RE: What is causing this and how to deal with it.
Never even heard the term "Seam" used in this very new world of mine. To be honest, at this point I don't have a dam clue what "it" is.
This old man, has some reading to do. I've got so much to learn.
Thanks guys, all your time and input has been invaluable.
RE: What is causing this and how to deal with it.
It is where the printer starts and stops each layer. It can be anywhere on the print. Usually the fix is to move it to a corner where it is not as noticeable
RE: What is causing this and how to deal with it.
Seams are functionally created by the slicer, and the slicer generally places them in non-intrusive places on the part. There can be parts where they end up in less than preferred places. For whatever reason, seams are a nightmare to produce - Prusa Slicer especially. The visibility of the seam can be managed best by controlling the location. Rotating the part and selecting "rear" is one way to force the seam to a corner. In the holes, the seam will be at the back edge of one of the holes, and probably move around as the "rear" changes.
Selecting random can also work, but your part ends up with divots everywhere instead of a single line. You can also select to make scarf joints instead of point jointed seams. Scarfs build a seam but thinning and overlaying the extrusions. And there is vase mode, not suitable for structural parts, but can be used artistically to create a seamless "pretty" print.
I also use the fuzzy feature to eliminate (aka hide) the unsightly seams. Done well, you can get a nice textured surface that masks seams and the extrusion lines.
Infill and how they can make blemishes is another topic you'll eventually run into. And no, 3d printing isn't yet a turnkey operation ala Star Trek matter replicators, lol. Some knowledge and experience is needed to predict print outcomes.
RE: What is causing this and how to deal with it.
@tim-24
Tim, that was very well written. I've been reading for hours and your 4 paragraphs were more informative then all of them combined.
You know I've had this printer since early February and it's the first time I've hit any issue, as far as I was concerned it was right out of Star Trek. Model part, export, print, done. I don't know what's triggering it? This model I'm building has 10 + such mounting points and give me no trouble at all, just these 2. Even went so far as remove them and change them to hex heads thinking it was they were circles. Nope, same crap.
I'll keep playing, you have all been so helpful and for that I thank you!
Cheers
cb
RE: What is causing this and how to deal with it.
There are ways to visualize seams before a print, too. That row of buttons in the legend actually do things. One shows seams. They show other features, too, and can be handy when you are printing complex parts. Even the gcode viewers has this ability.
RE: What is causing this and how to deal with it.
Man, just as this popped up I started to look at those icons. I just modeled up a tiny cube with 2 cylinders to see were the seams were going to be placed. It did exactly as it showed it would. Now I'm going to rotate it on its X axis 90° and see what the slicer shows me.
Now I need to learn how to paint these seams 🙂
RE:
Just like painting where supports go. There are many subsets to the paint tools, it takes a while to learn them, but pretty easy once you realize what they all do. Simple paint with a brush like tool, a surface tool, an orb tool, etc. Then the paint, remove paint, prevent paint ... size of brush ... lol. But each variation has a use: so play and have fun, and you'll find what works for you and your situation.
I use the orb tool most of the time: just keep in mind it also paints hidden surfaces. So rotate the view to see where it touched.