Category: Configuration

About 13 hours into a 16 hour print I got a notification on my phone: “Thermal Runaway: E1. Printer Halted.”

Ugh, so much for that one. Put it in the pile of abstract spaghetti.

Upon investigation, I found out that I basically did everything wrong. I had my printer directly in line with one of my HVAC vents with no enclosure. I had received a new hotend for Christmas, which I had just swapped for the old one. My silicone cover had dragged on one of my prints so I removed it. So, you get the opportunity to learn from my mistakes.

  • Make sure that your printer is not in a drafty area, or that it is in an enclosure if it is.
  • Make sure that you PID tune your hotend any time that you change something on the hotend. Every hotend will have different characteristics. PID tuning is basically using the thermal sensor to determine what amount of current is needed to set it at a particular temperature. If the PID is not done correctly (or not at all) then you will see fluctuations in your temperature as your printer is constantly trying to adjust.
  • Don’t remove your silicone cover. Plain and simple. Figure out why it’s dragging on your print. In my case, the heat break was loose, a symptom which I masked over by removing the silicone cover.

When it comes to 3D printing, the orientation of your model can have a big impact on the quality and success of the final print. 

FDM printing works by heating a filament of thermoplastic material and extruding it through a nozzle, layer by layer, to build up the model. The orientation of the model during printing can affect how the filament is deposited, and can cause issues such as warping, poor surface finish, failed prints, or the failure of a part while it is being used.

It’s this last failure that I want to elaborate on. When I am making functional parts, I try to make sure that the layer lines are in the same direction as the force that is being applied. Where each layer line joins is a weak spot and a potentail point of failure for your part. But, by changing the orientation so you can reduce the negative impact of the layer lines.

Another factor to consider is the location of overhangs and support structures. Orienting the model so that overhangs and support structures are minimized can help to reduce the need for additional support structures, which can save time and material. It can also improve the surface finish of the print, as support structures can leave marks on the final print.

In summary, orientation is an important factor to consider when 3D printing using FDM technology. By understanding the impact of orientation on the final print, you can optimize your model for the best results. This includes selecting the best layer direction, minimizing overhangs and support structures, and more.

Sometimes extruder problems are truly extruder problems. When there is a clogged nozzle problem, your extruder won’t be able to push more filament through and your extruder gears will often start making a clicking noise, leading you to start your troubleshooting diagnosis with the extruder.

For troubleshooting, see if you can isolate the extruder from the nozzle. For a Bowden tube setup, this is pretty simple. Just pull out the Bowden tube and see if the extruder works. For a direct drive system, it’s a little more difficult, but you can just pull of the nozzle and see if the extruder works then. Then, if the extruder suddenly starts working correctly you will know that the problem is with the hotend. If it still doesn’t work, then you know that the problem is with the extruder.

When using Wood PLA, I had to make a few adjustments. The main issue that I encountered was clogging. The wood grain that is embedded in the PLA just seemed to clog up a 0.4mm nozzle very quickly. To resolve this, I switched to a 0.5mm nozzle. Additionally, I had to increase the nozzle temperature. On average, I run wood PLA about 10-15 degrees hotter than standard PLA.

Once it is finished, the results are pretty cool.

If you 3d print for any length of time, things will eventually start to get loose. One of the things that people often have questions about is how to tighten up the print head. It’s a pretty straightforward process, once you know how it’s put together. The roller bearings that most manufacturers use have an off-center hole. This is done intentionally, so that the bearing can be rotated to tighten or loosen. 

The process is to loosen the bearing(s) slightly, then rotate it until you have a snug fit between it and the rail that it rides on. Then tighten it back up. I typically check my bearings for fit when there is a significant weather change, when I have a crash, or if something just feels “off.”

I had a fun project that I did a little while ago. I made a jewelry box for my wife. I bought some wood PLA. After a little bit of testing, I decided that I wanted it to have that wood grain look and so I did some research into finding out how to do that. I found a script on Thingiverse that varies the hotend temperature within a range while it is extruding. This had the effect of turning the filament darker at higher temps and lighter at lower temps, giving my jewelry box a woodgrain appearance. Give it a try if you have any wood projects coming up.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:49276

I relearned something important over the Christmas break that I had forgotten. The word “At.” All of your settings only apply at specific temperature, retract settings, etc.

I increased my temperature, but didn’t change anything else. I know better, but I did it anyway. Oh well. Sometimes it takes a few times to learn a lesson. My print started stringing like crazy. The science of what was happening is simple in hindsight. I had all of my retraction set up for a particular printing speed, specific extrusion values, temperatures, retraction settings, etc. When I increased the temperature, it created a situation where my filament became more molten so it was oozing out of the nozzle and stringing everywhere.

I needed to tune my printer to the new settings. Live and (re)learn.

In the help forums, I see a lot of people asking about supports. How close they should allow them to come to their main print structure, speeds, etc. I don’t have a standard answer for this question. I’m usually most concerned with cosmetics when I’m printing figurines for my boys. The underlying issue is that supports that are too close (or touching) the main print will cause surface imperfections. This isn’t something that I’m normally concerned with when I’m making some type of prototype of something as much as when I’m making figurines.

For figurines, I usually make sure that my machine is really dialed in. A temperature tower and a retraction tower don’t take a lot of filament or time. Making sure that I have a solid bed level and printing out a test print to make sure I have a good solid bed level are pretty quick too and save a lot of headaches later. Once I’ve done that, I usually work with around 0.5mm clearance for X and Y axes and 0.25mm for Z. Your results may vary.

I was reminded recently that temperature and retraction are closely related. I had run a retraction tower and dialed in my settings. Then I ran an actual part in Cura and kept getting stringing. Turns out that I needed to run a temperature tower, then rerun my retraction tower. It’s an iterative process. Setting retraction, but then increasing the temperature (like I did) will cause the filament to ooze out of the nozzle and give you stringing, despite having the proper retraction settings.

 

If you do much with a 3d printer, at some point you will need to head out of the house but still want to monitor your printer’s progress. There are a few ways to do it. I’ll tell you how I have my printer set up for this.

A few years ago I tried Octoprint on a Raspberry Pi, which was configured and connected to my printer with an attached camera. I used Octoprint to manage my printer and all of my gcode. It did a fine job, to be honest, and I don’t really have any complaints except that Octoprint feels “heavy” and sluggish.

At some point I found out about Klipper. I set it up one day to give it a try and I’ve stayed with Klipper ever since. It provides all of the tools that I need to monitor my printer and to manage my printer. It also provides me with an upgraded firmware that seems to give me better print results.

I’ve only been able to get Klipper to work on my home network, so I wasn’t really able to monitor my printer if I had to run to the grocery store for a minute. I found a telegram plugin that allows me to communicate with the printer from my cell phone, even if I’m not home.