The Ultimate Guide to Perfect 3D Prints

[@metalfabman5477]

I'm sitting here at 4 in the morning by our wonderful wood stove with fresh snow on the ground outside watching KZbin on the big screen for 3d printing tutorials, and thought to myself, I need to stop for just a bit, and take the time to let you know just how influential you have been to my journey in 3d printing. I built my anet a8 back in 2017 and I am still using it. Over time I did all the upgrades so it is a pretty respectable printer now for an A8, lol, hopefully some day I'll add a newer more modern printer to the office, but for now it's what I have and still enjoy making things on it. I'm an old guy who's retired after decades under a welding hood and have always been a maker of all kinds of things. I would like you to know that of all the people on KZbin in the 3d printer relm, you are one of only a very very few people that I take the time to actually watch and enjoy your content! Your knowledge base is just amazing and you are very much like me in your willingness to share your knowledge with others. Thanks from the bottom of my heart to you for all you've done to help me along this 3d journey. Wishing you the very best in all your pursuits. You are just a stand out Teacher of all things 3D!! Thank You!😊

[@killerferrets2811]

I hope you didn’t type that on the TV

[@dan-nutu]

​@@killerferrets2811 ! 😂

[@swiftrick15]

Also, check your nozzles people. The brass ones will wear, and the hole will widen over time. A fresh good nozzle also works wonders. Even diff material nozzles such as stainless steel or ruby nozzle.

[@hoffer_moment]

and some of those cheaper nozzles will have QC issues, some rarely even come without a hole. change those nozzles as frequently as you go through 1kg of filament imo. edit: maybe not that frequent unless the nozzle takes a lot of abuse, lol

[@jimmyc6409]

@@hoffer_moment change nozzle every spool? yeah ok lol

[@hoffer_moment]

@@jimmyc6409 you're right, i tend to need to because i use an untextured glass bed which not only requires a pretty close squash to stick without adhesive but also has had flatness qc issues from the start, so the nozzle routinely hits the bed in certain spots and i just kind of have to deal with it until i manage to win the lottery on these beds

[@jimmyc6409]

@@hoffer_moment ohh that totally makes sense, I was worried for a second I was neglecting my nozzle haha thanks for the info!

[@Enforcer_WJDE]

I was wondering if i should immediately get a nickel plated nozzle since i print PLA 99% ofcthe time and only switch to a 0.6mm steel or ruby nozzle for the rare times i print metal filament.

[@patrikmoller3643]

I hope you realize how valuable you are to the 3d community, it's people like you who share knowledge in a easy to understand way that make 3d printing available to so many more who don't have you knowledge, time and patience, thank you :)

[@dushyantpuri]

Couldnt agree more! Angus is a hero.

[@FilamentFriday]

Great video. Thanks for including my CHEPCube.

[@MakersMuse]

A staple !

[@cozmo4694]

Yeah, the CHEP cube is propably more popular than the basic calibration cube, somehow

[@Berserkaru]

CHEP is the reason I conquered my ender. Just do everything CHEP does, and it will be sweet.

[@BigHonkinGoose]

@@Berserkaru I've been wrestling my Ender 3 Pro for weeks. CHEP has been a staple in the background of my tinkering!

[@CornishCarper]

Dead on 20mm on the Dremels 3D40s

[@BrunoPostale]

"Nothing in the real world, is actually perfect" - Muse Thank you, you got a new subscriber

[@shmink2]

So much better than just someone saying "make sure your bed is level". Obviously that matters but there's way more and this concise and knowledgeable info was great.

[@epi1mg]

Holy crap. I have been struggling dialing in this LK1 I got and all the questions I've been fighting to answer, you are answering and I understand you. Amazing content. 10/10

[@LetMeFixIT]

This is, for me, the best 3D printer channel on youtube. You explain things SO much clearer and explain the nitty gritties instead of glossing over them!!

[@windowsraspberrypicomputer5577]

for me its this channel and jj shankles

[@kellyjean4981]

Your videos are fantastic. I think the best thing about your videos is the fact that you come across as a very honest and sincere person. I fully trust what you have to say and never feel like you are trying to sell us anything. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us

[@AlecegonceTV]

The moment I saw you bend the lead screw, I subscribed. I truly appreciate your efforts in this channel

[@hazmittens]

Always appreciate your willingness to admit that even you, as an expert, make mistakes, and that you keep moving forwards and share your determination and problem solving skills with the broader community out there. Perfecting the state of the art in this inclusive way, allows community creativity to flourish.

[@johnbrown7819]

Hello, its been three years almost four now, since I first came across one of your videos, and you here you are still strong - will I just wanted to say, thank you very very much.L.A.Cal-U.S.A.

[@slicedpage]

I bought the castle files and dived straight in and printed it first. I forgot about reading the slicer settings. I was stunned at how well the print turned out, especially the bridging. OMG, that turret, getting that draw bridge down and that gate up was difficult but done. Every once and a while I get amazed by what a 3d printer can do and today was one of those. Thank you, Angus. Your files were worth twice the price, with fantastic workmanship.

[@paulmyfinger]

Don't tell him that. I haven't bought it yet 😀

[@Paul-sj5db]

Great video. I could have used this about two days ago when I started calibrating my first 3D printer. The biggest improvement was fixing the temperature. Printing a temperature tower really simplified the process of selecting the temperature. I recommend doing this quite early in the process. Probably the first thing after calibrating E steps and X/Y.

[@tomhendriks2215]

This is by faaaaaaar the best 3D printing guide for a beginner like me that I've seen until now. Great quality!

[@SaltGrains_Fready]

The Greatest collection of parameters for proper production ever presented.

[@RETRO-CONSOLE-GAMER]

Mate I got into 3d printing about 3 years ago,i have learned so much from you, i just would like to say a big big Thanks . i have a geeetech A20 and i love it

[@gerGoPrint3D]

After 3 years of 3D printing experience and into several hundred hours of videos on 3D printing (including all of Angus) and I still heard new tips in here! Thank you for what you are doing!

[@JimmyLucas-ev1hp]

this video is awesome, and super helpful. Just slow enough to fully digest but your still talking at a fast enough pace that im engaged. 10/10

[@dustinharville7546]

Been printing for 3 years and I still found all of this informative

[@emilcost8613]

Excellent video. I've been a robotics/control systems programmer for my entire career. I have become interested in 3D printing and find your videos a great place to get started. I love tweaking parameters, and this video might have sold me on the idea of getting a printer. Thanks for all you do so well in bringing the hobby to us!

[@dannybush6131]

Your videos are some of the best on the TUBE. I always learn something useful from them. Thank you for being one of the most informative and least biased guru's on the tube. YOU ROCK!!!! Hope things get better soon down under. It has to end someday. Hopefully sooner than later. Happy printing.

[@MrBamse]

You are simply amazing, instead of wobbling on like others do you are not only straight to the point you are also relaying your message in the clear and understandable way. You are simply a star, never before have I taken in so much information and not have my brain explode. Plus, you seem like a supernice dude! Take care and be sure to know you've helped a lot of ppl! ;)

[@AndrewHelgeCox]

With a wide nozzle, like 1mm, you might need an extra high retraction to stop stringing, but then a negative retraction after each move is needed to not have a gap in the perimeter as the filament makes its way back to the tip of the nozzle. This negative retraction is pumping filament out rather than pulling back in. I think that might be called "extra length on restart" in your settings screenshot at 07:40.

[@MakersMuse]

Yep, I find that can help with flexible filaments as well, to help start them flowing a bit better after retraction. It's great to have access to fine controls in the slicer like that!

[@PeterAcrat]

Cheers Andrew. I'll borrow that one. Thanks✌️

[@durbezelo]

In Cura this is called "Retraction Extra Prime Amount". I spent hours trying to figure out why I had underextrusions near z-seam. Unfortunately, in Cura this setting is set once for the whole print, thus does not depend on distance travelled and needs to be adjusted for different prints

[@Jakeypoo-di6hy]

@@MakersMuse- can you please write down all steps how to get perfect print on Ender 3 ?

[@collincutler4992]

You've now given me a lot of do this weekend. I'm literally working on my 3rd print. I'm brand new.

[@algauthier]

Seriously great content. Love your personality, love that you aren’t trying too hard to be cool or like other KZbinrs, and love the clarity of how you present the information. It’s not easy to to create content that’s super clear for others to follow, so while the work involved is often hidden, I can see how much time would have been put into make these videos great. Thank you!

[@rpavlik1]

Oh man. What a blast from the past, thanks for reminding me that I wasn't just "rubbish at 3d printing" for the first while owning my hand-me-down Rep2x, there was a bunch of tuning required (much of which was eventually replaced by using/adapting the great FFCP profiles for prusaslicer from DrLex), and that I didn't get to "send job to octoprint, printer turns on, squirts out model, and turns off when cool down complete" level of usability for a long time.

[@UncleJessy]

Fantastic video. Already shared with a handful of people. And I need to go adjust my retraction settings on my Prusa mini to kill off that stringing

[@MakersMuse]

Stringing on a Prusa?? Sacrilege! 😂

[@UncleJessy]

@@MakersMuse haha apparently it hates Silk PLA 😂🤣

[@SuperGamingMoo]

could also be minor blockage with stringing. if nothing changes when you play with settings. really find out the temperature of the filament.. then clean the hotend. and make sure everything is as it shoudl be.. also oil the tube (thanks chep) ;P

[@quinnobi42]

@@SuperGamingMoo no one seems to use it, but cleaning filament works really well in my experience for everything short of a completely clogged nozzle. Although there have been times where a cold pull was necessary.

[@rexxx927]

@@quinnobi42 cleaning filament is a must for high temperature filaments like PC to PEI or vise versa this will defiantly help with anyone using multi materials into the same nozzles or heads of all temperatures and all materials build contaminations like carbon and separations from different or heated and dried out materials that remain from a material change eventually closes the holes inner skins walled areas, there are two types of cleaning compounds

[@chrisearl7941]

One of my favorite parts about this particular video was all the pointing at other creators vids as a good source for tips and instructions.

[@DroneDrummer]

This guide is amazing. My prints are spot on! Thank you so much! You were so right about the cooling. I had been using my machine in the ender tent since I got it and was never able to print in mid air like in the clearance castle part of this video. After watching this I opened up the from door if the tent during a print and you could see it going from drooping to perfect as soon as the air was flowing in. You know your stuff my dude! Thank you again.

[@haywoodyoudome]

Awesome video. Now I know 3D printing is more work than it's worth. Saved myself hundreds of dollars and hours.

[@kevfquinn]

Worth emphasising what is being talked about here on calibration, for the typical case today buying a well manufactured printer (e.g. Ender 3), is fine tuning - the factory settings will be pretty good, provided other aspects of the printer assembly are ok (e.g. v-slot wheels are correctly tensioned, belts correctly tensioned and not stretched, etc...) so if you have bad prints go through all of that *before* breaking away from factory firmware settings. A corollary of it being fine tuning; any change in steps/mm values should be *small* (1 or 2%) - if you're tempted to make big changes then stop, and find the real problem instead. In particular, I see way too many people thinking that "calibrating e-steps" is solving problems they have - when invariably it's (badly) papering over other real problems. Given the E steps/mm is a function of mechanical physical characteristics of the machine - specifically the stepper motor step size (how much it rotates per step), the micro-step configuration, the effective radius of the hob gear - any change to e-steps done for calibration would be quite small. Fine-tuning e-steps (adjusting the stock 93 to 94 on an Ender 3 for example) means it'll be set well for the particular filament you used to calibrate, but will be out for other filaments. Softer filaments mean the effective hob gear radius is lower for example. If you primarily use PLA then fine, I guess - but to handle different filament types in particular soft TPU it's better to adjust the extrusion factor/flow rate in the slicer to compensate. Changing the flow rate and changing the printer e-steps both have the same effect - just the printer e-steps are best set to a common median (so calibrating for PLA is a good choice because it's relatively hard and therefore consistent), and the flow rate can be used to compensate for different filaments as part of the slicer filament profile. If you're changing e-steps by a significant amount from stock with PLA (say more than 2%) - you're not calibrating the printer, you're compensating for a real problem elsewhere. Examples include clogged hob gear (just clean it with an old toothbrush), partially clogged nozzle, something interfering with the grip of the hob gear onto the filament (e.g. the arm is not properly free to create the right pressure between hob gear and idler wheel, the tension on that is too low/too high or the spring is weak) - or even you're using tight-tolerance (capricorn) bowden tubing with too-tight bends and less "perfect" filament diameter. Even had one where the stepper motor drive current was too far out so the motor was low on torque.

[@hoffer_moment]

all very good information

[@86abaile]

Thanks for making this. For whatever reason I have a hard time convincing people what's causing problems in their prints, so this helps. A lot of these I figured out a while ago and I often seem to be ahead of the curve on these tips. So for your consideration, I'm going to suggest that the next wisdom in 3d printing is that we shouldn't bother changing our print speed while trying to improve quality or time. Since print speed only affects the maximum print speed; whether the printer actually gets to that speed is determined by the acceleration setting. Further more, I suspect most of the stresses at the point of deposition are going to caused by speed changes. I posit that best practice should be to determine the max speed at which a given nozzle and hot end can lay down a given filament AND adequately cool it, the printer should then be set to run at that speed (with a conservative margin) and left at that setting for the given profile. From then on for that profile all adjustments for time/quality should then be made to acceleration and jerk, with the speed left alone. As a rule, rather than think about how fast we print, we should instead be thinking about how aggressively we print. I'm currently upgrading my printer though, so I've yet to test this theory.

[@Multi123michael]

Just watched this video. Did a few changes and wow. Everything is just running smoothly. Im quite new too this not even a month yet. Thanks man

[@ChippWalters]

Wow, I think this is the first 3D printing video I've commented on. And I certainly wish I had seen this a while back because it is so helpful and explaining What issues are affected by what factors and settings. Thanks for making this video!

[@pauless7]

This tips are pure gold. And here is a fact that shows it: Shipping my printer from Spain to NL, my creality arrived completely messed up. Two supports with the wheels unaligned, one cable of the extruder cutted off, and the elevation screw... Of course... Bent. I fought repairing everything by myself, correcting deviations, welding and bending again... And printed zillion times. Well, guess what? The elevation screw wasn't rectified enough... And now I am ordering a new one cause I cannot print a damn cube smoothly enough...😆

[@StrongbowTX]

Uni-directional cooling causing problems with overhangs: THANK YOU! That is the one cooling problem I've observed on my Ender 3v2, and until now didn't know what it was!

[@vincyboy999]

I ordered a Prusa mini plus and I am a total noob to 3D printer. I think this video will be hard to beat. Lot of information, nice touch to everything. I will dig deeper to be prepared to play with the printer when it arrives, your material looks like a strong headstart

[@printingotb521]

Finally someone doesn't try to fix everything with flow compensations! I'm not alone :D I would also not recommend to calibrate X/Y steps based on a 20mm cube. What I would do is to print something 20mm AND something 200mm long/wide and compare. If the error is the exact same %, the steps likely needs calibrating. If however both are for example exactly 0.05mm off, it's not a step issue but more likely something mechanical like loose belts or even a bad seam or an elephant foot. Imagine calibrating steps based on a 0.05mm measuring inaccuracy over 20mm. If you do and then print something 200mm long, that would produce a much larger 0.5mm deviation. There are a lot of things to consider when measuring accurately (but I know you know this). Caliper accuracy, how you hold it, how hard you press. Ask two people to measure the same part and you rarely get the exact same result. Corner swell, elephants foot, layer seam, how much the pressure lag in the hotend causes differently wide lines depending on how close to a corner you measure. Even how much moisture there is in the filament in some cases.

[@AndrewWorkshop]

Great video, stringing was happening on one of my ender 3s. Increased the retraction by .5mm, problem solved, differences even between the same printers.

[@Wrublos212]

I had to raise hotend temp by 10 degrees.

[@gmodiscool14]

my anycubic i3 mega likes to vomit filament even if the temp is low. ill dive into this guide fully later. i also switched from cura to prusaslicer and my printer stopped doing the stupid setting to 0 temp in the middle of a print thing.

[@Gliglios]

Dude, you´re my number one source when it comes to 3D printing knowledge! Thx a bunch and keep up the good work!

[@juandavidruizserna]

this video is perfect, i have been looking for this exact step by step trouble shooting for months and finally this video poped up, now i can look for details on each troubleshooting step and get better prints, after this i hope i have setings dialed in enough so i can print some of your fantastic torture tests. greetings from Colombia

[@Gamgan]

Thank you for taking the time to break this down for us, I would be so lost without your channel walking me through this. Wish there was a 3D printer clinic close buy you could take your 3d printers to get a tune up and bring back home :)

[@Diabolic_Live]

I learn so much more from you than almost anyone else. Thanks!

[@MakersMuse]

Glad to help! :D

[@gaellafond6367]

I have been printing for a while. I didn't think I would learn something from this video. 2:13 I'm having that effect! I didn't know that was because my nozzle was too close! Thanks Angus!!

[@MakersMuse]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ryansmith616]

Invaluable 3DP wisdom here.

[@youngiroh5011]

its 6:30 am, i have been up printing and calibrating my old ender3 that was sadly in storage and needed some love. honestly never took the time to really do it justice back when i first got it, but i went from many calibration cubes and a string test all the way to a makers muse officially official clearance gauge V2, and succesfully passed the 1.5mm standard. i had to use a screwdriver and more force than i would like to free it but it snapped clean and rotates fine after wearing in a few turns :) saddly the .5 tier actually has room to wiggle loose so i think i overdid the horizontal shrinkage but im calling today a success!

[@matthew4284]

You are the reason I jumped into 3d printing. Keep up the videos, thanks!!!!

[@bbg-designs8364]

I have an anet printer, and those are garbage. But I tried the print and I am so proud of my printer that it at least managed to make the drawbridge functional. I'm not going to fix the other parts, cause I have been trying for over a week now, but still, really happy

[@glitterbombrobo]

Thank you for making this Angus.

[@gadget2622]

Fantastic video. Just want to add regarding the bridging it's kind of a function of tension within the molten filament. Which changes per filament type. But generally going fast and under extruding during the initial bridge moves will help avoid the drooping by pulling the molten filament tight. Too much tension and the filament stream might break, or simply fail to provide a good foundation for the rest of the bridge, so finding the sweet spot for each filament and temperature is key.

[@iliketodostuff123]

Man, I have had a tronxy x1 for like 2-3 years now and wasn't expecting to get an ender 3 but we went to microcenter, and I got an online coupon code to get an ender 3 pro for 99 freakin dollars!! so yah now i have one and am trying to calibrate it correctly. thank you so much!!

[@LordWiggle]

Neutron, Pro1, RD-8, 2600 in the back. Nice! Great guide, thanks!

[@taylormartinez3394]

Thanks!

[@rexxx927]

Angus: great job as usual this castle is the new gen 20x20cube that makers muze!

[@goingforagander1882]

Coming from a machinist background, this was extremely helpful moving towards buying a 3D printer

[@ulrikwener]

Very nice of you to do these kinds of videos. Getting back to basics. I´ll buy the castle ... and cry over the results I´m sure :)

[@daviddeyoung8393]

Oh God with you were my neighbor that I could pay to tweak my printer. Its not bad but needs a masters touch. Love your vids man keep it up

[@sietsedekrieger2002]

I completely missed the intro because I was drooling over your synthesizers! Great collection!

[@dukepetty46]

I've been printing for a number of years and this stuff is still super helpful! (and humbling lol)

[@sirgeekcsp]

I just recently printed this on my Bambu X1C and WOW is that an amazing print - (and printer too ;) ) Thanks for a great way to test things.

[@Backstabmacro]

This…is a massively convenient resource. I just fired up my first test print on an Anycubic Vyper, I’ll be keeping an eye on problems described here!

[@xavierscott4801]

Thank you so much for this video. Now I have all the calibration info I need in one video. I just got the nerve to buy a bunch of upgrades for my ended 3 v2. Needless to say, my machine’s calibration is way out of whack. This video has been my saving grace. I really enjoy your channel. Thanks for everything you’re contributing to this space. You’ve helped a lot of noobs like me 🙏.

[@ItsSpecialOps]

This guide is amazing. Thank you so much for this information. I just started printing yesterday and I've just been struggling with trying to figure out what settings I need to clean up the prints and I got my machine used. I'm having fun but I don't know anyone else that has a printer in person so this is a difficult learning curve

[@genemaster74]

G'day too ya m8 from Ipswich QLD,... got an Ender 3 v2 and after seeing this vid iv gone an bought your little pack of tests,.... ive some little issues i wish to kill off as i make Rc crawler bodys. So after my current 2 day print ill put your castle to the test...Cheers m8 for your channel and all u do.

[@MrSpot41]

Thanks for being so generous and open with your time and knowledge this information makes my life way easier, much appreciated.

[@sydneytomlinson]

I'm getting my first 3d printer in a couple days (Ender 3), so I think this will be very helpful making sure I get the most out of it. Thanks!

[@Berserkaru]

CHEP channel will sort you out .

[@Afrosy19]

Thank you for all the work that you do. You inspired me and instilled a confidence in me that i could figure things out. You are the best!

[@TomHermans]

I'm not into 3D printing yet, but I learned already so much of this one video. 👍👍

[@Karavusk]

11:48 with really tiny prints like miniatures you actually want to increase print speed. The radiant heat from the nozzle can deform small details. Moving the nozzle away faster is way better in this case.

[@joelvarney5091]

Thanks for the tip!

[@blackknight3830]

Would never consider printing minis on an fdm. That's what resin printers are for.

[@joelvarney5091]

@@blackknight3830 that's what I thought. I decided to print one just to see and it's definitely no where near the quality of a resin printer, but it is much better than I was expecting.

[@Karavusk]

@@joelvarney5091 With a 0.25mm nozzle, strong part cooling and a lot of hours tuning your printer for miniatures you can get really good prints. Resin is obviously still a different kind of quality though.

[@DramaticFlora]

I just bought a 3d printer so this is perfect timing. Hopefully i can get it running smoothly when it arrives

[@hoffer_moment]

which one?

[@her0z217]

I'm sure someone has probably brought this up, but I think you should do an updated version of this. According to Ellis' Tuning Guide, many calibration methods described here are inaccurate. Love your content overall though, keep up the good work man :)

[@HuwFerris-John]

Great video as always! Happy to be amongst the 3! ;)

[@agerlock917]

Great video! You touched on just about everything, but I just wanted to mention that you should check the diameter of your filament with calipers and adjust your slicer settings accordingly. Sometimes failed or ugly prints can be caused by this. For instance, I just checked a cheap roll of 1.75mm PLA+ and it ranged from 1.68-1.70 over the first meter or so. I changed my settings to 1.70mm and I'm printing fine so far. at 1.75mm I would probably be under extruding.

[@adnanabdull4h]

Thank you, I noticed this too, I think I will have to try this.

[@JinglesOnJuniper]

Watching this makes me so happy that I have a Bambu printer and don’t have to worry about manual leveling!

[@soniccinos]

The link to this video should be included in every 3D Printer manual!

[@sergetheijspartner2005]

Wish I had this video when I started out two years ago, I fixed most of the issues on my own and almost always have perfect prints, but the time it took me to get there can be greatly reduced simply by watching this video, it covers like 70% of the issues I had in the past, in fact when the holidays are over I might try the clearance castle, maybe I still have some issues I do not know about, another good one is the foldable Katana, never got that one right so I gave up on it like 6 months ago, due to other things I needed to print, but there is allways room for improvement.

[@stevenbibeau1515]

10 years ago they said every home would have a 3d printer. This is why that didn't happen :D Great video! Thanks!

[@_gamma.]

I think I just found another classic. Another one of your go-to videos to remember for future reference

[@1BCamden]

Fantastic, need to watch this a couple of times

[@ChozoSR388]

Just got my first printer (Ender 3 v2) for Christmas, so this is gonna be super useful! Thank you for sharing your wisdom!

[@docification94]

Great video. Extra points for including timestamps!

[@drewkennewell4267]

This is a super helpful video for newcomers. Lots of things explained.

[@SteveSiegelin]

I usually just print in pla and petg so I'm still using a stock Ender 3. I have not performed any modifications on it yet. The only thing I did was printed the fan shroud for the control board. My printer has been running flawlessly for three years now without maintenance needed. The trick is to take your time with your print. My only issue is deciding how thick I'm going to make lithographs. I use a different method for leveling my bed. I do use the feeler gauge but I engage a print and then stop it during the skirt. I didn't clean off the bed and the nozzle and remove my bed into position of the tip I take my feeler gauge and I find the right depth for all four corners as well as the center. I am printing on a creality glass print surface so I know it is a true surface. I never use anything is at adhesive for the bed and to attach the bed to the aluminum I just use Elmer's white glue. As long as you go in a nice thin layer usually won't have to take the bed off you won't have to worry about damaging it and when it finally comes off on its own is the best time to clean it.

[@shadesofvioletcat]

This is as good a video as any to say, thank you so much Angus for the videos that you make. I’ve had the same tiny printer for years and your videos have helped me troubleshoot, experiment, and have fun with 3D printing. 3D printing has been such a useful tool for me and it’s largely in part thanks to your content. I’m replacing the bearings on my printer that have started making uncomfy noises and have been causing some print irregularities and after that is set up I’m going to work on printing your castle test just right. Really excited for this one. Again, I can’t thank you enough :)

[@MakersMuse]

Thanks! You never stop learning about all the intricacies of these fiendish machines, but they sure are useful :)

[@Fishpig79]

Thanks

[@MakersMuse]

Cheers!

[@Fishpig79]

@@MakersMuse reckon you can do a review of the Mosaic Palette 3 pro? I got one and would like your opinion.

[@I1S1337]

I just recently set up my ender 3 pro, your video was really good, you’ve earned a subscriber and I’ll be sure to recommend you to anyone!

[@simonc3192]

I downloaded the clearance castle after watching your video about it, printed it on my stock ender 3 with PLA and was blown away that it worked perfectly first attempt. I just wish I could get it to print PETG like it prints PLA.

[@grantanderson5804]

What temperature are you printing PETG at and what brand?

[@stephanevanderlee]

Great vid Mae. Good see a troubleshooting video that doesn’t just show the problem but give a remedy or what to look for

[@Keldor314]

Another thing that can cause periodic uneven layers (ripple-like effect) is a loose print bed. I had this happen with my CR-10 where the rollers on the print bed rail were loose, so the bed would rock back and forth slightly. Just tightening the screws a bit completely solved the problem, but it's certainly something to keep an eye out for since they can loosen back up with use. The interesting thing was figuring out why a wobbly print bed created such a regular ripple pattern in the print, rather than just looking like random displacement error. My conclusion was that it had to do with the interaction between the wobble and the movement of the bed, where the printbed and print can wobble in resonance with the motion according to the contours of the print. As the print grows, the mass increases, and so the resonance changes as well, and so the ripples are essentially a sort of interference pattern between the print-in-progress's resonance and the driven motion of the y-axis.

[@JonS]

Great video. One thing you overlooked is the effect of worn nozzles. I hate changing nozzles and recently spent a lot of time trying to dial in some silk filament settings without great results. Eventually I got over my nozzle change phobia and changed them (I have two in my IDEX printer). Both were really badly worn. Now I can get good prints with the silk filament over a range of temperatures. Not only has the print quality improved, but the settings don’t have to be dialed in so precisely.

[@rexxx927]

try taking a "real" hardened one and torch it with a red hot flame and pliers until all is completely burned off brush it up with copper to clean out the ash and polish her back up i usually get 2-5 or more like new uses out of them but it must not have coatings or ones that cant take the heat really none can but Nickle or chrome cr38 all wear eventually smooth in smooth out!!! tip, just hold the nozzle don't crush it the red hot nozzle is soft under this type of heat and is not great for materials and stresses so gentle under extreme heats so heat as evenly as possible so it grows and shrinks together! this is how we clean real industrial extrusion dies barrels and screws that wont clean with cleaning resins or reach i have even resulted to a 600 grit paper to get the grit/carbon off the inside rolled into a cone twisting it with my fingers until its slick avoid the actual tip just the entrance and the tapered area to the final hole but if you hate changing nozzles i may have still wasted my breath but any hooe

[@cpoco]

Just to add another thing to check (as it was something that mucked me up for ages)... if you are having extrusion issues (specifically clogging), check your driver vref. I couldn't figure out why I kept getting clogging at different times... then someone suggested checking the vref and it turned out mine were all over the place. Adjusted them all and it's now much more reliable.

[@speedracer9132]

Someone is getting close to one million subscribers 🎉

[@WonHaungLo]

Huge amount of useful information especially to the blower fan didn't even cross my mind but ifigured out that I had a bent lead screw when I upgraded to dual z motor replaced it huge improvement in layers

[@TiagoRamosVideos]

Great video, thanks 🙏

[@nilsappeldorn9146]

Great summary of the most common printer problems and their solutions. Personally, I'd like to see an additional chapter about Linear Advance to help with Z-seam and zits, aswell as basic info about the relations between speed, acceleration and jerk to combat ringing.

[@crimpers5543]

I'd rather be modeling than become a 3d printer technician.

[@DennisMurphey]

Always good to review and reaffirm what to do when you see a condition. I generally just get by and clean up a part after the fact. But now I am moving from my own R&D to trying to make parts that others want and will pay money for them. I want to make the best parts I can with the machine I have. Review like this helps push me to rethink what I do and how I am doing it. I see more clearly where I have made mistakes in reacting to certain things. Too much retraction, clogs, layer height Variables, Too hot, too cold, not enough cooling fast enough and it goes on. My two main issues are: 1 making round holes really round and 2 sagging bridges. I have put off Direct Drive Extrusion too long, based on input its heavy and the Y Axis will sag??? I think I need to dig deeper, take the time to print test parts and really address all the calibration tools available and finally learn to set feeds in the firmware. Always afraid to go too deep in and change things. Creality 10s Pro V1/ Micro Swiss Hot-end / PLA & PETG (some C.F. PETG) / Model Train Parts, Chassis, Adaptors. Thank You very much, Dennis in Virginia

[@DarrensWorkshop]

Thanks Angus. I'm sure this video will come in handy many times.

[@ToastbackWhale]

I definitely don't consider flow-rate modification "hacky;"it's adjusting for density, and it's the first thing I do with any new roll/brand of filament that I haven't calibrated it for already. With the same e-steps, some extrude as much 15% over what they should; for some it's only 8% more, and I dont think I've ever had a roll calibrate for it exactly at 100. Just because you're pushing the same length of filament (estpes) doesn't mean you're pushing the same mass of filament. It's in the slicer settings and not the printer settings for a reason, IMO: it's way more likely to need accounting for than your x/y/z steps. Tomb of 3D Printed Horrors has a great calibration video that I reference to this day that shows what this setting can do.

[@rexxx927]

exactly! density! what goes in comes out except for what you burn! cheers

[@SianaGearz]

Density is neither here nor there. What does it matter whether it weighs more or less? If you propel a certain length forward, you will receive a certain volume of bead just depending on the length that you have emitted and the diameter of the filament and layer height and nothing else. If you propel 1cm of filament forward, and your filament cross section area is pi*(1.75cm/2)^2, cross-section times length is exactly the amount of filament that will come out of the nozzle by volume, no regard for density! The problem is compressibility. That for a given idler pressure, the amount by which the extruder gear will indent into the filament will differ, so the effective radius of the extruder gear will differ as well! Since you rotate the extruder by a certain angle, a certain number of steps that you only assume to propel a given filament length, the real length propelled will differ as well.

[@SianaGearz]

@@rexxx927 concrete is easier to push than marshmallow, because it's incompressible. Friction is also neither here nor there, since motor isn't linear and we know it's not skipping, or we'd hear a click every time it loses alignment with the drive phase, about once every 0.1-0.2cm of failed extrusion depending on extruder geometry.

[@ToastbackWhale]

@@SianaGearz Go watch the video I reference and ask me again what it matters.

[@SianaGearz]

@@ToastbackWhale How nice of you to waste my time. The video contains ZERO mentions of "density" or "weight".

[@rcmaniac25]

Great tips and process. I don't entirely agree that the extrusion multiplier being the last thing after everything else. Prusa has a good guide where you print a vase mode cube and measure the sides so that when it says "extrusion width 0.45" the extrusion width is actually 0.45. It's not needed for every filament and you can often get away without changing it. But if your extrusion width isn't actually what it's expected to be, your overhangs will have problems, your top and bottom layers will be overextruded/underextruded, your bridges may fail... all because what was expected to come out of the nozzle is not the correct width. I'd say make sure your extrusion width/extrusion multiplier is correct before stringing and the steps that follow. That's my opinion.