cbrayton

Thanks for your input geert_2, I'm with you on the "keep it simple" method, but that wasn't the point of the experiment. The point was, could I imbed a nut. And sure, the first shot at trying this I used your exact method: I just stuck around until it was time. The second time I printed the part, I was doing (once again) more than one thing at a time, and missed the window, I think by only a few minutes. That's when I discovered the flaw in that method. So now what I do, is use a post-processing gcode routine that displays the current layer being printed on the controller LCD. That works pretty well for estimating when I should be there. But here's the more general case I was working towards: what if you have a model that might need to run overnight or simply over many hours and you need to insert a nut or some other part into the assembly at different layers. I was hoping that someone had come up with a more elegant solution that allowed a more precise estimate of the times that certain layers started and finished, or some great method for prepping the already printed ABS material for the next layer if you insert gcode pauses at the layers requiring the insertion of a part.

I have been experimenting with printing an ABS part with a pause in the gcode to insert a stainless steel nut. I have successfully printed numerous ABS parts with my Ender 3 Pro using a glass plate and an enclosure. Printing ABS in general is not the issue. Normally I run the hot end at 255C and the bed at 115C, with the Print Cooling disabled. With the experimental component, I pause at a height above the bed of approximately 7.5 mm. At the pause point the bed and extruder temps remain as set while parked, and usually the interior of the enclosure is around 45C. Although I have tried to estimate at what time the pause occurs, if I miss it by more than few minutes, after the insertion of the nut and the release of the pause the next layer does not adhere. First question: is there a way to view the time in Cura at a particular layer? Second Question: what's the fix for missing the "pause window" by a few minutes? Hit it with a heat gun prior to resuming the print? Lightly brush the interface surface with acetone?