Tip of the Day 14 - Setting up your printer with Simplify3D

[KeyboardWarrior]

When using the Configuration Assistant, there's a ton of profiles to pick from, but if you have a printer that's not on this list, you'll have to make your own profile. This is a very quick process, but if you've never done it before it can be a bit confusing. If your printer is not on the list, you select the option for Other, then fill out your machines information.

Machine Type: This is pretty standard, if you have a delta printer or circular build plate it will be a delta style build platform. For delta users, you will take your diameter, multiply it by .707 and that will be the X-axis and Y-axis size to input for Build Volume.

Firmware: RepRap(Marlin/Repetier/Sprinter) most printer choices will be for this. Especially since almost every MakerBot/Sailfish style printer I can think of has a build in profile already on the Configuration Assistant you can pick from.

Baud Rate: This is the rate at which USB transmission occurs, your manufacturer can provide this information if you don't have it. **Generally 115200 or 250000** will be the baud rates.

The Build Volume, Nozzle Diameter, filament diameter, number of extruders and check mark for a heated bed are all pretty self explanatory.





Calibrating:
There are a few things you'll want to calibrate for your profile. The default profiles work really well, I think there made to accommodate the Prusa i3's and bulk of the RepRap models. However, there are a few things that you should probably check to ensure great prints.

To access and make these changes, click "Edit Process Settings"

1.Temperature (Temperature Tab)
For PLA the default profiles are 190 C for the extruder and 60 C for the bed. If you were printing with Slic3r or Cura and printing at 215 C for PLA, it's definitely going to have a drastic difference on extrusion if you are now all of a sudden printing with a 25 C difference.

Likewise, for ABS, the default temperatures are 225 for the extruder and 100 for the bed. If your heated bed maxes out at 65C, then definitely be sure to change the setting to accommodate your machine.


2.Retraction (Extruder Tab)

For standard Direct Drive, usually .5 to 2.5 mm will work well. For Bowden style extruders, 5 to 8.5 mm seems to work well. Changing the retraction speed may also help quality, the default 1800 mm/min is usually pretty good though.

3.Extrusion Multiplier (Extruder Tab)

The default extrusion multiplier is .9 for PLA and 1.0 for ABS. If you notice that there's incomplete filling or if there's too much filament I highly advise tinkering with the extrusion multiplier. My general tinkering, I usually adjust the value by .03 at a time for test prints.




Adjusting these three settings can really help setup your printer profile in Simplify3D and produce great prints

[CT4]

I am very confused with the extrusion multiplier. If I am under extruding filament do I raise the % or lower it? The way I see it is if I have 1.75mm filament and apply the extrusion multiplier value of 0.90% then I am telling the slicer that the filament is 1.575mm so it would use more filament ??? I would appreciate an explanation as to how this works.
Thanks

[KeyboardWarrior]

I am very confused with the extrusion multiplier. If I am under extruding filament do I raise the % or lower it? The way I see it is if I have 1.75mm filament and apply the extrusion multiplier value of 0.90% then I am telling the slicer that the filament is 1.575mm so it would use more filament ??? I would appreciate an explanation as to how this works.
Thanks

Changing the filament diameter will change the amount extruded as well. My advice is to keep the filament diameter where it's supposed to be, and then slightly change the extrusion multiplier as needed. A higher extrusion multiplier=more extrusion out of your nozzle.


For the filament diameter, changing that has a big difference and it doesn't scale on a standard ratio as extrusion multiplier does, since changing the filament diameter changes the Area of the filament which is proportional to diameter squared.


Sometimes measuring your filament with calipers and using that as your filament diameter instead of taking the sticker amount is a good idea though.

[TMI]

"For delta users, you will take your diameter, multiply it by .707 and that will be the X-axis and Y-axis size to input for Build Volume."
Please tell me is that the diameter of the platform? I have a buildplatform with a diameter of 30 cm. Would that imply that I have a build volume of 21.21 cm?

[TenKOhms]

"For delta users, you will take your diameter, multiply it by .707 and that will be the X-axis and Y-axis size to input for Build Volume."
Please tell me is that the diameter of the platform? I have a buildplatform with a diameter of 30 cm. Would that imply that I have a build volume of 21.21 cm?

I'm not sure if .707 is the number to use or not, but at least on my delta, I can't access the full range of my bed. For example, if i move the head manually by hand, there's no way I can get it to reach the full range near the towers

[KeyboardWarrior]

"For delta users, you will take your diameter, multiply it by .707 and that will be the X-axis and Y-axis size to input for Build Volume."
Please tell me is that the diameter of the platform? I have a buildplatform with a diameter of 30 cm. Would that imply that I have a build volume of 21.21 cm?

You still get to use the full size of your platform, it will still create the G-Code for your full size and you can max out your printers size, just for placing in the build volume of your printer in the software you do it for the X and Y of the largest square that will fit inside your circular build volume.

[av8er]

Does this still apply on v3.02? I have a delta with a 170mm build platform, doing the math I get a 120mm square. When I try to place anything that is greater than 120mm in any direction I will get a size error. How do I get the rest of my build platform back?

Rick

[JoeJ]

Yes, this is still used. I would recommend starting a new thread for your specific issue.