Beginner - Settings to Try Adjusting?
Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 12:33 pm
Quick background: I've had my M2 for about a week now. It's my first 3D printer. I looked at slic3r and Pronterface before it arrived as I was doing my research. I read some great info about Creator and decided to just go with it from the start.
I've been working on trying to get the printer settings really dialed in by reading lots and lots and lots and trying various calibration methods and objects. I've been running into some issues and I'm just not sure *what* to try adjusting. I'm printing the 5 mm calibration steps http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:24238 and they look pretty good with the default M2 settings right out of Creator. http://www.flickr.com/photos/7943855@N05/8640772464/ The funny thing is - the very first print I made of these has been the best. Not terrific. But I was really happy with the results.
Then I tried to print this Heart Ring that my girlfriend saw and said she wanted. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:50123 It did not turn out well. It was just really ragged looking. I started making some adjustments like tightening up the belts, releveling the bed, etc. Then I started tweaking a few settings in Creator and printed the calibration cubes again. They were horribly ugly; up on the top especially. And the rest of the print was just as ragged as the ring. http://www.flickr.com/photos/7943855@N05/8639669715/
I did some more research and made adjustments again. Most notably, I decided to tell the heater bed to turn off after the first layer so it gradually cooled as the print went on. Though I was largely using the same default settings that worked so well the night before. Then I printed again. It was better, but still not very good. http://www.flickr.com/photos/7943855@N05/8639669681/ I mean I've seen a lot better come off of other M2's.
Also worth mentioning is that I noticed with all of the prints I've done so far, the first layer is "wider" than the others, creating a kind of "lip" on the bottom of all my prints. You can sort of see it from this angle: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7943855@N05/8640772400/
So, what I'm asking is: based on what you see here, what should I try adjusting? There are so many settings in Creator. And even though there are tooltips for every single one of them, it can still be a bit overwhelming for a newcomer. Now I'm definitely one to do my homework and research a lot. But as Creator is so new, it's proving a bit tricky to find info - outside these forums of course. Which is why I'm looking to the great community here to help guide me in the right direction!
I've been working on trying to get the printer settings really dialed in by reading lots and lots and lots and trying various calibration methods and objects. I've been running into some issues and I'm just not sure *what* to try adjusting. I'm printing the 5 mm calibration steps http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:24238 and they look pretty good with the default M2 settings right out of Creator. http://www.flickr.com/photos/7943855@N05/8640772464/ The funny thing is - the very first print I made of these has been the best. Not terrific. But I was really happy with the results.
Then I tried to print this Heart Ring that my girlfriend saw and said she wanted. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:50123 It did not turn out well. It was just really ragged looking. I started making some adjustments like tightening up the belts, releveling the bed, etc. Then I started tweaking a few settings in Creator and printed the calibration cubes again. They were horribly ugly; up on the top especially. And the rest of the print was just as ragged as the ring. http://www.flickr.com/photos/7943855@N05/8639669715/
I did some more research and made adjustments again. Most notably, I decided to tell the heater bed to turn off after the first layer so it gradually cooled as the print went on. Though I was largely using the same default settings that worked so well the night before. Then I printed again. It was better, but still not very good. http://www.flickr.com/photos/7943855@N05/8639669681/ I mean I've seen a lot better come off of other M2's.
Also worth mentioning is that I noticed with all of the prints I've done so far, the first layer is "wider" than the others, creating a kind of "lip" on the bottom of all my prints. You can sort of see it from this angle: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7943855@N05/8640772400/
So, what I'm asking is: based on what you see here, what should I try adjusting? There are so many settings in Creator. And even though there are tooltips for every single one of them, it can still be a bit overwhelming for a newcomer. Now I'm definitely one to do my homework and research a lot. But as Creator is so new, it's proving a bit tricky to find info - outside these forums of course. Which is why I'm looking to the great community here to help guide me in the right direction!