Having trouble getting first layer support to stick I'm having an issue where the first layer of my support structures isn't sticking on the edges and causing the print to (eventually) fail.  Any ideas on how I can fix it?

I'm using Slic3r.

There are many things you'll need to check and/or confirm to ensure that you will have a good bond to the bed. The first is to confirm that you are using a genuine Prusa printer as it appears in the photo. Having built one recently makes it easier for me to guess that is the case.

Have you performed the bed calibration sequence? The manual provides a series of steps which results in a zig-zag pattern of filament being placed on the bed, while the z-height is adjusted from the panel. You want to have a filament trace that is only slightly squished onto the bed, not flattened so much that it's cutting into the PEI and not so high that it's nearly cylindrical.

The bed must be of the correct temperature for the filament selected. If in doubt, raise it five to ten degrees C. I recently assisted with the aforementioned printer that had a peeling problem and the bed temperature had to be raised to 70°C from the "standard" 55°C generated by Slic3r.

It is critical that the bed be clean as well. Denatured alcohol is recommended, with application of a clean cloth.

Your photo is somewhat out of focus, making it difficult to determine if the brim is being created at an excessively high z-level, which will cause peeling. The main body of the print, also out of focus appears to be heavily flattened, but that could be an artifact of the photo.

The reflections on the bed appear to indicate that some gouges in the surface exist. If your PEI is damaged, you will have the problem you described. I've seen videos in which the bed is not quite as gouged and was refreshed with very light sandpaper or very light steel wool or both. Of course, after using such material, clean the surface thoroughly.

I understand the PEI that is applied by the manufacturer is quite thin and can be further damaged if too much pressure is applied while refreshing. It is far better to apply too little pressure if you plan to perform this task.

Consider to read through the manual and address all of the calibration aspects of the printer to establish a base point for the problem you are experiencing.


FDM, ABS Post-processing methods I have built a few parts that have printed 'pins' on them (2mm diameter 1.5 cm length). Due to the orientation that the build requires the pins have to have support material on them. (The part has to be printed with the pins parallel to the build plate for strength reasons and the orientation can't change).

The problems i'm having is that the surface of the pins are quite rough. The pins are designed to press-fit into a soft rubbery tube, and the pin surface roughness is cutting into the softer tube. The roughness is due to both the layer edges of the print, and that the support material leaving some 'burrs'. I'd like to smooth the outside of my pins with some type of post processing technique. Ideally I'd like to keep the pins as close to dimensionally accurate as possible, but I realize they won't be perfect.

The two methods I've considered are sanding the pins by hand and placing my part in an acetone vapor chamber for a while.

Sanding, I think, is the best option of the two so far but it's a bit tedious, and is quite difficult to do, due to the size of the pins, their location and my fingers are pretty big relative to the space I'm working in.

I don't like the idea of using acetone because the few times I've tried doing this in the past, my parts always came out warped or misshapen I think due to the relief of stresses. (or I did it wrong, both seem plausible).

If anyone has a third option (or more) I'd be glad to hear. Or if there is another approach altogether that I haven't considered that can be done on an FDM style printer that would also be appreciated.

Your objective is quite a challenge, considering the limitations within which you have to operate. Small diameter of an appreciable length is daunting indeed.

I would consider to use a regulated heat source such as a soldering station, one with removable tips. After electing an appropriate tip to handle the dimensions, a hole drilled into the tip to accept the pin diameter and length would be the next step.

There would be consideration needed for the plastic material pushed ahead of the soldering tip, as well as angular stability while pushing the soldering iron onto the pins.

To improve these circumstances, a sharp edge ground at the end of the soldering iron tip would give a better shearing of the excess plastic.

The temperature control would be critical to prevent destruction of the pin within the tip and to provide optimum removal via the cutting end.

Directly related to the above, but without the heat would be the equivalent tool to be used in a rotary grinder such as a Dremel. The bore of the custom-made cutter would match the pin and the sharp cutting end could also have serrations such as those found on hole-saws. Low speeds and a steady hand are required!

If either of the above suggestions do not remove sufficient plastic roughness, one would make the pins of a larger diameter and ensure that excess is removed to specifications.

EDIT: Additional thoughts. Hobby stores and online equivalents will sell very small diameter tubing. It might be an easy matter to find 2 mm inside diameter tubing of brass or even stainless steel. A few passes on a piece of sandpaper while the tubing is chucked in an electric hand drill and you have a sharp cutting edge.


Is it possible to 3D print a front bumper grille for a Honda Accord CL7? I probably have to find out all the answers myself, but I could really use somebody else's experience.

what material should I use, so the grill does not bend when exposed
to the heat coming from the radiator
I have to print the part in slices; what glue can I use to join them lately, again so it resists the heat from the radiator and doesn't catch fire
is there maybe a CAD file describing this part, so I don't have to manually create it from scratch?

Your best bet for the material would be one of the high temperature filaments like the ColorFabb HT ones, they can take quite a punch when it comes to heat.

As for the model, you could try to source one of the grills that is at least as good in shape as possible and get it scanned, there are people offering this as a service for example over at 3dhubs.com

Glue is really depending on the part, I would suggest creating a click-together type of system so the "glue" is only stabilizing it and not beeing a structural component. You can also get hold of a 3D Pen and weld the parts together with the same material used to print.


Marlin is restarting when pins 5 Vcc are enabled and has a servo motor connected (RAMPS 1.4) My printer uses an ATMega 2560 with a RAMPS 1.4 shield, A4988 stepper drivers and a 2004 controller LCD interface. The PSU is 360 W (12 V, 30 A).
I bought a BLTouch for my printer, but when installing, Marlin is restarting and is unable to complete the boot.
I realized that this problem happens when it is being powered only by the PSU. When it is started by USB, it works normally.
Note, the USB + PSU combination, when the system (Marlin) has been started by USB, also works normally.
I tried to configure the servo in other positions (0, 1, 2 or 3), but the results were the same:

USB starts = Ok
PSU starts = infinite restart

Another possibility that I tested, was to change the BLTouch for a SG90 micro servo, to check if it was not a problem in the equipment. The result was the same:

USB starts = Ok
PSU starts = infinite restart

In fact there seems to be some problem between ATMega 2560 and the RAMPS 1.4, when powered by the PSU.
Does anyone know how to solve the problem?
In the last case, would the exchange of ATMega 2560 + RAMPS 1.4 be the solution?

PSU is only feeding 12 V into RAMPS, but (if I remember correctly) RAMPS is using Arduino's onboard regulator for converting 12 V to 5 V. That regulator can not provide much power.
If you connect some significant load to any 5 V pin (like servo, LCD backlight, or BLTouch), the regulator will be overloaded and its output voltage will drop (too low or unstable voltage will prevent Arduino from running correctly).
You can prove this hypothesis by measuring the voltage on any 5 V pin when Arduino is in "infinite restart". It will likely be far below 5 V.
Connecting USB helps because it provides additional power for 5 V rail (but you may be overloading the computer's USB port by doing this).
The solution is to get an external 12 V to 5 V regulator (with enough power, something like 3 A should be ok) and connect it between PSU and some 5 V pin on RAMPS. (Or get PSU that has both 12 V and 5 V output)
If you get an external 5 V supply, it may be a good idea to then completely disconnect RAMPS from Arduino's 5 V regulator. Have a look at https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?219,799595
Also, the regulator on the Arduino board will likely be overheating and may get damaged (But regulators usually have some overcurrent protection so it probably will be OK)
The regulator is located somewhere near the power connector on the Arduino Mega board, Google "AMS1117" if you don't know how it looks. Replacement is possible with intermediate soldering skills. The regulator is only used when powering Arduino from power connector or Vin pin (RAMPS uses the Vin pin). If powered from USB or 5 V pin, it can run without it.


PET-G grid print problem My supports 'grid' prints with empty spaces (after stoping extraction over perpendicular lines)
(BTW. I have checked the direction when it appears and it has nothing to do with coastig)

(the end result is: extra filament sticks to nozzle forming 'big bomb' and end up with screwed printout due to layers shift)

Printer: Qidi X-Plus
Slicer: Qidi Print 5.3 based on CuraEngine 2019/09/24
Retraction: 3 mm, 30 mm/s
Filament: PET-G Spectrum
Temperature: 220 °C
Bed temperature: 80 °C
Speed: 60 mm/s

What could be the reason? This is particularly evident on PETG.

You mentioned coasting. Absolutely make sure that's off. Coasting inherently extrudes less material than what's needed to print the model correctly, and this underextrusion will accumulate. PETG is really sensitive to underextrusion because it doesn't self-adhere well without a lot of effort to get things right (temperature, speed, etc.) and unless/until the amount extruded is enough to adhere well, it'll just get dragged by the nozzle.

Also 220°C is way too low for PETG, and low temperatures will exacerbate this kind of problem. I'd consider 230°C the absolute minimum for PETG, and 240-250 preferable. Ignore what the filament manufacturer or vendor advertises about lower temperatures being okay; this is normally a marketing ploy to ensure they can sell to users with printers that don't recommend high temperatures or have hard limits in firmware and users who are worried about PTFE off-gassing when operating at higher temperatures (not a real issue at or below 250°C, and probably not even up to 260-275, but still common FUD). Even if they don't want to be deceptive they're competing with other vendors who do.

Further, make sure fan is off, or at least set to very low speed. Rapid cooling will completely mess up PETG adhesion. PETG is still very viscous at printing temperatures (unlike PLA) so there's no need to start cooling it right away to ensure it keeps its form.

Finally, PETG is just a real pain to print with. At first I thought it was a nice material, because it holds shape well and can stand up to fairly high temperatures (which are still true), but there are lots of gotchas and it's really hard to tune your settings to get good adhesion and strong parts. Be prepared to do a lot of experimentation beyond the things I've written in this answer to get good results if you want to keep using it.


Can a heatbed PCB (Prusa Mk2) be straightened out? I have a really bent heatbed PCB, the middle is elevated about 3 mm with respect to all edges.

I have found this thread Warped PCBs, where a heating method is applied by baking a PCB in the oven, as described here: 3.2 Bow and Twist Repair.

Can this help straightening out a Prusa heatbed PCB? If so, can I apply the heat by the heatbed itself, or do I need to utilize an oven? Will the pressure from the strongly clamped glass plate be enough or will the glass break at these temperatures (given that the heatbed can reach them).

Electrical engineer here.  There is nothing odd about putting a PCB in an oven.  Any surface mount PCB is assembled using a reflow oven which heats all the components, as well as the PCB itself, several degrees for quite some time up to the 'soak' temperature, which is 150 °C.

After that, the PCB (and components, still not soldered but held down with solder paste) are heated up to the reflow temperature, which for lead-free processes (i.e., all of them) is 245 °C.  After this point, they are held at that temperature for 60-90 seconds to allow the solder to completely reflow.  Note, this is not time spent with the oven temperature that hot - this is time the entire PCB, which edge to edge has reached 245 °C, spends at that temperature.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with, nor anything odd about putting a PCB in an oven or otherwise getting it hotter than it's glass transition temperature.  Doing so is a key part of their commercial assembly into electronics and has already been done to every PCB you own.

Please ignore the 'accepted' answer - it's incorrect.

PCBs are usually made out of glass epoxy composite (FR4) with a glass transition temperature of 140°C.  There are high heat varieties with a glass transition temperature of 170°C.  I do not know which variety the Prusa MK2/MK2S uses specifically, but FR4 doesn't have a 'sharp' glass transition anyway, so you want to err on the side of hot regardless of the specific type.  Get it nice and cozy at at 190-200 °C, and increase the temperature until it unwarps.   The solder's liquidus is about 220°C, so you should try to keep 20 °C shy of this just because kitchen oven thermostats are not to be trusted.

I own a MK2S, and have personally heated my heat bed up to above the glass transition temperature of PEI (don't ask) which is 217°C, and this was not a problem (well, except for the PEI but again, don't ask).  It didn't suffer any ill effects, nor did I expect it too.  I'm printing on it right now, as I type this.  It's perfectly fine to heat it up that hot.  That was the entire reason FR laminate was even made - to be rigid and to tolerate being hot.  Solder ain't gonna melt itself.

Note, however, you will need to remove the PEI/Ultem sheet as well as the adhesive before you do this.  Prusa has instructions on how, look under replacing the PEI print surface.

Now, as for the actual procedure, the pcb isn't going to magically just become flat.  You have to force it to flatness. Flatten it into submission. It will only be as flat as the hopefully flat surface it is resting on.  And, given the gradual transition of the material, it isn't going to exactly become super pliable even when a good deal past its glass transition temperature.

What you ideally want is two plates of aluminum large enough to sandwich it between. Or steel, or any metal.  They need to be thick enough to not flex so they are very flat.  A pizza stone, if you can find one that is flat, or a slab of granite also works.  I know none of these are exactly 'just laying around the house' type objects, but really any flat surface that will tolerate the heat that you can rest the pcb on is acceptable.  (Kids - ask your parents first)

The only problem is it will likely not unwarp itself under its own weight.  You'll need to put a large flat thing on top of it too, and either have it be heavy, or add heavy things on top of your large flat thing.  You want to make a heat bed sandwich.  Also, it needs to be shielded from the oven heating elements (be they electric or gas), as these will radiate heat a lot hotter than the oven temperature when they turn on.  Don't worry - aluminum foil is enough to shield anything from the heat, but again, you should have something very flat and substantial on top.

Oh, and remove the screw hole sockets from the PCB.  They just need a hex key and some pliers to unscrew.  Don't lose the lock washers.

Anyway, the above procedure, while definitely a pain, will restore (or if it was always warped, imbue for the first time) flatness as good as the flat things it is sandwiched between.

The flatness of kings.

This isn't exactly unknown either.  People do it.  It works.


Help needed to design 3D printer part I am attempting to build a 3D printer using the Bear Upgrade for guidance.

However, I want to modify some of the parts. I am basing the modified parts on the original designs.

I would like to understand the reason behind some design details presented on the original designs so that, if necessary, introduce them into the new designs.

Item 1) The holes are not round. Why???

Item 2 ) There are some little squares inside the piece which i don't know if they are there for some structural reason

Please use this link to the piece depicted above.

Here is a drawing of the full assembly, showing that this piece is the y axes linear rods holder:

Item 1) The holes are not round. Why???

Two things about this. First, the print is upside down. The holes are not round to accommodate the fact you cannot print a round hole unsupported. If you try to print the circle unsupported, when you get to the top portion, it will sag until the print catches up to it. By that time, the circle is flat at the top and you won't be able to fit whatever you were trying to fit into it (without some post processing). Printing the V-ish looking part at the top will ensure you'll be able fit things through it you meant to fit through (sorry if that's redundant). If you'd like to know more, take a look at the following Maker's Muse video:

  Item 2 ) There are some little squares inside the piece which i don't know if they are there for some structural reason

To be very honest with you, I don't know why the little squares are there either, however, I believe you can answer this part for yourself.

I think the answer lies in the part, meaning, if you can manipulate the 3d design in whatever you're using to design it, you can look into the part and see what's going on with it. It appears there are dashed lines in the center parts, which would make me believe these are hidden lines. There is a feature there which is inside of the part which you cannot see otherwise. By turning it, you should be able to decipher what these features are for and therefore should be able to discern what the small squares a for as well. If, after you've looked the part over completely you cannot discern a purpose for the squares, don't design them into your part. It may just be they are an artifact of the design itself and doesn't provide anything worth repeating in your own design. Bottom line, don't get hung up on the minute details which in the end don't mean a thing.


Typical plastic strength at 1500 RPM I'm planning to print a certain sample holder which is going to be placed on a CD-Rom BLDC motor and spun at about 1000-1500 RPM. The holder would essentially be a 2-3 mm thick 100 mm square platform with 1-2 mm thick hooks rising up from outer edges of the platform to hold the sample. The bottom of this platform would also contain a 15 mm diameter crevice designed to latch onto the disc holder attached to the motor. How durable would this printed holder be under these conditions, if it was made of ABS plastic, for example?

Really the only thing that would matter for this project is the amount of torque the motor has available and subsequently how heavy your setup is that is connected to the motor. A part that size may just be too heavy for a CD-ROM motor if you intend on adding more parts.

However, to answer your question, ABS should be able to endure the stress. I recommend paying attention to how the hooks are printed. You'll want to make sure that the hooks are printed in profile, meaning that the profile of the hooks should be printed with each layer. This will help provide structural integrity to, what sounds like, the most stressful area of the part (the outer edges of a spinning device and a clamping feature).

Something to keep in mind for projects like this is that most of the time the design will likely be the cause of failure, not the capabilities of the material.


Continuing a failed print when you have Auto Mesh Bed Leveling When you have Auto Mesh Bed Leveling enabled on your printer, it's not possible to continue a failed print, is it?

Continuing a failed print has nothing to do with automatic bed leveling. It has everything to do with knowing which line failed, repositioning to resume from that point, and resuming from that line of code.


New glass bed, should I glue it? I have an Ender 3, I got a new glass bed, the bed comes with glue on the back.

Should I stick the glass bed to the aluminium base? or just use it with the clips?
I saw other people just use the clips, but my glass seems to have a sticky back...

There are pro and cons for leaving the sticky protection baking paper on the slate of glass:

pros (for not glueing it):

Can be removed more easily in the future (the collant is not easy to remove, requires a solvent and elbow grease)
Can remove the slate of glass to put it in the refrigerator to loosen stuck prints

cons:

Need for binder clips that may cause nozzle collision and decreases bed size (unless you use kapton tape to fix the bed)
Backing paper adds another layer of insulation (unless you remove it and all the goo)


Does right handed radial fan exist? I have mounted two radial fan on my printer as a part cooling solution.

As you can see, the fan has input on the left side and blows air down. Does a mirror construction exists? With outlet on the right.

I can even print my own casing, but I'm not sure if the fan will work, if I change the rotation direction.

I'm using this print cooling fan duct: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1850163

The fan on the right side has the opening facing the hotend, and there is not much space, so the impeller can catch on wiring etc. If the right fan had opening to the right, there would be no such problem.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/120mm-Small-Squirrel-Cage-Exhaust-Plastic_653850349.html?spm=a2700.7724857.normalList.14.23834341IiKFAu&s=p

After quite a bit of searching the above link from Alibaba was all I could find. I suspect that they don't make them like that because of the direction of the rotation of the blades. Perhaps they are made so that the rotor can be swapped around if necessary.

(https://i1.wp.com/www.homeintheearth.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/CentrifugalFanTypes.jpg)
The different curving of the blades affects either the volume or the pressure of the airflow (or both).

Alternatively how about one that is more agnostic:
https://www.amazon.com/2Packs-Wathai-40x40x10mm-Brushless-Centrifugal/dp/B07RNZF97F/

Or just 3d print your own housing!


Why does print fall apart at beginning of top layer? I'm looking for any idea of what could cause this problem.  I'm printing (1.75mm PLA @ 220C) a 14cm x 14cm box, sliced with Simplify3D.  Relevant settings are 3 bottom layers, 3 top layers, 3 outline/perimeter shells, and 15% orthagonal infill every other layer.

The first 3 layers print fine.  Here's the first (bottom) layer after removing the print and turning it over:

The infill (layers 4-10) also prints beautifully (see left side of photo below).

But the moment it starts printing the next layer (layer 11, the top layer of the bottom of the box), which should be solid fill exactly like layers 1-3, it starts underextruding and generally looking like crap:

The first time this happened, I figured the nozzle got clogged or the extruder gear started slipping.  This is not the freshest PLA, so maybe it was a PLA quality problem.  But the same thing happened at the same layer when I tried it again.  And again.  And again.  As soon as I cancel the print I can have it extrude 5cm of filament and it's fine, no clogs...and if I immediately start another print it again perfectly prints layers 1-10.  So it doesn't seem to be the extruder, the nozzle, or PLA quality.  I can't imagine the "stress" of laying 7 layers of infill could screw up the next layer...

I just can't figure out how layers 2 and 3 could be basically perfect, but layer 11 is consistently a disaster, when they should be almost the exact same gcode (only a mm apart).  I looked at the gcode and it's basically identical for layers 3 and 11, including same feedrate (G1 F2250).

This is on a DeltaMaker printer with a new E3D Lite6 hot end.  Can add more details if needed, but basically I'm just looking for an idea of what could cause this.

Update: Just tried a different roll of PLA and got the same results.

I doubt this is a printer or filament issue. Rather, I suspect it might be related to how your slicer handles bridging scenarios (which basically is what laying down layers over infill is).

You could try to:

Increase the infill percentage and/or use an infill pattern that provides better support for the top layer (so that it isn't allowed to sag as much). You will probably still se some sag, but that is usually covered up by the next layer. Adding print cooling might also help here.
Adjust the bridging settings in your slicer software. If under extrusion is the main issue, perhaps you could try to increase extrusion for bridges?

I am no expert with Simplify3D, and I suspect that the default settings actually might be pretty good. I would therefore try option 1. first. Perhaps someone else here can give a better answer related to your slicer. :-)


Marlin firmware: unload filament with G-code I have upgraded my ER-20 with a Bondtech dual gear feeder.
It is not or hardly possible to load/unload filament manually with this feeder, so some .gcode is needed to do it.
I wanted to implement something similar to the atomic cleaning method for unloading: https://ultimakernasupport.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004187066-Atomic-Cleaning-Method
Here is my current .gcode:
G21 ; Metric values
G90 ; Absolute positioning
M82 ; Extruder absolute mode
G28 ; Auto home
M420 S1
G1 X100 Y100 Z100 F1000
; M92 E415 ; 415 steps/mm
M302 S105 ; Allow extrusion above 105C
M109 S218 ; Heat hotend to 218C
M400
G92 E0 ; Reset extruder positioning
M104 S160 ; Start the cool down
M117 Extrude prime blob
G1 E10 F100 ; Extrude a short before unload to avoid blob forming
M109 S160 ; Wait for 160C
M104 S110
G92 E0
G1 E0.2 F100 ; Pressurize the hotend
M117 Pressurize hotend
M109 S110 ; Heat hotend to 110C
G92 E0 ; Reset extruder positioning
M117 Pull out slow
G1 E-3 F200 ; Pull back a bit, slow
M117 Pull out fast
G1 E-430 F2000 ; Pull back 43cm with 2000mm/min
G92 E0 ; Reset extruder positioning
M400 ; Wait for command finish
M117 Remove the filament now
; M400 ; Wait for command finish
M302 S170 ; Allow extrusion above 170C
M104 S0

It doesn't work:

the auto bed leveling is always done, I don't know how to turn it off
when I see that the "Extrude a short before unload to avoid blob forming" event is happening, I also see the "Pull out fast" message on the display and the "print" process ends

Could anyone take a look at this code please? Or is there any .gcode validator for Marlin somewhere?
What I intend to do with this code:

heat up the hotend to 218 °C
extrude some material while a cool down to 160 °C is already started
when temp 160 °C is reached, start a cool-down process to 110 °C and push a little material to the feeder (pressurize)
when 110 °C is reached pull out some material from the hotend slow (maybe the feeder won't be enough strong to do it, but I have never reached this point to check)
then pull out the filament from the Bowden and feeder fast

There are three things to fix and one suggestion:

Change follwing lines of M109, using parameter R instead of S, because the latter is not waiting to cool down:
M109 R160 ; Wait for 160C
...
M109 R110 ; Heat hotend to 110C

The behavior of M420 will depend on type of bed leveling, saved mesh, etc. It is off topic to troubleshoot this. The printer operates 10 cm above the surface for this operation. G28 disables bed leveling. Why do you need to re-enable it? Just remove this line:
; M420 S1 - remove (or comment out)

Redefine maximum extrusion length in Configuration.h to allow for scripted long pull (G1 E-430), for example:
#define EXTRUDE_MAXLENGTH 450

Suggestion: Use relative mode for extrusion (M83) instead of absolute positioning (M82). It will simplify your code a lot. You just want to express the distance in E parameter. Then you will not have to reset position with G92 E0 every now and then (do it just once on the start). (I use this Extrusion mode also for slicing becuase it makes easier to re-start a print in case of failure).


How to extend Marlin to support additional movement axis? On a RAMPS 1.4 it is possible to mount 5 stepper motors: X,Y,Z steppers are used for cartesian movements, while E0 and E1 are provided for extruders control.

I want to use E0 and E1 as additional movement axis in a robotical arm.

Is it possible in Marlin and if not, how can one approach the problem?

I found many ways to re-task extruder steppers to
behave like cartesian-like controls:

If your application does not require contemporary movement of
all axes, you can enable multiple extruders setting the EXTRUDERS
define in Marlin's Configuration.h.

Then you can select which extruders will be set as E
variable in G1 commands, by sending T0, T1 and so on.
If your application require contemporary movement of all axes,
you can enable the MIXING_EXTRUDERS option (source).

With that option, you are basically splitting the E argument
between steppers. To set the ratio of your movement, you can give

    M163 S0 P0.6    # Set stepper 0 to ratio 0.6
    M163 S1 P0.4    # Set stepper 1 to ratio 0.4
    M164 S2         # Create a virtual stepper with given settings
    T2              # Select the virtual stepper

If you want to configure additional steppers as proper axis,
check this commit.


3D printing and coating of heat-resistant objects, such as a turbine blisks or blades Is it possible to 3D print an axial turbine 2 - 4 inches (50 - 100 mm) in radius, capable withstanding temperatures about 800 - 1000°C and rotation speeds of 100 - 120 x 103 rpm?

How expensive is that? Is it cheaper to mill such a turbine from a whole piece of alloy?

What technologies and materials should be used?

Are Inconel alloys suitable for 3D printing?

Are there any titanium alloys suitable for this task? I've read titanium is rarely used in rapidly rotating parts due to its ability to ignite if mechanical failure occurs and rotating blades touch the casing. Do titanium alloys still have this drawback?

Is it possible to make disk of titanium and blades of Inconel, and have them welded (considering heat expansion)?

How blades or blisks can be ceramically coated?

Thank you!

This depends primarily on economics and on desired lifetime.  Rather obviously you need a material whose strengths and melting points exceed the operational specs.  Determining the various break strengths (shear, bending, etc) is an engineering problem, not a manufacturing problem per se.
Next, consider the production time and cost of 3D-printing vs. some typical assembly line process.  Nearly always the 3D approach loses for large quantity builds.
Designing and operating devices like this can be extremely dangerous. Very tight tolerances are required.  This site describes the difficulties, starting with material choice, moving on to tolerances, and so on.  I don't think you want to go at this in your basement.


Can you print at 0.3 mm with a 0.2 mm nozzle? I recently ordered some spare E3D 0.4 mm nozzles. However, there was a mix up at the factory and they delivered 0.2 mm nozzles instead.

I usually print at 0.3 mm using a 0.4 mm nozzle. Can I still use the 0.2 mm nozzles to print at a resolution of 0.3 mm?

To get the best results, the plastic coming out of the nozzle needs to be squished/ironed down by the nozzle. If you are using a higher layer height than nozzle size, this does not happen. Instead, you are taking a 0.2mm diameter string of plastic and folding it back onto itself to create a thicker 0.3mm bead.

Triffid_Hunter's calibration guide recommends using a layer height that is not higher than 80% of your nozzle size, so with a 0.4mm nozzle you should not print layers thicker than 0.32mm, and with a 0.2mm nozzle you should not print layers thicker than 0.16mm.

While it is not impossible to print thicker layers with a smaller nozzle, the results won't be as good. Moreover, if you are used to working with a 0.4mm nozzle then swapping to a 0.2mm nozzle may take some getting used to, as printing with smaller nozzles is more difficult (for example, the smaller the nozzle, the higher the likelihood of clogs).


Brim around just one section I'm looking to print this item:

  https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4274950

I want to lay it flat on the bed, 90° to how it's shown on Thingiverse. The problem is there's the one little corner on the end of the piece. When placed flat, this corner makes one side of arch. During the print, this section will build up to have much more material up in the air over a relatively small contact point, until the archway is connected.

I'm worried the section will shake loose from the bed. Is it possible to tell Cura to put a brim around just this section, and not the whole piece?

If I have to, I can edit the model the include 0.13 mm thick section there as part of the file. But I'd prefer to slice for this.

I don't know a way to do that with Cura without breaking it up into multiple parts with different settings for each, but what about just enabling supports? You'd only get a very small amount of support material and it would act similarly to a brim to keep the small part from detaching.


What is the best color of PETg to use for outdoor durability? I am doing a quad-copter now.

I am not sure what color is the best to use for outdoor durability, especially in sunlight.

They say PETg is the most durable material amongst cheap ones.

But what color to choose: white or transparent? Or it does not matter?

Unless you plan to use your copter outside Earth atmosphere or expected lifetime is more than tenths of years, UV degradation should not be a problem for PETG. Some of the net sources indicate the possibility of degradation after significant time of constant exposure to outdoor conditions (mostly color change), which sounds mostly like absence of practical experience.

Yet if there are any concerns about losing mechanical properties from the sunlight, any opaque lacquer car paint can help to absorb unwanted radiation and add some nicer view to the model. Acrylic paint will also work (tried this once myself) but it may not be suitable for outdoor.


What are some good safety tips for a 3D printing beginner? I have just bought my own 3D printer. However, I am now reading that there may be some safety risks to 3D printing. I will be taking some precautions, such as buying an enclosed 3D printer (the FlashForge Adventurer 3), using PLA instead of ABS, and putting my 3D printer in my garage. However, I am still concerned about the possible risks. What are some other good safety tips and best practices when 3D printing? Am I doing enough, or should I do more? What have other users of 3D printers done to mitigate potential safety issues? Please let me know.

Technically, you should never leave your printer running unattended. Printer fires are rare, but it can happen, especially with cheap printers with poor quality control. Personally, I would just make sure that there is a fire alarm near by, so you'd be alerted if there was a fire.
Also, the fumes concern is valid in the sense that you don't want to sleep in the same room as your 3D printer. The following article points out that if you are spending time in the same room without proper ventilation you'd benefit from potentially using an enclosure with a HEPA filter. Also, the article points out that using PLA may be a safer choice than other materials such as ABS or Polycarbonate when it comes to harmful particles: https://3dinsider.com/3d-printer-fumes/


Holes/ missing layers (after retraction) in 3d printed objects My printed objects have horizontal holes in them (as seen I the picture below):

This doesn't only look bad it also makes the object break at the seems.

Looking carefully at the printing process I can see that after a retraction there's a small amount of time the hotend isn't extruding plastic.

Material: PLA, Printer Robo 3D R1+, Slicer: Cura

(answering my own question)

The problem was the extrusion distance settings in Cura's advanced tab, reducing the value to 1.5mm solved the problem.

Other problems with the same symptoms:

Partially blocked hotend nozzle.
Incorrectly configured steps per mm for the extruder motor - this youtube video shows how to test and configure this.


How to smooth PLA Prints without using sandpaper, solvents or paint I need to smooth some prints with silk PLA filament.

The silk PLA has a nice translucent effect but unfortunately if sanded results in an horrible matte finish regardless the sandpaper grade (I have tried with many grades).

Since I don't have specific solvents or special equipment, and I don't want to paint it as well, I'm wondering if there are alternative ways to smooth the surface.

(Also a my friend speculated about some heat treatment with hair dryer... never heard of something similar and I'm not sure if this could make sense, and in case how should I try).

Unfortunately, there is no way to smooth PLA without sandpaper, solvent or paint - but you can fix the finish after sanding.

If you heat the plastic after sanding to just the point the outer shell starts melting the horrible matte finish goes away and the original color of the plastic returns.

You have to heat the plastic and then remove the heat source just as it's start melting (right before the original color returns, so when you see it working it's too late) because otherwise the object will deform.

I use a heat gun set to 180C and work quickly in short bursts, an hair dryer is probably nowhere as hot, so it will take longer to heat the surface.

You have to do this after sanding, applying enough heat to smooth the layer lines will just cause the object to melt and deform.

Try on a few failed prints first, you will need to get the feel for when to stop heating and you will still probably ruin prints every once in a while.

Another option is to coat the object in an epoxy that will hide the layer lines the best known brand for this is XTC-3D.

If you do decide to paint, you get extra thick primer that's supposed to fill the gaps between the layer lines so you don't need to sand as much (sorry, can't remember the brand name)


Laybrick - Gaps on top layer I'm trying to print with Laybrick and for the most part it is going.  The problem lies with the top layer and gaps appearing.  I've tried increasing the number of top layers but the gaps still appear.  Any ideas what else I can try?

I'm using Simplify3d.

When using Simplify3D, you may try referring to their awesome troubleshooting guide: https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-troubleshooting/#holes-and-gaps-in-the-top-layers
3 reasons (from the guide) for gaps in the top layers:

under-extrusion: you may try to increase extrusion multiplier to see if this helps
low infill percentage: not likely in your case if increasing number of top layers did not help
not enough top layers: you already tried increasing number of top layers.

In addition to that, you may change certain parameters (such as extrusion multiplier) for a given number of layers by using Simplify3D features. It can be helpful to avoid problems to for the rest of the model.


How to set up Marlin to use a heated chamber? I have an infrared lamp I'd like to use to heat my chamber. Right now I don't have plans to install a cooling fan, but I will if I need to. This question pertains to Marlin (2.0, preferably) in combination with an MKS Gen L v1.0 board.

In the documentation for the thermal settings it specifies you can set a heater pin to be used to heat up the chamber. It says this variable is called the CHAMBER_HEATER_PIN but in Marlin 2.0's Configuration_adv.h file there is something called a HEATER_CHAMBER_PIN that has been commented out.

Secondly the Configuration.h file:  there is something called an AUTO_POWER_CHAMBER_FAN. Is this meant for a fan used for cooling, or a fan used for cleaning out the chamber of particles? In either case, I probably don't want to have this fan always on, but only use it to cool the temperature the heater has been on too long.

So really there should be only 2-3 changes I need to make right:

I need to specify an already present digital pin for

the chamber heater
the chamber cooler (fan)

Turn thermal runway active.
It needs to use the Marlin Chamber feature so that the readout temperature appears as "C:" in the arduino logs. This allows compatibility with octoprint
Lastly I need to set an analog pin for the chamber thermistor

These are the things I can't fully figure out on my own.
A detailed set of instructions or code snippets for a similar setup would be helpful

Here is what I found to be the easiest solution. Please use this image for reference. I recommend doing these instructions once from source, since a lot of things can go wrong,  then once everything works, go back and integrate them into your existing Marlin codebase.

Get some 5V relays to run the infrared lamps. These relays take in a 5V digital signal from an arduino pin. When the arduino activates these pins, the lamps will turn on. Get a cardboard box, line it with aluminum foil, and attach a lamp to the top of it using a lamp switch. One wire for the lightbulb goes to NO on the relay, the other goes to D-. One wire from 120V power goes to COM, the other also goes to D-. The yellow "jumper" on the relay boards I posted goes between HIGH and the middle pin. These are pins on the relay, not the MKS GEN board.
On the MKS GEN board, we will be using the X-MAX endstop as the digital pin to run the chamber. Wire the 5V pin on X-MAX to the D+ of the relay. Wire the GND pin to D- of the relay with the two other wires there. Wire pin D2 on the MKS GEN Board to IN on the relay. Bold means the pin is on the MKS GEN board.
Clone the Marlin-2.0 repo: git clone -b bugfix-2.0.x https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin.git
In Configuration.h, change TEMP_SENSOR_CHAMBER to 1 or 11 (depends on your thermistor, might be other values.) Since we will be using the board's second extruder thermistor as the thermistor in this example, change TEMP_SENSOR_1 to 0 for now.

#define TEMP_SENSOR_0 1
#define TEMP_SENSOR_1 0
#define TEMP_SENSOR_2 0
#define TEMP_SENSOR_3 0
#define TEMP_SENSOR_4 0
#define TEMP_SENSOR_5 0
#define TEMP_SENSOR_BED 1
#define TEMP_SENSOR_CHAMBER 1

In the file src/pins/ramps/pins_RAMPS.h, add this line:
#define TEMP_CHAMBER_PIN 15. Note that this is the thermistor
slot usually used for a second extruder. If you're already using
this thermistor for the second extruder and want to use a different
analog pin, see this question. You'll need some resistors.
Also, around line 95 in pins_RAMPS.h, change X_MAX_PIN to use an unused pin. The number 4 is good. If you don't do this, your Chamber's digital Pin will be always "on" by default. You want it off by default, then activated by the Marlin code.
In Configuration_adv.h, change //#define HEATED_CHAMBER_PIN 44 to #define HEATER_CHAMBER_PIN 2 to use the X_MAX endstop's digital pin.
Upload...
Go into OctoPrint settings. Click Axes and Volume. Next to a checkbox for heated bed, there is a checkbox for heated chamber! Click that, and your chamber is active.
If some part is wrong (e.g. lamp doesn't go on because wire came loose on relay), debug that and keep working. Check the octoprint log to make sure the C value is shown.
Once everything works, generalize these solutions to your set-up (e.g. using multiple extruders).


While heating, BLTouch mesh data gets worse and worse the more times you probe The title pretty much sums up the issue. It was happening before moving to an SKR Mini E3 V1.2 and is still happening with the new board.
If I run A G28, then a G29 - while not heated - I will get some mesh data (poor mesh data because I haven't levelled the bed but that's not the main issue).
If I then repeatedly run G29 (lets say 5 times) there will be variation between the measurement but only and expected amount and nothing more.
Bilinear Leveling Grid:
      0      1      2
 0 +0.592 +0.270 +0.010
 1 +0.082 +0.010 -0.062
 2 +0.215 +0.078 -0.065
Bilinear Leveling Grid:
      0      1      2
 0 +0.597 +0.267 +0.002
 1 +0.085 +0.007 -0.065
 2 +0.215 +0.078 -0.065
Bilinear Leveling Grid:
      0      1      2
 0 +0.607 +0.267 -0.002
 1 +0.085 +0.010 -0.065
 2 +0.212 +0.075 -0.060

Although it does continue to climb a bit, it's a BLTouch they're not the most accurate things so I'm not worrying about it.
However, if I heat the nozzle (200 °C) and bed (60 °C):
Bilinear Leveling Grid:
      0      1      2
 0 +0.537 +0.252 +0.022
 1 +0.057 -0.002 -0.050
 2 +0.200 +0.075 -0.087
Bilinear Leveling Grid:
      0      1      2
 0 +0.495 +0.203 -0.030
 1 +0.020 -0.027 -0.097
 2 +0.150 +0.027 -0.127
Bilinear Leveling Grid:
      0      1      2
 0 +0.462 +0.180 -0.067
 1 -0.002 -0.072 -0.150
 2 +0.122 -0.010 -0.170
Bilinear Leveling Grid:
      0      1      2
 0 +0.422 +0.132 -0.105
 1 -0.057 -0.140 -0.192
 2 +0.075 -0.043 -0.215
Bilinear Leveling Grid:
      0      1      2
 0 +0.367 +0.082 -0.165
 1 -0.110 -0.155 -0.233
 2 +0.030 -0.102 -0.255
Bilinear Leveling Grid:
      0      1      2
 0 +0.347 +0.045 -0.190
 1 -0.135 -0.180 -0.250
 2 +0.002 -0.127 -0.280
Bilinear Leveling Grid:
      0      1      2
 0 +0.322 +0.032 -0.215
 1 -0.155 -0.230 -0.280
 2 -0.020 -0.142 -0.315

As you can see the variations in the measurements are very high.
This must be a known issue because Marlin does have a PROBING_HEATERS_OFF option but this would take even more time and I'm just curious if there is a reason for this or another fix to it.
I don't believe it would be a current issue since the power supply used can deliver many amps so it's probably something like electrical noise. I think it's fine to leave it because you only home and probe once during a print so the measurements would be 'accurate' but it would be reassuring to find out a reason and a possible fix.
I measured the rail with my oscilloscope and it actually isn't very noisy, whether I was heating or not. However, Vmax was 4.6 and Vmin was 4.4 and I'm wondering if that is too low. These voltages didn't change while heating so I think they are always that low.
Edit
For completeness, here an image of the printer:

and here graphs about the BLtouch data over time:

It looks like the changes are always going in the same direction for a given probe point (each point increases steadily or decreases steadily, there is no oscillation).
This means that the bed is not warm yet and you should wait longer.
In theory the heating of the BLtouch itself may affect the readings, and the air surely gets progressively warmer around it, but since some values increase and other ones decrease, that's not the cause.
The values change because the bed is still adapting to the temperature increase.
For a more systematic and scientific approach, do the following.
With the bed cold, heating off, probe a single point 10 times without any delay, then put the data in a spreadsheet and calculate the standard deviation, to know how accurate the sensor is.
After that probe the whole bed every 5 minutes during heating for half an hour and then plot the values on a graph (each point separately). At a certain point you will see that the values will oscillate about as much as they did when the bed was cold. That is the time you need to wait for proper bee heating. Different parts of the bed may reach the temperature in different times, that's why each probed point has to be graphed separately over time.
If you use an enclosure, as you do, the continuous change of BLtouch output can also be dependent on the overall heating of the printer frame and structure: instead of heating only the bed, in an environment which stays the same, you are heating the whole environment through the bed. It becomes more complex. The BLtouch may be fine, but you may need to keep heating it until the readings stabilise.


Anet A8 board USB broken? I'm trying to connect my PC to my Anet A8 through Pronterface on Ubuntu.
But when I'm clicking on the "connect" button in Pronterface, all I see is "Connecting ...".
What I did so far

added my user to the dialout group
tried to run it as root
tried different baudrates
switch to different USB cables
tried to install and run it on a different machine and different OS (Windows) with nearly the same result (additionally I see repeated lines with M105, but no response)

The printer itself works - I want to connect to it, to "PID tune" it, because I added a different fan duct.
How can I make sure the board isn't somewhat damaged, and its just my setup?

I have this printer and used this board many times over USB.
The genuine Arduino boards use the FTDI FT232RL to convert USB signals to UART signals.
The problem with these Arduino based clone boards is that they do not use the FTDI chips as these are too expensive. These boards use a CH340G chip which is a Chinese clone which requires a specific driver to be installed before you can communicate with the board:

Image shows a close-up of the CH340G chipset on the Anet A8 controller board.
When you bought the printer, the SD-card contained the driver that you need to install on your OS. I remember that this driver was for the Windows OS. However, you can download the driver for many platforms (Windows, Mac and Linux) directly from the manufacturer.


How to ease the process of removing support for miniatures I have recently bought an Anycubic i3 Mega S 3D printer. I'm using the stock nozzle (.4 mm) and I print with the plastic it came with (ABS). I'm using Ultimaker 4.4.1.

When I print minis, I'm always having issues removing the support the slicer software adds to print the object. Most of the time, I end up breaking parts of my minis. I'm using the tools given with the box.

How do I make this process easier ? I'm mostly interested in the settings linked with the support generation, but if there are other ways, I would like to know.

Note that the minis are for DnD characters, thus printed objects are often not flat and contain multiple curves, which then creates support that are harder to remove, for example, in between the holder of the mini (the cylinder that holds the piece in a stand up position) and the legs.

I usually print models found online for free, but from time to time I buy some models which contain a lot of details than the free counter parts. I don't mind loosing some of those details, as long as the mini is well printed (in short, I don't mind if the sheath of the sword falls off, but I do care if the arm falls off)

Let's look at the factors that can help us get support parts printed and removed:

access
dimensions/size
bonding
debonding

access
Support structure has to be accessed to be removed. Tree support could help in this. An alternative would be soluable support, which is still accessible if buried deep in a part - as the solvent would be all that needs to access the part.
dimensions/size
Support structure needs to have some crossection to be printed at all. if it gets too small, it will fail to print and fail in supporting. You might alter the support angle to support even 40° or 30° surfaces to the vertical to forcefully increase the supported area and thus dimension of the support structure.
bonding (to bed)
To make sure the part and its supports don't shift from one another, it is best to print with a brim that makes sure all support trees and the base of the model all share a combined first layer.
debonding
Debonding means, we need to remove the support structure from the printed part. Ultimaker Cura allows to define a gap from support structure to the part, usually 2 layers. With these settings removing supports can be as easy as removing the brim and careful cleanup.
Other things
No support?!
Some miniatures have lots of unsupported areas. For example this knight needs support at the hilt of the sword, the arm and the helmet overhang. This dwarf might need support at his dagger in the back and on the left arm (and was resin printed).
However, with the proper design, there is sometimes no support needed. For example this pirate has no areas that need support for overhangs or free hanging areas.
Printing speed
Printing miniatures and intricate parts is hard. I have set up an older, small TronXY with a 0.2 mm nozzle just to print small and detailed items, usually engineering models. I print them slower than normal (ca 40 mm/s, 20 mm for the outer shell).


Can I use photoelectric sensors to make auto bed leveling on a glass bed? I'm pretty much a noob to the 3D printing community. I got a Creality CR10 V2 as my first 3D printer and I know it's compatible with BLTouch but not included in the package. So I'm dying to add an ABL feature to my 3D printer but I'm on an extremely tight budget right now. However, I found some industrial IR sensors (two Omron E3Z-D82 and five Keyence PZ-M71) in my toolboxes. I know those sensors are pretty expensive and totally overkill for ABV but I want to use what I got in my hands.
So the question, can I use those sensors for auto bed leveling? I should say that my printer has a glass build plate. By the way, I'm also open to different cheap alternatives
Here are the links to the sensors for more information:

Omron: https://industrial.omron.eu/en/products/E3Z-D82-2M
Keyence:
https://www.keyence.eu/products/sensor/photoelectric/pz-v_m/models/pz-m71/

3D printers like the German Reprap (see image) already uses a photosensor for homing the axes.  The trick will be leveling the leveling sensors.
However, if you use an optical sensor measuring distance, you could mount it on the hotend like we do digital indicators (drop gauge). See Bed leveling method?
You would want a resolution of about 0.01 mm.  That method will keep you planer to the movement of the hotend.  For automatic leveling the photosensor needs to input to your software.
If you want to permanently connect the photosensor to the hotend, probably the most practical communication method would be USB, which could supply power as well as communication to eliminate batteries.  The USB cable could run in the path of the other hotend cables.  Less weight on the hot end is if you could remote the laser and detector from the electronics.
If only attached during leveling, batteries and wireless connection is better.
I'm finding more digital drop gauges (second image below, data in cable is USB) with computer interfaces than photosensors.  Many of the photosensors would need to interface with a meter first.  Because a  drop meter makes physical contact, it's not practical to leave on the hotend during printing.


M4 screw and nut for 3D printing? Does anyone know where I can get a free 3D design (STEP or STL) of an M4 Screw and nut? I have found only an M3 on Thingiverse: M3 Bolt by Kaleta.

You can get a model for nearly everything McMaster-Carr sells from their website.

M4 Hex Head Screw - https://www.mcmaster.com/#91280a140/=15dmpx8

M4 Nut - https://www.mcmaster.com/#90592a090/=15dmqjy

The options to download models are to the right of the drawings.

NOTE: the site does prohibit use of these models for direct printing.

  You shall not use a CAD model to engage in 3D printing or other
  fabrication of the object depicted in the CAD model for any other
  purpose. You shall not otherwise redistribute or make available the
  CAD models (or any design drawings or prototypes that incorporate
  them) to any third parties, including third parties in the business of
  selling products similar to the products sold by us.


E3D High Precision Heater difference Does anybody know an exact difference between E3D High Precision Heater vs a standard one? I mean technical characteristics not only about its naming.
Or maybe somebody has both of them and did some comparison?

E3D themselves specify this on the product page:

Our high precision heater cartridges feature a rounder cartridge with more consistent diameter and surface quality, ensuring greater surface area contact with the heater block for more reliable heat transfer. With the quick change principle in mind, the high precision heater cartridge uses a Molex Microfit 3.0 connector enabling quick HotEnd changes.

E3D also provide a datasheet on the precision heater cartridge which can be compared to that of the regular heater cartridges.
From an electrical perspective, the are identical. They will put out the exact same amount of heat. The main difference is in the dimensional specifications, which for the precision cartridge is guaranteed to be a diameter of 6.0 mm +/- 0.2 mm and a length of 20.0 mm +/- 0.5 mm, while for the regular cartridge no tolerances are specified though they have the same nominal dimensions.
Apart from this, as we can discern from the product description, the precision cartridge comes with a connector to enable swapping and a better surface finish.


How do I set up a 2 in 1 out extruder system in Marlin Hi I recently upgraded my CR-10S motherboard to the SKR 1.3 with TMC2208 drivers, in addition, I added a 2 in 1 out extruder system, but I am unsure of how to set it up in Marlin. If anyone could provide me a list of the lines of code I need to comment / uncomment / change, or any other advice it would be greatly appreciated.

You need to change the amount of extruders in the Configuration.h:
Set 2 extruders by defining:
// @section extruder

// This defines the number of extruders
// :[0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
#define EXTRUDERS 2

Define that you have a single nozzle:
// For Cyclops or any "multi-extruder" that shares a single nozzle.
#define SINGLENOZZLE

If you want to switch filament during a print, you need to write tool loading and unloading (tool changing) scripts for the slicer you use, also do print a filament prime/wipe tower that is large enough to purge the filament to prevent color mixing.
In case color mixing, you do not set the amount of extruders, instead you need to define that mixing is being used:
#define MIXING_EXTRUDER

furthermore, the amount of mixing stepper need to be defined:
#define MIXING_STEPPERS 2


How do I add an emergency stop button over Micro USB? I have an Ender 3. I want to add an emergency stop button. Ideally it’ll plug in to the printer’s micro USB port and run the M112. I use default firmware and don’t plan to change it thanks.

The most effective way to effectuate an emergency stop is to pull the plug or turn the printer off. An alternative is a software stop using a print server program like e.g. OctoPrint.
Indeed M112 is capable of stopping the printer:

M112 is the fastest way to shut down the machine using a host, but it may need to wait for a space to open up in the command queue. Enable EMERGENCY_PARSER for an instantaneous M112 command.

In order to use emergency stop functionality, you need a firmware capable of doing an emergency stop by having this enabled in the Configuration_adv.h printer configuration file, otherwise it will have to await the queue to be emptied first. I doubt if this is standard enabled in your default firmware (the Marlin default is disabled).
From Marlin's Configuration_adv.h:
/**
 * Emergency Command Parser
 *
 * Add a low-level parser to intercept certain commands as they
 * enter the serial receive buffer, so they cannot be blocked.
 * Currently handles M108, M112, M410, M876
 * NOTE: Not yet implemented for all platforms.
 */
//#define EMERGENCY_PARSER

Please note that this might not be implemented; it has not been implemented for all platforms.
An earlier question "Can G-code scripts be run automatically on inserting an SD card when using Marlin Firmware?" has an answer that hints to changing the sources on SD card insertion. In your case the USB needs to be monitored, and it a signal is detected the printer stopped.
So, since:

I use default firmware and don’t plan to change it

without modification of your firmware it is not possible to do what you want. But, there are perfectly viable options mentioned and available to do what you want (executing an emergency stop). Alternatively you could even use a (n Arduino powered) relay to cut the power based on the signal you want to send.


Hold torque during pause to change filament How can I achieve keeping the motors active during pause to avoid moving their position during filament changes?  I have changed the filament during some prints to change the color or to change the a newer spool, but sometimes the X axis is moved during the change. I'm now using some cloth clips to prevent moving during this change.

To pause the 3D printer I'm using the LCD menu ->pause, then I go to Move axis X, then I move close to 0. This change is manually and random since I don't know when the old filament reel is going to finish. The printer use Marlin as firmware with Ramps 1.4

Is ADVANCED_PAUSE_FEATURE enabled in your printers configuration_adv.h file?
There is a PAUSE_PARK_NO_STEPPER_TIMEOUT option included in there, which prevents the steppers from timing out during a pause, and may be more robust than a G-Code command if you plan to manually pause and resume the print instead of setting it up in the slicer.

Alternatively, in the same file,

#define DEFAULT_STEPPER_DEACTIVE_TIME 120
#define DISABLE_INACTIVE_X true
#define DISABLE_INACTIVE_Y true
#define DISABLE_INACTIVE_Z true  // set to false if the nozzle will fall down on your printed part when print has finished.
#define DISABLE_INACTIVE_E true

can be found. You may want to increase the DEFAULT_STEPPER_DEACTIVE_TIME, or set

#define DISABLE_INACTIVE_X true
#define DISABLE_INACTIVE_Y true
#define DISABLE_INACTIVE_Z true  // set to false if the nozzle will fall down on your printed part when print has finished.

to false to keep X, Y and Z engaged while allowing movement of the extruder stepper only.


Nozzle jiggles when screwing into heating block I've had the Ender 5 Pro, as is, for 3 months.

After I tried a cheap PLA filament (maybe too cheap), it clogged the nozzle. I cleaned it, but any other filament I have would have similar problems from then on. After some days doing test prints, it clogged again. This time, I heated it up to 240 ºC, I unscrew the nozzle, cleaned it up, chopped the Capricorn tube (it had clear symptoms of a previous tube not reaching the bottom of the hotend and leaking material around it), perfectly aligned, cleaned the heating block with a brass brush, started screwing the nozzle… and it never reaches the end. It even jiggles a little bit (by "jiggles", I mean that when the hotend is hot, you can push the nozzle back and forth, and it does move... like it was a joint, and not a threaded bolt), like it was too small for the block. I try screwing a new nozzle. Same happens.

To me it looks like the heating block thread broke, but I can't be sure. I tried a thicker nozzle (0.8 mm, but same thread in the end) and it worked. I could feed filament and it wouldn't look like clogged (at least for 15 cm of feeding filament, when in previous cases it was almost instantaneous).

Time to get a new heating block? Any recommendation?

Would another kind of heating block be better?

Edit: Here's a picture of the bottom of the heating block. Now it's clear there's a metal chip glued with material, and almost (if any) no thread at all.

Another question. Could it have been that cheap material that caused the clogging, or was it just a lack of proper maintenance?

If the threads are damaged badly enough not to hold a nozzle rigidly, you should replace the heating block, but there might be hacks you could do to keep using it for a while until you're ready to replace. I've had luck replacing threads in completely unrelated applications with epoxy, and if you can get one that handles and transmits the heat well enough (maybe JB Weld? not sure) it might work here.

I don't think there's any indication you need to change to a different kind of heating block. That would only be indicated if there were lots of other people reporting the same problem you're having with your printer model or similar ones. It seems more likely that, if they're damaged, you just did it by over-tightening or over-vigorous cleaning with the brush.


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

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


Can mold release agent be used in 3D printing? Do we need mold release agent in 3D printing mold? If it is not used, what effect will it have on the product?

It seems I misread your question.

3D Printed Mold

You were asking about (or the question now states) use of a mold release compound to prevent a molded part from sticking to a 3d print mold.

Yes.  It is always beneficial for the molded part to not stick to the mold.  Easy separation and part removal is important for the life of the mold and for the surface finish of the part.

There are two molding situations that seem important.

Flexible Mold or Object

In the first, either the part of the mold is elastic, so the actual sliding of one surface on the other isn't important.  Here, a mold release agent would help by preventing the cast object from binding to the mold material.

Stiff Mold and Object

The second case is where both the mold and the object are stiff, and the object must slide out of the mold.  Here the layer lines should be considered, since there may, locally, be reverse draft angles where the larger part can not slip past an obstructing filament line.  Using a process that doesn't leave filament lines, or using the thinnest possible filament layers, or smoothing the mold internal surfaces, or possibly filling the spaces between the ridges with another material may eliminate the problem.  A "mold release agent" would still be used to reduce the attachment of the object to the mold, although one may be able to use ample release agent both to fill the groves in the mold and prevent adhesion.


Change hotend thermistor input in Marlin I have a Marlin driven Prusa i3 clone, by accident I cut through both thermistor wires for the hotend while it was powered on. The Arduino reset and the hotend thermistor no longer work.

Since there is a spare thermistor input on the RAMPS board I was wondering if I can change the input pin assigned to the hotend thermistor in the software? I've looked around (the code and the internet) and so far have only found out how to assign the thermistor type for the spare input, not how to tell Marlin to make temp_sensor_2 be the input used for the hotend?

If anyone could help me figure out how to change the hotend thermistor input number I would be greatly appreciative!

In pins_RAMPS.h you find which pins are used for which thermistor:

//
// Temperature Sensors
//
#define TEMP_0_PIN         13   // Analog Input
#define TEMP_1_PIN         15   // Analog Input

To use the other thermistor, you would need to swap the numbers:

//
// Temperature Sensors
//
#define TEMP_0_PIN         15   // Analog Input
#define TEMP_1_PIN         13   // Analog Input


Issues With Cura 4.6.1 Effecting Text Width On The Initial Layer I'm have an issue where Cura 4.6.1 is effecting the width of certain characters if the part is orented to print them on the the bottom. The initial layer seems to be the only layer that is effected. It is also only effects certain characters, in this case characters 4,6,8 and 9. Picture 1 shows the part oriented to print text on the bottom. Picture 2 shows the same part oriented where the text is on the top, which results in the text looking correct.

I have looked for the setting that causes this but, so far, have been unable to locate it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Weird Movement and not homing https://photos.app.goo.gl/O6yPf3sDeV1yhS0C2

I tried to illustrate my problem in the videos above, two of them show the weird movement and the other shows me clicking on the home button repeatedly.

Some Info:

Marlin 1.1.8 or 2.0.0 (same problem in both)
Robotdyn RAMPS 1.4
0.9 angle stepper motors
DRV8825 drivers configured at 0.8V Vref
Anet A2 Plus stock for all the rest

As far as I can see on the attached videos your homing movement is reversed.
as per Marlin, the homing for X shall move towards the left side and for Y to the back of the printer.

That could occur when: cable connectors to stepper motors are reversed, or the motor is assembled the other way (you can set reverse direction in Marlin)

The other issue is steps/mm calibration need to be done see source below.

The high pitch in the video could also point that the drv8825 is shutting down the movement as it is overloaded.

please also check that for vref

  Configuring Vref In order to measure Vref you first need to turn on
  your printer as you normally would. If you only connecct using USB,
  but not external power, you get a wrong reading.

  You need to turn on your multimeter and set it at 2v. Put the red one
  on the potentiometer and the Black one on the Gnd pin. Both are marked
  on the images here.

  Before starting this I read they come with a very high vref setting,
  and it is recommended to start around 0.5v Vref. After measuring mine,
  I can confirm they come with a very high initial setting. Mine both
  came at 1,65v or so! - Yours might be different, which just underlines
  the importance of doing this.

  Contrary to normal potentiometer usage, the ones on most copies/clones
  of DRV8825 are lowered by turning clock-wise, so that is what we will
  do, to we hit 0,5v on each. - A quarter of a full turn lowered it to
  0,7v, - after that it goes very, very rapidly down, so aim for the
  quarter of a turn + a tiny tad more. If you buy your DRV8825 directly
  from pololu.com the Potentiometer are dialed up by turning it
  clock-wise:

source


Prusa I3 - Burn marks on print This is an issue that's started happening recently. This is a Prusa I3 using a 1.75mm pla filament

The settings for this print are as follows

Layer height: 0.2mm
Line width: 0.4
Infill: 60%
Infill pattern: Triangles
Nozzle temp: 190C
Plate temp: 60C
Retraction distance: 8.5mm
Retraction speed: 60mm/s
Print speed: 50mm/s
Cooling fan speed: 20%

This happened on a previous print, but not as much. The only difference is the other print was printed 10mm/s faster. I'm thinking it has to do with too much time in a certain area since it seems to happen in pretty small areas that don't required infill and print as two walls back to back

I have seen this after I reassemble the extruder heat block and then leave it too loose during the print.

Is your extruder above the nozzle coated in a brown or black film?

What happens is the liquid plastic oozes through the loose connection, travels around the outside of the block, where it is heated longer and hotter than normal turning it black/brown. Then it drips, or flakes, into the print where it is spread around giving it a diffused look that you see.

The fix is to tighten the heating block. Do this while it is at operating temperature (be careful!) because it fits differently when cold.

Another cause: I made a tiny sharpie mark on my filament.  I did not realize how concentrated it would come out in the print.  Perhaps you have ink or adhesive or something on your filament that you can't see that turns brown when heated.


Print paper or cellulose - any recyclable filament? I know there is a 3d printing technique, where sheet of papers are cut and glued. Like the ones Staples has in their stores. But this sort of paper isnt recyclable, because of the heavy use of glue.

Is anywhere filament available, which is made of cellulose or other recyclable and bio-degradable material? Or do you know if research is going on in this area?

edit: added bio-degradable

Filament made of Polylactic acid (PLA) is usually made of biological materials (such as corn), and can therefore be considered bio-degradable in most cases.

Whether the filament is 100% bio-degradable (and non-toxic for the surroundings) will depend on the specific formula used by each individual filament manufacturer. (Many manufacturers include various additives to achieve particular effects, such as glow-in-the-dark, metallic finish or extra strengh.)

Woodfill PLA-like filament might be of extra interest to you, not only because it typically is bio-degradable, but also because it will give you the look and feel of being bio-degradable.

Hope that helps!

PS: there are multiple other filament types that are either recyclable, bio-degradable, or both, although PLA might be the most commonly available of them all.


How can I become a certified Fusion 360 user? I heard about the certification program from autodesk website.

How can I prepare and write this certification exam as a student? I already started using fusion 360 about a month.

Start with registering at their website and go from there.  There is a PDF of a list of things you have to have mastery in:

  SKETCHING

  Sketch Creation
  Create Dimensions
  Constraint selection and creation
  Edit a sketch
  Project Edges
  Edit a Sketch

  DRAWING

  Creating a Drawing View, Base, Projected, Section, Detail
  Add Annotations
  Editing a Created View
  Edit Border and Titleblock

  SCULPT

  Create a Form
  Edit a Form
  Thicken a Form

  DIRECT MODELING

  Feature Deletion
  Press & Pull Tool

  ASSEMBLY MODELING

  Create and Manage Top Level Assembly and Subassemblies
  Create a Component From a Body
  Align and Assembly Joints
  Interference
  Rigid Groups
  Motion Studies

  ADVANCED MODELING

  Sweep and Loft
  Boundary Fill
  Split and Combine bodies

  PART MODELING

  Create extrude features
  Apply Fillets and Chamfers
  Create complex hole features
  Create revolve features
  Create a pattern of features
  Create a shell feature
  Create Construction Planes and Axes
  Inspect command; measure, and section analysis


Secure disposal of 3D prints The company I work for is protective of IP and has security procedures for disposing of anything that could be stolen for industrial espionage.  Paper gets shredded and sent to trusted recycling center, all old data storage media gets obliterated, but what do we do with 3D prints?  For any functional prototype, I have 10 or more early versions and failed prints.  Is there a good way to dispose of these so that they are unrecognizable?  Given the volume of prints I need to dispose of, it should be safe, cheap, and able to handle large batches.

Big batches need you to be time efficient - or use a method that uses little work. So my suggestions are mainly needing oversight. Keep a fire extinguisher and safety gear handy though!
Melting together
Most filaments are melting at or around 200 °C.
I recently got rid of my box of (PLA) waste material by putting them on a tray and melting them together in a standard kitchen oven at 200 °C for about 1-2 hours. The resulting plate of plastic destroyed all structure that could be identified. This plate can be then broken up or recycled without the risk to disclose any company secrets.
I suggest to use a baking paper under the filament to be molten or a teflon coated tray, as the filament will be REALLY sticky to a blank metal surface.
About 4 liters of broken prints resulted in approximately a 5x450x300 mm sheet. If you make sure that no filament can touch the heating elements, you can get rid of quite a lot of material in each batch.
Don't do this with ABS and don't contaminate your food trays with plastic rests - use specially marked ones that are for disposal of prints only.
Green destruction
If you want to be green when destroying prints: a box solar cooker with a glass lid easily runs at 200 °C, is decently cheap and runs all day on just a couple seconds of adjusting every hour or so. You have to set it up in an access restricted area, but as long as the sun shines, it runs pretty much for free. Just make sure to put the prints to be destroyed onto some kind of non-combustible carriers, like tinfoil or aluminium trays.
ABS in Acetone
If you use ABS, exposing it to acetone fumes for a short time (seconds to half a minute will smooth the surface. Give it some minutes can destroy the structure into a batch of plastic waste without heat that hardens as the acetone evaporates again, though complex structures might need as much as an hour. Dunking ABS into acetone results in pure chemical waste, that is just a waste of acetone.
To save acetone and a way to the chemical waste disposal, try this:
Put a batch of several prints into a large, airtight box that isn't made from ABS. Pour some acetone on a tray and add a paper towel to generate a consistent acetone atmosphere in the box. Make sure to keep the tray on the floor of the box but in a way so no print will fall into it. This should dispose of the prints by merging them into a huge lump within about an hour.
Do this outside & keep fire away.


Finding a reputable seller for CR-10S After doing a lot of research, I've decided I want to purchase a Creality CR-10S as my first 3D printer. I'm trying to locate a reputable, local seller. Other than Amazon, which seems to have a bit of a mark-up on price, I'm finding several websites that seem to be located outside of the US. Can anyone direct me to a seller located in the US?

I’ve bought two printers (CR-10S and Ender 2)from Tiny Machines in Houston Texas.  They unbox them from China and assemble them and make a test print.  You get a checklist of the tests performed.  They will also flash a bootloader and updated Marlin for $10.

Yeah, you’ll pay more but if you spend any time in printer forums you’ll hear lots of complaining about missing/broken parts or DOA units.

They also stock spare parts here in the US.

Good luck to you!


Metal sintering layer-by-layer with DLP As of current technological advancements, there exists Metal 3D printers that make use of Digital Light Processing (DLP) projector to 3D print metal objects. These printers use a mixture of metal powder and binder. The mixture is placed on the build platform and a laser light beam (or UV light beam, I'm not sure) projection of the layer to be printed is projected on top of the mixture. The light causes the binder to bind the metal powders to each other creating the desired layer. Similar process is repeated for subsequent layers until the object is fully printed. Once fully printed the object is de-binded and sintered in an oven to form the final object.
Now, my question is, like in SLS 3D printing, why cant we directly shoot high-power laser beams with the help of DLP projector onto the powder (without the binder) and cause the metal powder to sinter there itself?

SLS uses a high powered laser to smelt the binder of a ceramic or the metal itself. We are talking about at least a 40 W laser which focuses its power on a circle of about 50 µm. How much power are we talking about with that lowest viable laser for plastic SLS?

$\frac{40\ \text{W}}{\pi \ 62.5\times 10^-9\ \text{m}^2}=640\times 10^6 \frac{\text{W}}{\text{m}²}$

A typical SLA/DLP machine like the Sparkmaker runs on 48 W in total. Assuming that's 40 W for their $55\text{ mm}\times98\text{ mm}=0,00539\text{ m}^2$, so the total projector power of the Sparkmaker is

$\frac{40\ \text{W}}{\pi \ 0,00539\ \text{m}^2}=7.421\times 10^3 \frac{\text{W}}{\text{m}²}$

That's about 5 orders of magnitude too little to smelt a layer in the same time. To get a DLP-like projector doing SLS work, you'd need a light source that runs at about a similar power per square meter - wich would just melt the moment it turns on.


Is there any commercial supplier of 3D printed parts made from acrylic (PMMA)? I was surprised to learn that, AFAICT, neither Protolabs, Xometry, or Shapeways* can supply 3D printed parts from acrylic.  Is anyone aware of a commercial source of 3D printed parts made from acrylic [polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)]?
*Shapeways does 3D print their "Fine Detail Plastic" which is an acrylic.  However, during the printing process, the material is UV cured so, AFAIK, it is no longer a thermoplastic (as PMMA is).  I need the thermoplastic property for my application.

While I don't know of PMMA as a standard offering, I do know that a lot of the smaller entities will gladly accommodate custom requirements for the right price and an understanding that results may be inferior to their tried and true.
My recommendation is to google "3D Printing Service" and find what's local.  Local will hopefully mean you don't have to wait for a shipment to review the quality.


Meshmixer size of model I've created a model in Sketchup and exported the file as a .stl
Since the model is 80cm x 24 cm i need to cut it in meshmixer. But when i open it in meshmixer it appears tiny. Why doesn't it open as the real size?

You mention your dimensions in cm. Any chance that the STL export is also in cm where Meshmixer might expect mm?

Assuming your Sketchup template was set to cm:
To validate this guess you could measure/eyeball a known dimension and if that comes out to be 10 times too small you could scale your model by 10 times.
Alternatively you could adjust the template in Sketchup.

Additional information on STL files:
By it's very nature, the STL file format is just a bunch of unitless numbers in a well defined structure. This structure represents a set of points (vertices), lines (edges) and and triangular surfaces (facet). A few simple rules apply to exactly how all this should be defined. (See here)

But the key thing here is that an STL file is not aware of units, the program used to generate the STL file (e.g. CAD software) needs to be told what units to use, and accordingly the reading program (e.g. slicer) needs to use the same settings. Generally in mechanics applications we default to mm, at least in metric land. All this is explained a bit more verbose here.


Can I use Bowden hotend instead of Wade for a direct extrusion? I am planning to buy 4 hotends (e3d clones I assume), but I am wondering if the Bowden (long distance) be able to be used as Wade (direct extruder)?. When the pneumatic fitting is removed there is a very similar filament drive to the throat/heat-brak and the collar size is same as wade.
As per attached pictures, I think that could be possible.

You can use any of them, however the adaptor will be different to make it fit on your printer. I´m using the J-head on direct drive by removing the pneumatic connector; the distance from top to filament hole is close to 4mm, but does not affect the feeding. If the cylinder hasn't the pneumatic connector is possible to print a cap to mount the connector and make it remote drive


BLTouch doing poor job of levelling I'd appreciate any advice on this problem. I have and Ender 3 Pro with a glass bed. I have been using Marlin 2 with mesh bed levelling and it has been working really well. I have now installed a BLTouch version 3.1. I have used the TH3D Marlin V2.0.5.3 set to probe a 3 by 3 grid (same size I used with mesh bed levelling. My glass bed has a dip in the centre. When using mesh bed levelling this was found to be around 0.05 mm lower than the rest of the bed. However, the mesh bed levelling worked well and I got great first layers. Now with the BLTouch, I've set up my probe Z-offset, done with the bed and nozzle at full printing temperature. I've got a test print of 9 small squares and have sliced it in Cura at 0.12 mm. It's just one layer. No matter how much I fiddle/tune the Z-probe offset, I am getting poor results. The square at the front left of the bed is a complete load of spaghetti. The others are better but not perfect. It's as if the bed levelling process is not working properly. But it all looks like it's doing the right thing. Is there any way I can verify the measurements the probe has made? Is there anything else I should check? I'm really at a loss. I've also manually levelled the bed to make sure the four corners are level with each other. I'm completely stumped!

Found the cause of the gaps. it was one or both of the following:: he x-carraige belt was rather loose; I think I'd overtightened the x-carriage assembly with the print head on it and the motion had a couple of places where it was a tad tight. Adjusted both these things and all the problems went away. What's especially interesting is that I'm now getting better quality prints than I've ever had. It looks like it is worth checking the tightness of everything on a new Ender 3 Pro to ensure it is all as it should be!


gcode commands in octoprint: Z moves ignored? A while ago, I created some simple command buttons in Octoprint to help with bed levelling, by hopping to particular points on the bed. I realised that what I actually want to do is move Z up 10mm, move, and then home Z though, to avoid ploughing the nozzle along the bed if the level is badly off.

So I did this:

  - commands:
    - G91
    - G1 Z-10
    - G90
    - G1 X30 Y160 F9000
    - G28 Z
    name: Back Left
    type: command

Which should be, switch to relative move, Move -10mm Z, switch back to absolute, go to the specified point and then home Z.

Except there's no Z move. I get the feeling that something might be optimising the moves together into one, or something similar... how can I get my printer to move up, then across, then down?

(printer is an quite modified Anet A8 i3 clone - I think the board is Melzi-based?)

Thanks in part to Tom van Der Zanden, I got a working version, which I'll paste below to add some actual value to this question! The G1 XY coordinates for each position are for near the corners on a 220x220 bed, but leaving enough room to access a screw in the corner of the bed if you need to (I don't anymore, but my printer did initially) - for different bed sizes, you'll want to change them. Add to ~/.octoprint/config.yml

controls:
- children:
  - commands:
    - M140 S50
    - M104 S190 T0
    name: Preheat
    type: command
  - commands:
    - G91
    - G1 Z10
    - G90
    - G1 X30 Y50 F9000
    - G28 Z0
    name: Front Left
    type: command
  - commands:
    - G91
    - G1 Z10
    - G90
    - G1 X180 Y70 F9000
    - G28 Z0
    name: Front Right
    type: command
  - commands:
    - G91
    - G1 Z10
    - G90
    - G1 X30 Y160 F9000
    - G28 Z0
    name: Back Left
    type: command
  - commands:
    - G91
    - G1 Z10
    - G90
    - G1 X180 Y160 F9000
    - G28 Z0
    name: Back Right
    type: command
  - commands:
    - G91
    - G1 Z10
    - G90
    - G1 X100 Y100 F9000
    - G28 Z0
    name: Centre
    type: command
  layout: horizontal
  name: Levelling


How much insulation do I really need? I have been looking at cork sheet insulation for my 200 mm x 300 mm aluminium PCB heatbed, by I am not entirely sure how thick it should be. There seems to be a trade off between losing a few millimeters of print height, and providing adequate installation.

I have seen 10 mm thick table mats, and then 5/3/2 mm thick cork insulation tiles. On some forums people say they use two 2 mm sheets beneath the aluminium heater and then another 1.5 mm aluminium plate under those, to hold it altogether (source: Re: Is a cork board necessary under the heated bed?).

Hopefully this does not come across as a how-long-is-a-piece-of-string type question. I am just trying to get the right amount in the first place whilst spending as little as possible, and keeping the mass/volume and height down. If someone else has already gone through the empirical adjustments themselves, then it might save me the time and expense of having to test various configurations.

Would just 2 mm thick cork backing be sufficient?
Is 10 mm overkill?
Does silver foil backing help considerably, thereby enabling one to reduce the thickness of the cork?

Since 50% of the bed is uninsulated, you're definately into diminishing returns as soon as you start adding any insulation.
With that area, I think you are looking at 1.2W per kelvin for a 2mm thickness.

I'm guessing a bit with these powers, but roughly, maybe from 100 W un-insulated, 75 with 2mm, 60W with 4mm. You can get a reasonably accurate measure of the power by looking at the duty cycle of the heating element.

Actually, its not clear if your primary goal is to reduce energy/maintain a very high temperature, or speed the initial heating. You can place a temporary sheet of cork on top of the bed (preferably extending over the edges to prevent convection) and this will significantly improve heat-up times.


Installing bowden tube into E3D V6 I'm struggling with an upgrade I made to my Creality CR-10.  I upgraded the extruder to an E3D V6 hotend.  The extruder mount and cooling fans are installed and working, however, I'm doing something wrong with installing the bowden tube into the hotend.  Inevitably after I print a few layers, the extruder jambs and the issue is always the same:  the bowden tube has backed itself out a few tenths of a millimeter, and the filament has mushroomed into the vacant space and hardened so that the filament cannot go forward or backwards.

I've tried several things to fix the issue including:

Trying various pneumatic fittings from various suppliers
Recutting the end of the bowden tube to attempt to make it more flush
Replacing the bowden tube
Three different E3D heat-breaks from different supplier
Various ways of inserting the bowden tube including:  pushing it after the fitting was screwed in, pushing it into a fitting that was back out a couple turns and then screwing the fitting in

The only thing that has (partially) worked was when I would ductape and hot-glue the bowden tube into the fitting so it couldn't back out.  However, since I'm still tweaking things, I inevitably have to disassemble things and I'm back to square one.

I'm trying to figure out what mistake I am making to keep causing this issue.  As an example, originally I used the pneumatic fittings wrong and thought I was supposed to pull the plastic part out to release the tube, rather than simply pushing it in to release the tube.  (Needless to say, I wrecked a lot of fittings that way.)

What else might I be doing wrong to keep causing this issue?  What are other culprits to this issue happening repeatedly?  Are there firmware settings that may help (or be aggravating the issue)?

You may need to secure the pneumatic coupling in the closed position with a small plastic clip (which should be supplied with the hot end).

You can print your own, providing that your printer will work for long enough (a paper clip might do the trick):

Thingiverse: Bowden Tube Clip v3

Addendum:

Some pneumatic couplers are sprung, so that you have to depress the coupling ring in order to release the tubing. In this case, no clip is usually required. Other pneumatic couplers (such as the one on an E3D V6) are unsprung. This makes it easier to secure and release the tube using the supplied clip. The disadvantage is that you may lose the clip. Sprung couplers sometimes lose their springiness, in which case a clip can be used to secure them in the closed position

It's "swings and roundabouts", really. You can to choose between the awkwardness of sprung couplers, or the risk of losing a clip. Either way, print some spare clips. You may need them one day.


Does GEL-LAY needs to stay moist? POROLAY GEL-LAY is a kind of jelly-like material made by exotic filament producer Kay Parthy / CC Products.

It is a mix of TPE and PVA that is supposed to have a jelly-like feeling. Once printed, you need to let your print soak in water for several days to remove all of the PVA, then what's left should have a jelly-like feeling since the PVA will have left many micro-cavities in the object.

However, my initial tests end up producing prints that feel a bit like jelly when wet, but reverts to a sort of cardboard feeling once dry.

Does this material needs to stay moist to keep the jelly feeling or not?

No, GEL-LAY should not be kept moist to stay flexible. It is made from TPE and filled with small PVA particles. It is advised to print less than normal amount of walls and infill so that the PVA can be rinsed out more easily.

If you look at the way the manufacturer rinses the material, you frequently see ultrasonic baths that improve the dissolving of the PVA. Once the PVA is removed, TPE is all that it left, which is elastic. If your print is still hard after drying it means that not all the PVA has dissolved yet, once dry it will become gluey/sticky again like PVA, hence the cardboard structure.


Gaps in Cura's Slicing for Monoprice Select Mini V2 Why does this happen (circled in red), and how can I fix it? It is making my prints come out horrible.

Not shown in the picture, but the option "Coasting" was Enabled:

Coasting Volume 0.064 mm3
Minimum Volume Before Coasting: 0.8
Coasting Speed 90%

If you enable the option "Coasting", the extruder will follow the extrusion path at the end of switching to the next layer or the next section, but will not deposit any material as it uses the build up pressure in the nozzle to deposit the final bits. This shows up in your G-code representation by empty (non-depositing) gaps (in reality, when fine-tuned correctly, will be filled).

E.g. sliced without "Coasting" enabled:

E.g. sliced with "Coasting" enabled:


Why the Anet A6 can't do .05 layer height So like I sayed in the title, Why can't the Anet A6 do .05 layer height? I found that some printers can do .05 layer heights, but the Anet A6 can't? I am interested to know if it is the stepper motors or the threaded rods or something. Maybe this is something I can do a small "test print" on?

I'm not familiar with the Anet A6 specifically, but as many other things in a 3D printer, the minimum layer height is co-determined by a number of factors.  For the Z-axis the factors I am aware of are:

The number of steps in the stepper motor
The geometry of the lead screw
The tolerance with which the lead screw has been machined
The microstep settings
The quality of the stepper drivers
The amount of play and flexibility of the X-axis gantry
The ration between filament and nozzle diameter
The precision of the extruder's stepper motor
...

Many printers that claim to have ridiculously low minimum Z-layer height do so by relying on the mathematical model only.  It goes something like this: the lead screw has an offset of 1mm per revolution, the stepper motor makes 200 steps and is set for 32 microsteps per step so the minimum resolution should be...

1mm / (200 * 32) = 0.0002mm

The reality is however different.  For example: the lead screw may have been machined with a tolerance of 0.002mm, so to make sure a layer has a thickness >0mm its heigh should be >0.004mm (20 times the theoretical limit computed with the microsteps).  But to make sure layers have the same height ±10% you would need to increase the minimum layer heigh of an order of magnitude, bringing it to 0.04mm.  A similar reasoning applies for the amount of play in the gantry, while the ratio between filament and nozzle influences the minimum volume of plastic that can be extruded per step (for very thin layers you want to be able to extrude a minimal amount of it).

At the end of the day this is a typical case of "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link": the minimum layer height of a printer is affected much more dramatically by the limitations of the most imprecise component in the printer than by the performance of its best one.

As for your question about breaking the printer by issuing g-code with very thin layers: should you issue gcode that requires layers below that limit, the firmware will simply print at the same z-height (see comments, credits to Tom).

I'm unaware of people having permanently damaged their machines by issuing code with too thin Z-layers.  But given how the firmware operates, I'd expect the quality of the print to be negatively affected, the filament to be possibly chewed by the cobbed wheel and in extreme cases cloggig of the printer head.


Printing problem on right half of printer I am having an issue with prints set on the right side of my printer bed. I have leveled the bed, have a BLTouch and used a bed visualizer just to try and get it manually as level as possible. You can see the problem on the right piece side of this print where the filament was not laid flat and has many "humps" unlike the left piece side of the print that printed smoothly. Any idea what could cause this on an Ender 3 Pro and how to go about fixing it?

Your bed level according to the sensor and reality is changing between the time of probing and the time of printing. There is not enough info to determine exactly where the problem is, but the possible causes and solutions are most likely:

Bed or X-carriage is mechanically loose: ensure all axis and parts of the printer are tight, including the hot-end mount

Bed temperature changes have affected the bed level: ensure the bed is at operating temperature during all manual and automated leveling

Sensor is not reading correctly across the entire bed due to the magnetic sensitivity of the bed or hot-end heating elements: either enable the PROBING_HEATERS_OFF compile-time feature in Marlin or disable the bed and hot-end heaters immediately prior to the automated bed leveling procedure using the code:
 M140 S0; set bed temperature target to zero
 M104 S0; set hot-end temperature target to zero

then turn them both back on to your desired temperature immediately afterward probing using the same M104 and M140 command syntax to their respective desired temperatures