S3D-Jason
Posts: 1379
Joined: Sun May 31, 2015 6:01 am

Version 5.1 Anti-Scarring Setup

We have received a lot of interest about the new anti-scarring options in Version 5.1, so we wanted to make a dedicated post to explain how to setup this feature. The first thing to know is that there are actually 3 separate items that all work together for anti-scarring. Here's a brief explanation about each one:

1) If your nozzle moves over a top layer without retracting, it tends to leave oozing. Enable the "Force retraction on top layers" setting on the Advanced tab so that your printer will always retract when moving over a top surface. That setting actually helps quite a bit just by itself!

2) Even if you are retracting, the nozzle can sometimes drag through previously printed plastic. This tends to happen more frequently when you are slightly over-extruding or when parts deform slightly after printing. If you want to solve this issue for the top layers, first turn on Z-hop by entering a value like 0.1mm for the Retract Vertical Lift setting on the Extruders tab. Changing that setting alone makes the nozzle lift for EVERY move, so you can save time by making sure the lift only happens on top layers by enabling the "Only vertical lift on top layers" option on the Advanced tab.

3) The last feature is actually something that happens automatically in the updated Version 5.1 slicing engine. We improved the path planning algorithm quite a bit to avoid movements that typically cause scars. There's no extra work to enable this setting, it just happens automatically!

Combining all 3 of these changes can create some very noticeable improvements in your prints!
Simplify3D-V510-Top-Layer-Anti-Scarring.png

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