wavy walls and corners

**michael.rosplock** · 2013-10-01 17:57:19

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Topic: wavy walls and corners

hello, another question here, im trying to help my brother get our printer running from college which is a little difficult, basically i had everything setup on my computer and now we're getting it going on his laptop. so i got things going to the point where its usable from .3 to .1mm layering, but now he's getting weird "wavy" walls and corners, as if the printer isn't placing the layers directly over the previous layer. but its doing this in almost a pattern, so that makes it hard for me to believe this is being caused by an inconsistency in the belts or something like that. i'll have him post a picture of the box he printed with a width of one bead of plastic in the .3mm layering (so it should have a wall width of .42mm). I'm going to be doing a lot of printing for a group called tesla works up here, and i'm doing a presentation on friday about my printer and i'd like to say that im ready to do high resolution prints already, but im not sure i am

**2n2r5** · 2013-10-01 18:09:59

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Re: wavy walls and corners

You should be able to send him your Slic3r.ini file which will have all the same settings as your computer. He might be over extruding or something. Sounds like it could also be an extruder VREF adjustment on the mother board.

SD3 w/ mods:
Glass bed with QU-BD heat pad upgrade, threadless ballscrew w/ 8mm smooth rod, spectra line belt replacement, lawsy MK5 extruder, Lawsy replacement carriage, E3D hotend, Ramps 1.4 w/ reprap discount controller, DRV8825 drivers, 12v 30A PS, Acrylic case, Overkill Y-idlers, Filament alarm, Extruder fan + more.

**ronsii** · 2013-10-01 18:11:08

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Re: wavy walls and corners

Pictures would be great if you can get him to take several it's even better also some details on the settings... or screenshots of the config pages.

**michael.rosplock** · 2013-10-01 19:14:43

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Re: wavy walls and corners

ya i thought i should have been able to give him my settings, i'm not sure how competent he is with computers and moving files around, but i'll certainly try that, because my old settings were near perfect. and i'll have pictures up soon, he's not out of school yet.

i also changed the eeprom settings to what i had from my computer which was like 80% the extruder motor setting, that helped a lot

**michael.rosplock** · 2013-10-02 04:52:34

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Re: wavy walls and corners

So here should be a picture of the wavy box.

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**lawsy** · 2013-10-02 05:03:26

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Re: wavy walls and corners

That's called banding. There is a heap of content on here on how to fix it if you search.

**michael.rosplock** · 2013-10-02 13:45:45

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Re: wavy walls and corners

ok thank you for giving me a key word to search,

**michael.rosplock** · 2013-10-02 19:40:23

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Re: wavy walls and corners

so would banding explain the repeated pattern of almost a wave moving from the bottom of this print to the top? this was printed in .2 or .1, i cant remember... but those ridges you see are actually like 8 layers.

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**michael.rosplock** · 2013-10-02 19:55:07

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Re: wavy walls and corners

@2n2r5 would the file location be entitled "slic3r" and have a type listed as configuration settings? mine pulls up as a notepad document. should this contain all my settings? or would it be easier to send him my whole folder with the application and everything, and then have him run the application from there?

**2n2r5** · 2013-10-02 20:34:50

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Re: wavy walls and corners

If you open slic3r.exe

then go to File --> Export Config

The file should be config.ini or whatever_you_named_it.ini

The import process is the same way.

Make sure that before you export it, you go through all the tabs and select the setup that you want to export. The .ini will have the only the setting that are currently displayed on each tab.

SD3 w/ mods:
Glass bed with QU-BD heat pad upgrade, threadless ballscrew w/ 8mm smooth rod, spectra line belt replacement, lawsy MK5 extruder, Lawsy replacement carriage, E3D hotend, Ramps 1.4 w/ reprap discount controller, DRV8825 drivers, 12v 30A PS, Acrylic case, Overkill Y-idlers, Filament alarm, Extruder fan + more.

**2n2r5** · 2013-10-02 20:38:28

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Re: wavy walls and corners

michael.rosplock wrote:

so would banding explain the repeated pattern of almost a wave moving from the bottom of this print to the top? this was printed in .2 or .1, i cant remember... but those ridges you see are actually like 8 layers.

Yes, banding here is from the 5/16" rod. If you had a 5/16" bolt to hold up next to the print you would notice the threads line up perfectly with the bands.

SD3 w/ mods:
Glass bed with QU-BD heat pad upgrade, threadless ballscrew w/ 8mm smooth rod, spectra line belt replacement, lawsy MK5 extruder, Lawsy replacement carriage, E3D hotend, Ramps 1.4 w/ reprap discount controller, DRV8825 drivers, 12v 30A PS, Acrylic case, Overkill Y-idlers, Filament alarm, Extruder fan + more.

**michael.rosplock** · 2013-10-02 21:28:51

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Re: wavy walls and corners

dang, and yeah that makes a lot of sense, so then if wanted perfect layering i'd have to go through some of the changes that are listed to fix this. i saw the software change that accounts for the this, is that typically the best way to fix this? and i tried hitting export config in slic3r and it just closed the window instantly, i might have to monkey with it once i get back from class

**2n2r5** · 2013-10-02 21:38:35

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Re: wavy walls and corners

Software changes help but the actually fix is to go with a Z-axis replacement from the Hacks and Mods section. I started to put together a list of all mods which can be found in the wiki. I also linked it below. I am far from done the list but this is a good starting point for you.

http://www.soliwiki.com/Modification_index

SD3 w/ mods:
Glass bed with QU-BD heat pad upgrade, threadless ballscrew w/ 8mm smooth rod, spectra line belt replacement, lawsy MK5 extruder, Lawsy replacement carriage, E3D hotend, Ramps 1.4 w/ reprap discount controller, DRV8825 drivers, 12v 30A PS, Acrylic case, Overkill Y-idlers, Filament alarm, Extruder fan + more.

**michael.rosplock** · 2013-10-03 00:07:00

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Re: wavy walls and corners

haha alright, well if that's the only thing i have to change to get really nice prints then i'm still a really happy customer for solidoodle products. and i figured out how to get the configs, it had an issue when i opened slic3r through repetier. so i opened it through the file location and i have no issues, thanks for that idea.

**TheOldMan** · 2013-10-03 02:52:39

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Re: wavy walls and corners

Before you go about tearing apart the Z axis, try the nut-hugger solution. Print the nut hugger, get a nut and spring, and assemble with spring, nut, and nut-hugger. That should cut the banding down quite a bit. The remaining banding can be minimized via the software mod.

Also, make sure your Z rod is straight, and the top isn't wobbling. If the rod is bent, or the top wobbles, then go ahead and replace it

**michael.rosplock** · 2013-10-03 03:52:55

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Re: wavy walls and corners

that sounds like a much better plan, as much as i'd like to think im mechanically inclined i know just how fast you can go from a working machine to a well, not working machine haha... I'd much rather try a simple add on then ripping the whole thing apart and redoing it

**2n2r5** · 2013-10-03 03:57:10

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Re: wavy walls and corners

michael.rosplock wrote:

that sounds like a much better plan, as much as i'd like to think im mechanically inclined i know just how fast you can go from a working machine to a well, not working machine haha... I'd much rather try a simple add on then ripping the whole thing apart and redoing it

No sense of adventure!

It's always best to start where you are comfortable. I used an anti-backlash device for quite a while before I started taking apart my bed. I then went a little nuts chasing perfection.

SD3 w/ mods:
Glass bed with QU-BD heat pad upgrade, threadless ballscrew w/ 8mm smooth rod, spectra line belt replacement, lawsy MK5 extruder, Lawsy replacement carriage, E3D hotend, Ramps 1.4 w/ reprap discount controller, DRV8825 drivers, 12v 30A PS, Acrylic case, Overkill Y-idlers, Filament alarm, Extruder fan + more.

wavy walls and corners

Posts: 17

1 Topic by michael.rosplock 2013-10-01 17:57:19

Topic: wavy walls and corners

2 Reply by 2n2r5 2013-10-01 18:09:59

Re: wavy walls and corners

3 Reply by ronsii 2013-10-01 18:11:08

Re: wavy walls and corners

4 Reply by michael.rosplock 2013-10-01 19:14:43

Re: wavy walls and corners

5 Reply by michael.rosplock 2013-10-02 04:52:34

Re: wavy walls and corners

6 Reply by lawsy 2013-10-02 05:03:26

Re: wavy walls and corners

7 Reply by michael.rosplock 2013-10-02 13:45:45

Re: wavy walls and corners

8 Reply by michael.rosplock 2013-10-02 19:40:23

Re: wavy walls and corners

9 Reply by michael.rosplock 2013-10-02 19:55:07

Re: wavy walls and corners

10 Reply by 2n2r5 2013-10-02 20:34:50

Re: wavy walls and corners

11 Reply by 2n2r5 2013-10-02 20:38:28

Re: wavy walls and corners

12 Reply by michael.rosplock 2013-10-02 21:28:51 (edited by michael.rosplock 2013-10-02 21:30:55)

Re: wavy walls and corners

13 Reply by 2n2r5 2013-10-02 21:38:35

Re: wavy walls and corners

14 Reply by michael.rosplock 2013-10-03 00:07:00

Re: wavy walls and corners

15 Reply by TheOldMan 2013-10-03 02:52:39

Re: wavy walls and corners

16 Reply by michael.rosplock 2013-10-03 03:52:55

Re: wavy walls and corners

17 Reply by 2n2r5 2013-10-03 03:57:10

Re: wavy walls and corners

Posts: 17