GregValiant

That's good. If you have to go further things get complicated.

When Creality first went to the 4.2.x mainboards they were OK. Then they changed to the newer TFT type LCD displays. The firmware of the display didn't play nice with the firmware of the mainboard. As a consequence, no commands that send messages to the LCD work on those printers. That includes M0, M1, M117, M600 and a couple of others. If you follow the link below there is a workaround that uses Search and Replace to add several gcode lines that can get M25 to work. Another workaround is to use the "Gcode after pause" box in Pause at Height to add "G4 S300" (where "S" is in seconds) to pause the print. The down side is that G4 is a timed pause and if you make it too long, you can't shorten it. If you make it too short then the print can resume in the middle of changing colors. You also need to be standing there when the pause occurs. I'm attaching a gcode file that is a pausing test. Open it in a text editor and you'll see that I've commented out a couple of different types of pause commands. ; ;G4 S60 ;M0 ;M25 M0 S60; Do the actual pause ; By adding or removing semi-colons from the front of the lines maybe you will find something that works. There are no heating commands or extrusions in the file. The nozzle just runs around at a height of 10mm and then is supposed to pause. There is a more involved workaround in THIS THREAD. GV Pause Test.gcode

Thanks Dustin. That's what I was thinking. Pulling a running fan around an area (or for layers), that don't need/want cooling probably isn't a good idea but adding a second fan port might have cost .10 Euro.

You have at least two post processors running. Did you print a temp tower recently? Cura does not directly add the lines in bold below. They are from at least one post-processor. Since the second M117 line immediately erases the first M117 from the LCD screen I'm guessing at least two post processors. The temperature lines may be from a third and the fan line might be from a fourth. Are you using OctoPrint? M117 INDICATOR-Layer5M117 DASHBOARD_LAYER_INDICATOR 6;TYPE:CUSTOM LAYERM104 S220M106 S182.1;TYPE:WALL-INNER;MESH:Body1.stl

I don't know if there is a "scale" setting for the platform or not. I have made my own using MS 3D Builder. You could alter that one as well. The file used is in the "C:\Program Files\Ultimaker Cura 5.2.1\share\cura\resources\meshes" folder and is probably the "creality_ender3.3mf" file. It's 235 x 235 x 3. You really need to check your definition file to see what file is actually being loaded. It's in the definitions folder and will have a line like this which is from the Ender 3 definition file. "metadata": { "quality_definition": "creality_base", "visible": true, "platform": "creality_ender3.3mf" },

Make sure you don't have "Remove all Holes" enabled. A project file is the best way to show what's going on. Load the model, set Cura up to slice, and use the "File | Save Project" command and then post the 3mf Project File here.

This is making my head hurt. The Kodak version of Cura has a post-processor running (ChangeAtZ) and at layer 82 the temperature jumps up to 255. This is a very high temperature for a lot of materials. To the left of the "Slice" button should be an icon with a "<|>" icon. If it has a red circle with a number in it then you have a post-processor active. You can click on the button and next to the post processor will be an "X" button. That's the close button for the post-processor. You mentioned movement to the mid-point of the bed and as you have seen - that is in the Gcode in both versions as it is part of the StartUp G-code. What isn't in the StartUp is that other movement you mentioned with the Z movement of the build plate. That appears to be something that is being handled either by the firmware, or there is an "Extruder StartUp G-code" defined in Cura. I'm guessing it's in the firmware or it would do it at every tool change. The StartUp gcode is pretty sparse. Because you don't have any temperature callouts in the main StartUp G-code, Cura is putting them in at the very beginning prior to that line ";Kodak Begin". That means on the one hand you aren't really controlling the heating sequence but Cura does heat the "Initial extruder". One of the problems with dual extrusion is what do you do when you have a single extruder print? I'm not sure. If you plan the startup gcode for dual extrusion and run a single extruder print then an unused extruder will be drooling across your print. If you don't heat both extruders then a dual extruder print will start out with one of the extruders cold. One of my workarounds for that was to install additional instances of the printer. One for extruder1, another for extruder2, and a third for dual extrusion. Each has it's own startup gcode so the printer starts correctly for the particular print. For example I print TPU at 12mm/sec so the purge lines that were designed for PLA are way to fast. No problem. I use my Ender 3 Pro TPU printer and everything goes smoothly. I just found it easier than fiddling with settings all the time.

Hello to all. I don't have a multi-extruder printer to play with so I'll ask. Consider a Dual Extruder printer with separate layer cooling fans for each hot end. Here is a code snippet: T0 M106 S255 P0 (...) T1 M106 S255 P1 What is the T0 fan speed at this point? Did the tool change automatically turn it off? Cura does not seem to turn fans off at tool changes. Slightly different: T1 (...) T0 M106 S255 What is the T0 fan speed here? Does the M106 act on the Active Extruder or would it require the P parameter to explicitly call out the fan number? Some clarification would be appreciated. Google and MarlinFW has not been much help.

Check that the setting "Make Overhangs Printable" is turned off. It will add chamfers to overhangs to...you know... make them printable. In your sliced view that pocket looks deeper than in the preview so it might be a model issue. As Torgeir points out, a project file will tell the tale.

The Cura team is trying to chase down a persistent slicing bug so you get me. Sorry. This is not my forte and I'm afraid to give misguided or plain old bad advice so I'll give no advice. I guess this is just a reassurance "somebody is paying attention" post. @ahoeben may be able to help if he's available?

Thanks for getting back. It's good to here that it's coming around for you. Before people get a printer they always think "Wow, that is so cool. Turn it on and there ya go." Wrong. There is a fair learning curve to the printer, the software, the firmware, on and on. It's fun if you don't take it too seriously.

This is looking up through the base of an Ultimaker S5 so there is some shadow structure in the way. This is what Torgeir is talking about. The "cyan" color means that surface is resting flat on the build plate. The skirt won't be sneaking under this model.

When the skirt cuts though the model like that then there is a gap between the model and the build plate. Stiction will be a problem for the head. Try setting the "Z" to -0.1mm or -0.2mm. The rotation tool has a "lay flat" tool for models that are slightly tilted. Ms 3D Builder has an equivalent "Settle" tool.

Here is a project file. My E3 Pro is the active printer. It's the model without the bowling ball, .6 nozzle, .8 line width. This is a Cura project file. If you open it in IdeaMaker you will just get the model. GVphone stand bowling 3.3mf Here is an IdeaMaker project. Remove the ".3mf" extension to open it in IdeaMaker. phone stand bowling 3.idea.3mf

First off, welcome. What printer do you have and are the kids getting their hands on it when you aren't looking? You can post one of those "bad" gcode files and I'll take a look. I'm 99.9999% certain that the problem will not be in the gcode. There are a couple of things you can do. In Cura go to Manage Printers and then Machine Settings. The left lower pane is "StartUp G-code". After the G28 line add: M220 S100 ;reset feed rate to 100% M221 S100 ;reset flow rate to 100% That will insure that no matter what was changed between prints, or if you adjusted the speed or flow during a previous print, that the feed and flow will be set where they belong at the start of a fresh print. If the problem persists then you might need to lower the maximum feed rates of the printer but try adding those lines first. They can't hurt and may fix it.

"When printing is finished and the confirm button is pressed, the printer head slides down until nozzle touch the bottom." I'm not sure what a "Confirm" button is. Could you explain a bit more? If the "Z" axis gets disabled at the end of a print it can drift down. The "Ending G-code" of the Ender 3's tell the printer to move the bed to the front ("Present Print") and to disable "all steppers except Z". If the Z stepper disables then the weight of the X beam assembly can cause the whole thing to drift down. It may be related to how tight you have the trolley wheels on the ends of the X beam. You should just be able to turn them with your fingers. Even when adjusted correctly, some printers still will have the Z drift down when the Z stepper disables. In Cura - go to Manage Printers, Machine Settings. Copy the "Ending G-Code" and paste it into a response here. There should be a line: M84 X Y E ;Disable all steppers but Z (it might be an M18 line as M18 and M84 are inter-changeable). If the line is only "M84" then copy the one above and paste it in.

0.6 nozzle at 0.8 Line Width and .3 Layer Height. I thought it looked better at .7 Line Width.

Post a new screenshot of the slice in Cura and what looks wrong to you. I thought it looked good. Here is your "Phone stand bowling 23.stl" in Mesh Mixer. You can see what @Dustin is talking about. It's that one piece. This is a view from the other side with the Mesh Mixer Inspector turned on. Here is the #23 model repaired by MS 3D Builder and sliced in Cura 5.2.1. This looks good but the build plate side of the bowling ball won't come out very well. Here is a project file with that early model. I didn't pay a lot of attention to the settings other than I did adjust the Line Width to .45. GV phone stand bowling 23.3mf

PrusaSlicer Looks to be near identical to the Cura slice I posted above.

I get this in 5.2.1. I'd say the bottom is flat as the skirt stays outboard now. The sphere is gone though.

Nuts. I got the "Unknown machine so the models will be imported instead" message. That means I can't directly check what's going on. I'm not quite ready to give up though. If you have the Kodak slicer installed then maybe a comparison will turn up some clues. Post a Cura gcode file for sure, and if possible, also post a Kodak sliced gcode file.

The report says there were 50,812 non-manifold edges. I think there was one error that covered the entire interior of the model. If you subtracted a smaller sphere from the inside of the main sphere to create a hollow ball, it looks like the entire inside surface ended up being a mess. Consider the number of "duplicate" faces and the number of "inverted" faces. Something went completely sideways when the ball was hollowed out. So to answer your questions of " ....why a spherical surface creates non-manifold edges?" They don't. The CAD software appears to have made a hash of the subtraction (or revolution, or however else you did it). I don't know OnShape but I think you should consider looking at different CAD software. Some are certainly better than others at creating "good" models for 3D printing. There is a learning curve involved in all of them. Autodesk's Fusion 360 seems to be pretty good and it has a large following, and there are a couple of others. Maybe @gr5 could suggest something. I run an old version of AutoCad Inventor called Mechanical Desktop. It's still an excellent assembly and parametric modeler. Finding good 32 bit computers that will run it is getting tough.

"Water-Tight" around here means that there aren't any open seams in a model. The model can have lots of holes in it. Here is the bottom of your model in Cura (Mesh Mixer shows the same sort of thing): Cura is using the polka-dot coloring to indicate errors in the model. Here is a report on your model from formware.co STL repair site. -> Analysed your file: --> 16 Naked edges (?) --> 0 Planar holes (?) --> 0 Non-planar holes (?) --> 50812 Non-manifold edges (?) --> 34415 Inverted faces (?) --> 0 Degenerate faces (?) --> 66912 Duplicate faces (?) --> 0 Disjoint shells (?) -> Repairing: 100.00% ----- Repair completed in 8330ms ------ -> Vertex count changed from 36352 to 35856 (-496) -> Triangle count changed from 107136 to 71712 (-35424) I would call 50812 non-manifold edges fairly porous. The model attached below was repaired by the formware site. It still won't hold water, but it's "Watertight". MS 3D Builder was able to repair it as well. That will result in this. Spheres are hard to print without infill or interior support of some kind. helmholtz resonator_fixed.stl

Sorry, I didn't get notified. (That was my bad. I've fixed it.) That 3mf only has the model in it. There are two types of 3mf - one type is created when you use the "File | Export" command. That is a regular 3mf model file and that appears to be what you posted. The other type is generated when you use the "File | Save Project" command. It will contain the model, your printer, and all your Cura settings. That's the one I need.

The retraction distance is how much plastic the extruder pulls back in when there is a travel move. It reduces the amount to stringing. You have a bowden setup (as opposed to a direct drive) so about 6mm retraction distance should be good. I'm curious where that StartUp Gcode came from. Here is my suggested changes. ;----------Alta StartUp Gcode--------- M107 ;turn off fan G90 ;absolute movement M82 ;absolute extrusion G21 ;metric units M220 S100 ;reset feed rate M221 S100 ;reset flow rate G28 ; home all axes G1 Z10 F600 ; move up G1 X0 Y-70 F3000 ;move to front M109 S{material_print_temperature_layer_0} ;set temp and wait G92 E0 ; reset extruder measure G1 E50 F1500 ; extrude 50mm of filament at 25mm/sec G1 F1500 E44 ;retract 6mm G92 E0 ;reset extruder measure G1 X-37.984 Y-51.711 F3000 ;travel to smear/smudge start G1 Z0.300 F600 ;lower to start height G1 E6 F1500 ;prime G1 F1500 X-36.594 Y-52.712 E6.79005 ;begin arc G1 X-33.376 Y-54.825 E7.18850 G1 X-31.774 Y-55.781 E7.22241 G1 X-28.512 Y-57.540 E7.58616 G1 X-26.697 Y-58.422 E7.98434 G1 X-23.446 Y-59.829 E8.04019 G1 X-21.413 Y-60.609 E8.78005 G1 X-18.195 Y-61.684 E8.85674 G1 X-15.980 Y-62.321 E9.57605 G1 X-12.811 Y-63.085 E9.67501 G1 X-10.390 Y-63.561 E10.08386 G1 X-7.329 Y-64.025 E10.37218 G1 X-4.725 Y-64.307 E10.49464 G1 X-1.780 Y-64.497 E10.76990 G1 X-0.510 Y-64.558 E10.90328 G1 X2.780 Y-64.497 E11.16826 G1 X4.725 Y-64.307 E11.31256 G1 X7.329 Y-64.025 E11.56583 G1 X10.390 Y-63.561 E11.72151 G1 X12.811 Y-63.085 E11.96409 ; end arc G1 F1500 E5.96409 G92 E0 G1 Z5.000 ; raise print head to 5 mm in preparation for first print command ;----------End of StartUp---------