KevinMakes

What material are you using? Some materials just suck. Do you have layer height (layer) based speeds? Explanation: (changing the speed during print) If you have the first layer speed at 10mm/s travel with the extrusion volume at 1mm^3/s, @ 230Deg (all numbers are just examples and theoretical) Then you are heating and pushing 1mm^3 onto a line that is 10mm long and as you speed up to say... 20mm/sit will try to lay down the same volume (1mm^3/s) over a longer distance which will make the lines thinner. The same works in the inverse with slowing down. Solution: Increase the material flow when you speed up by say 50% also increase the material flow by 50%. (don't forget to raise the temperature slightly to make up for the extra material that you'll be kicking out.) Room temp drastically changing? Solution: *Smack* Shut da doe! More seriously, consider isolating the printer from extreeme temperature changes or adding a door to the front and a flexible seal similar in construction to the cover on a gear shifter on a manual transmission, to the top...please do not use the rubber from a gear shifter on your printer. Honey comb infill with too much overlap? Lower the overlap (the overlap between infill and shell) that your infill is set to. this squashes the layers and will sometimes cause issues with the exterior finish quality. Are you using a solid diaphragm? Solution: Dont use the diaphragm feature...it sucks. Is it only on one axis or is it projection outward from the center? Solution: Wiggle the head back and forth in the directions that you see the deviation do you get any play? you should be able to feel no wiggle until you feel the steppers' vibration. if you do get wiggle then you should tighten the retaining screws that hold the "geared pulleys" onto the stepper motors' drive shaft.

It would be an interesting idea to sell these online and donate the profits. Like a crowd funded charity.

I agree with this ^

The option is in > Machine >Add a new Machine >Next >Other >Custom Once there you can choose size configuration and other options.

You can set up a custom configuration in cura. And If I were you I would consider moving your limit switches also

Well the acetone does a similar thing as the heat: It liquefies a thin layer of the the surface (If the heat is applied on all sides equally, (Good thing I have a toaster oven with a rotating thingy)) you rub it after heating it will smooth out the gaps, pushing the "hills" into the "valleys" whereas with acetone you are removing material off of both the hills and valleys, until there is a happy medium. I have recently found that sanding with some 600-800 wd after heat works better than rubbing. the reason for heat rather than acetone. The company I work for wants to make a public spectacle out of the 3d printing. I cannot in my right mind suggest to my employer to have a tub of acetone being opened and closed and laying around inside of a business (in a historical building (not great airflow)) with as much foot traffic as we have. It would be a pr nightmare. I can totally see the headline read by our news anchor "Coming up local business will help you with your foot pain but is it worth the headache?" I think you are imagining that a lot more heat is being used then there actually would be. This idea and question wasn't meant to question the veracity of the acetone method, it was simply to ask if you (someone who sees value in the quality of the finish) would have tried other methods.

As much as I hates to ask this:(... but in the name of science...? can you dissect that...? or a closer up picture? or make a simple test square with a diagonal separation line to dissect? I am curious to see the layer bonds between the white and orange. Are they the same type of material?

I just mentioned the baking because it makes the most sense to me. I guess that would require some really good temp control. I tried a reheating and rubbing the grooves and it had a slight positive effect.

I have a random question. What are you doing as far as making sure that the head stays accurate? Do you add limiter switches to the front, left, and right to re-zero the head when you pick those heads up? Also are you cooling the unused head after a switch? Do you think that you could build a wipe plate at the nozzles "resting location" to wipe the nozzle after pickup and before drop off? Have you considered using that heat resistant rubber for a wiper on those...hmmm...i don't know what these are called. http://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-Commercial-High-Heat-Spoon-Scraper/dp/B00Q8KIMC4 I made something similar for a previous employer for a tool switcher for a multi-axis cnc mill except it was a quick high pressure spray of coolant, dragging it through a wire brush with a slow backspin and dipping it in its rest in oil so I am very interested in how yours will turn out.

Oh, okay! and what is the margin for error?

Thats odd Ive had more issue with the pla not sticking. you could try... 1.) really thick construction paper -no glue -make sure to get it flat! -glue to build plate with hand washable glue - when you are done rinse the part of the build plate paper and all 2.)Slow your print down and heat it up and or overheat during first pass and or slow down the first few passes and or overlap (40%ish) the first pass and or make sure that there is at least a 20 second gap between layers

What is the preferred layer resolution? Infill? I have a dual head setup and If I used the 1.6 mm for everything thick and the .4 for everything detail oriented (by way of creating new parts and stacking them...It would print a lot faster than 2mm^3/s.

I've heard tell of people baking their parts for a cleaner outer edge, has anyone actually tried that?

I have done some testing with printing on top of a few vinyls, polyprop, and a "carbon fiber"(graphite) All scored (roughed up) and or with a epoxy brushed on.

There is a few copper ceram. ones that are only "rated" for 200 ish but it wont hurt it any to go higher. I've been doing it for months. I have found that the heater is not slip to fit, and the "retaining screw" for the element and the thermistor really sucks. I used a tiny bit of paste and pressed the element and thermistor into the block until it escaped through the retaining screw(which I threw into the bin within a few days of owning the printer) hole. I don't think I would be able to fit a few layers of tinfoil in that gap. and when I say heater block I really mean (nozzle) sorry for the confusion.

The simulation should cover the area, density, and thermal conductivity. guessing and checking is a craps shoot from what I personally found.

There is actually firmware (inside cura) that wonderfully manages the secondary heater and thermistor.

No problemo, I am not sure what the formula was exactly either I can take a peek in the firmware. The basic Idea that I got from the formula was that there is a imaginary table (represented by the formula and rules) and it creates an imaginary line graph with watts on one side and temperature on the other and if for some reason that the watts input did not create the (degrees) that it "should" produce within 3deg (i think it was 3) then it will kick out one of the heater block or heater errors. Could I get a few more details from you? Picture of the heater block (to satisfy curiousity) exact type and stats of your heating elements and thermistors changes you made to the firmware (general) the suggestion about using the other on board connections for the secondary heating setup is more pointed towards having better control, and so you can keep things (firmware) as "stock" as possible.

same exact reaction

The main reason for the exactness is because I am testing printing on top of, inj molded, and pre printed parts.

I also level teh bed with a feeler just because...well Im a bit of a control freak... Anyway I find that it is a good measure to print at about 1/\4th of the diameter of the nozzle...so for my massive 1.6 mm It will be .4 mm off the buildplate...this tends to squash and spread the first layer (also good for first layer adhesion if you don't want to do a raft or skirt)

Have you guys considered doing a webinar of the event? Would totally join if it weren't literally on the other side of the planet...

I wish there were more events in my area (portland Or) the company I work for wants to put up a booth/attend to get some more ideas and talk with people about specific material experiences/ properties. Its hard to get a face to face with people who know what their talking about in the 3d world.

Highly likely, mine were acting up in the same way but not quite as bad. High temp therm, paste solved that. (shh don't tell ultimaker they may void my warranty)

also I wouldnt stick the aluminum foil in the heaterblock... if the foil fits you are doing something wrong prbly If you want a good fit find some thermal compound made for a temperature that you are trying to achieve... on second thought... You could probably use some ceramic compound for that.