Help with retraction settings

Hi everyone!
I am new to this forum so please let me know if i posted this in the right section.
I have run into a problem with my Duplicator i3 using Simplify3d.
I have read about the retraction settings and tried a few times with different combinations, and I did end up eliminating most of the strings.
The only problem is, that the printer seems to be under-extruding some layers or areas of the print, leaving a weak point.
I have printed a 3dbenchy prior to changing the retraction to have a control.

Another thing is, the printer seems to be leaving gaps between some walls leaving a hole in between the two faces of a print.

Anyone have experienced this issue and managed to fix it?

Thanks!

I can't get the pictures to load up, I will try to post them again.

Post your pictures off site and link to them. Use something like Imgur or one fo the other photo sites.

Ok, here are some pictures.
http://imgur.com/a/5x6Lz

Try printing cooler, if retraction is causing the holes in the print it means it's pulling soft plastic back off the print during the retraction. If you print cooler or add a cooling fan you may be able to prevent this.

Stringing by itself is a sign that you're printing too hot in the first place

Quote:

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Originally Posted by djprinter

Try printing cooler, if retraction is causing the holes in the print it means it's pulling soft plastic back off the print during the retraction. If you print cooler or add a cooling fan you may be able to prevent this.

Stringing by itself is a sign that you're printing too hot in the first place

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I tried a few more prints and I may have found the culprit.
It may have been retraction vertical lift as after disabling this setting, the print had almost no stringing at all.
I have reduced the temperature to 190°c and this seems to have helped the print.
There are still small pits in the surface of the print and I also suspect that there is some wobble or minor misalignment between the x and y axis (visible on the windows).
http://imgur.com/a/Z8CeJ
Anyone know if I'm right?
If that is the case, does anyone know how this can be fixed/corrected?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by orm255

I tried a few more prints and I may have found the culprit.
It may have been retraction vertical lift as after disabling this setting, the print had almost no stringing at all.
I have reduced the temperature to 190°c and this seems to have helped the print.
There are still small pits in the surface of the print and I also suspect that there is some wobble or minor misalignment between the x and y axis (visible on the windows).
http://imgur.com/a/Z8CeJ
Anyone know if I'm right?
If that is the case, does anyone know how this can be fixed/corrected?

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The pits look like you;re retracting to much filament. How many mm have you set your extruder to retract at and what speed?

You will always get retraction marks no matter what. Looks like you have your seem position set to Random. Try set it to Aligned or nearest. One or the other tends to chose a corner as the retraction point which makes it less visible and more hidden to a place where people may not look at if its something thats on display.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by andysutils

The pits look like you;re retracting to much filament. How many mm have you set your extruder to retract at and what speed?

You will always get retraction marks no matter what. Looks like you have your seem position set to Random. Try set it to Aligned or nearest. One or the other tends to chose a corner as the retraction point which makes it less visible and more hidden to a place where people may not look at if its something thats on display.

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The current settings for retractions are:
Distance: 2.00 mm
Extra Distance: 0.00 mm
Vertical Lift: 0.00 mm
Speed: 30.00 mm/s

The starting position was set to optimize for fastest printing.
Should it be set manually?
If yes, then what would be a good location (x,0 / y,0) or center of build plate?
http://imgur.com/XupDqlg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by orm255

The current settings for retractions are:
Distance: 2.00 mm
Extra Distance: 0.00 mm
Vertical Lift: 0.00 mm
Speed: 30.00 mm/s

The starting position was set to optimize for fastest printing.
Should it be set manually?
If yes, then what would be a good location (x,0 / y,0) or center of build plate?
http://imgur.com/XupDqlg

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Is there any particular reason you have your nozzle diameter set to 0.38? :(

The center location to start the print is the best option as you get the best levelling in the center

Quote:

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Originally Posted by andysutils

Is there any particular reason you have your nozzle diameter set to 0.38? :(

The center location to start the print is the best option as you get the best levelling in the center

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I seem to have forgotten to change it to 0.4 after setting extrusion width to manual. It was set to automatic at 0.4mm which automatically changed the nozzle diameter 0.38 for some reason.
Also, I meant to ask what would be nearest appropriate position to avoid visible seams on the print?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by orm255

I seem to have forgotten to change it to 0.4 after setting extrusion width to manual. It was set to automatic at 0.4mm which automatically changed the nozzle diameter 0.38 for some reason.
Also, I meant to ask what would be nearest appropriate position to avoid visible seams on the print?

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The first thing i would do before anything is set your nozzle to the correct size as this will cause you all kinds of issues, especially when it comes to printing wider layers and leave your extrusion width to auto. there is rarely a need to change any of this if your filament has been measured correctly and your nozzle size has been set correctly.

The only thing you should ever need to change to calibrate your filament is the extrusion multiplier. This gives far more accurate prints than changing other sizes to work out the correct filament dimensions.

I dont know of any way you can change the extrusion position to pinpoint to an exact location to retract, but i will be made up big time if anyone finds a way to do it., but an extrusion of 2mm set at speeds of 40-60 works best for mine. This is something that will be different on every printer im afraid. Ive found fasrer retraction speeds work best on mine.

get your filament size right first as being out by even 0.5 can cause catastrophic defects.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by andysutils

The first thing i would do before anything is set your nozzle to the correct size as this will cause you all kinds of issues, especially when it comes to printing wider layers and leave your extrusion width to auto. there is rarely a need to change any of this if your filament has been measured correctly and your nozzle size has been set correctly.The only thing you should ever need to change to calibrate your filament is the extrusion multiplier. This gives far more accurate prints than changing other sizes to work out the correct filament dimensions.I dont know of any way you can change the extrusion position to pinpoint to an exact location to retract, but i will be made up big time if anyone finds a way to do it., but an extrusion of 2mm set at speeds of 40-60 works best for mine. This is something that will be different on every printer im afraid. Ive found fasrer retraction speeds work best on mine.get your filament size right first as being out by even 0.5 can cause catastrophic defects.

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Any advice or tips on choosing the correct nozzle size?