[gaps appear as print gets higher/bed gets lower]

Thanks guys, you make some good points, Ill slow down/heat up until its back to happy printing !

 

[gaps appear as print gets higher/bed gets lower]

Thanks guys, Ill do some testing tomorrow with your comments in mind, I think I may not have taken into account the extra volume when printing at 0.2mm. I've been mostly printing at 0.1 with the successful prints.

I'm still puzzled as to why the problem only seems to begin happening at a certain height, why do the bottom 30-40 layers print fine ?

 

[gaps appear as print gets higher/bed gets lower]

Thanks for the reply.

Ive tried various speeds and temps. The print in the image was printed at 190 deg c,0,2mm layer height at 75mm/s perimeter and 125mm infill (Kisslicer) I also tried Cura with the same temp layer height and 75mm/s, the print was slightly different but still had gaps the higher the print got. I have successfully printed with these settings before.

Its the same filament which I have had many successful prints with at similar temps layer heights and speeds.

I did add an additional fan recently but I've had quite a few successful prints with that working fine. I took it off anyway, it made no difference.

The extruder looks to be working fine, Its the version with the spring (bought November 2012)

There are no signs of slippage in the extruder when I examine the filament.

The Bowden tube appears clear.

What I don't understand is why does it only happen once the print is above 7mm in height ? All layers below this height are perfect. Could there be a problem with the Z motor ? I checked the height of the final print and its very close to the correct height.

Im very very confused!

 

[gaps appear as print gets higher/bed gets lower]

Please help !

Suddenly my ultimaker after months of successful printing has started to show gaps as the height of the print increase/the bed moves down. The first layers print very well but at about 10mm upwards the print deteriorates.

I printed a small cylinder to show the problem.

http://s7.postimg.org/qzgn4fbob/20130715_203100.jpg

I have tried different slicers to check it wasn't a software problem.

Both slicers had problems at the same height.

Does anyone have any experience with a similar problem ?

X and Y axis seem to be fine, all belts are well tensioned. Bed is level. extruder seems to be working ok.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

J

 

[Extruder Calibration]

Ok, Id not even considered the SD card overwrite issue you have found. Il try again with fresh G-code files this eveining.

The code I have been using is:

M92 865.888

G91

G1 E100 F300

G90

I was changing the M92 xxx.xxx to adjust E steps per mm.

[Extruder Calibration]

All good points, perhaps I should just forget about calibrating the extruder.

But I still cant help but be perplexed by the fact that changing the E-number by the exact percentage of over extrusion doesnt correct the amount extruded. (All with Bowden disconnected so hot end pressure and slippage are out of the equation), its not even close when the correction is made in the g-code prefix.

Default E stpes per mm extrudes 102.7mm.

This should correct the 2.7mm over extrusion: 865.888 x (100/102.7) = 843.123

But it doesnt. What is wrong with this calculation ?

[Extruder Calibration]

Thanks for the reply Pablo, I am marking the filament at the underside of the extruder to avoid the wiggle of the bowden connector.Ive been using a new section of filament each time.

Im sure Im doing it accurately its the maths that isnt working. Adjusting the steps per mm in the g-code pre-fix just doesnt seem to be doing what it should.

[Extruder Calibration]

Worth a go but 852 extruded 97mm ! What is going on, surely increaseing the number of steps should increase the amount extruded !? Im close to giving up on this and accepting 102.7mm. My prints show over extrusion though :(

Can anyone make any suggestions as to what I might be doing wrong ?

[Extruder Calibration]

I took the same measurement 3 times (102.7mm) 3 times using the code prefix M92 865.888

I used digital calipers and a steel edge to keep the filament straight, I dont think I could have been more accurate.

865.888 x (100/102.7) = 843.123

So I then used the code prefix M92 843.123 and got varied measurements each time I extruded,

the filament shows no signs of slipage, the delrin wheel is tight.

Im very very confused. Is the M92 code prefix the best way to do this ?

How do you change the e steps per mm in the UC ?

Is 102mm accurate enough ? My prints do show some signs of over extrusion.

Im going to try again this evening and flip my filament around just to make sure the slightly abrased side has no impact.

[Extruder Calibration]

Thanks. I wasnt sure how to change the value in the firmware or via the UC. Instead I modified the g-code like this:

M92 E848.909

G91

G1 E100 F300

G90

This then extruded 98mm ! Im now very confused.

Any help would be very much appreciated. Is modifying the g-code the wrong way to do this ?

[Extruder Calibration]

Ok so when I tell the Ultimaker to extrude 100mm it actually exrudes 102mm. What do I need to change to make it extrude 100mm ?!

Thanks in advance for any help here, I am a complete novice in 3D printing !

[Extruder Calibration]

Thanks, I will give this a go this evening. I assume to extrude 1000mm I just change E100 to E1000 ?

[Extruder Calibration]

Hello,

I understand the concept of calibrating the extruder but cannot find anything telling me how to extrude 100mm of filament. Can I do this via the Ulti controller ? when I press extrude on the move axis>extrude command it extrudes way more than 1mm as stated in the ultimaker wiki. Do I have to write some G-Code ?

[Flexible PLA Results]

Thanks for the replies all, Im optimisitc about using this stuff for some mould making, Il post back in a month or two with some results.

When was the extruder drive upgrade introduced ? Im fairly sure I have it already (machine shipped last month).

[Flexible PLA Results]

I am considering fetting some flexible PLA to print some rotational moulds.

They would have quite a lot of detail.

I understand Flexible PLA is harder to print with, my question is:

Is it harder to print with it but the same results are possible If the settings are optimised ?

Or is it inferior to rigid PLA and no matter how much you play with the settings it will never be as good ?

Does anyone have any experience with it/images of prints etc ?

Any advise would very welcome.

My other option is to print rigid and make a silicone mould from the rigid print.

[auto bed leveler wizzard - back right screw access blocked]

I can confirm this is a problem, another 1-2mm would probably clear the plastic fan duct housing (its only the overlap in the folded construction which is in the way).