Matterhacker Build settings  

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

good info in here, i'm running hatchbox with similar settings. i'm hesitant to make changes as the machine appears to be working well. i get some stringing but my tips are similar in shape to what you have. Yellow filament caused the biggest issue but a drop of 5C was enough make it get back in line. I'm running at 215 and 205, except for yellow which is at 200. 19/22 for my load speeds but my unload speeds i all dialed back to 80mm/s as i felt the slower speed was reducing the strings lengths. i get some very wispy strings 10cm long but they are thin enough they don't trip the FINDA ball up and then they get rammed back into the extruder on tool change. there is a little grinding in the assembly as i get some chips from the pulleys chewing the filament a little, but it seems to be on edge of working. my ram setting i left at 4seconds to match the INLAND PLA settings.

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

My army of Snowmen has finished!

Just loaded up 4 spools of Matterhacker Build PLA, and one spool of Matterhackers Pro PLA, starting a 5 color Benchy. Figured that would be appropriate print considering I'm testing filament. 😀 Just wished it wasn't going to take over 13hrs to print! 😮

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

good info in here, i'm running hatchbox with similar settings. i'm hesitant to make changes as the machine appears to be working well. i get some stringing but my tips are similar in shape to what you have. Yellow filament caused the biggest issue but a drop of 5C was enough make it get back in line. I'm running at 215 and 205, except for yellow which is at 200. 19/22 for my load speeds but my unload speeds i all dialed back to 80mm/s as i felt the slower speed was reducing the strings lengths. i get some very wispy strings 10cm long but they are thin enough they don't trip the FINDA ball up and then they get rammed back into the extruder on tool change. there is a little grinding in the assembly as i get some chips from the pulleys chewing the filament a little, but it seems to be on edge of working. my ram setting i left at 4seconds to match the INLAND PLA settings.

Yellow was my biggest troublemaker as well. I'm running temps at 210 also. I did see someplace that a slower speed for "Unloading at Start" works for some printers, while a faster speed works for others. I don't know why this is so, and neither does Prusa, they said "If faster doesn't work, try slower".

As for the wispy strings, they can still cause problems, they eventually bunch up and get caught up in the ball for the FINDA probe. Things might be working now, but in a later print those little wisps that have collected up in the ball slot stop the ball from falling. When I discovered this, it didn't ruin my print, it's just a hassle having to pull the ball out. What happens is that the filament just keeps getting ejected after a layer has been printed, so you wont get a skipped layer, and that's a good thing. When this happens to me, I just remove the ball, then take a can of compressed air and blow in through the front hole, this usually spits out the wisps of filament that was holding up the ball. Then I'm able to continue the print as if nothing happened. I also took a black marker and marked the FINDA probe so it was easy to return to its proper position after fixing the problem.

I also get little chips up in the MMU in the pulley area, so I loosened my spring screws a little and that seems to have helped. I just unscrewed the screws a half a turn at a time, I knew I was to loose when the filament failed to reach the extruder, and there was only a small divot chewed into the filament from the MMU grinding it.

I'm not sure if you have seen Chris Warkocki's video with regards to troubleshooting the MMU. He was one of the Beta Testers. The video is a bit long (it was a live stream) but it's very informative.

Personally, my biggest problem was the Olson Ruby Nozzle I was using, once I went back to the brass nozzle 90% of my troubles went away, the rest was just all settings that needed to be tweaked. Once I had the brass nozzle on, the setting changes responded a lot more.

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

yup seen chris's video

have done the same with blowing out using compressed air from the FINDA

have backed off my assembly springs i found the left side needs less tension then the right because there is more weight on the left side pulling on filament 1 and 2 then on 3,4,5

here are my 6color prints so far... i'm about to attempt a 24+ hour print.

about 15 hours

5-color benchy and the test gcodes: benchy was about 11 hours. accidentally typed a 6 in place of the 5

4 color runs about 4 hours long

another thing i'm hoping is the longer prints are going to help polish the internal 3d printed PETG surfaces on the selector body

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

I love the skunk! 😀

I had to stop my Matterhackers test print just now, I'm getting some stringing on my Matterhackers Build Purple filament. I was running it at 210c, so I tried a faster "Unload at Start" setting, and an extra cooling wipe, but that still left me with some stringing. So now I'm trying 205c, with 230mm/s for "Unloading at Start", and 2 cooling wipes. Tip shapes look good though.

I'm trying not to go to cool on the extruder temps though, the Hatchbox doesn't like printing below 200c, and I know I may want to print with both Hatchbox, and Matterhackers. And I'm trying to keep temps as close as possible with each brand of filament. When I have it set for changing temperatures between filament changes the temps on the hot end can drop down quite a bit with the part fan running. And when extruder is over the purge block the parts fan can bounce cold air off the purge block onto the heater block. I have a sock I can put over the heater block, and that helps keep temperature stable, but it can fall down a little in the front and block air flow from the parts fan and cause other problems. So I'm trying not to use it, if I have to I'll see about using wire wrapped around the sock in order to hold it in place.

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

I love the skunk! 😀

I had to stop my Matterhackers test print just now, I'm getting some stringing on my Matterhackers Build Purple filament. I was running it at 210c, so I tried a faster "Unload at Start" setting, and an extra cooling wipe, but that still left me with some stringing. So now I'm trying 205c, with 230mm/s for "Unloading at Start", and 2 cooling wipes. Tip shapes look good though.

I'm trying not to go to cool on the extruder temps though, the Hatchbox doesn't like printing below 200c, and I know I may want to print with both Hatchbox, and Matterhackers. And I'm trying to keep temps as close as possible with each brand of filament. When I have it set for changing temperatures between filament changes the temps on the hot end can drop down quite a bit with the part fan running. And when extruder is over the purge block the parts fan can bounce cold air off the purge block onto the heater block. I have a sock I can put over the heater block, and that helps keep temperature stable, but it can fall down a little in the front and block air flow from the parts fan and cause other problems. So I'm trying not to use it, if I have to I'll see about using wire wrapped around the sock in order to hold it in place.

i forgot the skunk is a 5 color also. it is Rosie from thingiverse.
i used white/silver/gold/black/pink

and i wrote 6 color benchy by accident i meant 5 colors.(brain fart)

same i like my hatchbox at 205, below it and layer bonding suffers greatly. this was why i compromised on the tips and just left them stringy. i tried a few tests messing around with all the speed and other settings because i refused to touch the filament temps.

i'm using the same rules of staying at least 5C between filament to avoid more problems, i'm also running PLA in an enclosure to keep the temps as stable as i can.

I'm using the E3D V6 sock on mine, not the pro the normal one so the nozzle is exposed fully. i run it on everything my Mk2s and Mk3.
when i rebuilt my MK3 for the MMU2 i did a little more work so the sock fit and then i tucked all the sensor wires so that it helps keep it on. i highly recommend the sock it has other benefits besides the heat retention it keeps the block clean and if you have a curl up the sock helps matt it back down without sticking and avoid the Blob on a major failure.

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

UGH! The Matterhackers filament is still giving me problems, but this time it's not because of the MMU, or my settings. It's because of the filament itself, and how it was wound on the spool! It's wound like crap, tight, and not very straight. As I was sitting here next to the printer I could hear the filament making a snapping or clapping sound on the spool, hard to explain sound really, so I got up and started watching it. As the spool would turn the filament would get hung up on some of the other filament, then snap into a groove in between the filament strands. As I was watching this the MMU failed to pull the filament out after printing the current layer. I thought for sure that it had a buggered tip. I had to assist the MMU by pulling on the filament while the MMU tried to eject, and it was pretty hard to pull! After the filament cleared the FINDA probe I paused the print so I would have time to pull the filament all the way out of the MMU so I could clean the tip. It was still hard to pull out of the MMU, but once I got it out I noticed that the tip was fine! So I looked closer at the filament to see why it would bind up so bad in the PTFE tube. It was because the filament was not straight, it had a bunch of bends in it, and this of course created a huge amount of friction in the PTFE tube!

What is really disappointing is that it was the Matterhackers Pro PLA. This stuff isn't cheap! It's $42us! That's over double the price of Hatchbox PLA I get on Amazon for $19us! Matterhackers Pro PLA makes for a pretty nice print, or at least it did when I didn't have the MMU. Another thing that blows me away is the fact that Hatchbox has some really nicely wound filament! I'd almost be willing to say it's the best I've ever seen! And it's only $19us! And it even has a better tolerance with regards to thickness than Matterhackers! Matterhackers Pro PLA has a +/-.05 tolerance, their Build PLA has a +/-.07! Hatchbox has +/-.03!

Any how, I've sent a message to Matterhackers letting them know that they really need to work on their winding skills, politely of course. Told them I'm not asking for a replacement spool, or my money back, just wanted to point out to them that they could do better, and I sent them these photos. You can see the huge difference between the $42 Matterhackers spool, and the $19 Hatchbox White spool.

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

For some reason the photo of the Hatchbox White PLA didn't go through on my last post, so here it is.

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

I'm using the E3D V6 sock on mine, not the pro the normal one so the nozzle is exposed fully. i run it on everything my Mk2s and Mk3.
when i rebuilt my MK3 for the MMU2 i did a little more work so the sock fit and then i tucked all the sensor wires so that it helps keep it on. i highly recommend the sock it has other benefits besides the heat retention it keeps the block clean and if you have a curl up the sock helps matt it back down without sticking and avoid the Blob on a major failure.

Ok, you may have convinced me to go back to using the sock. I like the older version myself, never licked how the new version covered the tip, it's to close to the actual print for my comfort. I'll look around the web to see if anyone has an easy way to keep it on. 😀

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

i'll be blunt, i hate matterhackers.

besides them screwing me on orders. as you can see they are inconsistent on the winding. i'm not sure they even construct there own spools or they just rebrand some really cheap filaments because the inconsistency on their filaments changes constantly.

a big issue i've had is everything is printing ok and then you get into a section of the spooled filament where you swear it turned into a different material. like it was PLA and then turned into concrete i'm not kidding.

so i gave up on the bargain guys and i have a huge storage bin full of matterhacker mistakes i made.

i pay a premium for my materials but i just figure it is par for the course right now.

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

I'm using the E3D V6 sock on mine, not the pro the normal one so the nozzle is exposed fully. i run it on everything my Mk2s and Mk3.
when i rebuilt my MK3 for the MMU2 i did a little more work so the sock fit and then i tucked all the sensor wires so that it helps keep it on. i highly recommend the sock it has other benefits besides the heat retention it keeps the block clean and if you have a curl up the sock helps matt it back down without sticking and avoid the Blob on a major failure.

Ok, you may have convinced me to go back to using the sock. I like the older version myself, never licked how the new version covered the tip, it's to close to the actual print for my comfort. I'll look around the web to see if anyone has an easy way to keep it on. 😀

it may be scary but even if a corner of the sock isn't fully on. you are still ok so long as the sock doesn't droop below the nozzle. every sock also hangs a little different just the molding of the material so you can get a bad sock in a set of 3. usually the wires from the extruder don't have enough space for the sock because it wasn't part of the original construction when you pull the wires back into the spiral or fabric wrap so the wires pull a little on the sock cause they are a little too tight and it moves the sock to the other side a little and makes it pop off the block.

the pro sock: all it had to do is shift slightly and then the entire thing backfills with jammed filament pops off and turns into a blob from inside the sock. so that one has to be avoided at all costs.

the only other issue is over time if you always use hotter materials getting into 270C etc is the silicon starts to get hard and yellows and then it starts to flake off or crack so you have to replace it more often. i use a Brass Brush to clean my nozzle face and the sock takes the light scrubbing from the brush no problem.

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

I had to stop my current Matterhackers test again, the purple was still a little stringy, not by much, but enough to cause problems down the line I'm sure. So, since this is really just a test in order to get settings dialed in, I stopped the print to make some setting adjustments (trying a faster Unload speed, and experimenting with the "Cooling Move Speed" settings). I decided to throw the sock back on since I had the print stopped. I tried wrapping a piece of small wire around the sock, but to much of a pain the ass, and my eyes are not what they used to be. So going with just the sock, like you said, scary. 😀 If the sock starts to droop in the front and starts blocking the cooling fan, I may try printing a different shroud and try that, I've seen a few different styles on thingiverse that could work. Hopefully this will work and I won't have too. 😀

With regards to the "Cooling Move Speed" settings, I noticed that they seem to be backwards. The stock settings show 2mm/s for the first move, and 1mm/s for the last move. The information box that pops up says that this is the speed of the first move, and that it speeds up to the speed of the last move setting. Slic3r default setting for first move is 2.2mm/s, and the last move is 3.4mm/s. I wonder what effect this has on the tips, I find no documentation anywhere about this setting. And I wonder why Prusa has this slowing down from the first move to the last, and not speeding up? As I mentioned on the "Message to Joe" thread, it would be nice if Prusa would come out with a guide that explains the settings, or at least read these forums from time to time and actually jump in here and there in a thread and help out the community.

With that being said, it doesn't seem like many people use these forums, seems like everyone is over on the Prusa Facebook page. Facebook is good and all, but you can't "search" a Facebook thread like you can a forum. Guess it's a generation gap thing. 😀

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

I was able to get Matterhackers Build PLA to work flawlessly, might need to adjust my retractions a little, but I just completed a 15+ hr 5 Color Benchy with no manual intervention. I even went to bed with it printing and it was still printing away this morning. All the tips were perfect on all 5 colors. I will attach screen shots of my settings.

My printing temperature was 210c (first layer 215c), with a bed temp of 60c

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

Here is my Printer settings, I couldn't upload it in my last post.

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

Well Wayne you were right about that ruby nozzle. I finally got around to pulling that thing off and had my first successful print using only matterhackers build pla and chris's profile. No skips or jams. I tried and tried with that dam nozzle and it jus doesn't give reliable tips. Now I can finally move on to some bigger prints

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

That's weird, I don't know why my photos are sideways

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

That's AWESOME! I felt the same way when I finally started getting good prints..."Now I can finally get other things done around the house, don't have to babysit this dam thing!" 😀

As for the photos, you took the picture with your phone in the upright position? I get the same problem if I do that, so I had to crop the photos down a little before the forum here would stop turning them sideways. But then I found out if you turn your phone 90 degrees to take a landscape sized photo they don't get turned when posting them here. 😀

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

David, I love your enclosure! I'm still trying to figure out how to modify my Lack enclosure to fit this MMU, are those the same side panels from the original Lack enclosure design? I was about ready to try mounting my MMU on top of my original enclosure, but I would need to cut and solder extensions to the wiring and not looking forward to doing that. Got any tips?

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

Thanks Wayne. No, I didn't put it in an enclosure until I got the mmu, I didn't want to have to modify it after I got the mmu. I didn't know though that I would have to wait around 9 months for it lol prusa kept making it seem like it would be out next month for the majority of that time. But the original lack measurements for the plexiglass is 440 × 440 mm these are 69 mm taller so 440 × 509. I used the extensions for the mmu lack enclosure on thingiverse and drilled holes in the back piece of plexi which I ordered from taps for a reasonable rate. I tried different ways of feed ing the filament and have settled on this very simple yet effective route. I glued small plastic pieces on each back leg to secure the ptfe tube, 3 to one side 2 to the other and I think it works way better then the stock setup.

Re: Matterhacker Build settings

If ya have any other questions let me know and if you decide to go with a similar route I'll post the piece I used to secure the ptfe tube to the legs in here. It was a small piece I pulled out of someone else's different design so it may not be that easy to find.