i've noticed that when printing different temps to find the sweet spot, the gloss changes on the printed filament. if i go to say 210C, it's glossier than 200C.
could this be one factor in figuring out correct temperatures?
also, if you print "too low" temperature, can that lead to clogging? i suppose it would back up somewhat in the throat.
Your observations are correct. Most filament manufacture provide a range of printing temperature. I normally start at 10 degrees below the high mark. Most printers print colder than they say, according to posts I have read over time, so if that is true, shooting for the high side should put you in the middle. If printing one of something very small, sometimes a lower temp will help, or printing 2 may be a better option as it give time for the item to cool before the next layer.
ultimately i'm trying to address two issues: 1 stringing and 2 uneven layer stacking. i did several prints of a little rectangle with 2 circular posts (about 1/8in diameter, 1.25in tall).
i ended up printing this "stringing test" object and getting darn good results not only with stringing but also with layer stacking! 200C temp, 6mm of retraction. 45mm/s print speed and the variable layer speed set to 50% for layers under 15 seconds.
then i printed a calibration cube. it didn't turn out so well. so what i'm thinking is, that 200C temp might be too low for other models since the walls print faster in comparison to the post walls (they printed much slower because very short layer time whereas the cal cube walls are much longer and therefor the speed is not decreased as much).
so what i think i'll do next is try a higher temperature, 205 and then back up to 210.
what i'm finding out, is that your temps and probably extrusion multiplier should really change depending on the size of the printed object or the small details (arm/fingers or Eiffel tower structurer).
i guess that's what the variable speed setting is based on the layer time.
sure - and by calibrated we're talking two things really - 1 esteps and 2 the wall-width calibration to set extrusion multiplier
the big picture i guess is: a) temperature, b) speed, and c) extrusion multiplier are all intricately tied? or no, you're saying i can take extrusion multiplier out of that once it's calibrated much like removing esteps.
Yes, once you have esteps calibrated if applicable and the extrusion multiplier calibrated for the material you should not have to change it.
For example, the extrusion multiplier for PLA should generally remain the same. It would change based on the material such as ABS would be a little different than PLA.
One thing to remember is to measure the filament diameter over a couple meters and enter the average into the slicer. This is important to do.