26 Reply by carl_m1968

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Re: Top Layer Finish

Well her is what I am getting after playing with some settings like extrusion multiplier and print speed. The cube in this set of images was printed at 0.1 with the stock 0.4 head and nozzle. The first image includes a black piece I printed at .2 on my old 3Dstuffmaker and Cura driving it. Note the difference in the top surface finish on the black piece.

Black piece from old printer for comparison.
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l5/solarenemy/3dsprint.jpg

This image is a close up of one side of the cube printed at 0.1.
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l5/solarenemy/printedat01.jpg

This is another side of the same cube in different light.
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l5/solarenemy/yside.jpg

Then lastly here is the current way the top layer is finishing. It is better but still not like my old printer with Cura.
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l5/solarenemy/topfill.jpg

I may look into buying another E3D. I just don't have a good printer to print the needed parts on now. I guess what I am getting right now would be fine since the top finish is not that important for a printer part.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

27 Reply by jagowilson

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Re: Top Layer Finish

Yup printer parts can be as ugly or as pretty as you want. I like to make mine pretty. smile Once you get that e3d print better parts. That's what I did! I really can't say what's going on there, but you've definitely got some backlash you need to fix.

You're using an extrusion width of 0.48, and have calibrated it with a 20mm cube, right? What does the bottom layer of one of your calibration cubes look like? It looks like some serious over-extrusion to me.

28 Reply by carl_m1968

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Re: Top Layer Finish

The bottom layer depends on my bed height and the thickness of the layer. On this one my bottom layer was .2 and my bed height is at about .1 so it is squished to the point it looks very near solid. In fact this one was printed on painters tape and I cannot see any signs of lines at all. Except right near the perimeter where the infill meet the perimeter there is an almost non-existent gap. I am at work right now so it is hard to post pics and I am not even sure it would show up. But bottom line the bottom looks like it is solid. I suspect over extrusion as well. I might sink the lower three quarters below the bed in Rep Host so I can just see the top layer with minimal printing and play with the extrusion and the e-steps on the extruder.

Question? My old printer was a Bowden so I could feed filament through while bypassing the hot end and set my e-steps that way. I would feed 100mm and measure what was feed on the tube side. If wrong I would adjust till it was right. With the Da Vinci there is no way to feed filament that I can see and by pass the head. Now the issue is that some say to measure the extrusion and other say to measure the feed before the hot end. On my old printer I measured before the hot end and got it perfect and my prints reflected it.

This Da Vinci has no way to measure pre-hot end so hot do you guys calibrate the e-steps on the extruder?

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

29 Reply by wardjr

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Re: Top Layer Finish

Watch Ian's video in the WIKI.  Basically mark with a sharpie  100 mm's on the filament from a point on top of your extruder.  Then extrude a 100 mm's and see where the mark ends up.  That is going to get you your proper steps per mm.  Than adjust extrusion multiplier until you get a single wall thickness that is 120% of your nozzle diameter.  So if your nozzle is .40 then adjust the multiplier until the single wall perimeter is .48

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30 Reply by carl_m1968

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Re: Top Layer Finish

wardjr wrote:

Watch Ian's video in the WIKI.  Basically mark with a sharpie  100 mm's on the filament from a point on top of your extruder.  Then extrude a 100 mm's and see where the mark ends up.  That is going to get you your proper steps per mm.  Than adjust extrusion multiplier until you get a single wall thickness that is 120% of your nozzle diameter.  So if your nozzle is .40 then adjust the multiplier until the single wall perimeter is .48


Guess I have some things to try when I get home tonight. I'll keep you posted.. Thanks. With this machine it's like I am learning all over again.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

31 Reply by wardjr

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Re: Top Layer Finish

carl_m1968 wrote:
wardjr wrote:

Watch Ian's video in the WIKI.  Basically mark with a sharpie  100 mm's on the filament from a point on top of your extruder.  Then extrude a 100 mm's and see where the mark ends up.  That is going to get you your proper steps per mm.  Than adjust extrusion multiplier until you get a single wall thickness that is 120% of your nozzle diameter.  So if your nozzle is .40 then adjust the multiplier until the single wall perimeter is .48


Guess I have some things to try when I get home tonight. I'll keep you posted.. Thanks. With this machine it's like I am learning all over again.

Sometimes the learning is the fun part.

Printit Industries Model 8.10 fully enclosed CoreXY, Chamber heat
3-SD3's & a Workbench all fully enclosed, RH-Slic3r Win7pro, E3D V6, Volcano & Cyclops Hot End
SSR/500W AC Heated Glass Bed, Linear bearings on SS rods. Direct Drive Y-axis, BulldogXL
Thanks to all for your contributions

wardjr's Website

32 Reply by n2ri

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Re: Top Layer Finish

your test cube needs to have thickness of each wall measured for flow calculations. with your nozzle and using the .1mm profile and single perimeter slicer setting all 4 walls should be very near .48mm

Solidoodle 2 with Deluxe kit cover & glass bed with heater. and 2nd board SD2 used not 3rd and alum platform not installed yet still wood. also need cooling fan installed to board. use Repetier Host couple vers. Slic3r also have all free ware STL programs

33 Reply by n2ri

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Re: Top Layer Finish

Wardjr you said earlier you used a 6mm nozzle. is that with 3mm filament?

Solidoodle 2 with Deluxe kit cover & glass bed with heater. and 2nd board SD2 used not 3rd and alum platform not installed yet still wood. also need cooling fan installed to board. use Repetier Host couple vers. Slic3r also have all free ware STL programs

34 Reply by wardjr

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Re: Top Layer Finish

n2ri wrote:

Wardjr you said earlier you used a 6mm nozzle. is that with 3mm filament?

Nope 1.75

Printit Industries Model 8.10 fully enclosed CoreXY, Chamber heat
3-SD3's & a Workbench all fully enclosed, RH-Slic3r Win7pro, E3D V6, Volcano & Cyclops Hot End
SSR/500W AC Heated Glass Bed, Linear bearings on SS rods. Direct Drive Y-axis, BulldogXL
Thanks to all for your contributions

wardjr's Website

35 Reply by n2ri (edited by n2ri 2014-11-18 07:43:03)

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Re: Top Layer Finish

some of what I see in those pics posted is also just difference in how some colors/filament brands flow. red is softer than most colors i have noticed, black and silver are between red and neutral from my experience. thats why some slicer filament profiles need made for slight differences in how the melt temps and flow rates also expansion rates differ. same as for different nozzles. there are tabs for these in slicer besides the perimeter print settings profiles etc. you have printer settings and filament settings tabs

Solidoodle 2 with Deluxe kit cover & glass bed with heater. and 2nd board SD2 used not 3rd and alum platform not installed yet still wood. also need cooling fan installed to board. use Repetier Host couple vers. Slic3r also have all free ware STL programs

36 Reply by n2ri

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Re: Top Layer Finish

I removed the stl file pictured above due to designer is now gone from Thingaverse. I was really enjoying his work too :^(

Solidoodle 2 with Deluxe kit cover & glass bed with heater. and 2nd board SD2 used not 3rd and alum platform not installed yet still wood. also need cooling fan installed to board. use Repetier Host couple vers. Slic3r also have all free ware STL programs