Prints pulling up at corners

[Jules]

I'm actually trying to stay out of this, since it's beyond confusing to have half a dozen people throwing directions your way at the same time.

But i am going to make a suggestion.

The print item that you are using to test the gap is very large, it takes a long time to print it, and that adds tremendously to the frustration factor.

At the bottom of the post, i'm going to upload the calibration square file. If you don't have it already, it is the file that you should to be using to test the gap. It's very small, and the whole thing prints in about 3 minutes.

Unzip it, and use that file to test how close the bed is to the nozzle. When you have printed the first layer, stop the print and take a close-up photo of the first layer (with light on it if you can) so that the guys can see how it looks.

calibration.zip

(1.98 KiB) Downloaded 435 times

(And don't switch filaments again. Use the same spool until you get the gap set correctly.)

[naturalstate720]

Ok cool, sticking now.

I printed that two piece z bolt adjustment thing, man that really helps adjust it.

Another question is how to change print settings so that my model prints quicker and uses less filament. I'm printing a building that is as high as it can print and it says it's going to take 70 hours, woah.

Is there any consensus on minimum support and infill, or really a model by model basis?

Infill settings: 40%
print infill on each layer checked

support infill percentage: 50%
dense infill percentage : 70%

[Jules]

Change one setting at a time and see how it affects the print time. (Less infill, fewer outlines, whatever.)

And keep in mind, if S3D tells you 7 hours, it's going to take 10.

Whoops, misread that - 70 hours translates into a week. You're going to be a lot better off cutting it up and gluing the parts together. (Asking a lot for a perfect print to run over a week.)

[naturalstate720]

Ok yeah good call Jules. I'll mess with the square.

Any good articles on figuring out the infill, density and support settings? I"m not finding a lot and the 3d simplify manual seems pretty barebons.

[Jules]

Not that I've ever found. After you've printed a few, you will get a feel for it, but it's definitely a case of gaining experience through trial and error.

[jimc]

one other thing to add here. make changes one at a time and do baby steps. this is not just for your bed gap but for anything 3d printing related. if your gap is too loose, dont go cranking the screw a half turn. you get stringing between prints, dont bump up your retraction 3 extra mm. especially when learning, make small steps, do a print and note the changes. if your all over the place making big jumps your just going to get frustrated. remember that when changing the gap for the bed it needs to be very precise. moving the bed .05mm makes a big difference in the first layer. the z-stop screw will move the bed roughly .05mm for every 1/12th a turn. thats 1/2 a flat spot on the head. the knob on the top of the printer will move i believe .15mm give or take for every click. the knob works if your out pretty far.

[jsc]

Some round numbers for settings (chime in if you disagree):

10% is my minimum setting.
20% is my "normal" setting.
30-50% is what I would consider high density.
80-95% if you have a small part that you need very strong.

Don't go all the way to 100% because any over extrusion will cause printing headaches.

3 top and bottom layers in PLA at a minimum at .20mm layer height. Up that to maintain ~.6mm solid top and bottom layers if you change your layer height, but 3 layers is a minimum to get a nice top layer over thin infill. PETG may require more top layers because it doesn't bridge as well.

The default support densities are fine, but you can use a very low support density like 10%, then just specify three or more 85%+ dense layers to save on print time. With PLA, you can change the default support angle to 60% easily with PLA, and even higher if you have enough cooling. You should also learn to use the manual support feature, or tweak the grid spacing until you can see that all the important areas are supported properly.

As Jules said, it is useful and desirable to learn how to design parts to be assembled together rather than trying to print monolithic 70 hour prints. Nut traps and screws are useful, as are mortise and tenon style joints, or even just butt joints glued together with IPS Weld-On #4 or superglue with accelerant.

[Pekish79]

if u are doing architecture building the infill can be lowered

my minimum infill for square building is 6%
normal infill is 10%
very heavy is 20%

as building of models are not made to resist any strength at all u could make them empty but sometimes is slower to make them empty especially if u have shape that need bridging and extra structure inside to accommodate some in and out

it's really depend on the model
i made many test with this building http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1104050
and i ended up having 6% infill in half of the space (except where i made the windows see through)

[naturalstate720]

I spent a few ours leveling the bed. Thought I had it down perfect. Lowered the zstop so that first layer is going down fairly squashed and sticking great. I'm printing a building bc I'm on a deadline and it has to be done asap. I'm using a raft and everything is looking great. Raft is sticking, building doesn't look warped. But then later on when I peel off the raft, the building looks a bit warped. Do I need to let this thing cure for a while? I wait at least 20 min to peel off raft.

I have to print this building in two parts, because it's too tall, and I'm worried the seam will be noticeable with the warping. Guess I can print a little extra and then sand down a layer to make straight. Any ideas?

[naturalstate720]

the tops of those photos are should be flipped 180 degrees. The tops in the photo are the bottom where warping are.