newbie with Slic3r (and 3D Printing)  

Re: newbie with Slic3r (and 3D Printing)

Hi!

Not sure what your question is here, but the presets bundled with the included slic3r is a great starting point. So go ahead 🙂
Infill should be set up depending on your model and what you'll use your model for. Many times a very low infill is needed.
Another thing to think about is that different brands and batches of filament can differ in diameter. A smaller diameter of the filament will result in under-extrusion. So make sure that you take 5-6 measurements on a new spool of filament, and adjust the extrusion multiplier accordingly. Printing 20x20x20mm cubes, and measure them after print is a good way to check if you under/over extrude.

Re: newbie with Slic3r (and 3D Printing)

Thanks for the tips Patrik. Sorry, it's a rather broad question eh...

I just thought there might be a quick way or some kind of "rule of thumb" to get things started to print from an stl file using Prusa i3 MK2 for newbie (like myself) I have printed several models provided by Prusa (in g-code format) and Adalinda model is the one got my attention the most since the infill technique is really neat and good detail in design.

BTW, I've been reading the Slic3r manual from here, http://manual.slic3r.org/intro/overview and so far below are some (important?) rule-of-thumb I’ve been gathering (maybe some are specific to "Prusa i3 MK2” since the slic3r came from Prusa drivers):
** Print Settings - Layers and perimeters
1. First layer Height:
- Should be greater than “Layer height” to prevent from warping and it will stick more to the bed
- Value: 150% of “Layer Height"
2. Perimeter: Unless the model requires single width walls it is generally recommended to have a minimum of two perimeters as this gives some insurance that if a section of the perimeter is not printed correctly then the second perimeter will help cover it.
3. Bottom layers (model that needed to be sandwiched):
- It is recommended to raise the first layer height to match the diameter of the nozzle ( http://manual.slic3r.org/first-print/first-layer )
- It is recommended to have at least two bottom layers ( http://manual.slic3r.org/simple-mode/simple-mode#print-settings )

** Print Settings - Infill
Fill density: A density value of 0.4 is enough to give almost all models good mechanical strength
Fill pattern: Honeycomb gives the most strength but is slower than both rectilinear or line

** Print Settings - Speed
Prusa has provided some pre-config settings but in general:
Perimeters - The outline of the model may benefit from being printed slightly slower so that the outside skin of the print has fewer blemishes.
Infill - As the infill is hidden this can be extruded a little faster.
Travel - The jump between the end of one extrusion and the next should usually be performed as quickly as the printer will allow

** Filament Settings - Filament
Extruder & Bed temperature: If it is heated, can be made hotter for the first layer, an additional 5°C is recommended.

** Printer Settings - Custom G-code
I noticed there is Start and End G-code pre-configured from Prusa to setup initial and after printing condition (intro line, temperature, fan, etc)

Please feel free to comment and add if I missed anything. Hope this is useful for other newbies as well just like myself 😉

Re: newbie with Slic3r (and 3D Printing)

Well, there's no guide or manual that works for everyone, just see it as tips. Those printers are individuals because of the assembly and probably have individual differences in general. Where you live the humidity and general temperature might be very different from where I live as well for example. The only thing that will get you consistency is to print, print, print, print and print again! And consistency is what you want! Everyone can (after some practice) print one really good looking model, but to print 2-3 really successful models each day for 3 weeks, that's another ballpark.

Regarding first layer, the Slic3r settings is a bit confusing I think, what I've experienced a lower layer-height for the first layer is recommended to make sure that you get a really good adhesion.

And start to print slow! Then ramp the speed up when you think you've got everything dialed in!

I'm using these two sites when I'm running into problems, I think they cover the most:

https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-troubleshooting/

https://filaments.ca/pages/temperature-guide

http://support.3dverkstan.se/article/23-a-visual-ultimaker-troubleshooting-guide

Re: newbie with Slic3r (and 3D Printing)

** Print Settings - Layers and perimeters
1. First layer Height:
- Value: 150% of “Layer Height"


Regarding first layer, the Slic3r settings is a bit confusing I think, what I've experienced a lower layer-height for the first layer is recommended to make sure that you get a really good adhesion.

You are right! Not sure how I get the Value of "150% of layer-height" for the 1st layer. From I read, the 1st layer is recommended to match the diameter of the nozzle, , e.g. a first layer height of 0.35mm for a 0.35mm nozzle.

I'm using these two sites when I'm running into problems, I think they cover the most:

https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-troubleshooting/
https://filaments.ca/pages/temperature-guide
http://support.3dverkstan.se/article/23-a-visual-ultimaker-troubleshooting-guide
Thanks! I found another one too:
https://all3dp.com/common-3d-printing-problems-and-their-solutions/
BTW, I went to filament.ca store yesterday, met them in person and had a nice chat/ discussion re filament and 3D Printing. Awesome guy! (y)

I also found this web-based app that can "reverse-engineer"/ interpret your existing g-code that might come handy:
http://gcode.ws/

Re: newbie with Slic3r (and 3D Printing)

Hi,

regarding the first layer height, it should be the same Z value used by the firmware for the first layer.

So right now it should be 0.2 mm, and will be 0.15 mm pretty soon (it was planned for 3.0.6 but apparently it's not yet the case).

Re: newbie with Slic3r (and 3D Printing)

Thanks Christophe! Yes I saw 0.15 setting on another discussion thread. So it looks like a bug with the latest firmware ver 3.0.6 eh...

Anyway I created a simple hollow cube box, 2 cm X 2 cm (using Blender) and then using the slic3r to slice it. I managed to printed it with hollow space in the centre with no issues.
Here is my question though... what should I do in order to fill up the hollow space in the centre of the cube? kinda silly question perhaps 😉
I tried playing with several settings in the "Print Settings-Infill" but no avail to enable the infill...

I noticed when printing the Treefrog or Adalinda the dragon (sample objects from Prusa) the hollow space are all filled up with grid infill starting from the bottom layer... 🙄
Will Slic3r will "auto"-infill when the shape is organic versus geometric shape of a cube? slic3r will by-default not do any infill in the centre hollow space? ❓
Or should I change the design of the cube to make it not empty hollow?

Thanks!