Print Quality issues (pictures)

[catalyst]

I have a PowerSpec 3DPro and I'm using the inland Filament from Microcenter.

Lately, I'm having some Print quality issues. initially, I had concerns that my Build plate wasn't level, so I bought a glass build plate. I now have it leveled the best I can get it.

I have both ReplicatorG and Simplyfy3D - I'm actually getting significantly worse prints with S3D, so I've really just been sticking to ReplicatorG for the time being. It doesn't matter what I do, I just can't seem to get a print without some type of blob, defect, etc. I've tried printing slow, quick, etc.

I've attached a picture of a print I just did. Tips and suggestions are highly welcomed.
This is at:
.12 Layer Height
10% infill
1 # of shells
30 Feedrate (I've gone up to 55 with no change)
40 Travel Feedrate (I've gone up to 85 with no change)
ABS @ 240C (I gone down to 230 and it made no difference)

[anthony27]

I have a PowerSpec 3DPro and I'm using the inland Filament from Microcenter.

Lately, I'm having some Print quality issues. initially, I had concerns that my Build plate wasn't level, so I bought a glass build plate. I now have it leveled the best I can get it.

I have both ReplicatorG and Simplyfy3D - I'm actually getting significantly worse prints with S3D, so I've really just been sticking to ReplicatorG for the time being. It doesn't matter what I do, I just can't seem to get a print without some type of blob, defect, etc. I've tried printing slow, quick, etc.

I've attached a picture of a print I just did. Tips and suggestions are highly welcomed.
This is at:
.12 Layer Height
10% infill
1 # of shells
30 Feedrate (I've gone up to 55 with no change)
40 Travel Feedrate (I've gone up to 85 with no change)
ABS @ 240C (I gone down to 230 and it made no difference)

I think for this type and cost of machine, that is actually pretty good

[catalyst]

Unfortunately, your post wasn't helpful at all. The quality is bad - it is worse than when the machine was newer. I am getting failed prints, strings, blobs, etc. Any time I waste ABS, it is not acceptable, and the horrible surface blobs on the above print are also unacceptable when the device is capable of printing perfect sides.

[Sebastian Finke]

Has to be asked: did you calibrate your extruder? How do the calibration cubes look?

FWIW (and nothing to do with the print quality) 1 shell and 10& infill is gonna make one fragile part...

[catalyst]

No, I leveled the bed, and left everything else factory defaults.

I've read that doing the cubes is hit and miss given mechanical deviation in the tolerances of these devices. Is there a good tutorial for doing this on our devices? I never had any issues in the past.

I've also pulled off one of the extruders from my device a long time ago - I never used it and got tired of it hitting my prints on occasion.

[Alibert]

It looks like it is over-extruding a lot.

Your printer seems to be a replicator-dual clone and should print very well (my three clones print excellently).

What settings did you use in S3D? If you select 'flashforge dual' as the basic printer type and work from there it should give good results. Also, measure your filament with a digital caliper. Some filaments are way off. Playing with the filament diameter can help when slicing.

[anthony27]

It looks like it is over-extruding a lot.

Your printer seems to be a replicator-dual clone and should print very well (my three clones print excellently).

What settings did you use in S3D? If you select 'flashforge dual' as the basic printer type and work from there it should give good results. Also, measure your filament with a digital caliper. Some filaments are way off. Playing with the filament diameter can help when slicing.

Is there some info, on how to calibrate the creator pro dual?

[Alibert]

As far as I can see the pro dual is just a mechanically improved version of the 'old' dual (the one which I have). The mechanics and build space are the same, so it won't make a difference for the generated gcode.

Just use the Flashforge Creator Dual settings in Simplyfy3D and work from there, starting with the recommended settings of S3D. They are pretty good to start with, although tuning will always improve the results for nit-picking perfectionists like me.

Also, if you are printing via USB from a PC or laptop, try printing from the SD card instead. If communication is choppy or slow, the nozzle may be hovering/waiting at certain points which gives rise to blobbing as the extruder will ooze a bit if not retracted (which won't be as the slicer expects it to keep moving thus not needing retraction).

I NEVER print via PC/usb, always via SD card exactly for this reason (and to keep my PC's and laptops free for other work of course).

Also, slice it at 0.2mm or 0.25mm height instead of 0.12. This will improve printing speed and make it easier for the extrusion process. Even at 0.12mm you will be able to see the layers, only acetone vapor smoothing will make completely smooth ABS parts.

I generally tend to go 0.25-0.35 as layer height and just do acetone smoothing when needed.

[catalyst]

So how do I correct the over extrusion? My filament checks out to 1.75 exactly. Is the microcenter filament poor quality?

I am printing via sdcard.

[Davo]

We've been satisfied with the quality of Microcenter Inland ABS - we get it when it's on sale, but otherwise use Sainsmart.

I wouldn't expect that to be the problem.