U2 With Simplify3D

[mikey 0]

I needed an easy way to add support structures and purchased this other slicer(it is pretty nice). I liked cura but I needed some more options and didn't want to cut and paste gcode. It seems like the bed has an offset origin. Is there I way I can find what the offset is? Or do one of you know what it is?

 

[gr5 2,210]

I'm not sure what you mean exactly but maybe I do. Many printers have X,Y (0,0) at the center of the printer but for the UMs, 0,0 is the corner and the center is whatever half the axis distance is. For example 100,100 will work for most parts but if the part is more than 200mm on a side you need to specify exactly half the axis limits which I forget. I think maybe 235 by 225 or 225 by 235?

 

[mikey 0]

It just seems like when I print with the gcode from simplify it seems slightly off when the ui is showing. It could be just me I should do more tests before asking around.

 

[yellowshark 153]

This may or may not be the point, but you need a z-offset if you are using a printing tray (eg glass)

 

[simon 1]

Mikey, are you using this with UM1 or UM2. I'd be very interested in what you manage to find out about Simply3D. Cura is a great slicer, but I'm not completely happy with the support material. Its far more robust than it needs to be and uses more plastic than required, and therefore takes longer to build too. If you get chance to show some of your results I'd be very interested.

 

[mikey 0]

I don't have any views from the back sorry and I no longer have the piece but here is an object I printer. I printed it with the base portion near my hand on the glass. So the ears and back of neck all had support material.

So the support material definitely does its job, and you can set the infill for support like cura

This is also on a U2

 

[simon 1]

Does Simplify3D require much setting up to work with the UM2 in terms of datums, bed size and all that. Can you just re-use your Cura settings and get up and running fairly quickly.

What is it about S3D that you prefer over Cura, just out of interest. Its difficult to find very much in depth information.

 

[mikey 0]

It didn't take too much learning to jump over. It can be a little overwhelming but I picked it up quick. All I did to set it up was set the build size. The way you can have separate settings for different objects or even just different layer heights is really nice too. It also does a good job at visualizing the speed it will print a layer using color coding. I find the more control I have very nice. I feel like I will be able to achieve better prints in the future just due to the control alone. It is not super expensive and if you want you could send them an email and see if they will let you return it if you don't like it

 

[gr5 2,210]

It just seems like when I print with the gcode from simplify it seems slightly off when the ui is showing

 

Slightly off? What do you mean? The color is wrong? It isn't centered in X but Y is fine? It is tilted? It is hovering over the bed?

And which UI do you mean? Does simplify have a USB printing window? Are you talking about the simplify UI?

Be warned that USB printing isn't officially supported on the UM2 as it is buggy and often fails part way through a print if it gets a bad signal through the USB.

 

[simon 1]

Ok, I've bought it too. Yes, I can see your point, it does have some things over Cura, however I think I'm going to take a while to set it up. I have worries that I'll drive the head into the build plate and scratch it. There are some nice little features like 'blip the fan' when starting from rest. I have to manually start them currently when they are on less than about 20%. Also the preview is better, and support looks right too. More like the Afinia support I'm used to which I have to say is better than Cura support IMHO.

 

[mikey 0]

Slightly off? What do you mean? The color is wrong? It isn't centered in X but Y is fine? It is tilted? It is hovering over the bed?

And which UI do you mean? Does simplify have a USB printing window? Are you talking about the simplify UI?

Be warned that USB printing isn't officially supported on the UM2 as it is buggy and often fails part way through a print if it gets a bad signal through the USB.

 

I was saying the location seems slightly off in both the x and y axis. I think it might have to do with the build volume settings. The ui shows the print dead center and the printer has it off to the front right. I also only use the sd card for printing.

 

Ok, I've bought it too. Yes, I can see your point, it does have some things over Cura, however I think I'm going to take a while to set it up. I have worries that I'll drive the head into the build plate and scratch it. There are some nice little features like 'blip the fan' when starting from rest. I have to manually start them currently when they are on less than about 20%. Also the preview is better, and support looks right too. More like the Afinia support I'm used to which I have to say is better than Cura support IMHO.

 

I was worried at first too but it has been fine for me. It isn't as much setup as you might think.

 

[simon 1]

Thanks Mikey, so in terms of co-ordinate settings, is this what you used?

 

[mikey 0]

Thanks Mikey, so in terms of co-ordinate settings, is this what you used?

 

So far I have left it at zero but it seems like it might need an adjustment, it seems to be off by about a cm in one direction but because I am not printing objects at max build volume it is not effecting me yet.

 

[simon 1]

My print came out in the centre as shown in the preview. Maybe you haven't set up the bed size in machine settings. By default it's 200 x 200 x 200 which is close enough to give you a slight offset. I really love the interface for S3D it's like Cura and pronter face rolled into one. Customisable supports with tweak'able overhang angles, special fan settings for bridging, being able to define what is considered a bridge, very detailed previews, plug in functionality as standard software features. The list is endless. Only problem is I have been unable to get a quality print out of it yet. I've only had a couple of attempts, but cura settings don't swap over 1 to 1. The tech support seems happy to help me out with it, so we'll see how it goes, but I'm really hoping I can get the quality of prints I can achieve with cura, because I feel it will give me better control over my prints in the long run.

[mikey 0]

I have actually set the bed size but for some reason it is still offset, but as far as print quality goes I don't have a problem with it. In fact I found it easier to tune my prints with the extra control. Maybe you should post some photos of what your prints look like.

 

[simon 1]

Actually, it was only one setting that was messing up my prints and after a quick bit of advice from the tech support team, it was all sorted. All my prints are coming out great now. I have to say, big high 5 to the guys who have developed Simply3D. The level of control you have is fantastic and the graphical simulation of the gCode has really accelerated my learning curve of printing with the UM2. Because you can replay the gCode line by line on your screen, you can work out exactly what's going on. I love it. I can't see myself using anything else for now.

 

[simon 1]

In case anyone is interested, here are my Simplify3D settings that I use with my UM2. I've only used ABS so I don't know what the PLA setting would be. They are pretty much standard with a few tweaks on temperature. The standard PLA settings are probably worth a try.

Just past this text into a notebook file named *.fff (* being whatever you what to call it). Then import within the S3D software. it uses 0.15mm steps with a 0.1mm first layer. I run my UM2 in a small metal cabinet which gets upto about 27 degrees in the middle. I also use ABS juice and occasionally a brim. I don't seem so far to have a problem with warping. At least not one that I can't solve.

processName,Process1

applyToModels,P1206 Heat Shield 4 Pt2

printMaterial,ABS

printQuality,High

extruderName,Primary Extruder

extruderToolheadNumber,0

extruderDiameter,0.4

extruderAutoWidth,0

extruderWidth,0.4

extrusionMultiplier,1.07

extruderUseRetract,1

extruderRetractionDistance,4.5

extruderExtraRestartDistance,-0.13

extruderRetractionZLift,0

extruderRetractionSpeed,1500

extruderUseCoasting,0

extruderCoastingDistance,2.3

extruderUseWipe,0

extruderWipeDistance,5

primaryExtruder,0

layerHeight,0.15

topSolidLayers,6

bottomSolidLayers,6

perimeterOutlines,2

printPerimetersInsideOut,1

randomOutlineStartPoint,0

sequentialIslands,0

spiralVaseMode,0

firstLayerHeightRatio,0.66

firstLayerUnderspeed,0.5

useRaft,0

raftLayers,3

raftOffset,3

raftInfill,85

useSkirt,1

skirtLayers,1

skirtOutlines,20

skirtOffset,0.3

infillExtruder,0

externalInfillPattern,Rectilinear

infillPercentage,20

outlineOverlapPercentage,20

minInfillLength,3

infillLayerInterval,1

randomInfillStartPoint,0

infillAngles,45,-45

generateSupport,1

supportExtruder,0

supportInfill,40

supportLayerInterval,1

supportHorizontalPartOffset,0.45

supportUpperSeparationLayers,1

supportLowerSeparationLayers,1

supportGridSpacing,4

maxOverhangAngle,45

supportAngles,45,-45

temperatureName,Primary Extruder,Heated Build Platform

temperatureNumber,0,1

temperatureSetpointCount,3,1

temperatureSetpointLayers,1,2,4,1

temperatureSetpointTemperatures,260,257,255,105

temperatureStabilizeAtStartup,1,1

temperatureHeatedBed,0,1

temperatureRelayBetweenLayers,0,0

temperatureRelayBetweenLoops,0,0

fanLayers,1,6

fanSpeeds,0,20

blipFanToFullPower,1

adjustSpeedForCooling,1

minSpeedLayerTime,15

minCoolingSpeedSlowdown,20

increaseFanForCooling,1

minFanLayerTime,10

maxCoolingFanSpeed,30

increaseFanForBridging,1

bridgingFanSpeed,45

use5D,1

relativeEdistances,0

allowEaxisZeroing,1

includeM10123,0

stickySupport,1

detectArcs,0

arcReplaceG2G3,0

arcRadialCompensation,1

gcodeXoffset,0

gcodeYoffset,0

gcodeZoffset,0

overrideMachineDefinition,0

machineTypeOverride,0

strokeXoverride,200

strokeYoverride,200

strokeZoverride,200

originOffsetXoverride,0

originOffsetYoverride,0

originOffsetZoverride,0

homeXdirOverride,-1

homeYdirOverride,-1

homeZdirOverride,-1

flipXoverride,1

flipYoverride,-1

flipZoverride,1

startingGcode,G28 ; home all axes,G0 X100 Y10 ; Bring extruder to the front,G92 E0 ;zero the extruded length,G1 E8 F225 ; purge nozzle with 8mm of filament,G92 E0 ;zero the extruded length again

layerChangeGcode,

toolChangeGcode,

endingGcode,M104 S0 ; turn off heaters,M140 S0 ; turn off bed,M84 ; disable motors

createX3G,0

celebration,0

celebrationSong,Random Song

postProcessing,

defaultSpeed,2100

outlineUnderspeed,0.5

supportUnderspeed,0.9

rapidXYspeed,5000

rapidZspeed,1000

minBridgingArea,5

bridgingExtrusionMultiplier,1

bridgingSpeedMultiplier,0.5

filamentDiameter,2.85

useMinPrintHeight,0

minPrintHeight,0.6

useMaxPrintHeight,0

maxPrintHeight,70

overlapRemoval,0

overlapRemovalPercentage,0.3

useDiaphragm,0

diaphragmLayerInterval,20

robustSlicing,0

mergeAllIntoSolid,0

onlyRetractWhenCrossingOutline,1

retractBetweenLayers,0

useRetractionMinTravel,1

retractionMinTravel,0.02

useRetractionOozeRate,0

retractionOozeRate,100

onlyWipeOutlines,1