Printing Text/Font issues in Cura. Please help!

[xoxoang 1]

I am trying to make stamps for soaps/clay/cookies/fondant and it's coming out horrible. I don't know what I am doing wrong and I have spent countless hours, actually... days, just trying to figure out how to fix it myself and messing with the settings in Cura with no resolution. What am I doing wrong? Please see pics for examples.

 

I have an Alta + and originally wanted to use their 3D software, and while the print is pretty "smooth" and nice, it just slices any text/font horribly and leaves lots of holes and gaps in the text no matter what. Apparently the program itself is just horrible (said by everyone who has ever used it) so I opted to learn the Cura program instead.

 

While the slicing in Cura is MUCH better and the text/font doesn't have any gaps/holes in the letters, it does however have some openings in between the lines, and the layers are not smooth at all and just look horrible (see pics). I honestly just don't know what to do and I am beyond frustrated. They seem to stamp fine, but the appearance is ugly and won't be useful for food items if anything were to get caught in those line gaps either. 

 

The text/font is NOT too small for my nozzle size (0.4) because it prints just fine using the Silhouette 3D Software and doesn't come out with the "line" look, nor does it look gunky either. It actually looks great minus the issues with slicing. I just cant use that program due to the slicing issues and there is just no way around it as that program is extremely limited when it comes to adjustments in the settings, and it also prints sooooooooooo slow. I just really want to get the right settings in Cura. Please help!

 

Any help is much appreciated! 

[MariMakes 203]

Hey @xoxoang,

What a cool project 💝
Which version of Cura are you using? 
In Cura 5.x we introduced Variable Linewidth Engine that should be able to print your files well enough with the correct settings. You can read more about them here: 

https://support.ultimaker.com/hc/en-us/articles/4792077687068

I see a lot of white dots indicating starts and ends of lines, That often also indicates retractions and not all printers handle that well. With the amount of oozing I wonder if you have the correct temperature for your material. 

 

Do you have a project file for us? It contains the printer and settings we need for troubleshooting. 
To save a project file go to File -> Save project.

 

 

[xoxoang 1]

Hi. Thank you for responding! I messed with the temp a little bit and it did correct the oozing a bit, however everything else is pretty much the same issue. Here are my current settings (after the temp correction). Thank you again!

Project Save.3mf

[xoxoang 1]

5 hours ago, MariMakes said:

Hey @xoxoang,

What a cool project 💝
Which version of Cura are you using? 
In Cura 5.x we introduced Variable Linewidth Engine that should be able to print your files well enough with the correct settings. You can read more about them here: 

https://support.ultimaker.com/hc/en-us/articles/4792077687068

I see a lot of white dots indicating starts and ends of lines, That often also indicates retractions and not all printers handle that well. With the amount of oozing I wonder if you have the correct temperature for your material. 

 

Do you have a project file for us? It contains the printer and settings we need for troubleshooting. 
To save a project file go to File -> Save project.

 

 

 

Hi. Sorry I am re-commenting as I forgot to do it as a 'reply' to make sure you see it. Thank you for responding! I messed with the temp a little bit and it did correct the oozing a bit, however everything else is pretty much the same issue. Here are my current settings (after the temp correction). Thank you again!

 

Oh and I am using Cura 5.2.2

 

Thanks!

Project Save.3mf

[MariMakes 203]

It can indeed be resolved with the new threshold settings I mentioned in the support article. 

This is what I changed:

Here is the project file Mari_CFFFP_Project Save.3mf

 

The settings changed are a bit extreme. It will differ per printer if it can indeed be printed.
If your printer is still struggling you can also just increase the horizontal expansion until you see very little white spots indicating start stops. 
 

[xoxoang 1]

10 hours ago, MariMakes said:

It can indeed be resolved with the new threshold settings I mentioned in the support article. 

This is what I changed:

Here is the project file Mari_CFFFP_Project Save.3mf

 

The settings changed are a bit extreme. It will differ per printer if it can indeed be printed.
If your printer is still struggling you can also just increase the horizontal expansion until you see very little white spots indicating start stops. 
 

WOW! Thank you so much! That made an incredibly huge difference! The only thing now (which isn't the biggest deal) I see is that the font is just a little on the thicker side, almost as if it was BOLD. So they are a little too close due it being like that. Is there anyway to keep the quality like this, while not fattening up the font as much? Here is a before and after of another font I printed after using your suggested settings...I added a small amount of 'ironing' at the top as well.

[MariMakes 203]

Hey @xoxoang,

Thanks for the update!

The horizontal expansion is going to make your print thicker, so that's why I mentioned it as a second option.

 

If you want to keep your printjob thin, try changing these settings instead. 

1. Increasing Wall Transition Length
2. Increasing the Wall Transitioning Threshold Angle
3. Dramatically increasing Wall Transition Filter Margin 
4. Slightly increasing Minimum Feature Size 
5. Decreasing Maximum Deviation

Also, your temperature settings and or retraction settings seem to be really off.
You don't need ironing to resolve it. 

Can you try the temperature and retraction towers in this plug-in? 
It's called Calibration shapes, you can find it here https://marketplace.ultimaker.com/app/cura/plugins/5axes/CalibrationShapes
I don't know by heart but you might need to install openscad to run it. http://openscad.org/downloads.html

I think you can also win a lot by having these material/printer specific settings, correct. 

[xoxoang 1]

10 hours ago, MariMakes said:

Hey @xoxoang,

Thanks for the update!

The horizontal expansion is going to make your print thicker, so that's why I mentioned it as a second option.

 

If you want to keep your printjob thin, try changing these settings instead. 

1. Increasing Wall Transition Length
2. Increasing the Wall Transitioning Threshold Angle
3. Dramatically increasing Wall Transition Filter Margin 
4. Slightly increasing Minimum Feature Size 
5. Decreasing Maximum Deviation

Also, your temperature settings and or retraction settings seem to be really off.
You don't need ironing to resolve it. 

Can you try the temperature and retraction towers in this plug-in? 
It's called Calibration shapes, you can find it here https://marketplace.ultimaker.com/app/cura/plugins/5axes/CalibrationShapes
I don't know by heart but you might need to install openscad to run it. http://openscad.org/downloads.html

I think you can also win a lot by having these material/printer specific settings, correct. 

 

Hi. So I did everything you said in #1-5, and set the horizontal expansion back to 0, just to test out if I could print the letters thinner with the same quality. Everything looks pretty good and smooth, except there are a lot of white squares again for start/stops in the same exact spots. I tried messing with the seam options and randomizing it but it didn't make a difference.I think it is what is causing the little spots around the letters in certain places. Here are pictures.

 

Also, I believe my temp issue is resolved, but as far as the retraction settings, what do you suggest?

 

Thank again you have been such a great help thus far!

[MariMakes 203]

Yesss Awesome! The temperature looks better now as well. 🤩

 

There is a plugin called Calibration shapes, you can find it here https://marketplace.ultimaker.com/app/cura/plugins/5axes/CalibrationShapes

 

You can try the following tests to find the right settings for your printer and material combination.

- Retract Tower

- Retract Test part

 

I linked the instructions explaining how they work. Good luck!