Quite new in the 3D Printing world, I have some questions.
My setup is a stock K8200. The only modification is adding a swedish mirror on the heating bed (I never managed to have it flat in the first place…).
My config is stock as well (except for the bed temperature raised to 65°C)
I print using PLA.
My questions :
I think the extruder doens’t feed enough material. Fillings have small gaps between lines and straight lines sometimes are dashed. Any suggestion?
Do I need to adjust anything else, based on the STOCK config to works better with the mirror?
3D printing is much of tweaking and trying, but in the end it’s fun.
You might have to raise the flow rate in your slicer settings according to the filament.
Any filament has different settings, somtimes even same brand and color.
Try raising the flow rate in manual control tab during print till it extrudes enough material.
Then note that value and set it before printing other parts or change the flow rate setting in the slicer settings accordingly.
My bed is not completely level. The problem is not the same on all side of it. I will have to make it completely level.
I don’t understand how manual flow rate control works
In the Manual control tab, in the extruder section, I found the temperature, Extract/Retract command and speed. I guess it is the speed control that I need to adjust and I did it but I didn’t see any change in the output.
Below the direction controls ther are a few silders for feedrate (print movement speed),
Fan speed,Headbed temp and Hotend temp.
The secons slider is called flow.
This is the one which controls the extrusion rate.
It is set in % of the setting in the slicer.
So 100% is the extrusion rate set by the slicer.
While printing you can rise or lower the flow (extrusion rate)
to tweak the amount of extruded filament.
You need to print some calibration tests. There are a lot of things on thingiverse like www.k8200.eu you can read all about the advanced slicer settings
I never messed with the flow or feedrate myself. When I started using craftware as slicer I also had too few infill material, but the perimeters were slightly over-extruded. I tuned the “extruder adjust” to 97% to avoid the over-extrusions and for the option “infill density” I had to increase it to 120%.Than I had enough infill material without any over extrusion
You need to think that 3D printing is like art. The quality of your prints is merely as good as the settings of your slicer.
On another note about your stock printer. I and others had serious issues with the Z-axis drive. You need to make sure that the top lock-nut is screwed tightly on the bearing, so that the entire weight of the extruder arm is hanging on the the top bearing and is not resting on the motor-axle. The stock spindel-axis coupler is not flexible, and if you allow your extruder arm to rest on it, it will bend and bend untill it will make a heck of a noise and gets so much friction that the motor cant handle it.
You should either replace that coupler or print a new flexible bracket for the z-axis motor
