Anyone have a Simplify3D profile for a 12" I3V they could share?

[printbus]

Yes, slic3r extrudes just fine.

I redid my profile for S3D last night and ran a print. It did print and looks very good other than I still don't think it is extruding the correct amount. I have it set for 3 top and bottom layers and on the top layer there are voids, considering it printed 3 there shouldn't be any voids in the final layer.

OK, good. The issue isn't unique to the first layer. Remember that those reading can only help based on the words that are used. The original post said you weren't extruding anything.

No, there shouldn't be voids after three top layers. But I personally feel that between Slic3r, Cura, and Simplify3D, S3D does the best in applying proper extrusion volume. It's been my experience that top layers are rarely perfect. Are the voids in between the lines, or just at the ends of the lines? Maybe a photo would help convey what issues you have.

Depending on the print, height issues on the first layer can replicate through the print and lead to quality issues on the top...

What kind of infill is the top layer over? If you're not running much infill, IDK, maybe 3 top layers isn't enough. What print speed is being applied? Have you tried going slower? Is S3D set to auto for extrusion width, or are you manually setting it?

Have you calibrated the DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT for the extruder? MakerFarm defaults tend to have the filament feed rate set to the low side, leading to a risk of underextrusion. You're actually measuring the filament diameter and loading that measurement into the slicer as the filament diameter? I think you said you're using 3mm, but I know there's a lot of 1.75mm filament out there that is actually in the 1.68mm to 1.70mm diameter range - again leading to the risk of under extrusion if that's not adjusted for in the slicer.

Sorry if this is all obvious stuff to you - just trying to cover the basics in case it's not.

[Chadd]

Thanks for all the help, I am going to play with some more settings tonight and try to print a few things. Even though my prints with S3D are 100% there yet they, quality wise they are so much better than Slic3r prints. It is hard to explain but they just look so much better and the supports in S3D are a dream compared to Slic3r.

To answer your questions,

The voids are between the lines.
The print with the voids was 20% infill rectilinear
Print speed was 60mm/s, 50% outline underspeed, 80% solid infill underspeed,
It is set to auto extrusion width
I am using actual filament diameter
I did calibrate steps previously but may take another look at it

On my initial prints I think it was a combination of me stopping the print before it had a chance to do too much and the light extrusion. I have a print going now with 50% infill and some other settings changed so hopefully it turns out well. One thing I still battle with is the hexagonal hot end is the drooling, I need to get that figured out because it is frustrating when printing multiple items at the same time. What temps do you tend to run ABS at? I think I may be running it too hot. I run it at 245°c for the first layer then 240°c for the rest of the layers. I have seen people use temps between 250°c and 225°c so I am not sure what is the best to use.

Thanks,
Chadd

OK, good. The issue isn't unique to the first layer. Remember that those reading can only help based on the words that are used. The original post said you weren't extruding anything.

No, there shouldn't be voids after three top layers. But I personally feel that between Slic3r, Cura, and Simplify3D, S3D does the best in applying proper extrusion volume. It's been my experience that top layers are rarely perfect. Are the voids in between the lines, or just at the ends of the lines? Maybe a photo would help convey what issues you have.

Depending on the print, height issues on the first layer can replicate through the print and lead to quality issues on the top...

What kind of infill is the top layer over? If you're not running much infill, IDK, maybe 3 top layers isn't enough. What print speed is being applied? Have you tried going slower? Is S3D set to auto for extrusion width, or are you manually setting it?

Have you calibrated the DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT for the extruder? MakerFarm defaults tend to have the filament feed rate set to the low side, leading to a risk of underextrusion. You're actually measuring the filament diameter and loading that measurement into the slicer as the filament diameter? I think you said you're using 3mm, but I know there's a lot of 1.75mm filament out there that is actually in the 1.68mm to 1.70mm diameter range - again leading to the risk of under extrusion if that's not adjusted for in the slicer.

Sorry if this is all obvious stuff to you - just trying to cover the basics in case it's not.

[printbus]

Well, the speeds and even the infill percentage of 20% seems reasonable. I'll leave the ABS temps for others to address - I don't print enough ABS to offer advice on it.

Yeah, the hex does seem to drool. I try to make sure I've got adequate retraction enabled, and figure that's about the best I can do.

[Chadd]

What do you normally use for retract distance and speed?

Well, the speeds and even the infill percentage of 20% seems reasonable. I'll leave the ABS temps for others to address - I don't print enough ABS to offer advice on it.

Yeah, the hex does seem to drool. I try to make sure I've got adequate retraction enabled, and figure that's about the best I can do.

[printbus]

What do you normally use for retract distance and speed?

I've been using 15mm/sec as a retraction speed for the last several months. I'll vary the retraction distance a bit just as something to tweak on prints, but I'm usually in the 1.5mm to 1.8mm range with the 1.75mm PLA I typically use.

[Chadd]

Well just an update here. I re-calibrated my Esteps again. It wasn't too far off. Even after re-calibrating S3D was still under extruding, I printed several calibration items and ended up having to bump up the extrusion multiplier by 10% to make it extrude correctly.

I can tell you that I am pretty disappointed with the lack of support from S3D, I sent an email regarding the extrusion issues that I was having asking them for some help getting it setup correctly for my printer. I never heard a word from them. That is pretty sad considering that I spent ~$150 on their software. You would think for that much $$ they would have phone support or at the least answer their email.

Not sure that I would buy any software from them in the future.

Thanks,
Chadd