Simplify3D User Forum

Using Raise3D N2 Dual with PolyMax PLA and latest (Aug 1, 2016) S3D Raise3D profiles. Printing using "Medium."

The calibration box printed beautifully with one exception: The first outer shell is loose from the rest of the print. The odd thing is that all the other shells and layers are nicely fused. I haven't seen this behavior before and this is my first print using S3D. Any ideas?

Temperature: 215C
First layer temp: 210
Bed temp: 60C
Infill: 100% grid
Layer height: 0.20
Nozzle: 0.40
Perimeter shells: 2
Default speed: 60 mm/s

Looks like the problem described here: https://www.simplify3d.com/support/prin ... gh-plastic

Sorry, no. After I changed the extrusion multiplier to 0.97 I got a perfect looking box - flat on top, no ringing, smooth. Really nice, but then my thumbnail slide right in between the shells again. The two outer shells are loose enough to strum like a guitar. If I increase the flow, the box will be convex on top.

Without having any idea of what settings you are using, and based on your response to Carl's advice, I'm not going to offer any suggestions. If I do and the suggestion doesn't work you'll only come back with "Sorry, try again!"

What I will say is that you need to think about the mechanism of the printing....and what may not be happening correctly with your print. The perimeter extrusion is separated from whatever is inside it. Why? Why is it not attached? Has it been printed too fast, too cold, too hot, too thin, not enough material? What is it not attached to?

Of course, if you really want advice it would be a good idea to attach a factory file for the part. (File menu===>save factory file) That way, someone could advise what you may have set wrong, etc.

The best way to get good looking (but not good) parts from a poorly configured printer is to underextrude. If you want actually good prints, you'll need to calibrate your machine so that it prints the correct line width that you set in the software. Otherwise you'll never be able to get well adhered prints because you're extruding too little plastic.

Yes, you are right about the calibration and that is all I am trying to do. That is why I am printing a calibration box. Also, I thought I was posting the settings I was using. This is my first time using S3D and I didn't even know what a factory file was or I would have posted it. I found out when tech support asked me to send one.

And I'm not just sitting here waiting for someone to answer and then post, "Sorry" again. I was looking for a fresh/different viewpoint on my problem. I have now spent about 24 hours over three days trying different settings. The ones I posted seemed to be the best at that point. I have incrementally upped the extrusion Multiplier until I hit 1.20 and increased the temp until I hit 225C with only small changes to the layer problem. I have reduced speed until it was crawling at 15mm/sec. I have messed with various other settings like fan speed, cooling (blocking the fans for example), build plate temperature, enclosure venting, and etc. I tried everything that I knew of to increase the flow rate. So finally I decided that the problem must be something that I had no real clue about.

The problem actually is too little extrusion, but I could not see how and the supposed ideal extrusion multiplier is supposed to be 0.94 for PLA on my machine. So hitting 1.20 just seemed unreal and raised a red flag (finally) that I must be missing information. And, it turns out that 0.94 is perfect, but that is after the StepE is set to 140. So I had to add the line "M92 E140:140 M500" to my script. I didn't know this and after three days of printing calibration boxes with various settings I read about it on another forum.

I think you misread my intention when I said, "Sorry." It was not meant as a snide comment or a dismissal, I was sincere. I have established relationships with other people on another forum and just got too familiar on this one -- you don't know me and I don't know you. We have not interacted before. I like to help out and I answer questions on the other forum when I can. We go back and forth a lot. So I apologize if I ruffled some feathers.

On my end this was a tough nut to crack because the answer was entirely outside of my knowledge. I still do not really understand why I had to make this change even though I have read about the commands on the g-code wiki. But it does work and I have a nicely calibrated box now with strong bonds..

Glad to see you can print some well calibrated parts! A good old fashioned extruder step value change was just what the doctor ordered.

Yeah, but was it ever tough to get the prescription!