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SoliForum - 3D Printing Community → Solidoodle Discussion → Help with roughness
I've gotten most of my setup and configuration set, so I've started printing longer length prints, and they are coming out pretty good. My one major issue is that they always come out very rough. The edges of thin areas, especially in small prints come out slightly mangled and odd. Is there something different I should be doing in my printing? Also, is there some kind of finisher I can put on my projects to give them a little bit of smoothness and shininess?
The edges of thin areas, especially in small prints come out slightly mangled and odd. Is there something different I should be doing in my printing? Also, is there some kind of finisher I can put on my projects to give them a little bit of smoothness and shininess?
If your Z is too low you may get some head plowing and I have seen that cause jagged edges on the first layers.
Twist the Z screw clockwise a quarter turn and try again.
As for a finisher, after I sand something I give it a quick light acetone wipe and that brings the sheen back.
Others go so far as to give the parts an acetone vapor treatment which is not something that I think I will ever be trying, it is not for the faint of heart, or the timid, or the health and safety conscious ;P
So yeah, some 150/200 sand paper/sanding sponge and a quick acetone wipe is all I normally require. But I actually like the stratified look and as I get better at it, design or slicer/printer setup, I have to do less and less finish work.
nicknow123 wrote:The edges of thin areas, especially in small prints come out slightly mangled and odd. Is there something different I should be doing in my printing? Also, is there some kind of finisher I can put on my projects to give them a little bit of smoothness and shininess?
If your Z is too low you may get some head plowing and I have seen that cause jagged edges on the first layers.
Twist the Z screw clockwise a quarter turn and try again.As for a finisher, after I sand something I give it a quick light acetone wipe and that brings the sheen back.
Others go so far as to give the parts an acetone vapor treatment which is not something that I think I will ever be trying, it is not for the faint of heart, or the timid, or the health and safety conscious ;P
So yeah, some 150/200 sand paper/sanding sponge and a quick acetone wipe is all I normally require. But I actually like the stratified look and as I get better at it, design or slicer/printer setup, I have to do less and less finish work.
Since Nick didn't mention what type of filament he's using I'd like to point out that Acetone will only work on ABS plastic, not PLA. There are chemicals that are supposed to work on PLA but from my understanding they're expensive hard to find, and potentially toxic (well, moreso than Acetone is).
As for smooth parts; I highly suggest a good calibration on your machine if you haven't done so already. There are tons of How-to's out there; but ultimately as long as you find one that covers your X,Y,Z and extruder then you've done pretty good.
Also, check to see what layer-height you're using. It's easy to forget to switch to a .1 profile.
nicknow123 wrote:The edges of thin areas, especially in small prints come out slightly mangled and odd. Is there something different I should be doing in my printing? Also, is there some kind of finisher I can put on my projects to give them a little bit of smoothness and shininess?
If your Z is too low you may get some head plowing and I have seen that cause jagged edges on the first layers.
Twist the Z screw clockwise a quarter turn and try again.As for a finisher, after I sand something I give it a quick light acetone wipe and that brings the sheen back.
Others go so far as to give the parts an acetone vapor treatment which is not something that I think I will ever be trying, it is not for the faint of heart, or the timid, or the health and safety conscious ;P
So yeah, some 150/200 sand paper/sanding sponge and a quick acetone wipe is all I normally require. But I actually like the stratified look and as I get better at it, design or slicer/printer setup, I have to do less and less finish work.
there isn't anything wrong with acetone vapor baths. all you gotta do is do it outside, with an electric heat plate (no open flame) and don't stick your face in the vapor pot. lol
acetone vapors are heavier than air, so as long as you stand up you probably wont even smell it. no to mention its one chemical thats made in the human body at low concentrations (high concentration if your diabetic), so as long as you dont drink the stuff, you should be ok handling it. i know from professional experience, im a petrochemical surveyor on a major US port. i regular load and unload millions of gallons of the stuff on ships and barges 
.
besides that, what you mention is right. add a small xacto knife to your tool kit to help trim off support and brim.
but most important thing of all is to go through all the calibration steps, extruder steps per mm, z axis steps per mm, and xy axis circle calibration (also a steps per mm thing). once you get all that right, you should be extruding nice objects.
then print one of the replacement extruder sets, lawsy or alternate (though highly recommended), and a fan shroud for it, so you can blow air on your prints as the layers are put down. works great for PLA, would not do it on ABS without a full enclosure, but once you have a full enclosure on your printer, a fan improves print quality a TON with ABS as well, since what it sounds like is you have edges curling on you as layers are laid down. the fan stops that from happening at all
My layer height, according to slicer, is 0.700mm, could that be the cause of my problems? Also the acetone wash is a great idea, I'll try that next time I get a chance to go to the hardware store. Also I've found that 90% of my issues occur in the first 1-15 layers, after that the printer is very smooth with its work.
Try experimenting with different extruder temperatures, it can make a HUGE difference.
Also, drop that layer height, how does it look at .3?
My layer height, according to slicer, is 0.700mm, could that be the cause of my problems? Also the acetone wash is a great idea, I'll try that next time I get a chance to go to the hardware store. Also I've found that 90% of my issues occur in the first 1-15 layers, after that the printer is very smooth with its work.
.7mm layer height.... you sure, it shouldn't be bigger than the nozzle orifice... .35 or .40mm
nicknow123 wrote:My layer height, according to slicer, is 0.700mm, could that be the cause of my problems? Also the acetone wash is a great idea, I'll try that next time I get a chance to go to the hardware store. Also I've found that 90% of my issues occur in the first 1-15 layers, after that the printer is very smooth with its work.
.7mm layer height.... you sure, it shouldn't be bigger than the nozzle orifice... .35 or .40mm
yeah... if its .7 that could defiantly cause a major resolution problem as its twice as thick as the plastic thread being laid down. .3 is my personal maximum, you could theoretically go up to .4 or so. but why? the quality would be junk and the part would most likely not stay together too well.
are you sure thats not the first layer height? even then its still very excessive. try doing a fresh install of the latest version of RH for solidoodle. it sounds like your settings got borked. sometimes its easier to just refresh the profiles than try to find all that's messed up and fix it, especially if you don't know what all the settings do yet.
I set my layer height to about .3 now, and while there is certainly a lot of improvement, I still have issues with the first layers not wanting to stick together. I currently have my bed set to 95 C (with hairspray), and my extruder set to 200 C. I had to switch computers, so my software is very up to date, at most three days old.
I set my layer height to about .3 now, and while there is certainly a lot of improvement, I still have issues with the first layers not wanting to stick together. I currently have my bed set to 95 C (with hairspray), and my extruder set to 200 C. I had to switch computers, so my software is very up to date, at most three days old.
Is your 1st layer sticking to the bed and is your problem with the subsequent layers? Get your post count to 10 and get a photo attached...
First layer is alright, it sticks fine with a little hairspray and a bit of cleaning. The layers after it, the next ten or so, end up curled or don't stick right to the first. After 10 or so layers, the printer goes back to printing perfectly. When I do say, a sixty layer print, the last 50 layers are smooth, while the first 10 look like they were attacked by a cheese grater.
Did you go through the recommended calibrations?
I'd love to see a photo. It sounds like something wrong perhaps with the XZ-Axis stopping the layers from being close enough to bond. But without a picture it's all just guessing.
i bet your nozzle is to far from the bed. that was my problem when i started printing.. pay really close attention to your first layer. your extruded plastic should not be to rounded on top. you have to look really close. i like mine kinda flat and pushed into the bed. i also run my bed at 110 and my parts stick real good
this sounds like a z-tab/offset issue. there are plenty of guides out there on bed leveling and offset adjustment. i recommend getting a set of automotive feeler gauges (the flat sheet type, not the little wire ones) with metric and standard sizes printed on them. go through the steps to adjust your z-stop so that your bed is level and about .05-.1mm from the extruder. then use the feeler gauges to see exactly how far off it is at all three points. average these numbers, and put that in slicer as the z offset value. this lets the software properly calculate the first layer height and should solve your problem.
Hi Nicknow123, Have you made any progress finding out what is causing your layer problems? Like Gomisan, I too would like to see a few pics of some of your prints as it is a lot easier to determine certain issues from a picture
Unfortunately, I am not at ten posts yet, so I can't post pictures. Also I got an awful printer clog yesterday that I am still working out. You guys have really helped me though and I definitely appreciate all the effort. I'll give more information next time I get the printer printing. The whole unclog with CAD 5 wire didn't cut it for me, so I am going to have to find myself a different instrument.
Once you get it cleared a couple of tips to stop it happening again.
a) don't leave the extruder at temp, when it gets to the desired temp start printing.
b) if you have to leave it, extrude a few mm every couple of minutes
c) clean off any excess with tweezers or similar at the start of each job
d) make sure you run you jobs at the best temp for your filament, there's a few tests to help determine what works best for each roll.
A soak in acetone might help clear your clog.
I follow most of those tips, and the clog did not happen in between prints but rather right in the middle of one. If I can't find a good replacement for the CAD 5 to poke up the nozzle I'm going to try the acetone.
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:125321
Everyone should have one of these or something like it.
Any updates Nicknow123? get that clog sorted out?
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