I suggest that the Prusa temp settings (Settings > Temperature > ) start at 170?
I've recently started just using the settings menu to heat up the hotend when changing colors instead of the preheat option because I don't want to wait for the bed to come to temp when the nozzle is really what I'm working with.
What do folks think about requesting that the nozzle temp start at 170 degrees and then you can go up or down from there? I hardly ever/never need to sent the hotend to 20 degrees yet still have to rotate the selector all the way past to get up to 210 (or whatever).
Seems like a time saver...
RE: I suggest that the Prusa temp settings (Settings > Temperature > ) start at 170?
I like to keep the whole thing warm when I'm doing prints, and when changing filaments I'll preheat and let the bed get warm at the same time.
For a filament change, I'll almost always preheat to the temperature of the higher temp filament I'm loading or unloading.
PC Blend is a special case. I learned early on that it's best to get it out of the extruder when finished with it and flush the rest of it out with a lower temp filament.
I've found good overall consistency with the prints when the machine is warmed up and allowed to stabilize before printing. I started doing this for ABS, and now I'm in the habit of doing it for all filaments.
RE: I suggest that the Prusa temp settings (Settings > Temperature > ) start at 170?
@jsw
Why do you prefer to heat up the bed?
RE: I suggest that the Prusa temp settings (Settings > Temperature > ) start at 170?
Why do you prefer to heat up the bed?
To get the bed up to temperature and let the heatbed and buildplate get as evenly warm as practical. There's also some evidence of slight but significant dimensional changes as the heatbed and plate warm up, particularly when a higher temperature filament is in use.
I think that patience and attention to detail are two overlooked factors in getting consistently good 3d prints. Quite honestly, I have very few failed prints.
I've also just added an enclosure to eliminate the room temperature and forced-air heat/ac draft variable. I haven't had it long enough to really be able to tell any improvement, but I can tell already that it has not hurt anything.
One thing I did notice on some prints yesterday was that some tricky horizontal bridging, which normally droops a bit, was amazingly straight. I had actually considered using supports, anticipating drooping, but did not for some reason.
RE: I suggest that the Prusa temp settings (Settings > Temperature > ) start at 170?
@jsw
Sorry, I should rephrase the question to "Why do you prefer the bed heated when changing filaments?"
RE: I suggest that the Prusa temp settings (Settings > Temperature > ) start at 170?
I guess the best answer to that is that when I change filaments, I'm going to be starting a print shortly, and might as well get things warmed up.
RE: I suggest that the Prusa temp settings (Settings > Temperature > ) start at 170?
I hear you. That's usually what I'm doing but more recently I've had a couple of filament jams and for that I turn it to 260 and try to push the jam out. If they (somehow) got the firmware to start at 170 then we'd have the option depending what we were doing next.
I should time it out and see if there is actually a time savings or is it just a bit or electricity to warm up the bed.
RE: I suggest that the Prusa temp settings (Settings > Temperature > ) start at 170?
The Marlin firmware source code allows for 2 filament presets and lets you select whether to heat the nozzle, bed or both after selecting one. I know the Mk3 firmware is very tight for space, but this might be a worthwhile feature request on GitHub if anybody feels strongly about it.
FWIW: The macro plugin for OctoPrint will do exactly this sort of thing nicely.
and miscellaneous other tech projects
He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
RE: I suggest that the Prusa temp settings (Settings > Temperature > ) start at 170?
A couple of opinionated observations here.
First, if you are having frequent filament jams, something is wrong. It could be several things, or a combination of things, such as adjustments, technique, even bad filament, but I would most definitely focus on it if it happened to me. Filament jams should be very few and very far between in normal operation.
As for time saving, 3d printing is very time-consuming and patience is a requirement of the process. Printing times are often measured in hours, and few minutes spent for quality assurance (being sure the build plate is clean, extruder and nozzle area are clean, 7x7 leveling with 5 samples, machine is stable at working temperature, etc. etc.) are trivial compared to the time wasted with a failed print.