Tips for printing coextrusion tri-color filament
I just got my first spool of coextrusion filament, (tri-color filament), and have a little challenge with controlling the color change.
As tri-color filament goes, the color should generally change when viewing the print from different sides.
However I get rather abrupt color changes in Z as well, which to my eyes, rather ruins the effect.
I'm not sure if it's the extruder changing direction, or the filament that is twisted on the spool. This is the first print from a brand new spool.
I have the setting for slicing mode set to Regular.
Anyone have any suggestions for how to prevent these sudden color changes?
Best Answer by Jan_P:
After several days of printing, and closely monitoring the filament on the spool, it looks like it is the filament that has a slight and occasional axial rotation.
I'm using tri-color coextrution PLA from Eryone.
The winding on the spool looks really nice, almost Prusa spool quality winds. and the filament prints really well. So really hard to complain.
But every now and then the filament appear to be rotated axially, introducing these abrupt color changes.
I know, that it must be extremely hard to manufacture these filament in such a way, that a axial rotation is prevented, while the filament is cooled and spooled.
As there is nothing the slicer can do about that, and I'll close the question.
RE: Tips for printing coextrusion tri-color filament
After several days of printing, and closely monitoring the filament on the spool, it looks like it is the filament that has a slight and occasional axial rotation.
I'm using tri-color coextrution PLA from Eryone.
The winding on the spool looks really nice, almost Prusa spool quality winds. and the filament prints really well. So really hard to complain.
But every now and then the filament appear to be rotated axially, introducing these abrupt color changes.
I know, that it must be extremely hard to manufacture these filament in such a way, that a axial rotation is prevented, while the filament is cooled and spooled.
As there is nothing the slicer can do about that, and I'll close the question.
RE:
Anyone have any suggestions for how to prevent these sudden color changes?
I know you figured it out, but I thought I'd mention a couple tips for anyone stumbling across this:
- First, print slower. The filament is more likely to twist in the print head, the faster it's going
- Avoid retraction, which also changes the position of the filament, both rotationally and also where the color is on the print.
- Leave the z seam alignment in one place, don't use random, if you're not printing spiral. This also changes the pattern of the color position. Sharpest Corner is probably best.
- Cooler print temperatures reduce mixing in the print head. Just be sure it's still hot enough for the kind of filament, but the lower end of tolerance.
- Use coasting, it keeps extra filament from being wasted at the end of a line. If you're not using spiralize/vase mode.
- Also without vase mode (coex has the most consistent color patterns in vase mode) print the inner walls before the outer helps a tiny bit.
- Speaking of vase mode, simpler shapes have the most consistent visible color patterns...except that if they have geometric patterns, like multifaceted vases with a sort of 3d diamond pattern on the outside, that's even better, you can sometimes see a different color on each face.
- Don't use adaptive layer height, it produces inconsistent patterns
- Probably shouldn't use wipe nozzle, either, though that could prevent some mixing...but it is a chance for the filament to change position inside the nozzle