3d Printing Slicer Settings to Fix Ugly Prints

In this video, I teach you how to create a vase for 3d printing by using FreeCAD and then how to optimize the design in both Vase Mode and with Standard Cura 4.X slicer settings to produce beautiful prints. I begin by explaining the Revolution function in FreeCAD, which is similar to the Revolve function in Fusion 360. Then I show you how to use VASE MODE in your slicer, called spiralizer mode in Cura 4.4, to hollow out a solid model. After explaining vase mode, I proceed to demonstrate how to achieve similar results with thicker walls by manually setting slicer settings.
After examining the print produced with this technique and discussing why these approaches will not work for the vase design we want, we return to FreeCAD and create an alternative model, slice it and print it with new settings that produce an excellent print.
Please leave comments so we can continue to learn together.
Irv
---
The following links are to products I have used, reviewed, or evaluated for the MakeWithTech community. Some of the links below are affiliate links that provide commissions, at no cost to you, and help support the MakeWithTech video production, purchase of products for reviews, lab, forum, and web site.
I have reviewed the following printers or similar printers:
➡︎ kit.co/makewit...
These are some of the tools I use for 3d printing day-to-day:
➡︎ kit.co/makewit...
I have reviewed or used the following 3d printer upgrades:
➡︎ kit.co/makewit...
Here are the 3d printer filaments I use to evaluate prints, software, and techniques:
➡︎ kit.co/makewit...
I will be covering basic electronics and software in future MakeWithTech segments and here are the products I am using:
kit.co/makewit...
Some of the Woodworking products I use:
kit.co/makewit...
---
** Affiliate disclaimer: some of the above links in my videos may be affiliate links, which generate a sales commission for me. Your price is the same or less than if you go to the site directly. These sales commissions help to support the MakeWithTech channel. (makewithtech.com)
** MakeWithTech and the MakeWithTech videos are Copyright Cogitations, LLC. (cogitations.com)
** Equipment used in the MakeWithTech videos has the potential to cause injury if misused. Use all equipment and tools at your own risk and follow all manufacturer's safety recommendations.
** Cogitations, LLC licenses all music used in the MakeWithTech videos from Epidemic Sound. Cogitations, LLC uses only authorized or open source clip art and third party images. Images .

[@hartmutgeier8282]

Many thanks from Austria for your videos! In my opinion the best 3D Tutorials to be found on KZbin!!! Please go on making such great videos!

[@gilles4u2b]

Once again I am "learning something together" with you Irv - Thanks a lot

[@kostasdoulas3825]

Excellent video.....You have this special gift to make things clear and comprehensive

[@binhvuthanh5080]

Thank you so much for your content. We need much academic knowledge like that. Wait for more your videos. Many many thanks!!!!!!!

[@paulsmessyworkshop]

Irv, great video. Until I watched this video I had no idea what vase mode was even though I had heard it often. Thanks for increasing my 3D printing knowledge.

[@MakeWithTech]

Glad I could help! P.S. I have started a new discussion forum at forum.drvax.com where we can all have more elaborate discussions and share pictures on our prints and printers. Check it out. Irv

[@MaltWhiskey]

To make a more solid print in vase mode (spiralize outer contour) with the default 0.4mm nozzle you can change the line width (but this will also change your bottom layer, so i don’t prefere this) or change the flow to like 150% for a 0.6mm extrusion, but keep 100% flow for the bottom layers. This results in a very sturdy vase mode object, without any seems of blobbing and printed very fast. Thanks for the free cad mini tutorial, this was very informative.

[@MakeWithTech]

Thanks for the suggestion.

[@avejst]

Great video as always good of you to mention Stefan Thanks for sharing :-)

[@MakeWithTech]

I view all of the KZbin creators as part of a community and like to give credit to fellow creators that help me learn new things.

[@colinfielder6695]

Love your chanel Dr Vax. Please keep up the great work

[@MakeWithTech]

Thanks for the comment.

[@colinswabey943]

Excellent and informative tutorial, thank you

[@MakeWithTech]

Thanks.

[@krisknowlton2658]

Irv, as always, a great video! After you showed the failed print I thought to fix it just do a full outline of the profile of the vase and do what you did. Once again, great minds think alike. By the way, I am retired and just took up 3 D printing as a new hobby and to keep my mind sharp in the retirement years. I'm finding FreeCad has quite the learning curve.

[@MakeWithTech]

Another approach would be to "shell" the model. In FreeCAD you can do this on the "Part Workbench" with the thickness thinkness tool. Here is a link to the FreeCAD docs about this capability: www.freecadweb.org/wiki/Part_Thickness

[@krisknowlton2658]

@@MakeWithTech thanks for that bit of information. I have something to design this afternoon and that will come in handy.

[@barakharel3905]

Very informative video. Thank you for making it.

[@docholliday1811]

Really helpful thank you Dr V.

[@stevemcnerney]

Thanks. Great video.

[@rhote786]

Your video such fantastic!! Yes, It's helpful! Thank you a lot.

[@JohnKlopp]

Great content Dr. Vax!

[@Bluelight82]

The issue I have is mostly seams where the path of the print meets the start of that layer when it completes. Making a blob. Also sharp small 90' angles are not perfect due to more plastic at the corners. I have the Ender-5 Pro and printing at 80mm/s.

[@luciusdante4254]

you are awesome thats what I am lookin for

[@MakeWithTech]

Thank you for your comment.

[@undefinedname1398]

That looks like the bottle "I dream of Jeannie" used to live in, I'm going to make one.

[@MakeWithTech]

Yep I agree. Just and accident.

[@SunnyAustria]

Brilliant! Thx for this so much :-)

[@middleclasspoor]

Thank you Dr.Vax, another great video as always! I'm curious, would changing the number of facets in Fusion 360 have the same affect as changing the resolution value in Cura?

[@MakeWithTech]

Fusion 360 has direct controls over the mesh density. Here is a link to the specifics: help.autodesk.com/view/fusion360/ENU/?guid=GUID-68303240-20E8-47D1-8529-DD3B30CD0DDF Freecad has a Mesh Workbench that can be used to control the density of the Mesh. For a future video, I want to play with using this to produce low poly models. (Low poly is the term used in 3d printing for a model with less polygons/triangles).

[@schogaia]

You probably could also have added a support blocker to the top of the vase and disable the top layers only there.

[@MakeWithTech]

Thanks for the comment. Might give that a try.

[@schogaia]

@@MakeWithTech if you do so I'd be interested in the result. At least that was the solution I was thinking of when you described the problem.

[@MobileDecay]

I wanna print that vase just so I can make that knocking noise with it. It's satisfying for some reason. 😂

[@AndrewAHayes]

Could you copy the solid vase then reduce it say by 4% and use that reduction as a hole?

[@MakeWithTech]

Maybe. I have never figured out the math, but when you just scale down a complex object it will generally not fit properly inside the original object. This works fine for simple cubes, polygons, etc. But for complex object it never seems to work. Maybe someone with a strong math background can explain it to us. A better approach would be to use the FreeCAD Part Workbench Thickness Tool. This tool is designed to hollow out an object. I the case of the vase I wanted to have a bit more mass on the bottom so it would stand up better.

[@karipenttila2655]

It is not top layer issue but overhang was too great for such model, as you can see from you slicer it prints all the way. Parallel layers do not stick, that is why you had holes as filament makes shortcuts.

[@MakeWithTech]

That is what I thought. So I printed a version with 30% infil and no top layer. I had the same problem. I believe there is an interaction between the no top layer option, overhangs, infill that is not obvious and not easy to see in the gcode printing simulation. Feel free to run some tests and report back here what you find. Thanks for commenting.

[@karipenttila2655]

Interesting, but if you solve the problem with lower layerheight that gave me that thought. Besides cura shows the object sparse at top side. Thanks for reply. I do not use Cura, will check s3d

[@guythejedi]

could just Shell option in the CAD

[@MakeWithTech]

Vase mode is still faster than a shelled object.

[@marcus3d]

Dude, if your printer stops between segments without getting buffer underruns then your driver board is severely broken. Now, if you have extremely many super short segments (which you do not have in the screenshot shown) then the board's buffer might empty and then it stops. That doesn't happen if you're printing from a local memory stick/card, because your board can read more data from the card very quickly. However, if you're sending data in real-time via some USB cable then whatever system is sending that data might not send it fast enough. For example, if you print from an external octoprint and access the octoprint UI while printing then the UI thread might starve the data feeding thread. Try printing the same model from a local USB stick or SD-card and you won't get buffer underruns.

[@venko3211]

I am using .8 nozzle. please send me best setup in cura

[@MakeWithTech]

Sorry. I do not have a printer with a .8mm nozzle. I have put a 1.0mm nozzle in my Monoprice MP 10 and basically what I did was just adjust the nozzle size in Cura. This setting used to be on the machine settings extruder tab, but it is now just to the right of the machine name. Click on the material name and you can also change the nozzle size. Then you should increase your layer heights but keep them under 50% of the nozzle size since with larger nozzles above this your extruder may not be able to keep up. In fact with my 1mm nozzle on the MP10 I print at a layer height of .40mm. I use this printer mostly for fast and strong vases. You are also going to want to increase your extruder temperature and reduce your printing speed. Here is a video about how I modified Cura for my MP 10 with a 1mm nozzle. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6nSinZqmLVlms0 Hope this is helpful. Irv

[@venko3211]

@@MakeWithTech Thanks I will make setup as per your video sir

[@Futschikatores]

Hello, I think the first problem (at the "neck" of the vase) was not caused by Top-Layers set to 0, but because of too steep angles at this location. Your later design is less flat at this spot. But maybe I'm wrong. Bye!

[@MakeWithTech]

I thought the same though so I did some tests that did not make it into the video. With a very steep angle, in the span is not too big, the printer will successfully "bridge" the gap. However with top layer set to 0 bridges do not work.