First time CPE printing not successful

[yvest 18]

I just finished printing my first part in Ultimaker CPE but it doesn't look good at all. Used the default settings in CURA and based on some of the guidelines I read, I also increased heated bed to 70 degrees and lowered speed to 70%. Yet, results aren't there. I believe the design should be feasible but for some reason it's not printing well.

Any suggestions on what I should try next?

Many thanks!

Yves

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[tomnagel 83]

I agree the result is disappointing. You printed the part with default settings, yet you say you decreased speed and increased bed temp? That seems contradictory to me.

what Cura version did you use? Which profile?

Could you try again with Cura 2.4, and all settings default?

[yvest 18]

Thanks for your feedback and apologies for the confusion, I actually meant that I started from the default settings and at startup of the print, I made some changes on my Ultimaker in terms of speed and bed temp.

So I've upgraded to Cura 2.4, went through Ultimaker firmware update and printed again with default settings. Also added brim. While printing I also put a "plastic door" in front (just trying) to see if that helped.

The result is somehow better but still not yet up to my expectations. Especially the start of the bridging didn't go very well.

Any further thoughts?

Many thanks,

Yves

[tomnagel 83]

Alright, much better already.

The printing profiles in Cura are designed to perform well on most models. Therefore they should be a good starting point.

Your model needs bridging, and I can imagine tuning the profile will help. Only I personally don't have experience with bridging. I guess layer height and fan are important parameters.

Maybe someone else can help, and I'm sure if you browse this forum, there will be tons of tips.

[yvest 18]

I meanwhile tried printing the model in PLA just to see whether the model is a real challenge or it's the material / settings. When printing with PLA, default settings in Cura 2.4, it comes out very nicely, what I would expect from my printer. So it's for sure the combination of CPE/printer settings. Just a little stuck on what more I can try and there doesn't seem to be that much experience with CPE on the forum.

Anyone any further thoughts? Good / bad experience with CPE? Examples of models printed with CPE & corresponding settings?

Many thanks,

Yves

[tomnagel 83]

I think there should be some info on bridging. Play with layerheight and fan settings.

[yvest 18]

After printing it in PLA I decided to just start over again with CPE, all standard settings in Cura & printer, light infill, no plastic door, ... and the model came out pretty well as you can see, just with very little post-processing.

So I think my experimenting with individual settings pre updating Cura/Printer wasn't a success whereas the default settings of the latest seem to be doing a pretty good job.

Currently printing another model in CPE, hopefully that comes out nicely as well.

Thanks again for the feedback helping me during this journey...

[tomnagel 83]

thanks for sharing!