Trying to increasing print surface quality (E3D on Flashforge?)

[jfkansas]

Try turning on the dynamic speed settings using Profitweak.

[curious aardvark]

wouldn't that entail using makerware ?
Problem with that is that simplify3d produces much much nicer prints than makerware - without firmware adjustments. So going back to makerware would actually reduce print quality, regardless of the firmware tweaks.

[motorbikemikexb9]

I'm glad i found this thread. I'm fairly new to 3D printing and have a lot to learn. That's why I'm here. My story... I bought a Printrbot Metal Simple about 2 months ago. I have printed about 300 hours so far. I love this little printer. I noticed the "ringing" or "echoing" in my parts somewhere after about 125-150 hours were on the machine. I also noticed it's sound changed a bit. It picked up a slight vibration noise that i can not pinpoint. and it seems to be getting worse. I think its in the y axis stepper motor. Most of my "echoing waves" appear on the x axis face durring printing so that might make sense if the y-axis motor is having an issue (i.e. the y-axis is ping-ponging back and fourth following a y axis move while the x is traversing in a strait line) this printing a wave effect on the X axis face of the part. I'm guessing the motor is going bad. How many hours are stepper motors typically good for before the tend to wear out or "go bad in some way" Printrbot used some pretty chunky NEMA 17 steppers that physically appear to be very well built. I can't imagine it would wear out that fast. I'll try to post some pics tonight of the parts with the echoing before 100 hours and after 150 hours to show the difference. This is why I'm not to sure this issue is software / acceleration related. I think i might order a fresh set of GT2 belts and do a little maintenance and tighten some screws next week to see if it clears up the issue.

[Mjolinor]

Stepper motors generally are really robust, they run for years at high temperatures with little change in their characteristics. I have a dozen or so Nema 23 and Nema 34 steppers here that are getting on for 30 or more years old and they work just the same as they did on day one. The biggest killer is people trying to mend them, once dismantled they wll never work again as they are magnetised in their assembled state and once the two halves are separated the magnetism goes out of the window.

The trouble is that the recent increase in all things computer has led to massive sales of low end, home user CNC type things and prices falling so I reckon something has to suffer and generally it is quality. I would not immediately think a stepper was failing, it would generally be at the bottom of the list after all else has been proven to be OK.

[Geoff]

Stepper motors generally are really robust, they run for years at high temperatures with little change in their characteristics. I have a dozen or so Nema 23 and Nema 34 steppers here that are getting on for 30 or more years old and they work just the same as they did on day one. The biggest killer is people trying to mend them, once dismantled they wll never work again as they are magnetised in their assembled state and once the two halves are separated the magnetism goes out of the window.

The trouble is that the recent increase in all things computer has led to massive sales of low end, home user CNC type things and prices falling so I reckon something has to suffer and generally it is quality. I would not immediately think a stepper was failing, it would generally be at the bottom of the list after all else has been proven to be OK.

Yeah, they are pretty hardy little devices.. I thought I had killed steppers in my machine but nearly everytime turns out to be an issue with a board or driver, it only once has ever been a stepper motor and that was a really cheap nasty clone of a Nema17 (those black 45mm ones, bit longer than the stock 40mm, hard wired and no label or serial#)

One one my machines runs the steppers really hot because I have the juice cranked up on the driver and they print at super speed, I expect them to die one day, I'm sort of trying to kill them but I don't think I will...