E-steps, Retraction or Extrusion Multiplier

So I am trying to improve my print quality. I looked at the pictoral guide and it seems to me I am extruding too much plastic, but I am not exactly sure how to fix this. I attached photos below of 3 prints I did changing some variables. The one on the left is the "control" the first print, the middle I changed retraction, and the right I changed the extrusion multiplier. Clearly changing the extrusion multiplier had the best effect. But in reading all the documentation it seems that "extusion multiplier" is just a fudge value so that I might have something off. Also I had to change the extusion multiplier rather significantly to see that change. From 1.00 to .9. So I am just guessing that I would have to drop it to .85 or even .8 to get a good print. I have listed the settings I used on each of the prints below. I am feel fairly confident that I have the e-steps set correctly as I did it three times to make sure. The front on the third print (the right one) is the best although the back side of the print was a little worse (but still overall the best).

Print on Left:
.4 infill. 1.00 multiplier. 1.00 retraction

Print in Middle
.4 infill 1.00 multiplier 1.1 retraction

Print on Right
.3 infill .9 multiplier 1.0 retraction

Prints Front
Prints Back

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/2014 07:15AM by academicdave.

From my understanding (Im sure there are more knowledgeable people that can chime in) E-steps are for calibrating your extruder motor so that it will push the exact length of filament through your extruder that you tell it to. So you tell it to extrude 100 mm of filament, it extrudes 100m of filament (this is "new" filament, or filament still on the spool). I dont think e-steps would change when you switch colors, but might change when you switch filament types.

Retraction is used to stop extrusion. typically it is used at the end of a layer or just before a travel command. It helps prevents oozing and the little web-like strands the hotend can leave behind when it is traveling.

Extrusion multiplier helps control the flow rate of your extruder.

To calibrate these you typically need to use a measured object (thin-walled cube, 20mm cube, etc.). A popular guide is [www.thingiverse.com]

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