Faster printing

[pa9k]

Hi guys,

Im posting this here to hopefully get some more replies as opposed to the makerbot sub forum.

So I'm looking for some suggestions. We do a lot of very large prints on our Z18. We design aftermarket auto parts and use our printer all the time to verify fitment of the part on the cars. The majority of our prints are 20+ hours long. I will attach a link to some pictures for reference.

I'm looking for some ways we can shorten the print time. We are not concerned about smooth surface finish or anything like that, as our tolerances are typically +/- 1mm. From what I've found so far there's two options. Increased layer height and faster feed rates.

Our layer height is currently 0.3, which I've heard is the maximum you can do with the stock 0.4 nozzle. Ive found a 0.6 nozzle online and my assumption is that this larger nozzle would allow us to do 0.5 layer heights, making the prints much faster. Are there any other larger nozzles out there or anything like this that would allow us to do larger layer heights? Are there any issues that could arise with using a larger nozzle and larger layer heights?

As to the second possibility, feed rates, I've been increasing them a little bit at a time. I can post up my latest profile if anyone wants to take a look at it. What are some fast feed rates you have used successfully on the 5th gen machines?

Are there any other options I'm overlooking?

All feedback is welcome, and I appreciate you taking the time to read this. Thanks!

Photos:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/72009837@N02/BoATY7

[3dkarma]

The E3D v6 Volcano is your answer. Nozzle sizes up to 1.2 mm and it has a redesigned melt chamber designed to support faster flows. http://e3d-online.com/blog/volcano_release

[pa9k]

The E3D v6 Volcano is your answer. Nozzle sizes up to 1.2 mm and it has a redesigned melt chamber designed to support faster flows. http://e3d-online.com/blog/volcano_release

Oh wow that seems very impressive. Is this somethink that we would be able to run on our z18? It seems like even if it is it would take alot of modification to retrofit one of these.

[3dkarma]

Possibly, but you'd probably void your warranty. Luckyj13 on thingiverse has created and adaptor for the makerbot replicator 2 which may or may not fit the Z18. You could get in touch with him/her about any firmware or control issues.

[curious aardvark]

you can print succesfully at 0.4 layer height with a 0.4 mm nozzle. Simplify3d tells you it's wrong - but works anyway. And makerware just does it without complaining.

One thing you need to bear in mind is that you will need active cooling on the print area to print at thicker layer heights.
The longer the bead of plastic takes to cool the greater the chance it'll slump and you'll get poor orno layer adhesion. The faster you can cool it - the better and rounder the beads.
I don't know if your z18 has active cooling or not. I can't recall seeing it on any makerbot, but maybe I just didn't see it :-)

But like I say you can print 0.4 resolution quite happily with a 0.4 nozzle.