# 3D Printing > General 3D Printing Discussion >  Cocoon Create 3D Printer

## Firepower

The Cocoon Create says it should print STL files but it does not for me.

So I converted the STL file to GCODE but it "prints" but no PLA comes out.  I suspect I have the settings wrong but do not know what to adjust.

Errors.jpgtriggerjig.stl

I have just found out my printer should print STL as most files on Thingiverse are STL files.

I just downloaded a few STL files from Thingiverse and they will not print also.  Guess my new *Cocoon Create 3D Printer is no good?*

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## curious aardvark

NO your printer won't print stl files. 

You need a program that takes the .stl file and slices it into gcode specific to your printer and that particular print job. 

what program did you use to convert the stl to gcode ? 

okay your coccoon 3d printer looks like a wanhao duplicator i3. 
Be interested to see if aldi sell them in the uk.

for slicer purposes you should set it as a prusa i3 - try using Cura as a slicer and either prusa i3 or wanhao duplicator i3 as the model.
Well if you got it from aldi - then you should already have cura. Did you actually read ANY part of the startup guide or manual ?
Here's a link to cura anyway :-) 
https://ultimaker.com/en/products/cura-software

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## Firepower

Thanks for the reply and I may get somewhere now.  I tried Slic3R but hardly any PLA came out probably because I had the wrong settings.

Earlier tonight I read the manual and installed Cura latest version and there is a section on creating a GCODE file so I tried converting a few files but they still did not work.  I clicked on Save GCODE but nothing seemed to happen.

I'll fully read the manual about Cura tomorrow as you confirmed I need to convert the STL files with Cura. It is 2 am here now so I'll try again tomorrow (today).

 Thanks for mentioning the Cocoon looks like a prusa i3 or wanhao duplicator i3 so now I should be able to get information on mine now.  There is not much when searching my brand.

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## JumpingJackPhlash

Maybe try the cocoon version of the CURA software, they also provide the ini file to set up the details for PLA...

http://www.cocooncreate.com.au/downloads/ 






> Thanks for the reply and I may get somewhere now.  I tried Slic3R but hardly any PLA came out probably because I had the wrong settings.
> 
> Earlier tonight I read the manual and installed Cura latest version and there is a section on creating a GCODE file so I tried converting a few files but they still did not work.  I clicked on Save GCODE but nothing seemed to happen.
> 
> I'll fully read the manual about Cura tomorrow as you confirmed I need to convert the STL files with Cura. It is 2 am here now so I'll try again tomorrow (today).
> 
>  Thanks for mentioning the Cocoon looks like a prusa i3 or wanhao duplicator i3 so now I should be able to get information on mine now.  There is not much when searching my brand.

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## curious aardvark

doesn't just look like a duplicator i3 - it IS a duplicator i3. 
wanhao seem to be making a lot of these for different retailers. And why not :-)

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## Firepower

Thanks for the replies as there seems to be a lot more information on the other printers mentioned and there really is no information on my Cocoon printer.  I'll have to read more in regard to the other printers.

The tall vase and Unicorn .gcode files that came with the printer came out very good.  Someone sent me a .STL file from USA for the trigger for a catapult for my radio controlled plane launcher.

It looks like I need to learn more as it did not come out too good as shown in the photo.  The two parts need to be very solid but they are not too good in the photo.  The base printed out solid but the other sides are not solid.

Guess there are some settings to improve.  I set it up the Cura program as per the manual but looks like something is still wrong.

I'll keep trying.

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## LuckyImperial

Firepower,

So as you're already finding out, you use a piece of software to convert or "slice" STL's into gcode. Gcode is the raw movement instructions for the printer. You can actually open gcode files with Notepad and see all of the individual commands that the printer will follow. There are several programs available as slicers.  Slic3r is probably the most common, with Cura coming up right behind it. Both are great. 

Now, there are two places that settings get stored for your printer. The first place is in the Firmware installed on your printers control board. These Firmware settings contain a lot of your printers calibration settings and "maximum" values; such as how many revolutions your printers motors need to turn to move a certain distance, the maximum speed your printer is allowed to move, and maximum accelerations that your printer can adjust it's speed. Firmware settings can be changed, but it's fairly difficult to do so and the factory has already set them really dang close to perfect for your printer. 

The second place you have settings is in the slicing software you choose to use. These settings are supposed to be adjusted by you, the user. It's up to you to tweak the slicer settings to get a perfect print. Not every print will use the exact same slicer settings, but you can typically you can find "general" settings that will give you good prints across every print you make. However, again, to get a perfect print you normally have to tweak your slicer settings a little for the part your trying to print. Finally, your slicer settings will never overide your firmware settings. If you tell set your slicer to move at 120mm/s, but your firmware has a maximum value set of 60mm/s, your printer will never print faster than 60mm/s. I hpoe that makes sense. 

Now that you have a little background of how your printer works...here's what I think is wrong. I think your firmware settings are perfect, as they should be. If they weren't then the Tall Vase and Unicorn would not come out good. The problem is in your slicer settings, and is likely your *Nozzle Size*. Judging by the picture you attached, your printer is under extruding quite a bit. This would indicate to me that your nozzle size is set TOO SMALL. What is your nozzle size currently set to? The most common nozzle sizes are .4mm and .5mm. Don't input anything larger than .5mm into the nozzle size setting, because I highly doubt you have anything larger than .5mm. 

It could also be that your printer is trying to print* too fast.* Try slowing your prints down to 10-20mm/s.

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## curious aardvark

it's 0.4 mm

But that's usually NOT the actual extrusion size :-) 
Confused ? lol 

Oh yes - go buy a set of digital calipers - these are the most important thing you can have for a 3d printer.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/150mm-6-S...8AAOxyFjNSOUhQ

Here's an even cheaper set: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/6-inch-15...0AAOSw1XdUVME9

personally I'd go with the metal ones - but that's because it's what i use and I've never seen the plastic ones before :-) 

Once you've got them you can measure the filament your printer extrudes when you load filament into it. 

For a 0.4 mm nozzle the extruded width will be anything from 0.4 up to 0.5. 
And it will vary depending on how hot your nozzle is and what material you are using.
So its a good idea to measure any new filament you use.

Whatever it is, that's the number you put into your slicer as extrusion width.
Just about every other setting in a slicer is dependant on this number being accurate to a few hundreths of a millimetre. 

So things to know about slicing. 

Keep the interior infill % fairly light for most things. My default is 15% 
Adjust strength with extra shells. 
Always use a minimum of 2 shells and layers. This is the skin of the object and 2 layers is a minimum I'd use. 
I've gone up to 5 for parts that need to be really strong, but 2-3 is my normal setting.

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## Firepower

Thanks LuckyImperial  I did make some adjustments like you mentioned but still really trying to understand all the settings.

After pulling the head apart a couple of times with a blockage at the top where the PLA feeds in I eventually got a good printout of what I got the 3D printer for.  It is not pretty but is strong and that is all that is needed.

The small part in the front of the photo is suppose to be a connector/clevis for the push rod of a radio controlled plane but it looks like the head was too hot.

I printed the two bigger parts together but maybe printing them separately may have been better.  After turning them upside down and dropping one part down it appears the holes were facing each other which was not too good.

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## Firepower

Thanks curious aardvark for all that information.  Very useful.

I have a pair of carbon fiber composite Vernier Calipers. I needed a new pair and bought them at the local hardware store as they were only a bit dearer than from ebay.  I did not realise and when I got them home they had carbon fiber parts where you measure at.  Anyway there is nothing wrong with the cheaper carbon fiber vernier calipers.

I have a .4 nozzle and is set on that but hope it does not clog up all the time as had to pull it apart and push through PLA from the top.

Anyway I am pleased I got those parts printed. Now what to print next?  :Smile:

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## Mjolinor

What you print next are some calibration pieces so that you know how much bigger to make holes or how to scale your part for accurate dimensions.

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## Firepower

Thanks - I Googled 3D printer calibration and will check a few of them out.  I'll start with this one.

http://blog.mcmelectronics.com/post/...n#.VsmgSJx9670

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:84795

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## LuckyImperial

Small gauge guitar string is great for unclogging hot ends without having to disassemble it. Or, you can buy something from a dedicated vendor:

http://www.makergeeks.com/nsearch.ht...ergeeks.com%2F

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## Mjolinor

> Small gauge guitar string is great for unclogging hot ends without having to disassemble it. Or, you can buy something from a dedicated vendor:
> 
> http://www.makergeeks.com/nsearch.ht...ergeeks.com%2F


That is a dental file, they come in packs of 5 for about $0.

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## Firepower

Thanks LuckyImperial  and Mjolinor for the tips.   My son has guitars so I'll get a small diameter string from him and check out the dental files.

The problem I had on the first day with the printer was that the PLA was stuck at the top of the head.  I put a small needle up from the bottom and it went up a long way.  But for some reason it was jammed near the top of the head as if that part was not getting heated.  So I cut off the PLA and pushed a hex key in the hole to release the stuck PLA but that was after disassembling the head/fan, as per the manual.

So not sure yet what causes that but it has been going good since but that is not long.  I do check and adjust the bed quite a bit with a piece of A4 paper just to make sure the space is correct.  I am not sure if it would jam like it has if the head was too close to the bed.

It is hard to get the objects off the bed even when cooled but I suppose a lot use masking tape?

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## LuckyImperial

The jamming is probably because you're leaving the hot end hot without printing for too long. Printers don't like to idle when the hot end is hot. Otherwise the heat travels up the filament, causing it to expand and jam inside of of the hot end.

If you have trouble with removal, try Kapton tape instead of blue masking tape. The smooth surface texture of kapton tape makes it grab a little less.

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## Firepower

> The jamming is probably because you're leaving the hot end hot without printing for too long. Printers don't like to idle when the hot end is hot. Otherwise the heat travels up the filament, causing it to expand and jam inside of of the hot end.
> 
> If you have trouble with removal, try Kapton tape instead of blue masking tape. The smooth surface texture of kapton tape makes it grab a little less.


Thanks that is what I did.  I said to myself I will be coming back soon so I guess the printer can stay on.  It probably was quite a while so that would have been the problem.

I have not been putting tape on the bed so far but looks like most use tape to make it easier to take the object off the bed.

Just wondered if the settings like heat etc are all included in the object being printed or are there some in the printer settings that need adjusting?

Wondered if these settings are correct and do they need to be adjusted for every print I do?

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