slic3r x/y distance control in slic3r

hi,
I want to know is there any way to adjust the distance between the support material from the object in the x and y direction in slic3r. Generared support is very close to the object that it's hard to remove(not in Z direction)

There's no way to adjust the X/Y position of the support material, but if you're having a hard time removing it, maybe you're overextruding. Have you calibrated the extruder?

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Calibrating extruder?? are you asking about the extruder setps per mm ?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2016 01:44AM by athul.

MY drive gear diameter is 11.4 mm
motor nema 14 200 micro steps
micro stepping 16
and calculated e steps is 89.35 steps/mm

That's not calibration. That's where you start calibration. See [reprap.org]

Pay particular attention to the e-steps fine calibration. Make sure you measure the filament diameter in 20-30 places and calculate the average diameter and use that number when you slice the calibration object. It's also a good idea to calibrate at the thinnest layer height you intend to use.

Average filament diameter is rarely the nominal size (1.75 or 3 mm). If you calibrate using the nominal size your calibration will always be incorrect and you will always over or under extrude and that will make accurate part sizing very difficult. There are at least two ways to ensure accurate printing after accurate calibration. First, measure the diameter in 20-30 places over several meters of filament and calculate the average diameter for each spool of filament you use. Enter that average filament diameter into the slicer and leave flow control set to 1 when preparing to print. It's a good idea to mark that diameter on the spool so when you use it again you'll know what diameter to enter. The other way is to print a test object with each spool using the spiral vase function in slicer, and specify the wall thickness and use the nominal diameter when you slice. Measure the printed wall thickness and then set the flow control for target wall thickness/measured wall thickness. Mark that flow control number on the spool and use it each time you slice to print from that spool.

A variation on the first method is to use volumetric extrusion. You'll need to know the average filament diameter (mark it on the spool!). When you slice, leave flow control set to 1 and set filament diameter to 1.128379 mm and save the g-code. When you print, you enter the average filament diameter using the M200 command if you use host software, or enter it using the LCD panel if you have one and if your firmware allows it (smoothieware does, others may also). The big advantage to this method is that the gcode doesn't care what the filament diameter is. You won't have to reslice when you change filament spools/colors or even nominal diameters.

While we're on the subject of marking spools, when you get a new spool of filament, take off the packaging and desiccant and weigh the spool. Mark the empty spool weight on the spool for future reference (if your new 1 kg spool of filament weighs 1.325 kg, the empty spool weighs 325g). When you are going to print a large object, the slicer will tell you how much filament will be required. Weigh the spool again and see if it has enough filament before you print. That will save you a lot of heartache. Also, mark the material and/or the extruder and bed temperatures the filament requires on the spool. Some manufacturers still ship filament on unmarked spools!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2016 07:51AM by the_digital_dentist.

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Quote

The other way is to print a test object with each spool using the spiral vase function in slicer, and specify the wall thickness and use the nominal diameter when you slice. Measure the printed wall thickness and then set the flow control for target wall thickness/measured wall thickness. Mark that flow control number on the spool and use it each time you slice to print from that spool.

I couldn't find "flow control" in slic3r ????? where to find that tab ??????????? Are you referring to "extrusion width" ??


And when I use spiral vase function , how to set it?

Is it like if my target wall thickness = 1mm
and measured wall thickness = 1.1 mm
then flow control= target wall thickness / measured wall thickness=1/1.1=0.9091 ?????????????


And also If I use layer height= 0.2 mm and 0.4 mm nozzle what'll be my targeted wall thickness ? (There's only option to set no of perimeters in slicer not wall thickness?)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/2016 02:43AM by athul.

Quote
athul
I couldn't find "flow control" in slic3r ????? where to find that tab ??????????? Are you referring to "extrusion width" ??

In the filament settings tab, right under filament diameter, it's called "extrusion multiplier". You can also set flow using an LCD panel in most firmware, if you have an LCD panel.

Quote
athul
And when I use spiral vase function , how to set it?

Lets say you load a 20mm solid cube in the plater. Go to print settings>layers and perimeters>vertical shells and check "spiral vase. That will do multiple things- infill and top layers will go to zero, perimeters will go to 1.

Quote
athul
Is it like if my target wall thickness = 1mm
and measured wall thickness = 1.1 mm
then flow control= target wall thickness / measured wall thickness=1/1.1=0.9091 ?????????????

Yes, exactly, but the rules of thumb on wall thickness are 1.05x nozzle diameter < wall thickness < 1.70 x nozzle diameter (see: [manual.slic3r.org])

Quote
athul
And also If I use layer height= 0.2 mm and 0.4 mm nozzle what'll be my targeted wall thickness ? (There's only option to set no of perimeters in slicer not wall thickness?)

0.5 or 0.6 mm would be a good wall thickness for a 0.4 mm nozzle. 0.2mm is fine for layer thickness.

You have to turn on "expert settings mode" by going to the menu file>preferences and selecting expert mode, then you close slic3r and restart and it will have many more options available. You set extrusion widths in print settings>advanced>extrusion width. You should probably read through the slic3r manual- you will learn a lot about how slic3r works and how to get the most out of it. Your print is only as good as your slice!

[manual.slic3r.org]

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

I sliced a stl file using spiral vase mode and in generated g code I could find following things

; external perimeters extrusion width = 0.40mm
; perimeters extrusion width = 0.67mm
; infill extrusion width = 0.67mm
; solid infill extrusion width = 0.67mm
; top infill extrusion width = 0.67mm

So which one should be the dimension of print output , 0.4 or 0.67 ??

I'm not sure- just go through and manually set all the extrusion widths to 0.5 or 0.6 mm and you should be fine.

[slic3r.org]

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Thanks for these great practical tips.

I did quite some filament measurements lately and it's not that easy talking about an average I believe.
For example 30 measurements over 10 meters (33 ft) gives me on a particular reel an average of 1.734 mm but 5 meters further I did get an average of 1.782 mm.
When Slic3r set for 1.734, my extruder will experience quite some push back pressure when the filament of an average of 1.782 comes in the hot end. (The feeding wheel will start skipping)

Is this something we need to live with or is there a solution for?

Thanks
Ed