I just started the learning curve on some 3D Solutech Clear PETG. I know I will never get a truly transparent print, even with 100% infil, but my first attempt is very frosted internally from the default S3D "fast honeycomb" infil pattern. I'm trying a rectilinear pattern now, and it doesn't look much better.
One thing I noticed is that the perimeters look pretty good. They aren't exactly clear, but they aren't nearly as frosted as the infil material. I can increase the number of perimeter passes to take advantage of that. I will check in a preview, but I'm not sure what happens if I pick (for example) 6 perimeter passes, but there is a thin section of the model that is only 8 passes wide. Hopefully it is smart enough to dance around that...
One other thing I've learned is that if you've run red filament on your last job, no matter how clean you think you've got it, the first print comes out slightly pink... I used a foot or more of eSun's cleaning filament, but I guess that wasn't enough.
Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Re: Best Infil Settings for Clear Filament?
Honestly, it depends what you're trying to print. You're never going to get anything to print truly clear if it requires any infill for strength with FDM printing.
The best way for clear prints is 0% infill. Alternatively you could do a 100% infill and print it hot and slow with no/minimal cooling.
Also, the way simplify3d does 100% infill is little weird. Pulling the slider to 100% doesn't actually make it 100%. It still prints an infill pattern just at a real high density. If you want a truly solid print, you need to increase your top and bottom layers to a number that exceeds the amount of layers in your print.
The best way for clear prints is 0% infill. Alternatively you could do a 100% infill and print it hot and slow with no/minimal cooling.
Also, the way simplify3d does 100% infill is little weird. Pulling the slider to 100% doesn't actually make it 100%. It still prints an infill pattern just at a real high density. If you want a truly solid print, you need to increase your top and bottom layers to a number that exceeds the amount of layers in your print.
Re: Best Infil Settings for Clear Filament?
Thanks! The top/bottom trick is one I hadn't thought of. I've increased the perimeters, and that helps a lot. I'm already at the maximum recommended temperature, but I may push that a little further and slow it down. I've also got the cooling set at 50%. The parts are small (~ 1" on a side), so I think I need some cooling to get the last pass firmed up a bit before the extruder comes around again.
