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5138 | Are 3D printed gears applicable for industrial use?
Are 3D printed gears applicable for industrial use?
I want to print some gears with ABS.
What will their lifespan be? How long will they last if I use them, for example, every day?
What sort of gears, and what size? It is possible to print gears, but the teeth need to be quite large (and tolerances will be poor). Some extruder designs use 3D-printed reduction gears. If you are planning mass-production, forget it.
Worm gear. The size will be about a half sheet of paper. It is not for mass production. I want to use it for a robot. This robot will used every day for at least 10 hours. For me it is important that this arm works without damage for a few years. The size of the teeth are big. But when will it break (ABS)?
How much load will the gear be under?
The steppers torque is about .5Nm. The worm gear will increase the the torque about 50-60 times. I need a Torque of 20-30Nm for the output.
This depends on the material you use and the orientation; it should be printed flat, so the layer boundaries don't weaken the teeth. Printed in PEEK or PPSU? Absolutely. PETG? Probably. PLA? I wouldn't.
@user8886193 you should [edit] your question to add the comments informations.
Did you look into other materials, the nylon filaments are much more durable then ABS (for example, the last time I looked for something really durable I found Taulman Alloy 910, there are probably even better options now)
If you're using them industrially, you would probably want to use polycarbonate or nylon, because those are both considerably stronger than ABS, and will last you much longer and work much better.
Survivability of parts is a very tricky topic, because a lot of factors go into it. While ABS is a common industrial plastic for molding, FDM introduces quite different challenges that can impact the time a piece lives. I can't estimate a lifetime for you, but I will illustrate why we can't estimate it for you, giving you things to think about in your design process:
Problem 1 - What's the printed internal part geometry?
FDM introduces boundries in 2 (r,z) dimensions . Not just the z layers above each other do have boundries that can and will become plane of failure, each layer consists of one filament1 that was deposited side by side to itself. These neighboring pieces (distinguishable by r in cylindrical coordinates) have a boundry that is not of the same strength as staying on the same piece and following it around (and changing ψ) a solid chunk of ABS (as you would get with molding). under stress, these boundries can crack. If you want to force your piece to have such a fate just to see how it looks: mount a 0.4 mm nozzle in a machine calibrated for 0.35 mm and run a 0.35 mm sliced print - it should be easy to crack it apart into a long snail of filament. Or declare your filament to be 3mm in a 1.75mm machine. The Horrible underextrusion and lack of pressure against already deposited filament makes it possible to unravel the whole filament at times.
Problem 2 - What is the intended use?
Use is not the same as use. Yes, it might sound unintuitive, but depending on how a piece is used, stress on the part is different. Let's take the same two gears. We put one of them in a hand mixer and a superlight drone. In the mixer it will spin rapidly against medium to tough loads (depending on dough) over medium periods (the timeframe here is usually minutes at max) of time. In the drone it will have considerably less load, but it will spin for much longer, maybe up to hours if the pilot is very capeable and the batteries last. In both cases wear and tear will be quite different.
Problem 3 - What determines strength?
Strength of the part is not only determined by the filament used, it is ALSO determined by tons of other variables. Print orientation. With enclosure or not. Humidity during print. If the surface of the part is sealed or not after the print. If it was postprocessed somehow to increase capabilities. If the piece is printed hollow or solid. How long did it cure or harden after the print... There are so many variables, that each guess would be quite wild.
Problem 4 - How to get the lifetime now?!
You can't guesstimate the reliability of a product from its design and makeup only. That is why design departments create prototypes: To rigerously test the products. This is how they learn how safe or sturdy their product is. They make prototypes and purposefully put them under various kinds of stress until they break. For gears this involves spinning them in a gearbox for hours nonstop until they break, force them against a blokaded gearbox till they break, run the gearbox dry, hot or freezing, and also under other very destructive conditions. Part of this destructive test is an accelerated life time test that, just like other tests in this stage, tries to find out the maximum parameters it is useable with. A common test for hand mixers apparently is to run them 2 minutes against some gooy substance, then stop some time before repeating.
1 - For the math inclined: the filament can be represented as a function in cylidrical coordinates, f(r,φ,z)=r(ψ)*φ(ψ)+z(ψ), where ψ the path-parameter of the filament - or in other words the length already traveled. To some degree, a G-code is generated by first creating such a function and then creating the tool path from this.
Well, to determine the time life of the gears you will need to do a test called ALT (Accelerated Life Time) but the parts should be last for a long time (not years) however this can be determined by thickness.
The torque required is not than much like a tuning up the radio volume, so if you are going to create a gear box to increase torque, just grease the parts to reduce heating on friction.
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5537 | What is the power consumption of the heatbed and hotend?
What is the power consumption of your heatbed (size) and hotend (model)?
I want to verify that it is possible to use a battery to power them.
At the very least, identify your printer, your intended bed temperature, extruder temperature, and length of print time. A big enough battery can power an entire town; a small one can't keep a LED lit.
With a sufficiently large battery you can power anything! :)
I have printed using a massive car battery when my original PSU blew. I wanted to print so bad so I just connected it and went with it. It worked fine but do keep a charger on it because it drains rather quickly.
I have a Kill-A-Watt meter so I got a pretty good measurement for you with my Anet A6. Like Petar said each model is different but this should give you a idea. When heating both the nozzle and heat bed the printer consumes 160 W of power, once to temp it backs down to 9 W (it also uses 9 W when just "sitting doing nothing and is on"). When the nozzle and bed get down in temp it hits back up to 160 W. Basically it is never a consistent heating, it is on and off. Like a refrigerator.
When it comes to heating only the nozzle the printer uses 60 W (so 51 W is going to the nozzle for heating).
When it comes to heating only the bed the printer uses 142 W (133 W to the bed).
This is interesting because it would make sense the printer needs more than 160 W when 51 W is going for the nozzle and 142 W going to the bed, that makes 193 W. I make mention of this because that may suggest my power supply is not big enough and the printer could really use around 200 W.
As a little bonus when the printer is moving around (stepper motors are active) I find it using 35-40 W (or 26-31 W) to power the steppers.
So with all the said, is it possible to use a battery? Yes, you could. And to give a example a car battery should have 80 Amp-hours (or something like that, but we will go with it). With that battery you can get 960 Wh (Watt-hours) from the battery before it dies. Going with my printer using 160 W I will get 6 hours of printing time. But keep in mind as the battery is used the voltage will drop, so in the end the printer will be getting something like 10 V which I am sure will affect heating and overall performance.
Last thing I feel that needs to be said. If using a inverter to convert the 12 V battery to 110 V (or whatever voltage you use) a cheap one will not be healthy for the printer. Cheap inverters put out square waves instead of sines waves. Basically it will hurt the printer. You can learn more at this WEBSITE
"Update" on March 4
I read a comment that mentioned running right off the battery without a battery and then I thought of something that I did not think of before. And that would be protecting the battery itself
So I said you can run the printer off the battery. There was one issue that I had not thought of. And that was the voltage drop and the battery discharged. A battery usually does not have voltage-cut off to keep the battery from being overly discharged, and a printer does not have anything to measure voltage (why should it). So a simple hook up of a 3D printer to a battery is prone to drain the battery much lower than 10 V, which will greatly shorten a battery life-span. This can be prevented two ways.
A circuit between battery and 3D printer. There is plenty of circuits that can be bought as long as they cut power to printer at 10 V or something (for lead acid anyway) and can handle the amperage draw.
An inverter can also be used because this voltage cut off is already in them. But remember that square waves are bad for the printer.
At least for Cura output and my kit's firmware, the bed and the hotend are never both in the "full heating" mode. This limits the max current draw for teh system as a whole, which I see as a good thing.
@CarlWitthoft I use Craftware and it does heat the bed and nozzle at the same time (but can be disabled). I have noticed it simply takes longer when doing both. But once one is done, being the nozzle or bed, it focuses all the power to the other component that needs to heat. And I do agree that it is good to limit the max draw to the printer, I will should disable the heat simultaneously option.
I really want to take a printer out to my off-the-grid shed and see if I can sustain it. If I assume a 50% duty cycle of heat on/off, that'd be about 8-10 amps/hour. Hmmm. (no inverter necessary)
@tedder42 You are correct with 8-10 amps per hour. And I recommended a inverted because the printer does not know when to cut off, so the battery voltage will go well below what is recommended, which is around 10v or something. A inverted does have a voltage cut off and will stop the printer from 'wrecking' or shorting the life span of the battery. But because the person was asking if he could run it off a battery that is why I answer "yes". I should has put more detail about why a inverter is recommended, which I may do yet.
thanks. Seems it'd be a lot more efficient to do a low voltage switch/sag protector than to invert. Depends on the circumstance, though.
@tedder42 It would be. But I honestly didn't put time into thinking of the best way to protect the battery. It will be interesting how it goes running the printer off-grid.
Note that "watt" is a measure of "energy per second" and "amp" is a measure of "charge per second". Saying "amps/hour" makes no sense, because "amp", in and of itself, already contains the notion of "per time unit". The printer simply draws 8-10 Amps (not "per hour" or anything like that). Battery capacity is measured in Amp-hours (an 80 Amp-hour battery can supply 80A for 1 hour, or 40A for 2, or 1260A for 30 minutes), and the total amount of energy a battery can deliver is measured in Watt-hours.
@TomvanderZanden Thank you for the correction, I should have been thinking about that when I was adding but that slipped through my mind. But it is a really good thing you noticed :)
To answer the underlying (X-Y) question, yes it is possible to power a small 3D printer from a battery pack. This Article describes a printer built by Naomi Wu, mounted on a frame to carry around whilst printing, as a 'novel' style of sponsored video. The printer here is a BIQU Delta printer, and the power supply is 2x 3Ah batteries (guessing this is @12V, but it's not clear). Presumably there is no heated bed, but still the run-time will be quite limited.
The important part for working out battery life is the duty cycle of the hot-end, not the load required to get it up to temperature. This probably comes to something like 15-30 watts on average, provided you can live without a heated bed.
Of course, if you have 10-15v batteries, the printer will probably run off these directly, no need to waste energy converting up to 110/220V and back again.
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5541 | Heat block design without cartridge heater
Is it possible to design a heat block without cartridge heater?
My idea is to build a very small heat block to increase/decrease the heat as fast as possible. The resistance of the heat block will be used. The current to this block is 500mA and is set constant with a circuit. The voltage will be set with pwm. Is this possible with 500mA and 5V (2,5W)?
By the tone of your comments to the replies given insofar, is unclear what you are after: if the question is merely "is it possible to heat a piece of metal by passing current through it?" then the answer is "yes" (duh!). If the question is: "is it a design that makes sense on a FDM printer?" then the answer is "no". Yours seems like a bad solution looking for a non-existent problem. If this is not the case, please provide more context on why you would need a heat block that warms and cools faster. :)
I want to make a usb powered printer. The power of usb is not much because of this i want it very small. I want only use 500mA and 5V for the heatblock. This is for me a existent problem. To heat a piece of metal fast enough to a given temperature with less power. Is this enough information?
I think a question on the lines of "Is it possible to use USB as a power source for the hot-end" could have been a better one than the one you asked, then. :) Anyway: I think you should go in the opposite direction than the one you chose: what you are after with a low-power source is an extremely well insulated hot-end with enough mass to hold the temperature ~steady when the extrusion speed spikes (as for example during infill). Up to a point, you can also compensate the limitations of such a low-power source by reducing drastically the print speed.
The current to this block is 500mA and is set constant with a circuit. The voltage will be set with pwm. Is this possible with 500mA and 5V (2,5W)?
This means that the resistance of the heat block would have to be, by Ohm's law, 10 Ohms. You can't set voltage and current independently of each other, which it sounds like you're attempting to do.
2.5W is also rather low power, considering typical heating elements are 25W or even 40W. ABS plastic has a specific heat of ~1300 J/(kg K). Typical printing speeds are 20 grams/hour, so if you have to heat up the filament by 200 degrees C, you need a minimum of 1.44W. 2.5W leaves awfully little room (~1W) for losses due to convection or radiation.
The resistance is not important. The circuit (current source) will set the current to 500mA and the voltage is set with pwm to change the power. What do you think is it possible?
@user8886193 Unless I am misunderstanding your proposal, that is not how electricity works. You can't "fool" Ohm's law by combining a constant current source with PWM.
Fow example line Regulation (Variable Line Voltage) and before that a pwm and capacitor.
I'm afraid the idea itself is questionable. :)
Part of the reason for having a heat block in the first place is to leverage the volumetric heat capacity of the block to maintain the temperature constant even thought the extrusion speed (and thus the rate at which energy is used to make plastic warm and change state) is not.
A smaller block would probably:
require a lot more power to operate in order to compensate for the missing thermal inertia (most PSUs are already "stretched" when it comes to power requirements)
cause the temperature to fluctuate, with negative effects on the print quality
A second problem I see is that you would most probably electrify the whole printer:
creating a hazard
affecting the ground level and thus - potentially - the proper functioning of all electronics
There will be no connection (metal to metal). The heat block will have no connection. I will use a part in between to protect against voltage and heat. I think i will not need somethink to cool.
2.5W of electrical energy defines the heating rate for a specific mass (and thermal capacity of the material). It also determines the highest attainable temperature for a specific emissivity (clue, it won't get hot).
Any switching circuit to match the resistance of a block of metal to a 2.5W power source is a switch mode power supply in disguise. Yes, you can generate 150mV at 16A, but you need very thick wires to avoid loosing most of your generated power in the circuit.
If i transform the given 5V and 500mA to 150mV at 16A is the current the cause for the heat? Then it will be possible to just increase the current and set the voltage down to set the speed of heat generation and the opposite way.
no. it doesn't work how you want it to.
Did you calculate it? My idea was to make the heatblock as small as possible (Alumimium) to save power because of less power and to indrease the temp as fast as possible.
@user8886193 An aluminium heat block will not have enough electrical resistance to make a practical heater. You can't control voltage and current independently - it's all determined by the resistance of the heat block and Ohm's Law. It simply will not work. If the heat block has the same resistance as the wires connecting it to the power supply, then those wires will heat up just as much as the heat block itself no matter what voltage and current you use. The resistance of the heater needs to be (much) higher than that of the wires.
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6088 | Z-Axis zero/home position is higher than the actual print starting position
I'm having an issue with my very first printer, a Monoprice Select Mini V2. After doing about 20 successful prints on it, the Z axis is suddenly acting very odd.
When I 'home' the Z axis and move the nozzle on the X and Y, I can do the paper test on all four corners of the bed without issue - the leveling is near-perfect. But when I start a print job, the nozzle is much lower - by at least 1-2 mm.
This causes the print head to grind against the print bed, which I unfortunately need to replace as it's pretty much destroyed. The nozzle is so much lower at the start of a print job than it is at the home position that it ground a permanent line on the bed. It's trying to go so low, there's enough pressure on the nozzle to not let any filament escape - leaving a bad gouge like I dragged a screwdriver across the print surface. Not good.
It's not the Z-axis limiter switch. I confirmed that is both working and secured tightly to the printer body. When homing the Z axis, I can hear the switch click and the printer stops at that position correctly. It's only when I start a print job that it ends up lower, almost as if it's ignoring the switch.
I also eliminated my slicer software from the equation by printing something I had printed successfully just a couple hours prior - without reslicing or modifying the GCODE file at all. I'm at the point now where I can't print anything that I could before, without having this problem. My heat and speed settings remained untouched.
How can I solve this? The issue popped up just after doing a successful print. What gives? I've heard of the opposite problem (Z-Axis 'too high'), especially after changing nozzles, but not 'too low', and I've never seen it where the print job actually starts lower than the true zero position. Help!
Check the Z-drive for any component looseness. Look at belts, gears, anything with screws. Wiggle things mercilessly checking for play.
At the start of a normal print run, the the print head typically rises up very high as the head warms up (depends on software) and then lowers to print. If your homing paper test happened with the head near the limit switch, then the difference between those two use cases is the Z-distance traveled to get to the same place. You have eliminated software and electrical considerations, which leaves mechanical considerations. A slipping gear or belt might contribute to this odd behavior you describe.
Sorry if this is a noob question - but how much tension should the belt have? Is there a best practice there or just eyeball it?
I pluck belts and listen for a musical note. Too high is too tight. No musical note is too floppy. You can also compare with other belts on your machine. Similarly, check frame for loose screws. This is very strange behavior you're seeing. Not normal and I've not seen it in years of printing.
This answer is ultimately a better one as it would apply to any scenario where the slicer software can be ruled out. In my case I thought I had eliminated that variable, but I hadn't actually, so I'll mark your answer as correct for those who might find this question and actually do have mechanical problems with the Z axis.
This ended up being a combination of print bed height and an unknown slicer profile parameter (probably the first layer height setting).
I completely uninstalled Cura, wiped out my profiles and downloading the ones from Monoprice, installed an older version of Cura and loaded them in. I also issued an M502 and M500 command to reset the EEPROM/firmware.
That seemed to have a tiny bit of improvement, but my first layer was still maybe 0.5 mm low (it was no longer grinding against the bed but was still creating a 'canal' with the plastic). I then did a tiny adjustment on each bed screw to lower it on the Z axis, just barely turning the screws, as evenly as I could.
An initial print after doing that seems to be going well. I may have to do one more teeny tiny adjustment to the bed height again. So it was probably a combination of slicer settings and bed height, the latter I probably made worse when initially trying to solve the problem. Lesson learned...kinda. I still need a new print bed!
I just had this issue with my Monoprice Select Mini V2. It seems there's some bug in the software if you already have the 3D printer at its lowest Z-elevation before starting the home calibration. To make sure it prints correctly, move the head up using the manual controls, then hit home. It should then go to the correct default location. I then adjusted my print height to that default home location and it seems to be working again.
Hope this helps other people still having difficultly with this is
Welcome to 3D Printing SE and thank you for your contribution. When you get a chance, please take the [tour] to understand how the site works and how it is different than others.
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6119 | Can you put PLA parts in your car (in the sun)?
I'm in the process of building my own head unit / stereo prototype for a car, which will have a 3D-printed enclosure.
My concern is that cars can get quite hot in the sun, and even more so if you live in hot climates. Some estimations put the interior of cars getting up to 50-60 °C, sometimes even in only 20 °C weather due to the 'greenhouse' effect created in the car. I live in a fairly temperate climate, but the summers can still get up to 20-29 °C (80-85 °F), and my car might get up to 60 °C/150 °F on a hot day.
The part won't be exposed directly to the sun, but will obviously be exposed to heat both from the interior of the car when in the sun, and potentially from the engine radiating heat through the firewall, though the latter factor will differ from car to car.
Should I be concerned using PLA for my part? If not, what material, if any, would be better suited for these possible temperatures (other than metal)?
Please see, https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/2952/pla-use-outdoors/2982#2982, https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/4487/pla-continuous-operative-temperature/4502#4502, https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/3968/abs-or-pla-for-structural-printed-parts/3969#3969, https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10/3d-printing-for-outdoor-use-what-types-of-filament-are-most-weather-resistant.
Also related, temperature wise, although not strictly in-car related:
https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/1128/travel-mug-woes/1134#1134
@Greenonline if you think any of those answers this question, please put in a "Close" request
@CarlWitthoft - I can certainly vote to close it if that is required. However, if I vote to close, then it will immediately close. It would be more democratic if the community votes to close it as a duplicate when it receives five votes. It doesn't seem to have received any votes as yet. I only raised awareness of the linked questions as I remember having read them over the past couple of years.
No, PLA cannot be used in cars standing in the sun. Temperatures can locally get over 50 °C (122 °F).
I have printed sun visor hinge pins from PLA for a car (not exposed to direct sunlight either), but after one day in the sun (it usually doesn't get over 29 °C or about 85 ˚F here too) the pin deformed (only printed it for form fitting). The actual pin was eventually printed in PETG, and even with PETG the part deformed a little when it got really hot in the car.
Your part might not get that hot as it is lower in the car, but you could best print parts in Nylon (Polyamide, PA), ABS or any other high temperature resistant Co-Polymer (e.g. made from Amphora HT5300), there are lots to choose from nowadays.
If it is a non load bearing component that is not stressed (e.g. a cover or a bushing) it could be printed in PLA, but I would not take a change and would print it directly in a more temperature resistant material.
Downloading some of the technical data sheets from various filaments will give you for PLA:
Not suitable for long term outdoor usage or applications where the
printed part is exposed to temperatures higher than 50 °C (122 °F).
similar for Nylon:
Not suitable for applications where the printed part is exposed to
temperatures higher than 80 °C (176 °F).
To complete the overview, generally, materials should not be exposed prolonged periods of time above (give or take):
70 °C (158 °F) for basic Co-Polymers
85 °C (185 °F) for ABS
100 °C (212 °F) for enhanced Co-Polymers and ASA
105 °C (221 °F) for Polypropylene (PP)
110 °C (230 °F) for Polycarbonate (PC)
As an anecdote, I've printed parts for my car that go under the hood (not touching the engine) in nylon--no issues and it's been at least a year at this point.
A material that is used in automotive indurstry is ASA which can be printed at 240-265 °C (90-110 °C bed, enclosure recommended), and could withstand prolonged exposure to about 100 °C for a prolonged time. It has a tendency to warp for a price starting around 23€/kg. On the top end of the materials are iglidur-filaments, which are available with a sustainable temperature range of up to 180 °C at a price of 100€/kg upwards. Ceramic filaments like LayCeramic could get (after tempering in a kiln) sustain MUCH more, but cost upwards of 200€/kg
I have a PLA washer fluid coupling piece under-hood with no major problem.
As we discussed in chat, it may be worth mentioning CoPA by Polymaker, which is Nylon which holds up to 180°C (I'm not sure how to derate it when under stress)
If you put PLA parts in a sealed plastic bag (or two to keep it dry) and simmer in water (212 °F or 100 °C), the part "anneals". The time taken varies with the part shape, but for small parts should be about 15-30 minutes. You can simmer longer if unsure, but it provides no additional benefit once the part is annealed. When you remove and cool the annealed part, it will feel harder and more compact. You may also notice a slight hazing or color change.
Annealed parts become a bit more resistant to heat warp. The annealing process shrinks and hardens your part (I've annealed gears) so you need to account for the shrinkage by making the unannealed part slightly larger. I do this for stepper mounts or gears as needed. Putting your part in the passenger compartment of a car can work depending on your climate. My daughter-in-law has a camera mount on her dashboard showing significant warp, but she still uses it.
Here's more information and I'm sure you can find more...
The sun will rot most, if not all plastics, with PLA, ABS and PETG rotting to varying degrees and at differing rates. So, if even part of your enclosure, such as the edges, are visible, they will invariably be exposed to the sun at some point (although maybe not sufficiently enough) which will make them brittle.
However, as you say, your main concern here is not direct sunlight, but heat. As this informative article, Using PLA for Long-Term Outdoor Applications, suggests:
PLA is great as the warping is less than with ABS.
Interestingly, it also notes (again related to sunlight, not a concern in your case):
As a side note, PLA is referenced as considerably UV resistant.
Similar Questions
Whilst your question is not a duplicate, as such, there are already a number of questions (and answers) on this topic, that I remember having seen and being relevant.
Whilst I have quoted some of the relevant parts below, it might also be worth taking a look at the other posts on these links:
PLA use outdoors?
Keep in mind that PLA has a much lower temperature point, where is starts getting flexible. I once had PLA-printed parts in my car in the summer for 3 hours and when I came back, they where bent.
I don't know about the weather conditions in your local environment, but if you experience hot temperatures and your sign is hanging in direct sunlight, I would suggest to make sure you secure the letters against bending (e.g. cover them with a coat of epoxy or something like this).
PLA continuous operative temperature
The property you're looking for in the thermoplastic (which will determine the continuous operating temperature) is glass transition temperature. This is the point at which the plastic begins to flow, and becomes deformable as EvilTeach described. PLA reaches this state at around 60 °C, whereas ABS is around 105°C, just suiting your specifications. To go a bit further, polycarbonate offers a glass transition temperature of around 150 °C, and Ultem at 217 °C.
ABS or PLA for structural printed parts?
50 °C is hot for you. PLA's glass transition temperature is 65 °C. A car in the mid-day sun can get very hot indeed.
... if the part is designed to be strong enough for its use in PLA, it will be no better in "stronger" ABS. If the PLA part will be "more precise" and "less warped" - that may well make it better for its use. Other than a widespread community dedication to self-replication, (or mostly self-replicating with some metal parts) there's plenty of arguments for making most printer parts out of machined metal, for that matter - much stronger than ABS or PLA.
3d printing for outdoor use: what types of filament are most weather resistant?
PLA also will slowly melt in direct sunlight. I have seen this one firsthand, having left a print on my windowsill and watching it slowly morph with the weight of objects on top of it.
Also related, temperature wise, although not strictly in-car related (although that is where you would most likely find a travel mug), is the most informative answer by Ryan Carlyle, which makes mention of annealing as suggested by OyaMist Aeroponics's answer:
Travel Mug Woes
It is possible to anneal PLA to survive higher temperatures, as this increases the crystallinity of the polymer and thus makes it more heat-stable. However, that is highly experimental and results will vary considerably with filament provider, color/pigment, and annealing process used.
Which is more durable to sunlight/weather - PLA, ABS or PETG
PLA would be a non-starter for outdoor use as it's biodegradable and can breakdown in sunlight. Albeit slowly, but won't be useful for long term project.
"Not an answer" flags on diamond-mod-answers are usually denied for natural reasons, but I really must point out that these types of answers are not a good fit for Stack Exchange. This should be a comment on the actual question. Your links will show up in the "linked" section on the post anyway. If you feel that those answers will also answer this question, you can copy the relevant portions to make this a freestanding answer.
@pipe - You are quite right, obviously. I apologise for setting a poor example and my rushed, link-only answer. I remember having seen similar questions to the OPs in the past, but did not wish to flag it as a duplicate, and so I started to make a comment, but then it did not fit within the character limit. It was very late and I didn't have time to complete the answer to a satisfactory standard (poor excuse I know). I will expand the post, quoting the relevant parts on the linked to questions now. :-)
@pipe - Updated somewhat. BTW, I really like your homepage's pet peeve about SI units. It also annoys the hell out of me, and I am forever editing and adding   between the amount and the units - much to some people's chagrin.
Just minutes ago, I took a PLA part from my car that is parked in the sun, it is warped and bloated. It was wrapped in a towel, not in direct sunlight. The temperature in the car was near 60°C. I would not recommend using PLA on parts that may be left in a vehicle.
Just for completeness sake, one can print a casting mould and then cast UV resilient resins from the mould.
The mould would be made of PLA. Because it is quite brittle, you would need to make a multi-part mould if you want it to be re-usable. Otherwise, if you are using something heat-resistant then you can melt or break the mould once you are done.
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6172 | Fix ghosting problem (damping versus bolting printer to a desk)
I have a Monoprice Maker Select v2. It is the kind where the moving plate (heat bed) provides the Y-axis and the moving extruder provides the X-axis. It has a fairly rigid sheet metal frame. In addition, I added steel rods has Z-braces.
I see some pretty obvious ghosting. This happens for an inch or so right after every sharp turn. Clearly, vibration is to be blamed. I found two simple techniques that improves the situation:
soft floor mats under the feet (allowing the machine to move freely)
bolt the machine to the desk (preventing the machine from moving)
Surprisingly, these two opposites provided exact same level of improvement for ghosting. My question is: which approach is better? Moreover, to further improvement, should I use...
(extreme version of 1) hanging the printer from the ceiling using bungee cords (maximize the freedom to move); or...
(extreme version of 2) bolt the printer to garage floor (0 freedom to move) ?
Tried to print slower? Other jerk settings?
try tightening the belt first, made a big diff for my CR10...
please see my edit
You should add some pictures of the ghosting you are describing. Furthermore, I think there is an excellent answer already available, please look into https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/5389/what-causes-ghosting.
Ghosting is caused by differential movement between the bed and the head when the head undergoes acceleration. The forces add energy to a resonance in that differential vibration mode.
By changing how you mount the base, you will change the mode and probably change the frequency.
With the soft mounting, the bed can move more easily. It will tend to follow the head acceleration better. The whole system will still ring (you can't get rid of the momentum change), but you can cause the energy to go somewhere else and not excite that mode.
With the base bolted down tight, the base gets stiffer, increasing resonant frequencies. You also may be making the base more resistant against racking or twisting motions.
It is completely credible that both interventions reduce the problem. Of the two, I would prefer any intervention that increases the stiffness.
If you know your movement speed (perhaps from your configuration file) and can measure the linear frequency of the ringing, you can determine the resonant frequency that is being excited. Depending on the frequency, you may be able to excite that frequency with an audio generator and transducer (maybe even just a speaker), such as with one of these: Dayton Audio Transducers.
With the system shaking at the right frequency, you can use your finger to find portions of the frame which are vibrating strongly, or maybe even your phone camera to make a high-speed video of the movement.
There are 3 options to reduce ghosting working on different methods.
Basics of motion physics
When the machine changes movement direction, it does so with a very short time difference delay between the head and the frame, inducing vibration. Let's assume the head makes just movements back and force around a point $x_0$ in the mid of the bed with an amplitude of 1. So the positional curve of the print head is $x_h=x_0+sin(\omega t)$. The second derivate of this is the acceleration $\frac {d^2} {dt^2}{x_h}=-\omega^2 sin(\omega t)$. The frame though lacks behind, it has a phase shift to this. It's movement is $x_f=x_0+sin(\omega t +\tau)$, so its acceleration is $\frac {d^2} {dt^2}{x_f}=-\omega^2 sin(\omega t +\tau)$. The factor $\tau$ is determined how the printhead is mounted (friction), the weight of the frame (it's inertia) and how stiff it is. It might change depending on the height due to the construction of the frame (changing stiffness).
We'll assume a 1-dimensional printer as it is easier to model, but in praxis, we'd have all three axis to look at to model the printer in its entirety.
Method one: less friction
One way to lessen the factor $\tau$ is to reduce the ability to transfer the motion energy between the print head and the frame. This means to reduce friction between the frame and the printhead. So better bearings are one way to do this.
Method two: lighter head/heavier frame
Another factor is the inertia differential. If the head has less kinetic energy and/or the frame higher inertia, this reduces the ghosting as with less energy available, the phase shift $\tau$ gets reduced. This is where bolting down the printer acts to some degree: the mass of the printer becomes the mas of the printer plus the part it is bolted to.
Here is where a super lightweight head on lightweight carbon fiber tube rails with Bowden setup (Hypercube design) shines: by having a super low mass, the energy transfer is hindered.
Method three: Stiffening the frame
The frame has a certain frequency it wants to swing at. To shift this, one can add stiffening rods or different mounting, which also increases the weight. This shifts $\tau$ down some.
Method four: Tuning $\tau$
Just adding mass to the printer and from the printhead or stiffening the machine has its limits. There is however a way to isolate the machine from other systems: put it on spring dampeners. As long as these dampeners are not in resonance to the frame's resonance, the machine itself can be tuned in itself. At this point comes in what you noticed when you put the machine on rubber mats: if the machine has a $sin(\tau)\to 0$, then the factor $\tau$ suddenly gets only little effect on the calculation. By the way, the symmetry makes it easy for us, creating boundries: $\tau \in \{0,2\pi\}$
Best Practice?
It is often hard to find the best way through calculations alone. Even Engineers use trial and error to look for where to add mass (using for exampele clay and weights) and look at complex measurements how much mass they need to reduce where to change the ring of the machine so the multiple factors in $\tau$ cancel each other out or get the resonance frequency where they want it to be.
For home use, it is often the best to fix it as easy as possible.
Ghosting is very well described in the topic What causes “ghosting”?.
Ghosting is an artefact in the print due to the vibrations in the
printer that are induced by rapid changes of direction
To add to that answer and get on topic of your question and your possible solutions I'd like to say that neither of the solutions you provide is correct. What do we know? We know that ghosting depends on the mass of the printer head being accelerated and decelerated. This causes overshoots that are damped out by the construction causing the ripples or ringing effects that die out after a few mm of printing.
If the head is considered to have a mass M1 and the printer mass M2 (where M2 is larger than M1), the following simplified figure can be drawn:
Note that the head is without friction (which is not the actual case), when the head is subjected to a force, or suddenly a force acting on mass M1 disappears, the mass M1 wants to travel further; the spring and the damper then come into play causing a dynamic displacement of x1.
If you assume the printer to be bolted to the ground, M2 becomes the mass of the earth (M2 >>> M1) and solely the x1 displacement is taken into account. However, if you hang it freely (M2 > M1) or use rubber damping between the printer and you get a complex vibrating system where mass M1 influences the displacement of mass M2. E.g. M2 is now connected to the earth (or not if freely suspended) with its own damper and spring (or free). If x2 and x1 are in phase the effect may be even stronger than if x2 and x1 are out of phase. This all depends on the values of the spring and damper values and the involved mass weights. Although clamping down seems the best way to go forward, putting the printer on rubber matting or feet may be more comfortable as it reduces the vibrations.
This demonstrates that the displacement of M1 will always exist until you either fix the mass of the head (M1) or the force acting on mass M1 (lowering speed and jerk).
Personally, I would select the 2nd option.
The forces and vibrations inside printer will propagate over every single part connected. Having that in mind, making rigid external frame is just a part of the solution.
Please consider some extra points:
filament spool on the top bar adds vibration to the frame (get a rubber pad to separate hook from the frame - but I will remove it from the printer)
steper motors are mechanically noisy as well - get a stepper damper (as a piece of thin rubber between the motor and bracket)
moving speed and acceleration also adds a pressure to the construction, so high acceleration and braking need to be reduced (when you put hand on the frame you will fill all those movements (close your eyes))
stepper drivers also have an impact on the quality side (circled model skin)
you also could add an extra tensioners from top of the frame to the base.
Fixing it to the floor will be a benefit and considering points above will also improve printing quality.
an alternative lateral frame:
Stepper dampers (the rubber kind, not the electronic kind) should not be used as they do exactly the opposite of what you want. You need the connection to be stiff, not flexible with a stepper damper. I've used them.
@0scar - naming naming naming :) updated my answer to reflect what I had in the brain - thanks for increasing quality of the forum!
To fix ghosting it doesn't realy matter if the printer is bolted down or flying thru the air. The main point is to get rid of any movement in the printer construction itself.
What I mean: If you bolt down your printer, but all parts wiggle as hell, then you will have ghosting. And if you have a printer with no wiggeling parts, then the printer could theoretical even been moved while printing.
So reduce vibration sources or undock them with dumpers and made the frame stiff as possible.
sure a bold down would provide a reduce in flexibility in the printer, but if that would help also an internal reinforcement will do the job. (Like a extra frame)
For my personal 2 cents: I suggest to use a soft floormat to stop vibrations transfering to the table, because it would be annoying a.f. to stay in the same room if you have a vibrating device that uses the table top as a drum.
Ghosting is related to acceleration and weight of X and Y axis.
@FernandoBaltazar right. but mainly caused by wiggeling parts. to reduce even more you have to use stronger motors that can provide the accelerations.
Oh and I forgot: To reduce ghosting it is often usefull to reduce the maximum acceleration and especially the jerk.
loose parts makes unsharp edges, and vibrations makes wavy layers.
I got good results by mounting my printer on a concrete paving slab (obviously cleaned and sealed) and placing that on a foam mat. The combination of high mass and flexible mount has substantially reduced ghosting in my prints. Not my idea; I found it on a video on YouTube (linked below). Honestly not sure if this is the best solution from an engineering perspective (I like the idea suggested above of trying to find the resonant frequency) but it's easy, fast and cheap. And as a bonus, it has substantially reduced the noise level of my setup.
I'm missing something here. How about damping the movement of table and head by placing a tuned mass damper on table and head? Something like a mass that is mounted in the top of a skyscraper...
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6747 | Constant under extrusion and filament grinding
I sadly have a big problem since a couple of weeks and I cant fix it myself. For over 20 prints, I had the same problems: At the start, everything goes well but at some point of time, my Creality CR-10 starts under extruding and after like 1 minute, NO filament is extruded anymore and the 3D printer moves over the printing bed without extruding anything. After that, I have to pull out the filament and the feeder always grinds into it.
Some problem with the hotend (so the feeder works well but it cant push the filament through somehow - I cleaned the nozzle and couldn't find anything wrong there. When I push the filament through by hand it gets extruded but after a failed print, it is VERY hard to pull it back (because of the filament being slightly bigger at the nozzle - hard to remove! -
That could be the problem:
I just tried to remove the filament from the printer (another failed print) I had to use two tongs because the filament was so hard to pull back. I noticed that the diameter of the PLA close to the hotend was a lot bigger (way over 1.75 mm) For about 5 cm that's a very long distance - that's the reason why it's hard to pull back (and also push through?) But I don't know why that happens... If I get an answer for that, I think that I have solved my problem
I already tried printing at 50 % which didn't work.
Creality CR-10 with 0.4 mm nozzle,
1.75 mm PLA filament used (white)
0.27 mm layer height
45 mm/s printing speed at 220° (I can easily push the filament through at 200° by hand)
60° bed temp
And here some pictures of the failed prints:
I think I can exclude these:
It could be: (the things I can imagine but don't have a solution for)
The feeder being too strong/my new PLA filament being too soft
Maybe a software problem? I'm using the newest Cura version and I don't know what could be wrong there.
The filament seems to run out of the hotend. Something is really broken here. I tried to lower the print temperature and don't have an issue (at least not that big) with pulling out the filament but instead, the feeder started grinding into the filament again.
I'm very happy for any answer and possible solutions.
Check your extruder calibration, and also print a calibration cube at 100% infill.
According to a deleted answer from @DinaldEnte, it was a loose spring.
@SeanHoulihane Sadly, this didnt fix the problem entirely. It appeared again later. Ill post the fix when I fixed the problem.
Fixed this by replacing the hotend.
Grinding is due to attempts to advance filament faster than it can be melted and dispensed. Try one or more of the following:
Raise the head temperature (to meet current throughput demand)
Lower the print speed (to reduce throughput demand)
Slice for thinner layers (to reduce throughput demand)
Should I print with a temperature higher than 220°C? That would be quite unusual for PLA.. And I will try to lower the print speed.
For your material, you will need to adjust and observe. Perhaps 225°C is best for that speed. Perhaps 215°C at half speed works well. You must test with that material on that equipment. What works for me may not work for you. The slower you print, the more time the material stays in the melt zone of the head.
I already tried printing at 50% speed and it still didnt work :/ I just dont know what else to try..
Please add that info to the original post so others will have that info.
Alright. I changed the post, you might have a solution for it now?
@DonaldEnte Maybe it is too hot and cabonizes?
@Oscar that could actually be it. As you can read below I'll try to lower the temp.
There are many reasons why that could be happening. The simplest one:
The nozzle may be clogged/has debris. Push the filament down into the hot end with your hand to see if more force will cause a better flow rate. Also, if the filament tries to curl as it's coming out of the nozzle (in any direction) there is is most likely a blockage in the nozzle.
There is a gap between the teflon tube and nozzle, resulting in a larger melt zone which makes it harder to push the filament through.
The extruder cooling fan isn't working which allows the heat to travel up heat brake, extending the melt zone.
The extruder gear may be dirty with plastic debris/dust/rust. This will cause slipping. The fact that the print starts working but then fails seems to indicate that the problem is progressive, indicative of slipping.
The motor is under-powered, resulting in step loss and a cumulative error during printing.
The filament is poor. Voids and inconsistent diameters used to be a problem that caused print fails long ago, but not so much these days.
The stepper motor drivers are over heating and shutting down intermittently during printing, resulting in cumulative errors. Use a house fan/ or other suitable fan to cool the board. I had one Anet A8 mainboard die on me due to over heating.
Thank you for the answer. I think it is one of the things you mentioned. The prints started to fail since I bought a new PLA filament. Its diameter is perfectly consistent 1.75mm but its quite soft.. I bought a new Hotend and after installing it, the problem can only be the filament or feeder if its not working right?
If plastic is now spilling out of the hot end then sadly you did what most newcommers do: You inserted the nozzle flush with the heat block, so you have no idea if there is a gap between the throat. This allows the plastic to ooze out between the threads of the throat and block. Don't thread the nozzle all the way down, flush to the heat block. I thread mine until the last thread just disappears. I usually use a piece of 0.5 mm metal to ensure that a gap remains. Then screw the throat in all way until it stops. Lastly, tighten the nozzle.
I have had this problem for several reasons. I can not say what your reason is, but these have been mine. From your symptoms, I suspect the first problem, but I've listed others in case they are helpful
I had this problem to most with a "Thing-o-Matic" printer. The problem was that there wasn't a clean enough break between the heater and the filament. To fix this, I added a fan on the metal tube above the melt zone. When the filament was sitting, it would soften and expand. It was then harder to push, and it would cause these vertical strings like you have in your picture. The Thing-o-Matic extruder was direct rather than Bowden, but the same problem could exist. I see that the CR-10 has a fan attached to the extruder. Be sure it continues to run, and that the airflow cools the region right above the hot-end, even when the head is an inch above the bed.
One more thought on this topic: retracting pulls filament out of the melt zone into the space above the melt zone, bringing the heat with it. Lowering the retraction settings may reduce the heating of the space above the melt-zone.
Bad connection to the heater, so that the temperature drops while printing.
Too much pressure on the filament by the extruder pressure roller. One pass through is fine, but a pattern of short extrusions with frequent retraction caused the filament to pass repeatedly through the roller, and become flattened so that it had difficulty feeding through the rest of the mechanism.
Jammed filament on the spool, preventing the extruder from smoothly pulling.
Some other problems which could cause this, and I have looked for but haven't been the problem in my cases:
Weak power supply. Check the +12 or +24 voltage while the problem is occurring.
Overheated or defective extruder driver chip that fails to drive one or more stepper motor phases with sufficient current. This can allow good behavior much of the time, but if anything happens that adds load to the motor, it can stop turning.
Thank you very much for your thoughts! Yesterday, I replaced the nozzle and my bowden tube so I can exclude a clog or something different. The next things I will try are 1) raising the temperature (and external measurement) 2) disabling ALL retraction settings and 3)fan on 100% .. if all of these things fail, the only thing left will be too much tension of the feeder on the filament (but I dont know how to fix this because I cant change it on my printer) I checked voltage etc. everything ok
Under-extrusion after some time printing sounds like heat-creep. If the cold side of the extruder is getting warm, even up to 60°C (the glass transition temperature), then the un-heated filament will start to soften and fill out to block the tube. As this happens, there is more pressure above the hot-end and less extrusion (but even more force to make the situation worse).
The best solution to this is better cooling of the extruder/stepper, and a good heat-break with a sharp transition between solid and well-melted (but something has presumably triggered this failure on your setup, rather than a fundamental design problem).
Other things you could try are:
Less retract distance (to reduce the variables)
Lower print temperature (and speed, but this will increase pressure in the nozzle)
Reduce the extrusion multiplier (if your filament is a bit thick, the pressure might be a bit high)
Alright. I just printed something with 0 retraction so thats not the problem. I think you are right with the heatbreak.. Is the only solution to this to buy a new hotend with everything? (fan etc.)
I have the same problem with pulling out the filament again. I will try printing at 190°C and redruced speed.
No, the printer design is presumably not fundamentally flawed. Really this is about finding the exact problem and making a small change to fix it.
I just tried lowering the temperature. Sadly it didnt work. After a while under-extrusion and stop of extrusion.. But the filament was quite easy to pull out.
Basically all of my prints right now are like the last picture. Do you have more ideas? I am starting to lose mine :/
A 0.27 mm layer height is not correct for any printer, any nozzle/hotend, any file, and should never be used as a layer height variable for any FDM printer.
Layer height should be a factor of the diameter of your nozzle size. i.e. Your nozzle is 0.4 mm, so depending on your printer, your range of resolutions/layer heights could start as low as 0.04 mm, but is monumentally more likely to begin at 0.08 or 0.12 mm, with a maximum value being 0.28 mm, and maybe 0.32 mm if you're doing some risky/experimental spiralized vase printing.
Hi! I would like to discuss with this a bit. I agree that the optimal layer height is related to nozzle diameter. But how would you support the theory of it being the factor of nozzle diameter? I would propose Flow Math article as a counterweight.
That layer height could be poor selection also for some hardware setup. However the question was stated for Creality CR-10 printer, which (afaik) uses T8 threaded rods with 2 mm pitch. Then this layer height is OK even doing full steps for Z axis. Prusa calculator for Optimal layer height for your Z axis is very helpful here. (When using microstepping, even 0.2675 would be ok ;), but microstepping itself may introduce some inaccuracy. I disable it for Z axes.)
Sadly, this isnt true: "I finally found the solution! It was the spring being slightly too loose at the feeder. That was it. Such a small thing. I thought that I checked it at least twice."
I bought a new Hotend for my 3D-Printer. I hope that solves the problem. I think that the PTFE Tube doesnt sit tightly on the nozzle so that some filament leaks through. And maybe the fan doesnt work properly. At least I can say that the problem is the Hotend. -the cooling of the filament I guess. Thats because the filament always became larger near the nozzle because it melted. That's also the reason why it was so hard to pull out.
I deleted it because sadly it didnt solve the problem.
But this thread is quite messy now, so I ll create a new one. I bought a new hotend. I hope that fixes the problem.
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6883 | (Cura setting) How can I fix this? No top layer
problem solved by resetting cura.
I have problems like this: How can I fix this? I can't find the right setting.
Also, what are these yellow lines? Do you know how to remove them? They disappear when I disable to show the brim/raft/skirt.
Number of top layers set to zero?
I cant modify that setting.. when I tick the box in cura settings, it doesnt appear on the right side. The problem occurs on many different prints so it has to be the software.
I would suggest that you reinstall Cura. You must be able to configure the number of top and bottom layers.
Hi Donald, please could you post your answer (that a Cura reset was required (assuming that was the solution)) as an actual answer and marked that answer (and not Fernando's) as the accepted solution (using the tick button) and not in the question, as it breaks the Q&A format of Stack Exchange and will be confusing for other users of the site who come here looking for a solution.. Thank you.
This problem appears when a face is inverted, so the slicer confuses and expect the other wall to close the object. So you need to reverse that face to show the face out and the back face inside the shape to be filled
I will edit this answer with more examples
I'm pretty sure the yellow lines are showing the full path of the extruder head, including where it's retracted. Somewhere in Cura's maze of menus, there's an option to turn on/off various displays related to the slicing.
As to why the top layer isn't there -- most likely it's too thin in your source model. You might try enabling "Print thin walls" options in the Preferences advanced list. BTW, if you post the original STL or CAD file, we might be able to provide more accurate diagnosis.
Thank you. Sadly the thin wall option didnt solve the problem.. How can I upload a stl file?
@DonaldEnte Best thing to do is upload it anywhere you have a repository (git, DropBox, GooglePages, etc) and put a link here
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6914 | Filament isn't going into the Bowden tube, instead it goes "into the room"
The pictures explain my problem. I have already tried to reduce the retraction but that showed no effect. Thank you for your help.
The effect is a total stop of the print (no material is extruded).
Creality CR 10
Cura 3.4.1
I recently added this new feeder aluminium block because the 3D printed stock version was bad quality.
Can you also add what does work, what changed since your last good print, etc.
Does it seem to anyone else that the teeth marks are excessive in the filament, as if the tension idler force is set too high?
I've always run my extruders at max pressure and haven't seen any issues related to it.
What printer is this? and is the hotend running?
@Trish It is a Creality CR 10. The hotend is running. Usually the raft is printed without any problems but afterwards the filament starts to fail.
This is typically caused by resistance in the tube or hotend but in your case it appears to be mostly caused by a very poorly designed extruder. The filament needs to be constrained closer to the drive gear. You may be able to drill out the PTC connector to allow the PTFE tube to reach closer to the gears or print a spacer to fit in between but you need to support the filament in that gap.
You can try raising the hotend temperature as a band-aid until you can fix the problem, do not exceed 240 C if you have a PTFE lined hotend. Long retractions can also pull molten filament into the cold zone where it solidifies and make extrusion harder.
As an example, here is a picture of a Bondtech BMG extruder. Note how the extruder constrains the filament path all the way from the drive gear to the hotend entrance. While this example is extreme for normal PLA/PETG/ABS, it is required for flexible filament. A 4mm gap (or closer) should be fine for PLA/PETG/ABS or other hard filaments.
Thank you very much. I just installed that "upgrade" extruder (aluminium) and I'll try switching back to the stock version.
Your extruder is encountering resistance and the filament path is too open.
Your teeth seem to be biting in too hard. Loosen up your tensioners a bit. Teeth biting too hard deforms the filament. Does that rough looking stuff feed through the tube smoothly? Any rough bits can catch anything in the filament path?
It is preferable for the motor to skip when there is a problem, rather than waste filament, so maybe turn down your motor vref too.
How well does filament feed by hand, and with no teeth marks on it? Significantly better, or about the same? Does the bowden tube have and kinks or bends in it? Those effectively shrink the diameter of the tube and really put the squeeze on filament passing through.
Does your hotend have proper thermal preparation? Lots of insulation on the block, and a good strong cooling fan? Too little insulation will cause too much power to be used, and raise the melt area. Too little cooling (especially with PLA) will also allow the melt area to rise (called heat creep). If pointing a big fan at the printer fixes the problem, it's probably hotend cooling related. If it makes it worse, it's hotend insulation related.
The bowden tube is perfectly new as well as the whole hotend (it works perfectly) . I will try the difference of feeding with and without teeth marks. Thank you for your help :)
There are two parts to this problem.
First, the extruder is meeting too much resistance in the print. There can be several causes, from the first layer being too low, a blocked nozzle, too low a print temperature, or printing too fast, so the viscosity of the filament just makes it too hard to pass through the nozzle. Usually, several of these will be in play together.
Second, the extruder design allows the filament to bend as it leaves the drive gears. Typically, this problem is seen most with flexible filament because that will obviously collapse more easily under compression for a given unsupported length.
The trigger is the first group, the second part determines the resiliance of your setup to this problem. Once the break point is reached, there is no recovery. You can retract the filament, but trying to resume the print will just set the extruder back to the same absolute position.
First, check that you can extrude OK in free space, without any drop in temperature. Also check your extrusion steps calibration - if you're extruding 110% of what the print is expecting, the extrusion back pressure can build up to a point of failure. Check the first layer, check the calibration.
You just have to cut the filament at a 45° angle. Then push down the extruder and push the filament in. Then heat up the nozzle. Next, hand feed the filament until the filament starts oozing out.
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6950 | FreeCAD: Scene doesn't look 3D
I finished a 3D object for 4 wheels, but something seems wrong with the final scene to me:
The nearer wheels (#1 and #2) appear smaller than the far one (#3 and #4), and the distance between wheel #3 an #4 seems longer than between (1) and (2), like you can see in this picture:
I want to achieve the scene like this:
How to do that in FreeCAD?
Welcome to SE.3DP! Your question is not specifically on-topic for 3D Printing Stack Exchange, it may be on topic for another Stack Exchange site.
You might want to consult the manual at https://www.freecadweb.org/wiki/Getting_started
FreeCAD, like many other 3D programs (including blender) does use Isometric/Orthographic display as the default displaying option as it allows to see on one view if some lengths or angles are "equal".
In many cases, a perspective view can be toggled on to allow visualization in a room, especially for architectural one.
In the case of FreeCAD with all its options, this option gets swamped out of the user's field of view sometimes, and the documentation is not that easy to navigate without a proper keyword, making the right thing slightly hidden in the documentation. But once you know it, it should be obvious:
View > Perspective View toggles to perspective view.
View > Orthographic View toggles back to isometric.
CAD programs uses parallel view not perspective view.
So the length of 2 objects with the same length are displayed as 2 objects with the same length on the screen.
This is better for constructing stuff.
while you explain WHY Isometric/Orthographic is chose, it does not explain how to switch to perspective
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7617 | Abnormal Extruding
My printer stops about every 5 minutes and it gives me the error message "Abnormal Extruding". I have changed the heat setting up and down on the extruder, but it doesn't help. I have adjusted the bed, the speed and the problem is still there. Can someone help, please and thank you
Hi Nelson and welcome to 3D Printing.SE! Please [edit] your question and add what type of printer you have. It might be beneficial to add the extruder type and what you are printing and how you created the print files.
without more information, we can't possibly help. What circumstances, what printer, is that just one gCode or all?
Please help us help you, add the printer type and firmware type, otherwise it is impossible to help you! Please take the [tour] and read [ask] to update your question so that it is possible for people to help you. If you found a solution, please share this by posting your answer and accept it after 48 hours.
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7992 | Filament extrusion always stops at some point during print
I own a Creality CR-10 (using Ultimaker Cura for slicing) and I am experiencing terrible printing problems.
My problem: I am not able to print anything that takes several hours to print. For parts printed in 30 minutes or so, my printer usually works.
The prints end up like this (unfinished and with a lot of stringing)
This below is actually the best result I got so far.. (important note: there is no under extrusion during the print, it suddenly stops out of nowhere..)
(Although I have to use terrible retraction settings and need a lot of post processing because of all the stringing - you might have an answer for that too.. I just couldnt get the 3d printer to print parts properly with good retraction settings.)
The problem is that at some point of the print, no more (PLA) material is extruded and the printer moves without actually printing anything. The first couple of layers usually work (you can see that in the images) but after wasting almost 600 grams of PLA, I am not able to find a solution myself.
.
I have some suspicions:
Could the problem be the angle, the PLA is inserted into the feeder? (so that it is almost a 90 degree bend)? The filament comes from a spool in the right hand side. But I dont think that this would cause such a problem..
Is it a software problem? Here are all my cura settings (I even reduced the printing speed to 30mm/s at 205°C - still didnt work..) :-(
Could the length of the bowden tube and it tangling up be a problem? (as you can see in the image below)
And annother important thing: The feeder always grinds into the filament (even at those low retraction settings) and it is always very hard to pull the filament out of the bowden after a failed print. Sometimes its almost impossible and i have to use heavy tools for it.. that should be the probelem
I already did some atomic pulls, replaced the nozzle and switched the bowden tube.
I have a dream: My printer printing a part without any stringing and actually finishing the print. Please help me to achieve this dream..
Thank you for your help in advance. :)
(and the filament I used, sorry for the bad quality of the pic)
I've had a similar issue once. It was caused by very slight misconfiguration in filament feed rate (my printer tried to push through too much filament). While it was technically overextruding, I didn't realize that until I measured my extrusion lengths. Overextrusion could also contribute to stringing.
When you pull out the filament from your extruder after a print failure, does it have a thicker end? If so, it could be a sign of trying to push too much filament.
On the left is the filament I pulled from the extruder after a normal print - you can see it only gets thinner and has a long end. In the middle is a very pathological case - that shouldn't happen unless something is very wrong. On the right is how the filament was when I had my extruder feed rate misconfigured - you can see the dents from gear biting too hard into it, and a slight bulge.
What I think happened in my case, is that filament gets melted in the hotend, some of it gets pushed through the nozzle, the excess wells up into the heatbreak, where it solidifies and bonds to walls, causing blockage and difficulties pulling it out.
As to how to fix it (if it's indeed the cause) - if you configured printer's firmware yourself, you may need to tweak steps/mm for the extruder.
It looks like your printer runs Marlin firmware, which allows you to configure steps/mm from your LCD. You could also use PC software such as Pronterface to connect to your printer and tweak steps/mm parameters (alongside with other things). Here's a guide for checking and adjusting extruder steps/mm value. Though thick marker lines are not the best for measurement.
You can also measure how much filament exits your bowden tube with calipers when you move it from printer LCD.
If you don't want to mess around with firmware and steps/mm settings, you can adjust flow rate in Cura, although in that case you'll have to experiment with it and waste even more filament. I'd advise you to check for other possible issues first.
As the other answer has said, this could be caused by temperature creep too, with similar symptoms - filament melting in the heatbreak.
A long and bendy bowden tube could cause issues, but I'd expect underextrusion+grinding from that, whereas you don't see any underextrusion. Just to be sure, you could try pushing filament by hand (with other hand holding the lever on your extruder to release the filament) - it shouldn't take much force to move it all the way to extruder, and it shouldn't take much force to push it through the hotend either.
Yet another thing to check is whether your filament gets dented by the extruder gear during normal print. Just insert it until the hotend without holding the lever on extruder and pull it out - it should be as smooth and round as it was before insertion. If it has dents from the extruder gear, that could also be the source of your problems. In that case, you'll need to reduce tension on your extruder spring, or if it's non-adjustable, then get another spring or shorten the existing one.
As the last thing to check, does this happen with other filaments, especially single-color ones? Maybe this particular filament doesn't play nice with your hotend because of those black dot inclusions.
So, short list of things to check:
Check extruder steps/mm
Check force on pushing filament through bowden tube (by hand)
Check extruder gear tension
Try another filament
Thank you very much for your help! I will try to fix these issues. Actually, the end of the filament i pull out is thicker than 1.75mm so that might be it!
One more question: i adjusted my extruder gear tension so that it is just right (lower and the filament slips and higher tension and the filament gets extremely dented) but even though i think its good like that, my filament is not perfectly round after pulling it out of the bowden.. Until now i thought, that would be normal. Its not too bad just small knurls of the extruder gear.
@DonaldEnte well, there are tolerances for filament width and smoothness, so if the gear only deforms it a tiny bit, it could be fine. Severely deformed filament could easily get stuck in the hotend though. Compare your knurls to what I have on the right on the photo - what I had probably also caused issues for me. Also could be unusually soft filament.
@DonaldEnte It is very normal the the end is thicker! Nothing to worry about, the filament is 1.75 mm, the liners 2 mm, that explains the thicker end.
Why did you add the middle piece of filament, it would never come out a tube like that...
@knah Thank you very much. After some testing, I was able to fix all problems (including the stringing problem) of my 3d printer!
Stringing?
The stringing is explained by your relatively low retraction settings, 1.5 mm is not much for a Bowden setup. As do too high printing temperatures.
Stopping mid printing?
What you are experiencing is called clogging, the extruder cannot push the filament through the hotend and cause the grinding you report. Clogging mid printing is usually caused by insufficient cooling (for the temperature you print at) of the cold end (causing heat creep; slowly increasing temperature of the heat break), especially all-metal hotend assemblies are notoriously known for this problem.
Your Bowden tube does make a lot of kinks, maybe you can improve the path of the Bowden tube. Also if you are concerned about the sharp filament intake angle, you could print a filament guide:
Thank you, I will try to fix those things. Do you think my problem is software related or is it the hardware? I can only fix this issue by buying a new hotend?
@DonaldEnte - Get known issues fixed first, then move onto the next problem (if there is a "next problem*). I'm betting your main issues are mechanical having to do mainly with the Bowden tube and how it is run ... that's some pretty healthy kinking going on there.
Clogging implies heat creep, and heat creep implies overly hot printing temperature (assuming that the heat break cooling is vaguely normal). Printing too hot can also cause excessive stringing, so reducing print temp might kill two birds with one stone.
I had the same thing! On my anycubic I3 mega.
Tried a lot of stuff and got so sick of it so I installed a 10:1 gearbox on my extruder motor. So now it provides 10x more torque and since I havent got the issue anymore where the extruder is just grinding on the filament and the motor is just skipping steps.
No because of this and because my anycubic won't connect to a pc I can't change settings on my printer so I resolve the ratio with 1000% flow in my cura settings. And other stuff is also affected.
But at least it won't stop and just be sitting there and skipping steps.
So the additional gearbox is a solution? An extruder stepper motor with a planetary gearbox would probably solve the issue in a similar way. Note that this stepper has been discontinued, but an equivalent is the 3325_O. I wrote about this motor in this blog The extraordinary extruder
BTW, your other comments about subsequent issues encountered are useful but sort of cloud,or confuse, your actual solution of using the gearbox.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:24.141844 | 2019-01-16T13:39:33 | {
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8049 | Printrbot Metal Plus wireless printing with ESP3D
Several years ago, I purchased a Printrbot Metal Plus with a dual extruder option and the LCD attachment/accessory. Printrbot has now gone out of business, and the USB connection isn't working very well for reasons I'm not quite sure of (It has native USB that emulates a UART connection to a computer, but it hasn't connected to Cura since a few months after I bought it, not that I really noticed at the time).
I have been printing via the LCD control accessory for all print jobs since, both due to it being more convenient and due to the USB not working.
Since it would be more convenient (and also because the remaining single point of failure concerns me when dealing with equipment this expensive), I would like to connect an ESP8266 with the ESP3D firmware to my printer. This would allow wireless printing and control of the printer from a web or network interface. I even have several ESP8266 modules lying around waiting to be programmed from an unrelated project.
https://github.com/luc-github/ESP3D
My problem is that, due to the extra controller board for the second print head and due to the LCD being installed, I am not sure if the hardware UART (there's supposed to be one somewhere, but it wasn't well broken-out since the controller uses USB instead) is being used or is available right now.
I'm also not even sure where on the motherboard it is (assuming it even has one), since, with the folding of the company, most of the documentation seems to have evaporated.
https://reprap.org/wiki/Printrboard#Schematic
The above URL is the only resource I was able to find with details on that. I read it some time ago, but wasn't really able to map the pins to the board layout or the descriptions on the chip. On my check just now, I wasn't even able to find a UART.
Does anyone know enough about these printers to say where to look for a UART or to tell whether it's used by one of the attachments I have?
Notes:
I would also be happy with a method to convert a UART to USB and back, assuming that it's my computer that's having issues connecting and not the printer.
I have also tried Octoprint, but that has its own issues, namely that I have to use a Raspberry Pi and that some of the configuration needs to be done on the Pi itself, as well as the corruption possibility and I suspect a different use case. One advantage of using the ESP8266 is that it is mostly safe from corruption and its main software is read-only.
I am not certain what board revision is used in my printer, since it arrived pre-assembled and I'd rather not open up the case (it's really nasty to try to get to, since you have to flip the entire thing over).
I would thus appreciate any help you can give in finding any documentation that might say which it is or that directly applies to a board so that I can modify the instructions to suit my case should that part differ.
Similarly, I never was able to figure out what exactly the dual-head daughterboard is despite some effort, and that was back when the site existed still. The documentation was never the best; it was fine up until you need to replace the firmware or figure out what exactly is actually in there, since most of this seemingly wasn't actually written down. IIRC, they even said some time later that they no longer shipped with it, so I have no idea.
Welcome to 3dPrinting.SE!
Did you get to find out an answer? I am in a similar quest. I'd like to enable the Marlin firmware to use RX1 and TX1 (there are pins 5 and 7 of EXT1). I did what I thought are the correct firmware changes with no success.
BTW: this is my situation: https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/8320/printrboard-rev-d-rx1-and-tx1-second-serial-port-marlin
I have not heard anything. Your answer does seem to make mine less likely. Unless I can rebuild the firmware and enable that port, with the changes Printrbot probably made and which may now be lost since they folded, it may not even be possible to use that port if it DOES exist?!
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8193 | Clogging due to heat creep: buy new cooler or new hotend?
Sadly, I am not able to "repair" my 3D printer. Every time, I want to print something that takes a bit longer to print, the extrusion stops at some point during the print (the first few layers are great), no under-extrusion whatsoever before that critical point.
I already tried temperature variation (185-220 °C) with about 5 different brands of 1.75 mm PLA.
I tried printing without any retraction, but failed (I also experimented with flow rate a lot and calculated the perfect percentage etc.)
Everytime a print fails, it is a nightmare to remove the PLA filament from my Bowden tube (because it expanded near the nozzle and is stuck in the Bowden tube). I have to pull with so much force, that I already cut myself several times because I slipped off my pliers.
As I know for sure (I already wasted almost 1kg of PLA for my testing) the problem is heat creep = heat travelling from the heat block to the PLA above because the heat break or fan seem to be broken.
So my question is: "Will it be enough to buy a new cooling fan (as the standard fan doesnt seem to be powerful enough)?"
I have to add that I already bought the original hotend long time ago and I tried printing with the "fan of the first hotend" and with the "fan of the second hotend" (the fan that blows air towards the cold end) so that might not be the problem.
Or do I need a totally new hotend? (with heatbreak etc.)
My printer is a Creality CR 10, and I'm using Ultimaker Cura 3.6.
Or is it enough to buy a new heating block + heat break? (I don't know if the cooling fan is the problem or the heat break).
Can you check if your heat break is PTFE lined? If it is and the tubing has slipped upward, you'll get something akin to your description.
What exactly do you mean? I think that the PTFE tube connects to the nozzle without any gaps.
Maybe you could add an image of the extruder/nozzle assembly?
I can infer that you have a bowden setup, but nothing else about the topology of your hotend.
Is it just me or does it seem that the vast majority of mechanical problems posted here are for Creality printers?
@CarlWitthoft I think, you are right.. at least my printer caused plenty of issues in the past several months..
To fight heat creep, you must understand why this is happening.
Heat creeps up the hotend assembly (into the cold end) as a result of incorrect settings or hardware setup causing the filament to prematurely soften and swell.
It is important to reduce the heat travelling upwards in the first place rather than fighting the result. Too high print temperatures are an obvious culprit, but also print speed and retraction length are important. These need to be dialed in in perfect harmony.
Even when you buy a complete new hotend or parts for the hotend, incorrect settings may lead to the same results. It is known that all-metal hotends (due to the lacking of a thermal barrier PTFE liner in the heat break shielding the filament of excessive heat input) are more susceptible to encounter heat creep and should generally be avoided by less experienced makers.
Whether or not you should buy new parts depends on the current extruder, your ability to fix it (and the willingness to put in more effort to try) and the knowledge to install new parts and find the correct settings for optimal printing. There is no unambiguous answer to this question.
Thank you. I have had my Creality CR-10 for quite a while now and the first several months, it worked perfectly.. I think, I will replace the fan and in addition to that, I will reset cura. And I'll buy new isolation "tape" for the heat block. Hopefully, it works..
I resorted to google to find a candidate image which might be similar to your hotend.
Now, it is safe to assume that a like-for-like replacement will not improve matters significantly. It is also a good assumption that the performance gap which you need to close is small. Presumably you know how much time you need to wait for the creep to manifest itself so are part way along to being able to perform some heat flow calculations.
The mass of the cold-end here is small, and there is maybe next to no additional metal on the cold side (compared with direct drive, where the servo acts as thermal damping).
You ought to be able to perform static testing - a thermocouple thermometer should be cheaper than running a spool of filament, and all you are interested in is the temperature rise at the hot side of the cold end after 'time to fail'. If you can achieve a halfing of this rise, you're on the way to achieving a 4x longer print run (or better). If you test with zero filament flow, you should see a worst-case result since there is no cold material flow into the cold end.
The one obvious improvement to make with the specimen above which I found on Amazon would be to duct the fan, so airflow is forced past the fins. A side benefit will be reduced cooling of the hotend.
A further improvement, if there are any metal parts in the carriage, would be to remove the anodizing and use thermal transfer grease to increase the effective heatsink size (assuming that the fan also provides airflow over this metalwork.
You might find a larger cold end heatsink (more air surface area over the fins), that might be a worthwhile improvement - but it depends on the mechanical constraints of your printer.
If it's a printer stock, no modifications, obviously you don't need to change the hot end, Creality did not release a printer without testing it. At least, no such extreme issues can be expected.
Check the fan power, wear, and settings.
This comment does not allow for the common problem to many things: a product is not perfect. It is entirely possible that a printer was released with marginal cool-end cooling. The problem wouldn't show up during normal test prints, and may be limited to long prints in a particular environment. Not every good product is perfect for every user.
Cooling the hot-end heat sink may be the key. My first step would be to try ducting so the all the air from the fan flows through the fins of the heatsink. To keep it easy and be a quick experiment, use cardboard (or business cards) and tape. Check the controls to be sure the fan is running at full power. You should feel air passing theough the fins. You can not cool it too much.
For cleaning out pla from tubes, nozzles, and hot ends, I use a hot-air heat gun.
Do you know by chance, how strong the fan should be? Because I can only feel a light breeze coming out of it..
A light breeze should be enough iff most of the air participates. Air that blows past the heat sink does nothing. I solved this problem on a Thing-o-Matic with a business card, ty-wraps, and tape.
Oh... I had to add a small fan, since the Thing-o-Matic was passively cooled.
So you built some kind of funnel to direct the airflow? Do you have a picture of your solution? thank you in advance
I'm not home. If yours looks like the picture in another answer, i would just put a flat duct from the sides of the fan to the heat sink, taped to the sides of the heatsink. If it was easy, maybe a card from the top of the fan to the top of the heatsink.
It only needs to be better, not perfect.
There is a different, much simpler possible answer, that I see posted nowhere, and after changing many many things on my setup I have finally figured out....
Clean the built-up dust off your heatsink and fan.
Undo the 2 screws and clean the dust off.
While this can help, the constant airflow of the hotend cooling fan prevents dust from settling there in the first place.
I have a cheap Chinese all-metal CR-10 hotend. I used to have a lot of heat creep, but after I setup my only 30x30 mm fan as a part fan to be 100 % at all times to cool the heat sink and retract 10 cm of filament after finishing the print, the heat creep went away.
You can add this G-code after finishing the print to retract 10 cm of filament:G1 E-100 F1200, so it prevents the filament to cool down and expand inside the heat sink.
Another good way is setting up a fan to be up all the time to cool the heat sink. Since I don't have a heated bed and have a single fan, I've wired my fan to D8 pin (for RAMPS 1.6), then setup Marlin:
#define MOTHERBOARD BOARD_RAMPS_14_EFF at Configuration.h
Make sure src/pins/linux/pins_RAMPS_LINUX.h has:
#elif ENABLED(IS_RAMPS_EFF) // Hotend, Fan, Fan
#define FAN_PIN RAMPS_D9_PIN
#define FAN1_PIN RAMPS_D8_PIN
At Configuration_adv.h:
#define E0_AUTO_FAN_PIN FAN1_PIN
...
#define EXTRUDER_AUTO_FAN_TEMPERATURE 50
#define EXTRUDER_AUTO_FAN_SPEED 255 // 255 == full speed
#define CHAMBER_AUTO_FAN_TEMPERATURE 30
#define CHAMBER_AUTO_FAN_SPEED 255
This means that your extruder 0 will have a fan connected at D8 pin running 100 % after it hits 50 °C all the time, thus helping with the heat creep issue.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:24.163263 | 2019-02-07T17:45:47 | {
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8510 | Exhaust air solution
Can you think of a preferably cheap solution for me? I need a machine that pumps air out of my 3d printing enclosure, about 4 meters of pipe length. (From enclosure to window) What kind of pump or fan can pump air out of the enclosure (4m pipe length) at the lowest possible price and low volume?
I need it for cooling purposes and for better general air quality in my room after opening the printer enclosure.
It doesn't need to be top notch equipment, just enough for my purposes.
Get a used cpap machine
Air flows from places of higher pressure to those of less.
Minimal setup
I propose to look at a very simple setup which works for short lengths of pipe:
Choose if you want a radial fan of a direct passing fan. get one, measure the intake and the outlet side holes
cut a fan inlet-sized hole directly into the back of the enclosure.
mount your fan onto it, most likely with some kind of foam to keep the airstream in.
get a flexible air vent hose (I have seen ~$10/10€ for a 100mm one) and measure the inner diameter.
print an adapter from the fan outlet to the vent hose.
mount the adapter, then the hose, use clamps to secure it.
lead the air vent hose to the window and out or into a wall through.
Even if the airstream doesn't seem to be very fast, you could test it with smoke to see that it will blow out the air on the other end of the hose. The large diameter lets quite some air out with just a "gentle" airstream. This is not a very efficient system though, as we build up a pressure in the pipe the fan wors against.
efficiency gains
To gain efficiency, we should move the fan away from the machine and closer to the outlet. That means, we need to increase the fan power. If you can get your hand on, for example, an in-pipe motor, that would be a solution, but usually an expensive one. If you are good with electrics, you could use a blower from an electric cloths-drier. You might get a clothes-drier to strip the motor from really cheap, for example from a renovation, recycling facility or Craigslist, e-bay or any other auction or classifieds-page.
Or you build your own from an electric motor (you could use your machine's power supply here), a housing made from wood and an impeller, which you can get as a "Dryer Blower Wheel" spare part for under $50. If you connect the power for its motor through a regulatable resistor, you could even control its spinning speed.
To cope with the suction, we need to use aluminium flex pipe on the arm between machine and exhaust.
go big
If you want to go industrial like if you want to run a laser cutter, you will need to go industrial in the vent size too. You use pretty much the same diameter aluminium flex pipe and a much stronger motor than the drier one, and you don't mount the motor directly to the machine back but somewhere downstream as it's rather loud. For what to look for in that case, I found a very good article here. Note though, that this is not a small setup, but you could possibly vent a whole batch of printers through one pump, using some airstream cutoffs to control which ones get currently evacuated.
I strongly recommend putting the fan at the exit port of the ductwork. Most fans work much better dumping into open air (no back-pressure).
@CarlWitthoft true for most applications with a huge air movement. I would actually go with a two-fan solution (one to blow air into the machine to aid in having a pressure gradient, one sucking out)
@CarlWitthoft expanded on that thought - kinda the "middle ground" on pricing.
Well you can get a centrifugal fan and put it at either end of the pipe. You didn't specify a pipe diameter so I'll assume it's 1 inch. Just hook the pipe up to the exhaust. You will have to design and print an adapter.
I already tried using a standard fan but it was way to weak.. do you really think such a fan has enough power to blow air over 4 meters of pipe? The other fan I used could only creat a nice wind in a range of 30 cm...
@DonaldEnte there's no such thing as "standard fan" :-) . If you want to use a squirrelcage, pick one to match your ductwork diameter and check the CFM (cubic ft/minute) output rating.
@CarlWitthoft Do you know a specific squirrelcage fan that will do the job for me? Because I am not really a fan specialist and dont want to buy something that doesnt work for me.. :-)
mybe the VKO Turbo 150 pipe fan?
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9965 | Printrbot Metal Plus with new Cura
I am still using the originally-suggested version of Cura (for Ubuntu) for my Printrbot Metal Plus (NOT to be confused with the Simple Metal).
My printer was one of the ones with two print heads, and I'd like to make sure that configuring the new Cura software (mine is getting a bit odd due to age and possible slight incompatibility with the OS after all this time) goes correctly.
However, the new versions of Cura no longer list this printer, only having the Simple Metal in the list of preconfigured options.
How much might the manual "add printer" option break my configuration, and will anything cause actual damage to the printer (head/bed collisions, wrong axis measurements, etc)?
Or is there a way to copy the preset options from the old version to the new one? (NOT the .ini file that has MY saved configs, but the default file(s) that the setup wizard uses when opening the program and choosing a printer.)
All the alt-text is showing as white, and I can't connect via USB anymore. I can't quite confirm that it's due to it being old, but it's probably a good idea to update it by now, I assume.
[EDIT: My computer died, and took with it that old edition of cura. I have a replacement now, but I can't get that version anymore (to run or to get the settings out of). Does anyone have a list of settings or a config for say, PrusaSlicer or modern cura?]
Have you tried installing the new version and add a custom 3D printer? It is not very hard to set up. You need a few parameters like printer volume sizes, filament diameter and firmware flavor. It shouldn't be that difficult. Why not install a new version next to the old and update the question when you run into setup problems? Note that limits and printer configuration are in the firmware.
atp that, cura allows to export printer settings. from which version do you want to switch zto which?
I've never had to migrate before, and I also didn't know how that data got stored. I did somehow cause the print head to crash into the print bed hard enough to render it permanently dented in one corner once, so I was a bit leery to take my chances.
Still, is there no way to add "default" printers to modern Cura?
You can add any printer to Cura or any other tool you want to use. It just need same basic settings as bed volume, firmware flavor, amount of extruders and bed center options. It isn't that difficult to add yourself.
I don't need to worry about microstepping or Z-increases per layer, etc? How much is it safe to leave default? I also know that it used custom start/end gcode...
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10180 | 3D printer and design software for creating propellers for a toy airplane/drone
I would like to begin designing and 3D printing propellers for both a toy airplane and drone that I own. I want to do this for experimental purposes.
I have never used a 3D printer nor have I used any 3D printing design software. So as a beginner to both of these things, I would like to know what would be the best type of 3D printer to use to create propellers for toy aircraft and I would like to know what is currently regarded as the easiest-to-use 3D design software for creating objects such as airfoils.
Also, at this time, the most I want to pay for a 3D printer is $500.
I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because shopping and recommendation questions without a very narrow scope are out of the scope of any Stack Exchange
The 3d printer is irrelevant here. What you're asking is 'how to use CAD programs' , and even that is a small part of the problem. You can easily design a propellor that works, but if you want it efficient and low-noise, then you need a lot of knowledge about fluid dynamics.
Hi HRIATEXP and welcome to SE.3DP..! Unfortunately your question has been closed as both a [shopping] recommendation and for being too broad. However, it won't get auto-deleted as it has some up votes. In future try to ask questions that are specific to one particular issue. You can join us in [chat], have a look at the on-topic page (although that is in a state of flux) and don't forget to take the [tour]. Thanks :-)
Thingiverse.com has a bunch of propellers you can download and print. Choice of printer varies from kits you need to assemble, a great way to learn what's really involved, to more expensive ready to go systems.
First, welcome to 3D Printing SE. This is a great place to ask questions and get answers from people who have walked the same path. I see from your profile that you are not a stranger to StackExchange and the available sites.
This question may be too broad for this SE Group, as it is asking for opinions rather than facts. We try not to ask questions about "what is the best printer", or "what software is the best". We avoid it both because it will change frequently, and because the answer needs to be gauged in your context, not the answerer's. We have some tools and community guidelines that suggest how to formulate the best questions.
Never-the-less, it is very hard when starting to even know how to make the first step, so with the indulgence of the group and your patience, I will make a suggestion or two. These come from my experience and your's is surely different.
To try out 3D printers you may have resources the don't require buying one yourself. It doesn't seem that 3D printing is the end goal for you. You want to use 3D printing as a way to manufacture several experiments. To access a 3D printer, it could be productive to check for local makerspaces, public libraries, or high schools with 3D printing capability. You may find a friend you 3D prints who would be happy to run some objects for you. You might even find it cost-effective to send designs to a service bureau such as 3D Hubs. Note: I have no relationship with the company, although I did use their services once.
With the printing side temporarily in abeyance, you can focus attention on the design side.
If you are familiar with programming, you might be able to use either OpenSCAD or SolidPython as a design tool. If you want something graphical, it might be worth trying OnShape. NOTE: I know at least one of the founders of OnShape, but have no investment nor role in the company. There are many design tools available. For designing technical parts, I think you want tools more focused on technical than aesthetic content.
I would avoid purchasing a printer unless you want 3D printing and 3D printers to be part of your project. People have mixed stories with many brands of printer, and lower-cost printers often become projects in themselves. They can be satisfying, rewarding, and learning-driven projects, but can distract you from your prime intention for a long time. In my case, I wanted to print boxes for projects, and prototypes for larger wood carvings. I designed a printer, acquired materials, built it, and spent 3 years playing with it. Along the way, I made some useful prints. Eventually I was tired of not having a reliable 3D printer, and I wanted to reliably make things. I needed a printing appliance. So I bought a mid-range printer (which works very well for me), and I don't mess with it (much).
So, a broad answer in response to a broad question. Welcome to 3D printing, the hobby and the StackExchange site.
thanks for those suggestions. Now that I think of it, it would be a good idea to first learn how to use design tools/software and then send my propeller designs to someone, or some 3d printing service, that will 3d print my propellers and then ship those to me.
I'll second the learning to design aspect of your quest. It will be the most productive use of your time and effort, in my opinion. Consider also to search for makerspaces in your area, which will have members to print for you and possibly advise for your design goals. There are as many design programs available to the common man as there are 3D printers.
At the current price you can get a decent 3D printer ($200 or less), making trips back and forth to a maker space for each round of prototyping really doesn't make sense unless you're operating on an extremely tight budget. IMO we're to the point where dedicated spaces are more for taking a look at the tech before you start and for occasional use of specialized higher end equipment you don't otherwise have access to. Nobody uses computer labs/cyber cafes anymore...
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13477 | Upgrade Ender 3 with Diamond Hotend
As I want to print with multiple colors I plan to upgrade my Ender 3 with the diamond hotend.
So far I found all information I need, except what power supply I need for my RUMBA board.
Can I use the default Ender 3 power supply or do I need an additional power supply or wires?
Parts I am going to order:
1x Lite6 Heatsink
3x Diamond Universal mount
1x 12 V 40 W 6 mm x 20 mm Cartridge Heater Reprap For 3D Printer
1x Thermistor 100K 1 % NTC Temperature Sensor Line for 3D Printer
1x Fan 50x50x15 mm 12 V 125 mA
1x Diamond Hotend Insulator
1x Nema17 stepper motor 48 mm 1.8° 42BYGHW804 1.2 A 5.5 kg•cm
3x MK8/9 Dual Extruder Feed Device Part For 3D Printer 1.75 mm Filament
3x Bowden tube 1 m with fitting 4/2 mm (for 1.75 mm filament)
1x RUMBA 3D printer controller board
6x StepStick DRV8825 Stepper Motor Driver
Ender 3 is a 24v printer so you have to address the heater and fans at minimum.
The RUMBA boards run up to 36 V, so reusing the (24 V) power supply from your printer should be fine. As the 2 extra steppers do not take much extra power (note you are ordering only 1!), your supply should be sufficient. Note that a 12 V heater cartridge is not going to work on a 24 V board (you'll get a massive overshoot and probably over-temperature warnings and printer shutdowns).
Thanks! Your answer really helped me. I changed the 12 V heater cartridge to 24 V and added two extra stepper motors.
@Janik In total you need 3 stepper motors, you could salvage 1 from the current extruder,so that you need to order 2 not 3. But, I would also order 3 to have 3 the same.
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13518 | Enable pins with RAMPS and M542T stepper drivers
So, I've been building a very sturdy 3d printer (also in the future hopefully a cnc router), strongly based on this: Arduino Controlled CNC / 3D Printer Hybrid
I'm using a RAMPS (1.4, will upgrade to 1.6 in a few days), M542T drivers and NEMA 23 motors, I got everything to work pretty well already, but so far, I haven't connected the motor enable pins from the RAMPS to the drivers. But, I don't actually get what they are good for, I think I know what they do, when a signal is sent to them (sort of lock or unlock the movement of the motor), but the printer looks to be working fine. Still, I wanted to connect them just to have everything made properly.
I found a problem, when I tried to connect enable pins, I'm not using stepper drivers which plug into the RAMPS, so I have to run cables between them. When the X/Y/Z_ENABLE_ON in marlin are on 0 (active low) are set, everything works, well as it should I guess (or inverted I'm not sure if the M542Ts need high for enabling the motors or low), I connected the pins and when I try to move any axis, it doesn't, when I disconnect the cable the given axis moves, so I was thinking that they need high signal to work. Went to marlin, se enable_on to 1 (active high), went back, had everything connected, everything moved. But, I tried to disconnect the individual wires to see if it works as it should (when disconnected the motors shouldn't turn when given a signal I thought). The X axis moved when enable was connected or disconnected, Z also, Y one motor was moving regardless of enable connection, 1 behaved even weirder, moved in only one direction. I have pul+, dir+ and enable+ connected to 5V, pul-, dir-, enable- to the RAMPS as in this:
https://3dtoday.ru/upload/main/b03/%...%B0%D1%802.jpg
Tho I have also seen it the other way somewhere, like this:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qvM7BrO1wE...mps_TB6560.png
(the M542Ts have 5V in parenthesis next to the pul+, dir+ and ena+ inputs, so I thing the way I have it right now I have it correctly, but I don't even know what could be wrong to be honest)
How would I get these to work correctly?
Can you better explain to me what they actually do? Also, could you perhaps help me a bit with the connections and Marlin settings to get them to work for the bigger drivers?
Welcome to 3dPrinting.SE!
Please check the links. You have supplied truncated (...) links which clearly will not work. I have (hopefully) fixed the first one and pointed it to the correct Instructables page. If people can't see your images then that will reduce your chance of getting a good answer.
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13843 | Upgrade hot-end to achieve higher temps (e.g. for PETG)
I'm struggling to get my printer to the temps required for modified PETG (the filament I have is Fillamentum CPE and recommends 255-275 °C), I currently can only reach 245/250 °C even if my target temperature is above that. The hot-end is fully ceramic wrapped and metal (no PTFE liner to worry about) and the printer is in a DIY heat shielded enclosure (non-heated).
The printer is an old (but gold) Wanhao Duplicator 4 (Rep 1 clone) with a MK8/9 extruder running a custom build of Sailfish. I know there is a firmware cap at 280 °C but that's fine, I don't intend to go above that.
Bar totally swapping out the extruder assembly what can I do to up the hot-end temperature, upgrade the power supply, heater cartridge?
What PETG do you have that recommends 255-275? Typical recommended range for PETG is 220-250 °C, though I'd say the minimum is more like 230 or 235. Have you tried printing it at temperatures you can reach and had problems that you think would be resolved by using a higher temperature? In my experience even at 250 PETG is a dripping mess.
I'm not sure I understand why you want to upgrade the extruder if your hotend can reach higher temperatures. Try going at 260°C and check the print speed, which you haven't mentioned. Maybe you are printing too fast for that temperature+nozzle (which is also not mentioned). Usually printing at the low-end of the temperature range involves slowing down further (and PETG is not fast to begin with).
@FarO I cannot reach higher temperatures, that is the issue. It doesn’t matter what my max temperature is, if it’s above 245/250 it will never reach it.
Are you sure the firmware limit is at 280 °C? A hotend should get hotter than 250 °C when heated static (no filament to cool it down).
@0scar Positive, I’ve seen it written in the firmware plus on occasion it does fluctuate up to 251/2~. Before the enclosure and the ceramic wrap I couldn’t even maintain 230~. It’s a very old printer, my guess was the power supply or heating cartridge isn’t spec’d to go that high, but I’m unsure.
Well if the hotend should reach higher, but it doesn't, I would surely measure the voltage of the PSU under load (that means, when the hotend and bed are cold and you turn on both to reach 250/80 C).
@FarO That makes sense, I’ll give that a try. I know the max temp as per the print spec is 280 so I think I should be hitting a little higher than I am. I’m not sure the heater cartridges are supposed to go that high, but from looking online it seems most 40/50W cartridges heat to around 300.
Are you sure you have a 24V PSU?
@FarO I am, it’s the stock power supply with the printer. 24V 14.6A
Most PETG reacts vey badly to temperatures above 255. The typical optimal PETG temperature ranges from 225 to 245. Above that it gets sticky...
If PETG is your goal, you might want to find a filament that is more friendly to your printer. They are pretty cheap, and now you have transitioned to an all-metal hot end, you should be good to go!
Its a modified PETG, the brand is Fillamentum and the temp range 255-275 is recommended by the brand. I have a few reels of it so I’m determined to print with it. Getting major inconsistent and under extrusion at 245.
Have you tried wrapping the hot-end in silicone?
Hot-end is already wrapped in ceramic, which I believe has much better thermal insulation properties than silicone.
I’m assuming that you have turned-off any cooling fans?
Correct, the extruded fan is on to stabilise the temperature but I have no control over this. Weirdly it does seem to be on quite aggressively considering it’s not even at the target temperature.
An extra layer of silicone might help buy you a few degrees - the ceramic coatings are often rather thin... I use self sealing tape and my head is also ceramic-coated - just be careful about the max temp it can handle. Are you using an infrared thermometer to measure temperature?
Upgrading the heater will not only require more power, but probably a new mainboard to in order to handle that power without catching fire. Are you experienced in electronics?
Fairly, I’ve wired in the cooling fan (as it doesn’t come as standard) into the motherboard and an auto levelling sensor.
This would be MUCH more dangerous: unless you can find a kit specifically for your machine, you would potentially need to do major surgery to the mainboard to re-route power and potentially replace power transistors and the like... It is not as simple as wiring in a fan! (The hot-end control circuitry and software is the core of any 3D printer.)
Loads can be easily taken from the board with an external MOSFET module, but that is rarely necessary for hotend heater elements. The current is determined by the resistance of the heater element.
Totally agree about the external MOSFET - that is what I meant by re-routing power. My concern here is that many of the cheaper mainboards are not engineered to handle higher current draws and/or higher voltages than their original configuration. The worst offenders have been known to spontaneously combust even when operated within their default spec. Now, obviously if you know how to rate the existing mainboard power drive capabilities you are ok to go for a higher power heater - but otherwise you run the risk of overloading things unless you resort to off-board/uprated components.
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14519 | Why would my extruder remove the filament all the way out after prints? [Ender 3 v2]
Background
I bought an Ender 3 v2 printer, everything has been working fine, been experimenting with harder and higher temperature filaments like different variations of PLA and PETG.
Original extruder would bite the filament too hard sometimes and snap it, if it's loose it would grind it, filling its teeth with material that needs to be cleaned out.
I bought a BMG clone (TriangleLab) extruder and set it up according to BondTech instructions but without having to invert the stepper motor rotation and set E-Steps to 419, which seems to be printing fine.
It's still using the stock hotend but with 0.6 mm hardened steel nozzle. I do have BLTouch add-on and I'm using firmware compiled from tip of bugfix-2.0.x branch of Marlin with stock Creality v4.2.2 board. Firmware Configuration modifications were done to accommodate BLTouch alone.
Problem
I have to manually heat the nozzle and manually extrude about 200-250 mm from LCD menu, otherwise once print starts, no material will come out.
I checked the bowden tube with a torchlight since it's translucent using a black filament to print and noticed that after machine is stopped (from menu or after print ends), extruder will pull the filament almost all the way out while pulling up Z axis to clear some height, requiring me to manually extrude before next print so tube won't be empty. Previously with stock extruder I didn't have to do anything, the initial print on left hand side of bed or skirt print would take care of putting it back in location.
I've been googling and looking at Cura and Firmware (configuration.h) for a while now but I couldn't figure out why this is happening.
This is my End code in Cura. I do suspect 3rd line has something to do with it but I don't understand what that means.
G91 ;Relative positioning
G1 E-2 F2700 ;Retract a bit
G1 E-2 Z0.2 F2400 ;Retract and raise Z
G1 X5 Y5 F3000 ;Wipe out
G1 Z10 ;Raise Z more
G90 ;Absolute positioning
G1 X0 Y{machine_depth} ;Present print
M106 S0 ;Turn-off fan
M104 S0 ;Turn-off hotend
M140 S0 ;Turn-off bed
M84 X Y E ;Disable all steppers but Z
M300 S440 P200
M300 S660 P250
M300 S880 P300
Retraction settings are stock settings in Cura, haven't touched them.
The Configuration.h file is found here, the Configuration_adv.h file is found here.
Update: This happened again with Benchy print but about 4 cm unlike previously, half of the skirt print failed but actual print was OK. Below is last part of print Gcode. End code isn't different from Cura settings printer end code.
G1 X105.151 Y113.199 E313.92164
G0 F7200 X105.155 Y112.539
;TIME_ELAPSED:3369.503317
G1 F3000 E307.42164
M140 S0
M107
G91 ;Relative positioning
G1 E-2 F2700 ;Retract a bit
G1 E-2 Z0.2 F2400 ;Retract and raise Z
G1 X5 Y5 F3000 ;Wipe out
G1 Z10 ;Raise Z more
G90 ;Absolute positionning
G1 X0 Y220 ;Present print
M106 S0 ;Turn-off fan
M104 S0 ;Turn-off hotend
M140 S0 ;Turn-off bed
M84 X Y E ;Disable all steppers but Z
M300 S440 P200
M300 S660 P250
M300 S880 P300
M82 ;absolute extrusion mode
M104 S0
;End of Gcode
;SETTING_3 {"extruder_quality": ["[general]\\nversion = 4\\nname = Ideagen Nozzl
;SETTING_3 e-0.6 #3\\ndefinition = creality_ender3pro\\n\\n[metadata]\\ntype = q
;SETTING_3 uality_changes\\nquality_type = standard\\nposition = 0\\nsetting_ver
;SETTING_3 sion = 15\\nintent_category = default\\n\\n[values]\\nfill_outline_ga
;SETTING_3 ps = True\\ninfill_overlap = 10\\ninfill_sparse_density = 40\\ninitia
;SETTING_3 l_layer_line_width_factor = 120\\nironing_only_highest_layer = True\\
;SETTING_3 nmaterial_flow = 92.5\\nmaterial_print_temperature = 210\\nretraction
;SETTING_3 _count_max = 10\\nretraction_retract_speed = 50\\nspeed_print = 60\\n
;SETTING_3 speed_travel = 120.0\\nsupport_infill_rate = 5\\ntop_bottom_thickness
;SETTING_3 = 1.05\\ntop_thickness = 1.05\\nwall_thickness = 1.2\\nzig_zaggify_i
;SETTING_3 nfill = True\\n\\n"], "global_quality": "[general]\\nversion = 4\\nna
;SETTING_3 me = Ideagen Nozzle-0.6 #3\\ndefinition = creality_ender3pro\\n\\n[me
;SETTING_3 tadata]\\ntype = quality_changes\\nquality_type = standard\\nsetting_
;SETTING_3 version = 15\\n\\n[values]\\nlayer_height = 0.35\\nlayer_height_0 = 0
;SETTING_3 .4\\nretraction_combing = infill\\n\\n"}
If you use a hardened steel nozzle, you should increase temperatures of the hotend by approximately 10 °C, else the heat in the nozzle might be too low causing too much friction as a result of a too high viscosity which promotes grinding.
Line 2 and 3 from your end code cause the filament to retract 4 mm with respect to the last known position in the print. That doesn't explain the large retraction. Care to PasteBin a complete G-code file from a print that showed the large retraction, e.g. from a calibration cube?
Is your extruder having to pull against a lot of weight from the filament? Is the filament spool hard to turn?
This could have been mechanical problem after all. I'm using 1KG spools, not that heavy. I noticed extruder stopped working altogether, I opened it and took out the gears, noticed that tiny allen head screws which serves as key in these gears have been loosened, both on e-stepper mount and extruder mount. One of them was turning freely, hence didn't work. Tiny ball bearing holding shaft also seems to have come out of its socket. I tightened them before but I didn't use anything like thread locker.
@0scar I think it answers for the very long retraction, I'm still not sure why my skirt print will start working only halfway through because it wasn't primed enough automatically.
Long story short I think I've done too much of the "modding" as a one week old newbie in 3D printers, my printer became unreliable, I'm rolling back my changes and calibrating and making one change at a time whenever possible.
As mentioned in the comments, extrusion stopped working altogether at some point halfway through a Benchy print. Once I had opened compressing lever of BMG clone extruder, I observed that gears were loose, after disassembling the extruder noticed that both extruder side and stepper motor side gears were also loosened at hex head screw keys which were keeping them in place. I ordered a thread locker to address that at another time, seems like vibrations due to constant retractions loosened them.
After tightening and reassembling, issue is not bad to the point prints would fail to start, however filament is not primed enough, so some of the skirt print will be blank.
I also added this with 608Z bearings for supporting the smooth movement of spool. Turns out 608 bearings are widely available almost everywhere, roller skates and skateboards use them, so there is a good chance your local sports shop will have it, too.
I installed Octoprint on my laptop to work around this issue as below:
G92 E0 ; Set Extruder position to 0
G1 E100 F200 ; Extrude 100 mm slowly. This is to make sure hotend is not empty and material flow is consistent, i.e. adjust temperature if necessary.
Only then I start my prints.
I learnt that using E<integer> to extrude and E-<integer> retract, I can replace filament too, by using big enough numbers like 350 mm, so I don't have to fiddle with compression lever or its adjustments anymore.
Update: I found more mechanical problems. This issue is not software related. Please see useful advice in comments regarding retraction/priming as an improvement if not solution to this problem.
100 mm is a lot to waste extruding to prime. I print a single priming line my my custom start gcode with just 18 mm of filament, and it works fine provided the filament is properly loaded to begin with and not left retracted at the end of the previous print (I unretract to just a net -1 mm in end gcode).
If you look closely at the G-code you see that you don't need 100 mm, the total retraction is 10.5 mm (313.92164 - 307.42164 + 2 + 2), that would be just enough to prevent printing half the skirt. You should address the retraction at the end, or load more in your start. You can also consider priming, e.g. Cura uses a blob & swipe on my Ultimaker 3E.
I found today that PTFE tube wasn't %100 in the hotend, so there was a gap between tube ending and where nozzle should be meeting, it was filled with material, until it was totally blocked. It was flowing previously but restricted unbeknownst to me. I'm thinking retraction to pull back material worked but it couldn't push it back due to blockage, not as much as needed, therefore pulling the filament back more than it pushed forward in total. PTFE tube was previously %100 in but why it was partially out now, I don't know. My problems are probably %100 mechanical.
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14536 | Short-circuited heatbed
After some months of good quality prints, since yesterday my heatbed does not heat anymore.
I've a BQ Prusa i3 Hephestos with this heatbed, controlled by this mechanical relay and powered by this power source. I know that a mechanical relay is not the best choice for a 3D printer, but I only had one of those when I've built the bed and setting bang bang control for the plate gave me some satisfactory prints.
Since if I connect directly the heatbed to the power source, the latter stops working (I think because of its shortage protection), I'm almost sure that in some way I've managed to fry my heatbed.
Before buying a new one, though, I'd like to understand how I've broken the current heatbed without doing anything but printing, to avoid similar situations in the future.
I'm afraid I've forgotten some component whose functionality is to protect the heatbed (maybe a diode or something similar, I'm sorry but I have never studied electronics).
I've attached a very simple wiring diagram showing the current configuration.
If you fried the bed, the resistance would be infinite (no continuity), else it would read 1 to 3 Ohms depending on the option (24 V/12 V).
@0scar a short is either NC or 0
@Trish Technically, the resistivity of air is 1.310^16 to 3.3 10^16 Ohm, of circuit board 10^17 Ohm, so that counts for nearly infinite to me. :-) Hence the "no continuity" in brackets.
but there's also the short of no resistance ;)
I see four points of error:
The heatbed could be faulty.
The lines could be faulty.
The trigger signal could be faulty.
The power supply could be faulty.
So, how to check what it might be? We need to measure, but we need to measure in a setup of 12/24 V circuits while they are live. While not necessarily considered "dangerous", take extra precautions! Remove the parts you will need to access from the machine, ground the power supply, and use your utmost care! Make sure the heatbed is not connected to the Power supply, so we can measure it in the safest way.
Ruling out the Heatbed
The first step can be done without power: the resistance of the heatbed should be non-0, non-open line. It's best to measure directly at the input pins to the bed. If it shows close to 0 (some milli-Ohms), open line (OL), or no continuity (NC), it has a short or is burned out and needs to be replaced.
Ruling out the Power Supply
Once we have reached a safe setup, take a voltmeter and measure the voltage (potential difference) on the pins you reserve for the heatbed. If it is 12 V with some tolerance, it's good, otherwise you might need to get a new power supply or have a professional fix yours.
Ruling out the trigger signal
Next, move your measuring to the output of the board. Now order your board to heat up the bed. Make no illusions, we will trigger TRP, as the bed is disconnected. This will need us to reset the board between tests. You should see a 5 V trigger signal. If not, your board or firmware might be faulty and require different investigations.
Ruing out the lines and switch
Next step is to swap to Resistance mode on the multimeter and measure the resistance of the switch, best with the whole power line. Under "heating", the setup should show a close to 0 Ohm resistance, if not it should show an infinite or open line.
What now?!
If it is neither of the 4, reassemble on the test stand, reconnect the bed to the power supply and investigate all connections between the elements we just checked. Now order a heating procedure - as all components should be ok, it has to be one of the interfaces between the parts.
Thanks a lor for the very precise answer. During the week a friend of mine will lend me a better multimeter than I have in order to make all the necessary mesures. Thanks again and I'll let you know what I understand from the measurements.
Thanks a lot! It turned out to be a broken cable. After I saw all the measurements were good, I've noticed with the continuity tool that wether it sounded or not depended on how I kept the cable in my hands. I've changed the cable and now it seems to work. Thanks again
Assuming you are using the correct voltage hot bed, what you have set up should be just fine.
On the other hand, if it’s a 12 volt bed with a 24 volt power supply, you could have easily burned it out.
If the voltages were matched properly, you may have just gotten unlucky.
Tomorrow morning I'll double check, but the power supply has 12V in output (from specs and the sticker attached to it) and I've soldiered together pins 2 and 3 as printed on the heatbed. Moreover if the voltage were wrong, shouldn't it have been fried some months ago? I've used it without any problem for nearly an year. Thanks a lot for the quick reply
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14596 | Hotend not heating
I've a problem with my BQ i3 Hephestos.
I've noticed that in the last few prints that I've experienced some temperature drops every now and then. Yesterday, after 3 of a 4 hours long print, the hotend completely cooled down (I have Octoprint and from the temperature graph it was visible the exponential decrease to 25 °C). Apart from realizing that, evidently, I have not any cold extrusion prevention set up on my Marlin firmware (I'll surely fix that asap), yesterday I've shut everything down with the idea to try again today.
This morning, though, I could not start my print because the heater didn't even warm up.
After disassembling the hotend I've tried the following things:
I've tested the thermocouple putting it near the heated bed and it measures the correct value
with a tester I've measured the voltage that goes into the resistance ($\approx 12\ V$)
I've measured the resistance with the tester ($\approx 3\ \Omega$)
I've also noticed that while $12\ V$ is the voltage that the printer sends to the resistance, measured when the resistance is not attached to it, if I repeat the measurement with the resistance attached to the printer I get a few $mV$. I really don't know whether it is the expected behavior or not.
Further inspection...
Trying to inspect the cables better I've noticed a black spot on the connector of my Ramps 1.4 board (as you can see in the attached image).
At this point I think I may have damaged something with too much current/too much heat. Too much current it seems strange to me because I have never changed anything in that sense, It is exactly the same as when I have bought the printer. It may be something related to the heat as the problem firstly occurred only on long prints (some hours).
I don't know if this clarify something to you, but to me it says almost nothing...
UPDATE
I've tried to attach the heater again to its original place and now it seems to work (in the sense that it gets hot). I've initially set the temperature to 60 °C, and it had no problem reaching and keeping it. Then I've tried to raise it to 180 °C but I had to shut down the heater after a few seconds because the cables became very hot and tender and it smelled of burnt
The suddon drop and it continuing to print also says, that you don't have Thermal Runaway Protection on! Please fix that ASAP and don't operate your printer till you did.
Since your heater functions with a load, but the power circuitry to the heater does not, it sounds the the circuitry can't supply the current the heater needs. That is assuming you did not change out the resistive heating element lately.
@Trish Thanks for the advice, I will surely fix that before trying to print again
@PerryWebb I have not changed anything on the hotend since i have the printer (a couple of years). Can you suggested me how to check if the current is enough? With the tester I can measure the current with the resistance not attached, but I don't how much should it be. Thanks a lot
A 40 W heater at 12 V will draw about 2 A of current. Since you see burn marks, it could imply that the wires aren't screwed in properly. You cannot measure the current without a load (heating element is a resistor) present, current is measured in series, voltage in parallel.
Hi @Oscar, thanks for the reply. I've checked the wires and I think they were properly screwed in the connector, but I can't judge. Do you have any suggestion about how to fix the printer?
I've tried to directly attach the heater to the hotbed power supply (12 V as well) and I saw it works, so maybe it is something related to the ramps board :(
Where's a possibility: https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10695/proper-hotend-heater-for-reprap-x400-pro-v3
I hope you can measure the resistance of the cables and the heater cartridge, then you can work out the math for calculating the current. But if cables get hot, not warm and begin to smell, then you need to change the lot. RAMPS boards are becoming obsolete, you could opt for a new controller board and rewire the hotend and bed.
Hi @PerryWebb, thanks for the reply. I will definitely give it a read!
@Oscar I've measured the resistance of the system cables + heater cartridge and it's 3.1Ω. Since for the tension I get 12.2V, the power is P = V^2/R = 48W. From the internet, I read that the cartridge I have is a 12V 40W one. Could the 8W more I measure be responsible for the overheating of the cables near the connector? Just to try I've exchanged the heater and the fan on the board and it reached 200°C without smelling
And I = 12 / 3.1 = 3.9 A. So, are the cables you used up to that current?
I really don't know, I've never changed them in over 2 years. I have ever assumed they are since they are the cables shipped with the printer. In each case they are a little thicker than a normal jumper. To be sure, though, this evening I try to ask the vendor
In the end it turned to be that the RAMPS board was ruined.
I bought a new RAMPS board and it worked immediately.
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18235 | Ender 3 V2 & BLTouch with Jyers firmware not compensating
I got the Jyers firmware to upgrade my Ender 3 V2 and added a BLTouch. I got it up and running, followed most of the tutorials on the internet and videos, and uncommented all that was needed. The BLTouch is doing its work creating the mesh values, HOWEVER, when the print is started the Z-axis does not move.
We managed to make it move once but no idea why it moved (to compensate for the mesh variations)
Right now we are stuck with the printer not considering the mesh for printing
To summarize, I followed each detail from this tutorial: https://teachingtechyt.github.io/upgrades.html#bltouch
Double-checked, triple-checked
I tried G29 after G28 and G420 S1 after G28 and made no difference. I know there is the need to store the mash in EEPROM in order to be used.
In 2 tests, we say the Z-axis doing its thing, but when we tried to put filament (running with none) prepare for a full test it stopped working.
This is a new printer fully working, it is a problem with the firmware and/or the way we are using it.
All the other functions of the firmware are working perfectly. Actually, we upgraded another printer where the BLTouch did not work either but we manually aligned and it is doing printing for hours.
Jyers v1.3.5.b using the source code and compiled on PlatformIO
If you Home All, do the X and Y axes home but not the Z-axis?
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18888 | G29 difference between Q and D
I was wondering what the exact difference between the switches Q and D for the G29 command is? They seem to do the same:
[D<bool>]
Dry-Run mode. Just probe the grid but don’t update the bed leveling data
[Q<bool>]
Query the current leveling state
TL;DR
Yes they are different, but whether Q is active depends on the a configuration setting, else it gets ignored and a regular G29 will be executed.
Option 'D'
With option D the G29 code is being run in dry-run mode:
* D Dry-Run mode. Just evaluate the bed Topology - Don't apply
* or alter the bed level data. Useful to check the topology
* after a first run of G29.
If you look into the source code of G29 for ABL the D option will set the boolean abl.dryrun:
abl.dryrun = parser.boolval('D') || TERN0(PROBE_MANUALLY, no_action);
This boolean will cause many parts of the code to be excluded, e.g.:
// Unapply the offset because it is going to be immediately applied
// and cause compensation movement in Z
...
// Auto Bed Leveling is complete! Enable if possible.
...
probe.preheat_for_probing(LEVELING_NOZZLE_TEMP, LEVELING_BED_TEMP);
...
// vector_3 planeNormal related code
...
extrapolate_unprobed_bed_level();
...
// Create the matrix but don't correct the position yet
...
// Correct the current XYZ position based on the tilted plane.
...
// Unapply the offset because it is going to be immediately applied
// and cause compensation movement in Z
...
// Auto Bed Leveling is complete! Enable if possible.
Option 'Q'
Option Q in command G29 code is available when manually probing is active in the configuration.h file:
/**
* The "Manual Probe" provides a means to do "Auto" Bed Leveling without a probe.
* Use G29 repeatedly, adjusting the Z height at each point with movement commands
* or (with LCD_BED_LEVELING) the LCD controller.
*/
//#define PROBE_MANUALLY
From the sources:
*
* To do manual probing simply repeat G29 until the procedure is complete.
* The first G29 accepts parameters. 'G29 Q' for status, 'G29 A' to abort.
*
* Q Query leveling and G29 state
Using the Q in the command will set the boolean variable seenQ which enables extra output as if in debugging mode.
// G29 Q is also available if debugging
#if ENABLED(DEBUG_LEVELING_FEATURE)
if (seenQ || DEBUGGING(LEVELING)) log_machine_info();
if (DISABLED(PROBE_MANUALLY) && seenQ) G29_RETURN(false);
#endif
When going through the code, you stumble again on:
abl.dryrun = parser.boolval('D') || TERN0(PROBE_MANUALLY, no_action);
In the first option ('D') the first part of the statement already was true, so the latter part was of no interest as this statement is an OR statement. Now (for the 'Q' option) the latter part is of interest, the first part rendered false. The latter part is a Marlin ternary macro:
TERN0(OPTION, T) If OPTION is enabled emit T otherwise emit 0 (false).
So, if PROBE_MANUALLY was enabled/defined in the configuration.h file, the ternary macro returns the no_action (a "one"/true, as this a boolean: no_action = seenA || seenQ), otherwise a "zero"/false. And if so, the abl.dryrun is true and all code as listed in the 'D' option will be omitted as well. But, additional exclusion apply for the no_action; this will cause the function to be exited early (line 478):
if (no_action) G29_RETURN(false);
So far a generic answer, the following is specific for the Ender 5 Plus.
In looking into another question from you it appears that the printer used is the Ender 5 Plus. If you are using stock firmware, you can peek into the sources as they are being shared (through their Google Drive) by Creality for the Ender 5 Plus.
Digging into the sources, the firmware version is from the 1.1.x branch, they reference to 2016/2017 Marlin development. If you look into the sources, the configuration file doesn't define the needed PROBE_MANUALLY for the Q to become active in a G29 Q sent to the printer, in such a case the Q is ignored and a regular G29 will be executed. Do note that the implementation of the G29 code is able to handle the Q option, but because it is not enabled in this configuration it will not work.
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18924 | Only Z offset for BLTouch?
I'm having a hard time getting my Ender 5 Plus (I'm using stock firmware 1.70.2 BL) trammed and in the pursue of that I decided to check my probe offset values. As it seems there is only a Z offset configured? Or does M851 only show the Z value?
Send: M851
Recv: echo:Z Offset zprobe_zoffset= -2.08
Recv: ok
For Marlin 1.1.x, the Z-offset is shown with M851.
For Marlin 2.0.x it is also possible to change the X and Y offset values through the M851 G-code using X and Y (outside the default Z) parameter options. Without parameters, M851 returns the following in a terminal:
Send: M851
Recv: M851 X0.00 Y55.00 Z0.00 ; (mm)
Considering this from All3DP:
First up is the official Creality firmware, which is based on older versions of Marlin. Creality doesn’t mention which exact version of Marlin it’s based on, but it’s likely a variation of Marlin 1.9 that’s slightly changed to match Creality’s needs.
What is meant here is that Creality is secret about their use of which version of firmware they use, but it is most likely based on the 1.1.9 code base. If so, this implies that in your case, while running stock firmware, you should only see the Z-offset, not the X and Y offsets.
Digging even further, it appears that Creality has released the Ender 5 Plus firmware through their Google Drive. When you look into the code, the firmware version is indeed from the 1.1.x branch, they reference to 2016/2017 Marlin development. If you look into the sources you will see that M851 indeed only returns the Z-offset.
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19336 | GT2 belts lengthened?
Can the GT2 belts lengthen themselves if they are tentioned too much?
I had them tensioned quite a bit until I saw the video from "Lost in Tech". I then decided to reduce the tension, but the dimensional precision was all over the place. So my guess is, that the belts are too long now?
Possibly, but I think overtensioning will damage your motor bearings first. Can you elaborate on how you determined that "dimensional precision was all over the place"? I would expect stretching to yield a uniform % error across different object sizes, possibly with a mess at a point where the part of the belt that rested on the pulley for long periods without use stretched less. If the errors are more random, it seems likely something else is wrong with your printer. You should probably also tell what printer this is on.
First of all there are two methods to achieve the belt be tensioned.
First method is when both ends of the belt hard attached. In this case if there is a fluctuation in the mechanical system then it will be absorbed by the belt itself. And in this case with big tension it will result in stretching over time with tension disappearing.
The second method is to use spring at one end. The spring will absorb all the fluctuations with little or no effect on the belt.
But I had really bad problems with GT2 PU belts (including steel reinforced), under big tension they degrade suddenly with big change in the geometry at some position. When removed they look twisted. Looks like some reinforcing wires slipped inside the PU body of the belt.
Once switched to rubber GT2 belts (fibreglass reinforced) I never had problems connected to the belts. I can tell that rubber GT2 belts have no noticeable change in the geometry over many years of constant use under high tension with the spring.
As I've seen in todays video from Makers Muse, he also says that these belts can lengthen over time:
(Link with time code)
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20723 | Weird bed movement when doing ABL (G29)
My printer recently started lowering the bed an additional step for every measurement on the G29 procedure. The only change I did, at least purposely is, adjusting the nozzle offset and MIN/MAX positions for X and Y because I installed the "Hero Me" parts.
Here's a video of what happens:
As it turned out, it is actually a bug: https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/issues/25565
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20914 | Vase mode extrusion calculation
I am using Grasshopper for clay 3D printing and I have struggled with E calculus in vase mode especially when:
The layer heights are not equal (adaptive mode to ensure each layer touch below one)
Small layer height enough that a few point-to-point Z difference in layers do not surpass the 50-micron limit of the printer, for example, printer each 5 point will increase height once, and this leads to extrusion at that point
Please, how can this be done when I have:
Distance between point to point
Height difference between neighbor points
Nozzle diameter
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20917 | Struggling to get BTT Smart Filament Sensor to work
Im about two years into struggling with the BTT Smart Filament Sensor. I asked for help on here and on Reddit about two years ago, got frustrated, and put it in my parts drawer for a while. Now I'm trying again. I actually asked AGAIN on Reddit recently, but I discovered some things while being helped over there and I figured I should start with a fresh post, not confusing and cluttered lost in the discussion thread. Long thread sorry, but I've tried LOTS of stuff:
The problem
Right when I start prints, it'll always trigger and say its out of filament and needs to unload the filament. Or if I push past that and tell it to reload the filament and keep going, it'll happen again maybe a half a layer later.
Relevant Info about my printer:
Originally an Ender 3 Pro
Still original screen (not tft as I've heard that can be an issue)
Swapped the mainboard with a BTT E3 RRF
Using Marlin bugfix-2.1.X
Print through octoprint
Changes I've made to firmware
Followed this guide to the letter. I've checked and double checked this like 5x.
Code in start of prints
I've read in several places that you need certain start codes in the beginning of your gcode for marlin to recognize and use your filament sensor. Stuff like this (in the notes of marlin):
I've tried prints with and without this, still fails either way.
Other things I've looked at:
Some posts have mentioned that even if you set the filament detection length to 7 in your firmware (as is recommended), that it doesn't always carry over into your printer unless you use m500. Well, I've done that, and it seems to have 'stuck'. When i use m412 I get this:
Also some posts have suggested using longer lengths, in the past I've gone as high as 25, it still didn't work and would still trigger, just maybe a few moments later.
When I use m119 to see if the endstops are even being detected, it seems to understand the filament sensor is plugged in. I.e. if there is NO filament in the sensor and I run m119, it says this:
But if there IS filament in the sensor, it says this:
I think that's backwards, correct? (Could someone with a working BTT Smart Filament sensor please confirm that for me? I've asked a few times and haven't got an answer yet)
Lastly, per this thread, I was going to change my runout_state from low to high, because as one of the commentors suggsted, if the sensor is interpreting it backwards (which again, I THINK it is from above) then that could help. They suggested trying a print without filament and seeing if the printer would 'print' or be stopped by the filament sensor.
Well, before I changed the runout state I tried that, (printing with no filament) and it still triggered.
Lastly, per this comment on my reddit thread, it was suggested to check the wires because they had their wires in the wrong place when they bought theirs. I did that and here's what I found. My wires aren't colored so I'm just arbitrarily numbering them 1,2,3:
Here's what I found when moving them around:
So the way they are now seems to be the only way that gives me two different states.
Am I doing something obviously wrong?
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20930 | Anycubic Vyper - original LCD fail (not working)
I own an Anycubic Vyper printer.
When uploading the new firmware there was some error and the upload failed. Now the display shows nothing and is black. Is there any possible fix?
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20964 | Problem with PID, temperature won't reach setpoint
Yesterday, I was trying to print with PETG for the first time, I have two printers: an Ender 3 Pro and an Ender 5 Plus.
I started with the Ender 3 where there were no problems with coming up to temperature: nozzle set to 235 °C and the bed at 90 °C. I had to change some settings in the slicer as I forgot support, then I forgot to set a proper Z for the first layer.
So after a couple of times, I run the printer and it's not reaching up to temperature, it stalls around 225 °C; so 10 °C under my setpoint. I try a few times with no success, then I try heating the nozzle by itself with no success, I gave up with the Ender 3.
So I try with the Ender 5 Plus, it happened the same, I try a few times and then it start stalling around 10 °C under the setpoint and then setting off an alarm.
After trying again and again I can see that if I change the setpoint to 245 °C, for example, it will very easily reach 235 °, then I try changing the setpoint a few times and I can see that it stalls around 10 °C under doesn't matter the setpoint.
I tried repowering the machine, I had the cable off the machine all night and this morning it does the same.
My Ender 3 Pro has one only upgrade wich is the touch display.
The Ender 5 Plus doesn't have any upgrades.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.107971 | 2023-05-18T08:16:32 | {
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20976 | New Neptune 3 Max. Cubic infill problems. Flexible Flashforge PLA
Using settings and filament (Flashforge Flexible PLA) that work well on my Ender S1, I am having trouble with cubic infill on the Neptune 3 max. I was wondering if you could offer some advice. The cubic infill becomes very ragged. (See picture). When I use grid infill it is better but still a little ragged. I am printing pretty slowly at 50. I have calculated E-steps. I was thinking I could raise the z-offset but I calculated this during leveling and the bottom and top layers look great. Any help would be appreciated.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.108378 | 2023-05-20T13:48:26 | {
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20977 | How I could make that my PC can recognize MKS SGen L V1.0
I have a Custom Printer BLV, but since I bought the board, MKS SGen L V1.0, never had been possible for any PC can recognize the board. Now, I'm having an issue with the temperature calibration, and it's impossible to set a setting for the PID. Is there any way to activate something as my PC can recognize the machine?
When I use pronterface, even the software blocks itself after few minutes, due to never advancing the message connecting.
Marlin 2.0.X
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.108442 | 2023-05-20T22:04:37 | {
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21000 | Vertical repeating pattern
I've got these strange vertical grooves on my print. They are, at some locations well feelable and at some locations they are completely gone. The printer is an Ender 5 Plus or based on it at least. I use a MicroSwiss Dual Gear Bowden extruder instead of the stock one. Are they from the extruder or from the belts? Or something completely different?
If they're positionally aligned across layers like this, the chance of them being extrusion related is essentially zero. Most likely either positioning system related (belt/motor stuff) or actually present in the STL file.
Are the patterns only visible on opposite sides of the print by any chance? If it is, the problem can be isolated to a specific axis (only X or Y axis in this case)
You could start with the basic checks like belt tension or something else that came loose. maybe even worn out belts.
I've had some (for me at least) unexpected patterns on what should be smooth curves that turned out to be a setting in the export as mesh function in Fusion360. The resolution was set too low so the STL triangles became visible.
I doubt this last option is the problem in your case because the pattern should be visible all along the part so as mentioned before I would start with checking your X and Y axis
I also thought of the STL resolution first and increased the resolution, but that didn't help. So I guess it's down the age-old question, what's the correct belt tension.
@MarcoRebsamen: Not just belt tension. Also motor current, intrinsic properties of the motors, whether you have belt teeth running on smooth idlers anywhere (bad bad BAD!!), etc.
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE I also thought of the idlers. At the front they are actually flat. But I'm having a hard time finding different ones that fit and are not only available on amazon.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.109954 | 2023-05-30T11:04:53 | {
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21005 | MKS Base V1.4 does not recognize my PCB MK3 heat bed
I am using an MKS base V1.4 board, PCB MK3 dual-power heat bed, and Marlin 2.0.1. My printer does not recognize my heat bed. I cannot control it and I cannot even see the temp. Actually, my printer LCD shows nothing where it has to show the bed temp.
My bed is working fine when it's connected directly to a 12 V power supply.
Pin Definings on firmware are checked and fine. The thermistor is checked and fine. Bed solderings are checked and fine.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.110332 | 2023-05-31T11:36:13 | {
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20848 | MMU2S continued print after filament swap faillure
I had an odd failure case today. I've been trying to print a successful model with my newly installed MMU2S on a MK3S+ - specifically this one which seems to be a popular first print.
https://www.printables.com/model/2364-sheep-multi-material
Before printing I've re-calibrated the Z axis, did a first layer + belt tests. The printer (when it gets material to the nozzle at the right rate) is printing as well as it ever did. I re-checked and cleaned all the bondtech gears in the MMU2 with a pin, the idler screws are fairly loose as I had a lot of grinding initially. Both filaments load correctly, at least via the printer menu. I've also checked the filament IR sensor and the FINDA, and they seem fine. I'm using fresh filament as I found old PLA was too brittle and would often snap.
I've had two main issues during the print.
Using the gcode supplied, at the first filament swap the print fails. The nozzle pauses over the purge block, there's a lot of back/forth with the MMU and eventually it just dumps a huge blob of filament in-place. It's not clear what's causing this aside from the obvious - the extruder is activated and the nozzle isn't moving. I've tried this twice with the same failure and I've also seen it happen on print start, before the purge line begins.
Using my own gcode from Prusa Slicer from the 3mf, the print got probably halfway. Plenty of filament swaps, so I thought we were onto a winner. However, at some point either an unload or a load failed and rather than halting the print, it just continued... The error message that the MMU2 filament load failed was actually displayed on the LCD while the printer was going. At least part of the problem was that the nozzle was cold (I don't know why it cooled at all, unless it was an E-stop because the load wasn't fixed in time). Not sure if this was an issue with Octoprint still sending commands or something else, but I would expect the printer to refuse gcode until the error on the MMU is cleared. I'll try again direct from the SD card.
Are there any common problems which would cause either of these? Given the successful reviews, I would expect the GCode to work out of the box (indeed the first bit of the model is fine). I re-checked the IR sensor and it reliably triggers with an the 2.5mm hex key. It's pretty stiff forcing the gears apart, but it's the same in Prusa's debugging video.
Even more odd is that during the second print, I was using an old spool which snapped quite early on. I was able to swap in a fresh spool, and the mid-print reload worked without any real problems. So the system clearly can respond and recover from an error state, but maybe I hit some other bug.
I am using a piece of Capricorn tubing to replace the MMU2 -> Extruder section, but I used the provided one as a reference so I don't think that should be an issue (also if the printer is using the sensors to detect extrusion length then it shouldn't matter anyway). Also when I generated the gcode myself, most of the swaps completed fine. Also given how long the print got, it seems like drag isn't likely to be an issue.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.118300 | 2023-04-20T12:57:21 | {
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20856 | Help needed with weird corner issue in prusa slicer
I've been dealing with 3D printing for a few weeks now. I'm trying to figure what is wrong with my print sliced in PrusaSlicer. Here's how the filleted bottom of my cube should look like:
Now, this is how it turns out, sliced with PrusaSlicer:
and here's how Cura does it, not a perfection but much closer to the required:
I'm printing on an Ender3 S1 Pro with Klipper, 0.4@nbsp;mm, pressure advance and input shaping calibrated. Both slicers are roughly the same settings: 0.2@nbsp;mm, 130@nbsp;mm/s inner perimeters, 100@nbsp;mm/s outer ones. I want to be using PrusaSlicer for it has some special features compared to Cura.
The same cube without a fillet, turns out absolute perfection.
Does PrusaSlicer have different layer heights set for that corner?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.119295 | 2023-04-21T22:19:24 | {
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20885 | How best to distribute a file made with FreeCAD that uses a macro
I made a model in FreeCAD that uses a macro that I wish to distribute (with the original file, not just the STL.
A couple of closely related questions:
If I provide only the .FCStd file, will people without that macro installed still be able to use and modify it?
If not, is there a good way to provide this model to include all its dependencies, or am I limited to advising what macro is required?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.120792 | 2023-04-29T22:22:35 | {
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21039 | J19 Pin on Ultimaker 2 Mainboard Marlin Config
I am trying to configure an Ultimaker 2 (go) with Marlin. My current hotend is a 1.75 mm E3D V6 (still bowden), and the extruder fan uses J19 24V, as circled in green in the picture. Whenever I turn on the printer, the extruder fan keeps running no matter what, and regardless of the temperature. This is kind of annoying, as I want to leave the printer on along with setting it up with Octoprint. So, in Marlin, I want to find the pin number so I can configure it as a proper extruder fan, so it isn't running constantly. I tried M43, but it didn't list J19.
(Just plain Marlin with config, not the specific Ultimaker-specific marlin )
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.122008 | 2023-06-10T09:57:32 | {
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21051 | Ender 3 v2 X limit switch not working sometimes
The limit switch of the x axis on my Ender 3 v2 is not working sometimes. The gantry hits the switch but the motor does not stop. Restarting the printer fixes the issue and prints normally. Next time you restart the printer the problem reappears.
I have changed the switch and the cables with brand new and the problem still remains.
This problem occurs 8/10 times I print and always goes away with restarting.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.123028 | 2023-06-13T16:44:44 | {
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21054 | Ender 3 S1 Pro extruding/jamming on random layers
My relatively new Ender 3 S1 Pro with default extruder started to under extrude and jam on some layers. When it happens I can hear extruder skipping/clicking noises. I printed same g-code multiple times and happened on different layers.
I replaced the nozzle (default 0.4) with the new one (same size/type, from Ender's 24Pcs Brass Mk8 pack), but got similar results.
I removed and checked the nozzle and throat, but didn't see anything abnormal, there was no filament between the nozzle and the throat.
I tried using different SD cards, tried different extruder temperatures.
I'm running default latest firmware from Ender. I haven't performed any PID tunes or any other firmware changes, I've just changed the nozzles and adjusted screw/belt/roller tensions.
The models were sliced on Cura v5.3.0 on Mac and Windows versions (default Ender S1 Pro profile).
I don't think it's a filament or slicer issue as my Tronxy CRUX1 printed same model with the same filament just fine.
What could be the main causes for such jams/under extrusion?
Under extrusion example:
Nozzle and throat:
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.123219 | 2023-06-13T20:26:23 | {
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21058 | Fortus 250mc will randomly freeze up midprint
I have an issue where my Fortus 250mc will freeze mid-print. What I mean by freezing is it will stop printing and the LED display will be stuck, wasting all the material and time up until the point of freezing. To get it working again we have to unplug it, plug it back in, and pray that it will finish the print on our next try.
This seems to happen randomly, my boss had the issue during a 30-minute print job for something small and it also happens for very long print jobs (5-10 hours). We originally noticed this happening on long prints where we leave the printer to run overnight, but with a bunch of new projects requiring 3D printed prototypes, we've noticed it happening during the workday as well.
If anyone has any suggestions for troubleshooting or has come across this before I would appreciate the help.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.123454 | 2023-06-15T22:12:49 | {
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21078 | Inverted Y-axis on Modix BIG-120X V2
I'm almost done putting together this big behemoth, and I came to find out that the Y-axis is inverted. It goes away from the end stop. I've tried everything I could find but can't figure out why. It looks like it's just the Y-axis motor port on the board because I've swapped the X-axis and the Y-axis and it has the problem with the X-axis at that point.
Hi and welcome to 3DPrinting.SE! A little more informaion would be more than welcome (by [edit]), is this an existing branded printer or a a DIY, are you compiling the firmware yourself, if so what firmware. Please be a little more specific to better answer your question.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.124491 | 2023-06-20T22:57:55 | {
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21093 | G29 Sometimes fails - Defective probe?
I have the issue that G29 does work as expected but then fails a couple of times at different measuring points after taht it succeeds again.
So I decided to enable debugging for leveling by M111 S32:
Recv: <<< do_blocking_move_to X291.1250 Y96.0000 Z1.1500
Recv: current_position= X291.1250 Y96.0000 Z1.1499 : sync_plan_position
Recv: <<< Probe::probe_down_to_z X291.1250 Y96.0000 Z1.1499
Recv: Probe fail! - No trigger.
Recv: <<< Probe::run_z_probe X291.1250 Y96.0000 Z1.1499
Recv: current_position= X291.1250 Y96.0000 Z1.1499 : Probe::set_deployed
Recv: deploy=0 no_return=0
Recv: Raise Z to 5.0000
Recv: do_z_clearance(5.0000 [1.1499 to 7.1500], 0)
Recv: do_blocking_move_to_z(7.1500, 4.1667)
Recv: >>> do_blocking_move_to X291.1250 Y96.0000 Z1.1499
Recv: > X291.1250 Y96.0000 Z7.1500
[...]
Recv: <<< do_blocking_move_to X291.1250 Y96.0000 Z7.1500
Recv: >>> Probe::probe_specific_action X291.1250 Y96.0000 Z7.1500
Recv: BLTouch STOW requested
Recv: BLTouch from 10 to 90
Recv: bltouch.stow_proc() end
Recv: <<< Probe::probe_specific_action X291.1250 Y96.0000 Z7.1500
Recv: >>> do_blocking_move_to X291.1250 Y96.0000 Z7.1500
Recv: > X291.1250 Y96.0000 Z7.1500
Recv: <<< do_blocking_move_to X291.1250 Y96.0000 Z7.1500
Recv: //action:notification Probing Failed
Recv: Error:Probing Failed
WARNING! Received an error from the printer's firmware, ignoring that as configured but you might want to investigate what happened here! Error: Probing Failed
Does Probe fail! - No trigger. mean the probe has a defect so that it sometimes does not trigger?
Is this a genuine BLTouch? Or a Creality kind of clone? I've used various clones, but none match the original product, those never failed me. I've given up the clones, I had exactly similar issues.
I think it is. It came with the printer (ender 5 plus) and until recently it worked fine. I did change the pin though, maybe it's a bad one? I don't know...
I've changed the probe to a CR-10 model. The one with the metal pin. No Issues anymore. I didn't even change the wire. So either the probe or the pin was bad. ♂️
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.125411 | 2023-06-23T11:27:52 | {
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21112 | Can octoprint stream from an on if camera over https or rts
Can octoprint connect to a camera that uses the onvif streaming connection standard over https or rts, as opposed to a direct mjpeg stream over usb?
I have a bunch of onvif camera lying around that I could potentially repurpose to watch my printer.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.127167 | 2023-06-30T13:38:05 | {
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21155 | Anet A6: known hotend problems?
I've got an Anet A6, modified with bed-leveling sensor etc., which has given me good service for several years. I'm not in a position to spend lots of money on anything fancier, since at present at least it's not immediately contributing to my business.
I almost always have problems extracting the filament after use, and I believe this is getting worse. It's inclined to clump at the bottom, and from the feel I'd say that it's binding at the bottom of the PTFE tube.
I'm not looking forward to stripping things down, since I've got the relative height of the sensor and head calibrated "just right".
Does anybody know of any issues relating to these heads as shipped, e.g. batches going out with liners made of something which isn't quite PTFE?
Alternatively, are there any specific points that I should be looking for? One particular thing that occurs to me as I type is a difference between the diameter of the holes in the nozzle and the PTFE liner resulting in a step at the bottom.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.129784 | 2023-07-07T09:38:14 | {
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21162 | Ender 3 v2 Print not consistent
I just got my first 3D printer (Ender 3 V2) 3 days ago and at first it was printing fine but yesterday it started painting dotted lines. I heard it could be a clog so I changed the Nozzle after trying to clean it (Didn't fix it). Then I replaced the Bowden tubes and made sure there was no filament jammed in the hot piece. After doing this the printer sometimes prints straight solid lines but most of the time either no filament comes out or it is dotted. What can this be and how can I fix it? I think it got clogged in the first place because the nozzle was too close to the plate so what would be a good Z index while printing? Thanks
Please add a photo and look into the extruder, does it have enough tension on the filament? (look at the spring loaded lever)
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.130438 | 2023-07-08T13:55:44 | {
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21165 | Anycubic Vyper autoleveling not starting
Strange problem: I start atoleveling process and see this message:
I touch nozzle and red lamp is on
But nothing happens. Since one or two minutes I get message
How to solve this issue? Anycubic support tells that is cable problem, but I need to wait about two months to get new cable. May be anyone can help?
Thank you.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.130811 | 2023-07-09T19:01:13 | {
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21192 | Printing stops at the middle of second to last layer
I just had a problem with my Ender 3 V2 Neo. It suddenly stopped printing in the middle of the second to last layer.
The head moved to the side (as if it finished printing) and the confirmation button on the screen appeared, also the progress bar was showing 100% completion but the remaining printing time was 16 minutes (of a 9-hour print). I checked and there were no clogs and no option to resume printing (at first I thought it was a power outage but it wasn't). The bed and nozzle temperature were kept at 60 °C and 200 °C as I was using PLA. I just checked the G-code and, at least to me, there are no evident problems. Also, there's no sign of over or under-extrusion on the print. I have no clue what happened.
It is great that you found a solution. However, please post your comment Just found the problem. It was the slicer software. I was using Creality slicer and for some reason it was missing the last lines of the G-code. I installed Cura and then tried again, everything went back to normal. I have no idea why this happened. But now it's fixed. Got the hint from a reddit user. (that you made under the, to be deleted, AI generated answer) as an actual answer, and not as a comment and then mark it as the accepted answer. Also, please include the link to the Reddit post (if applicable). Thanks.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.132716 | 2023-07-19T12:51:04 | {
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21195 | Speed change from a slicing layer
I did a slicing of a small piece that only has 22 layers. How can I configure the PrusaSlicer software to work at a speed of 60 mm/s up to the sixth layer and from the seventh layer onwards to assume a speed of 40 mm/s?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.132855 | 2023-07-19T22:11:03 | {
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21209 | Advice with material selection for compression applications
I am creating a punch and a base for an arbor press and because of the specific size need, I want to 3D print them. The most pressure that an area of the base and punch should endure is something between 30 to 60 MPa on a small 83mm2 area. Obviously the material shouldn't compress at this pressure. I know that steel is probably an obvious answer here, but I'm looking for the most cost effective solution and rather not overkill. I was wondering what material would you recommend that can endure that conditions.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.133938 | 2023-07-22T14:21:51 | {
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21262 | Weird ripple issue on first layer
Not quite sure whats going on here, seems to happen at most temperatures and changing Z offset height doesn't change anything until it starts to cause stringing.
Hello Ollie7890. Your question is lacking detail and as such is hard to answer without knowing a couple of things about your printer setup. Please [edit] and fill in the [placeholders] in the template I added and then remove the leading <!-- and trailing --> afterwards. This will turn it visible and help us help you find the actual problem.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.137676 | 2023-08-02T18:17:14 | {
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21274 | Underextrusion on top of curves
Every time I print a dome-like shape, some of the last layers will be under extruded. Strangely, the very last few layers extrude fine. So, I just end up with ugly unextruded halos on all of my prints with curves. My extrusion otherwise is fair otherwise.
Slicer: Cura
Printer: Ultimaker 2 Go w/ e3D v6 1.75 mm hotend
Filament: Prusament 1.75 mm PLA
Temp: 215 ˚C
Speed: 110 mm/s (trying to get fast - ultimate goal)
Retraction speed: 25 mm/s
Retraction distance: 2.5 mm
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.137841 | 2023-08-04T00:05:06 | {
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21291 | Bed temp issue on Guider IIs
I have a Flashforge Guider IIs and have been having lots of problems with warping ASA and ABS. The filament's recommended bed temp is 80-100 °C on the ASAk I have wasted kilograms of filament testing every setting in the slice, raft, no raft, brim every layer height imaginable.
I ran the bed at 110 °C and that didn't help. With the fans off, the print would always lift on the front right-hand side so I got my thermal imaging camera and checked the bed. Set at 110 °C the bed had a 3-4 degree variation across its surface and only reached 98 °C. I then preheated it to the maximum setting and the hottest point on the bed was only 108 °C. I resliced the model to 120 °C bed temp and have had no warping since.
My question is: can the bed temp be recalibrated such that the bed gets to the temp indicated on the screen?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.138417 | 2023-08-08T02:33:05 | {
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21299 | Printer turns off after heating up the hotend
I have a Creality CR-10 Max. When I start heating up the hotend, it always suddenly turns off.
I did check the resistance of the heater it was about 4 Ω. The heater itself have 40 W and 24 V. So the resistance should be about 14-15 Ω.
Any idea what happened to my printer?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.139108 | 2023-08-09T05:15:47 | {
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21313 | Printing hollow shell with concave recess ("fill plug") -- Cura automatically fills in "fill plug"
I am trying to print a hollow shell from a mesh I generated in Blender.
The model itself has zero-thickness and I am using Cura "walls" option to create the print. However. The model is designed to be filled with sand for weight and then have a plastic plug secured in the bottom to retain the sand once filled. I simply use a drill to create the "penetration" into the hollow model once the print is complete since Cura finds printing a shell with non-manifold geometry to be illegal.
The concave recess is on the bottom of the model, to allow for the thickness of the rubber plug and still sit flush on the table. Unfortunately it seems this concave cavity I designed is removed in Cura automatically. I have been unsuccessful in figuring out how to get this recessed area to print.
Shown below are slightly different models. I tried importing the mesh into Fusion to "add wall thickness" to the cylindrical recess but it was still removed automatically by Cura as an un-printable overhang/hole?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.140066 | 2023-08-12T19:45:10 | {
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21314 | Extruder motor not running
I have run into an issue in which my extruder motor isn't running on my Voxelab Aquila. This issue just came up yesterday when I started a print and noticed that while the X and Y axes were moving just fine and it was going through the motions, absolutely no filament was coming out. I could manually push filament through to the hot end so I ruled out a clog, and after canceling the print, I pulled the filament back a bit and told it to auto-load, which it failed to do - the filament did not move at all.
Initially, I thought maybe the motor had died on me, but after swapping the X and Extruder plugs, I found the motor itself is running just fine. After that, I figured maybe it was just the cable itself, but I've swapped the extruder cable for the X cable and it's moving the X-axis motor as if nothing is wrong.
I have not been noticing unusual errors in my prints, so I believe this is a sudden problem - in fact, I just completed a successful series of prints last week that took around 20 hours total. The only thing that I think may have been an indicator of trouble is a smell somewhat similar to a hair dryer that got extremely strong yesterday before I decided to test the motor. I know I have read complaints in the past about the mainboard in the Aquila, could this be a problem there?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.140168 | 2023-08-13T14:27:53 | {
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21317 | How to fix a Creality Sonic Pad error that appears after the first few lines of printing?
I recently updated my Creality Sonic Pad to v1.0.6.49.145 (June 28, 2023 release) and since I applied that update, I've been consistently receiving the error when attempting to print any G-code file:
Error Message:
Unable to parse move 'G1 X251.931 Y187.6.324 E35.93675'
(The coordinates in the error message above change based on the model I'm attempting to print, I've just added these for reference.)
The printer just freezes in place after completing line two and does not advance, then briefly throws this error on the screen. (I had to sit and watch it because the error only appears on screen for about 5 seconds.)
It doesn't matter what model or slicer (Cura or Creality Slicer) I use to create the file, I still get the message. I also receive the message on any files that I successfully printed before the update and have tried to re-print as a test.
For reference, I'm running:
Printer: Creality Ender V3 Max Neo
Slicers: Ultimaker Cura 5.4.0 and Creality Slicer 4.8.2
macOS Monterey 12.3
Models transferred via USB drive and Moonraker.
Any ideas on how to get past this error?
I don't have enough rep on this exchange to create a tag yet, but a Sonic Pad tag would be really nice to add, if someone has the rep -- so I've just added the Klipper tag for now.
The changes I made are within the guidelines of the site.
@stevegomez - Post locked - Please note that neither "rollback wars" nor destructive behaviour will be tolerated. Once you post content, it becomes public, due to the terms and conditions that you agreed to - see this answer. WRT to the edits made to your post, please see also Useful things to check for when cleaning up posts. Thanks.
I have had this problem ever since I have had the sonic pad, I found that I just go straight back to print & start print again , it just restarts where it stopped.
Not a fix, but a workaround for anyone else experiencing this issue. I was able to get past it by changing my upload format from "G-code" to "UFP with Thumbnail" in my Cura Moonraker settings. After this change I have been able to print with no problems and I have not gone back and attempted to transfer straight gcode files. (Because I like the thumbnail previews showing on the Sonic Pad. )
You can get to this screen in Cura by clicking the top menu:
Settings > Printer > Manage Printers...
On the "Preferences" dialog click:
Printers > Preset Printers > Your printer's name > Connect Moonraker > Upload
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.140509 | 2023-08-14T16:52:17 | {
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21452 | Carima non-toxic resin?
I just discovered a resin from Carima which says it's non-toxic. They have a link to a technical data sheet, but it leads to a page that requires me to request access, so I haven't read that yet. Has anyone tried this resin, or even heard reports on its quality and ease of use as resin? I really like the non-toxic idea, but it has to work well, too.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.141548 | 2023-09-18T14:13:54 | {
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21467 | Ender 3v2 with CR touch, X and Y axes off on the build plate
I'm new to the 3D printing world. I made a mistake in thinking that my auto leveling wasn't working because of the firmware and reset it to the Creality standard one. After changing the firmware, my X and Y axes have been out. The point hangs over the front section of the plate. I've tried changing this but have been unsuccessful. I have watched many YouTube videos and just don't have a clue what to do!
Can anyone help me how to retune my build plate so that it's centre and uses the max plate dimensions?
Hi and welcome to 3DPrinting.SE! This is reaaly not much to work with. What is meant by The point hangs, are you implying the nozzle? Most probably your offsets from the endstops are incorrect, this can be easily fixed. Have you seen this answer?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.142328 | 2023-09-24T11:08:48 | {
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21486 | Problematic 3D models that will collapse while being 3D printed by SLA technology
I'm working on an algorithm that predicts the probability of collapse for 3D models while being 3D printed by SLA technology.
I'm looking for some 3D model that will collapse while being 3D printed. I wonder if there are any standard ones.
Note
Maybe I can rotate the famous teapot in way that it will collapse...
Interesting. It's maybe better to have an actual question for a title and an example of one a model that is 'collapsed' to better understand what you're searching for. Also in what format? Are you training a prediction model using deep learning or using another statistical or mathematical approach?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.143239 | 2023-10-04T10:49:46 | {
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21501 | Got EOF when reading from device only when heating the bed
I'm having "Got EOF when reading from device" only while heating the bed. however, if I run PID_calibrate for the heater bed and set the temperature to 50 °C. The PID_calibrate will auto-change to 45 °C and I get no shutdowns.
Another point is when the bed temperature is at 20 °C and I manually change it to 40 °C the bed will use 100% power until the bed reaches the temperature around 35 °C and then keeps fluctuating and changing the power from 10% to 40% to 97% to 60%.
Things I have tried that haven't fixed the problem:
Changed the connection cable between the Raspberry Pi and the MCU and changed the cable to power up the Raspberry Pi.
Changed the power supply for the Raspberry Pi.
Removed the camera from the Raspberry Pi.
Changed the board to Raspberry Pi 4 with a stronger power supply, and kept trying different USB sockets to no avail.
I did a clean re-flash and re-install of everything (Klipper and firmware).
Checked the MCU cable that they are connected properly.
Printer: Kobra Max
Upgrades: R65 to R65 Jumper
Board: Pi Zero 2 W
Recently when I was checking the Klippy.log I would see NULL lines in the log.
Klippy.log output:
Starting heater checks for extruder
Stats 29.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000000 mcu_task_stddev=0.000000 bytes_write=1997 bytes_read=4261 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=166 receive_seq=166 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.002 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199993922 heater_bed: target=0 temp=0.0 pwm=0.000 sysload=0.29 cputime=1.048 memavail=3659392 print_time=0.001 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=0.0 pwm=0.000
webhooks client 4131026064: New connection webhooks client 4131026064: Client info {'program': 'Moonraker', 'version': 'v0.8.0-182-g9785387'} webhooks: registering remote method 'shutdown_machine' for connection id: 4131026064 webhooks: registering remote method 'reboot_machine' for connection id: 4131026064 webhooks: registering remote method 'pause_job_queue' for connection id: 4131026064 webhooks: registering remote method 'start_job_queue' for connection id: 4131026064
Stats 30.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000000 mcu_task_stddev=0.000000 bytes_write=2003 bytes_read=4307 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=167 receive_seq=167 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199992990 heater_bed: target=0 temp=33.2 pwm=0.000 sysload=0.27 cputime=1.061 memavail=3659792 print_time=0.001 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
Stats 31.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.003 mcu_task_avg=0.000010 mcu_task_stddev=0.000019 bytes_write=2009 bytes_read=4443 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=168 receive_seq=168 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199992513 heater_bed: target=0 temp=33.2 pwm=0.000 sysload=0.27 cputime=1.078 memavail=3659672 print_time=0.001 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
Stats 32.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.003 mcu_task_avg=0.000010 mcu_task_stddev=0.000019 bytes_write=2015 bytes_read=4564 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=169 receive_seq=169 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199994131 heater_bed: target=0 temp=33.2 pwm=0.000 sysload=0.27 cputime=1.095 memavail=3659672 print_time=0.001 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
Stats 33.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.003 mcu_task_avg=0.000010 mcu_task_stddev=0.000019 bytes_write=2021 bytes_read=4670 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=170 receive_seq=170 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199993743 heater_bed: target=0 temp=33.2 pwm=0.000 sysload=0.27 cputime=1.105 memavail=3659076 print_time=0.001 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
Stats 34.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.003 mcu_task_avg=0.000010 mcu_task_stddev=0.000019 bytes_write=2027 bytes_read=4783 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=171 receive_seq=171 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199993249 heater_bed: target=0 temp=33.2 pwm=0.000 sysload=0.27 cputime=1.113 memavail=3655044 print_time=0.001 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
Stats 35.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.003 mcu_task_avg=0.000010 mcu_task_stddev=0.000019 bytes_write=2033 bytes_read=4901 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=172 receive_seq=172 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199993184 heater_bed: target=0 temp=33.2 pwm=0.000 sysload=0.25 cputime=1.122 memavail=3653168 print_time=0.001 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
Stats 36.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000005 mcu_task_stddev=0.000004 bytes_write=2039 bytes_read=5020 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=173 receive_seq=173 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199993078 heater_bed: target=0 temp=33.2 pwm=0.000 sysload=0.25 cputime=1.128 memavail=3653168 print_time=0.001 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
Stats 37.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000005 mcu_task_stddev=0.000004 bytes_write=2045 bytes_read=5141 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=174 receive_seq=174 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199992990 heater_bed: target=0 temp=33.1 pwm=0.000 sysload=0.25 cputime=1.135 memavail=3653168 print_time=0.001 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
Stats 38.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000005 mcu_task_stddev=0.000004 bytes_write=2051 bytes_read=5262 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=175 receive_seq=175 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199992945 heater_bed: target=0 temp=33.2 pwm=0.000 sysload=0.25 cputime=1.147 memavail=3652468 print_time=0.001 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
Heater heater_bed approaching new target of 40.000
Stats 39.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000005 mcu_task_stddev=0.000004 bytes_write=2073 bytes_read=5373 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=177 receive_seq=177 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199993184 heater_bed: target=40 temp=33.1 pwm=1.000 sysload=0.25 cputime=1.167 memavail=3652468 print_time=47.779 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.7 pwm=0.000
Stats 40.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000005 mcu_task_stddev=0.000004 bytes_write=2095 bytes_read=5499 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=179 receive_seq=179 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199993465 heater_bed: target=40 temp=33.1 pwm=1.000 sysload=0.31 cputime=1.182 memavail=3649696 print_time=47.779 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
Stats 41.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000005 mcu_task_stddev=0.000004 bytes_write=2101 bytes_read=5633 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=180 receive_seq=180 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199993376 heater_bed: target=40 temp=33.2 pwm=1.000 sysload=0.31 cputime=1.191 memavail=3652476 print_time=47.779 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.5 pwm=0.000
Stats 42.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000005 mcu_task_stddev=0.000004 bytes_write=2107 bytes_read=5739 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=181 receive_seq=181 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199993289 heater_bed: target=40 temp=33.2 pwm=1.000 sysload=0.31 cputime=1.197 memavail=3652476 print_time=47.779 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
Stats 43.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000005 mcu_task_stddev=0.000004 bytes_write=2129 bytes_read=5865 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=183 receive_seq=183 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199993252 heater_bed: target=40 temp=33.3 pwm=1.000 sysload=0.31 cputime=1.204 memavail=3652476 print_time=47.779 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
Stats 44.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000005 mcu_task_stddev=0.000004 bytes_write=2135 bytes_read=5986 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=184 receive_seq=184 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199993197 heater_bed: target=40 temp=33.4 pwm=1.000 sysload=0.31 cputime=1.211 memavail=3652476 print_time=47.779 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
Stats 45.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000005 mcu_task_stddev=0.000004 bytes_write=2141 bytes_read=6092 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=185 receive_seq=185 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199993219 heater_bed: target=40 temp=33.4 pwm=1.000 sysload=0.28 cputime=1.220 memavail=3652480 print_time=47.779 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
Stats 46.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000005 mcu_task_stddev=0.000004 bytes_write=2179 bytes_read=6236 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=188 receive_seq=188 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199993307 heater_bed: target=40 temp=33.6 pwm=0.846 sysload=0.28 cputime=1.236 memavail=3649572 print_time=47.779 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.7 pwm=0.000
Stats 47.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000005 mcu_task_stddev=0.000004 bytes_write=2233 bytes_read=6372 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=192 receive_seq=192 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199993302 heater_bed: target=40 temp=33.5 pwm=1.000 sysload=0.28 cputime=1.246 memavail=3652492 print_time=47.779 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
Stats 48.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000005 mcu_task_stddev=0.000004 bytes_write=2282 bytes_read=6488 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=195 receive_seq=195 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199993262 heater_bed: target=40 temp=33.7 pwm=0.784 sysload=0.28 cputime=1.253 memavail=3652492 print_time=47.779 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
b'Got EOF when reading from device'
Stats 49.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000005 mcu_task_stddev=0.000004 bytes_write=2320 bytes_read=6574 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=198 receive_seq=198 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=0 freq=199993201 heater_bed: target=40 temp=33.8 pwm=0.875 sysload=0.28 cputime=1.261 memavail=3652492 print_time=47.779 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
Stats 50.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000005 mcu_task_stddev=0.000004 bytes_write=2320 bytes_read=6574 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=198 receive_seq=198 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=1 freq=199993201 heater_bed: target=40 temp=33.8 pwm=0.875 sysload=0.26 cputime=1.266 memavail=3652492 print_time=47.779 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
Stats 51.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000005 mcu_task_stddev=0.000004 bytes_write=2320 bytes_read=6574 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=198 receive_seq=198 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=2 freq=199993201 heater_bed: target=40 temp=33.8 pwm=0.875 sysload=0.26 cputime=1.273 memavail=3652492 print_time=47.779 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
Stats 52.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000005 mcu_task_stddev=0.000004 bytes_write=2320 bytes_read=6574 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=198 receive_seq=198 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=3 freq=199993201 heater_bed: target=40 temp=33.8 pwm=0.875 sysload=0.26 cputime=1.283 memavail=3651152 print_time=47.779 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
Stats 53.2: gcodein=0 mcu: mcu_awake=0.000 mcu_task_avg=0.000005 mcu_task_stddev=0.000004 bytes_write=2320 bytes_read=6574 bytes_retransmit=0 bytes_invalid=0 send_seq=198 receive_seq=198 retransmit_seq=0 srtt=0.003 rttvar=0.000 rto=0.025 ready_bytes=0 upcoming_bytes=4 freq=199993201 heater_bed: target=40 temp=33.8 pwm=0.875 sysload=0.26 cputime=1.290 memavail=3653008 print_time=47.779 buffer_time=0.000 print_stall=0 extruder: target=0 temp=24.6 pwm=0.000
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| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.144323 | 2023-10-11T19:21:51 | {
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21509 | 3D printer X-axis sometimes binds up whilst printing
My MK2s has developed a strange problem where the X-axis will bind up whilst printing. This causes it to layer shift. The strange thing is I can move the X-axis manually. It doesn't bind up and feels smooth. But halfway into a print, I heard the X-axis make a scrapping sound that's distinctive to it struggling to move.
The bearings are still the original bearings but have had very little use. Maybe 30 hours of printing if that.
I have already taken the X-axis apart and cleaned it with some bike cleaner( didn't have enough alcohol to form a bath. Before I cleaned it, it wasn't moving smoothly along the rails. Now it does move smoothly on the rails but did bind up mid-print.
I have checked the X-axis belt, it doesn't seem to be too loose or tight. I tighten the screws that adjust the belt tension by hand so I doubt it's too tight. It makes the distinctive sound of a guitar string when you run your finger across the belt.
I am thoroughly confused. Could it be a bad bearing?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.145102 | 2023-10-13T17:04:18 | {
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21577 | Ender 3 extruder skips
I'm printing a 3D flower model using an old Ender 3 printer.
At first the printer was printing so well but suddenly, when printing something, the extruder starts to skip and make noises and stops loading filament to the nozzle and not printing at all.
After disassembling the PTF tube, it turns out that it was clogged so I decided to replace it with a Capricorn Bowden tube and after trying to print with the new upgrade the extruder is still skipping or clicking and making a noise and the nozzle is almost extruding filament.
I have uploaded a video that describes the issue: extruder skipping ender 3
BTW I'm using very cheap PLA filament.
Have you tried changing the nozzle? It could be that it is clogged as well.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.150070 | 2023-11-03T22:32:40 | {
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"authors": [
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21335 | Motors don't move when printing but do when homing
I have an MKS Robin Pro I was starting a print on and the motors were not moving. The progress bar was running and the extruder temperature was changing (IDEX printer) so I thought it was printing but the motors were not moving, so nothing actually happened. When I home the printer, however, the motors do turn and go to the home position in fact.
Does anyone know how to fix this?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.151586 | 2023-08-19T09:00:54 | {
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21339 | Ender 3 motor cable not working
I had my Ender 3 packed away for the past two years while I was traveling. I came back and reassembled it, but there is no movement from certain motors/wires. I swapped some of the cables around and the x and z axis cables work fine on all motors. Meanwhile, the Y axis cable only works in one direction, and the extruder cable doesn’t work at all. Could it be due to a faulty cable, or is it on the firmware side? And what fixes could there be?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.151721 | 2023-08-20T18:18:15 | {
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21370 | Rough printing surface
I'm new to 3d printing, printing with Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro. I had printed out some downloaded complicated parts and some simple parts of my own, and I was really impressed with surface finish.
Now I'm trying to print a lampshade from silk PLA.
First tried to print a sample where the profile of each element is half moon. But with 2 x 2 walls and space in between it would not let light through. But the finish was great! Then tried to make a loft where the profile is a 'moon skin', 0.8 mm. The loft turned out to be of variable thickness, but mostly 2 walls. Perfect thickness but the quality is far from perfect. 0.2mm layer height, 0.4mm line width, 200 deg C.
Tried a slice of a lampshade from Thingiverse, and it's opposite from smooth... Any advice very much appreciated. I'm at the bottom of that steep learning curve.
It's 200 °C, Ziro PLA Silk filament.
Also, I chose the same sample to print for the second time by mistake. It was exactly same lines that were under-extruded.
In future, please [edit] and add any additional info to the question itself and not in the the comments. I have done it for you this time. Thanks.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.153532 | 2023-08-25T21:06:55 | {
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21386 | Klipper Input frequency Chart not making sense
In all of the guides i've read it says to read this chart and wherever the peak is for your axis you tested that is the number you set for your freq. However, my chart on the X axis the peak is about 17 but the chart says the recommended value is 39. Why?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.154983 | 2023-09-01T07:18:26 | {
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21393 | 3DF Zephyr -> Fusion 360 set mesh dimensions
I have managed to successfully scan an object with 3DF Zephyr Free, and have exported the mesh to a .obj file (only filetype supported).
Once I have inserted the mesh in Fusion 360, how do I set the dimensions of the mesh?
When I import the mesh into Bambu Studio, it shows me the bounding box dimensions. So I can scale it accordingly. I can't even get a bounding box to display in Fusion 360.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.155706 | 2023-09-02T17:13:28 | {
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21395 | Creating a plastic scallion whistle
Recently my uncle-in-law taught me to make a whistle using a scallion stem. You can watch this video to see the process. Of course, the video shows making a whistle with an onion stem. But a scallion is also a plant and produces the same sound.
Since it rots after just hours, I'm wondering to make a plastic whistle with the same thickness and flexibility to produce the same sound (of course, one end is thinner, and the inner layers of scallion should be removed).
Which kind of plastic is better for this to be used in 3D printing? Can I also make holes in it to produce a flute?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.155767 | 2023-09-03T19:45:52 | {
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/",
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21431 | Communicating with a Marlin board via Javascript and Node SerialPort
I am trying to send G-codes to my Anycubic Kobra 3D printer running on a Marlin board.
I have tried several serial communication software (terminal-based) and managed to send G28, for example, and it works. Using the exact same baud rate and port name, I am using Node SerialPort library and I am successfully connecting to the board. But the problem is that it won't accept my commands, nothing happens.
I have been trying to send G28 in ASCII and hex forms. I have also been trying with G28\n and G28\n\r. I monitored the SerialPort with a tool while sending commands via both Cura and serial terminal. I then sent the exact same string with Node SerialPort, but it didn't work.
What is the correct format, any clues? I want to be able to send commands via Node SerialPort since I am doing my own web interface for the 3D Printer.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.158708 | 2023-09-13T19:48:25 | {
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21446 | Is there such a things as an "Optimum height above the bed" for a Resin printer, and if so, how do you calculate it?
Presuming that you are raising your print above the bed using a raft and supports, rather than printing directly on the plate.
Is there such a thing as an optimum distance above the bed to have the first layer of the model being printed, and if so, is this an arbitrary distance determined by the software\support settings that you are using (For example does using Chitubox at its default settings have an optimum height), or by the dimensions of the model, or is this something that you would calculate based on things such as the printer resolution that you are using, and thus would vary between printers even with the same model>
For example - on this random image pulled off of the internet - is there a specific reason why you would want the lowest part of the model to be at that exact height, and would making it slightly higher\lower have any real impact?
My main motivation for asking this question is that people will often angle their prints specifically so that they will require fewer vertical layers to print, and thus print faster, so it would be logical to think that they would also print their models as close to the bed as possible for the same reason, yet this doesn't seem to be the case.
Logically printing too height would increase the failure rate by having long thin supports, and would increase print times, but printing too low?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.159280 | 2023-09-16T18:06:38 | {
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21587 | Is there a way to reflect 'filament color change' in Cura-generated thumbnails?
I'm using the OctoPrint plugin Cura Thumbnails along with the Filament Change post-processing plugin in Cura 5.5:
I want to create multi-color thumbnails that keep into account the 'Filament Change' script that was used, for example, when printing something as shown below:
Can the use of the Filament Change script in the Create Thumbnail script be reflected so that the Create Thumbnail script can account for the color change with the desired colors, and the thumbnail will contain multiple colors, as shown in the above image?
For reference: OctoPrint-UltimakerFormatPackage: Feature Request and Ultimaker/Cura: Feature Request.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.160932 | 2023-11-05T16:54:09 | {
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21663 | Creality Halot One Z axis inaccuracy
I'm having issues with the accuracy of the Z-axis of my Creality Halot One. X and Y seem pretty close (as you'd expect for resin).
Firstly, it seems to not move and/or overprint the first 0.6 mm or so of the model, which as well as being inaccurate, also creates little flares. This error was tested and confirmed by creating a measuring stick and printing. I could theoretically get around this by raising the part on supports, but as I am doing a flat surface, I can't afford to have the "pimples" generated by the support on this surface (and neither can I rotate for the same reasons - other flat surfaces).
Secondly, it appears that the Z-axis is under-height by about 10 %. What should be circular features appear as ovals, and my best measuring shows the Z-axis comes out about 10 % short of the design.
I have re-levelled, and all that basic stuff.
I have checked that it has the latest firmware.
I have tried different slicers, and they all have the same issue, so I'm pretty sure it's not a slicing issue.
Similarly, I have tried different line heights. (0.05 mm, 0.025 mm, etc.), they still come short, and still lose the first 0.6 mm.
There seems very little of any practical nature that can be done to fix this.
Has anyone experienced similar, on this or other resin printers, and has anyone discovered a fix? Or have any worthwhile suggestions?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.167454 | 2023-11-21T14:37:16 | {
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21671 | What can cause my Creality K1 Camera not to be shown in Creality Cloud?
I bought a Creality K1 3D printer and used it without any problems, with great results, so I decided to buy a camera, specific to the model, which is capable of showing in real time how the print is going and generating timelapses. When it arrived, I installed it and opened the Creality cloud website, where I can see my printer information online, and the camera was detected but kept loading infinitely.
I tried to contact support but the information they gave me was like: restart the machine, disconnect and connect the camera, reinstall the firmware, change the WiFi. I tried all of this and nothing worked, I decided to download the "standard" slicing app for this printer, the Creality slicer, I configured the printer and was able to connect it via IP and see the information, to my surprise the camera works in the slicer app, but not on the website, so the camera is working correctly, and the problem could be a connection problem between my printer and Creality Cloud, I would like to know if there could be some type of port or IP permission, or firewall that is preventing the printer from sending the camera image to the website.
Do you have administrative access to the router and what router brand and model do you have?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.168306 | 2023-11-15T20:56:56 | {
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21677 | Under extrusion? Only after a pause at layer height!
The issue appears on my Creality Ender 3 Pro only after the pause, but it seems to correct itself after a while. From what I know, it seems most likely under extrusion. I've tried purges, still same issue. I only need this feature to drop nuts in a print. The part separates at exactly where I paused. It also looks exactly the same each time on the inside, with there being gaps between the layers (looks like under extrusion essentially).
So far I have managed to try:
writing a custom purge line (like the one at the beginning of all prints) - the purge line looks beautiful on the bed but then on the print it still under extrudes.
Pushing 50 mm of filament after a reheat, but before it restarts. - It still under extrudes
Slowing the print to as low as 50 % speed when restarting
Bonus points I tried these things too when I thought it could be bad adhesion on restart:
Turn the part cooling fans off for 1 layer before and 2 layers after
Increase temperature of hotend by up to 15 °C (in increments of 5)
Restarted the print immediately
The part separates here each time.
But the print seems mostly fine before the pause.
Then after its just not looking to great for a while.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.169004 | 2023-11-26T05:21:04 | {
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21684 | What conditions need to be met precisely to achieve PLA biodegradation?
In addition to the question: Can I really throw failed PLA prints on compost? and anything else I've read about PLA biodegradability, what exact conditions are needed to achieve this?
I mean, oxygen can be bought, and exposure to high temperatures for a specific time or light conditions can be arranged in a DIY matter. So, what conditions need to be met precisely to achieve PLA biodegradation? So far, I've never seen anyone provide a comprehensive list of required conditions or a DIY method.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polylactic_acid#End_of_life cites https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S014139100700300X?via%3Dihub
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.169958 | 2023-11-27T19:55:06 | {
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21702 | Extruder motor moves in the wrong direction
The extruder motors of my Zonestar Z9V5 Pro are rotating in the wrong direction, removing the filaments instead of pushing. Someone can help me solve this. Software is up to date.
Hi Leo, welcome to SE.3DPrinting! Have you seen this question: "Extruder is running backwards?", if this is the same question we can close this for being a duplicate. If not please provide more information on what you did to the printer why it is now spinning the wrong direction!
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.171349 | 2023-11-29T17:58:42 | {
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21797 | What are the potential benefits of using ferrite rings on the stepper motor wires regarding performance or accuracy?
I understand that ferrite rings effectively reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI). However, I'm not sure how much stepper motors are exposed to EMI and, therefore, if adding ferrite rings to the stepper motor wires has any effect. I'm curious how the potential reduction in EMI might impact the accuracy, performance, and stability of stepper motors in a 3D printer.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.181012 | 2023-12-11T21:22:22 | {
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22849 | Is there a lightweight OctoPi multi-camera implementation?
I've seen and read many videos and articles about a multicamera setup in OctoPi. Most of them including Setting up multiple webcams in OctoPi the right way describe:
However, watch your CPU usage as streaming can be quite resource-intensive.
Other guides note a maximum amount of cameras for the Pi. However, in my case, I want to simply manually switch to some cameras for another view and maybe only have one camera used for time lapses, which is simple snapshotting, not streaming.
I was wondering why there is a camera limit at all because cameras can simply be disabled when not used, so at most there would be one active at the time. Is there currently such implementation available compatible with OctoPrint and for example OctoApp? Because switching cameras off and on only when used could save a lot of resources which is much more resource efficient, especially in a resource-limited environment like a Raspberry Pi (OctiPi).
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.186841 | 2023-12-25T17:09:51 | {
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22851 | Is there a open-source pretrained TensorFlow Lite model for failed print and spaghetti detection?
I'm considering to use the Coral.AI USB accelerator to add an Edge TPU coprocessor to my Raspberry Pi running OctoPi, enabling high-speed machine learning inferencing using a USB port. It's power performance is sufficient enough:
4 trillion operations (tera-operations) per second (TOPS), using 0.5 watts for each TOPS (2 TOPS per watt)
I'm not happy with Obico and its cloud connections, and I just simply want a model to run locally on the Pi instead. For the purpose of detecting failing or failed prints, spaghetti or other defects. As well as checking if the bed is empty before starting prints. Is there a existing pretrained TensorFlow Lite model to achieve 'spaghetti detector'-like computer vision, locally on a TPU?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.187302 | 2023-12-26T09:49:32 | {
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23050 | Prints are clumpy, uneven and "gloopy"
Pictures tell the story. Either the printing layers are uneven sizes or they clumo at the beginning and end of the print.
Bambu P1P with a generic PLA and all default settings with auto generated tree supports. Top and bottom areas should be sharp points, not this mess
Looks like you are printing slow and with too much temperature, could you share your basic speed and temperature settings? Please by [edit]!
Also post a picture of how the object should look, part screen shot or something from STL or sliced object.
Broken cooling fan, maybe?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.201329 | 2024-02-07T03:43:48 | {
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23089 | Mysterious line in my Vase-print
Besides the ugly filament hairs (dealing with those separately), I've got this weird horizontal line in my print that's hard to miss. It's perfectly straight, and I can't figure out what's causing it. I'm using the Spiralize Outer Contour setting.
At first, I thought maybe the wall was getting thinner for a couple of layers, but nope. It seems like the nozzle is pulling to the inside direction for a bit for a few layers, because there's also a line on the inside of the vase. On the inside, the line is kind of sticking out. But I have no idea why. I'm not seeing this on my Cura preview, it really happens during the print.
Setup:
Printer: Creality 3D CR-10S Pro V2
Extruder: Bondtech DDX v3 Direct Drive
Hotend: Slice Engineering Mosquito Magnum
Does it happen reproducibly in the same location for multiple attempts? If not, it looks like you just had a momentary problem with extrusion.
I'm trying to understand how you got the filament hairs and blobs on a vase-mode print. Those artifacts make me wonder if something else is going on with the print in general. Is it correctly spiralizing? that is, the nozzle should move in one continuous line around the perimeter without moving away at any point.
Secondarily: on the far side of the vase, is it pushed out, instead of in, or has the print contracted entirely - that whole band is pulled in uniformly around the perimeter of the print for those layers?
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.204055 | 2024-02-20T10:52:26 | {
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23170 | Ender 3v2 mid print extrusion issue
I have been using my 3D printer for 3 years and it has been working very well for the past 6 months. I had never calibrated the bed even once in these 6 months because it was flat and had never been messed up. BLTouch has been working really well.
Two weeks ago, I printed a very long print for the first time, about 48 hours long, and there were more to come. After that print, the bed calibration keeps getting messed up constantly, and even though I get a smooth first layer print, as I go up to the upper layers, it turns out like the picture shown.
I have changed the nozzle many times, replaced the Teflon tube, and pushed it firmly into place. I also updated the bed springs, but it didn't fix the issue at all. I am using eSun PLA+ white. The 3D printer is an Ender 3v2 BLTouch updated. I would appreciate it if you could help me with this issue.
Nozzle temp: 200 °C-210 °C
Bed temp: 60 °C
Please add some image descriptions so that we know what we are looking at.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-12T15:57:25.209679 | 2024-03-23T11:01:51 | {
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4024 | 2018 Community Moderator Election
The 2018 Community Moderator Election is now underway!
Community moderator elections have three phases:
Nomination phase
Primary phase
Election phase
Most elections take between two and three weeks, but this depends on how many candidates there are.
Please visit the official election page at
https://academia.stackexchange.com/election
for more detail, and to participate!
If you have general questions about the election process, or questions for moderator candidates, feel free to ask them here on meta -- just make sure your questions are tagged election.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-21T12:54:48.543137 | 2018-03-05T20:00:01 | {
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70 | Keeping up with our progress on Area 51. Keep the good questions coming!
The Area 51 site has various metrics by which the stack overflow teams assesses the viability and growth of our community (our site profile can be found here).
After the flurry of initial questions asked by several key members of the community, it appears the rate of questions asked has decreased some. So this question is just a guise to prompt the community to ask good questions, which will allow the site to continue to grow.
So get out there and contribute with both answers and good questions!
Most of those initial questions were mine, so it was kind of artificially inflated... we're probably settling down to steady state now.
However, this question is a great time to bring back up the topic of promoting the site. We haven't made an official poster, but please post links to the site anywhere and everywhere!
Good point about promotion. And thank you for all of the work that went into your questions. It very effectively set the tone and helped define the scope of the site.
Agreed. As far as I can tell, the number of questions is borderline worrying, but our traffic is downright bad. Solving the latter issue will certainly lead to increasing the number of (hopefully good) questions.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-21T12:54:48.543540 | 2012-03-01T17:25:18 | {
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1035 | Launched? Launched!
I started up this SE just because it crossed my mind that it might be useful and with little hope to see it succeed. Apparently, it's now fully decorated and with a great and established community.
I just want to congratulate all of you for the great building you assembled on top of that pebble I threw.
Thank you for proposing this site!
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-21T12:54:48.543789 | 2014-05-21T10:37:06 | {
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17 | Just how high is "higher education"?
By looking at the site today, it seems that "higher education" is an euphemism for "doctorate". The definition stage however doesn't imply that (1 2 3...)
Is Academia only about PhD, postdoc and teaching positions? Are questions about Master's, Bachelor's, High School etc. off-topic?
Most questions, even in the definition stage, seem to be from people who are (or aspire to be) employed in academia (as instructors or researchers), rather than people who are only enrolled in academia (as students). There are some exceptions, though.
I often wish the website was cut into three websites: teaching, research and careers/applications.
i think it makes sense because "academia" is not a term used often by people who aren't pursuing a master's or phd (or equivalent). sure, you could call undergrad academia and be technically correct, but that's just not the way the word is used. "academia", by and large, means postgrad or teaching/researching at a university.
I would not define "higher education" as including high school. The usual definition includes college and above (in other words, after having completed the equivalent of a high school degree). In practice, though, I would expect a SE devoted to academia to have most of its participants at the level of a graduate student (or at least "rising" graduate student).
How about "rising bachelor's" questions, e.g. about the super complicated UK admission system.
@badp: the administrative mechanisms of a specific institution are definitely on-topic imho. Details about courses and professors are not. Curriculum decisions may or may not be on-topic, depending if they are of general interest.
Actually, I'd argue that the administrative mechanisms of a specific institution are too localized for SE. Framed as more general questions about administrative mechanisms, though, would be OK. I suppose questions about admissions to college would technically fall under the group's purview, but I don't think that most HS students would look at "Academia" and think "board to ask about university admissions"; the term implicitly suggests something higher up the educational food chain.
Is Academia only about PhD, postdoc and teaching positions? Are questions about Master's, Bachelor's, High School etc. off-topic?
This SE is about academics and Academia. Questions about Master and Bachelor degree are on-topic, unless they are specific to a given university course. That is, if your question is about required documentation to apply to university X, in my opinion it is on-topic. If it's about a course or a professor at a given university, it is off-topic.
High school is off-topic.
I would tend to disagree. Admissions questions specific to a single school are generally solvable with a single link (to a web page for the university's admissions office), and therefore are really just like questions about professors or courses.
@Jason: Sometimes yes, but in some cases there are "cheat codes" that are not told, remembered, or allowed, and can simplify your life. One for all: the order of operations and offices to visit in order to settle in a new country. First the contract? first the visa? first the bank account ? Believe me, every country and academic institution has different regulations on this regard.
I really like @JeffE's comment:
Most questions, even in the definition stage, seem to be from people who are (or aspire to be) employed in academia (as instructors or researchers), rather than people who are only enrolled in academia (as students).
And I think that is the guideline we should use for higher education means. Basically, education that leads towards academic life.
So a question like
I am a highschool senior aspiring to be a scientist. What should I focus on in undergrad?
Would be more about higher education than
I have a bachelor's degree in accounting. Will a master's program increase my employability in finance?
Even though the second question is about a 'higher level' (Masters usually comes after Bachelors) of education, it is not higher in the sense of not really leading to academic life.
That being said, I think we should be cautious about admission questions and advice for people applying to undergrad.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-21T12:54:48.543899 | 2012-02-15T22:49:15 | {
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3772 | What happened to my comment?
I left a highly upvoted comment on Henning's answer to this question agreeing with the second part of the answer and emphasizing that there's essentially no practical downside to using the initial requested by the author. (I don't have the exact comment because authors can't see their own deleted comment). This comment appears to have been deleted with no moderator message and as far as I can tell was not moved to chat. At the same time a similarly highly upvoted comment taking the opposite point of view is left there. What happened here?
This is what happened:
There was a long thread of comments (before yours) that was flagged and subsequently moved to chat by a moderator. An automatically-generated comment was left behind, saying "Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat."
You posted a comment immediately below the one that said "Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat". Others followed, posting another long thread of comments. These were flagged, too. Moderators cannot move comment threads to chat more than once; a different moderator deleted the comment thread (including the comment that was automatically generated by 1, that said "Comments have been moved to chat" with a link to the chat room. My guess is that this comment was deleted in error.)
Other people came along and left more comments. No new flags were raised after the mod cleaned up the thread in 2.
I just went back and un-deleted the comment with the link to the chat room, and deleted the others. Please go ahead and leave your comment in that linked chat room; for convenience, here's the content:
The update gets this right. Using the new name is a really big deal to one person, and in all likelihood will not matter at all to anyone else ever (papers are rarely read, let alone a particular reference followed, and probably the first initial won't cause a problem anyway if the last name and title are right). The worst case of using the new name is maybe one person loses 5 minutes of time.
Thanks for the explanation.
@NoahSnyder I deleted your comment (and many others) for exactly the reasons given above. Dealing with long comment threads is difficult in that we have to delete them all manually and then undelete the one(s) we want to keep. In this case, I forgot to undelete the helpful comment about further discussion should happen in chat.
Moderators cannot move comment threads to chat more than once aaand here is the real problem. Broken functionality from the Stack Exchange side.
@FedericoPoloni There's a feature request here.
@FedericoPoloni it's not broken, what is broken is people cannot read and continue to post comments after moderator messages explicitly saying to take that conversation to chat.
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2 | How should we behave for the "reference" questions?
Suppose user X comes in and ask "How is the group with professor Y at university Z ?". How should we treat this kind of questions ? One thing may be to answer with pure citation metrics, that is: they publish a lot, or they don't seem to. More personal experiences and opinions about Professor Y may trigger complaint from the professor him/herself.
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4 | Is community wiki not available during beta?
I think several questions are doing to be found that are more appropriate to the wiki concept than a definitive question/answer concept. Are the options for marking something as wiki not available during beta?
Community wiki questions are a moderator-only feature. Anyone can make a community wiki answer, however.
Keep in mind that you might not really need community wiki at all. It shines when answers require collaborative editing, but with suggested edits in place even that is possible without CW.
I don't know which questions you had in mind as CW candidates when you asked this, but check out this blog post about community wiki, its uses, and its purpose.
I would say this question is a typical candidate for community wiki: http://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/36/suitable-citation-management-softaware
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58 | Including country/region and discipline in Q&A for which it is relevant
Some issues are likely to be different for different countries and different disciplines, e.g.:
funding,
career path and opportunities,
academic degrees,
compulsory exams.
I think it is worth to encourage people to state is explicitly, both in their questions and their answers.
This general theme has been covered in a bunch of different topics on meta at this point, but I think this one is worth an upvote. Much of the focus has been on avoiding localization in the question, or at least specifying what field/geography you're asking from.
It think there's an equal burden on the answering poster to make where they're coming from explicit. Our answers, even at their most biased, are colored by experience.
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270 | Accepting answers from soft-questions
What all we know, we (i.e. academia.SE) are hacking the system for objective verifiable Q&A for the purpose of advise questions. (And, IMHO, we have hacked it successfully).
However, I have some doubts when it comes to accepting answers. On StackOverflow it's obvious if an answer solves your problem. Then, out of such, you can choose the approach you actually took.
For soft-questions you don't have "I copied and pasted your code, it works, thanks". Usually there are piece of advice and wisdom in many "answers". And none of it "solves" the problem (actually differences in opinions are often fruitful and show academic landscape).
Of course sometimes there is an answer which is worth to be singled out among other. But in other cases, when there are more compelling answers - what to do?
What were you looking for? When you ask a soft question, you're definitely not looking for a unique actionable “that solved it thanks” solution, as you say. You are usually looking for ideas, advice, viewpoints different from your own, etc. So, I would suggest to:
Mark as accepted the answer that provided you with the most useful advice. It may not be easy to decide, but probably one of them has a point of view that you wouldn't have considered by yourself, or an answer backed by quotes or statistics.
If you can't make up your mind, choose a good answer amongst the later ones: late answers tend to receive less exposure, and thus less votes.
Possibly write a comment below it, explaining how you found it useful, and that you really appreciated insight given by the others.
An alternative would be not to accept any answer. I think it's not very satisfactory, because it sends the message that “none of this helped me” (of course, if that's true, then don't accept any answer) and, less importantly, it lets a good +15 rep go to waste.
Additionally to F'x answer, I would like to mention another point of view. The point of view of a person who will look at the Academia site for some answers and will read your question in the future.
If the person is very interested, he or she will read all the posts and think about their value by himself (herself), not just the accepted one. In this case it does not matter which answer you will mark.
Most of the people will probably read just few top rated answers. In this case, you can proceed according to the point 2. of F'x answer. Give the privilege to an answer which is bellow but you find it valuable and help others to learn more in this way.
(if the person will read just the accepted answer or the first one, he or she is probably not that interested in that matter and again it does not matter what you will mark out.)
So, If you have doubts which answer to mark, you can think about which answer will be the most beneficial for other possible readers in the future.
If there is no clear right answer possible, then the question doesn't belong on the site. It should be closed as "not a real question" or "off-topic", and then possibly deleted.
If a clear right answer is possible, but it is split across several existing answers, then the thing to do is to write a synthesis of all the right things into a single answer.
Writing a synthesis has some downsides: in particular, if other answers are added later, the synthesis become outdated. I would argue that the whole page (question + upvoted answers) is accessible anyway for people to read and make their own mind.
@EnergyNumbers With all due respect, if you were right, then academia.SE wouldn't exist. It's good to be aware of the fact that most of questions here would be closed on other scientific Q&A sites as subjective. And even there the questions are less objective than on StackOverflow itself.
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336 | A place for open-ended discussions about academia
(I don't know if it fits better to meta or nor meta.)
As we see very often, many problems in/about academia are not suitable for close-ended questions. Also, some important things involve polling questions, like software, university, scholarship, conference or journal recommendations.
(For example, I'm involved in projects about creating new software for new ways for collaboration and discovery sharing, https://gist.github.com/4540942, and I have a lot of related questions, but all of them are open-ended.)
So:
do we have a good place to redirect people asking such open-ended question?
or: should we start one?
or: maybe we should start a blog on Academia.SE?
I think this question fits better here on meta rather than main: on main, it would (for me) definitely be a candidate for closure & deletion
It's called a "campus" and they're all closed this year.
Have you considered this place called Reddit? (https://www.reddit.com/r/academia/)
Very good question. In fact I feel that this forum can work more or less what you are asking about but sadly the rules are over-enforced. The rules are good in themselves but like any society, when they are over-done they become burdensome and destructive to higher-potential. New contributors also are discouraged once they walk into the wall of rules and the peculiar culture thereby creating a top-heavy organization. Which is why we run into heavy resistance when suggesting this very change--which is a valid suggestion.
Quora accept open-ended questions about academia. You could redirect there.
Whenever I go to Quora, the site seems kind of silly to me.
@user111388 definitely a lot of low-quality content and other issues on Quora. Another option with a fair amount of crap content is Reddit.
While Reddit has a lot of crap, my impression is that there are good and crap forums (unlike in Quora, where the crap is all over the place).
@user111388 Good point, there is some content quality variability between different subreddits. Which sub would you say is a good sub? Just curious as on my side I can't think of any sub that I find decent. But I don't go there often. Perhaps small specialized subs may attract a more useful crowd.
I like the subs on beekeeping, Ultimate and mostly Academia. Also Data Science and Geocaching.
Chat is as close as we've got to a place for open-ended discussion. But it sounds like wht you're after is a forum. We don't do that round here (and I've hugely scaled down my contribution to forums since getting active here: they just seem so archaic and pointless now, and suffer from Eternal September syndrome much more than we do here)
For me chat(s) rarely work - as there is no structure at all; maybe except for trivial questions. When it comes to forums - implicitly, I referred to such; but for some reason there are not as active as they used to be + maybe something in between (blog + discussions in comments) may look more appropriate.
Unfortunately, chat is the appropriate forum for that sort of thing, and our chat—like most beta chats—is too slow to be useful. SE does allow sites to have a blog, but it's a lot of effort, and we have to demonstrate that we are committed to maintaining the blog in the long-term. If you're interested, though, start a post and we can see whether there's interest.
I think chat is the way to go. Not the general chat room, but a "private" room with an appropriate title.
I would recommend thefora.org, which is an offshoot of the forums formerly hosted by the Chronicle of Higher Education.
(But - warning - it is fairly snarky, and it is (just because of the participants and maybe the origin) US and humanities oriented.)
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513 | Are we a "life/arts" community?
The new display at the bottom is not very good, in my opinion: I would expect to see "Academia" under "Professional," but that's not even in one of the categories shown in the display below—you have to click through to get to a site where you then have to hunt around to find it. That's not a very good system in my opinion.
But, at the very least, we should list Academia where it makes more sense. But is that "Professional" rather than "Life/Arts?"
If it's listed in "Life/Arts", I would at least cross-list it in "Science" as well.
I don't think we get to pick multiple options. Otherwise it should already be there! But I guess we can find out. I'll look into this.
With respect to Daniel E Shub's answer, I think of being an academic as my profession. I spend my working hours in academia and I continue to improve myself, professionally, as an academic. Life/arts seems more appropriate to hobbies. I would not put this site under 'science' since academia (and this site) is not limited to science. I hope we will have many more members from many more branches than just the sciences.
Our Academia community is still listed under life/arts... Professional or Science are the most suitable categories. Why no request is posted on the main site's meta to change the website's category?
I have to say that I feel that Professional is a better fit. The reason I say so is that research is our job, and academia is the enveloping name for the network we operate in.
Whether or not being an academic is a lifestyle is an abstract discussion in my opinion. Anyone might feel that their job describes their lifestyle; a banker might feel that banking is not a job but a lifestyle, likewise a construction worker might feel that pouring concrete is way beyond a 9-to-5 job. What is an indisputable fact is that a majority of us are in research as a permanent, or temporary, career path. That alone makes my perspective to Academia.SE a site where professional questions/opinions/experiences are voiced.
That's only my opinion of course.
It looks like the full list of categories are:
Technology
Culture/Recreation
Life/Arts
Science
Business
Professional
I think Technology, Culture, and Business would be really bad categories for us. While Science might be a reasonable category for us now, I would hope in the future academia.se will cover more than just the sciences. This leaves, as aeismail points out life/arts and professional. I think life/arts is much better than professional. I do not think of being an academic as my profession as much as my life style.
I'm surprised you don't think of being an academic as your profession. From the high quality of your answers, I would assume you were a full-time academic.
@earthling I am a full time academic. My point was that I think of being an academic as being an all encompassing lifestyle.
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83 | Is it time to start adding moderators?
Since we're about two weeks into the public beta now, I would think that it would be time to start considering adding more moderators (right now, I believe Anna is the only moderator, and she's with SE, as opposed to being a member-moderator.
Is it time to begin the process of adding pro tempore moderators? I think it would help improve board "flow", and keep things moving in a more productive direction.
I think we could stand to start adding mods, yes
No, graduated sites require elections. However, this post was written, as stated, when the site was still in public beta.
Yes. This community, while still small, has had it's share of low-quality questions and trolls, and internal moderators could handle that sort of stuff much quicker than outside.
Also, people here so far have been very forthcoming with discussions, and if a moderator acted in a way which upset the community, I have faith that the community would discuss it in meta in a healthy way, and if necessary the mod would reverse the action. We've got a good crowd here :)
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1736 | Revisiting custom close reasons
It's been a while since these have been looked at, but I think that it's appropriate to revisit the issue.
Right now, we have two custom close reasons that are very similar to one another in scope:
Questions that cannot be generalized to apply to others in similar situations are off-topic. For assistance in writing questions that can apply to multiple people facing similar situations, see: What kinds of questions are too localized?
and
This question appears to be off-topic because it seems to seek specific advice for a very specific situation, and it's likely that only someone with a good understanding of your situation will be able to provide an objectively correct answer.
I can't see any situation in which one of these could apply, but the other couldn't.
[The other close reason is the often overused "Undergraduate" reason.]
Personally, I find myself using a variant on the "shopping question" tag a lot more frequently. I would recommend replacing one of the tags above with something such as:
We cannot offer recommendations or rankings of specific programs, courses, universities, or other similar requests, as these are primarily opinion-based.
Can we, once the dust on this discussion has settled (has it by now?) include a link to this discussion as in "For more information, click here" in the new close reason(s)?
The new "shopping questions" close reason has been live for a little over two weeks, and it seems to be quite well used: of 97 question closed in the last 14 days, 15 have been "shopping questions."
Given how often I was manually typing in variants of the "shopping" excuse, such a result does not surprise me at all.
Now that I've had the status to vote on closing questions for a while, I felt I had to follow this link for the explanation of why shopping questions are disallowed. To be honest, I don't find it satisfactory. I agree that someone saying "please tell me all the departments that do X" would be bad. But someone saying "please recommend a book that will help me with X" seems like a perfectly fine question to raise here, and it's inevitably shut down.
@FredDouglis: If X is something related to academic practice, then it makes to consider it. However, if it’s a request specific to someone’s research, then it’s still off-topic. Resource questions about grant writing should be OK, but resource questions asking for data sets aren’t.
I guess it depends on how broadly you interpret academic practice....
I second that there is no need to distinguish between cannot be generalized and very specific advice and would like to suggest the following new wording for the close reason to compise them both:
The answer to this question strongly depends on individual factors such as a certain person’s preferences, a given institution’s regulations, the exact contents of your work or your personal values. Thus only somebody familiar with these can answer this question and it cannot be generalised to apply to others.
I chose to phrase it like this as many cases it should give the asker a strong hint where they can find an answer to their question, namely:
a certain person’s preferences → ask that person (in most cases: the advisor) or or somebody who knows them.
a given institution’s regulations → ask that university.
the exact contents of your work → ask somebody who is familiar with your work, namely your supervisor, colleagues or yourself.
your personal values → ask yourself, e.g., as to how much risk you are willing to take.
I also second the demand for a shopping question and suggest the following wording:
Shopping questions, i.e., questions that seek individual universities, academic programs, publishers, journals, research topics or similar as an answer or seek an assessment or comparison of such, are off-topic.
I chose this wording to slightly expand the scope (in comparison to the existing suggestions) and explicitly include such cases, where the asker is not explicitly asking for a recommendation but only for the existence of a program (but implicitly wishes recommendation). This should reduce certain complaints made by the asker (“I wasn’t asking for a recomendation, I just wanted to know if …”) I have witnessed quite often.
Also, at the end of the day, many close reasons (such as this) exist due to problem arising from the answers. Defining the problem via the answers directly addresses the problem and makes the close reason specific to what it needs to be specfic about.
I like your phrasing better than mine.
I think your first close reason does a nice job of combining the two close reasons. It just seems to me that the shopping question close reason is covered by your new close reason since shopping depends on personal preference and is therefore an individual factor.
@StrongBad: While this is true in some cases, there are shopping questions that can be generalised and are asking for somewhat objective criteria and are in particular not covered by the first close reason (see also Jakebeal’s answer), for example: “Which has a higher reputation? Castrop-Rauxel University or the Buxtehude Institute of Technology?”; “Is there a university in Liechtenstein which offers a degree in llama wrangling?”; “Which is the most-cited journal that covers llama wrangling?”.
@StrongBad: Moreover, when we close shopping reasons with the first reason, askers will go and somewhat objectify them. Then the first close reason does not apply anymore, but the question is still off-topic. This is bound to lead to some confusion and disappointment.
@Wrzlprmft sounds reasonable.
It’s nice to see my suggestions implemented, but the first reason reads “Thus only someone familiar can answer this question …” thus lacking with these. While this does not make a big difference in most cases, it does in cases regarding a certain institution’s regulations or similar.
I absolutely concur with the assessment that "cannot be generalized" and "very specific advice" are largely redundant.
If we are to do away with one of the two, I would suggest removing "cannot be generalized" because I find myself using the other very often for "Hi, here's my situation, help?" questions.
I also like the idea of a "no shopping questions" close reason, which I would suggest to tweak to:
Suggestions or recommendations or comparison of specific universities, journal, research topics, etc (i.e., "shopping questions") are off-topic.
Mainly, I am suggesting we drop the 'primarily opinion-based' wording from your original suggestion for the "no shopping questions" reason because that is setting us up for argument that some distinctions are not just matters of opinion. Instead, I think it is OK to simply say that we do not do this as a matter of policy, since there are many good reasons to do so (opinion, "taking sides," unprofessionalism, tendency to gossip, overly broad libel laws, etc.)
We can't drop "opinion-based," as that is a systemwide default reason. The only three custom reasons are the ones mentioned above (can't be generalized, specific situation, undergraduates).
@aeismail Sorry if my text was unclear: i didn't mean the close reason, I meant the bit where you said we don't do shopping questions because they are opinion-based.
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4121 | How can we be more welcoming to new users?
In light of the recent Stack Overflow post on being more welcoming to newcomers, I believe it is worthwhile for us to explore what we can do to help new visitors ease into the site.
While I do not believe we should relax standards for what is considered an acceptable question, nor should we answer repeat questions "just to be nice."
However, it does seem appropriate that we do a better job explaining why we have issues with questions that are posted in a way that helps users try to improve their question if possible, or be a clear explanation of what's wrong.
Are there any other suggestions for how we can implement this initiative here on Academia.SE?
Something that was pointed out in a recent answer on another question here on meta:
Often a newcomer will ask a question which turns out to be a duplicate. This question will then be marked as such, and often nothing further will happen.
While this is all as it should be, it may leave the newcomer feeling like they did something wrong for not finding the duplicate themselves.
For this reason I propose that when we mark such questions as duplicate, we also make some remark indicating that this is not a fault with the question, and that the existence of this new version will help future visitors to find the answer they need. Hopefully, this will make the newcomer feel more welcome and they will be more inclined to stick around and ask other questions or even answer some.
Are you suggesting an automated note, or something like creating a culture where individual users leave some comment to the newcomer? If automated, I think what would be best is if the user gets notified with a message (rather than this just getting automatically posted in the text of the question), but is this possible on SE?
@Kimball To be honest, my thought on the matter did not really go any further than what I wrote in the answer, so I have no idea what a good implementation would look like.
An automated note would be nice, but that requires a higher level of implementation than we have access to. In the meanwhile, we can certainly leave a note.
Adding to Tobias' plea for better explanation of duplicate flags, I suggest we give an explanation more often (whenever we can?) for any close-votes.
Sure, we already have "canned" explanations that come with a close-vote, but since they are necessarily phrased in general terms, the OP may have difficulties to understand what specifically makes their question (for example) opinion-based.
In fact, we should always be able to explain how the general close-reason relates to the specific question. Such a reason-giving requirement would not only "be nice" to new users, it would also help safeguard borderline off-topic questions and make us less "trigger-happy".
I sometimes find myself wanting to close questions for being "too broad" just because I can't think of an informative answer, or for being "unclear" just because I don't quite understand what the issue is. But that doesn't mean that someone with better expertise cannot give a useful answer to a somewhat broad or (to me) opaque question. If others here have similar impulses, it might be a good idea to ask for specificity or clarification, wait if edits are made or useful answers are given, and only then, after a while, decide whether voting to close is actually helpful.
Another good reason to explain the closevote is that if the question gets closed, only the 'majority reason' gets stated. So, in that case all advice you give for improvement is lost if you've voted for a 'minority reason'.
There does seem to be an exception: if multiple Q’s are selected as duplicates, they all get listed.
Sometimes what I try to do is leave a comment stating that the question is not appropriate but suggesting how to refocus their question so it is more appropriate (and not vote to close or wait to vote). Unfortunately, I think the OP has rarely listened to these suggestions (for reasons I suspect alluded to in the Stack Overflow post linked to in the present question).
Is it possible to change the minimum reputation to unlock the chat privilege? Or changing it from "privilege" to a "basic right".
If new users had the opportunity to be redirected to the chat they would feel more welcome, having the opportunity to discuss opinion-based questions or being helped by others when facing some confusion/misunderstanding.
Recent example: Should I do BSc in mathematical physics or theoretical physics?
Reputation requirements are SE-wide, so that means it would need to be done at a higher level than here.
But pointing the poster to chat may not be such a bad idea for these kinds of questions. I tend to not use chat too much, so I forget to point other users there.
@aeismail Thank you, I didn't know that. However, for users with more reputation it is still a good step forward for integrating them with the community. There are several users daily active in the chat or, at least, visiting it to see if there is any discussion going on (including myself).
Besides this being a SE-wide requirement, I think it would also solve issues SE-wide (I can see the use on the sites I frequent, at least). Perhaps it would be good to raise this on [meta.se], but I have no idea where. I don't really like SE-staff's 'behind doors' survey+ 'hidden chat' approach to solving this problem, why not do everything in the daylight, as we usually solve the problems on SE?
Sadly, I am guessing that moderation problems would go up substantially in chat if no reputation was required to enter, or at least that this fear is behind the minimum reputation. I agree, though, that something in this direction might help new users.
Mods can invite users to chat. Perhaps we need to flag questions where it’s appropriate for mod intervention in this way.
What would help is if room owners could invite users (without the required reputation) to chat (feature request on Meta SE). Then we would just need to make a few interested and reputed users room owners of the Ivory Tower. These users could then also perform any ensuing moderation if required.
As a relatively new person here, I think the response about duplicates up above is a good one. Just to add to that, I feel like there are times where a question has maybe one answer, and it's not at all comprehensive or directly relevant to the new question being asked, but close enough where some would automatically close it.
I know this is basically asking for more lax standards in closing a duplicate, but I really do feel like there are sometimes pretty unsatisfactorily answered questions from a few years ago and it would be nice to seek a fresh and more relevant (and hopefully comprehensive) response.
Last point (and unrelated to the first)... I was directed to SE by a few colleagues, and they warned that it's mostly for STEM/comp people, and if you're humanities, social science, etc. you won't get much out of it. I guess I don't have an explicit suggestion here, but that feeling has certainly rung true for me so far.
Edited to add: I don't intend this at all to be snarky, but one relatively simple fix would be to figure out how to incentivize more people to answer more questions. I was searching through the first few pages of recent questions just a moment ago, and most questions had 0, 1, or 2 answers. If someone asks a question for the first time and gets 1 answer, they may not think it worth it to return and engage further.
Given the nature of SE, it's not a surprise that the majority of users are in STEM fields. That said, we are not exclusively a STEM site, and welcome all disciplines.
Also, the solution in the case of wanting better answers for duplicates is to provide a new answer to the older question.
I think users should have some better way of selecting tags or some tags should automatically be assigned to a question rather than the user having to explicitly search for a tag that may not necessarily exist.
Also, off-topic questions by new users should be automatically migrated to the suitable SE site rather than closing the question or deleting it which may leave a bad impression on the new user.
Downvotes for answers and questions should be attached with a 'reason' for the downvote so that the user knows what went wrong , this might also help avoid random downvoting.
And i personally think , questions from low reputation users who are fairly new should be put on hold for 10 minutes at a checkpoint once the user submits the question so that the moderators and bots have a chance to filter out very far off or inappropriate questions rather than having to clean up later , also to make up for the 10 minutes , new users can be allowed to post every 30 mins and all the questions that the moderators didn't get a chance to check will get posted automatically after the said 10 minutes.
Automatic tagging requires a level of AI that the system probably doesn't have. Perhaps they could offer up a list of the most frequently used tags on a given site as a set of starter choices, but you can't go much further than that. Migration is also a similar problem: how do you decide which site to send it to?
using a large set of distinctive keywords for each site and comparing with those in the question , the system can suggest the user if that qn is better off in this site.
@theenigma017: Given that human beings blatantly fail to apply tags or suggest migration targets, I strongly doubt that an automated system can do it.
i mean if you see "research" and then you see "thesis" and "professor" in the question, it is headed over to academia-related sites and not something like health or chemistry @Wrzlprmft
@theenigma017: Take a look at this.
@Wrzlprmft not just one keyword, match 3-4 distinctive keywords and you will end up with a narrow topic, there might be exceptions, but in the long run , it might work.
there might be exceptions – yes, but then people posting on the wrong site are exceptions right now. You would at least have to be that accurate – actually much more accurate to outweigh the frustration if your algorithm incorrectly suggests the wrong site. Take a look at some some migrated questions and consider whether an algorithm could have done this.
@Wrzlprmft then how about using such an algorithm to suggest a group of possible tags, that would be really useful and have less chances of going wrong when the user can decide rather than searching for a tag...
Leaving a comment explaining downvotes is already one of the good practices recommended by SE. I didn't understand why the "holding time" would help new users to feel welcome. The other suggestions are based on the site framework, while the human interaction plays the key role in this issue in my opinion. The moderators already have been migrating several questions to other sites (I think that I saw three questions migrated in the past week), so I don't think we need an automated system.
Please don't overcomplicate yourself. We just need to answer their questions, and they will feel welcome. What about this? We force our lovely moderators to answer each and every newcomer question, no matter what they ask. The new users will see exactly 5 answers from our moderators, they will feel very happy.
I think it will work as our moderators spend most of their awake time on this site anyway.
Yeah, not going to happen. Even if we had the time, we don't always know the answer.
Haha, I think forcing the mods to do it might be a bit much, but encouraging people to be chattier than usual in comments when screening first posts might help.
| Stack Exchange | 2025-03-21T12:54:48.547108 | 2018-04-29T23:55:45 | {
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4555 | Was this answer edited too heavily?
This question about patent infringement yielded a few moderately contentious answers, as judged by the number of flags on the question. One of them simply stated that China was a dictatorship with little respect for the American patent system. That answer received a lot of comment discussion about whether the answer was sufficient or whether it was baseless accusations. I then edited the answer, adding a number of links to sources on China's IP policy and removing the unsourced comments. A few people commented that my edits went too far.
Were my edits inappropriate?
Note: Please try to disassociate the diamond here from the activity. If you don't wish to, that's your prerogative, but any 20k+ user can see flags on questions. I edited in the mindset of a member of this site, not as a moderator.
I felt the removals were greater than the additions. Also, there's no need to provide references for these statements.
Note: Only moderators can see flags, not 20k users. But anyone can see that the original answer was controversial from the comments
You can't do much in China. China is a dictatorship, and it appears to
have a national policy of hacking businesses to steal their code and
data. No reason to expect them to respect your rights to your PhD
thesis.
I don't see anything salvageable in there. The intention clearly is to write that China is a terrible country and has no IP protection at all. Replacing this with a correct nuanced view is against the spirit of this paragraph.
As you say that your advisor works for a UK university, you might be
able to do something there. I have no idea if that's a good idea or
not. Similarly, if anyone tries to claim rights to your invention
outside of China, it's possible you could do something.
So the author has "no idea" and says that some unspecified action might be possible or desirable or not, as long as it's not in China where it's certainly not possible.
This is augmented with actual facts which weren't even hinted at in the original.
Lastly, while certainly suspicious, I wouldn't take it as proven that
your advisor was responsible, at least not based on what you've
written.
This last paragraph is good and important and the only reason I see to keep the answer around at all.
But it's the last paragraph, and so I assume it was vastly overshadowed by the anti-China views expressed in the first and second paragraph in the decision process of the up and down voters.
I think it's anti-democratic and against the spirit of this network to subvert the votes of so many people towards an entirely different answer.
If undesirable content is upvoted I think in general it makes more sense to:
Add good other answers and trust in the users to upvote them more.
I've also seen special notes added to answers (outside the answer text) which say that it's not up to the standards of a site.
As a last resort deletion is more honest than to change an answer into its opposite, even if it means the answer would be trimmed down to the one useful sentence.
(no hard feelings)
Re: final point... none taken. I assume everyone here is acting in good faith.
To your first point, I guess I just disagree. The OP is trying to say "China is bad", but does so without any real backing. It can be salvaged by adding proper references and removing biased language.
Regarding freedom in China you should definitely check their "social credit score" system (hint: no naughty citizens allowed).
Plus "organ transplant tourism" (by executed prisoners).
@Fermiparadox You don't need to tell me that. I spend more time being a pacifism and human rights activist than discussing stuff on se. Personally, I don't like China. That doesn't change anything I wrote.
Just to post what I was thinking at the time, no, this was not inappropriate. The original question simply stated that "China is a dictatorship" (which is irrelevant here) and that they "have a national policy of hacking and stealing" (which both isn't true and is pretty slanderous). The edits added some background for readers unfamiliar with the actual situation. Granted, much of this is pretty public knowledge—I found all the links on the first page of a pretty straightforward Google search—but that doesn't mean everyone knows it.
I think the edits greatly improved the answer. I was not comfortable with the first paragraph but could not figure out how to easily fix it. I think it required a major overhaul to provide evidence and to make it less provocative. I think you did that without changing the intent of the answer.
"they "have a national policy of hacking and stealing" (which both isn't true and is pretty slanderous)." Nonsense. Every developed country has an intelligence agency which exists to perform hacking and copying information, both industrial and military. "Stealing" is an excessively vague way of saying copying information.
@AnonymousPhysicist - Again, I disagree. Using your definition, I could say "they have a national policy of playing and learning", which both are excessively vague ways of saying that they engage in CTF-style activities and then learn from what they took. Even with the "excessively", this is beyond vague and entering into Rorschach-style "see what you want" in the original text.
Some support in Help center, the last point on when to edit: https://academia.stackexchange.com/help/editing
"One of them simply stated that China was a dictatorship with little respect for the American patent system."
"Simply stated" isn't quite correct, it also answered the question, and the statements about China are supporting information for the answer. The answer given is to do nothing.
I didn't see any reason for the answer to be flagged or edited. It's firmly critical, but reasonable.
I conjecture that flaggers thought the answer stereotyped China as corrupt. But it seems that the reality is not "China is unfairly considered corrupt." Instead, the reality is that corruption outside China does not get as much attention as it should.
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