Early prints

I've never experienced the effects of resonance that Nophead wrote about because I use firmware with acceleration. So if its an effect of resonance and you don't want to go through the hassle of editing the G-code, I would change to a firmware with acceleration.

At the moment I believe you have two choices:
Teacup [github.com] [reprap.org]
Sprinter [github.com].

I would consider both still under development and you may still find bugs in both. With that said it seems people consider Sprinter more stable because its Klimentkip with acceleration and Klimentkip is considered stable. I've tried both and watch both carefully.

Right now Sprinter is being patched daily and Teacup is reaching its release with less and less bugs.
Both have configurations for Gen6 and both have good support forums.
I prefer Teacup, but that may just be from following it for longer and its the one I learnt on.
They both deal with acceleration differently so setting them up is not as easy as transferring all the settings.

There are only a handful of people using Teacup that I know of so I wrote a little on the subject. [geometricobjectdepositiontool.blogspot.com]
There is also a good thread on it [forums.reprap.org]

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FFF Settings Calculator	Gcode post processors	Geometric Object Deposition Tool Blog
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I'm running Windows though not Linux and I could not see a windows installer package there, that's why I'm using Repsnapper because it does work on Windows. Not sure if I really have the time to learn Linux as well as learning how to use my Mendel

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__________________________________________________________________________
Experimenting in 3D in New Zealand

Sublime Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> NelsonRap Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > So once the extruder is up to temperature, you
> > then start the print. Will be giving that a try
> > later (cooking dinner at the moment). I have
> raft
> > enabled anyway as someone on IRC told me it
> would
> > be best to but I don't actually fully
> understand
> > it all yet. What temps do you extrude at as a
> bit
> > of a guide?
>
> If using Repsnapper be sure to turn off the temp
> control in the panel just before starting to
> print, I believe it will try and change the temp
> if left on. ReplicatorG only sends one M104 to set
> the temp and then sends M105's to monitor it.
>
> I can't say I understand it either. How can a
> program be written that no one understands, even
> the maintainers don't understand it. The online
> manual even has stuff like "Mesh Type Default:
> Correct Mesh, No idea what this does"
>
> Everyone’s temperatures are a little different
> due to thermistor location, thermistor
> calibration, electrical noise, etc.
>
> But mine are as follows:
> Base layer/fill are 220c (20 over my minimum
> extrude temperature)
> Next layers/fill are 210c (10 over my minimum
> extrude temperature)
> Support layers/fill are 200c (my minimum extrude
> temperature)
>
> Your start and end codes:
> start code
> G21; metric is good
> G90; absolute positioning
> G92 X0 Y0 Z0 E0; zero the extruded length axes
> G92 E0 <--Redundant as it is in the line above
> M109 S220 Set the first layer temp and wait. Not
> needed but makes sure the tip is pre heated and/or
> eliminates the need to preheat via the panel
>
> end code
> G91
> G1 F70
> G1 E-10 F30000 Suck the filament back quickly to
> stop ooze if used you should add G1 E10 F2300 to
> the start code to compensate on the next start
> G1 Z7 F70; lifts nozzle 7mm from finished print
> surface
> G1 F2300
> G1 X-100 F2300
> G90
> M104 S0; sets temp to 0


Just trying your start code, with the M109 and the heat light on my Gen6 board does not light up and the nozzle isn't heating up. So i'm removing that line and then it seems to work

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__________________________________________________________________________
Experimenting in 3D in New Zealand

NelsonRap Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm running Windows though not Linux and I could
> not see a windows installer package there, that's
> why I'm using Repsnapper because it does work on
> Windows. Not sure if I really have the time to
> learn Linux as well as learning how to use my
> Mendel

Not sure what you are referring to here. All the firmwares work regardless of the OS. And if I mentioned ReplicatorG somewhere I should point you to Ben Jacksons ReplicatorG build for use with Teacup and Klimentkip/Sprinter. He has pre-compiled binaries available here or the source here

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NelsonRap Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > Your start and end codes:
> > start code
> > G21; metric is good
> > G90; absolute positioning
> > G92 X0 Y0 Z0 E0; zero the extruded length axes
> > G92 E0 <--Redundant as it is in the line
> above
> > M109 S220 Set the first layer temp and wait.
> Not
> > needed but makes sure the tip is pre heated
> and/or
> > eliminates the need to preheat via the panel
> >
> > end code
> > G91
> > G1 F70
> > G1 E-10 F30000 Suck the filament back quickly
> to
> > stop ooze if used you should add G1 E10 F2300
> to
> > the start code to compensate on the next start
> > G1 Z7 F70; lifts nozzle 7mm from finished print
> > surface
> > G1 F2300
> > G1 X-100 F2300
> > G90
> > M104 S0; sets temp to 0
>
>
> Just trying your start code, with the M109 and the
> heat light on my Gen6 board does not light up and
> the nozzle isn't heating up. So i'm removing that
> line and then it seems to work

If you copied it line for line I should say don't type in my comments that follow the gcodes or put a ; after the gcode and before the comment.

M109 S220 Set the first layer temp and wait. Not needed but makes sure the tip is pre heated and/or eliminates the need to preheat via the panel <<<-------NO GOOD

M109 S220; Set the first layer temp and wait.OK

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Talk about dim.

Ok I see I forgot the ; as you correctly pointed out. I wanted the comments so that I know what the lines of code actually mean. Thanks for pointing out my mistake.

I'm also getting a bit of build up behind the nozzle on infills. Currently have infill solidity set to 1 set to and infill over thickness set to 1.7

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__________________________________________________________________________
Experimenting in 3D in New Zealand

NelsonRap Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm also getting a bit of build up behind the
> nozzle on infills. Currently have infill solidity
> set to 1

If this is not a typo its your problem.

1 = 100%
0.2 = 20% (this is the default fill ratio used by most people)

infill over thickness set to 1.7

Quote
Skeinforge manual
Default: 1.5

This parameter tells skeinforge how thick the extrusion is expected to be in relation to the layer thickness. The effect of increasing this is to cause the lines that create the infill to be further apart. So if your solid base infill is sparse decrease the value. If solid infill appears too full increase the value. Infill Perimeter Overlap (ratio) also effects solid infill by shortening the lines. If you look at a solid base layer that has been laid down on glass or tape without a raft you can often see how the plastic flows and see which to alter for the best result.

This means yours should have less material than default, So if the ratio was actually set to 1, I would reduce it to 0.2 and change the width over thickness back to 1.5

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FFF Settings Calculator	Gcode post processors	Geometric Object Deposition Tool Blog
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Mine is pretty well solid, no gaps. Not sure where I got those settings from now but I'm sure its from someone well known. But have changed them to your suggestion and will see how they go.

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__________________________________________________________________________
Experimenting in 3D in New Zealand

Its not that you cant print things at 100% it just takes forever and takes a lot more plastic. I have intentionally printed a few pieces at 100% for strength reasons (hamming on them) and if all your other settings are correct I would assume it wouldn't cause any issues. But if you are depositing a tiny bit more material then you need it will cause an over flow effect after a little while, this doesn't show up on a lower infill ratio because of the extra space inside.

I am not sure if your copy of Skeinforge has the links to the online help pages. Some have an offline manual included that is linked to the ? buttons in Skeinforge but I have found the new online one much better. [fabmetheus.crsndoo.com]

Infill solidity ratio

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If it is a skipped step, then the shift will show up on both sides of the part on the axis where it skipped. I've noticed that I get skipped steps on the Y axis when one of the extruder wires breaks or becomes intermittently loose. You should check and make sure that is not the case.

Sublime Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> NelsonRap Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I'm also getting a bit of build up behind the
> > nozzle on infills. Currently have infill
> solidity
> > set to 1
>
> If this is not a typo its your problem.
>
> 1 = 100%
> 0.2 = 20% (this is the default fill ratio used by
> most people)
>
> infill over thickness set to 1.7
>
>
> Default: 1.5
>
> This parameter tells skeinforge how thick the
> extrusion is expected to be in relation to the
> layer thickness. The effect of increasing this is
> to cause the lines that create the infill to be
> further apart. So if your solid base infill is
> sparse decrease the value. If solid infill appears
> too full increase the value. Infill Perimeter
> Overlap (ratio) also effects solid infill by
> shortening the lines. If you look at a solid base
> layer that has been laid down on glass or tape
> without a raft you can often see how the plastic
> flows and see which to alter for the best result.
>
>
> This means yours should have less material than
> default, So if the ratio was actually set to 1, I
> would reduce it to 0.2 and change the width over
> thickness back to 1.5


Is 0.2 good enough for spare Mendel parts? Or should it be a bit more as it looks really sparse now

---

__________________________________________________________________________
Experimenting in 3D in New Zealand

I'm not the best person to answer that question, but I have printed an entire Prusa at 20% and it is very strong. I also did a quick google, reprap wiki and reprap forum search and came up with these.

[forums.reprap.org]

[www.bitsfrombytes.com]

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I printed a Driven holder for my Mendel at 0.2 this afternoon and it does enfact look pretty good, but looking through those links you posted I might step it up to 0.5 as I feel it might be a little too hollow to be strong enough, but it does look good now

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__________________________________________________________________________
Experimenting in 3D in New Zealand

Great to hear. If I remember correctly those links mentioned 0.5 - 0.6 makes for an almost solid part and the forum link was from Nophead who has personally printed hundreds of the RepRaps uses 0.25

It sounds like a good topic for a new thread. " Optimal infill solidity ratio for printing structural parts "

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I print the small extruder gear, the extruder body, the extruder idler block and the z-couplers at 100% because you need all the strength you can get with those parts. I do the y-motor bracket at 50% and everything else at 25%.

Compared to Darwin and Mendel, the Prusa parts are all a bit skinny, so need a higher infill ratio in my opinion.

---

[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

Thanks nophead, I just can't quite get good prints at 100% so have taken them down to 90% and that seems to work for me

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__________________________________________________________________________
Experimenting in 3D in New Zealand

You could lower you flow rate by a tiny bit, which will effect your outer layers and change the dimensions of the finished piece. To compensate for the changes to the outside dimensions you will then need to adjust the perimeter flow rate.

OR

You could increase your feed rate by a tiny bit, which will effect your outer layers and change the dimensions of the finished piece. To compensate for the changes to the outside dimensions you will then need to adjust the perimeter feed rate.

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FFF Settings Calculator	Gcode post processors	Geometric Object Deposition Tool Blog
Tantillus.org	Mini Printable Lathe	How NOT to install a Pololu driver

Ok will see what happens

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__________________________________________________________________________
Experimenting in 3D in New Zealand

Sublime Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've never experienced the effects of resonance
> that Nophead wrote about because I use firmware
> with acceleration. So if its an effect of
> resonance and you don't want to go through the
> hassle of editing the G-code, I would change to a
> firmware with acceleration.

Even with acceleration, this will occur if you are pushing the speed boundary. The small zigzags that cause the high freq oscillation and resonance are not long enough to do any serious acceleration, so they will be done at the minimum speed. It is possible to have a minimum speed that works well in all other cases, but not for this high frequency oscillation. As a result, you need to decrease the minimum speed for the entire print so that steps are not skipped and this can have a big impact on the overall print duration.

It would be far better for skeinforge to allow an oscillation frequency limit to be set so that it only slowed down these high frequency oscillations, but the remainder of the print can be done with a higher minimum speed.