Printing with 0.25 nozzle?  

Re: Printing with 0.25 nozzle?

Has anyone been successful printing in PLA with a 0.25mm nozzle? So far, my biggest problem is getting the PLA to stick to the bed.
I've had good luck with 0.25mm, yes. 0.20mm and smaller were very difficult, but I found 0.25mm works without a problem. 0.30mm works almost as well for small detail. You do want to re-run your Live-Z adjustment with the new nozzle in case it varies slightly from your previous nozzle. Specifics may depend on the slicer and settings you're using.

Re: Printing with 0.25 nozzle?

So at least there’s hope. How did you do the Live-Z calibration? I’m guessing that the firmware calibration is wired to 0.4 nozzle as is the gcode version. Don’t I have to reslice something? Recommended Slic3r PE settings? Thanks.

Re: Printing with 0.25 nozzle?

So at least there’s hope. How did you do the Live-Z calibration? I’m guessing that the firmware calibration is wired to 0.4 nozzle as is the gcode version. Don’t I have to reslice something? Recommended Slic3r PE settings? Thanks.
Ah, sorry. My answer was a bit over-simplistic. Just got back from a long trip, so not the sharpest yet.

Yes, you do want to slice a test print for 1st layer calibration using a 0.25mm nozzle. Simplest would be do create a 75x75mm square along the lines of the "life adjust z" discussion. Use a rectilinear solid infill and 0.20mm layer height and stop it at a single layer.

I also like to do a 240x205x0.20mm full-bed test using concentric infill just to make sure the bed is level as a 2nd test. No need to let it complete, just a few circuits around the bed to ensure everything is sticking well. If I can drag my finger over it without dislodging, it's in good shape.

Finally, if you can successfully print a complex 1st layer, you should be all set.

Once your 1st layer is adhering well, printing with smaller nozzles is straightforward. Do yourself a favor and save a series of test prints for each nozzle size to save time. I like to use the 3 1st layer tests described above, a 20mm hollow cube with 1 perimeter (for extrusion calibration with new filaments) and a 40mmx10mm disc with 15% infill to test overall quality. I've saved these off in a subdirectory on my SD cards.

Re: Printing with 0.25 nozzle?

Ok, I have a square I can slice. I’ll go with 0.2 layer height. Anything else - extrusion width, temperatures? Thanks.

Re: Printing with 0.25 nozzle?

prusa provide Slic3r profiles for 0.25 nozzles

try configuration wizard in the configuration menu in Slic3r 1.40.1 or higher

the profiles use 0.2 first layer

regards Joan

Re: Printing with 0.25 nozzle?

Ok, I have a square I can slice. I’ll go with 0.2 layer height. Anything else - extrusion width, temperatures? Thanks.
Nothing too fancy. Make sure the STL model is 0.20mm high, and that your 1st layer is set to 0.20mm. As Joan notes, the Prusa default profiles should be fine.

If you run into any issues, I can share my gcode files. They're certainly nothing special.

After the 1st layer is set, using smaller nozzles is mostly a question of making sure you have consistent slicer settings. With Slic3r, this is pretty straightforward.