Very slow prints after slicing Thingiverse files
Hi - I finished my build about a week ago (my first 3d printer). Everything went pretty smoothly, got the z-axis adjusted, etc. and printed a bunch of the sample files from the SD card. Everything looked really good (some minor imperfections to work out, but I'd say 99% happy with the quality).
Given that, I decided to try printing some models from Thingiverse. One of my primary reasons for the printer is to make board game upgrades and they have a bunch on the site. I downloaded a very simple plan for a card and component holder for a small game (didn't want to start with something gigantic). (The file in question is here - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2389335 )
I generated the gcode using the slicr program that comes with the driver download and put the resulting gcode onto the SD card. It printed just fine - I'm very happy with the quality of the output - but the time required was crazy. It took 11 hours to print the object (picture attached - I put a set of reading glasses next to the object to get a perspective on scale - this isn't very large) which is quite small and very basic. When I printed the sample dragon that comes with the printer that only took 5 hours and is far bigger with more surface and much more complexity.
So it seems that something is happening during the slicing process, but being brand new I'm really not sure where to even begin troubleshooting and am looking for some suggestions.
Thanks in advance! These forums have been a huge help already and have answered dozens of questions for me without posting, but I couldn't find this particular issue when searching (and apologies if it has been addressed before and I missed it).
-Ron
Re: Very slow prints after slicing Thingiverse files
With the slicer you have COMPLETE control over many variables, including time, quality, etc.
It takes a while to learn these settings and making your intent happen.
You did not post any of your slicer settings in your post, but I am willing to bet you did this at 0.1mm layer height. (Called 0.10mm DETAIL)
That setting is really for items with very small vertical details - which this box has none since the walls are vertical. For that you should use 0.2mm. (Called 0.20 NORMAL) It will run approximately 4x faster so your 11 hour print will become about 3 hours. Or if you don't mind a bit of rough surfaces, and/or are just doing a fit check, use "0.35mm FAST" which will be another 3x faster.
It is worth reading the Slic3r manual to understand the basic settings. Infill is another setting that can really save you time and filament - and make a might lighter weight model - while loosing structural strength.
Hope this helped.
Any advices given are offered in good faith. It is your responsibility to ensure that by following my advice you do not suffer or cause injury, damage or loss. If you solve your problem, please post the solution…
Re: Very slow prints after slicing Thingiverse files
Thank you for the tips. I thought layer height might be an issue as well (though wasn't sure what a "normal" value would be). I checked the settings for this particular build and the layer height is 0.3mm, first layer height 0.4mm and infill density is 20%. I'm not sure about all the speed settings, but I've listed them below in case they provide insight:
Perimeters - 60mm/s
Small perimeters - 15 mm/s
External perimeters - 50%
Infill - 80 mm/s
Solid infill - 20 mm/s
Top solid infill - 15 mm/s
Support material - 60 mm/s
Bridges - 60 mm/s
Gap fill - 20 mm/s
I didn't see anything else that seemed like it would impact speed, but I could certainly have overlooked something.
Re: Very slow prints after slicing Thingiverse files
Well, those setting seem reasonable to me - and 11 hour prints are common (I have done prints over 36 hours) - but it still seems long to me, given the size of the box (unless you are a giant who wears giant glasses). I would have guessed 6.
Other things that drive the speed:
Number of Perimeters
Number of solid layers (top and bottom).
What material was this? PLA?
Any advices given are offered in good faith. It is your responsibility to ensure that by following my advice you do not suffer or cause injury, damage or loss. If you solve your problem, please post the solution…
Re: Very slow prints after slicing Thingiverse files
Another thought just occurred to me.
While you might have had good/normal slicer (Slic3r) settings for the GCODE, you CAN override the speed of printing from the front panel.
The Percent is shown as item 6 on Pict 14 on page 26 of the manual:
http://www.prusa3d.com/downloads/manual/prusa3d_manual_mk2s_en.pdf#_ga=2.150110646.1087370677.1502329234-1739947142.1488666941
Was that at 100%?
Any advices given are offered in good faith. It is your responsibility to ensure that by following my advice you do not suffer or cause injury, damage or loss. If you solve your problem, please post the solution…
Re: Very slow prints after slicing Thingiverse files
Perimeter settings were all set to 3
Yes, it's PLA
I did check the front panel speed setting as it was printing, since it was obviously running very slowly and that was the one thing I knew how to do at that time 🙂 It was definitely set to 100%
At least I'm taking some comfort in knowing I didn't miss a super obvious thing! (And no giant glasses, I'm the textbook definition of average build!)
Re: Very slow prints after slicing Thingiverse files
Update - I've tried a few different files from Thingiverse and all seem to have this super slow printing effect. So it must be something in my slicer config but darned if I can figure out what (see previous notes).
Open to any other suggestions - this one has me stumped. At least the quality is fine - so other than taking an exceptionally long time, I'm happy with the results.
Re: Very slow prints after slicing Thingiverse files
I've had some experience printing box/rectangular shapes (I got into 3D printing to print out game support components as well). Boxes on my printer take a while because of the large number of outside surfaces. I'm not sure how slic3R manages outside perimeters (I'm still building my Prusa), but Simplify3D sets outside perimeters to 40% of max print speed by default, that will increase print time for the same 'volume' print that is solid by a very sizeable amount.