Quality Prints

[Schweppes 1]

Hello everyone,

I was printing this today and in the first sight, i tought it was a very good print. It is actually a good print but it has one or severe problems that i don't know how to fix it.

As you can see it is actually an "okay" print. I do like the quality, but the problem is this.

The bottem of my prints lay on rafts, i always get this bad quality.

So my question is, how can i avoid this? Do i need to raise the fill density? More build structure? Or is this happening because of my one sided fan duct isn't efficient enough?

I hope that someone could give me some advice.

With kind regards,

Schweppes

[ivan-lipunov 15]

Hi, Schweppes!

Perhaps you should use the support of the brim instead of the raft. Also, i would've turned model a broad base to the bottom and try to print whithout any support. Using fan shroud replacement by Lanbern, I'm in a similar situation got ideal inclined surface without noticeable flaws.

[gr5 2,267]

Raft is an old technology. I never use it. Ever. It solves problems that we later solved with heat and blue tape and then even newer technology is glass with glue and heat. Only use raft in an emergency if you haven't figured out how to get parts to stick well.

Also be aware that you can rotate parts using cura for the best possible orientation which is to have the large square on the glass. However this part will not look good in *any* orientation - it is difficult to print perfect. There isn't any way to get this part perfect. Most/many parts you *can* get perfect.

[tommyph1208 55]

Agreed, you should always, if at all possible, try to print without rafts and support... These are bound to give bad surface quality in the spots where the raft/support touches the print...

I have printed that exact shroud standing on the large surface... Like in this picture:

https://thingiverse-production-new.s3.amazonaws.com/renders/ce/dd/d1/33/5a/P1030634_thumb_large.jpg

...it does result in a nasty overhang, and mine did sag a bit, but not more that it could easily be sanded if you care alot about how your fan shroud looks

Edited September 13, 2015 by Guest

[LePaul 354]

I wish there was a "How to properly place objects on the print bed" tutorial out there. I run into this a lot with various parts and struggle to find the best orientation to use.

[ivan-lipunov 15]

And yes, given the angle of this model, it makes sense to print with the highest possible quality (0.01 layer thickness and velocity in the region of 15 mm/sec). Yes, it is a multiple of increases the duration of print, but you can get as close as possible to a predetermined smoothness of the surface.

[LePaul 354]

0.01 ? Is that possible?

[ivan-lipunov 15]

0.01 ?  Is that possible?

 

Well, i print with thickness equal 0.02, and its work fine. If  Ollson block is installed with 0.15 mm nozzle, i think, 0.01 is absolutely possible.

Edited September 14, 2015 by Guest

[nallath 1,124]

I love rafts! The people who use the UM for a while hate them, because they used to be very bad. At a certain point we *ahum* "stole" the settings from some other not to be named printer manufacturer which improved them a lot.

[LePaul 354]

When did the rafts "improve"....about what version?

Ivan, I have that same TIE fighter model but haven't printed it yet. How did it look when done?

Edited September 14, 2015 by Guest

[ivan-lipunov 15]

When did the rafts "improve"....about what version?

Ivan, I have that same TIE fighter model but haven't printed it yet.  How did it look when done?

 

Dunno yet. Just start to prith this beauty <3

Update: estimated time - 53 hours and 33 minutes.

Edited September 14, 2015 by Guest

[Schweppes 1]

I want to thanks everyone for their quick responses. I will see what i can do to make it less dramatic on the support places.

[tommyph1208 55]

 

0.01 ?  Is that possible?

 

Well, i print with thickness equal 0.02, and its work fine. If  Ollson block is installed with 0.15 mm nozzle, i think, 0.01 is absolutely possible.

 

Ok... So I am not to tell you what you must/can and must not/can't do... I'm also not trying to be a prick, But this is IMO wrong...

You were never supposed to print 0.01 layer thickness on ANY FDM printer... I think the official absolute minimum for the UM family is 0.02, and frankly I find it to be just a stupid waste of time... The increase in quality you will get from say 0.06 mm., or even 0.1 mm. layers to the 0.02 mm. (or 0.01, if that is even possible) is so minor, especially when taking the massive extra time into account.

That is IF you even manage to calibrate your printer properly to do the 0.01-0.02 in the first place.

If you care a lot about making the finished part look not 3d printed at all, a few coats of primer on the 0.1 mm. layers will hide them completely and as a bonus make the print much easier to paint.

Edited September 15, 2015 by Guest

[Labern 775]

 

 

0.01 ?  Is that possible?

 

Well, i print with thickness equal 0.02, and its work fine. If  Ollson block is installed with 0.15 mm nozzle, i think, 0.01 is absolutely possible.

 

Ok... So I am not to tell you what you must/can and must not/can't do... I'm also not trying to be a prick, But this is IMO wrong...

You were never supposed to print 0.01 layer thickness on ANY FDM printer... I think the official absolute minimum for the UM family is 0.02, and frankly I find it to be just a stupid waste of time... The increase in quality you will get from say 0.06 mm., or even 0.1 mm. layers to the 0.02 mm. (or 0.01, if that is even possible) is so minor, especially when taking the massive extra time into account.

That is IF you even manage to calibrate your printer properly to do the 0.01-0.02 in the first place.

If you care a lot about making the finished part look not 3d printed at all, a few coats of primer on the 0.1 mm. layers will hide them completely and as a bonus make the print much easier to paint.

 

I hate painting and any post processing so sometimes i print items at 0.04 and they come out super smooth and shiny and look better then 0.06. I agree that it has no benefit on some models but others can come out sweet. I have printed some at 0.02 and found you start to get some blemishes but this is probably just some of my settings.

If you are patient enough then I don't see a problem.

[nallath 1,124]

When did the rafts "improve"....about what version?

Ivan, I have that same TIE fighter model but haven't printed it yet.  How did it look when done?

 

I dunno. It was a while ago (3+ months)

[tommyph1208 55]

 

 

 

0.01 ?  Is that possible?

 

Well, i print with thickness equal 0.02, and its work fine. If  Ollson block is installed with 0.15 mm nozzle, i think, 0.01 is absolutely possible.

 

Ok... So I am not to tell you what you must/can and must not/can't do... I'm also not trying to be a prick, But this is IMO wrong...

You were never supposed to print 0.01 layer thickness on ANY FDM printer... I think the official absolute minimum for the UM family is 0.02, and frankly I find it to be just a stupid waste of time... The increase in quality you will get from say 0.06 mm., or even 0.1 mm. layers to the 0.02 mm. (or 0.01, if that is even possible) is so minor, especially when taking the massive extra time into account.

That is IF you even manage to calibrate your printer properly to do the 0.01-0.02 in the first place.

If you care a lot about making the finished part look not 3d printed at all, a few coats of primer on the 0.1 mm. layers will hide them completely and as a bonus make the print much easier to paint.

 

I hate painting and any post processing so sometimes i print items at 0.04 and they come out super smooth and shiny and look better then 0.06. I agree that it has no benefit on some models but others can come out sweet. I have printed some at 0.02 and found you start to get some blemishes but this is probably just some of my settings.

If you are patient enough then I don't see a problem.

 

My experience is that, not only do you prolong the print time, you also increase the risk of failure...

A lot of things can go wrong while printing (Power can go out, the printer can jam, filament get tangled, hotend clog, printer overheat and miss steps, girlfriend kills you because of the 50+ hours of humming noise etc. etc.)..

Some of these have increased risk of happening with increased time of printing... Others don't... And most, if not all, of them depend on what state of quality and reliability your printer is in.

[ivan-lipunov 15]

I agree that the seal thickness .04/.02/.01 in most cases redundant and unnecessary. IMHO, there are only two reason for its use: print a small (really small) parts with complex surface texture and something for themselves, if printer is free from external orders. And if you have a mood to do this, if course

[ivan-lipunov 15]

 

When did the rafts "improve"....about what version?

Ivan, I have that same TIE fighter model but haven't printed it yet.  How did it look when done?

 

I dunno. It was a while ago (3+ months)

 

If I remember correctly, in the Stacker3d group on Facebook was a post with a photo of the finished fighter.

[Erick407A 6]

I regularly use rafts with ABS prints to have an easy to peel print without any damage to the bottom edge & avoid cleanup.

[yellowshark 153]

Hi you can improve the surface finish of inclined surfaces, printed without support, by using a larger nozzle. The first pic is with a 0.4mm nozzle and the second pic with a .8mm nozzle; same print settings. The extra line width gives more support to the next layer.