Matterhackers Build PLA stringing  

Re: Matterhackers Build PLA stringing

Welcome to the club. I have >$200 in MH Build of different colors (all bought to give me a palette with my MMU2! Yay!)

I beat my head against it for two weeks, and couldn't get it reliable. I'm even finding it quite stringing for normal single color use.

I switch to Inland PLA (even cheaper!) and had much better luck. Once everything is stable I may try the Build filament again and see if I can get it to work, but for now I've given up on it.

Re: Matterhackers Build PLA stringing

Welcome to the club. I have >$200 in MH Build of different colors (all bought to give me a palette with my MMU2! Yay!)

I beat my head against it for two weeks, and couldn't get it reliable. I'm even finding it quite stringing for normal single color use.

I switch to Inland PLA (even cheaper!) and had much better luck. Once everything is stable I may try the Build filament again and see if I can get it to work, but for now I've given up on it.

Thanks for the response, I've been having a good luck with Hatchbox so far, and I even got Matterhackers Pro PLA to work, at least for Blue (only spool of PRO that I have), but the stuff is to expensive for everyday printing. So I'm not going to order a bunch of different Pro spools just to try out. They list a sample package on their web site, but it says "No longer available". Maybe I'll call them and see if I can sweet talk them into sending me some samples to try. 😀

I'll keep the Inland PLA in mind, I like the Hatchbox PLA, but colors can be limited. Maybe between Inland, and Hatchbox, I can build up a good color inventory. I've also heard that eSun works well, and I have some samples of eSun that I'll be trying soon. Currently I'm printing out a spool designed for samples, once that's done then I'll try the eSun samples I have, and can post my results.

Re: Matterhackers Build PLA stringing

One thing I did to improve my stringing (well, reduce it) was to increase the number of cooling moves. I'now using 3 moves @205C and 4 @220C with good results. I've used the 220 setting when I tried to use pla as a "soluble" interface for a petg print. Worked far better than I was expecting.

It takes forever for every tool change (105 seconds total) but at least it works...

Re: Matterhackers Build PLA stringing

One thing I did to improve my stringing (well, reduce it) was to increase the number of cooling moves. I'now using 3 moves @205C and 4 @220C with good results. I've used the 220 setting when I tried to use pla as a "soluble" interface for a petg print. Worked far better than I was expecting.

It takes forever for every tool change (105 seconds total) but at least it works...

Thanks for the info, I received the Matterhackers White PLA today, and it's working way better than the Matterhackers Build PLA. I'm currently trying to print the "Racing Frog" from the list of MMU prints offered by Prusa, and so far so good. Problem I'm having now is that the tips are a little on the thick side so I occasionally get one that jams up in the PTFE tube. But I'm no longer getting any stringing, so at least there is progress. I'll try experimenting with my Build PLA tomorrow using your suggestions to see what happens. 😀

Re: Matterhackers Build PLA stringing

I found the sweet spot!! 😆

I'm currently 10hrs into a 36hr print, I had one minor jam about 3hrs into the print, but it wasn't caused by strings, it was a strange tip on one of the filaments, since then no problems and all filament tips look like what is in the photo.

Here are my settings, and not only do they work with the Matterhacker Build PLA, but it also works for my Matterhacker Pro PLA, eSun, Hatchbox, and Makergeek PLAs.

Filament Settings:
Extruder First Layer: 215
Other Layers: 210
Loading speed at the start: 19
Loading speed: 22
Unloading speed at the start: 140
Speed of the first cooling move: 2.2
Speed of the last cooling move: 3.4
Ramming/total ramming time: 4 sec

Printer Settings (Single extruder MM setup):
Cooling tube position: 40mm
Cooling tube length: 30mm

All other settings are the Slic3r PE default.

Re: Matterhackers Build PLA stringing

Trying it tonight!

Re: Matterhackers Build PLA stringing

Trying it tonight!

I wish you luck! 😀

I'm now about 12hrs into the Owl print, still going strong! 😀

Here is the Thingiverse address to the Owls
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3033775

Re: Matterhackers Build PLA stringing

21hrs into my print I got a jam on a feed cycle, so now I have a skipped layer. Very frustrating. Augh, just noticed I have another one in the left most eye, it must of recovered on it's own for the next layer.

So, going to tweak a couple of more settings, might start with the "Ram Settings" since I noticed that biggest improvement on the tips when I switched it to 4 seconds. Maybe at 4.5 seconds it will make the tips just a little bit thinner.

The jam was cause by the tip being just a little bit to thick, and not because of stringing.

I'm also thinking about making the little filament duster and adding mineral oil to it in order to reduce the friction in the PTFE tubes. Anyone have any thoughts on this? I did this with my Monoprice Select Mini printer, but haven't used a filament duster with the MK3.

Re: Matterhackers Build PLA stringing

Have you guys had any breakthroughs with the matterhackers build filament? I'm having a hell of a time with it.

Re: Matterhackers Build PLA stringing

Have you guys had any breakthroughs with the matterhackers build filament? I'm having a hell of a time with it.

I believe I have, but I haven't fully tested it yet, I'm using some Matterhackers build PLA in the print I just started. So keeping my fingers crossed.

I was using a ruby tipped nozzle, and I think that was 98% of my problem with regards to getting clean filament tips. The ruby tip has a flat top on the ruby, not like a regular all metal tip, which has a tapered area leading to the exit hole. Never going to get a good filament tip trying to pull it off of a flat surface inside the nozzle. I switched back to the stock brass nozzle, and all my troubles have gone away. I just finished a 21hr print using Hatchbox and eSun filament. I've just started another print that is using Hatchbox and Matterhackers Build PLA. I'm using the generic pla filament settings except for the "Loading Speed at Start", and "Loading Speed" settings, for those I have 19mm/s, and 21mm/s respectively (to keep MMU from grinding filament during load). I also have "Cooling Passes" set to 2. I was getting small strings with the Hatchbox if left at 1.

I'll post a reply once I've seen how the Matterhackers reacts to the brass tip.

Re: Matterhackers Build PLA stringing

I just checked my current print with the Matterhackers Build PLA, I'm still getting a small string at the tip. I think the next thing I'm going to try is drying out the filament using the food dehydrator that I have modified to do so. When I was prepping the filament for this print the end of the filament broke pretty easily. This might be an indication that it has absorbed some moisture, only one way to find out if this is the case, cook it for a few hours in the dehydrator. The print that I'm doing now only has a small section that requires the Forest Green Matterhackers that I'm using, so once that part is done I'll pull it off the printer and start drying it.

I'll post an update as soon as I can, in the meantime you may want to try this yourself.

Re: Matterhackers Build PLA stringing

I just pulled the Matterhackers Build PLA from my print (it's no longer needed), and the tip looked pretty good using the settings I listed above. But I did see some small strings during the print, and as I mentioned in my last reply I think the filament might have absorbed some moisture because the end broke pretty easily when I installed it into the printer, and when I removed it. I think this might affect the stringing as well, but this is just a theory.

I'm drying it out now, but I won't be able to really test if it's made a difference until later this evening, once it's dry, and my current print has finished.

Re: Matterhackers Build PLA stringing

I have a ruby nozzle on my printer right now as well. Dam I guess I'm gona have to pull that thing off. I did the same thing as you tho and bought all this matterhackers pla to have an assortment of color when I got the mmu. Now I'm kicking myself in the ass for it because it seems to be the most problematic. I'm not having these issues with other filament.

Re: Matterhackers Build PLA stringing

I have a ruby nozzle on my printer right now as well. Dam I guess I'm gona have to pull that thing off. I did the same thing as you tho and bought all this matterhackers pla to have an assortment of color when I got the mmu. Now I'm kicking myself in the ass for it because it seems to be the most problematic. I'm not having these issues with other filament.

I think you will find that the ruby nozzle has been your problem all this time. I just checked my printer, been printing for last 3hrs, all tips look great! Though it's Hatchbox, buy I'm confident that it won't be long before I can get the Matterhackers dialed in. It's just that the colors I wanted for this print were my Hatchbox fillament.

I'll keep you updated, let me know what happens on your end after you swap out the nozzle. Can't help but woundering how many people that have MMU problems are using a ruby nozzle.

Re: Matterhackers Build PLA stringing

Have you guys had any breakthroughs with the matterhackers build filament? I'm having a hell of a time with it.

I have been able to almost eliminate the string by reducing the print temperature and increasing the total ramming time.
I started out with the Generic PLA profile and made these changes:

First layer Temp: 203
Other Layers: 198
Total Ramming time 3 Seconds

Knock on simulated wood, but I have made it through several long prints with these settings with MH build PLA and have been able to print all 500 layers of the Prusa MMU2 Color Torture Test on Thingiverse without any skipped layers or jams.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3192133

The print temperature with the MH Build PLA seems to be a bit fiddly since it may vary due to which batch the filament comes from and there may be slight variation between colors. So you may have to try changing the temperature a degree up or down if you have issues.

Re: Matterhackers Build PLA stringing

OY, what a day it's been! Started another print, all happy that I'm finally getting the MMU to work. Wife and I headed into town for some errands, got back home, found out that our internet was down. This is not good! We live out in the countryside, and only way to get any communication is through our DSL internet (we don't have satellite internet service, I don't like their caps on data limits, and the DSL works well for us). We don't have any cell signal, and we use our wifi calling features on our phone. So I call customer service for out internet provider, and they say that it's our modem, it's shot, and that no one can come out to give us a new one until Tuesday at the earliest (3 days from today).

And during this time I kept having problems with my print! I would check on it from time to time and I would see that the filaments have retracted to far up in the MMU, so I would have to reload the filament and continue the print. I've had no skipped layers, the filaments would be pulled to far up into the MMU and they would not catch in order to be loaded on the next load sequence, so the layer would never try to print because it would sit there waiting for the loading of the filament past the FINDA probe. So that was good, at least my print wasn't being ruined.

So, back to internet problem, figured I would work on the printer problem after I got internet fixed. So drove back into town (an hour away) to go to Best Buy in hopes of buying a DSL modem. Yeup, you guessed it, no one uses DSL anymore, so why would they have a DSL modem at the store. I thought about checking online to see if Best Buy had any in store, then remembered, my internet was down! So had to do it the old fashioned way, get in the car and drive to the store.

Any how, 2 hours later, back at home, internet comes back online! As you can probably already tell. 😀 So now off to figure out my printer problem....

....Yeup, go into my hobby room, and printer is waiting for me to manually load filament again! There are no strings on my filament tips, and all tips are perfectly shaped, even the Matterhackers Build PLA! The Build PLA seems to be working much better now that I dried it out in the food dehydrator. So the only thing that I can think is causing my filaments to be unloaded to far is that there must be something preventing the ball from dropping in the FINDA probe. So I take the probe out, and take a can of compressed air and blow it in through the filament opening in the front. The ball floated out the top along with a small piece of yellow filament! I'm not currently using yellow! This must have been left over from when I was having all the stringing problems! So I blew everything out, and put it all back together, and so far so good!

Moral of the story, if you have been having stringing problems in the past, might be a good idea to clean out all of the leftover strings just in case they are also adding to the MMU problems. And if you live out in the woods, and have DSL, might not be a bad idea to buy a backup DSL modem from Amazon. 😛

RE: Matterhackers Build PLA stringing

I know this thread is very old for some but I can't find many resources on the topic and thought this is a good spot for others trying to troubleshoot.

I have a Prusa i3 mk3s using MatterHackers Pro Series PLA (Black) and am attempting to dial in stringing/oozing using PrusaSlicer 2.2.0. This PLA seems to really want to stick to the brass nozzle more than the generic Prusa PLA (Silver) given with the kits.
I am currently on my 15th iteration of settings and the only things that seem to help with stringing are:

• Reduction / removal of Lift Z setting [default is 0.6, 0.3 does better, 0 has been best - not sure if there are negative affects to doing this]
• Reduction of temperature [Manf setting on the MH site says 235 O_O, i figured typo, tried it and it was garbage] [I slowly dialed temps down to 200° First / 190° Rest .. may push it further but THAT is nearly eliminating stringing]
• Reduction of Travel Speed (for non-print moves) [default 180, was dropped to 150, and then 125] seemed to help a little bit as well, more so at 150.

I played with Retraction Length and Retraction Speed a little bit, didn't seem to have any affect. 

Testing was done with all other settings more or less default, brand new MatterHackers PRO PLA - can't imagine moisture is an issue as i was able to reduce and wouldn't you hear the water 'popping'?

SIDENOTE: I also had to reduce the Lift Z and Print temps for my Generic Prusa PLA, but not this much and the final result was still a little better than this "PRO" PLA

RE: Matterhackers Build PLA stringing

I have the same problem, thanks, today I’ll try to do it as in your explanations.

Gvibe