Re: Simplify3D print settings (July 14, 2016)
If no one else is going to try. I did downloaded the firmware on Thursday and Installed it. There are two versions make sure you have the correct one.
I printed using the lastest fff file that was posted. With only some slight mods. No problems printed from the SD card.
Just some suggestions.
1. Confirm that you have the correct firmware (1_75mm_MK2-RAMB013a-E3Dv6full.hex]
2, Reset the printer from the manual.
"7.2.3 Factory reset
Printer can be reset to factory settings, for example if you select wrong language and can’t
locate the language settings menu.
1. Printer must be powered on.
2. Press and hold the rotary selector
3. Press and release the reset switch marked with X directly below the rotary selector
4. The printer will indicate a successful reset by beeping. You can then release the
rotary selector and wait for the printer to boot up."
3. Reformat your SD
4. Slice you your model and load to SD and give it a go.
5. IF this does not work. They I would try a download the firmware again and reflash the printer and do the reset.
Good luck.
JB
Re: Simplify3D print settings (July 14, 2016)
Hello JB,
Sorry maybe my problem description wasn't clear -- the printer works just fine.
My problem is that Simplify3D, loaded with the right .fff file (I have the correct one), can't communicate with the printer via USB, nor produce a .gcode that works on this printer. (Probably the incorrect .gcode is the common source of both observed problems.)
I believe the 3.0.7 firmware flash procedure was fine, because after flashing the program ran a verification of the code and it passed.
(And printing other stuff -- like the demos from the SD card -- works well.)
In any case, thanks for the tips. When the current print (not from Simplify3D) finishes, in lack of any better suggestions, I will try resetting the printer etc.
Re: Simplify3D print settings (July 14, 2016)
Hello,
> In any case, thanks for the tips. When the current print (not from Simplify3D) finishes, in lack of any better suggestions, I will try resetting the printer etc.
Done the reset, no dice.
So, the i3 MKII with firmware 3.0.7 and Simplify3D settings from file "Original Prusa i3 MK2 RC3.fff.zip" seems it can't be controlled from Simplify3D version 3.1.0.
The USB connection to the printer does not work (the printer resets the fans, so USB itself works, but printing doesn't), and attempts to print any .gcode from Simplify3D (be it via USB or loaded onto SD card) result in no action from the printer.
Hints/ideas welcome. Thanks.
Re: Simplify3D print settings (July 14, 2016)
Hello.
I am new to 3d printing. Prusa i3 MK2 is my first 3d printer and I like it a lot.
My printer is up and running, no problem. I have been using slic3r and this software gives me the best prints.
By that I mean the prints with best finish. But I print complex parts for my hobby which needs supports and no software can beat simplify3D when it comes to supports and printing on supports. But the finish I get on my parts with simplify3D is not as good as slic3r.
I understand that the Prusa team has tweaked the settings for slic3r just right but they are not right there yet when it comes to the simplify3d settings.
I have the RC3.fff settings installed.
Anybody else with the same experience??
As I am new to 3d printing I have no idea what settings to adjust.
The prints with slic3r are clean, the walls of the prints are very clean, not blops or anything.
But with simplify3d they are not clean at all. They have blops and sometimes what I call shadowing.
I have sliced the same parts with slic3r and simplify3d and slicer wins, but sometimes I need good supports. I think simplify3d is a better program.
And it is a shame that a good printer like prusa i3 MK2 is lacking when it comes to the settings in simplify3d.
Re: Simplify3D print settings (July 14, 2016)
Well, I am using Simplify3d 3.1.0 with firmware 3.0.7 very successfully. I started with the Prusa provided .fff file and tweaked it slightly. And recently I added Z-Hop @ 0.15 which is working very well.
I have not tried direct USB as I have Octoprint running on an attached Raspberry Pi 3 and don't have to tie up the laptop.
Bill W
"Even old dogs can learn new tricks!"
Re: Simplify3D print settings (July 14, 2016)
I have noticed this as well. I've tried slowing printing speed, changing retraction etc.
Hello.
I am new to 3d printing. Prusa i3 MK2 is my first 3d printer and I like it a lot.
My printer is up and running, no problem. I have been using slic3r and this software gives me the best prints.
By that I mean the prints with best finish. But I print complex parts for my hobby which needs supports and no software can beat simplify3D when it comes to supports and printing on supports. But the finish I get on my parts with simplify3D is not as good as slic3r.
I understand that the Prusa team has tweaked the settings for slic3r just right but they are not right there yet when it comes to the simplify3d settings.
I have the RC3.fff settings installed.
Anybody else with the same experience??
As I am new to 3d printing I have no idea what settings to adjust.
The prints with slic3r are clean, the walls of the prints are very clean, not blops or anything.
But with simplify3d they are not clean at all. They have blops and sometimes what I call shadowing.
I have sliced the same parts with slic3r and simplify3d and slicer wins, but sometimes I need good supports. I think simplify3d is a better program.
And it is a shame that a good printer like prusa i3 MK2 is lacking when it comes to the settings in simplify3d.
Re: Simplify3D print settings (July 14, 2016)
Well, I am using Simplify3d 3.1.0 with firmware 3.0.7 very successfully. I started with the Prusa provided .fff file and tweaked it slightly. And recently I added Z-Hop @ 0.15 which is working very well.
I have not tried direct USB as I have Octoprint running on an attached Raspberry Pi 3 and don't have to tie up the laptop.
I am also running S3D 3.1.0 and fw 3.0.7.
Would you mind sharing your tweaked settings?
Will z-hop prevent oozing or is it to prevent scratching?
Thank you.
Re: Simplify3D print settings (July 14, 2016)
Hi!
I´m also new in the 3d printing scene and I am using Simplify3D 3.1.0 as it can generate great and modifiable support structures. As you already mentioned, the offered profiles don´t offer the same quality as achieved by using slic3r. Therefore I tweaked them a bit for PLA 50, 100 and 200 µm.
At least on my MK2 (3.0.6) i get great results with these settings (no blobs, oozing etc.).
Re: Simplify3D print settings (August 30, 2016)
Updated settings in the first post
Re: Simplify3D print settings (July 14, 2016)
Hi!
I´m also new in the 3d printing scene and I am using Simplify3D 3.1.0 as it can generate great and modifiable support structures. As you already mentioned, the offered profiles don´t offer the same quality as achieved by using slic3r. Therefore I tweaked them a bit for PLA 50, 100 and 200 µm.
At least on my MK2 (3.0.6) i get great results with these settings (no blobs, oozing etc.).
You've got the PLA 0.2mm layer with a coasting distance set to 1.50mm. Surely that must leave some holes in your prints?
Will have to try the newly posted RC4 that have just gone up.
Re: Simplify3D print settings (July 14, 2016)
You've got the PLA 0.2mm layer with a coasting distance set to 1.50mm. Surely that must leave some holes in your prints?
It´s astonishing but no, I get no holes in the print. I tried lower coasting settings which resulted in blobs at the end of each line.
Re: Simplify3D print settings (July 14, 2016)
The prints with slic3r are clean, the walls of the prints are very clean, not blops or anything.
But with simplify3d they are not clean at all. They have blops and sometimes what I call shadowing.
I noticed this exact same thing last night. I printed the same part with Slic3r and Simplify3d (with the RC3 config file). The Slic3r print was just about as perfect as you can get, while the Simplify3d print had small zits everywhere.
I think I diagnosed where this is coming from. Looking at the Slic3r g-code, every outer perimeter seam was hidden inside an interior or exterior corner of the layer. So, the seam was virtually invisible, even if it oozed a bit to make a zit. But, with Simplify3d, the RC3 config file has the perrimeter start points set to "random for all perimeters", so you'll get a seam in random places per layer. If you set the seam to "optimize for print speed", you should get seams clustered in a few places.
Unfortunately, Simplify3d doesn't have an option to select "start seam at corner", so I think we'll just need to change the perimeter start point to "optimize for print speed" and play with the ooze control settings to get rid of the zits.
Re: Simplify3D print settings (August 30, 2016)
The zits issue happens for me too. I was able to somewhat minimize it when I specified the last setting on that page. It's under optimize for print speed. You will see some zits still but should be quite minimal. I think it was specify location or something like that.
Re: Simplify3D print settings (August 30, 2016)
Speaking of which, I can report that with RC4 fff file the printing from Simplify3D works in my setup. (From the SD card at least, I didn't try direct USB connection yet.)
(I didn't check the differences between RC3 and RC4, but it works at this point.)
I find the print quality very good, and if I want to print larger models, I have found out that I need to increase bed and nozzle temperature (to ~75C and ~230C respectively), and also reduce speed (to ~50%, then gradually speed up) on initial layers. With those settings, pretty much every print goes well.
Thanks!
Re: Simplify3D print settings (August 30, 2016)
Unfortunately, Simplify3d doesn't have an option to select "start seam at corner"
Actually it does! Right beneath the choices you mentioned you will see "Choose start point closest to specific location" which allows you to tell it where to place the seam. Very convenient.
Re: Simplify3D print settings (August 30, 2016)
Actually it does! Right beneath the choices you mentioned you will see "Choose start point closest to specific location" which allows you to tell it where to place the seam. Very convenient.
Thanks! I saw that, after I wrote the post. But, it looks like it sets a fixed XY start point for the whole print. It's possible that as the print goes up in layers, the start point can select a place that creates a visible seam. It should work for most prints though.
Re: Simplify3D print settings (August 30, 2016)
It's possible that as the print goes up in layers, the start point can select a place that creates a visible seam.
As the print goes up, you can set another profile with different starting point. It's fully in user's hands.
Re: Simplify3D print settings (August 30, 2016)
Actually it does! Right beneath the choices you mentioned you will see "Choose start point closest to specific location" which allows you to tell it where to place the seam. Very convenient.
Thanks! I saw that, after I wrote the post. But, it looks like it sets a fixed XY start point for the whole print. It's possible that as the print goes up in layers, the start point can select a place that creates a visible seam. It should work for most prints though.
I have found this feature handy if there is a part of the print that I know I won't see, such as a backside that will be against a wall. Then even though I know I will get a seam, I can hide it so the front is flawless.
Re: Simplify3D print settings (August 30, 2016)
I've found something out related to prints not working -- it appears that starting to print .gcode generated from Simplify3D does not work if printer is not idle.
In other words, if I manually go to preheat nozzle and bed, and the printer is "active" because it is maintaining this state, then the print won't start.
But if I reset the printer so that it is idle, and then start some .gcode, it displays the message "Heating..." (regardless of whether heating is needed or not) and then it works.
This is strange behavior - with models that come preloaded on the SD card I did not have this problem, so it must be related to some gcode settings in Simplify3D.
If someone more skilled in that area could make it work regardless of printer's state, that'd be awesome.
Re: Simplify3D print settings (August 30, 2016)
It's possible that as the print goes up in layers, the start point can select a place that creates a visible seam.
As the print goes up, you can set another profile with different starting point. It's fully in user's hands.
Ok. That makes sense. I'll have to try that out.
So, I guess my question is whether or not the Prusa i3 Mk2 Simplify3d defaults should be updated to change the seam to "optimize for print", rather than "random" per layer. I can see the ooze control settings being dependent on filament type, manufacturer, user preferences, etc. Keeping it as "random" could give a false impression to new users like myself.