. It just has to be the same every time you make calibration. Because of the different force you apply, different paper thickness and other factors, found position can only be treated as 'relative'.
To complete the calibration you will have to make several test prints with different initial heights, starting from the lowest, adding 0.1-0.2mm (depending on the nozzle diameter) before you find the right value.
Please note that 1) initial layer height is not the only factor, affecting adhesion 2) some slicer programs may add not the same amount of height that you specify

I might add that, unless the OP has an automatic leveler, the test prints may adhere well in one area but not another until the bed is perfectly parallel to the X- and Y-drives.

In this case I should have added other calibration details, such as filament extrusion multiplier which also affect adhesion but not add to the clarity.

@CarlWitthoft This is the case, yesterday I leveled the bed with pretty good tension on the piece of paper. The skirt printed perfectly but in the center the PLA was not sticking to the bed, it was dragging filament arround in big stringy blobs but i left it alone and it printed pretty well. It just made the first layer pretty bad.


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Raise3D Wi-Fi Protocol
I am interesting in connecting my RepRap printer to ideaMaker using the same Wi-Fi protocol they use for their Raise3D printers.

I am sure I could emulate it using a Raspberry Pi if I knew the format of the protocol (I suspect it is pretty simple).

Is the protocol documented anywhere?
Is there open source for something that uses the protocol?
Has anyone that has a Raise3D printer looked at the packets it uses?  I suspect the protocol is just G-code in a wrapper.

is not a suitable question for stackexchange.

Why isn't 3) acceptable?  what rule is it breaking?  There is nothing illegal about it?

It's not a question. It's a request. Your (entire) question reads as if you are trying to start a discussion on reverse-engineering the Raise3D protocol. This isn't a discussion board, and the Q&A format (with a single question followed by a set of answers) isn't the right place for the back-and-forth discussion that would inevitably be necessary for this reverse engineering. I guess the answer to your question will ultimately be "no, it's a proprietary protocol and nobody knows how it works" and I don't think we can/should go further than that on this site.

@TomvanderZanden I modified the question  to remove reverse engineering request

If this is 3D printing related i guess it should stay here . Why idea maker ? why not  use something  like Octopi ?  Is it just for ease of use ?

Somewhat ironically, there is a Reverse Engineering SE in beta. It might be worth asking your edited out question there. I rather like this question, and it is something that I could get my teeth into. Have you made any progress since asking it?

@Greenoline.  This hasn't made it on my work list yet.  Using my printer stand-alone using the SD card seems to work well.  Robotics season is over for now so the printer is pretty idle anyway.  Also, I have a lot of other project ahead of this one.

What is the benefit of using this setup instead of Octopi?

I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is a list question of 3 related, but not well-defined questions.

@Trish I think the general question is clear an on-topic, can you make recommendations on how to improve it.

@markshancock The question is on topic, but it is 3 questions. Where is the documentation (on topic, stackable). Is there OS use of it (on topic, but not stackable because it is a list question). What are the packages in the Raise3D protocol? (on topic, stackable, probably also Reverseengineering.SE?).

@Trish The main question is "What is the Protocol"
The three listed questions are just alternate paths to answer the question.

OK, I have found the first piece of this puzzle.
"The Raise3D printers listen on TCP port 31625 for remote control from ideaMaker."


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how to level kossel's endstops?
My printer is kossel (delta 3d printer).
I have a probe far away from the nozzle (offset -x45 y17),every time I run G29, the result is unacceptable, the z distance between points is over 0.5mm, it's not because of the probe's accuracy, I test repeatedly the result is the same.
I cost much time level the bed, finally I realize maybe it's because not only my bed, but also my z max endstops are not horizontal.
My question is

how to level the z endstops? (now I think both bed and z endstops are not horizontal)
is my analyzation correct? any other possible?

First, you should make sure that printing surface is adjusted correctly: it must be perpendicular to all three delta columns, all other adjustable parts must be checked and adjusted if necessary (depending on actual printer design).
Assuming that upper end-stops can be adjusted as well.

Home effector with G28 command, then move it close to one column (some versions of Marlin have these commands hardcoded in the menu)
Move Z-axis slowly until the nozzle touches the bed
Record Z position
Repeat above steps for two remaining columns
Then adjust end stops: if you need to raise nozzle (it touches the bed too early), then you move endstop up. If nozzle is too high (it reaches Z0 and still toes not touch the bed), then move endstop down.
Move endstops very gently because sometimes it it can be a matter of a fraction of millimeter.
After endstops calibration is done, verify that nozzle is properly calibrated at the center of the bed. Or run G29 if you like.

This procedure should make your endstops properly adjusted relative to the printing bed.

Thx. I knew how to adjust printing surface when endstops are correct, and I knew how to adjust endstops when printing surface is leveled. But my problem is I do not know how to adjust both of them. Can you tell me how to adjust the printing surface of the kossel ?

For proper adjustment you must always start with printing surface. As I noted in the answer, first thing you need to do is to ensure that printing surface is orthogonal to all three columns. You can check it with machinist square or any similar tools. This will conclude printing bed calibration. Only after that you should proceed with calibrating end stops.


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What should I consider before buying a 3D printer?
I am currently looking to buy a 3D printer. I've done some research about which technologies and materials they use. I've seen some models seems good so far but my concern is 'Are they mechanically solid?'. I don't want it to become a scrap after some usage. Since there are a lot of enthusiasts here that use 3D printer regularly, I would like to get use of your experience with 3D printers and their producer brands.
I am not buying it for hobby. I'll mostly use it to make cases for circuit boards.

I think you are asking a too broad and opinion based question. I would avoid asking for experiences and opinions with specific printers or brands, instead, consider rewording your question to focus on specific features/aspects you should consider when buying a printer and how to make a purchasing decision, without soliciting opinions on which printer is "best".

If you can quantify "able to handle X psi at Ydegrees", we can suggest proper materials. Production parts are routinely made on 3D printers - when  the mechanical properties meet the needs, and the economics make sense.

@TomvanderZanden Try to look at it from the perspective of a specific use-case for circuit board cases.

Not surprisingly, your question is a difficult one to pin down in a precise manner. I'm going to pull one line from your post as the focus for my answer.

I would like to get use of your experience with 3D printers and their producer brands

I would suggest that you isolate a few models (or more) that hold your interest. A good example of a popular, quality printer is the Prusa i3 MK2s, although some would consider it to be expensive. It's available in kit form, as well as fully assembled, another topic entirely.
Find the forums specific to the printer models you've selected and read as many posts as you can. Look for user postings describing problems and suggested solutions. Look for user postings describing modifications which implies a problem that had to be solved by the user or community before the printer performed satisfactorily.
I've assisted in the building of a Prusa i3 MK2s recently and am currently assisting in a home-spun design based on a number of other generic printers. The owner of this model is incorporating as many modifications as he can find. That tells me that this model, although not yet completed, is likely to be a handful to tune and operate to his/my satisfaction.
On the flip side, everything I've read about the Prusa told me that for the public library for which it was destined, it would be the lowest level of trouble for any model I researched. I was asked to make a recommendation and performed the suggested research via all the forums I could find.
The above sounds like a direct recommendation, and it could be, but you have not provided too many specifics. The Prusa i3 MK2s (genuine, not clone) would likely print well for your circuit board cases, but there certainly would be other models to do the same job well enough.
Watch out for print bed size, based on your board size requirements. Heated beds usually mean more money, but greater variety of materials can be used as a result.
If you plan to limit your use specifically to circuit board cases, you may not have to be concerned about "expandability" from a feature standpoint. Single extruder models are fine for almost all 3D printing, but it's handy sometimes to have dual nozzle capacity. That's another plus for the Prusa i3 MK2s with an add-on kit, but not a big deal for case building, I think.
Look in the various forums that provide general support for 3D printing (such as this one) for other posts from people who use Brand X 3D printer and have had a problem with, for example, bed adhesion, filament quality, layer shifts, nozzle clogging, just about anything.
As with many things, high quality usually means higher price. The library Prusa has been zero problems for me to support on a volunteer basis, hence my recommendation. The makerspace also enjoyed the building process by buying the kit, saving US$200 in the process and learning more about the printer.
Keep an eye out for users who have experienced broken components or typically troublesome components. You would not want to buy a printer model that ships with a junky hot-end assembly if the suggested modification is to upgrade to an E3D V6 to make it work properly. A user who posts about a continuing belt breakage (rare!) could have a user-induced problem or a printer design problem, which means you'll want to cull out some of the information you see.
Good luck, it's a tough decision, to be sure.


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Anet A8 - hot end temperature still same
I've recently purchased Anet A8. First print went well, but now, the hot end temperature stays at ~230 °C. When I touch it, it is still cold. I tried the thermistor, and it correctly changes resistance when I blow on it (from 100 kΩ to ~70 kΩ). The voltage in connector is about 300 mV.
Does anybody know what could be wrong?

Have you tried swapping the bed and extruder thermistors at the board?

I tried it. I fixed the problem, see my answer.

Apologies for the previously botched edit. Poor eyesight :-)

In my case, I had a bad resistor on my board. R41 had only 2.2 kΩ instead of 4.7. I replaced it and everything works now.

Just out of interest, how did you know that the value of R41 was incorrect, and what the correct value should be? Did you deduce it from looking at a schematic, or comparing like components or by calculation? Or was it just a faulty resistor, that was the incorrect resistance when measured with a DMM? Was the incorrect part caused by a manufacturing or design error?

I measured it with Ohmmeter and compared the result against value written on it. I really don't know how resistor may become 'bad'. Shortening maybe?

It could have been badly soldered and over heated when the board was made; damaged in the fabrication process of the resistor itself, or; just got old? :-) Note that care should be taken when measuring components when on the board, rather than in isolation, as other components in parallel can change the actual reading.


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What choices do we have on Clear resins for DLP?
I'm searching for a truly clear DLP resin which can polymerize between 400nm and 405nm.
I found the unpigmented from FunToDo, but it seems to be yellow-clear:

I'm trying to achieve something similar to this:

Is there any resin out there which costs likely the same (about 50€/liter) which will give results like this?

Formlabs sells a completely clear resin that they've even made simple lenses from, but it's about $150 for a liter. I have no idea how well it would work with your DLP setup. Looks amazing in the pictures though.
MatterHackers sells PhotoCentric UV Firm Clear for $90 for a liter as well. It's not quite as easy finding pictures of this stuff, but from what it looks like, it's still pretty decent. Assuming you've got a UV DLP
Disclaimer, the PhotoCentric stuff says it's a UV resin (10nm to 400nm IIRC) and I have not the slightest clue what Formlabs designs their resin for, so YMMV.


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Z axis not moving on Prusa i3v 8"
I have a Maker Farm Prusa i3v 8" i just finished building.  Initially when i first homed it, it ran fine, it even ran a test g code for movement.  The problem is now the Z axis wont move anymore.  First i checked for physical issues such as binding or nuts coming out of traps, everything's OK there.  In Pronterface i can move x & y no problem, but Z will not move, there is no noise from the steppers.  Also unusual is the the Z axis is not on the endstop, its resting on its own in a spot (the hotend is about 2mm off the bed).  I ordered some new end stop switches to try on my Z axis....any thoughts?  I'll update after switch install.

Can you check for loose connections? No noise at all from the motor usually means it's not turning on. Can you move the Z by hand, or is the motor locked?

Does it move at all? E.g. with a faulty end-stop it only moves in one direction. Please follow up the advice below on checking the end-stop trigger state (with M119 gcode as mentioned below).

If you are using Repetier the code to test the endstops is m119 I think. If your z stop is triggered, you may have to invert it in the config.h file. I had this same issue for days before i figured out the control board was reading the switch as normal close instead of normal open. Hope that helps!

Try sending a motion command manually, such as G1 X20 Z10, to eliminate any bugginess from the software interface as a reason for the Z not moving properly when commanded to. Next you could check the park location in Pronterface, perhaps the extruder head is sitting there waiting for the next command.


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Anet A6 Firmware
I've just finished putting my new Anet A6 together. Very nice build all together as everything fits really well.
I've tried a test print and I noticed something weird: as I try to home ONLY the Z axis to level the bed, the printer automatically moves the nozzle to the X0 Y0 after doing the Z0 first. It doesn't make a difference whether I do it on Octoprint Control or sending the G-Code, so it appears to be a Firmware thing. Why is the Firmware programmed like this is something I'd like to know because it makes the levelling of the bed a nightmare.
That's why I wanted to update the Firmware and here is where I got confused... seems that the Firmware used for this boards is something called Skynet3d. I went to their Github page and all they have are 3 section as follows:

A board profile for the Arduino IDE
What looks like the normal Marlin Firmware
Skynet3d Firmware, which is empty.

Inside section 2, all I see is a normal group of files corresponding to the Marlin Firmware and some configuration.h examples: they have one for the Anet A8 but not for the Anet A6
So, summing up my question is: Where do I find the A6 Firmware? I've seen a Youtube video of a guy with the A6 profiles, but I don't know the official source of them...
Does somebody know?

Is your initial problem similar to what is described here? https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/4225/lack-of-isolation-between-axes I realise this doesn't answer your question, but might make sense of the scenario.

Its hard to visualise your problem. So you dont think the original homing system is correct or?

Skynet3D is an obsolete fork of Marlin Firmware that was created because the displays of the Anet printers have a different layout in terms of pin assignment. When the code stabilized, the fork of Marlin merged into the main code base. Configuration files for the Anet A8 and A6 have been added, see here for the A6, so when you flash Marlin to your board, be sure to copy these configuration files to the root code directory.
An overview of all active printer firmwares is given by www.reprap.org at List of Firmware.


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Extruder keeps jamming because of filament dust!
Yesterday evening i have been trying to print a few upgrades but after coming home after an hour, it is printing in the air because there is to much filament dust inside the extruder. Is this because the filament that is being extruded is getting to soft so the gear grinds parts off? I never had this problem before.
Printer:
Anet A8.

This seems to be a problem with cleaning and changing the filament, also a temperature issue. Please provide an image of the soft filament. In some version of printers this soft filament looks like a worm or waves. is easy to fix it.

I'm highly unconvinced that dust in the gearing is related to your problem. If the material is still being extruded, then "in the air" suggests the base layers may have slipped, or your belts are slipping, either of which will lead to a huge lateral offset, and thus the "printing in air" problem. It's possible but less likely that the extruder feed gear itself is slipping.
If you can post a picture of one of these situations, that would help a  lot.
I will mention in passing that there are several models for filament guides at thingiverse.com . Putting one of these on your machine will eliminate scraping and the resultant dust.

Pictures would help, but I believe that the "dust" is not the cause of your issue, but another symptom. When the filament doesn't advance as fast as the job requires (for whatever reason), the drive mechanism erodes the filament as it attempts to drive it along.
Give us some basics: has your machine worked well with these settings on prints before? What is your material, temperature, print speed and nozzle diameter?

Its been printing perfect before i upgraded the fan so i can swing it away from the extruder, because i dont have the best hardware for that job the fan wasn't perfectly aligned so my guess is that the filament got soft so the extruder gear takes some small chunks out of the filament. Last night i removed that upgrade again and put everything back like it should. Because of me not being able to push the filament back in, i couldnt test if this fixed it.


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Is there a way to get more horizontal coverage out of "Vase Mode" in Simplify3D?
I like using "Vase Mode" (or single outline corkscrew printing mode) for quick nonfunctional prints, but it tends to leave gaps in horizontal or near horizontal surfaces. I understand why it does this, but is there a way (beyond printing with no infill*) to get a little more horizontal coverage out of it?
*Is the answer to this literally just "Try to print without infill?"

Version 4 allows you to have multi-process vase mode prints -- do the vertical surfaces in vase mode, then switch over to normal mode for the horizontals. This lets you have the best of both worlds in the same print. :)

Vase mode is what it is... As it prints one perimeter there is just one extrusion. Try increasing extrusion rate to see if that will fix the gaps.
but yes, printing without infill will do the job better than vase mode.


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How can I make this model?
Here's the model I'm trying to print, Truncated Icosahedron

But it must be 12" in diameter and gray in color rgb = #444444
I also want two of the hexagons to be yellow in color: rgb = #FFFF00
Similar to this photo:

How to do this? I don't seem to be able to edit the shape on shapeways.

UPDATE
Got it.
skeleton bucky ball

I haven't tried anything other than try and find a model from the internet. I've never used 3D modelling software...

Without any restrictions to your methodology, your objective is easily accomplished. Thingiverse has a truncated icosahedron model available for download and printing.

Because the creator has included in the download the OpenSCAD source files, you could edit it to meet your bed limitations. I've downloaded the source, opened it and found the model is a single hexagon, until you change a parameter from 6 to 5 to get a pentagon. I suspect the assembly is up to the builder to figure out.
It appears that the default is for a 50 mm diameter sphere. Change the 50 in the code to 300 or so to reach your 12" desired diameter.
An alternative to friction welding would be just about any decent epoxy or even a 3D printing pen such as the 3Doodler.

Thank you kindly for your suggestion. It's very useful, thanks. I will try and find a .stl file from somewhere.

The link in my message directs you to an STL and the OpenSCAD source, which allows you to create any shape you desire. Even if you've never used modeling software, the OpenSCAD source will be easy enough to learn, especially with the small amount of code involved. Summary: Change diameter from 50 to something (or not), press F5 to preview. Change facets from 6 to 5, press F5 to preview. Press F6 to render, then save STL file for printing. It's that easy.


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3d printer not printing circles correctly
I am having issue with my new printer it is not printing circles correctly although I have change firmware and stepping of motor
advise if anyone know the solution.

Can you give a little more information?  like # of steps per motor, a photo of your printer, etc.

X axis pulley is 20 teeth with the calculation it's 80 step y axis is 16 teeth pulley so it's 100 step

Possible causes for the printer not printing correct dimensions:

Incorrect number of steps/mm in firmware settings
Belts are not tight enough
Pulley slips on the shaft

Looking at the picture, I would go for the first case, because distortion looks regular. Try checking microstep settings on your board, and settings in the firmware.

yes did it with first case although against the calculation which I did. changing microstepping work out

This could be because your belts are either old or not tight enough. Try adjust or replacing the belts and try again.


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What kind of galvos are used in Moai SLA printers?
There are some very cheap SLA printers available, working with galvo scanners and 405 nm lasers to expose a fluid resin.
I am looking for the galvos which are used in these projects. Does anyone know a manufacturer or supplier for these components?
One good example is the Moai SLA printer. I've seen the galvos and circuit boards in an assembly video on youtube but I can't figure out where these components are from. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTRUMETt9qY#t=133
The lable says AT40-314X but I can't find anything useful.

Here you can find some pictures of the components if you don't want to open the youtube link:
https://imgur.com/hdFAnsy
https://imgur.com/lF4b8RT

After watching the video I don't think that sticker has anything to do with the motors as a very similar sticker is on the control boards.  I think it is a part identifier they use for the instructions.

They look quite similar to these DJ scanners - but I've no experience in galvos, there could be a large difference https://www.ebay.com/itm/20Kpps-Laser-Scanning-Galvo-Galvanometer-Scanner-Set-For-DJ-Laser-Light-Show/223107665479?hash=item33f240ce47:g:rF8AAOSwDyBbeCa6


text:
Tevo Tarantula I3 filament clogging up
I have just finished assembling a TT I3, with a large heated bed 220x280, a couple of weeks ago and my first print went well.
After a few initial experiments I noticed that the filament will not stick. I have manually leveled the bed over and over again, added a glass sheet over the bed, applied masking-tape and what-not.
The filament still will not stick, it will curl up on the nozzle, clog the nozzle and all sorts of other issues...
Everything functions properly but it seems like the extruder is trying to push more then the nozzle is actually putting out. My filament is 1.75 mm.
Can anyone help with all this so I can get something printed decently?
I am printing with PLA, I started off with 50 °C, raised it to 60 °C, and last time I tried to print a filament spool holder with 70 °C (twice), still if layer is thin it will not stick.
After cleaning the bed with alcohol 70%, you can see the issue in these videos:

Tevo Tarantula i3 filament sticking then coming off
Tevo Tarantula i3 filament not sticking

That temp sounds about right for PLA.. Are you cleaning the print bed with acetone/windex before printing? Just the traces of oils from your hands will keep the plastic from sticking.

I actually just learned this myself, but isopropyl alcohol may not be the best for cleaning print beds, as it can leave residue. I switched to acetone a few days ago and saw a noticeable improvement.

Additionally, it does look like the first layer is thinner than it should be. You want to squish the plastic down to get good adhesion to the plate, but there should still be a bead shape.

Unfortunately, up to now, no answers are given on your question! Have you found an answer yourself? If so, you may add your own solution and accept that after 48 hours. If you have not been able to address the problem please update your question so other people may help you find an answer. You can even decide to delete the question. We need to reduce the unanswered questions list to graduate from the Beta stage.

Getting that first layer to stick is sometimes pretty hard, you just need to find a good combination of settings. Clearly your filament does not stick too well as the brim comes off after been laid down after a while.
Parameters that affect adhesion are:

Bed temperature; a temperature close to the glass temperature is favorable as the filament is soft at that temperature, the stresses are low due to this softness and the smaller temperature difference. You already tried to increase bed temperature: 50 - 60 °C should be fine for PLA, there is no need to go higher than 60 °C,
Hotend temperature; the temperature of the filament deposition could be increased for the initial layer, usually a 5 °C increase over the standard temperature should be enough,
Overextrusion; a small over-extrusion on the first layer (filament flow scale factor larger than 100 %) could sometimes help to better adhere the first layer, but usually this means that the nozzle to bed distance is too large,
Correct leveling and correct nozzle to bed distance; level the bed as good as possible or scan the bed and use mesh leveling if the build platform does not have a uniform (flat) shape, also make sure the distance between the nozzle is correct: too small or too big cause the filament not to stick very well.
Debris in nozzle; debris in nozzle can cause non-uniform extrusion, cleaning the nozzle with the atomic method (heating up the nozzle, inserting filament, cooling down the nozzle and finally yanking out the filament cleaning all the cooked stuff inside),
Cleanness of the bed; make sure the bed is not greasy,
Tack of the bed; the use of a PVA based substance on the bed like e.g. gluestick, hairspray or specific printer sprays like 3DLAC increase the bed adhesion considerably,
Bed preparation; sanding the bed to roughen the platform, using tape, etc. are all tricks to get the filament to stick better.

Either one of the suggested parameters or a selection of these are the answer to your question, just figure out what works best for your printer.


text:
Tevo Tarantula extruder motor clinking sounds
The extruder motor makes these clinking sounds.
I read about that and I tried to adjust it with its potentiometer,
I tried reassembling the clamps, reinserted the leading tube in both ends, cutting them in a 90° angle but nothing helps.
It seems that if I have a print of 0.1 mm layer thickness, the nozzle does not put out enough filament and it gets clogged up in the leading metal tube to the nozzle.
On the extruder side it looks like the clogging up gets the motor the sort of skip the push of the filament.
This is my G-code.
What is going wrong here??
How can I setup these params to work together smoothly?

I'd advise against adjusting the driver's potentiometer without also taking a voltage reading and doing the math to find out what current is being driven through the stepper. Having the current too high can damage your driver or stepper. But having the current too low can cause that clicking as the stepper internally skips.
The filament may also be too cold, and is providing too much resistance to being forced out the extrusion nozzle.
Or the filament may be getting stuck in the area just above the heating element in your hotend. This is called heat creep, and can cause jams. Based on your description it looks like this is happening to your hotend.
Or your nozzle may be clogged with dust and contaminants. Check the diameter spec for your hotend and look up an appropriate cleaning method (for ABS you can soak in acetone, for PLA there are tiny drill bits to clear out debris).
Or you may be trying to print too fast. Lowering the print speed means plastic is extruded slower and there's less pressure built up in the hotend. I would check on the other options before adjusting print speed, because it can fix the symptoms but may not be the root cause.


text:
Tevo Tarantula incorrectly auto leveling of bed
I decided to try and setup the bed auto level sensor.
I downloaded this firmware: TEVO-Tarantula-I3-Marlin-Firmware and followed this tutorial, YouTube - Setting Up Auto Bed Leveling (Tevo Tarantula).
Firmware Config files:

configuration.h
configuration_adv.h

A few things happened after that:

The bed will not level
The Z axis goes up to approx. the middle...
The printer is in no situation to print

I probably got something wrong...
The machine goes to the leveling points, but is approximately 10 cm above the bed.

You need to explain what the problem is other than "The bed will not level".  Does it try to level?  Did you send the required code to start the leveling process?

it's traveling the points of leveling but approximately 10 cm above the bed

Do you get any Z axis movement?

yes I do, after it gets to the approx. 10cms above the bde, it can go up a few cms

Hi, have you resolved your problem at all? If so, would you like to post an answer? If not, could you update your question, with more information?

From your configuration.h file you see that (in line 643):
#define MANUAL_HOME_POSITIONS

is not commented out, there is no // in front, so this means that manual homing with accompanying coordinates is enabled.
This should not be enabled, as this setting is used by Delta printers only. This may cause the problems you experience as there may be some sort of a conflict between manual and auto positioning.


text:
3d Extruder temperature lower automatically (Prusi I3)
when I command to start print from SD card; extruder temperature raise slowly and print start but with in 4-5 minutes suddenly Extruder temperature lower automatically.

Can you please elaborate on your question more? It is currently unclear what you're asking.

Please consider to reference your precise model (genuine Prusa i3 or clone?) as well as the slicer software you are using.
You should be able to note from the panel information what layer the change appears. For example, if you are printing 0.200 mm layer thickness and the temperature change begins at 10.200 height, you have an important piece of information.
Open your gcode file in a text editor and look for the Z reference in the 10.000 or 10.200 range, along with the temperature gcode command. According to the reprap wiki,, the gcode command to set extruder temperature is M104 followed by Sxxx where xxx = temperature in °C. For example, you should see something like this near the beginning of the gcode
M104 S205; set extruder temperature to 205°C (comments mine, some slicers also include comments)
but if your gcode is faulty, later in the body of the gcode you may see a similar command:
M104 S000;
the number after the S could be anything. Consider to examine any M10x codes as there are different results for various codes.
If you find you have a dropped extruder temperature due to the gcode, double check your slicer settings to see if a second process has been initiated.
I have a dual extruder printer and will usually keep the second extruder cold until just a few layers prior to printing supports at a level above the bed, then turn it on to do the supports, then back off for the rest of the print.

I think it's easier to search for "M104" in gcode file. Also Z range and exact temperature target can be seen on LCD if present


text:
Tevo Tarantula I3 firmware
I've been trying to get something decent printed for days but nothing works! I have a Tarantula Tevo i3 MKS Base V1.4 and have done a lot of trial & plenty of error. Still I am puzzled to get good prints.

What is the stock firmware for a single extruder regular/large bed firmware & how to configure a large bed (if needed to be configured)?
Which is the auto bed leveling firmware?

I need help sorting out what's out there. I did not manage to configure a large bed with a single extruder. But did manage to restore firmware with Marlin-2.0.x

So the Tevo 3D Printing Store firmware link directs to a dropbox - only dual extruders - both regular & large bed,
There is JimBrown's GitHub MarlinTarantula - Optimized firmware for RepRap 3D printers based on the Arduino platform,
JoelLisenby's GitHub TEVO-Tarantula-I3-Marlin-Firmware.

I followed this, YouTube - Setting Up Auto Bed Leveling (Tevo Tarantula), for setting up the auto bed leveling sensor but it just got me messed-up even more, see Tevo Tarantula incorrectly auto leveling of bed. I'm just now in the process of trying to manually level the bed and I broke the hot end holder plastic plate...

EDIT:
The sensor I'm using is SN04-N Inductive Proximity Sensor - 5mm

I would suggest that you try Facebook groups for support questions. There seem to be some very active ones for the Tevo Tarantula.

Tried then but got no response

Answer for "2)":
The default firmware seems to be Repetier. It also includes Bed leveling (see documentation):
https://www.repetier.com/documentation/repetier-firmware/z-probing/
Marlin includes the Auto Bed Leveling feature too. You need to enable it by editing the Configuration.h file.
Bed size settings are there aswell.
"stylesuxx" made a video on how to get Marlin onto the Tevo:

or you can take a look at their website:
http://marlinfw.org/docs/configuration/configuration.html#configuration.h
Autoleveling can be enabeled as well in this file. There is a good video from Thomas Sanladerer on Mesh Bed Leveling:

If you want some help with auto bed leveling it would be nice if you can include what kind of sensor you want to use (inductive, capacitive, microswitch...) and what your prefered type of bed leveling is (mesh 3x3, just z-leveling)...

Please look at the edit...AFA prefered type of leveling, think I'd go with mesh leveling unless you recommend otherwise...

The JimBrown-MarlinTarantula github you pointed out has somewhat different terms to bed leveling - https://github.com/JimBrown/MarlinTarantula/wiki/Bed-leveling-types-(EasyConfig) and I would use th BILINEAR method mentioned there

Your probe is “normaly open”, I don’t know what your microswitches are, but if they are “normaly open” too you can connect both to the same input to have kind of a failsave if the sensor should trigger to late.

And yes the biliner method is what i meant. How far have you come with your configuration / do you need further help?

I dropped it...can't seem to find a suitable firmware...they all cause each with it's issues & it seems too much trouble not worth the hassle....+ I couldn't find any decent guide for any firmware. I spent so much time trying to figure this out, repeating the youtubes over & over again - for nothing. Some people say that the green sensor SN04-N is crap!!! if you do have suggestions I'd love to hear...thanx

If you are unsure if your sensor works you could just disconnect it and try to "emulate" it with the normal endstop microswitch instead. You might consider using the "manual mesh bed leveling" instead where the printer moves the nozzle to the desiered positions and you adjust the height with the turning knob and piece of paper. Or if you buy/have an even surface like an aluminium heatbed you might not need the mesh compensation at all. I have an i3 clone with a simmilar board and for me Marlin was the firmware with the least problems. What kind of issue are you running into with marlin?

Tevo Tarantula i3 owners on FaceBook is where I got marlin 2.0. Other things I tried didn't work, but this is working fine if you just want to add auto bed leveling using the standard SN04 sensor.

Hi Michael, and welcome to 3D Printing.SE! While your addition makes sense, it is as such not fit as an answer, this is more a comment. But, the hint to a FaceBook page has already been given as a comment on the question. Please try to expand the answer by e.g explaining some of the settings you need to change to get auto-bed leveling to work.

Can you edit your post and provide the link to the Facebook page. Also, preferably, do you have an alternate source, such as a direct link to the source (Github/Gitlab?), as many people (myself included) refuse to use Facebook, in the light of the recent privacy, and wholesale data farming, concerns. Also,. do you mean Owners or is that really owers? As I don't have a Facebook account I can not check.


text:
First print origin
Slicer set up for print asks bed size.  This is easy:  200mm x 200mm
But what is the origin.
If I leave it at 0,0 the it tries to start printing at 200mm, off the bed.
Does the origin establish where the print starts, in centred, or something else.
Should I set origin as 100,100 or -100,-100 or something else.
Thanks

It could be useful to know what model of printer you are using. It would be useful to know what firmware you are using.
The origin is established in the firmware, if you are working with a printer you built yourself or constructed from a kit and had to flash the firmware.
There is a related post to this forum which covers changing the origin by 10 mm, but the information contained within is useful for your reference.
Effectively, you will want to ensure that the settings in the firmware match your specific printer configuration. The information I've been able to collect suggest that your max x and y position be placed in the firmware.
Not knowing your printer makes a certain answer more difficult. If your endstops are at the maximum travel limits, the above answer is valid. If your endstops are at the origin, there is something else amiss.
Please consider to edit your question to include endstop location and printer model number. Firmware and controller information is also useful.


text:
Delta printer distortion
I have make a little test with 4 dots aligned with A tower, B and C tower. Distance W and S are the same in the stl but not in the print. I have tried diferent values of diagonal root but S always is smaller than W, and all S are equal (more or less 38.20mm) and all W are equal (more or less 40.80). I expect that W and S will be 40mm. How can fix this problem?

Update:
Here is the stl I use: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2vwjbo387cmk5qa/DeltaCalibration%20v15.stl?dl=0
Update:
I have replaced the steper motor in tower B but same result.

Can you draw positions of the towers? What are the absolute values (expected and actual)?

@MikhailZ I have updated the question with the towers position, actual and expected values.

Are your rods all the same length?

yes, I have checked again

I bet your towers are not standing straight (vertical) or
your bed is not clearly horizontal
I've recreated your picture with some assumptions (for example that your SW calculates properly and your steppers and motors act well).
Take a look here:

If you deliver your printer dimensions

tower height (from the base)
tower distance from the center
bed distance (height) from the base

I can calculate what the inclination angle on all towers is, but, I suppose it's not really important.
The important thing is to set them straight/vertical (perpendicular to the bed).
We can see from the picture that tower A is the most inclined to the center or
the bed highest point is next to tower A (and I bet one of those or both cause the issue).
As an example, I've made some calculations based on imagined assuptions of the tower height
here are details:
    towerH | inclination
-----------+----------------
    300 mm | 0.11°
    400 mm | 0.08°
    500 mm | 0.06°

It seems to be quite small but in fact your differences in dimensions are also small!
The inclination of tower B is bigger as there is bigger difference in dimensions, so maybe the issue is more in bed "horizontality".
It would be good if you would check and measure these parameters.
As for the explanation why bed the inclination causes dimension distortion:

This is exaggerated but it's just to show the issue.

Thanks @darth_pixel!, the problem was the bed inclination. After fix it, I had to modify the end stop position, and the horizontal root length. I'm still having an issue with the C tower now, but I think It could be a problem with the printer frame. Could be great if you can explain why bed inclination and end stops affects to the accuracy.

@TlmaK0 take a look on edited post. to be honest i don't really know how endstops could have any influence on accuracy. no idea at all... well i would say it cannot have such influence ;)

Well, you have two main issues:
1.- Your calculation for stepping is a little wrong, for example your firmware indicates 2315.84 when you need 2321.70 (REMEMBER this is an example and is not accurate), So you will see a diference about 2.0mm along your printing. If your printing is bigger more diference you will get.
2.- Misalignment, your printer is not angled correctly to 90° and also Z axe if has the same condition. with this uncalibrated parameter are you going to have pisa towers on every tall part.
For delta Printers this not apply
3.- Tension. Your belts are a little weak; avoid weak tension band to eliminate something called backslash, of course this is for screw parts but is the same efect and even bigger. Also you will get an accurate dimension of the parts.

thanks @fernando, what do you mean by calculation for stepping? I'm using repetier firmware, I didn't found any parameter like this. I have played with steps per mm, but same result, and the C tower has the same value up and down. I will check the tension band.

Backlash is not likely the case here as it produces quite different types of distortion, mostly visible when moving parts experience acceleration, for example, when printer head changes direction.

Same problem after check the the belts

I´m trying to see repetier firmware due I´m using marlin for 3D printing and Gcode 1.0.6 for CNC but both handles X AXIS_STEPS_PER_MM 160 and Y AXIS_STEPS_PER_MM 160  and define ZAXIS_STEPS_PER_MM 2560 As example.
So in Gcode sender I have to save the steps per mm; I don´t know if Repertier has an Eeprom to change this values.
On Marlin this is the line to modify according your moving parts
** #define DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT {78.7402,78.7402,2008/3,7601.1}** Where values are { X, Y, Z, E}

Number of steps for all axis in Delta printers must be the same


text:
What is causing this "ribbed" texture on my circular prints?
I am having this problem with my printer. It doesn't print smooth circular objects. The objects are typically "ribbed" or ridged... never smooth. I am not sure how to fix this.
I have tried fixing it in Meshmixer, I've tried Sli3r (I normally use Cura 2.7). I've tried turning down acceleration as low as it will go (500 in my printer's case), tried slowing down the actual print and travel speeds. Short of just replacing the dang thing (not an option at all), I have no idea what to do... I'm at a total loss for words here.
My printer is a TronXY P802MA. Auto Level, runs Marlin firmware. I use Octoprint as my print server. The picture shows the odd texture. It's at the bottom of this particular model. For some reason, within the pictured model, the problem isn't reproduced in the partial spheres.

Did you try slicing with a smaller layer height?  Did you look carefully at the source model to be sure it's not got limited ('low poly') definition?

Regardless of the layer height, it still does this. I have not looked into low poly definition. I don't believe it is, because I've seen photos of this exact model and they're all nice and smooth.

Have you checked the tension on the belts of your printer? Loose belts could cause the printer carriage to 'bounce' leading to something like this.

@Diesel, Yes i did. It's the first thing I checked. There was just a little slack, and i tightened it up. Problem still reproduces.

I'm definitely reaching with this, but are your belts, pulleys and rods your system slides on clean and straight? The pattern looks very repeated and symetric leading me to think there's some type of mechanical issue with your printer.

Yes. Belts, pulleys, and all slide rails are clean and straight. The y-axis screw rod nuts are tightly fastened in all placed it needs to be. Regular checks are made for tightness. I'm thinking about using Loc-Tite or superglue on them though to keep them from loostening.

@PiGuy88, try lowering your printing speed. Best if you put it in under 30mm/s range. This is quite reliable way to check if the waves appear because of printer mechanics.

this happened to me when I was printing from PC, when print from SD card print is nice and smooth.

Any deviation from smoothness is caused by irregularity in the material feed, the motion, or both.  In this case, I would suggest both.
The problem is that current 3D printer control firmware (If someone has a counter-example in the hobbiest space, please add it) prints in linear segments.  This starts as @senthil-j-prakash shows in the conversion of the CAD object to an STL file.  STL files are made of triangles, which are linear structures.  There is no curvature in a triangle, only straight edges and flat faces.  Making the triangles as small as possible helps, but it exacerbates the next problem.
The second problem is that each line segment is passed as a separate command to the control firmware.  No matter if this is stored on an SD card, or transmitted through USB from the PC to the control firmware, each command defines a short, linear movement.  In an ideal world, the printer would precisely reproduce each of this short, linear motions, which would flow smoothly from one to the next.
Unfortunately, the "flowing smoothly" part is difficult to implement, and in some cases isn't actually what you want.  If the angle between segments is sharp enough, you don't want to round the corner.  When printing approximations to circles, however, one could move continuously, if the commands were sent enough ahead to analyze, and the firmware were clever enough to combine two segments into one smooth, curving motion.
This computation is very difficult to perform on an 8-bit microcontroller, and historically has not been done.
I am using a 32-bit ARM microcontroller and the RepRap firmware, which also does not smoothly merge motion between two low-angle linear motions into one smoother motion.
But, it's not just merging two into one.  One must merge a long series of short, linear moves into a long sequence of curved moves.  We could be doing motion planning based on splines rather than segments.
But then, we need to cap how much the control processor may change the path because the slicing software needs to predict very closely where each extruded element will lie. Adjacent elements (additional perimeters and infill) must be placed to touch those elements for bonding and strength.  if the control processor has moved an element too far, it could either not connect with, or interfere with, an element that is placed later.
But, enough of that rant about the technical difficulties.
For your particular machine, it is likely to be moving in fits and starts because of the short, linear commands.  Anything you do that improves the print quality will help with the ribs, and make them look more like facets.
Check the belt tension, the backlash, and the stiffness of the whole machine.  Try using slower speed and acceleration settings.  If you are printing from a PC through USB or the network, try printing from an SD card.  (If printing from an SD card, try printing over USB or the network).
Good luck, and keep printing!  Tell others of your experiences.

Thank you all for your valuable input. I have come to find out that the issue was because of a host of movement related issues.

Print speed is too fast. I have since reduced it.
There were some firmware related settings that needed adjusting.

I found after making the appropriate changes, my circular prints came out beautifully!

Consider upvoting an answer if it helped you out, and marking the most useful one as accepted. Answers aren't the place to say "thanks". Alternatively, you can also leave a comment. Additionally, perhaps you could give a few more details on what changes you made to help out anyone who might have this problem in the future?

none of the answers here resulted in a fix for the problem, so therefore, i am unable to upvote any of them

What are the firmware setting that needed adjustments?

@PiGuy88 Yes, I'm wondering what were the related settings you needed to adjust. Can you explain how much the speed was reduced? No one here was answering but they were commenting to get a better solution. Everything is important to get a cause-effect.

Hi, please could you accept your own answer as it will remove the question from the unanswered queue and as a beta site we need to keep the queue to a minimum. Also, it would be extremely helpful for other people with the same issue if you could explain what your print speed was and what you changed it too and what exactly were the firmware changes. As it stands your answer is a little vague, and while it gives a general pointer as what needs to be done, precise details would make your answer much more useful (and garner more votes). Thanks in advance.

Did you try to use different infill? Denser or less dense?
You can also try to reduce overlapping infil with outlines.
Try to set 2 or 3 outer perimeters / outlines.

Yes. I've toyed with multiple infill settings. Problem reproduces.

When you are saving a CAD file to STL format to print, there are options on resolution. Coarse and Fine. Basically coarse would give that ribbed/flats effect.
I am not sure what CAD package its created but normally all the CAD packages allow the user to specify the deviation about from a design curve.

If your flowrate is not that well controlled it may introduce the little bulges at every corner.
It helped my printer when I lowered the "jerk" value in the machine settings on the printer.
The "jerk" determines how fast it approaches and leaves a corner.


text:
How can I see what errors Slic3r have repaird?
I have an STL-file that Slic3r thinks has errors. They are not visible in the 3D view. I have had them anazlyzed in both Blender and netfabb. Both of these programs say that the model is good. I don't want to leave this to chance. Since I sell STL-files I need the STL-file perfect.
Is there any way I can find out what the problem is. I encounter this from time to time. Often I can go back into blender and find the error by analyzing the mesh. But not always. It would be very helpful to have slic3r tell me what it repaired.

"Perfect" is a qualitative term.  I might suggest that you validate your models by printing them on a couple different 3d printers.  If the result is as desired, your models pass QualityAssurance.  (and I say this as someone quite familiar with 6Sigma and similar manufacturing process methods)

@Carl-Witthoft "Perfect" is not a unique term for Quality, I´m been working as a Quality Engineer for 30 years. With 6Sigma we are working for something called Excellence, but there are errors on manufacturing.

@gunslinger Just avoid inverted walls and face walls inside.

Slic3r uses ADMesh internally to validate and fix mesh. You could try to use ADMesh directly to see a limited information about what was changed. Note that Slic3r bundles it's own copy of ADMesh and depending on your Slic3r version and edition, the behavior of it's ADMesh might slightly differ from the standalone one. (For example Slic3r Prusa Editon patches it's own ADMesh very heavily.)
Using ADMesh CLI:
$ admesh cube_bad.stl
ADMesh version 0.98.2, Copyright (C) 1995, 1996 Anthony D. Martin
ADMesh comes with NO WARRANTY.  This is free software, and you are welcome to
redistribute it under certain conditions.  See the file COPYING for details.
Opening cube_bad.stl
Checking exact...
Checking nearby. Tolerance= 1.000000 Iteration=1 of 2...  Fixed 0 edges.
Checking nearby. Tolerance= 1.000173 Iteration=2 of 2...  Fixed 0 edges.
Removing unconnected facets...
Filling holes...
Checking normal directions...
Checking normal values...
Calculating volume...
Verifying neighbors...

================= Results produced by ADMesh version 0.98.2 ================
Input file         : cube_bad.stl
File type          : ASCII STL file
Header             : solid cube (repaired)
============== Size ==============
Min X =  0.000000, Max X =  1.000000
Min Y =  0.000000, Max Y =  1.000000
Min Z =  0.000000, Max Z =  1.000000
========= Facet Status ========== Original ============ Final ====
Number of facets                 :    12                  12
Facets with 1 disconnected edge  :     3                   0
Facets with 2 disconnected edges :     0                   0
Facets with 3 disconnected edges :     1                   0
Total disconnected facets        :     4                   0
=== Processing Statistics ===     ===== Other Statistics =====
Number of parts       :     1        Volume   :  1.000000
Degenerate facets     :     0
Edges fixed           :     0
Facets removed        :     1
Facets added          :     1
Facets reversed       :     2
Backwards edges       :     0
Normals fixed         :     2

The statistics should give you some idea about what happened.
Using ADMeshGUI:
Find ADMeshGUI at github.com/admesh/ADMeshGUI.
Open the file and click the REPAIR button in bottom right. See the changes.

Excellent, now I got a real example to test it on and worked. Excellent answer!