Random 3D printing chatter

ChrisLX200 · 5 Nov 2020 at 15:06

My Sidewinder X1 now has ABL, wish I could say the install all went smoothly but sadly had lots of issues. Mixed messages on wiring and configuring the firmware mainly to blame - plus the Sidewinder's motherboard was almost entirely embedded in glue! The unused pin sockets which I needed access to were literally filled with glue

I tried picking/cutting it out but then went with a hot air gun which promptly melted it quicker than expected and it ran all over the place lol! Also didn't help that the colour of the heatshrink tube I used on the 4-pin connector at the hotend fooled me into plugging it in the wrong way around and I was lucky it didn't burn out. Anyway, it works now.

deuse · 5 Nov 2020 at 15:34

RevBillyG said:
Yup. Prime then paint.
Vallejo acrylics work nicely

Thanks dude.

deuse · 5 Nov 2020 at 15:35

ChrisLX200 said:
My Sidewinder X1 now has ABL, wish I could say the install all went smoothly but sadly had lots of issues. Mixed messages on wiring and configuring the firmware mainly to blame - plus the Sidewinder's motherboard was almost entirely embedded in glue! The unused pin sockets which I needed access to were literally filled with glue I tried picking/cutting it out but then went with a hot air gun which promptly melted it quicker than expected and it ran all over the place lol! Also didn't help that the colour of the heatshrink tube I used on the 4-pin connector at the hotend fooled me into plugging it in the wrong way around and I was lucky it didn't burn out. Anyway, it works now.

Nice one dude

deuse · 11 Nov 2020 at 14:39

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001728994394.html?spm=2114.12010611.8148356.11.20c9b0d1ZoBQrY

New board for my CR-6 SE just in case.

Vince · 11 Nov 2020 at 14:44

deuse said:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001728994394.html?spm=2114.12010611.8148356.11.20c9b0d1ZoBQrY

New board for my CR-6 SE just in case.

I don't think I would buy that one - I think id buy the proper BTT SKR with the drivers separate from the board. That looks like a disaster waiting to happen.

I still plan on doing a full BTT 32bit upgrade on your old machine. Done a couple of prints with it now. Just a tad better than my old printer

Troop · 11 Nov 2020 at 16:24

deuse said:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001728994394.html?spm=2114.12010611.8148356.11.20c9b0d1ZoBQrY

New board for my CR-6 SE just in case.

I know where to come asking if my CR6 MB goes bang now

.

Some good deals on AE today , picked up 10 bags and a pump for a fiver delivered.( offer sold out by 9am)

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001321114582.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.2e543c00E9xAhe&mp=1

@ChrisLX200 .... nice job on the X1, auto bed leveling so quick and easy once tried no going back

ChrisLX200 · 11 Nov 2020 at 19:50

So I bought a Raspberry Pi HQ cam + 16mm lens, this attached to the Pi running Octopi for the CR-6 SE. Both printers run Octopi but on separate Pi4s. The other Pi can be seen attached to the underside of the shelf. The camera works well but the flimsy ribbon cable needs a solution, one snag and it's history lol. The Pi HQ cam is manual focus and manual iris of course - which is an advantage for Octolapse because autofocus is a pain and autoexposure causes variations in image brightness as the print progresses. Currently the cam+Pi are attached to one arm of a dual vesa monitor mount (which I'm not using having just one moitor attached to this particular PC). Yeah, cables are a mess lol! but I only need to reach over to retrieve the completed print off the bed

deuse · 12 Nov 2020 at 11:43

ChrisLX200 said:
So I bought a Raspberry Pi HQ cam + 16mm lens, this attached to the Pi running Octopi for the CR-6 SE. Both printers run Octopi but on separate Pi4s. The other Pi can be seen attached to the underside of the shelf. The camera works well but the flimsy ribbon cable needs a solution, one snag and it's history lol. The Pi HQ cam is manual focus and manual iris of course - which is an advantage for Octolapse because autofocus is a pain and autoexposure causes variations in image brightness as the print progresses. Currently the cam+Pi are attached to one arm of a dual vesa monitor mount (which I'm not using having just one moitor attached to this particular PC). Yeah, cables are a mess lol! but I only need to reach over to retrieve the completed print off the bed

I have a Reolink cam pointing at mine.
Then when the print is done, back to watching my back garden

Cenedd · 14 Nov 2020 at 15:22

Found the black Geetech filament had shattered between reel and extruder and also multiple times in the tube. So thought I'd give the white Creality filament a shot. Is it terrible or does it just require very different settings? First layer had gaps in the extrusion and it doesn't seem to be filling the gaps very well leaving a very streaky finish where the lines don't meet all that well. I've turned the temp down from 210 to 200 and adjusted the flow up to 130% on the machine. Am I barking up the wrong tree or is this just bad or wet filament?

deuse · 14 Nov 2020 at 15:33

Cenedd said:
Found the black Geetech filament had shattered between reel and extruder and also multiple times in the tube. So thought I'd give the white Creality filament a shot. Is it terrible or does it just require very different settings? First layer had gaps in the extrusion and it doesn't seem to be filling the gaps very well leaving a very streaky finish where the lines don't meet all that well. I've turned the temp down from 210 to 200 and adjusted the flow up to 130% on the machine. Am I barking up the wrong tree or is this just bad or wet filament?

The creality white I got I left the settings the same. nozzle 200..bed 60
Never touched the rest.

You could measure 100mm and make a mark.
Extrude 100mm and see where the mark measures to.

My CR-6 Se is awesome

ChrisLX200 · 14 Nov 2020 at 15:45

Cenedd said:
Found the black Geetech filament had shattered between reel and extruder and also multiple times in the tube. So thought I'd give the white Creality filament a shot. Is it terrible or does it just require very different settings? First layer had gaps in the extrusion and it doesn't seem to be filling the gaps very well leaving a very streaky finish where the lines don't meet all that well. I've turned the temp down from 210 to 200 and adjusted the flow up to 130% on the machine. Am I barking up the wrong tree or is this just bad or wet filament?

Sounds like it's under-extruding. Might be a partially blocked nozzle. When you purge prior to printing look at what comes out the nozzle to check if it's a nice straight flow of 0.4mm plastic and not a thin spindly flow that tends to wrap in a ball near the nozzle tip. Personally I would replace the nozzle with a clean one and while you're at it check (while cold with the nozzle out) that you can push some filament straight through without obstruction.

Cenedd · 14 Nov 2020 at 23:07

I don't think it's blocked as I swapped to some TPU and it printed fine. I heated the nozzle, pulled it back out the tube and shoved the new stuff through until it came out red instead of white.
There was quite a bit of chewing of the filament by the extruder and it had flattened in places so it could be the retraction issue again...but that doesn't explain why there was interrupted flow during and after priming. I cancelled the first attempt, scraped it off and started again and it was the same. There shouldn't really have been more than the one retraction between priming and first perimeter.

Cenedd · 23 Nov 2020 at 19:27

Evening guys. I'm trying to print a control panel faceplate with text labels for buttons and LEDs. I've got two problems that I think I know the answer to but would like some advice/recommendations:

Problem 1: Printing upside down, the finish of the bottom - which is the top face once finished - the surface finish isn't great. Partly I think this could possibly be tuned a little in slicer but there are two issues mainly responsible: rough surface (deliberate) on the magnetic bed which transfers its pattern into the print and a dip in the middle of the bed that causes variation of 'squish' in the first layer that shows as variations in the 'blending' of each extruded line.

I think both of these could be solved with a glass bed that doesn't have a patterned surface. These seem to be a minefield of quality. Anyone got any recommendations?

Problem 2: The text needs to be quite small to fit (2mm letter height) and I cannot make any more space for it. I believe the definition of this might be improved if I swap to a 0.2mm nozzle. Am I right and what nozzle would you recommend?

I'm trying to flood the letters with paint to make them show up. Currently the paint bleeds down the layer lines through capillary action. Hoping a smoother finish off a glass bed, should stop that.

deuse · 26 Nov 2020 at 14:15

It's pull hair out time :mad:

Been trying for 3 days to print this Mandalorian. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4622733/files
My CR-6 gets to about 44% and stops due to an error in the STL file.
It the one that you don't need support.

I tried windows 10 3D Builder and that fixed some and it went to 48%

Does anyone know the best way to fix STL files?
Thanks

deuse · 26 Nov 2020 at 14:19

Vince said:
I don't think I would buy that one - I think id buy the proper BTT SKR with the drivers separate from the board. That looks like a disaster waiting to happen. I still plan on doing a full BTT 32bit upgrade on your old machine. Done a couple of prints with it now. Just a tad better than my old printer

Sorry @Vince I missed your post.

I looked for the CR-6 SE version from BTT SKR...but no luck.

The one i linked to is the BTT version

I hate getting old...

Cenedd · 26 Nov 2020 at 15:02

STLs are mesh files, aren't they? Are you actually feeding those direct to the printer (an onboard slicer?) or are you running them slicing them through a slicer first and then giving the printer gcode?
I would have thought a different slicer would be the best bet as it'll spit out slightly different gcode.
I'm using Fusion 360 (free for personal use) and that will import a mesh and then slice it for you. It's definitely a work in progress as it will do the odd weird thing but I don't think I've had anything fail due to that - loss of adhesion, filament snap, extruder-chewed filament jam, yes...but not an outright refusal to print.

deuse · 26 Nov 2020 at 15:16

Cenedd said:
STLs are mesh files, aren't they? Are you actually feeding those direct to the printer (an onboard slicer?) or are you running them slicing them through a slicer first and then giving the printer gcode?
I would have thought a different slicer would be the best bet as it'll spit out slightly different gcode.
I'm using Fusion 360 (free for personal use) and that will import a mesh and then slice it for you. It's definitely a work in progress as it will do the odd weird thing but I don't think I've had anything fail due to that - loss of adhesion, filament snap, extruder-chewed filament jam, yes...but not an outright refusal to print.

You get Cura with the CR-6 SE and I use simplify3d and the same thing happens.
Other STL files have been great, it's just this one.

This one needs fixing...

Cenedd · 26 Nov 2020 at 15:33

Any way of seeing which line of gcode it gets stuck on? Would Octoprint (or PC even) controlling it over USB show you the line of Gcode last sent? That might let you see what's causing it to choke and you can then look up if there's an alternative to that - a command that is supported.

deuse · 26 Nov 2020 at 15:44

Cenedd said:
Any way of seeing which line of gcode it gets stuck on? Would Octoprint (or PC even) controlling it over USB show you the line of Gcode last sent? That might let you see what's causing it to choke and you can then look up if there's an alternative to that - a command that is supported.

No.

You have to use a STL program to fix it first.

I am trying a few now.

Meshmixer found a ton of broken triangles.
It fixed it. But as it's a 10 hour print, I won't try till tomoz.

ChrisLX200 · 26 Nov 2020 at 17:24

deuse said:
It's pull hair out time

Been trying for 3 days to print this Mandalorian. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4622733/files
My CR-6 gets to about 44% and stops due to an error in the STL file.
It the one that you don't need support.

I tried windows 10 3D Builder and that fixed some and it went to 48%

Does anyone know the best way to fix STL files?

Thanks

Yep, I looked at it in S3D and it's broken - none manifold and lots of self-intersecting triangles etc. S3D could not repair it, but you could try a post-process repair via MakePrintable web tool (https://makeprintable.com/).

Oops, notice it's now a paid service