Retraction(?) blobbing

I think that's the right term... I went through the tuning retraction steps with the pyramid model and have Vmax e set to its fastest (48 if I remember right). I've verified it's set right in the firmware and still see that the bolt is turning significantly faster than it used to, however I'm still seeing blobs when it goes to start the next layer. They don't appear to be as severe but it is still an issue. Are there any other tips for combating this?

You can try reducing the retraction distance (prime and suck). I would try reducing it to 4mm and then do some test prints. Then you can try increasing in increments of 0.05 until you find the best results. For the roll of black I have right now I have to have 7.5mm of retraction do to some difference in the plastic vs the stuff I use normally.

Are you sure it has to do with the layer start?

If you are over extruding at all it makes blobs hard to stop.

You could try increasing the Wipe distance as it should reduce the volume of plastic right at the beginning of the next extrusion.

Try a different roll of filament, if it has moisture it will ooze like crazy and can't be stopped unless you dry it.

Print lower layers as it always helps reduce bumps. I rarely go over 0.15 unless I do not care about finish.

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So I tried with Prime and Suck at 4, then I set them back to 5 and set Wipe to 13, all with seemingly no difference. I've attached a photo of a build I stopped part way since I kept seeing the line. If you look closely not only can you the visible line on all 3 pillars, you can see something very similar on the base ring. All of these are exactly where the head moves to before it starts printing the layer at that location. It does seem to delay ever so slightly when it reaches those points, so that may be it. What's strange is after rubbing my finger across those lines I don't feel like it's a bump. As I run my fingernail across it gets caught there, almost like it's an indentation instead. Maybe it's just too late for me and I need to sleep.

That is the seam where the path starts and ends. It has to be there in some way as a result of drawing a line around the outside and having to start and stop somewhere. Kisslicer does do a little cross over at the beginning and end where the paths actually cross over a little. This can be adjusted with the little field called seam hiding. I like the results set at 1 (default) but others with other machines find 0 works better. You can try any value between 1 and 0 to see if it helps you at all. The other thing is right now all the start points are in a row. You can distrubute them around the outside of the object using the Jitter field which is a setting between 0 and 360 and is in degrees to distribute the start points around the outside. The issue with Jitter is it can result in the object looking like it has pimples. With jitter set at 0 Kisslicer will try and place the seam on a sharp corner if possible.

At a layer height of 0.08 and a jitter of 20 in an opaque plastic you will not be able to find the seam unless you look really hard for it. With translucent plastic the ends are always visible as a result of refraction of the light passing through it.

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I can't believe I spent so much time on that. Looking at all of my models where I can see the seam it definitely looks like less of a blob and more of a channel. I'll try playing with those settings and see what I can do. Have you ever printed the Owl statue (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:18218) ? I can't seem to find a shot of the back of it and I'm curious what other's seams look like.

I ended up totally mucking up my nicely leveled bed and am getting increasingly frustrated with reaching in with pliers. I may try those thumb screws out on Thingiverse.

As always, Sublime, thanks for your time and dedication.

No problem. For the owl I know it has some mesh errors that result in strange extra extrusions that may be kind of ugly. But otherwise I believe Kisslicer places the seam on the edges of the feathers and it is not really visible until you reach the head.

If you click on models+paths before slicing you will more easily see the areas KS does not like by the way it highlights them. If you click on the path view after slicing and slide the slider on the right up and down you will be able to see where KS makes the strange extrusions.

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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