Cookie Cutter Prints Alternating Directions (CW then CCW) When Printing Wall

[DoubleTapp22 0]

Does anybody know why Cura would tell the extruder to alternate directions (CW then CCW) after completing a layer when printing the wall of a cookie cutter? When it changes directions it causes blobbing in that particular spot. I've played around with settings and adjusting the Layer Height seemed to make it go one direction for some reason but then that causes a small line to form in the inside of the cutter where the wall starts. From research I've done it sounds like most slicers try to make the extruder go in a single direction to aid in cooling so I'm curious as to why Cura is causing it to reverse direction once it finishes a layer. Is there a setting that can help with this? I"ve attached some pictures below of what it looks like when it reverses direction at a single point. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[MariMakes 198]

Hey @DoubleTapp22,

 

Welcome to the Ultimaker Community 🚀

 

We have an Alternate Wall Directions setting in Experimental.
But I don't think you've selected that on purpose. 


There are a lot of things influencing the wall ordering.
Layer start, combing, zseam settings, patterns, wall thickness, cura version etc. 

Do you have a project file for us so we can help troubleshooting?
To save a project file go to File -> Save project.

[DoubleTapp22 0]

Hey @MariMakes,

 

Thank you for helping with this. This has been an issue for several weeks. I double checked and the Alternate Wall Directions setting was not selected. I tried selecting that to see if it would make a difference but nothing really changed. We have found that when we are able to get the printer to print in one continuous direction the final products come out much better than when it changes directions. I have attached the STL file from Cura below.

 

We have tried adjusting some of the settings you mentioned such as combing and zseam but I don't think we have tried all of them. We're new to 3D printing so we're still learning what all these settings do and how they can affect our prints.

N2_3.5in Balloon Arch.3mf

Edited September 30, 2022 by DoubleTapp22

[MariMakes 198]

Hey! @DoubleTapp22,

 

Thanks for sharing your model, that helps a lot. 
There are several ways that you can resolve this.

Personally I print cookie cutters with Spiralize Outer Contours. 
But your model is hollow, so if you can make it massive in your CAD software I would do that first. 
But if you can't, you can dramatically increase the hole horizontal expansion you can close the hole and apply this feature where the printer just prints one big uninterrupted line. 

Mari_Spiralize_1429946534_N2_3.5inBalloonArch.3mf

 

You can also change your how thick your walls are in the CAD. If you insist on making them single walled you should define them as 0.345 since it maches your minimum wall line width


Or you can increase the thickness of your walls with Horizontal Expansion. I increased it with 0.35 mm here and it looks like it is going to print way better. Do you see the white dots of the Zseam aligning better? 

Mari_HorExp_1429946534_N2_3.5inBalloonArch.3mf

Can you let me know if these suggestions work for you?
Happy printing and good luck!  💪

Do we get to see the cookies if they are finished? 🍪