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Makerbot Printing Tips

April 10, 2012

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Coming up on today’s episode, Makerbot Printing Tips!

Today it’s all about Makerbot. We’re going to take a look at some tips and tricks on getting awesome prints.

We’ve seen tons of great 3D prints coming out of makerbots, but most makerbot owners want to know which settings to use. Today we’re gonna how to setup your makerbot to get bigger and better prints.

Printing Tips

If your planning on making big prints, you’ll need to make sure your raft support can stick to the platform to prevent the corners from warping. Remember to clean the surface after each print.

When calibrating your platform, make sure the sheet of paper has a slight tug on the extruders.

If you have a dual replicator, one of your makerbots extruder might begin to hang lower than the other. You can add a small piece of tape to offset the height and level the extruder. Also make sure to re-level the platform while your makerbot is building a raft. Make sure base layer is squished but not too squished.

  • Pay attention to where the air is flowing in the room area, Cold drafts can cause problems with prints, so keep your makerbot away from AC vents.
  • Try installing flaps on each sides of the makerbot to minimize drafts and maintain warm temperatures.

GCode

If your Gcode fails while generating, you can try using an earlier version of SkinForge. You can edit your version by going to file menu under GCode > GCode Generator.

Also, If your model is too big to print, make sure to scale it down in your 3D program, and not ReplicatorG, it may cause your gcode to fail.

Custom SinkForge Profiles

When printing multiple sized objects, you should make individual profiles for each size.

To create your custom profiles:

  • Goto the file menu. GCode > Edit Slicing Profile (command + R)
  • Make a duplicate of the default profile and name it the size you want
  • Under the Craft section, Click on the Raft button

You’ll need to adjust the raft settings based on the size of your print. You can follow our show notes to get the right settings for your print:

The interface fill density defines how sturdy your object will be. You can set this to something in the range of .3 to .7.
Interface infill density (ratio): 0.4 (0.3-0.7)
Interface layers (the second layer of the raft): 2 if your worried about wrapping
Interface Layer Thickness over Layer Thickness: 1.2 ( also 0.7)

Raft Size: 3.5 (Raft Additional Margin Over Length %3.5 for bigger prints)
Support Cross Hatch: No.
Support Flow Rate over Operating Flow Rate (ratio): 0.7 (0.4-0.7)
Support Gap over Perimeter Extrusion Width (ratio): 0.005
Support Material Choice: Everywhere for angles greater than 46 degrees
Support Minimum Angle (degrees): 46.0

GCode Generation Settings:

After you’ve made sure the model fits in the printing area, make sure to placed it on the build platform.
Under model tab, click Move, then “Center” and “Put on platform”.

If you want a sturdy, more dense prints change your settings when generating the GCode to the following:

  • Object infill: 15-20 (choose one between this range)

Change the settings when you generate your GCode

  • Layer Height: .2
  • Feedrate: 20
  • Travel Feedrate: 30

These setting will cause in a slower, higher quality print.

Consider the time it takes to generate your GCode, so make sure you double check them.

Once the tool path is generated you can adjust the platform temperature in the GCode tab.

Find the lines below to edit:

  • M109 S120 T0 (set HBP temperature) (115 for smaller objects) (60-100 for PLA)

For PLA extruder Temperatures:

M109 S80 T0 (set HBP temperature) This is the table temperature, I changed it from 100 to 80
M6 T0 (wait for toolhead, and HBP to reach temperature)
M104 S220 T0 (set extruder temperature) (T0 right extruder B, I leave this unchanged for ABS)
M104 S190 T1 (set extruder temperature) (T1 left extruder A, I changed it from 220 to 190 for PLA)

These settings work in a large, well ventilated area. So if you can, try moving it to the hottest spot in the room.

You will also want to delete the line in the code that says:

G4 P1500 (Create Anchor)

Removing this line will prevent the bot from making an extra line of plastic that diagonally crosses over the support raft. This could cause the bottom for your print come detach, so try removing this from each print.

Make sure to hit Save before you save to SD or send to print.

When your print is done, you’ll want to use a spatula or business card to gently wedge the raft off the platform. (becareful not to scrape off your lovely tape!!!)
Use a razor blade to remove the raft from the base of the model

Helpful Tools

  • Measuring Tool (Digital)
  • Business Card
  • Poker
  • Tweezers
  • Clippers
  • X-acto Knife
  • Razor Blade
  • Masking Tap

TinkerCad Tips

You can right-click and hold down the shift key to move the around the canvas of your object.

To avoid grouping issues, consider only grouping the objects that need to be cut.

  • You can double-click on grouped objects to make adjustments to individual objects in the group.
  • When building objects with multiple holes, consider grouping the holes as solids and then set the group to as a hole.

Use the Workplane helper to make constrained adjustments to your objects.
You can click on different sides of an object to reposition the transform controls.
Last but not least Make sure the model will fit inside the Replicators build area. (228mm by 152mm)

Resources & Links

Alrighty and there you have it! Custom settings for lovely prints. Be sure to follow our models on tinkercad under the hashtag #planters and #Games. Don’t forget to follow us on twitter, facebook and subscribe on youtube. Until next time, thanks for watching.