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1500 questions
11
votes
1 answer

How to tell if PLA temp is too hot/cold

I was having an issue with flat sheets raising up during initial layers. I had my bed at 80 °C and kept raising it thinking it was an issue with cold. After reducing the temperature to 50 °C the sheets sit flat now but sometimes sections come loose.…
FourierFlux
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11
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2 answers

How to set a new homing position using software and/or slicer without changing hardware end-stop?

Before the question, here is my setup; Prusa i3 (with mainboard Mks Gen v1.2) Repetier as slicer Marlin source code My main task is to convert my 3D printer into a chocolate printer. I have replaced the filament extruder with a chocolate…
Sener
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11
votes
4 answers

Expansion in bottom skin after first layer

I'm having an issue where prints with narrow tolerance come out fused. This makes it pretty much impossible to print anything with narrow parts. It seems to be mostly (maybe only) an issue in the bottom skin layers. Once it gets through those, the…
Robert
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11
votes
2 answers

Extruder is running backwards?

I have a (HIC) version of the Prusa i3. I have recently installed the E3D v6 hotend and titan extruder. After fixing some other issues, I noticed that there is no filament being extruded. In addition, the gear looked like it was going in the wrong…
Chris Manning
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11
votes
2 answers

What's the purpose of the "outlines" around prints?

I am curious, what is the purpose of printing a single-height outline around the objects to be printed? Also, how would it affect the outline if the object to be printed extends to (very near) the very edge of the print area? Update, I received a…
KlaymenDK
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11
votes
6 answers

Pulling filament through long tubes

I'm setting up my printer in a small room, and I thought I'd come up with a system for more easily swapping filaments, but I'm not yet sure it is feasible. Rather than physically replace the spool, I'd like to hang most of my spools on the wall,…
mhelvens
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11
votes
3 answers

Do I need to recalibrate z-probe offset every time I switch to a different layer height?

It occurs to me that I'm never really thinking about layer height when I calibrate my z-probe offset. This is obviously an oversight, because I'll want my nozzle to start higher for 0.3mm layers than for 0.1mm layers. After this realization comes…
mhelvens
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11
votes
4 answers

Simultaneous heating of extruder and bed at start of print

I notice that if I print from Cura without preheating the printer, it will first raise the bed temperature and then raise the extruder temperature. The G-code it generates is: M140 S55 ; set bed temperature to 55 C M105 ; report…
rgov
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11
votes
2 answers

How to choose printer with dual extruder?

I use Prusa i3 with one extruder for some years and I would like to print from one material in two colors or from different materials for one model. Therefore I'm lookig for new printer with dual extruder. Is there some way how to measure and/or…
rudolf_franek
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11
votes
5 answers

What is the purpose behind a glass nozzle?

So while doing some research I stumbled upon a wiki page on reprap from a few years back where the user was creating a glass nozzle to replace the brass and PTFE assembly.1 Does anyone know the theory behind this? Glass is a great insulator so I…
FEA42
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11
votes
3 answers

Why doesn't PLA stick to heated bed?

I have a basic Creality Ender-3 with a black rough bed cover. I'm printing with PLA. After assembly, I printed 3 or 4 small toys sliced by Cura with basic settings. All were printed very well! However, after that, extruded filament would not stick…
Roman Matveev
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11
votes
3 answers

Why does my PLA filament form a spiral shape and clog my extruder?

I'm using brand new PLA filament and am getting frequent clogs in my extruder. I've had this problem with 2 different filaments from 2 different vendors. It will be print just fine, then clog up. It doesn't ever seem to go more than 5 minutes…
Curtis
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11
votes
4 answers

Layer delamination

I've printed mostly ABS in the past and encountered delamination between layers many times. I've ensured the following conditions regularly: Build plate is level Base of print isn't warped (using ABS slurry) Prevent air draft. I've added acrylic…
tbm0115
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11
votes
4 answers

Are there practical reasons to NOT use a stepper motor with lead screw for the X and or Y axes?

After a few months of printing with my Prusa Mk3 (with plans to get a second one soon), I have been wondering about making my third printer a home-built one was a larger print bed than the Mk3. One thing I wondered about is perfectly expressed in…
Mikel F
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11
votes
3 answers

PETG layer adhesion

I've been playing around with PETG for the first time, and everything seemingly worked right just from the start - clean prints, no stringing, no bed adhesion problems, no warping or dimensional accuracy problems, etc. As expected it prints a lot…