Newbie Print Efficiency Help
Hello and Good Day/Night,
To make a long story short, I am new to using the Original Prusa MK4 printer. I was looking to produce some end attachment pieces (shown in purple) for CNC cut wood (shown in blue) to allow them to connect together in odd aggregating ways. With current settings, my print has an estimated printing time of 13h55m (normal mode) and 16h14m(stealth mode). Are there any glaring issues that could be resolved to produce a faster print without sacrificing quality too much? I suspect that the supports might be contributing to the 10+ estimated time. I've attached the PrusaSlicer file if it helps.
Link to .3mf file
Thank you for your time 🙂
Best Answer by FoxRun3D:
As OP said he/she is new to 3d printing, just one more quick observation:
The correct answer to the question "what are the best settings for my print" is "it depends". You can try to strength, quality, or you can try to optimize for speed but those two objectives usually don't align. It all depends what's more important to you. I have one model that I print with a 0.8mm nozzle and 0.4mm layer height and optimized for speed but it's a dog training tool and dogs don't care for looks. From your description I think you want to err on the side of strength and quality, and I'd happily accept an overnight print. I also agree with diem that I would probably go with PETG or ASA but again, "it depends".
Being new, the best way to learn is to just try things. Filament is not that expensive anymore. You can always change parameters in Prusaslicer to see how that affects print time. And then don't print the whole sheet, just one of the parts, and maybe not even the whole part, so see how those changes affect the look and performance of the part until you've found what works best for you in your situation.
RE: Newbie Print Efficiency Help
I don't have the time today to look at it in depth but even simple things like switching layer height to 0.25 mm, changing infill to 10% adaptive cubic, and setting pattern spacing to 3 mm, shaved off a few hours and I'm sure it can be further optimized. I would also check if switching to a 0.6 mm nozzle may make a difference.
Formerly known on this forum as @fuchsr -- until all hell broke loose with the forum software...
Please post your .3mf files here - you need to .zip them or the forum software objects.
There are a few smaller supports that are not strictly necessary but not enough to make a significant difference. Unless you have factored in stress vectors your choice of grid infill would probably be better replaced by cubic.
PLA may be a poor choice of material for your task, in general it is ideal where precision and stiffness matter but only if the loadings are light or intermittent - for most timber framing and support work the resilience of PETG is a better choice especially as PLA is liable to creep under continuous load. It's OK to make a prototype set out of PLA with a SPEED preset and use them to test-fit.
It's not obvious what some of your modifications to the presets are going to do - I suspect it's not what you are intending, I suggest you revert to the stock presets and print with a STRUCTURAL preset. Yes, it will take even longer but there is a much better chance that the parts will work and not require replacement.
@foxrun3d has made some sensible suggestions but beyond those you must accept there is a trade-off between speed and strength/quality.
The big advantage of 3D printing is that a well maintained printer, once the first layer is done, can largely be allowed to run unsupervised so you can print at least one set overnight and more whilst you are otherwise engaged. If you really need more throughput then, for structural components, a second printer is better than high-speed shortcuts.
Cheerio,
RE: Newbie Print Efficiency Help
Not much to say after the wise advice of FoxRun3D and Diem, adding omly that 2 vertical perimeters doesn't seem enough if you want really sturdy prints. I'll increase the number of external perimeters to 4 and maybe raise infill up to 25-30%, although that matters less.
RE: Newbie Print Efficiency Help
As OP said he/she is new to 3d printing, just one more quick observation:
The correct answer to the question "what are the best settings for my print" is "it depends". You can try to strength, quality, or you can try to optimize for speed but those two objectives usually don't align. It all depends what's more important to you. I have one model that I print with a 0.8mm nozzle and 0.4mm layer height and optimized for speed but it's a dog training tool and dogs don't care for looks. From your description I think you want to err on the side of strength and quality, and I'd happily accept an overnight print. I also agree with diem that I would probably go with PETG or ASA but again, "it depends".
Being new, the best way to learn is to just try things. Filament is not that expensive anymore. You can always change parameters in Prusaslicer to see how that affects print time. And then don't print the whole sheet, just one of the parts, and maybe not even the whole part, so see how those changes affect the look and performance of the part until you've found what works best for you in your situation.
Formerly known on this forum as @fuchsr -- until all hell broke loose with the forum software...
RE: Newbie Print Efficiency Help
Hello All,
Thank you so much for your help and advice concerning 3D printing! This definitely gives me a lot to think about going forward. I will definitely test out these settings variations to see the differences!