DO you Bother with Filament calibration!!!!!!  

RE: DO you Bother with Filament calibration!!!!!!

Posted by: @mop

if you purchase filament that is +- .05   or   +- .03 do you bother measuring the filament diameter and averaging it and putting it in your slicer?

Absolutely, yes. Those measurements are deviation over the length of the spool. That doesn't mean the average won't be a bit larger or smaller than 1.75mm. Getting the filament diameter set properly along with calibrating the extrusion multiplier goes a long ways towards ensuring that the slicer's understanding of the world matches your actual printer and filament. If the slicer has a proper set of values to work with, the gcode it generates will be more accurate. If the gcode is more accurate, you get less over or under extrusion. Getting these settings right was a huge part of getting my fine stringing under control. Now that I make a point of doing a full filament calibration with every new brand and type, I find I rarely need more than 0.2-0.4mm retraction, 0.4mm z-lift and no wiping to get essentially string-free prints, even with PETG.

RE: DO you Bother with Filament calibration!!!!!!

Agree with Bobstro. An hours testing with a new brand/type can save hours of wasted effort, and filament, later. Printing a temperature tower can help with the difficult filaments that just won't play nicely.

RE: DO you Bother with Filament calibration!!!!!!

I'm learning from this thread, really. But how would I measure the average diameter? I ain't going to roll off 1.000meters of filament, no way....

Thanks

Chris

RE: DO you Bother with Filament calibration!!!!!!

Posted by: @just3d

I'm learning from this thread, really. But how would I measure the average diameter? I ain't going to roll off 1.000meters of filament, no way....

Pick some amount you're willing to deal with, measure a few times and average. 3 times over 3 feet/1m is commonly recommended. Tweak or add to that based on your level of confidence in the filament. I find 3 measurements usually is close enough. It's not an exact science, and every filament varies slightly.

I won't claim to have read through the slicer source code to confirm this makes a huge difference, but combined with your extrusion multiplier, these give your slicer the values that closest match the physical world.