kmanstudios

Type of material? What are you using for strickum to da buildplate? I ask because I have been reticent to use rafts but have found they can be removed if taken off while still warm to hot. But, I am speaking specifically about PC and CPE+ as I have not had this be an issue with PLA or other things so have not tried it with other materials. But, does work like a charm with the filaments I mentioned.

Another caveat about using FDM printers other than what has been mentioned is that although you may find food safe materials, there is no guarantee that there will be no contaminants in the system or build area. For making mold from? Yes, but not direct.

I completely agree. I clean my plate every time I switch it out with dish soap to cut grease as well as a nice wipe with Isopropyl Alcohol. 99% pure if you can get it to cut down on contaminants. After that, I have taken to using a slurry of PVA to add to stickiness and put a slight barrier between the plate and plastic to keep the plastic from chipping the plate on strong bonding plastics.

As an aside, I am starting to prefer the ooze shield to the priming tower. Does eat up a lot of PVA though. But, I am recycling it (PVA), so it serves other purposes for me too.

You are... OP is taking advantage of the infill patterns generated by Cura, to make an interesting outer shell on his print... Ah, okay, now I see. Thanks. If the design software allows to create "patterns" (=terminology in SpaceClaim / DesignSpark Mechanical; I don't know the name in other packages), then another solution might be to create one hole, and repeat that a number of times in X- and Y-direction, with 0.5mm walls inbetween (for a 0.4mm nozzle). I used that to create a sieve, which has a similar pattern. This requires very little work. Then you might still have some blobs, but at least it is already a bit more beautiful since the nozzle is now traveling along the lines only. That's pretty elegant and simple. And, at least Design Spark, the no-cost version of Space Claim is a solid sibling to Space Claim.

Well, as you can see in the pic I posted, you can at least choose the bottom layer only for that (Bottom Pattern Initial Layer). Just not the top. Would be a nice thing to do though as I do prefer the way the concentric patterns look opposed to the other choices as well.

I weighed my printer choices based on overall need and buildplate size and availability of materials. I do not need every color in the rainbow as construction was my main concern, as well as expandability and culture of the community around the printer. Ultimaker fit my needs based on the above as well as reputation. And, I have not been let down. My biggest downfall is typical noob mistakes and pushing boundaries. But the community has guided me quite well as I progress as a 3D printer. Not just the how, but, for me the most important thing: The why. Knowing the why lets me draw independent conclusions and make better decisions. Again, no one size fits all right out of the box.

Nobody misses the point. You are looking for the perfect solution. Everybody seems to be pointing out that there is no perfect solution. So, I think I bow out of this as it seems to be becoming more of an argument you need rather than constructive information for you to make a better, informed decision as all you come up with are reasons to not use a machine based on 3mm filament. So, go use a machine that does not. It is that simple.

I find the Ultimaker Nylon to print very easily. I use a slurry of PVA and water using recycled PVA from supports and brims, etc. and not a bit of trouble with plate adhesion or anything like that. So far no trouble with it. But, another brand has given me more difficulties as it seems to absorb moisture from the air more readily as well as, well....just does not behave as well.

Noob question: Why are they called 'endless'?

This is how the cool places get FUBAR. No place is safe.....

I have not seen this with my nylon prints. I am with gr5 to see if you got a spool(s) that are inferior. Mistakes do happen in the manufacturing. For instance I have 3 spools of PC, all labeled transparent, on the box and on the spools, and one is the black PC material in actuality despite all the labels. I also have some Cheetah and Armadillo and I swear they print, feel and behave the same way. but so far, my nylon prints are not problematic.

OK...I do not think it does negative spaces where you can 'knock out' material, but here is something you can get for free. I have not tried it, but it does look cool. https://github.com/MarkWheadon/velocity-painting/wiki And, just search velocity printing or velocity printing. The name to keep correct is Mark Wheadon.

Just to throw in an extra question, Are you asking about positive/negative space? Or are you asking for raised areas as rowiac suggested. Most software can create a raised area as displacement map using black and white or grey scale. Creating negative areas may be difficult. I will have to look.....I may be mixing things up (not uncommon) but I could swear I saw something in a thread about this somewhere else.

Yes, I have read that. It was what gave me good results in the beginning. I have found a correlation between shape/mass and warping. A decent amount of infill to increase mass and spread the heat. Shapes that are fairly squareish/roundish, as opposed to oblong and oval are more prone to stay in place. To alleviate those issues that are not addressed by the above, I did use a raft. I was surprised how easily I could get the raft off while still heated. I am loathed to use rafts, but if ya gotta, ya gotta. They can just be such a pain sometimes. But I was surprised with my last print. Thanks again for all the added info and making sure I found the guide. And, PC is one of those I am working to get that right. It is a great material. Ummm, I did not think the advanced printing kit was for the UM3 series yet. For heat retention, I just tape some bubble wrap up across the opening and let the temp come up in the chamber before printing. Edit, I forgot to mention that this stuff does overhangs better than anything I have seen so far.

Thank you. Just trying to get a better adhesion on some PC parts I am printing and worried about killing the system.

Have you tried to use towers (In the support section where you can choose a minimum and maximum width) or conical supports (In experimental where you can choose degrees as well as minimum widths)? Depending on which version of Cura you use, it may or may not be available. You can see it (Them) in action here: Using towers and conical supports

Just a quickie, on the UM3(X) I have seen not to put the buildplate above 100°C. But, can it safely go above that to 110°-120°C? I know you can dial it up way above that, but will it damage the buildplate mechanisms?

All excellent points....or...maybe just do a search?

This was pointed out to me in another thread yesterday and glad you did so here to clear up any confusion I may have created.

I have had to resort to this. I held off suggesting the needle because I had a fine tipped Airbrush needle, but not everyone has this. Also, I have had to do both methods (Needle and PC pulls) just to get my core working again. Now, I clean religiously to prevent this from happening.

I took a look. That little rounded square pad is the same thing (They look the same at least) as the ones I get from Berea Hardwoods. I have not seen the big pads though. I will have to investigate.And they are amazing. Just as SyntaxTerror said.

Ok, I went and took a look. It does work as you say. But is it possible for the typed in heights override the autoplacement rather than the other way around? It is nice to have the models placed right on the buildplate, but one errant vertex can keep it from making contact. You can move it, in a difficult way, but the autoplacement does not want to play nice with the truly subtle variances even when moving negative Z. I have to grab the Z arrow and move it and it is much more crude than being able to type in a specific value and have it stick.

Huh.....I would have figured that typing in a value would just override that functionality. Oh well, live and learn. Thanks!!

Brand suggestion?