Introduction and first post, dual color dialing in.

Howdy all,

I'm a full time IT specialists and part time designer. I bought the FFCP about two months ago and so far I'm getting the hang of things. I've been working with Fusion 360, Meshmixer, Slic3r and Yarrh. I'm considering purchasing Simplify3D but I'm not sure it's worth the money.

Dual color printing. I've started to work on some two color models, using some downloads to the hang of it but the prints are coming out looking like my extruders have a cold. The accuracy seems fine but it seems fine but from what I can see as they move back and forth material is still coming out of the extruder not being used. What I get is balled up material and hair sticking out in all directions. The technique I'm using to create the Gcode is first separating the shells in Meshmixer, exporting STL's for each color then I use the combine feature in ReplicatorG to create a single file. I'm using ABS so my settings are 40/70 speed, 230/210 temperature. The next thing I'll be trying is lower temperatures and different speeds. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

~3C

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Originally Posted by 3DCAKE

Howdy all,

I'm a full time IT specialists and part time designer. I bought the FFCP about two months ago and so far I'm getting the hang of things. I've been working with Fusion 360, Meshmixer, Slic3r and Yarrh. I'm considering purchasing Simplify3D but I'm not sure it's worth the money.

Dual color printing. I've started to work on some two color models, using some downloads to the hang of it but the prints are coming out looking like my extruders have a cold. The accuracy seems fine but it seems fine but from what I can see as they move back and forth material is still coming out of the extruder not being used. What I get is balled up material and hair sticking out in all directions. The technique I'm using to create the Gcode is first separating the shells in Meshmixer, exporting STL's for each color then I use the combine feature in ReplicatorG to create a single file. I'm using ABS so my settings are 40/70 speed, 230/210 temperature. The next thing I'll be trying is lower temperatures and different speeds. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

~3C

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Came here to post the same question/comment. I've been in contact with FlashForge, and they say that the oozing of the unused nozzle is not something that can be fixed in the printer. The only suggestion was to watch the print and wipe the ooze by hand. I thought I saw an option in a tool somewhere (Slic3r?) to retract the filiament in the unused nozzle to try to avoid/reduce the oozing, but I'm not 100% sure. Were you able to improve the quality of your dual-color prints?

Dommer,

I've take a step back so I can get a better understanding of slicing and gcode. replicator worked fine for me in the beginning but I've run into issues working with larger files and other scenarios. I'm starting to get the hang of Slic3r and once I'm back on track with single color prints I'll focus on dual color. I've found the settings for retracting and other dual color tweaks in the software. I'm still on the fence with Simplify3D and it's price tag but I'm burning lots of time with different apps trying to get things working well so it might be worth it. Either way I'm sticking to this plan of getting things to work with Slic3r and GPX for windows(gcode to .xg3 utility). I was using another PC to print via usb but I'm finding the compiling prints on my main system then printing via SD card is the best way to go.

My process is basically.

Design via Fusion360/Meshmaker
STL export
STL Import into Slic3r
Gcode export
Gcode to .x3g file
Print .xg3 from SD card

OH a HUGE help is the Gcode simulator from these guys http://gcodesim.dietzm.de/. I'm using the python for windows version. Once you have your Gcode ready the simulator plays a preview of how each slice is laid down along with other settings, temps etc.. Helps catch bad settings or other possible things that'll screw up your print. I have yet to simulate a dual color print but soon.

I'll post my dual color findings once I get that far.

~3C

FlashForge got back to me with a follow-up, suggesting that Makerware automatically puts in purge walls when printing dual-color. Those walls do a good job of capturing any ooze, leaving the actual print intact. I printed a test print, and they worked pretty well.

Ya I hate to say it but the makerbot walls around the dual color prints works pretty well. Basically they run the extruder next to the wall each time the color changes so it can grab any excess filament and while the walls are hairy the prints turn out pretty well

Hi,
Here are a few suggestions :
1/ first, find your settings to do single colour prints very well : no stringing, no hairs, ...
2/ make sure the gantry is precisely 90° with bed : otherwise the 2nd head "lathes" the deposited plastic each time it goes over and it drags stuff and makes those balls
3/ to eliminate oozing, I found a very nice solution that consists in turning off the unused head. Works real well BUT it is not very practical if your colors are not stacked vertically OR you are not a very patient man
4/ S3D and other slicers have purge towers and ooze walls. Both are very useful.

i'm doing some dual material prints (tpu on the bottom and pla on top)
and i ran into this issue as well.
what i did to solve it (in S3d) was to make sure both extruders where in each profile, and set the the one not printing to 0 degree's
this is of course only applicable if you are printing like i am, 1 complete model on the bottom and then the next one right on tip of it with another material, that is, i'm not doing any mixing, i'm making some coasters, tpu on the bottom and pla on top works great.. now if you are intermingling your prints so there are 2 colors/materials throughout the piece, an ooze shield combined with some proper retraction is probably the best bet.