S229
Member
Noted, thank you.
now that you point it out i cant unsee it lol.
Foam Spartan S-229 Build
- Thread starter S229
- Start date
- Status
now that you point it out i cant unsee it lol.
S229
Member
I have shifted techniques once again, but I have settled on 3D printing the armour with an EVA foam rig underneath to attach it. Unfortunately, my printer (Ender 3 pro) is having issues. I have replaced a few worn parts, dialed in my settings and looked up how to fix it, based off what I am experiencing, but I haven't been able to have any luck.
Basically whats happening is that everything will print fine until the last few layers and on top, the printer will not fill in the surface correctly leaving behind a large amount of what I can only describe as pitting. It would lend itself to underextrusion, but considering that it functions fine until the very last two or three layers, I am unsure if thats the case. The pics below are examples of what i'm talking about.
With this happening, it seriously structurally compromises the parts, plus when I opened up the left one, the inside structure (infill?) also looked "underextruded" and was very stringy and compromised as well, almost putting me in the mind of badly printed supports.
help or advice with tis would be greatly appreciated. thank you.
Basically whats happening is that everything will print fine until the last few layers and on top, the printer will not fill in the surface correctly leaving behind a large amount of what I can only describe as pitting. It would lend itself to underextrusion, but considering that it functions fine until the very last two or three layers, I am unsure if thats the case. The pics below are examples of what i'm talking about.
With this happening, it seriously structurally compromises the parts, plus when I opened up the left one, the inside structure (infill?) also looked "underextruded" and was very stringy and compromised as well, almost putting me in the mind of badly printed supports.
help or advice with tis would be greatly appreciated. thank you.
FalseShepherd
Well-Known Member
I think I had a similar problem like 6 months ago. For me it had to do with the path the filament took from the roll to the extruder. I had a guide "arm" that was holding the filament and providing a less direct route for the filament but when it reached a certain height it was getting crimped up in that piece. Thus when the extruder gears turned, they didn't have enough strength to actually pull the filament forward and hence; under-extrude. At least I think that's what the issue was.
What does your whole printer circuit look like?
S229
Member
So, I ended up doing a little more research and fiddled around with my retraction settings, and so far so good. I printed out a few test cubes to see if the flat surface on the top was experiencing issues and I have no quality issues anymore that I can see. I cracked the print in half, and there seems to be no structural issues either. Great success.
Also FalseShepherd i'm not particularly new to 3d printing, but I am unfamiliar with the word circuit, so what do you mean by that?
Also FalseShepherd i'm not particularly new to 3d printing, but I am unfamiliar with the word circuit, so what do you mean by that?
FalseShepherd
Well-Known Member
I just mean like the path that the filament takes from the roll to the hotend. Like if you have any things like this:
They can sometimes cause issues with how smoothly the filament passes into the feeder gears. That very well may not be your issue tho...
S229
Member
So, I have completed a successful print after adjusting my settings, though when I took the print off the build plate, the walls of the print themselves seemed weaker. I dunno if this is because it's a cylinder shape, or if i'm still having issues or i'm underextruding.
FalseShepherd, I don't think thats my issue, as my line from the roll to the extruder is very low tension at the position its at and has no issues feeding. Def made me double check though. So far though, the print came out as expected, and therefore, good. Pics below.
Now, I move on to the upper part of the arm, closer to the elbow.
FalseShepherd, I don't think thats my issue, as my line from the roll to the extruder is very low tension at the position its at and has no issues feeding. Def made me double check though. So far though, the print came out as expected, and therefore, good. Pics below.
Now, I move on to the upper part of the arm, closer to the elbow.
S229
Member
First arm has been completely printed, and part one of two on the second arm is being printed as I type this. I'll wait to post the pictures until I have both pieces printed, So if you're following closely or are excited that i'm finally posting or whatever, expect a post in around about two days.
Again, to those of you who've given me advice and help so far, big thanks.
Again, to those of you who've given me advice and help so far, big thanks.
S229
Member
Pic update, i haven't been able to sit down and get the rest of the stuff sliced up and ready for printing, because its almost exam season for me, so i'm trying to get through school. But there is progress.
I do have a question, when i'm looking at the chest piece, the front and back is all one piece, making for a really big unprintable file.
Where are good places to look at splitting it up?
I was thinking about doing it this way, getting 8 pieces, but i don't know if it's good placement.
I do have a question, when i'm looking at the chest piece, the front and back is all one piece, making for a really big unprintable file.
Where are good places to look at splitting it up?
I was thinking about doing it this way, getting 8 pieces, but i don't know if it's good placement.
Bloxxer
Member
That's pretty similar to how mine was cut up. However, I would definitely avoid cutting over the more detailed parts. I found it much harder to get rid of the split lines where there were more details. Trying to get around them also made the details a bit more dull.
S229
Member
alright, sounds good. ill look into it.
BinaryHe1ix
Jr Member
Not sure what your available print bed size is but you could also look into slicing the shoulder section and underarm sections out and printing the back and front separately. Would let you keep all the detail looking solid and not have to worry about seams being front and center. The front of the underarm looks like there's a pretty solid line where you could cut it, the back not so much but I don't think it would be too difficult to find a spot. If you have to slice the front/back up, definitely agree with Bloxx3r, cut above and below, trying to get those seams out of the recesses in the detail areas would be a huge pain.
Though now that I'm looking at your concept pic again, you could actually get away with cutting it as is since the grenades will be attached over it and hide any seams you're not able to get at. Would really just come down to how difficult it is to print in each configuration, might be easier to slice it in 8 pieces and just deal with the more obvious seams.
EDIT: Also saw you mentioning that the walls feel more weak after adjusting some settings. What're you using for wall/infill settings? I know when I was running into issues I was changing a lot of things and forgot to switch certain settings back after one of them fixed something, so it could be that while your retraction settings are good there's something else going on that's messing with the walls. I'm not a 3D printing pro but I'm about 75% through printing my ODST and have fixed a lot of the issues I've had, if you'd be willing to share the Cura project file I'd be happy to take a peek!
S229
Member
i'm thinking that you're right BinaryHe1ix, i think that the grenades will cover up most of the seams. so ill take the best of both worlds, and try and get rid of the seams as much as i can and try and hide them i well as i can, but at the same time try and cut up the model as efficiently as possible.
S229
Member
As for your edit, i think i got it mostly figured out in regards to the walls and everything, but anytime i try and load up supports they just kind of like.... die? don't work? if you'll notice the bottom left piece in the picture of the forearms, the piece closer to the elbow is almost "scarred."
The walls of this piece don't feel quite as strong and there is more "scarring" on other parts of that piece. I printed this one with supports, as i did not know whether my printer would handle some of the overhangs, but the supports did not really print. they didn't birdnest, but were almost nonexistent. Almost like an under-extrusion on midair, making just kind of sad, brittle, and crumpled up pieces of plastic. this only happens when i print using supports though. so i have no idea whats going on, as i didn't change any support settings at all.
When you mean send you the cura file, are you meaning send the .gcode? or something else?
The walls of this piece don't feel quite as strong and there is more "scarring" on other parts of that piece. I printed this one with supports, as i did not know whether my printer would handle some of the overhangs, but the supports did not really print. they didn't birdnest, but were almost nonexistent. Almost like an under-extrusion on midair, making just kind of sad, brittle, and crumpled up pieces of plastic. this only happens when i print using supports though. so i have no idea whats going on, as i didn't change any support settings at all.
When you mean send you the cura file, are you meaning send the .gcode? or something else?
BinaryHe1ix
Jr Member
When you're in Cura if you open the File tab you can save project, should be .3mf. If it's .gcode it'll only show the sliced model and I don't think it includes settings. The project file should have all of your printer settings and the model itself. I should be able to move the model around and tweak the printer settings but I haven't tried before, figure it's worth a shot though.
- Status
