methodical testing or throw a dice?

Hi allI have probably done what many have done here and trawled loads of YT and websites looking for settings for those perfect prints 'on your' machine. I have come to the conclusion that you can get in the ball park but you really need to invest some time on methodical testing.You may have doem what I did and got frustrated by changing multiple setting in your slicer and you may not know which is improving on the last prints or cancelling eachother out.I started testing after doing a benchy and getting blobs and stringing although they bow was good in all of them (stepper motor smoother now in circuits)After that I found a quick print benchy on Thingyverse.. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2800194 curtesy of Thumper72. it takes out a lot of the base and you can focus on the obstacles quicker. It has lots of ways to test the accuracy of your prints and you can determine detail etc. For my PETG I chose a different retractions setting for first four setting and, on the last two, (only after getting a good print) changed the filament hotend temperature up 10c. This improved two thing in one go detail and even less stringing. After doing some more i found i could go from 30mms to 50mms with no discernable difference; However you would only know if you do the tests. It's worth investing the time.. Change your filament type and run them again

PS.. make some notes/marks underneath each of the objects you decide to print so you know which is which for later examination.. there are calibration objects out there which you can try but this was more appropriate to my printing.

The theory is sound - but I'm against benchies on general principle.
As each make, colour and type of filament is different - then trial and error is the only way you can do it.
The more experience you have, the less errors you make :-)

After you've been printing for a while You can pretty much look at ANY print and deduce what the problem is.
So I'd say print something small, you actually want or a regular giveaway and if the settings work great you have an actual 'thing'- if not, then you've lost less time and material than a benchy which is ALWAYS going to be both a waste of time and material.

Pretty much all you need to know is how well the material is flowing and cooling and how well retractions are working. Everything else is simply a subset of those three things.
And you can tell that information from almost any print where you have some head travel over empty space.

I tend to make shopping trolly keys, quick, useful and even a bad one will usually still work.

Benchies are just a pure waste of plastic and should be banned by international accord !
:-)

And no, I have never printed one. I'd been printing for a few years before some idiot invented them.

just trying to make a contribution...

I won't comment on testing again

why ?
testing is fine - just my opinion that benchies are both unnecessary and a waste of plastic.
The rest of the world seems to like them :-)

You know why the Benchy was constructed?

I just don't understand the hatred.. Necessary?

For those who are new to this and cannot 'just look' at the results of their efforts and have not a trained eye like yours; how much wasted plastic will they use up learning by trial and error? Well I have literally wasted 2 reels thinking there was a magic bunch of settings that you could just type in. I was throwing a dice. How many years experience do you have that others will not have?

Each to his own of course. i just didn't expect such a vehement reaction to a simple process... and to focus on the Benchy model? Why? Even in your last comment you could not contain your dislike.

in that atmosphere I would rather not mention testing again.. I'm fine with it. My post was to put some method into testing and save the plastic, that's all.

A benchy is a waste of time and plastic. A simple 2 walled square used to properly set Z offset and extrusion multiplier is 1000 times more useful than a benchy.. but as you say, nothing wrong with it, if you want to print a lot of boats changing no more than ONE setting per print job. A heat tower, overhang model and a stringing model would be much more helpful in getting a particular filament dialed in. That is once you Z offset and extrusion multiplier is correct.. :-)
Yes I hate the boat as well, I printed a few and quickly realized the outcome of that model had little to do with the outcome of the miniature game pieces I wanted to print..

I don't think any reply on this is going to get past your bias against the model whatever is said.A lot of people new to this would not have a clue (Z offset etc) over your reply above. I'm sorry I offended you and sorry I posted this thread now.I'll leave it at that.