kmanstudios

I was pointed to this thread from another and I can attest that binary .STL can have more than one solid in it. Say three Tori not connected instead of just one by itself. The other thread had a problem like this and it seemed to be an .STL compatibility issue and the file was ASCII. Unless I misread the above. This is the link to the file I fixed. It is what I think is going on here.

I am not angry. I am a dummy. Why do you think I call myself the clumsy noob? Especially when I tried to help and all I did was get confused as to what you are expecting; as if a little sandpaper and filler is out of the question. But, I am not angry as that puts too much importance on your comments. I like to be insulted by people that I try to help and I was the only one doing so. But, a little jab back should prod you to think a bit before you make such a comment.

I took a look at the parts (all) and it seems that the 'planet' is missing the other part. This is the way the zip file is. If you download the file individually, it is the same. So, I looked at both files in a couple of programs. Cura did not see it (as you reported) and 3DS MAX did not see it either. It did, however, open just fine in 3D Coat. So, I fixed it for ya. You can get the fixed file here. It should all be ok. There may have been a variance introduced during the translation, but it is what it is. All I can figure is that it had some strange thing going on with the export from whatever package it came from and, it was in ASCII....blech....The fixed file is in binary .STL.

To be honest You dont understand features of 2.7 at all and ironing works on flat surface. So on this surface it will not work. And thanks for Your interest but sadly You don't have any good answers, considering the fact its possible to print it in good quality i am looking for person knowledgable enough with settings so it will work out. Thanks for Your time. Yeah, I am a dummy. So, sorry to waste your time. And, you are right, I have not beta tested 2.7 and I just made a silly suggestion, so will not bother again.

They will pretty much do the same thing as it is the filament and level of detail you are choosing. I can suggest that you try the beta (2.7) as it has an "Ironing" feature implemented from something that neotko created. He also uses a different slicer and would probably be more eloquent about the issues you see.

Well, in that orientation, you asking it to create a curved surface from a high level (0.2mm) The vertical one would print better. Also, it would have been helpful to see the print as what I see in Cura is what I would expect to see in Cura based on geometry.

|But, maybe I am missing something, but I do not see the spaghetti you mention. That is why I am confused.

A link to the file would help as people could look at it directly. So much weird stuff can happen with geometry.

I am not sure what you mean by messed up. I am not familiar with the model, but just at a glance, it seems to be ok to me.

OK, the print finished. Here are two pics of the final project. While I used a grid infill, Traveler218 used triangles, I do not think that made a difference as I have never had infill really cause issues with printing in general. A couple of things I would have done different if my head was working right: 1. Printed at 240-245 and not 235 (Helps the filament stay a bit more 'sticky' when it lays down the next layer, or so they say) 2. Turned off my fans during print. According to what I researched, fans are not good as you want the material to slow cool. Again, what "they" say. 3. Would have used a support as the center groove was a bit rough on the last bit of closure (flipped upside down with groove arch arcing over the buildplate, flat side of model up) where it just did not quite make a clean bridge. 4. For some reason, my printing profiles are not loading correctly from before and when I do get them in, they will not let me access other profiles such as changing from 0.2mm to "Fine" ( 0.1mm ) and processing the updated information through the system. Nothing is there to choose from as far as profiles go. More on that in another thread as this is not about Cura, but the printing of this object. While I had the door opening closed, I do not think I: a. Put enough slurry down as it warped evenly from the outside in. It was 3AM and spent most of my time fixing a clog until 4ish. So, brain cells were not fully working....as if they ever are...... b. Cleaned the buildplate as well as usual. Squeaky glass on fingers, then massive alcohol (Isopropyl 79% - 99% pure). THEN the PVA slurry. I did not sweat that too much as it was not a workable print, just a test and something that reinforces the above when I have to roll my own on this again. I did get a bit lazy about letting the tech take care of things. Bad on me, as tech will always fail at the most inopportune moments. And, I know better. But, it does print which points to another issue other than Cura or the model. Maybe an environmental issue? Maybe filament difference? I used Matterhackers Pro Series red Translucent PETG.

I actually ran into this issue last night. I referenced it in more detail here. Mine was in the AA core, but I think the situation would be very much if not the same. But the short answer is this: If your filament has been chewed a bit, it can cause a weak spot that can jam into the very top of the core entrance. The abrasion raises some surface areas a bit, this can cause it to lodge in the top of the nozzle. The bottom will eventually drain out, for lack of a better term, leaving a gap between hot part and nozzle entrance. And, with pressure, it will break at the weakened area in the filament if it cannot be heated to allow smooth extraction. I had to take the nozzle out and with needle nose pliers, work the bit of filament out of the top of the nozzle. It was a bit of grab, wiggle, pull, slip and repeat until it freed up. But, I did encounter it last night of all things. It was 3AM and did not think to take a pic though :(Dangit.....

That is a thought. On the surface it sounds logical and should be tried. I would. But, that is me...LOL... I am waiting to try it on a part that I print in something like PC or PP. I usually do not have much warping issues with other materials, but I do know that PC can warp under certain conditions and geometries. There is a big thread about the sheets and other things about the advanced printing kits, but the sheets are a main topic. You can find it here.

I would not use the adhesion sheet for something like PLA for a variety of reasons, but mostly because there are cheaper alternatives for that type of material. I believe they were for materials like ABS, PC and things that tend to warp a bit off the plate. But, that is a guess on my part as I have not gotten around to testing that out yet.

If you pause a print or use the change filament in the firmware on the printer, it will pick up exactly where it left off. Also, I tend to try not to let the tech do all the work for me. In my opinion, while it is good to have tech do a lot of things for you, it can fail and it usually fails at the worst time. So, I have no issues with having to keep an eye on my filament spools. And, I have been caught with my pants down a few times with that one. I just firmly believe in a solid set of physical procedures/checklists to do. Also, the problem with seeing a first-timer do a product review is not good. A person who is intuitive with machines or tech will make it look like a snap. A person who is not so good with those things, and need tech help, will make it look like a nightmare. An experienced printing person will be able to tell you why something is an issue and what the comparative values are. And, with something like FDM/FFM printing being susceptible to environmental issues (humidity being the worst in my experience) can make a difference. I can do the same print here in Brooklyn with no issues, but the same print could fail in a tropical/humid environment without proper humidity controls. My biggest wish list for Ulti-Santa is the ability to pick up a print from where it left off in case of a blip in power or something like that. I have my printer on a battery back-up, but, if I am not home, it will not last for hours until I return.

I also noticed that different makes of the same material (say 3 different manufacturers of PLA) can have different properties such as firmness or surface friction. I notice that I do have to adjust my tension a bit on different types of filament. And, it just gets exaggerated when going from something like a PLA to a PETG to a PC and I am assuming (Have not tried it yet) PP as well. Sigh...so many things to take into account. I really do need at least 2-3 more printers to keep up with my design process as I am now encountering 3-8 day prints and different materials. Would be nice to dedicate a machine or two to a subset of materials and just have more than one print running at a time.

So far, ok. I do not think I cleaned the glass enough or put enough adhesive at 3AM when I found the issue with clogging the nozzle/bowden tube. I was a bit bleary eyed. So, the print is coming out fine, but lifting off the plate/warping a bit. I would have killed the print ages ago if it was 'for real'. But I was more interested in it actually printing as the adhesion would be a different issue. For instance, I could have used the adhesion sheets I got when I purchased the advanced printing kit. Or, I could have upped the buildplate temp. Or just slurried the heck out of it. But it is printing and to finish, it still has 2.5 hours to go (About 12:30AM) and then off to start the next print, which will be about 4 daysish.

It is actually "Grid" for the infill. I just went with the one that shaved off time. I think triangles gave me an extra hour. Since I am not a structural engineer, I am not sure what would be stronger. And, if they had an infill pattern that approximated a circle better, I would have gone for that as spherical is stronger than most anything else.

Just for everyone to see, a quick report on the testing I am doing on the print: The file is perfect as it lays down flat and has no issues internally or causing Cura difficulties. Other than one hiccup in the middle of the night, non model related (See this link), it has been printing strong for four hours now. It will be done in about 15.6 hours, but so far, so good. Material is Matterhackers Red Translucent PETG (The PETG I had available and easy to get to....it was 12AM before I got around to printing)

OK, as I was testing out a file for a fellow board member, I switched filaments. All things seemed ok. Then at 3AM I got a phone call from a private number (grrrrrrrr). But, I used the opportunity to check the print at the 3 hour mark. And, I was printing air with the printhead swinging above the partial print like it was trying to will the rest of the print into being. No, I said to myself....this cannot be! My last print with that filament woiked. Coitanly it should be woiking now. Nyuck, Nyuck, Nyuck..... Well, I killed the print. Damned be to my expectations as the proof of failure was laying on the buildplate. So, I found the issue. I bring this up because I have seen a lot about failing prints and such and most advice points to a nozzle issue. Now, that is solid advice. But I discovered something that I was not fully aware of and wanted to share this. The picture below was the culprint (see what I did there? ). The filament had been slipping and getting chewed a bit and that was all it took to clog up the bowden tube. The picture below shows that when grinding a bit at times, the filament gets a bit ground up and creates areas that are demonstrably larger than the diameter of the filament. This, of course, means friction and more slipping and more chewing and more....well, you get the idea. So, I pulled the full length of the tube out the front until I had smooth filament. And, I will be using the 'wasted' filament as part of my nozzle cleaning process as it has a lot of good areas. Hope this gives another noob something to chew on......oh, I am so punchy this morning LOL It also points to making sure your filament is within tolerances as some are a bit dodgy on maintaining that firm diameter within tolerances. As a quick aside, this also creates issues when entering the nozzle. So, it can affect the nozzle too and that is why you should check both as I did have to pull a piece of plastic that broke off due to pressure on the weakened, chewed area. So, I really had a double clog.

Ummm, you can PM me if it is small enough to email. Other than attaching things, I have my own FTP so I am not familiar with public methods. Sorry I cannot be of more help on that end. If I get it tonight, I can test before I start a 4 day print. No hurries, just letting you know. I am in EST time and will be back today about 3PM to check if you have a PM for me. Or, better yet, I can PM you with my email addy. "Yeah....that's the ticket!!"

I have no solution, but I have printed the full vertical volume before on my UM3E and did not have that happen. All leveling and such is good? Do you have any pics you could show? At what height did it fail? Proper brimming or adhesion on the base of your plate? Heated bed? I know you said you were using the base pre-sets, but just trying to be thorough. Was there any curling or other things like a blob or something to catch on the nozzle? I will be doing a full vertical print with supports in about a week. I have a few things to catch up on regarding backlogged prints (I need another two - three printers to keep up with my design process). I will keep an eye out if anything goes awry though. I used to have a lot of spaghetti strings all over the place when I was using the prime tower. It was prone to falling, but not the models themselves unless something curled up on an edge or got a blobby buildup. It would whack it hard enough to bounce the plate too. But I had my model really stuck down.

OK...I am finishing up the last of my vase (spiralize and Faux spiralize) prints. I went a bit nutso with the design process, Fractals and all sorts of things. 26 of them (sheesh) and mostly at 0.8 Nozzle width and variations of ideas and such. BUT!! While I was waiting on prints, I designed this thingy based on the idea presented here. You have heard of the Faberge Eggs? Well, here is the Neotokotized egg Only a 95 hour print LOL Again, went nutso with it.....You can right click on the image and 'view image to see it full sized.

I'd like to give your model a try on my UM3E with PETG if that is ok. I am intrigued.

The only answer I can give you is yes and no. It works nicely as a cradle and if your PVA is very dry, it does ok. But, it is so strong, I would not be opposed to using it in concert with something softer like PLA as a support. Also, if you use the support (PC) defaults, they actually come off quite nicely as well as the raft. You just have to catch the raft as it finishes printing before it cools down. Nylon may be another option.

Have you tried to anneal it?