Help Lines on new prints

[Megiddo 1]

New E3D hotend installed and trying to get the settings correct. Anyway I found I had an extruder problem and that was fixed. I still have some lines but only on one side of the print are they noticeable. It prints well on about 3/4 of the diameter but on 1/4 it seems to have a problem. There is also a vertical line on the rear of the print. I just replaced the stock Tevo Tarantula hot end with a genuine E3D V6 hotend and made the appropriate settings changes in the config file. I am baffled as to why it would print well on part and not so well on the other. I am also not sure why the vertical line is showing up.

[GregValiant 1,245]

The vertical line on the rear is likely the Z seam.  It's where the outer wall extrusion starts and stops.  You can't really hide it on round parts.  There are settings to move it around and one of the settings is "Random".  To me that just looks like zits all over.

If you changed the thermistor along with the hot end - did you run Auto-Tune to adjust the PID settings?  The new thermistor is likely different than the one you replaced.

 

To pass your settings and the model over:  With the model loaded and Cura set up and ready to slice, use the "File | Save Project" command and post the 3mf project file here.

[Megiddo 1]

Cool thanks. I will change it to Random for future round prints. I also ran Autotune PID for the hotend 3 times using the C3 command and input and saved those recommended settings inside the config file. I have attached the 3mf file

TT_ResMed 10 Adapter.3mf

[GregValiant 1,245]

Your settings look reasonable.  I would suggest that you keep all the speeds closer together.  When you constantly bounce the printing speed up and down then the pressure in the nozzle varies from "this area" to "that area" and you can get some visual blemishes.  In particular is that area of the outer wall at the start of the extrusion.  The nozzle is moving CCW and one problem may be the initial surge as the extrusion starts.  It seems to take around a 1/4 of the way around before things settle down - and then it does it again on the next layer.  Some layers are a tad worse than others.

 

If you are confident that there is no wheel problem, no dirty trolley tracks, and nothing is loose (like maybe the hot end?  For me it's often the last thing I worked on.) then consistent flow rate is something you might think about.

 

For the upper part - your layer cooling may be better than mine as I can't do a 3 second layer time without some consequences.  If the layer below hasn't hardened and I squish more hot plastic down on it then it can leave (barely) noticeable differences in the layers.

 

In the image - the one with the brim is a slice of your 3mf file.  The only change I made was the infill density down to 10%.

The other print is also at .15 layer height but is with the outer wall at 35mm/sec, everything else at 50mm/sec, 3 outer walls, and minimum layer time at 10 seconds (resulting in the top "chimney" portion being much slower).

With your settings I can see some bouncing at the start of the outer wall extrusion that results in a more noticeable Z seam.  The extrusion does appear to take a few mm's to settle down.  By the time it gets back to the start point it's fine.

 

The bottom line here may be that the print I set up took 37 minutes and the print you set up (with infill at 10%) took 20 minutes.  There are advantages to slowing down.  Using PLA I typically print small things at 50 with 35 outer wall.  For large prints I may go to 100mm/sec with the outer walls at 50.  There is a definite trade-off of quality vs speed.

 

The attached gcode file is with my printer (Ender 3 Pro) and my settings.  I have adjusted the temps to match your preferences.  It should print fine on your Tarantula (if you want to give it a shot).

 

GV_ResMed10Adapter.gcode

[Megiddo 1]

Wow thank you for doing that and providing the information for me to look at directly in my printer settings.  I also think I may have an extruder problem as I just printed a  small square adapter and then a larger mount form my new hotend (to be able to set it up better with a BL touch) Anyway the small adapter printed just fine with very minimal problems. (See pic) The larger part printed horribly.  The End stop part came out fine but during printing it hiccuped a bit.  Some clicking was noted.  I then immediately printed (thinking that one printed well let's try another one) the E3D Mount (see pic) it just screwed up all over.  Lots of clicking from the gear on the extruder noted.  Although it could be because of the speed differences like you stated.  I have since ordered a dual gear extruder and also moved the extruder so that the PTFE tubing wasn't binding when the print got taller.  On the E3D Mount I can't figure out why it would print great on some layers and horrible on others except that I have an extruder problem.  I have attached the 3mf file if you don't mind taking a look at it also.  I will try the code you sent as soon as I extend a stepper motor wire as I moved the extruder as I said above.

TT_E3D Mount.3mf

[Megiddo 1]

I also downloaded your code and it won't let me view the properties in it so that I can see the speeds you set up.

[GregValiant 1,245]

Speeds are 50 for everything except the outer walls at 35.  All Accel at 1000 and all Jerk at 10.  Initial Layer Flow is 105%.

You can open the Gcode with a text editor.  The F parameter in any line is the Feedrate and it's in mm/Minute so divide it by 60.

G1 F2100 E0 <--An un-retract at 35mm/sec
G1 F3000 X100.014 Y114.118 E0.05154  <-- An extrusion at 50mm/sec
G1 X100.053 Y113.593 E0.08009 <-- since no speed is mentioned it remains at 50mm/sec

G0 F9000 X100.386 Y115.08 <-- Travel moves are in a G0 line and this one is at 150mm/sec

 

I figure it's a good use of filament when there isn't really enough left on a spool for anything else.  In this case that red has been out in the Florida humidity and it isn't good for much except maybe to learn something from.

[Megiddo 1]

Still waiting for my extruder but I tried printing your model just a few minutes ago and it did fine until about 6.5 mm up. Then the extruder stopped advancing filament. The gear was going around but nothing was moving. I think the E3D Hot end got clogged.  Just not sure why in the middle of the print because it was doing so well up until that point.  I will try again when my new extruder gets here and I will also take apart the heat break and re-seat it.  The sides were really smooth and no gaps at all.  Thank you for all the help so far. I really do appreciate it.

[GregValiant 1,245]

That was the problem I had with my Ender when it was new.  I went with the Micro-Swiss.  It's not perfect but now it's normal maintenance instead of being a complete PITA.

 

If that's the Z seam in that failed print it looks much better.

Edited April 7, 2022 by GregValiant

[Megiddo 1]

Ok I finally received the parts I needed and printed it.  The print looks much better but there is one issue. The extruder I think was not set at the correct mm/min. It was set at 100 and I read the manual again for the new extruder gear and it said to set the mm/min to 139.  I am going to do another print but this is what it looked like when done.

[GregValiant 1,245]

I think you have the units confused.  Slicing software uses mm/second as speed rates.  Printer firmware uses mm/minute as the speed.  Slicers do the conversion so the gcode is correct.

It's odd they were so specific at "139" instead of just calling it 140.  Was that specific to PLA?  I can print PLA pretty fast but PETG is a different story and my TPU speed is pretty snail-ish.  The shape and size of the model definitely needs to be considered.

 

I don't remember the model having those holes in the top of the large diameter.  Is that just a single layer over the infill or is something else going on?

 

[Megiddo 1]

I first would like to let you know that I am very grateful for helping me out with this.  It is not something I have encountered before.

 

I probably do have the units confused. That is what it said on the owners manual for the dual gear extruder.  Right now I only use PLA and no it was not specific to it.  As far as the holes are concerned, there are none.  This is the issue I am having sometimes.  Some print just fine and others not so well. Those holes are where the extruder started skipping again for some odd reason.  I just printed two other items and keeping the speed set as you had earlier told me and they printed just fine.  I didn't change the speed or anything else when this last piece was printed. Pics are attached. I just now started to print a fan mount with ducts and the extruder is skipping all over the place and leaving "nits" as you called them.  However, the first few layers printed fine.  I even slowed down the print speed to 80% and turned up the nozzle to 205 then to 210 and it is still clicking.  (Link to the video is in my Google Drive below)  It did not click much at all during the first few layers.

 

The attached 3mf files are

Image 1 is the TT_E3D Mount and the TT_E3D BL_Touch Mount (printed just fine)

Image 3 is the TT_E3D Fan Mount. (Printed not so well)

 

Link to video of clicking

TT_E3D Mount.3mf TT_E3D Fan Mount.3mf

[GregValiant 1,245]

I wonder if the 139 was STEPS/mm???  Now that would make some sense.    When you change an extruder the "E" needs a recalibration.

You can usually set the steps on the LCD in a menu somewhere.  On my Ender it's under "Control" and then "Motion".

You should really do a calibration though.  There are lots of videos out there.

If the Gcode tells the extruder to push 25mm of filament to the hot end but only 20mm actually gets pushed, then you have under-extrusion.

Edited April 13, 2022 by GregValiant

[Megiddo 1]

I forgot that had to be done as it has been such a long time since I changed the extruder gearing.  I also think I found part of the problem and that is one of the screws on the stepper motor mount (on the extruder side) was stripped.  I have to drill it out and re-thread it. The extruder spring lever was loose as I watched a video I filmed while printing that last part.  You have been a great help and I will let you know how my next print goes after fixing the stripped out screw.  I will also calibrate it after that is done.

[Megiddo 1]

I did a print before and after calibration.  It looks so much better. Thank you for all you help. I also reprinted the ResMed Adapter

 

Sincerely appreciated it.

[GregValiant 1,245]

Hey, it took us almost 5 days but you got it done.  Congrats.