Unlock Flawless Big Prints: Orca Slicer Filament Calibration Guide (Sovol SV08, engineering PLA)

[@TheSevenCircle]

I dont have a Sovol, but Ill be using this as a guideline. Im having some stringing problems with eSun PLA+ filament and some adhesion problems on the anycubic printer. thanks for the help :)

[@gerGoPrint3D]

Yes, the printer I did the tests on is incidental. Should work on any 3D printer compatible with Orca, or Anycubic's version of Orca (i.e. Anycubic Slicer Next). I am getting a Kobra 3 soon, so there will be content specifically for Anycubic too :)

[@Weeble_Warbles]

Just found your channel today. I love these types of videos! Excellent explanation on how to use the calibration settings and then showing us how and why your print failed and what you did to solve the problems you were running into and why. What a great learning experience! Thank you so much! Awesome channel!

[@gerGoPrint3D]

😅"I make all the mistakes so you don't have to"

[@Liberty4Ever]

Old Engineer Comment: This should be a good lesson for engineering students and young engineers. Engineers tend to be conservative. How strong do you want the base flange? 100% solid! As strong as it can be. 100% infill is seldom a good idea and I can't think of any time it's a good idea on a large thick part, for the reason you showed - even PLA will warp off the bed. Most of the strength comes from the outer layers anyway. The infill is there to prevent crushing or "oil can" collapse. 25% infill is plenty for such a thick part. If it needed to be extremely crush proof or dense, I might go 50%. Engineers need to understand additive manufacturing so hopefully they learned, either from interacting with you on the project or by watching this excellent video. A similar issue for inexperienced engineers is tolerances. They want very high tolerances, not realizing that doubling the tolerance might double the manufacturing cost. A $100 prototype part that might be usable with a +/- 0.1 mm tolerance might be specified by an inexperienced engineer as requiring +/- 0.01 mm tolerance, not realizing that this would make it a $1000 prototype part with a longer lead time.

[@gerGoPrint3D]

Thank you for the confirmation! We need optimal, not ideal.

[@Liberty4Ever]

@@gerGoPrint3D - Thank you for your SV08 videos. The Creality K2 Plus videos have me again looking at the SV08. I was interested when it was released but didn't need a new printer. I will be designing new products this winter so I want a larger printer with better print quality, and it's time to check back on the SV08 now that people have owned them for some time.

[@nickdylewski8906]

Hello GerGo, Thanks for showcasing the T300. This is my first 3 d printer and you explain things really well. Thank you

[@PlaydohYoutube]

You do an unbelievable job making complex tests and calibrations so easy to understand. My Sovol SV08 arrives this week and I will be using this video as a guide. Great work!

[@gerGoPrint3D]

Congrats to your new machine!! Exciting times

[@MrRossi1805]

You do an impressive job! Are you a teacher? Thank you very, very much! 😊

[@gerGoPrint3D]

😊 Thank you for the compliment! For 10 years, I taught kids advanced computer skills like video editing and basic programming. Then, I spent another decade as a college professor, focusing on digital photography and web design. After stepping away from teaching, I dedicated 10 years to developing a family of apps for Android and Wear OS. Now, I’m excited to start this new chapter, sharing my passion for 3D printing with all of you!

[@MrRossi1805]

@@gerGoPrint3D This explains your great skills to teach us! Thank you and go on :-D

[@0hN0es203]

Excellent tuning video. I'll be referring to all your SV08 videos once I finally get mine delivered. Very valuable resource.

[@gerGoPrint3D]

Hang in there! The SV08 is worth the wait :)

[@VicioStation]

Same here, thanks for all the indications!

[@kalashin1529]

same here :)

[@thesmilerp4765]

I got mine yesterday.......it's insane

[@MrRossi1805]

I can only agree! 😊

[@k4x4map46]

wow...some serious work here with alll the various parameters needing attention...great stuff sharing your process!!

[@karlmee1234]

Thank you so much for making this video. Every file i sliced was turning out to be really bad and have holes in it. Once I followed all these steps and tuned my profile, I'm getting flawless prints :) . I was so confused at first since all the pre sliced files were perfect, so I tried 3 different rolls of fillament all with the same results, at first I though my filament was out for too long and had moisture. Turns out the slicer profile just needed tuning

[@vukicevic]

Thank you for this! Very helpful. One thing I noticed for the retraction test -- you set increments of 0.05mm, but then multiply 3 by 0.005 (5 microns instead of 50 microns) to get 0.015; I believe the correct value should be 0.05 * 3, to end up with 0.15.

[@Destigive]

With filament holder had the same issue and did the same i did before with sv07+. Removing bearings from inside of holder. 2 minutes job, don't have to worry of filament tangling around somewhere and have 2 spare bearings to use it somewhere else ;)

[@gerGoPrint3D]

And we can put the bearings back when printing TPU, right?

[@Destigive]

@@gerGoPrint3D Of course. One allen key, 2 bolts, one from each side, put it back and connect everything in reverse order and you have it like stock. I mostly print with pla, at least on sovol machines. With sv08 im at the end of 3rd bigger print that each took at least 24h and probably around 3.5kg material using holder without bearings. Nothing bad happend. And on sv07+ have... I think 650h and also it was perfect when removed bearings from inside

[@dekurvajo]

Hi Gergo, if you want a thick bottom, instead of a 100% infill modifier you can just increase the thickness of the bottom. Great channel by the way. Nice to see more and more channels from Hungary that actually can be enjoyed wordwide.

[@gerGoPrint3D]

Yes, you would think, but that would have affected the underside of the curved, supported parts as well. As shown in the later parts of the video I eventually reduced the infill density to 25% on this bottom area, which could only be done using modifiers. Besides, I think it has value showing these lesser known features of the slicer for their education value. You are right though, things should not be overcomplicated. But hopefully this was not the case here. Thanks for the feedback!

[@kalashin1529]

Very well done! This is how a "project" video should be. Its always important, to see the problems you ran into! The "warping issue" you got, was the first thing i thought about, when i saw the model in ur hands. Well done! Keep this up!

[@gerGoPrint3D]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the valuable feedback

[@3DHP]

Don't worry about the sides not keeping all the heat in for ABS as long as there is something to keep a draft of air from blowing across the print . Looks like a great deal for the price.Keep the great videos coming.

[@gerGoPrint3D]

Thanks! I am very new to ABS printing, but I am loving the results.

[@the3dprofessor782]

Great content, thanks for taking the time to show the process. I'm waiting for my SV08 to be delivered, but I think it's at least a few weeks or more away from shipping.

[@allenroof8879]

Best tuning video I've seen. Thank You. This helped me greatly.

[@marshallwebber9682]

Thank you. This type of video is what is convincing me to buy an SV08

[@MATT_ELEKTRON]

Thanks man appreciate all your knowledge👍🙂

[@Grumblepants]

Thanks!

[@gerGoPrint3D]

Wow, thank you so much!

[@eaman11]

Print tips: set the layer height for the base at 0.3mm, line width for the solid infill to 0.65mm and maybe increase the nozzle temp a bit for that part. That should reduce time and increase solidity. Yet 100% infill is usually not good and for sure you'll get warping if you do that with linear or grid lines, especially along the diagonals, that will pull as much as possible on 2 angles. Put brim around the support base as well.

[@gerGoPrint3D]

amazing tips, thank you!

[@Mare0912]

Nice guide. Even though I knew most of the steps, I like to get some side info on why this is done and on what to look out for. Thank you!

[@gerGoPrint3D]

Yes, Orca is great at guiding us through these calibrations, but there might still be some useful tricks we can learn from each other's experiences. Thank you for the kind comment!

[@ritesha8050]

That's exactly what I needed, I need to do a big print soon. Thank you

[@gerGoPrint3D]

Thank you for the feedback! I am happy this came in time! Let us know how it goes!

[@ritesha8050]

​@@gerGoPrint3Dgoing great , i could hear some clicking so I raised the offset by 0.01mm. It's one of the most challenging prints I've done. Right now its going great, about 6h left

[@ptigad]

Thank you so much for providing such a valuable resource! I'll be referring back to this video frequently whenever I need to tune my printer. Thanks again!

[@gerGoPrint3D]

You are very welcome! And thank YOU for joining the premier!

[@viewatyourownrisk]

Thank You Gergo. I've got a Sovol SV06 and it seems like the bed heater for that printer doesn't heat the edge of the print bed as well as it does the middle, printing maximum sized objects has been a challenge as result. Once the carbon fiber lamination is ready, can you share an update that shows the final product? Thanks again

[@gerGoPrint3D]

Yes, we'll make a follow up video (or shorts). They promised to film the lamination process, it could even be a full part 2 ;) Thanks for the interest!

[@Roobotics]

10:43 they probably requested strength for usage in carbon-fiber vacuforming with this as a 'buck' piece, or similar.

[@gerGoPrint3D]

exactly! in fact I've now received some footage of the lamination process and the roll-out of the little race car, I will include these as a bit of follow up in my next video...

[@divyajnana]

Great video, thank you for the instruction and information. Very very useful. Still waiting for my AV08 to show up

[@jameslee6881]

Excellent video as always i currently own the SV06 plus highly modified and customized thanks entirely to you you're my sensi when it comes to SOVOL .Im currently looking to make a purchase of the SV08+Obico(Professional version. where could i locate that temp tower you are using during the calibration section? Thank you in advance .

[@gerGoPrint3D]

The temp tower is built into Orca Slicer!! Just select temperature calibration from the menu and it will create the temp tower for you.

[@jameslee6881]

@@gerGoPrint3D again your the best!!

[@gonzatricio]

Question, shouldn't one calibrate first the extruder micro steps and then proceed to flow and linear advance? I believe a change in extruder microstep values would influence the other parameters, so the decision made on the samples won't represent the final result

[@gerGoPrint3D]

Yes, you are perfectly right! I have talked about extruder rotation distance calibration in the previous video → kzbin.info/www/bejne/rp2XpXWdgsiosKM

[@MarkJCox]

super helpful, thanks!

[@lyndonfoster1090]

Excellent. Thank you so much . I am new and your video is super helpful to me. Thank you so very much

[@TheTeknikFrik]

I use a normal spool holder without bearing for my SV08. I believe the holder is from my SV04 :)

[@gerGoPrint3D]

That's a good solution for regular filaments like PLA on plastic spools. I am looking for some kind of variable friction upgrade, where we could somehow dial in or adjust how loose the filament is held depending on the type of filament, spool material and amount of filament on the spool. Cardboard spools for example tend to crumble and leave dust on the non-spinning filament holder of my T300. It is not ideal either. A combination of the two would be nice.

[@esquivel4x4]

Hi Gergo, In your experience, you could compare the print quality between Comgrow T300 and Sovol sv08, Thanks

[@wolfi19680]

very well done. a big thank you from germany.👍

[@esquivel4x4]

I am your fan, your videos have helped me a lot, you could share with me your best PetG profiles for Comgrow T300 and Sovol sv 08, please.

[@Beskar181]

Thank you for creating content like this! Especially involving the SV08. I am trying to improve everything I can ✌️

[@gerGoPrint3D]

You are very welcome! We are learning from each other

[@elvis0zd497]

Mate you doing a great job. Thanks for all the info you post.

[@gerGoPrint3D]

Much appreciated!

[@B0A2]

Great teaching thank you! Do you have any suggestions for venting the fumes outside? I would love to print ASA on mine but I don’t know much about filtration. Printing with Bambu labs petg hf also produces an odor I would like to get rid of.

[@gerGoPrint3D]

That's something I haven't sorted out myself yet either. For now, I'm printing with the door of the room closed and its windows open, spending as little time in the room as possible (remote monitoring). I'm wearing an N95 mask even then, though it might not be the correct protection. But as the weather gets colder, I'll have to devise some sort of venting system. I do have an inline fan with 100mm ducting that came with one of my laser cutters, and I'm thinking about making a connection to the SV08. I'm planning to replace one of the side panels and move the chamber fan because the fan on the back isn't usable for my setup.

[@3D_Printing]

Very, very helpful video

[@samabernathy146]

Great tutorial! Are there .stl files available for the test prints you demonstrated in the video? Thanks

[@gerGoPrint3D]

It's included in Orca Slicer. The beauty is that it generates the necessary test prints for you programmatically for the selected temps and speeds.

[@ptitbass]

Hello, nice video but i have a few questions.. Your retraction tower test in orca has no stringing? I have stock settings and encountered stringing. You say sv08 default retraction lenght is 0.8 but i have 0.5 on my side.. curious where did you see it was 0.8? Also have you tried a silk or speed PLA? I try to get rid of stringing but having an hard time to get rid of it.

[@gerGoPrint3D]

I show you the BASF filament we are tuning in the beginning. It is a special engineering PLA, but I don't have much stringing with any PLA on this printer using a 0.5mm retraction distance, 30mm/s retraction/detraction speeds. You are right, I've just checked, the default override distance is 0.8mm, but the actual distance under machine settings / Extruder is 0.5mm for me too. But as the test shows, there is almost no stringing basicaly no matter what setting I use. Could be the filament. There is more stringing with PETG.

[@ptitbass]

@@gerGoPrint3D Thank for your feedback! Which standard PLA filament you tried outside enrineering PLA ? Maybe i need to change brand at this point or it is really because it is wet? but i am a bit skeptical about it being wet.

[@gerGoPrint3D]

@@ptitbass No no. PLA gets brittle not stringy when wet. I am mostly using Sovol PLA, GST3D, Conjure, Gembird, Sun-Lu. My Sovol silk test is here → kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4vNgmOlh7xpja8 GST3D and Chitu System's Conjure PLA tests are in the pipeline. Maybe you are printing them too hot. Sovol's presets tend to be too hot. I print PLA between 210-220°C

[@ptitbass]

@@gerGoPrint3D Oh yeah i tend to mismatch both.. stringy i guess is larger.. i was more saying i get brittle tiny filament like web. I was printing at 230 because it seemed to help the volumetric flow rate test as someone else suggested but normally i print this PLA at 220. However raising the temp will cause more oozing.. hard to balance everything :P

[@ptitbass]

Found solution to my problems.. Got no brittle after drying filament all day. 6 hours wasnt enough and my tension knob was too loose.

[@resh180]

I have a SVO8 ( I'm 100% novice to 3D) I'm able to print. The problem I'm facing is the first print comes out perfect but following prints, the filament gets stuck, leaving filament residue on print. Any video recommendations to fix the issue? Your videos have been a life saver. Big thanks.

[@gerGoPrint3D]

Which slicer presets are you using? The stock Orca profiles and pre-print macros handle nozzle wiping, so I’ve never had issues with oozing. Try adding a few skirt loops (2-3) around your print with a distance of 1-2 mm from the model. That should give the nozzle more chances to get rid of any oozed blobs of filament.

[@resh180]

@@gerGoPrint3D Big thanks for the inputs. Im getting adjusted to 3D lingo and Orca ;) Im using Orca Slicer. I adjusted Skirt loops to 3 and 2mm distance from model. A little better but the filament is sticking all around edges. FYI I'm printing out simple clips and the bottom of clip is where the filament is sticking. Any other suggestions. So appreciate your input ;) btw...Happy Thanksgiving 😃

[@Andre_M_3D]

Hello from Canada 🇨🇦

[@gerGoPrint3D]

I hope the premier is at a good time for you :)

[@SavageBalls]

Have I been too gentle on my build plate? It horrifies me to warp it and scrape it.

[@gerGoPrint3D]

It can take some abuse :) I am just careful not to scrape it with metal. I use an old credit card to remove interrupted first layers. PETG tends to stick too well, but there is a perfect temperature (not too hot, not completely cold) when you can still remove it. Bigger parts will remove more easily.

[@doctekjim]

Regarding the Volumetric Speed test, the default speed is 200mm/sec. This is about ten times the value found by calibration! Should we really change this by this much? Thanks!

[@gerGoPrint3D]

Volumetric speed is measured in mm cubed per second. I am not sure what the default is, in Orca each filament preset has a realistic default (e.g. 21 for PLA, 15 for PETG, 3 for TPU).

[@YousafKhan-mb9gj]

Do you also have process profiles for each filament type? The stock Orca profile is set at a high speed and I am wondering if PETG, ABS, and TPU should be dialed down.

[@gerGoPrint3D]

With Orca you don't need to create process presets for each filament type, the max volumetric flow setting in the filament preset controls how quickly each will print.

[@doctekjim]

I followed your excellent instructions to Dial In my Sovol SV 08 and eagerly jumped into this on Orca Calibration. However, it seems that Orca is not really ready for prime time yet and can't deal with Linux! I upgraded my Ubuntu to 22.04 to get Orca to work. Fine, It works! But then I tried the Temperature Calibration. Fails with a message about "Non-manifold Edges" and suggests I use Windows to fix the problem. Seems like a stupid suggestion for a Linux user! I managed to repair the model using a combination of Netfabb and FreeCAD. I brought the repaired model into Orca and sliced it. The only problem is that the temperature changes in the tower don't happen. Seems like I'll have to add those by hand and hope I get things right. All in all, I'm pretty disappointed in Orca. Any suggestions? Have others dealt with this problem? Thanks!

[@doctekjim]

To fix this problem, I first tried simply slicing and printing the file regardless of any warnings. This mostly worked, but failed on the retraction test. Then I tried turning off Vase Mode on the Others tab. Now all the test objects seem to slice and print, although there are still non-manifold warnings that really should be fixed!

[@jamescullins2709]

Have you tried TPU on the SV08?

[@gerGoPrint3D]

not yet, but plan to

[@Milkex]

another banger

[@MrQuickEdits]

Running into an issue. When I do the flow rate, all printed pieces pretty much look the same. Maybe there is something enabled on my printer that is being auto adjusted? Not sure what is going on, please help?

[@gerGoPrint3D]

Auto calibration is unlikely. Maybe try using a different color of the filament you are using. Some colors like black or white tend to hide irregularities (that's the reason sneaky 3D printer companies provide white or black with their printers to print those perfect looking first 3dbenchies)

[@winandd8649]

What you need is a heated build chamber :-)

[@gerGoPrint3D]

I am getting the enclosure, will post about it as soon as I receive it. Still, I am not sure about its use with PLA, as it also needs ventillation for overhangs to print well.

[@winandd8649]

@@gerGoPrint3D Indeed with PLA the enclosure won't do much good I guess, except protecting the print from draughts. (still I would keep the doors open) I never print with PLA so I did not pay attention to the filament you used, sorry my bad.. At least now I've learned that in extreme cases even PLA likes to warp 😆

[@J0stik]

hi Gergo, wanted to add Smart Filament Sensor V2.0 and connect filament motion sensor to pin PE13, but it seems that it is used as [tmc2209 stepper_y] diag_pin: PE13 what to do ? i am quite new to Klipper :(

[@gerGoPrint3D]

Aren't there other free pins? Why using specifically pin13? You should be able to configure any free pin in printer.cfg

[@J0stik]

@@gerGoPrint3D nope, PE13 and PE15 are only one physically free on motherboard as Y amd X axis (limited) but used in config for sensor less homing :(

[@qqqcoal2678]

hello i have the sv08 im using esun pla+ im using the sovol pla preset as a starting point but no matter how many times i go through the calibration guide on orca i cant get any smoothness on the flow and when i try to print i get small gaps all along the print layers like its skipping any advice im runing on 230 for nozzel temp and the sovol pla .04 pla preset for speed

[@gerGoPrint3D]

I haven't used eSun myself. Have you tried other brands? You might want to run PID tuning for the nozzle before continuing. A temperature of 230°C sounds a bit too high for PLA; I usually print PLA at 215-220°C. Sovol filament prints well at high speed, but you might need to slow down a bit for eSun. It could also be a partially clogged nozzle, by the way. Sorry for listing so many possible culprits, but without more information, these are the things I would check...

[@qqqcoal2678]

@@gerGoPrint3D you might not believe this but i got rid of all my problems by ramping up the heat to 250 now ti looks great

[@gerGoPrint3D]

@@qqqcoal2678 Yes, it's surprising. And that's with the stock brass nozzle? For hardened steel I know we should increase the temps but for the stock nozzle this sounds way too hot. It could also be the thermistor readout is off in your nozzle. It's difficult to independently test though.

[@rbgenski]

When I print with my SV 08 the nozzle drags on the print, mostly, when it’s printing the infill😮

[@gerGoPrint3D]

I found the infill pattern "3D Honeycomb" causes the least amount of drag, and follow the settings in the video: tune your flow rate, increase z-hop. As shown in the video overextrusion can surely cause drag!

[@rbgenski]

@@gerGoPrint3D I will try that thank you great video

[@rbgenski]

⁠ i’ve also noticed on some of my prints on the outer wall they’ll be a few layer inconsistencies like it shifted a little bit outward

[@gerGoPrint3D]

@@rbgenski It is the bed moving. Heat soaking longer before bigger prints fixes the issue. I think a hardware fix would be to upgrade the bed eventually.

[@q2lamer]

try gyroid and slow a little down

[@Chaosek]

fun fact.. when I watch your video at 1.25x speed it sound much better :D

[@gerGoPrint3D]

It's so great to have these speed controls in YT. I often listen to things at 1.25 or even 1.5. And other times I need to slow down some speakers. Thank you for bringing this to the attention of other viewers!

[@Chaosek]

Are you planing to print something other than pla on the sovol?

[@gerGoPrint3D]

@@Chaosek I've already printed much PETG, it works very well. I also tested TPE, but for that larger nozzle is better, which I am still waiting for. I am getting enclosure when it becomes available, I will test printing ABS / ASA then. I am waiting for these updates before posting promised filament presets video.

[@TheTeknikFrik]

@@gerGoPrint3D When I printed ASA with the default macro.cfg, the nozzle dragged against the bed a bit. I believe it's because the z-offset is set when the bed is 65C, and it expands when heated to 100C for ABS/ASA, and the nozzle expands even more at 260+ degrees. Just be prepared with the manual z-offset :) (Or change the calibration/startup sequence)