Month: September 2017

3D Printing Questions – Z Offset for First Layer Nozzle Height

September 30, 2017 / / 2 Comments

Everyone knows that getting your first layer right is 90% of the battle to getting a successful 3D print. Even if your temperatures and everything else are correct, if your nozzle height is off you will get bad adhesion on the first layer.

Setting it up is actually pretty simple, but it can be confusing. In this video I explain, in very deep detail, what all the parameters and settings do that control nozzle height on your first layer so that you can get perfect first layers. In this video I am using a Cartesian style machine, a Prusa i3 MK2, and Marlin as the firmware – but the principles will remain constant for most printing systems.

Simplify3D Version 4 – External Fill Customization

September 20, 2017 / / 2 Comments

I have come to the end of the new features in Simplify3D Version 4! The last feature I will be covering is called “External Fill Customization” and allows you to specify the angle at which top & bottom layers’ infill are printed.

This is useful if, for aesthetic purposes, you want all the external surfaces of your print to have a uniform or specific direction of filament, even when those surfaces are at differing heights. It could also be argued that you could increase the strength of a part by dictating the direction of the filament on the external layers. Simplify3D allowed you to set the internal infill layer directions in previous versions, so this new feature brings you the option to do that with the surface layers too.

Find Simplify3D here

Simplify3D Version 4 – Multi-Process Vase Mode

September 16, 2017 / / 0 Comments

In this video I take a look at the changes Simplify3D have made to vase mode in Version 4. As the name of the feature implies, you can now use multiple processes in vase mode! :O

In Version 3 this wasn’t possible at all – so no comparisons can be done, but I run a print that uses 3 processes to mix vase mode and solid structures.

Find Simplify3D here

Simplify3D Version 4 – Bridging Perimeters & Angle Options

September 15, 2017 / / 0 Comments

Simplify3D Version 4 has brought some decent changes to the way it handles bridging. Some of these are changes that take effect with all bridges and some others come through as additional options you can set in the profile settings.

In the video above I go through the changes that have been made since Version 3 and see what effects they have, both in a theoretical preview and in real-world prints.

The results are noticeably better.

Find Simplify3D here

Simplify3D Version 4 – Smarter Break-Away Rafts

September 5, 2017 / / 0 Comments

In Version 4 of Simplify3D the publishers introduced a couple of changes that they claim reduce print times when using rafts and, additionally, make it easier to separate the raft from the part.

In this video I look through what has changed from Version 3, regarding rafts, and run some test prints on both versions to see the improvements. I was surprised!!

If you want to download the part that I used for the tests, which as far as I can tell is the same part Simplify3D show on their website to highlight print time improvements, you can get it here!

Find Simplify3D here

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