Printing Small Text

[tyman00 4]

Hi All,

If this is the wrong forum, I apologize. I chose it, because I'm guessing it's my settings in Cura 15.04.2.

I'm trying to print a reversed stamp with text. I'm hoping to use it to make impressions in a few different materials.

My first print was with ColorFabb XT Black and the letters were globs that peeled right off the base. I reset the settings to 100% infill and slowed down the print. It seemed to help the structural part, but the clarity of the text just isn't quite there. I forgot to snap some photos of the prints, but I will post them later if needed.

Here is a screenshot of the file in TinkerCAD.

The text itself is 4.75mm in height. Am I expecting too much clarity from such a small print or should the UM2 be able to print this? If so, do you have any suggestions on some of the settings. I'm going to try slowing it down even more. I'm guessing from other posts I need to tinker with Retraction, but I haven't done much with those settings to this point.

Any help is appreciated.

[Labern 774]

Look at the text in layer view. if the width of the text is smaller then your nozzle width it won't print that part.

You can actually set the nozzle width a little bit smaller than the actual size but the most ideal is to buy the Olsson Block from 3dsolex. Then you can even go down to a 0.15mm nozzle.

XT would be hard to get right. It has Stringing issues and layer adhesion issues which both will make it hard to get nice clean text that won't peel off.

[tyman00 4]

Look at the text in layer view. if the width of the text is smaller then your nozzle width it won't print that part.

You can actually set the nozzle width a little bit smaller than the actual  size but the most ideal is to buy the Olsson Block from 3dsolex. Then you can even go down to a 0.15mm nozzle.

XT would be hard to get right. It has Stringing issues and layer adhesion issues which both will make it hard to get nice clean text that won't peel off.

 

Thanks, I'll check out the layer tip. It shouldn't be narrower than the nozzle, but I could be wrong. I tried in PLA with very similar results. I'm guessing it's retraction and I need to study up and tinker with those settings.

In the mean time I went with a larger set of initials instead of a full name and it turned out great.

[DidierKlein 729]

Size might be the issue as Labern mentionned.

The walls need to be at least 0.4mm wide to print. Layer view will show you what will actually be printed, it's a good practice to always check the layer view!

[tyman00 4]

You guys were right. Turns out that it was indeed narrower than 0.4mm. Some of the other artifacts were probably stringing judging by the travel paths.

I know better than to not check the layer view. I've done it in the past, not sure why it was hard for me to remember. Thanks for your help!

[eldrick 65]

You will have much better luck with a sans-serif font.

With a serif font such as the one you show the "tails" on the letters will always be an issue, because they are very thin compared to the actual strokes of the letters.

[tyman00 4]

I was using the only Slab Serif style font that was available in the TinkerCAD text tool. If I were to do it again, I'd just build up an SVG with a better font.

Interestingly, the majority of the issues were on the stroke and not the serif. I was just expecting too much out of that font in such a small size. I rethought my approach and went with a Monogram that I did a bulge warp on and made a border to match. It printed nicely overnight and I'm testing it on some leather at lunch.

[gr5 2,167]

Consider rotating the part by 90 degrees such that you print the bottom of the text first and the top last. This will GREATLY increase the resolution in one axis which isn't perfect but helps a lot.

[gr5 2,167]

Also sketchup sucks for most 3d printing design but for letters like this, sketchup is great. You can choose any font on your computer.

[gr5 2,167]

[tyman00 4]

Thanks for the Tips. I was worried about sagging or support structure issues if I printed it on it's side.

I'll keep the Sketchup tip in mind. I created a monogram type stamp in Illustrator, exported it as an SVG and imported it into TinkerCAD. It printed well. I broke part of it trying to use it as a hammer stamp, which I partially expected. I printed another and I have it clamped tightly against a piece of leather between some wood calls as I type.

I really like the two color layout. How do you handle the first layer height (red) when you do the rest of the print in white?

[tyman00 4]

While its not a full name I think it turned out well.

[gr5 2,167]

The red layer was .2mm thick and a complete print. The white part was a completely separate print and the bottom layer is .3mm thick so it flows over the top of the red - it's more filament than needed but it just somehow works.

[tyman00 4]

That makes sense. I was wondering how the tip didn't drag through the red, but setting the bottom layer slightly thicker is a good tip!

[JohnFox 25]

Not a lot wrong with that one. How long did you leave the die in place?

 

While its not a full name I think it turned out well.

 

[tyman00 4]

I threw it in the clamps/press and went to work. Didn't get back to it for ~12 hours. I have no idea how long it really needs to be under pressure, that's just what worked out for me that day.

It's not quite as deep now as it was in the photo (taken directly out of the press setup). But it's still legible. It wasn't really the proper leather, but it's what matched the rest of the project. Next time I would make the outer border thicker. I heard it start to crack as I was tightening the clamps so I didn't dare add more pressure. I may also experiment with heating the leather prior to pressing. I may also try to get my hands on legitimate tooling leather to see how it works out.