Gaps the nozzle just cant reach! U-S5

[Super_paulie 12]

hi guys, thanks to everyone on this great forum, really helped me with issues over the past few years. Maybe someone can help this time 🙂

 

I am printing what is effectively a grill, a mesh if you like. It comes out great but i do get tiny gaps where i think the nozzle cant reach. Its not over the entire model, but seemingly at random across the board. Does anyone have any ideas on a setting that might be able to compensate for this? I have tried quite a few but frankly its at random as its a bit out of my understanding, probably too many to list so im after someone more knowledgeable than myself!

 

See attached images where you can see the "gap" when zoomed in. When i used to run this model on my old U2+ i used to dial up the level of the bed to give more 'squish' which gave me the result i wanted, all gaps filled with squish!

 

Ultimaker S5 with material station, air manager. Printing on kapton with ABS, 0.4mm core, temperature 225, bed at 105.

 

Thanks guys.

[Super_paulie 12]

might have answered my own question here. "Filter out tiny gaps". I misunderstood the option and have always had it ticked assuming by filtering out the gaps it was 'filling' them. I'll run this and report back, but still happy to take any suggestions!

 

I'll leave the post up incase it might help others. If it works...

[nallath 1,120]

You might also want to check out Cura Arachne. It has a different slicing algorithm that should do a much better job for cases like this.

[Super_paulie 12]

just gave it a go. Same profile, different Cura versions... quite the increase in print duration in the Arachne version! 🤣

It does seem to actually lay the material in a way more logical and progressive manner for sure. Once i turn off combing the model time comes down to 9hrs, which is still way beyond what i need right now. Interesting though.

 

Edited January 25, 2022 by Super_paulie

[nallath 1,120]

Yeah, combing is going to be a nightmare for a model like this. We are still working on optimizing that for Arachne.

[Super_paulie 12]

its a step in the right direction though, keep at it!

I can confirm that the "Filter out tiny gaps" did indeed close the model as i required. I just didnt understand the function correctly, i miss-understood it as "i will fill in tiny gaps for you", which was my mistake at the end of the day!

The model is now very "bitty" on the inner top surfaces, from where the nozzle has had to go along and fill in the hundreds of tiny bits. Its a small price to pay though as the model is still a success. Original print on the left, print with Filter Out Tiny gaps turned off on the right.

[Super_paulie 12]

as an edit/additional. My 'show face' is the bed-side surface. So the Filter Out Tiny Gaps (FOTG) is only really relevant for the very first layer. Is there any way a setting could be made so that you can control how many layers or at a set height the FOTG activates/deactivates? that would be useful in this situation.

[Super_paulie 12]

just to finish off on this guys. I was able to work it out by changing "initial layer line width" down to 90%. I left "filter out tiny gaps" turned on, so i didnt get that bitty top surface but the line width adjustment closed up all the unreachable gaps on that first layer.

 

All in all, happy with a few days of testing things.

Edited January 27, 2022 by Super_paulie