Just bought an Ultimaker 2 - struggling for any good resolution in Cura

[sam-dewsnap 0]

Hi All,

I have just bought an Ultimaker 2 for my final year uni work, and im struggling to get an decent quality resolution from my files, being loose and 'runny' such to speak, using the finest high quality setting on Cura.

I've done a search about setting, but being new to 3d printing im getting confused, what would be a good starting point for a high level, high quality print. I don't mind the time period if it meant a good quality outcome. Im starting to panic now, any help to try get my models to a much better quality would be greatly appreciated.

Im using standard PLA, with the latest Cura software, on the highest setting. Exported my files as an stl from solidworks, then into meshlab to scale them (1/10 car components), then into Cura. Is there something else I should be doing? Uni aren't helpful with this information and im feeling rather lost! any settings to use perhaps?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sam

 

[gr5 2,168]

picture please. "runny" is not sufficient explanation. Click "gallery" on top left of this page, then "upload" then make a new posting and click "my media" next to smile icon.

I recommend you DONT use "high quality" but use "full settings" mode.

Start off with layer height .1mm. Bottom layer .3mm. 220C nozzle temp, 50C bed temp, print slow (say 30mm/sec). Use brim if parts are lifting off glass. Fan at 100% by 1mm (parts may look "runny" (whatever that means) before fans come on but if they come on too quicly the nozzle temp can drop too fast). Shell MUST be integral amount of nozzle width - so .4mm nozzle, .8mm shell is good.

Show photo - there' so many things that can go wrong with so many different kinds of models and issues.

 

[sam-dewsnap 0]

Thanks for the reply!

I've attached some images below. The first model i've tried to make is of a tyre, which has lots of detail. The resolution of the ulti print seems to be poor, the pla was squirting out of the nozzle before the program even started to run, is this normal?

As you can see, the quality does not look like a 'fine' resolution I was hoping for, I will try the settings above!

Thanks

Sam

 

[sam-dewsnap 0]

I've just tried the settings above and I'm getting this result? I really wanted an ultra fine finish, as per the skull sample on the main page! Sorry if the questions sound stupid, but I don't know what Im doing wrong aha

Thanks

Sam

 

[Daid 306]

Are you sure that's normal PLA and not flex PLA?

 

[sam-dewsnap 0]

Thanks Daid

It's the PLA that came with the machine, I have also bought other white PLA, so will change that now and see if it makes a difference.

 

[sam-dewsnap 0]

Did a test print of a hub nut (simple), and the larger scale works ok, but the finer detail looks poor. This using the settings suggested above. Changed the PLA to the white I bought separately, then Im going to reprint the model

 

[tottenham12712 1]

Thanks for the reply!

I've attached some images below. The first model i've tried to make is of a tyre, which has lots of detail. The resolution of the ulti print seems to be poor, the pla was squirting out of the nozzle before the program even started to run, is this normal?

As you can see, the quality does not look like a 'fine' resolution I was hoping for, I will try the settings above!

Thanks

Sam

This photo makes me think its a bed levling issue. The left side looks decent, and the right side looks terrible. I would re-level the bed with a piece of paper to the point where you feel just a small amount of friction when sliding it under the nozzle.

Stole this from google:

 

[jameshs 42]

have to say that white ca be one of the hardest to print with.

But I agree that first layer looks like print bed not being level.

above that the print is not good though and all the stringing looks like it is a whispy filament for some reason.

I would reduce the heat until it is just enough, slow down the print and increase the retraction distance and see what happens.

Also try with no infill and .8 or more shell to see what t looks like without all that retraction.

It takes a while to get a machine dialled in for the machine an for each filament type - so write on the side of the filament what worked when it works

 

[jameshs 42]

ps - I also change things on the fly when I am experimenting - so do 5mm of height and then change temp etc

 

[nallath 1,120]

Also; try printing with normal quality first. This will also allow you to iterate faster.

 

[gr5 2,168]

Sam - there is only one very clear problem and that is that your bed is too far from your nozzle when printing the bottom layer. There may be more issues but that is clearly one of them. This affects only the bottom layer which means it also affects how well the part sticks to the bed. What is your shell thickness? Make sure that it is a multiple of the nozzle size. .8mm is a good start. And what is your layer height? And print temp and print speed?

 

[gr5 2,168]

By the way, there's no need to run the bed leveling procedure - I haven't used it in a year. Just adjust the 3 screws a half turn each and try again. Then probably 1/4 turn adjustments after that.

 

[sam-dewsnap 0]

Sorry for the slow reply guys! :(

Been snowed under with uni work! I changed the filament from the white pla that came with the machine to the other white pla I had bought, and results seemed to improve massively.

I've been using the factory default highest setting in dura, with changing the initial layer to 0.2.

All was well until today, where I'm back to poor quality. I used mesh mixer to create the stalk supports, but even these seem furry and well, rubbish. Considering its in highest quality mode I'm panicking!

Am I doing something obviously wrong? Ive levelled the bed several times using the paper method, so it just slides under the nozzle, and cleaned it aswell. I had been getting some good results (the ultimaker robot came out ace compared to previous), I just don't know how to improve / fix this issue. Ive got about 4/5 weeks of constant printing to do, and getting very anxious atm.

Any help / advice / suggestions would be extremely grateful

Thanks

Sam

(highest Q setting :( :/ )

 

[stormclad 3]

Another option you can try is if you need to print really small objects have multiple of them. This will increase the time each layer has to cool and improve the print quality. You could try reducing the temperature slightly as well as detailed in these guides.

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

http://support.3dverkstan.se/article/30-getting-better-prints

One other option is you could try doing an atomic pull and cleaning the hotend/nozzle. If you search on google the first item is a pdf describing this cleaning method.