How to improve this print?

[Blizz 53]

Matt is that ultimaker pla or something else? I have exactly the same problem with plastic I bought from another manufacturer.

[electronic_matt 0]

Matt is that ultimaker pla or something else? I have exactly the same problem with plastic I bought from another manufacturer.

 

It's the PLA that came with the Ultimaker 2

What do you use to clean your print bed, and what do you print on to?

Also what do you do your design work in?

 

[Blizz 53]

This was made in sketchup:

I've never seen this before I started using non-UM filament. Unfortunately at that time I was also using an Mk8 wheel for the feeder with the e-steps value I read in the forum (365). As I haven't tested what the correct value should be on my printer it could also have been some sort of overextrusion.

 

[gr5 2,170]

I cleaned the bed very well, atleast I hoped I had, when i watch the nozzle putting down the PLA it makes weird patterns on the first layer, as shown above, then kind of ripple and have weird waves in them

 

Look at the model in sketchup. Is it just one square or are there lots of triangles on the bottom in the region that looks different? I suspect the later and that the printer is having trouble replicating the pattern on the bottom.

Alternatively your feeder may have skipped backwards in that region. Or something on the glass such as the glue being thicker there.

I love sketchup as I am so fast in it but I am learning DSM and it is much superior and doesn't create non-solid models like sketchup does. I am quite fast now in Design Spark Mechanical but I haven't memorized enough shortcut keys and such -- it's going to take me a year I think to be as fast as I am in sketchup. But DSM is worth learning well.

 

[pm_dude 27]

I use Autodesk 3ds Max. I've been using it for the past 10 years now for making games so its kind of hard to not use it even if its clearly not the best for mechanical parts. I tried using Autodesk 123D Design but find it quite limited. I might try DSM

[electronic_matt 0]

Look at the model in sketchup. Is it just one square or are there lots of triangles on the bottom in the region that looks different? I suspect the later and that the printer is having trouble replicating the pattern on the bottom.

Alternatively your feeder may have skipped backwards in that region. Or something on the glass such as the glue being thicker there.

I love sketchup as I am so fast in it but I am learning DSM and it is much superior and doesn't create non-solid models like sketchup does. I am quite fast now in Design Spark Mechanical but I haven't memorized enough shortcut keys and such -- it's going to take me a year I think to be as fast as I am in sketchup. But DSM is worth learning well.

Yea looks like triangles on the bottom in netfabb, the triangles kind of match up with where the weird patterns are on the print

Are there any other software that is like sketchup that may work better and as simple?

 

[gr5 2,170]

DSM is as simple and it's free but you have to learn it from scratch. It's quite different from sketchup. For one thing you can't create just a plane in space - you can only create solids.

 

[electronic_matt 0]

DSM is as simple and it's free but you have to learn it from scratch. It's quite different from sketchup. For one thing you can't create just a plane in space - you can only create solids.

 

I shall check out out any tips for working in sketchup at all? that's if it is sketchup that's causing the weird bottom patterns

 

[electronic_matt 0]

I printed this part for someone today, one side at the top looks ok but the otherside has gaps between the lines slightly, was printed at 0.2mm layers, 220c but turned up to 230c near the end, 50% infill, 30mm/s, does anyone know is the gaps are related to under extrusion or something else?

 

[gr5 2,170]

50% infill? That seems excessive. You could probably stand on it with zero infill.

Anyway, how thick is your top/bottom thickness? maybe you just need to increase that by one more layer?

 

[electronic_matt 0]

Top and bottom thickness was set at 1.2mm, still also getting that weird effect on the bottom, I'm sure it's related to how the files are exported to stl from sketchup

 

[electronic_matt 0]

Not printed anything for a week or so, decided to try a print today but things didn't look good, and I was having to print at a higher and higher temp, decided to try the atomic method to clean the nozzle, it seems a bit better now but still not great, this photo below shows before I did the atomic method

 

[pm_dude 27]

wow. I'm still trying to figure out what its supposed to look like normally.Clearly this it too high temp but what speed have you printed? Its hard to help without the context.

 

[electronic_matt 0]

wow. I'm still trying to figure out what its supposed to look like normally.Clearly this it too high temp but what speed have you printed? Its hard to help without the context.

 

I had to abort the print to clean the nozzle, it's this http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:258969

Was printing at 210c to start with and upped to 260c to try and clear the nozzle but that didn't work, did the atomic method a few times and seems better now but not perfect

 

[jameshs 42]

if you print too high with PLA it can look like under extrusion - and you up the temp (did this yesterday)

I dialled back the temp (to 210 for a Colofabb PLA) and back to good infill and normal printing.

Try to do the bottom layer hot (220) and then back to 210 for normal printing?

each filament is different - so move the temps around.

I am using a cold glass plate on a UM1 so check your plate temp is low for PLA

James

 

[electronic_matt 0]

if you print too high with PLA it can look like under extrusion - and you up the temp (did this yesterday)

I dialled back the temp (to 210 for a Colofabb PLA) and back to good infill and normal printing.

Try to do the bottom layer hot (220) and then back to 210 for normal printing?

each filament is different - so move the temps around.

I am using a cold glass plate on a UM1 so check your plate temp is low for PLA

James

 

I've printed at about 210c with PLA from when I first got the printer and it seemed fine, printing at 20 to 30mm/s and 0.1mm layers, it's seemed to get worse over time and as you can see in the photo the lines got quite thin and weird looking near the middle

 

[electronic_matt 0]

Still getting the gaps in the layer lines, part of the layer will be fine and then suddenly it will produce gaps in the lines

printing at 210c, 30mm/s, 0.1mm Layers, tried upping temp to 225c but still the same

Does anyone have any ideas? :(

 

[pm_dude 27]

Print a small cylinder like a coin (about 20mm wide). Just enough to give you time to play with the tension of the feeder. Are you with the stock feeder or do you have access to the screw and spring directly?

If its with the screw you can try to tighten it a quarter turn at the time and see the difference. Or loose it if its already too tight. If I remember well on the stock feeder there is a small white tick on the top and side of the black box. Try moving it but cant remember at what position it used to be on mine.

 

[pm_dude 27]

looking at it from closer it seems more like some lines dont touch.

Check out this guide and see if its similar to what is described in lines not touching

http://support.3dverkstan.se/article/23-a-visual-ultimaker-troubleshooting-guide#circles

 

[kris 29]

Looks like inderextrusion. Maybe you have to clean the nozzle? I mean take the extruder apart and really clean it.

I believe if the temperature is too high you will burn your PLA and residuals will get stuck in the nozzle and clogg it. I usually have this problem if I switch from PLA to ABS. So now I pnly print ABS.