3D PrintingTips & Tricks 3

Little particles on the Inside Corners
I’m not sure what to call this phenomena, but basically little particles form on the inside corner(s) of your print and create a little worm-like structure along with some stringing.  The example pictured on the right is printed with the same settings as you would choose for a vase: zero infill, zero top layers.  However, there is an additional structure in the middle of the part.

Solution:  In Slic3r configuration under Print Settings > Infill , uncheck “Only retract when crossing perimeters.”  What happens is Slic3r thinks that the nozzle is still within a filled layer even though infill is set to zero, and doesn’t recognize  that you want two clean and distinct boundaries.

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WARPING 

Problem: “The base of my part is warping.”  
Try these tips:

• Is your heat bed hot enough?  For ABS, this is generally set between 100-110C.
• Is there a breeze or draft blowing across your printing area?  Turn off that ceiling fan, or build some make-shift walls to surround your printer.
• Do you have a good connection between your bed thermistor to the actual bed?  (ensure that the thermal paste is still effective, i.e not dried up)
• If printing with ABS, is your Kapton tape surface clean?  Try occasionally wiping it down with acetone and/or rubbing alcohol.
• Are you printing very wide or thin features?  Try adding little pads to the corners of your 3D data to use as anchors (Check out the tip “COMBAT WARPING WITH PADS”).
• Do you have enough 1st layer squish?  Insufficient squishing of the first layer can cause poor adhesion, leading to a warped base.
• Are you printing your first layer too fast?  Trying slowing down your first layer speed to around 30mm/s.

WELCOME 3D Printing Tips & Tricks
This section will be continually populated with tips & tricks geared towards the beginner 3D printer.  Please check back often for updates!
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http://forums.reprap.org/
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