Tips for using Simplify 3D with Creator Pro

[GamerDarling]

Hey Guys, I've been using repg and was getting some great prints, but the functionality was pretty limited. I've switched to simplify 3D thinking it would help me print bunches of things without having to setup the printer sixty times...but the quality is so degraded. I did a cookie cutter and Simplify isn't even getting the top line even. It's jaggedy. Overhangs that my printer used to do like a champ now look like piles of spaghetti. Before the print starts it does the same little dot thing that repg had, but it's not even on the build plate, which causes some serious issues with that first line...and therefore the rest of the print.

I don't know what to do here. There's more control, which is great, but there's so many buttons and I have no idea what I'm doing. RepG was so simple, and the prints just worked. Any pointers?

[JoeJ]

The purge off the side of the build platform is intentional, and I definitely prefer it that way! You can clean you nozzle out better without worrying about the extra backpressure of trying to do this directly on top of the surface. Then it just gets wiped off as you move onto the plate to begin the build. This works much better for me, but you can edit one line in your starting script if you want to change the behavior.

Why don't you post a factory file for your part? Just set it up and right before you start printing, go to File --> Save Factory File. That way I can try printing on my printer since I've had really good luck using just their stock settings.

[GamerDarling]

Sure! Thanks for being willing to help! I've attached the one for the fennec fox door handle. This one had several issues with the overhang on the chin and ears. The ears were especially odd, because one was decent, but the other was raggedy on one side. There was also a couple of black smudges on one part, like the filament was burning or something.

I'm also fairly certain it was the slicer, since the pi cookie cutter printed very well when I switched back to rep g.

[dennisjm]

I get my best quality prints from my FF Creator X (upgraded to pro heat bed and enclosure)

[jrebeiro]

The purge off the side of the build platform is intentional, and I definitely prefer it that way! You can clean you nozzle out better without worrying about the extra backpressure of trying to do this directly on top of the surface. Then it just gets wiped off as you move onto the plate to begin the build. This works much better for me, but you can edit one line in your starting script if you want to change the behavior.

Oh man... I upgraded my build plate on the FF Creator Pro with the Removable Heated Build Plate Upgrade from BC Technological Solutions and it purges on the surface. Any idea how I can enter the new dimensions of the build plate so it does it off the surface? It seems to work just fine, but now you have me worried about the back pressure.

[dennisjm]

If you search you can find alternate starting gcode that prints a line (like makerbot) does instead of just purging into a spot. That can alleviate back pressure concerns. The build dimensions are on the other tab in the process if you have the option checked to update the machine config.. or you go to the machine config and enter them there. Those aren't as important as the starting gcode though, they just control the bounding box that the UI displays for you to let you know if your object fits or not. The more important part is in the starting gcode there will be a line with G0 or G1 and something like E5 F500 that tells the extruder to purge some material. Before that there will be a G1 with X and Y that tells where it moves to. If you're on your build plate still and you have room to move the extruder more without physical constraint, you can change those numbers appropriately.