I recently started using S3D and have come across the issue that the top of my parts have lots of gaps all over them. The perimeters seem ok, and all the other extrusion settings are ok, but the top layers are definitely underextruding the infill.
I did a search on the forum and found dozens of other people with this same problem, and so far the best work around is "add more solid layers or increase your infill". I have always printed with 15% infill and 3 top perimeters in Sli3r and haven't had any issues. I tried 20% infill and 5 layers, and it improved, but not enough, and I am not willing to go any higher on either of these settings, and shouldn't have to. I shouldn't have to print a 50% solid part just to get a good top finish.
So there needs to be a way to adjust the extrusion multiplier for the infill just for the top solid layers (any solid layer except the bottom would work too), that doesn't affect the outer perimeters.
-
CompoundCarl
- Posts: 2005
- Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2015 7:23 am
Re: Chang Top Layer Settings
Just in case you haven't seen it yet, they also have a nice guide that describes how to fix several common quality problems, so in the future it may be useful to check that too for more complex issues: https://www.simplify3d.com/support/prin ... top-layers
For this specific one, if the rest of your part has the correct amount of extrusion, then it probably isn't under-extruding, the issue is just that the top layers have to bridge across your infill. If your infill % is really low, then the plastic will droop down as it spans across it. Then the next layer above that has to deal with the extra gap, since the bridging layer before it will not be at the correct height due to the sagging. Usually after 3 or 4 top solid layers, this effect has pretty much gone away, but it can require more if you have a lower infill %.
For this specific one, if the rest of your part has the correct amount of extrusion, then it probably isn't under-extruding, the issue is just that the top layers have to bridge across your infill. If your infill % is really low, then the plastic will droop down as it spans across it. Then the next layer above that has to deal with the extra gap, since the bridging layer before it will not be at the correct height due to the sagging. Usually after 3 or 4 top solid layers, this effect has pretty much gone away, but it can require more if you have a lower infill %.
