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CPE woes


CCA1

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I tried some Ultimaker CPE Light grey with Cura's settings for this material only to get the results shown below. I did mess with the speed a little as well as dropped the temp 10 degrees in one of my many failed attempts. I thought rather than just waste more material by trying yet again, I would ask here if anyone has gotten any good results from printing Ultimaker CPE on an Ultimaker machine using factory Cura settings? (I thought that was the whole reason for buying the more expensive material, so it all worked together......)

 

Basics:

Ultimaker 2 Extended +

Cura 4.5

Brass .4 nozzle

Layer height .3

Infill 20

Material temp 240 (adjusted at one point, no change)

Speed 60 (adjusted at one point, no change)

retraction on

Cooling on at layer 8 @ 50%

Bed temp 70

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20200317_090239.jpg

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    So most problems people have with CPE occur on the bottom layer and your bottom layer is fine.  I don't think this is a CPE issue but it's hard (impossible?) to guess what went wrong from the photo.  I'm thinking this is a CAD/Slicing issue.

     

    Did you look at the part carefully in preview mode?  It would be helpful to show the layer where things go bad in preview mode please.

     

    My guess is that you have a few layers of air where cura just skips a few layers and then starts printing over air.  Is that possible?  If I'm completely off then we need more information about what is happening here.

     

    So in summary - this doesn't look like a CPE issue but a model with errors.  Actually I recommend getting the plugin that lets you check the mesh for errors.

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    Posted · CPE woes

    Well, I designed the part and it SHOULD be an excellent solid model, water tight. It's simple geometry and created well. That being said, I will take a closer look as you mention and let you know what I find.

     

    I will also look into this plug in, but I have never had a bad model. (As far as I know anyway)

     

    Thanks

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    Posted (edited) · CPE woes

    Looks good to me. Layer 4 is duplicated through layer 13 so I didn't bother with any further images.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Edited by CCA1
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    Posted · CPE woes

    Found an issue...... (Probably THE issue)

     

    My concentric infill pattern is not touching its previous layer plastic. Is this a normal phenomenon with this type of infill? I don't remember it happening before. This helped eliminate a ton of small infill moves with smooth swooping patterns instead of jagged tiny little moves that made the printer sound like it was vibrating to the moon. Any suggestions as to how to get the concentric pattern to work correctly??

     

     

    gaps.jpg

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    Posted · CPE woes

    OK maybe I didn't figure it out................ (sigh)

     

    I changed the infill to grid and this is what it looks like now..........

    Guess I'll keep trying stuff.

     

    20200317_133643.jpg

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    Posted · CPE woes

    And...... after several more layers, here it is, completely ruined.

    20200317_181156.jpg

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    Okay I think your infill speed is probably higher than your normal printing speed.  Check all the printing speeds.  Make sure they are all the same.

     

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    Currently I' printing with Ultimaker CPE using the default Cura setting. It is printing like a charm... Is your filament dry ?

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    Posted · CPE woes

    GR5 - My speeds are....

    Print speed 45

    Infill speed 45

    wall speed 40

    outer wall speed 30

    inner wall speed 40

    top bottom speed 30

    travel speed 150

    initial layer speed 30

    initial layer print speed 30

    initial layer travel speed 100 Skirt Brim speed 30

    number of slower layers 2

     

    Framar - Great question. It's been winter here for several months and my office is in my very dry basement. That being said, my filament (CPE and PLA) does sit out. So it COULD have absorbed some moisture?

     

    I also found some issues that Tinkergnome helped me with. When I went to Cura 4.5 I used my old files for the Mark2 upgrade. This created some bad moves in the program at the beginning, and who knows, maybe elsewhere also?

     

    He showed me there was already a custom Foehnsturm Mark2 printer in the selection for printers, so I selected that and made those problems go away. (so far)

     

    I tried a new print last night with the standard Ultimaker 2+ (non Mark2) settings and got it to print mostly decent for about 75% of it. I woke up this morning to a print that was about 75% done, the printer bed down, and the print head back in the corner like it finished the print. But the part was stuck to the nozzle and I had a Temp Sensor Bed Error. Found a loose wire on the bed, fixed it, and were back at it.

     

     

     

     

     

    20200318_084315.jpg

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    Ooh - it sounds like it was somehow related to the mark2 firmware?

     

    I'd lower the infill speeds to 30 to be safe although 45 should be okay normally.

     

    If a filament is too wet it tends to sizzle and pop and you can usually see steam coming out.  It can be in a "between" state where it doesn't sizzle much but the performance goes down.  Anyway PLA and ABS never seems to absorb water.  I have years old PLA and ABS that are still fine with no dessicant, no special storage.  I'm not sure about CPE - I've never had a moisture issue with CPE but I've only done 100 or so prints in CPE.  Nylon, PVA have major issues with absorbing water but probably not CPE (maybe, not sure) .

     

    Really you have to watch it on that layer where it goes from perfect to insanely bad.  You have to see what is going on - did the plate suddenly drop 2mm instead of the normal layer height?  Did the extruder stop extruding?  Did the printer speed up there or the fan suddenly come on there?  Maybe video the start of that bad layer because *something* goes terribly wrong part way through that print.

     

     

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    CCAI

     

    I have pretty good luck with CPE and CPE+

    but, I need to fill in the holes on the print bed with some material (about .02in) then I trim it out

    usually my holes on the bed are smaller and they do not want to stick even using 3DLac spray.

    Also I have better luck when the print time is as short as possible, seams like it gets to hot even after adjusting the temps and fan speed.

    Try using a larger print tip and see if you have the same problem.  I also use a brim 8mm to hold my parts down, looks like you

    are using a skirt.

     

    Regards

    Frank

     

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    Posted (edited) · CPE woes

    Gr5 = Yes, it seems to maybe have been an issue with the Mark2 stuff. I have printed this part and another quite well now.

    No popping or sizzling at all. I have heard it just a bit from my PVA so I know what you mean.

    "Only done a 100 or so prints with CPE"  LOL  Only.  LOL   🙃

     

    I have old PLA as well and it is so stiff and brittle I wondered if running it through the dehydrator would help?

     

    MechDesigner = Thanks for the feedback. I do use skirt when I have a large flat bottom already printing on the bed and not that tall of a part. Just something to verify the flatness and purge the nozzle a little more. But definitely a brim for the skinnier and taller stuff. (like I'm doing now)

     

    I'm trying to perfect the .4mm nozzle technique because I have a couple of Everlast Jeweled nozzles I would like to use.

     

    For now the problem looks like it has subsided mostly. I printed out a temp test tower and found 260 to be my best temp. That and updating Cura to the proper Mark2 info I think got me going in the right direction.

     

    Pictures are reversed because I cant figure out why it won't let me put them in MY order and not the order IT wants.......

     

     

     

     

    20200319_202920.jpg

    20200319_202852.jpg

    20200319_202839.jpg

    Edited by CCA1
    images order
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    Posted (edited) · CPE woes

    Hey, fellow Mark2 owner! 😛

     

    Been having similar issues with UM CPE (same color too, lol). The infill doesn't want to stick to itself and starts to ball up like yours did.  I've used PETG in the past which is similar to CPE and it is also very finicky, I purchased some UM brand CPE hoping it would work a little better. Nope! Even on my stock UM2+, sliced with CPE Cura profile and the standard CPE settings (0.4mm nozzle) on the printer still gives me issues. 

     

    I've found that adjusting speed and nozzle temp seem to be the biggest factors in print quality with CPE/PETG. I also noticed your layer height was fairly high, I've been trying 0.15 and 0.1 and get some underextrusion at 235C. So I can imagine your underextrusion is even worse at 240C and 0.3mm height.

     

    I know it's been quite awhile, but did you find any other settings (aside from 260C)  to help with the print quality? At 260C were you also doing 0.3mm layers?

    Edited by dfrez
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    Using gyroid infill improved infill quality (in my case)

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    Posted (edited) · CPE woes
    3 hours ago, Framar said:

    Using gyroid infill improved infill quality (in my case)

    Hm, I'll have to try that. 

     

    Been having better luck with these settings after printing a temperature test tower: 

    0.1mm layer heights

    Standard CPE profile speeds in Cura, 30mm/s wall and 45mm/s infill. 

    Nozzle Temp: 255-260*C

    Bed Temp: 70*C

    Fan: 90-95%

     

    The standard settings on the printer are way too "cold", IMO. The standard nozzle temp for a 0.4mm nozzle is 235*C! What I thought was odd, was that the 0.25mm nozzle temperature was listed at 245... Not sure if this was an error in the profile on the SD card or what. I've never changed it. 

     

    The higher nozzle temp helps avoid under-extrusion and gives better infill structures without having to slow the speeds down excessively. Higher fan speed compared to the original 25% helps with overhang quality. 

     

    If you print with CPE frequently, I can see the elevated nozzle temps decreasing the lifespan of the isolator. I do have an i2k washer I've been meaning to install... 

    IMG_9675.jpg

     

    EDIT: I just noticed @CCA1 also printed a temperature test tower and found 260*C to be ideal. 

    Edited by dfrez
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