Curly lines in letters stay open?

[Mark3D 1]

Hi, I have got some issues printing cookie cutters, I have openings in my letters which is not what I would like to have,  and I can not get it much better , thank you so much for any advice !

[gr5 2,268]

You will get much nicer results (typically but probably not in your case) if the letters are inset instead of sticking out.  That may be good or not for cookies - not sure.

 

You can definitely get those filled in.  It looks like you have quite a bit of underextrusion - the flat layer below has lots of gaps.  There should be no gaps there either.  It may be the same problem (underextrusion).  Try printing at half the speed you were printing at and/or clean out the nozzle.

 

I think underextrusion is mostly your only issue however it may also be slicing this way on purpose.  There are so many settings that can affect this.  It's good to look at the print in PREVIEW mode in Cura to know if it will have gaps.  Instead of me listing 30 to 50 settings for you to check, please post your project file so someone can look it over to see if anything needs to be changed in your cura settings.

 

To do this, in Cura, do "file" "save project file" and post the resulting file here please.  We will be able to see your STL file (your model), where you placed it, if you scaled it, what printer (machine) profile you have, material profile, and all of the 500 or so settings you are using.

[Mark3D 1]

Thanks ! I have been playing around with this setting in a range from 100 to 125 % remarkable difference ! 
not yet optimized, but at least it is a good start, 

I am wondering how the line thickness setting is influencing the result? 
does it have a lot of effect on the result product,  or is it just to determine the number of lines in cura? 
im relatively new to this matter(as you probably noticed..) 
 

[gr5 2,268]

There are 500 parameters.  I don't want to go through them right now.  But I will if you post your project file.  There is not one obvious parameter to fix this.  I have a few in mind but forget what they are called at the moment.  I want to experiment.  Will take me all of 3 minutes if you can just post the project file. Also you might need to switch to an older version of Cura.  Because I have several versions installed, it won't take me long at all.

 

If the STL file is top secret, then please create a custom one that demonstrates this problem so we can take a look at your project file.  Please don't post the STL file, I want to see all your current settings and try to duplicate your problem before trying some changes.  I need to know your current line width (usually your nozzle size) along with several dozen other things.

[GregValiant 1,411]

The under-extrusion is most likely the printer itself (knowing which printer we're talking about would be good).

I think the first parameter to calibrate (or re-calibrate) is the E-steps/mm.  That print does show some serious under-extrusion.  

The top skin should be nicely welded together with no gaps, and no ridges.  To a great extent, that's the problem with the letters as well.

If you happen to have used some sort of "single wall calibration cube" to tune the flow, throw it away and just calibrate the E-steps.  With the Cura flows at 100% you should get a good print.  If the gcode asks the printer to push 100mm of filament and the printer only pushes 85mm then that's under-extrusion and it's a problem.  The E-steps being off aren't the only cause, but it's a big cause.

[gr5 2,268]

Greg speaks the truth but keep in mind there are hundreds of possible causes for underextrusion.  I've listed all the 21 known ones for the Ultimaker 3 in other posts but every printer model is different and the gaps on the topmost layer appear much worse than the layer Greg highlights.  steps/mm is never an issue on the UM3 as long as you are using stock feeders.

[Mark3D 1]

It is an Ultimaker 3 

I have 3 of those, all more or less the same problem, after trying around I will try to get a different brand of filament …. 
I spend a lot of time cleaning, and calibrating, 

and because all 3 printers give(almost) the same result with the same settings, I’m excluding a setting (for now)

they all run on the same most recent stable firmware,  and have the exact same file, leading to the exact same result, with the exact same material, ordered on the same time, so I’m now going to try to exclude the materials from the problem, to see if it stays consistent …..
thanks for the tips! I let you know when i switched it… 

 

[gr5 2,268]

Sounds good.  And please post the project file as I think most of your issue is with the settings.

[gr5 2,268]

On 4/18/2024 at 9:19 AM, gr5 said:

To do this, in Cura, do "file" "save project file" and post the resulting file here please.  We will be able to see your STL file (your model), where you placed it, if you scaled it, what printer (machine) profile you have, material profile, and all of the 500 or so settings you are using.

 

[Mark3D 1]

I was settings…

I pulled the line with down, 

temp up 5degrees

material plus 10%
 

its running smooth. With good quality prints ! 
 

thanks all!