Trials and Tribulations with my Da Vinci 1.0 3D Printer

[acidicninja]

Fawbish, what tips exactly did you give Saber Concepts? My prints are turning out wonky like that sometimes. I think I've nailed the problem down to the head moving too fast and shaking the printer around a lot, but even slowing things down quite a bit in Slic3r only seems to help a tiny bit. I don't remember having that problem with XYZWare so I'm pretty sure it's settings and not hardware.

Also on that arkham stuff, make sure you're making all of the visible faces external (blue) faces. I noticed on the screen you printed that some of them are white still and that'll make for some pretty weird output. Also if you keep the solids intact you can use addition/subtraction tools on them, which is hugely helpful.

 

[Fawbish]

Fawbish, what tips exactly did you give Saber Concepts? My prints are turning out wonky like that sometimes. I think I've nailed the problem down to the head moving too fast and shaking the printer around a lot, but even slowing things down quite a bit in Slic3r only seems to help a tiny bit. I don't remember having that problem with XYZWare so I'm pretty sure it's settings and not hardware.

Also on that arkham stuff, make sure you're making all of the visible faces external (blue) faces. I noticed on the screen you printed that some of them are white still and that'll make for some pretty weird output. Also if you keep the solids intact you can use addition/subtraction tools on them, which is hugely helpful.

Thanks ninja, I hadn't even considered this - I'll investigate.

Also, the tips I offered were all the stuff I included in the first post - I'm afraid I haven't done as much exploration on the settings yet so can't offer more!



A few shots of where I'm at right now - now severely worried about the blue and white faces!! haha.

 

[Saber Concepts]

Saber, as Nixon said, at the moment I'm getting to grips with Sketchup. It's a little fiddly and not as exacting as I'd like (I'm an engineer, so have used Solidworks in the past, which I remember being more exact etc) but it's getting better as I use it more and build up the extensions library for little tasks. I'm going to stick with Sketchup until I really run into any stumbling blocks. I've also done a little bit on OpenSCAD which is nice for basic shapes so far, and is code based, meaning when you take the time to design things you can get get things very exact.

Drew, I hadn't thought of printing multiples of the same type - unfortunately usually it's only a single item I want. I'll see if Slic3r has any options for keeping the head away for each layer - unfortunately it doesn't always seem to do everything I ask - for instance I've asked it in the past to do one item at a time - it still completed the items as one layer.

The slic3r does have an option that will let you print multiple parts separately. I made the mistake of printing 2 parts at the same time with out selecting that option and it was a major fail. I have also adjusted the extruder and bed temps a little to get better prints on different objects. I have also noticed that different parts work better with different settings. I will try to post some pics as soon as I get a chance to. I have been super busy making lightsabers and use the parts I print as fast as I can print them.

 

[Fawbish]

Yeah I know about the option, didn't work for me though unfortunately.

Good stuff, look forward to seeing your progress.

 

[Saber Concepts]

I raised the extruder temp 3 degrees and the bed temp 2 degrees and it helped for the part I was working on.

 

[acidicninja]

Fawbish, to print parts sequentially they have to be added to slic3r's bed separately (separate .stl files) and the 'quick slice' option doesn't support it at all. Definitely don't print multiple parts without it though, since they'll cool too much between layers and warp (had that problem with my mini sentry first time around). you can turn an interior surface to an exterior one by right clicking and choosing 'reverse faces'; triple clicking helps with this quite a bit, since using reverse faces on multiple selections reverses all of them so it shouldn't be too hard to fix.

As for the goofy prints, I confirmed that it was a vibration issue. Infill is a particular culprit, since I was previously using the honeycomb pattern and unless you go super slow that pattern involves a lot of bouncing around. Switching to rectilinear almost completely solved the issue and my prints are turning out much better for it. Does the extruder temp actually change for you guys if you use the regular cartridges? I've been trying to up the temperature to smooth my edges a little and it doesn't seem to go above 200 or so for me.

 

[Fawbish]

Fawbish, to print parts sequentially they have to be added to slic3r's bed separately (separate .stl files) and the 'quick slice' option doesn't support it at all. Definitely don't print multiple parts without it though, since they'll cool too much between layers and warp (had that problem with my mini sentry first time around). you can turn an interior surface to an exterior one by right clicking and choosing 'reverse faces'; triple clicking helps with this quite a bit, since using reverse faces on multiple selections reverses all of them so it shouldn't be too hard to fix.

As for the goofy prints, I confirmed that it was a vibration issue. Infill is a particular culprit, since I was previously using the honeycomb pattern and unless you go super slow that pattern involves a lot of bouncing around. Switching to rectilinear almost completely solved the issue and my prints are turning out much better for it. Does the extruder temp actually change for you guys if you use the regular cartridges? I've been trying to up the temperature to smooth my edges a little and it doesn't seem to go above 200 or so for me.

Brilliant advice - thanks for this. I had a read up/messed with the faces and found a few quick ways for the larger groups in my model. One of the ways I found (though didn't always work perfectly) was to "orient" the faces? Choosing one face that was the correct way around and then orienting seemed to change any parts it was connected to without selecting them all. And then selecting all connected worked also. So I got a lot of my model sorted out, thanks. I did a test run on a middle/complex piece with multiple insides and outsides, ran it through the stl fixer (netfabb) as a matter of course and it seemed to import with no issues and looked OK. I'll see the proof when I print something I suppose!

Created this yesterday so I can display the kryptonian command key - nice and simple, made the letters/symbols out of nice basic shapes, 0.3mm thickness and 1mm extrusion into the base plate. I've a feeling it will be just too small to come out well. But if it doesn't, I'll scale up the plate slightly (should be 45mm across at the moment)

 

[Turbo Sausage]

Hey Fawbish, the Arkham Knight stuff is coming along great!

And just in case you weren't aware, there is a 3D printing show in London next weekend. Could be interesting!?

http://3dprintshow.com/

 

[Fawbish]

Hey Fawbish, the Arkham Knight stuff is coming along great!

And just in case you weren't aware, there is a 3D printing show in London next weekend. Could be interesting!?

http://3dprintshow.com/

Thanks Turbo, I think I've rushed it a little in all honesty but the feeling of progress is tangible and addictive! I could most likely print out most of the gauntlet now, and slap dash it together. Don't think it would come out as well as I'd like it to though.

Also that looks bloody awesome. Unfortunately I'm in Devon next weekend for a wedding, I wonder if they'll notice if I pop out for 10/12 hours? haha.

 

[Fawbish]

The stand turned out ok, but nothing special. The detail needed to be bigger to come out correctly/the printer needed better calibration and I could have done with scaling up the whole scenario, the key and the base. Possibly by 2, so that it would be a 0.6mm gap and a 2mm depth of the detail - I could then dye the gaps dark to stand out after painting the base silver/chrome.

 

[acidicninja]

Progress! And nice prints finally! Have to say for how much I paid for this thing I'm extremely impressed with the mechanics of it. Not a fan of XYZWare but the backdoor hack is super easy. These were done with 200µm process, since I haven't quite gotten my 100µm settings nailed down.

I'm especially impressed with how the short legs turned out with those holes. These are completely unfinished atm, though I'm sure I'll have to do some sanding before I assemble it.

 

[Fawbish]

Looking good man, I'm the same. I'm happy with the print quality but not super impressed - then I remember the price of the printer and I'm happy again. Then I remember the hacks and I'm even more impressed. Haven't done anything organicly shaped recently, it's all been geometric (which xyzware handles quite well)

Next time I go for a slic3r print I'll change to rectilinear infill!

What is the print, by the way? I've tried putting it together in my head and can't make sense of it! haha. I've started printing at 0.3 to save plastic and time for now.

 

[acidicninja]

It's a level 1 sentry from team fortress 2. All finished now


Did you backdoor your da vinci yet? It makes using slic3r so much easier, and once you've got your print settings down I think you'll really love the printer. The hardware is pretty good as far as I can tell, but the software is mediocre at best. I get significantly better prints from slic3r, and by having a fan on for small parts. I drew up some clips to hold a 120mm fan onto the hand hold, so the ventilation is great if I need it. I only got this printer last week and I've already exhausted my first spool.

 

[Fawbish]

It's a level 1 sentry from team fortress 2. All finished now
View attachment 371427View attachment 371426View attachment 371425

Did you backdoor your da vinci yet? It makes using slic3r so much easier, and once you've got your print settings down I think you'll really love the printer. The hardware is pretty good as far as I can tell, but the software is mediocre at best. I get significantly better prints from slic3r, and by having a fan on for small parts. I drew up some clips to hold a 120mm fan onto the hand hold, so the ventilation is great if I need it. I only got this printer last week and I've already exhausted my first spool.

No I haven't done the SD card thing yet, I'm actually OK with how quick it is to slice, export and drop in. I also haven't had a lot of time with the printer unfortunately! Would you care to post up your print settings for any particular pieces? It'd be great to know/try out. And I love the additional fan idea, is it just a USB powered fan? And is it directed at the piece itself, or across the board/towards the extruder? I'd consider this if I knew it would help with small details.

 

[Saber Concepts]

Just wanted to post a few pics. Let me know if you can guess what I am printing. hehe Here are some pics straight from the printer with the supports still on it.





And here with the supports pulled off. (very easily I might add )





I am very pleased with it so far and am in the process of printing the rest of it. It looks like I may actually be able to clean it up enough to actually use.

 

[acidicninja]

here is my 200µm ini, which I used on the sentry. I didn't do any finishing on it either, that's how it turned out

Spoiler

# generated by Slic3r 1.1.7 on Thu Sep 4 02:51:39 2014avoid_crossing_perimeters = 0
bed_size = 200,200
bed_temperature = 90
bottom_solid_layers = 3
bridge_acceleration = 0
bridge_fan_speed = 100
bridge_flow_ratio = 0.95
bridge_speed = 20
brim_width = 0
complete_objects = 1
cooling = 1
default_acceleration = 1500
disable_fan_first_layers = 1
dont_support_bridges = 1
duplicate_distance = 6
end_gcode = M84 ; disable motors\n
external_perimeter_speed = 60%
external_perimeters_first = 0
extra_perimeters = 1
extruder_clearance_height = 20
extruder_clearance_radius = 20
extruder_offset = 0x0
extrusion_axis = E
extrusion_multiplier = 0.95
extrusion_width = 0.4
fan_always_on = 0
fan_below_layer_time = 60
filament_diameter = 1.75
fill_angle = 45
fill_density = 50%
fill_pattern = rectilinear
first_layer_acceleration = 1500
first_layer_bed_temperature = 90
first_layer_extrusion_width = 220%
first_layer_height = 0.3
first_layer_speed = 20%
first_layer_temperature = 210
g0 = 0
gap_fill_speed = 10
gcode_arcs = 0
gcode_comments = 0
gcode_flavor = reprap
infill_acceleration = 1500
infill_every_layers = 1
infill_extruder = 1
infill_extrusion_width = 0
infill_first = 0
infill_only_where_needed = 0
infill_speed = 15
interface_shells = 0
layer_gcode =
layer_height = 0.1
max_fan_speed = 100
min_fan_speed = 35
min_print_speed = 10
min_skirt_length = 20
notes =
nozzle_diameter = 0.4
only_retract_when_crossing_perimeters = 1
ooze_prevention = 0
output_filename_format = [input_filename_base].gcode
overhangs = 1
perimeter_acceleration = 1500
perimeter_extruder = 1
perimeter_extrusion_width = 0.4
perimeter_speed = 15
perimeters = 3
post_process =
print_center = 100,100
raft_layers = 0
resolution = 0
retract_before_travel = 2
retract_layer_change = 1
retract_length = 1
retract_length_toolchange = 10
retract_lift = 1
retract_restart_extra = 0
retract_restart_extra_toolchange = 0
retract_speed = 30
seam_position = aligned
skirt_distance = 10
skirt_height = 1
skirts = 1
slowdown_below_layer_time = 30
small_perimeter_speed = 70%
solid_fill_pattern = concentric
solid_infill_below_area = 35
solid_infill_every_layers = 0
solid_infill_extrusion_width = 0
solid_infill_speed = 10
spiral_vase = 0
standby_temperature_delta = -5
start_gcode = ; filename = composition.3w\n; machine = daVinciF10\n; material = abs\n; layer_height = 0.2\n; total_layers = 24\n; total_filament = 0\n; extruder = 1\nG21 ; set units to millimeters\nM107\n;M104 S200 ; set temperature\n;M109 S200 ; wait for temperature to be reached\nG90 ; use absolute coordinates\nG92 E0\nM82 ; use absolute distances for extrusion\n
support_material = 0
support_material_angle = 45
support_material_enforce_layers = 0
support_material_extruder = 1
support_material_extrusion_width = 0
support_material_interface_extruder = 1
support_material_interface_layers = 3
support_material_interface_spacing = 1
support_material_interface_speed = 100%
support_material_pattern = rectilinear-grid
support_material_spacing = 1
support_material_speed = 15
support_material_threshold = 0
temperature = 210
thin_walls = 1
threads = 4
toolchange_gcode =
top_infill_extrusion_width = 110%
top_solid_infill_speed = 10
top_solid_layers = 6
travel_speed = 25
use_firmware_retraction = 0
use_relative_e_distances = 0
vibration_limit = 0
wipe = 0
z_offset = 0

The fan is actually held on via some clips I printed
View attachment IMG_20140904_025500.jpg
I just hooked the fan up to a 9v wall wart I had laying around, and I plug it in when I need it. It blows perfectly across the layer, and if you keep the door close it all blows straight out the other hand hold. It's almost like it was designed to have a fan! I'm sure it will be especially useful once my arduino programmer comes in and I can raise the extruder temp.

 

[Fawbish]

Just wanted to post a few pics. Let me know if you can guess what I am printing. hehe Here are some pics straight from the printer with the supports still on it.

http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/...Star Lord Mask/Mouth/DSC_1250_zps7aac7755.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/...Star Lord Mask/Mouth/DSC_1251_zps217612e3.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/...Star Lord Mask/Mouth/DSC_1249_zpsa3eababc.jpg

And here with the supports pulled off. (very easily I might add )

http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/...Star Lord Mask/Mouth/DSC_1256_zps1583a8f3.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/...Star Lord Mask/Mouth/DSC_1252_zpsf6a13a67.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/...Star Lord Mask/Mouth/DSC_1255_zps7291b9f6.jpg

I am very pleased with it so far and am in the process of printing the rest of it. It looks like I may actually be able to clean it up enough to actually use.

Starlord I think, very nice. Looking good!

As does yours acidninja.

However your gcode seems to be different to how slicer generates my gcode...?

 

[acidicninja]

different how? maybe some odd settings? I do have a handful of custom gcode stuff going on and I think I'm going to switch my host system over to Linux so I can do some more powerful post-processing of the gcode, but that sentry model was printed in pieces and assembled after the fact.

I'm in the process of switching over to Repetier firmware because of the stupid 1.1.J firmware messing with my reset cartridge :/ I've got a roll of transparent ABS filament that I really want to try out, and I'm thoroughly unimpressed with XYZ's filament anyway. Not bad for drafting, but I didn't realize how inconsistent the diameter was until I started doing higher quality prints and got the shaking and layer shifting stuff worked out.

I am curious though how you guys handle your support material with Slic3r, if you do. I still haven't gotten it to really support well, it seems to just do little pillars and then try to bridge rather than printing a semi-solid lattice like it should. I've seen a handful of models online with supports like that so I'm sure it's just a setting but I have to unbrick my printer before I can do more testing lol. I've instantly become a huge fan of Arduino through this whole process.

 

[Fawbish]

Hey everyone, recently TurboSausage sent over a file for his Matrix Head Jack (we are both based in the UK) as a comparison test against the snitch he bought from Shapeways.

This is about 30 minutes of total work (20 mins print, 5 mins filing, 5 mins spraying) - it is on the finest settings of the printer via the native software - I've no doubt better results can be had with hacks and such, but I have limited time at the moment. If I get chance later this week I will attempt using different software to see if I can improve on the results.



It is OK looking for a very quickly processed prop (the design/file is excellent of course, and a very good print would do this piece of 3D design justice)

Thanks to Turbo for letting me have a crack at it!

 

[Turbo Sausage]

Looks great for a quick build(especially that last pic), amazing that you can go from nothing to that in half an hour.

With a bit more time and filling it could work out pretty well, a bit of dry brushing with the silver would help too.

Goodwork [emoji106]