Hi, I was wondering how you guys measure the diameter of your filament using callipers? Say I want to measure the diameter at different points along a meter of filament from one of those smaller spools. On these spools the filament has quite a lot of curve to it. This makes it hard to get it straight between the callipers. I therefore really have to pinch them to get a measurement. But because Iby Nilez - Mendel90
Thanks! For this part I'm extruding at 190C so the part is a bit stronger. Since it's a rather time-consuming print I thought I'd ask here what would be reasonable. I'm going to try 1.5.by Nilez - Mendel90
I've already read in the slic3r manual that distances over 2mm are used with bowden extruders. How much do you guys increase the distance if you get too much blobs and strings?by Nilez - Mendel90
Hi people, I'm experiencing some (what I think is) oozing between parts of a print that are distanced a few centimetres from one another. This part is printed in PLA at a higher temperature than normal. I think I need to experiment with the retraction settings in Slic3r or Skeinforge. Currently both retraction distances are set at 1mm. What is a good increment to raise this setting? 0,5mm? 1mm?by Nilez - Mendel90
Hi gm2, Which Slicer did you use?by Nilez - Mendel90
I did the exact same thing. It happened to only one of them in my case.by Nilez - Mendel90
Garry, I have the exact same situation. They almost turn by a blow of air so to speak. But figured too that if the prints come out right...ah wellby Nilez - Mendel90
Also you shouldn't normally need to use a raft if you have a heated bed (at least in my experience)...by Nilez - Mendel90
Hi Leanderborg, Well, I'm a total newb as well so I haven't played with this with the use of Skeinforge (In Slic3r these options are a little more obvious btw). Maybe an expert can chime in at this point ....by Nilez - Mendel90
Hi, I think you have to set it using some custom gcode lines in the start_PLA.gcode file. Otherwise I think the temperature tab in Skeinforge maybe offers some settings. Here is some good info on the gcode editing (in this case intended for use with Slic3r):by Nilez - Mendel90
Wow guys! Thanks for digging so deep into this topic! Before I started it I really thought costs would be much higher since we're dealing with heating elements and what have you.by Nilez - Mendel90
Toiletpaper was giving me trouble also I believe. At least in combination with the acetone. The plain paper towels are my preferred choice right now.by Nilez - Mendel90
Acetone (and other solvents) give mixed results depending on the item you wipe the glass with. It tends to solve material from your towel or cloth and that leaves a bad residue on the glass.by Nilez - Mendel90
Hi, Here are a few good threads on this topic: I get all my PLA prints to stick on glass cleaned with household vinegar. Give it a good scrub with a normal paper towel till you hear it squeak. Every once in a while I clean it with a brush and some dish soap. Regards, Nielsby Nilez - Mendel90
Sure QP, let's see some actual figuresby Nilez - Mendel90
Thanks for doing that math Neil! That sounds great! Up until now I thought a 3d printer would be much more expensive to use.by Nilez - Mendel90
Hi people, I was going to buy one of those energymeters that you can use to calculate the energycost of electrical devices, but before I do I wanted to know if anyone knew if there's maybe a simple way to calculate this yourself? Thanks in advance, Nilesby Nilez - Mendel90
Ok, I'll do some testing with it when I use Skeinforge again.by Nilez - Mendel90
Thanks, excellent suggestion! With Skeinforge you can set this first layer temp as well with the temperature tab? Does it overwrite the starting gcode?by Nilez - Mendel90
Hi folks, I've noticed that since I've heightened the extrusion temperature from 185C to 195C, the hotend carries around and leaves behind more debris on the first layer when doing the outlines. This happens when the printer rapidly moves from one end of the part to the other. It leaves tiny blobs of filament which are obstacles for the first layer. Is this a retracting issue now that it oozes mby Nilez - Mendel90
Hi Richard, thanks for the tips! Your second point is very important for my current print since I need to play a bit with finding the right temperature.by Nilez - Mendel90
Ok, then I can experiment a little more with that. Thank you!by Nilez - Mendel90
Wow, that is terrrific! Ok so leave the relative extrusion part in there, got it. Thanks Neil!by Nilez - Mendel90
Hi folks, I really like the starting gcode that Chris has implemented in Skeinforge. Now that I'm starting to learn Slic3r I would like it if the printer starts out the same way as it does with Skeinforge. I see that with Slic3r you can insert custom start and end gcode. Can you just use the same code as written in the Start_PLA.gcode? I'm sorry if this question is answered before, because I canby Nilez - Mendel90
Hi all, I was wondering if the temperature at which PLA is extruded affects the bonding of the layers? I have a part that keeps cracking when a force is applied in "opposite direction of the layers" I probably just need to redesign the part a little but I thought that maybe the part could get a little stronger with higher temperatures? I now extrude PLA at 185 C.by Nilez - Mendel90
Hi Guys, Just wanted to let you know that if you first export your sketchup file to .dae and then convert it to stl with another programme (I used Meshlab), the model is sliced correctly with Skeinforge (no more gaps in this case). So a little work-around if the normal stl-export of Sketchup gives you problems during the slicing process. Regards, Nilezby Nilez - Mendel90
Ok you've made me curious. hopefully I'll have the same experience once I have the time to give it a whirl! Thanks for the link!by Nilez - Mendel90
Hi Ralph, I use sketchup because I've learned to work with it before I got into 3d printing, and now I simply don't have time to learn another programme. But with having to redraw a part when a dimension is off I wish I had learned to work with a parametric cad programme . Maybe when I have the time again, I'll have a go at it. I'm also very visually oriented so I'm a bit scared of Openscadby Nilez - Mendel90