Setup adjustments

[mugs]

Hi All,
I am new to 3d printing and I am just looking fr some advice, I have recently printed out testing cubes and believe I fount my optimum temps and flow.

Can someone please review the below images and suggest some alterations to fix the issues. Any more parameters required please let me know.

Machine: Reprap Prusa i 3
Flow: 101
Temp: 195
Filament: PLA
Retraction: yes
Retract speed: 45, 4.5mm
Supports: yes

Looks like the supports clasped in certain places which maybe the reason of some of the strings on the outer edge, also down the cylinder bore you can see blobs,

Thanks

http://imgur.com/a/0mQ7w

I hope this link works, uploading pics here wouldn't work :s

[printbus]

The image files on imgur are too large to upload to 3DPrintBoard. Reducing future images to something like 800x600 pixels should solve the upload problem.

As you are finding, there's a lot of intricate detail in that V6 block. What I see is mostly a problem with retraction. What happens is the nozzle continues to ooze a bit of filament as it attempts a non-printing move from to a new location, leading to either a strand of spider web or an undesired build-up of extrusion at the beginning of the move. Your print has both of these.

Do you actually see the filament backing out of the extruder during retractions? You could try marking the filament with a Sharpie-type pen to verify. You can also gently hold the filament between two fingers and feel whether or not the filament is ever reversing.

Can you clarify your retraction settings? I assume the speed is 45mm/sec, but what is the 4.5mm value? Providing more information on what type of filament drive (direct drive, geared drive, bowden or not, etc.) you have would be helpful.

I see an airflow shroud in one of your pictures - were you applying cooling airflow in your print? If not, applying some print cooling airflow should also help crisp up the corners and edges.

[mugs]

Thanks for your reply, I haven't actually seen the filament move back. I will test that today and confirm it is working.

the 4.5mm is the distance of the retraction. Settings are adjustable under "Advanced in Cura"

Additional settings in expert mode:
Minimum travel: 1.5
Enable combining: ticked
Minimal extrusion before retracting (mm): 0.02
Z hop when retracting: 0.0

I have noticed some people running extract speeds of 100 for this model, my printer manual suggest 45.

600px-MK8_Extruder.jpg

The extruder appears to be gear driven.

Cooling was applied after the second layer, it does that automatically. possibly 30% cooling. Would it be ideal to run more?

appreciate your help.

[mugs]

I can confirm the extruder is retracting

[printbus]

I can confirm the extruder is retracting

Interesting.

The photo is of a direct-drive extruder. There's no gear reduction between the motor shaft and the filament pulley/gear. The filament drive motor is at the extruder, so it is not a Bowden style setup. 4.5mm retraction length seems like a lot for a non-Bowden, but I doubt that's your problem.

The cooling airflow percentage doesn't mean much from one type of printer to another - it's so dependent on the nature of the fan/blower and shroud. As long as the hot end can maintain temperature, you should be able to increase the airflow.

That V6 block is a pretty complex print to be starting with. It may be worth finding some simpler (and smaller) objects to experiment with while figuring out what all the settings do. Everyone has their favorite benchmark models to use. Benchy is a common one: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:763622, as is the Maker Faire robot: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:40212. These are small and quick to print.

To make it easier for others to help, let's start with more info. Give us more insight into what you have for a printer. There are possibly a thousand variations on a Prusa i3. If you bought it somewhere, tell us what brand it is or where you bought it. Is it running Marlin for firmware or something else? You're presumably using Cura for the slicer, but give us a more detailed run down on your settings than we have so far.

[curious aardvark]

one thing to bear in mind is that different colour filaments have different characteristics.
The clear one you're using there - I find - is the stringiest.
A good solid White is probably the least stringy.

Try adjusting the retract speed up until you hit the printer max.

But the filament make and colour is probably the most important factor. Also try printing a little hotter, say 210.
Cooler filament is more inclined to stretch and string.

[printbus]

The filament temperature possibility had crossed my mind too. The blue print certainly came out better than the lighter color. I wasn't sure if the lighter print was translucent or some form of white filament. I have a roll of MakerBot natural PLA that IIRC MakerBot suggests printing hot at like 235. When I use it, I still try to make sure all non-printing moves will be contained within the boundaries of the part because it notoriously stringy. I have another store brand clear, however, that prints pretty much like any other PLA.