How do I get started?

[champsteve778 1]

Hello!

 

My name is Steve and I am a beginner.

 

I watched some videos but am not sure how to get my first render going!

 

I am using the ender 3 and have my first item selected. I am scared of all these customize settings.

 

Should I just use the recommended settings and not customize for my first render?

 

There is some overhang!

 

Steve

[GregValiant 1,318]

The preview is your friend.  If you get the settings wrong you may make a mess, but that's about it.

Hot end temperature and bed temperature are dependent on the material.  Just use the "Standard" or "Draft" profile to start with.  Don't make a lot of changes because that will make it hard to troubleshoot later if you see things in the print that you don't like.

The arrangement of the supports are dependent on the model geometry, and yes, there are over 70 support settings.  Start with "Normal" and "Everywhere" and if they look OK go with that.  The maximum "Support Overhang Angle" is about 63 degrees.  If you set it to 50 - 55 the supports should be sufficient.  A Support-Interface is a pattern that goes on top of the main support structure.  I use "Grid" at 40 to 60% density for the interface.

Supports can be difficult to remove and leave a scar on the print.  You will learn.  A hobby knife, some small files, little screwdrivers, needlenose pliers ... tools like that can help get it out of tight places.

 

I've seen excellent models of the Eiffel Tower.  Don't start with one of those.  Stick to simple things to start out.  There is a learning curve to everything involved in this.

 

 

[champsteve778 1]

Alright, given what you said, when should I slice the first time? And when any other times?

 

You said: Start with "Normal" and "Everywhere" and if they look OK go with that. How do I know it is good?

 

I set all of the other instructions as advised and I guess we will see what happens when I render for the first time.

 

Edited June 16 by champsteve778

[GregValiant 1,318]

"I guess we will see what happens"

That's the spirit.  Dive into the unknown.

The printers are pretty good.  Watch as the layers build and if they look incomplete, or the plastic doesn't seem to be coming out smoothly, you can try adjusting the "Flow Rate" from the LCD.  If worse comes to worst you can Abort the print from the LCD and try again.

Make sure the build plate is clean.  The first layer must have good adhesion to the build plate or it can come free or warp upward, and can cause a failed print.

 

The basic starter models are Calibration Cubes or a tugboat called a Benchy.  The Benchy can be printed (we don't render) without supports and can give a good indication of how your speed and layer cooling are working.

[champsteve778 1]

Thanks but you forgot:

 

Quote

 

Alright, given what you said, when should I slice the first time? And when any other times?

 

You said: Start with "Normal" and "Everywhere" and if they look OK go with that. How do I know it is good?

 

 

 

[Slashee_the_Cow 348]

He was referring to the support settings. As a beginner you should definitely be using this basic settings screen until you get a bit more experienced to use the custom settings. As for looking good, click Preview in the top middle:

The light blue stuff is support. It looks like there's more than enough there to support my print.

(And yes it's just a regular model I had laying around which I rotated - but the principle is the same.)

[champsteve778 1]

I don't know when to slice... when should I slice the first time? And when any other times?

[jaysenodell 17]

so take a step back... you're asking about "how to I make something on my printer?" or "what is the workflow to successfully print an object?" 

 

The over simplification is:

1. Find STL (or cura compatible format) for the thing you want to print.
2. Load the "thing" file into cura.
3. Ensure settings are correct for the filament you intend to use.
4. Slice the object (this creates the G Code for the printer)
5. Send G Code to printer
6. Wait for print to complete. 

Within that simple workflow items 1, 3, 5, and maybe 6 are all more wokflows as well as things such as printer setup and maintenance. 

 

There are many videos on youtube to help you with all this. 

Edited June 17 by jaysenodell

[jaysenodell 17]

Also, I tend to go from 5 back to 3 a number of times based on cura's preview mode showing me things that "aren't right" about my configuration settings. Some of this is "I know my printer will do that wrong with this filament" and some of it is "that was supposed ot be flipped the other way". And if I'm designing my own objects (which I do) then I wind back at step 1 in my CAD program fixing my STL. 

[champsteve778 1]

thanks so much

[champsteve778 1]

Alright everything was going good until I think something went wrong with the temperatures!!??

 

In the videos I watched they just used marlin mode but my ender 3 model has bigtreetech touch mode as well.

 

I tried to do it all like the videos... in marlin mode. But there was no option to load gcode from usb in marlin mode. So after setting everything in marlin mode like the videos I had to switch to bigtreetech touch mode to start the printer from usb stick. Once I switched to touch mode the temperature went from 185 to 200... I thought nothing of it until half way through the render it failed! It looked like the temps didn't stick it right place!

 

I am so frusterated! Anyone know the problem!

 

 

[champsteve778 1]

I have the board version: bigtreetech_tft35_e3_v3.0 and firmware: tft35_e3_v3.0.26.x june 15th 2020

 

Can someone please tell me where to go to to watch the video how to use this?/If I need to update anything?

 

It seems like everything is up to date. I just don't know how to use the touch screen step by step to start 3D printing.

 

It did start printing successfully but failed half way through.

Edited June 17 by champsteve778

[champsteve778 1]

alright I figured out the steps to start printing with the touch screen... but it still changed the temp from 185 to 200?? should I be worried about this?

[Slashee_the_Cow 348]

43 minutes ago, champsteve778 said:

alright I figured out the steps to start printing with the touch screen... but it still changed the temp from 185 to 200?? should I be worried about this?

About it doing it automatically? Maybe. About the temperature? Probably not. Hopefully you're using PLA (it's the easiest material to print with) and that usually prints at at least 200° anyway.

[champsteve778 1]

Ok I printed the test cube successfully

 

Now onto my planter... instead of drawing a circle to start it drew a hexagon so I stopped it. Does anyone know what went wrong here?

 

 

[GregValiant 1,318]

Post a screen shot so we can see what you are talking about.  (Shift + 'prtscr' should work and then 'ctrl+v' to paste it here).

The skirt or brim should be the shape of the first layer (whatever it happens to be).  The Cura preview should have shown it.

 

 

[champsteve778 1]

here is screenshot:

 

 

Edited June 18 by champsteve778

[champsteve778 1]

here is video of print attempt:

 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fqoqXzmB3X8EuSPbebgS68sVfq4LDodB?usp=sharing

[GregValiant 1,318]

OK.  The odd shape to the skirt is because it will maintain the distance from the support.  The base of the support structures makes it a polygon of some sort.  It looks right in the screenshot.

 

The video shows that the Initial layer isn't going down well.  The filament isn't staying where it was put and that indicates that the nozzle is too far from the bed.  You need to adjust the way you are "leveling".

Does the printer have an ABL (Auto-Bed Leveler)?  I use a piece of paper as I don't have an ABL.  There is a bit of knack to it.  I use a piece of parchment paper (for baking) which is only about .04mm thick and nothing sticks to it.  A store receipt also works pretty well.  You have the leveling knobs under the bed and then can be carefully adjusted during the initial layer.

 

Load that model you want to print in Cura and then use the "File | Save Project" command.  That will create a special 3mf file that will contain your printer definition, your Cura settings as well as the model.  Post that 3mf here and I'll set it up the way I think it should be sliced and I'm pretty sure Slashee will want to give it a shot.  We can post project files back here and when you open them you will see the settings we used.  The projects will be at least slightly different as we have different preferences.

 

You have to get that "Initial Layer Z-Gap" correct though or you will struggle.

Edited June 19 by GregValiant

[champsteve778 1]

I did use a piece of paper and it did work with the small cube. Anyways here is 3mf file. Regards and Talk Soon, Steve

CE3E3V2_Pine.3mf

[Slashee_the_Cow 348]

3 hours ago, GregValiant said:

I'll set it up the way I think it should be sliced and I'm pretty sure Slashee will want to give it a shot.

You know me too well.

 

This isn't really a print I'd try as a beginner, mainly due to its sheer size. Better to be able to get smaller things to print correctly before you spend so much time and filament on something like this. But that doesn't mean I won't try and help 🙂

8 hours ago, champsteve778 said:

Now onto my planter

🟥 Hold up a sec: Does that mean this thing needs to be hollow? Because the model is a solid object. I'm going to go on assuming that it's a planter which needs to have a well in it you fill with dirt and plant. Or is a "planter" a different thing wherever you are which statistically probably isn't where I am? My experience with horticulture extends mostly to munching grass 🐄. If it doesn't need to be hollow then just delete the cylinder I added (it's a separate object in the Cura project) and the setting changes I've made apply just as much to a solid object.

 

So, things I'm changing and if you don't really know what I'm talking about then ignore it for now and you'll learn as you print more:

• Added a cylinder cutout in the middle starting 20mm from the bottom and wide enough that the walls are about 10mm wide: If this is going to have a plant in it, it needs to be thick enough to support the weight of the dirt and the pressure on the walls.
• Increasing the build plate temperature: I'm going to assume you're using PLA here. 60° is what I usually have it at.  Warmer plate = better adhesion and less chance of warping (though PLA pretty much never warps unless you're deliberately trying to make it). The filament itself, personally I use a "PLA+" which prints better at about 210° but 200° as a baseline is fine.
• Setting the initial layer to 0.3mm high, 150% line width and 105% flow: More filament flowing = easier to adhere, and this significantly increases the total volume coming out at once.
• Increasing initial layer print temperature to 205° and plate to 65°. Again, helps with adhesion. Increasing the temperature will make it take a bit longer to set so the odds of it setting without properly adhering and being dragged around by the nozzle are lower.
• Adding an alternating extra wall: This makes it so that every second layer it prints an extra wall (so what it says on the box). The advantage is that it helps the walls adhere to the infill so it adds a bit of horizontal strength.
• Increasing print speed: different materials print best at different speeds (often it's listed somewhere on the sides of the spool). For PLA it's usually about 60mm/s. The "print speed" setting in Cura has an extremely confusing name - it'll print the infill at that speed and everything else at half that, so I increased it to 120mm/s so most parts print at 60mm/s. For infill it's not so important because it doesn't need to look good (nobody's going to see it).
• Turned on "Infill Travel Optimization": This is an entirely personal thing. Spends more time slicing to save time printing. Doesn't always make a huge difference in time but it also helps stop filament from unnecessarily oozing inside your print while it goes to the next line.

 

 

7 hours ago, GregValiant said:

(Shift + 'prtscr' should work and then 'ctrl+v' to paste it here).

Shift isn't a modifier for PrtScn on Windows. Alt+PrtScn will take a screenshot of only the currently active window. That what you were thinking of? Also on Windows 10/11 (so hopefully everyone because Windows 7 doesn't get security patches anymore unless you're a big company with an extended support contract) Win+Shift+S will let you drag a box and get a screenshot of just that area.

CE3E3V2_Pine_planter_slashee.3mf

[GregValiant 1,318]

I agree, this is a really ambitious model to start with.

I'm going to assume that it was designed as a solid because it was meant to be spiralized.

• Since it does appear to be a "vase" I've set it up in Vase Mode ("Spiralize Outer Contour" in the Special Modes settings).
• The undersides of the "pine knobs" on the outside are close to needing support which will not work in spiralize.  I turned off Generate Support.
• I increased the Line Width to 0.6 to make the spiral model stronger.
• I dropped the Acceleration to 500 because all those little cuts in the exterior will never allow it to get up to speed anyway.  Lowering the Accel is an attempt to keep the machine moving smoothly through all the jig-jogs.
• I also scaled the model to 75% size to keep the print time down.  It's still at 6+ hrs but better than the 11hrs I got doing it spiral at full size.  By comparison Shashee's conventional slice at full size makes it a 43hr print.  (Her project took 44 minutes just for the slice on my little laptop.)

Prints are rarely watertight.  If I wanted to make this an actual planter (that I would need to water), I'd paint the inside.  That would be true for Shashee's version as well.

 

GV_Pine Spiralized.3mf

 

 

[Slashee_the_Cow 348]

11 minutes ago, GregValiant said:

I increased the Line Width to 0.6 to make the spiral model stronger.

By my calculations (which may well be wrong) a conservative estimate puts your scaled down version at about 775g of dirt in there, if full. Haven't tested it myself but a 0.6mm wall (or even if you stuck a 1mm nozzle on there and did a 1.5mm wall) is probably going to break apart due to the pressure being exerted against the sides by the weight of dirt in there, especially once you add a plant (which will grow roots which push outwards or at least increase the volume in there) and water it (solution: plant a cactus).

 

My version will hold about 1.05kg of dirt but has plenty of structure to it (though obviously everything has a breaking point). Plus, it's full size, and as we all know, bigger is better.

 

31 minutes ago, GregValiant said:

By comparison Shashee's conventional slice at full size makes it a 43hr print.

Hey, don't knock that time. I've printed significantly smaller things that have taken longer than that. Yes, with a 0.4mm nozzle. Yes, with PLA running at a decent speed, acceleration and jerk value. No, without short layers or thin walls (or lots of walls). You say it'll never get up to max speed on the pineapple, with this thing it could barely get off the line for about 75% of the print. Although I'm actually pretty amazed by some of the intricate detail it pulled off.

 

And for a print that long, I honestly have a good reason to tell my brother who insists I should only run my 3D printer during the day (solar panels) to shove it. Although last night I printed nine things which Cura estimated used 0.4g of filament (each) but took 25 minutes each, so that gives you some idea of how much I care about what he has to say 😛

(For the record: printing what is basically a cone shape, 5mm diameter at the base, 29mm high, standing up, because it's impossible to cleanly remove all the support at that scale - very low speed and acceleration so it doesn't wobble over or make the print head just drag it around.)

 

36 minutes ago, GregValiant said:

(Her project took 44 minutes just for the slice on my little laptop.)

The problem as I see it is twofold: your laptop and your patience. Nobody should be able to wait that long just to prove a point, except for pedantic stubborn arseholes such as myself. And "little" seems like the problem here, because they usually have insufficient cooling for a more powerful CPU. And as we all know, bigger is better.

[GregValiant 1,318]

"And as we all know, bigger is better."

Easy to say for someone 6' 8".  Life is different for those of us who can't see over the steering wheel.

 

Silliness aside:

@champsteve778 The attached file is a gcode script for leveling. 

 

When you print the file:

• It will auto-home the printer.
• It will heat the hot end to 150.
• It will heat the bed to 50.
• When heating is complete: it will beep, wait 2 seconds, and then move to each corner of the build plate in a clockwise direction.
• Chase the nozzle with your piece of paper and make sure it is under the nozzle when it moves down to Z=0.  You will have 10 seconds to fiddle with the leveling screws at each stop and then the head will move up and on to the next stop.
• When the print finishes it does not turn off the bed or hot end nor do the steppers disable.

I think you will find it easier than fiddling with the knob.

When that little script is finished printing, you can move on and print your model file gcode.

 

 

 

 

4 point bed leveling path.gcode

[Slashee_the_Cow 348]

Silliness continued:

16 minutes ago, GregValiant said:

"And as we all know, bigger is better."

Easy to say for someone 6' 8".  Life is different for those of us who can't see over the steering wheel.

Please, only *converts to barbarian units* about 6'5". Life is different for those of us who have our head constantly jammed against the car's roof.

 

And don't get me started on leg room. Or lack thereof.