Extruder Calibration a must

Its not the same.

Materials have different liquiditys densities.

Think you esteps as filament input and flow rate as filament output.

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ok, that I theoretically understand. Everything that you tune in your slicer has a physical impact on the machine:

  • temperature will change the extruder temperature.
  • speed will change stepper motor speeds
  • What does flow rate phiysically changes then?

Thanks

flow rate essentially used to adjust how much pressure is in the nozzle, so that the different mateirals (or even similar material but different batch)'s differences can be fine tuned to be more consistant with what you are looking for.

for example. PLA frequently seems to perform best at around 90ish.

I think @Stanou is asking how flow rate is controlled physically.
And for that the answer comes back to how much the gears turn to push the filament through. So whether you change e-steps or flow rate it’s doing the same thing mechanically.

Extruder calibration or e-steps calibrates the length of filament the gears are pushing through.
Flow rate is the actual amount of material being extruded which varies depending on filament type, size variance, nozzle temp etc. (why one of the best ways to judge filament quality is by the precision of it’s diameter and variance across a roll)

This may help:

-S

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This thread has become a bit overwhelming for a beginner.
So I started a new topic with just the basic info as an easier alternative to refer people to.
Please let me know if I need to make any edits or clarify anything.

We should continue to use this original topic for any discussion and keep the other thread to the point.

-S

Maybe you can make it a wiki for easier maintenance? (and then others can help too)

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Is that enabled in the Snapmaker firmware? I saw the plugin for Cura and installed it, but have not yet given it a go. Only just got smooth print tops on a print last night by using the Ironing option. Still have ugly sides edges.

In regards to extrusion, I noted elsewhere that the Snapmaker extruder seems to over-extrude. Some of that is definitely the filament I am using (a gooey matte PLA), but it leads me to wonder if the default E-step setting is by design.

I think that they did set it that way to compensate for other stuff, but just trust me the e-steps followed by slier flow calibration is the way to go

however, the linear advance test is also gcode related, do these tests to find the value and watch as your lines suddenly look pretty.

its not so much a settingg in a slicer but a fine tuning method kinda like the estep thing, but you dont have to permanently write it to your machine you can just add it to your start gcode.

Teaching Tech 3D Printer Calibration (teachingtechyt.github.io)

you will not regret it

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my personal start gcode from simplify3d can be seen here you can see how i implmeent the linear advance value

image

Will-do. I’m slowly working through that github list; PID turning and linear advance are next up.

I’m approaching the tuning from the standpoint of “apply each fix to address a specific print problem”, so that I have a mental framework for recognizing future problems when they inevitably arise. According to the Simplify3D troubleshooting guides, PID tuning should reduce the lines I am seeing, and linear advance should then refine what remains.

Agree about the e-step being necessary, it makes the slicer flow calibration easier to reason about.

I might get a copy of Simplify3D once I have Cura printing smoothly. It’s not as expensive as I thought it might be. Depends how smoothly the inevitable move onto nylon filaments goes, I guess.

Linear advance is like 90% of aesthetic problems, for real.

I dont know if you can do PID tuning to be honest, i think only the nozzle can be done?

Nylon is a challenge for the machine but might be doable. i do have a spool but havent tried yet.

Simplify3D for me has equaled 50% print time at 125% quality of cura output.

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Yeah, just verified that. Not even sure the nozzle autotune step completed. Guess I’ll shelve that one for later.

My factory setting only extruded 87mm of 100mm of filament.

The factory setting was a huge part of all my problems. Once e-steps were calibrated, many problems went away.

A calibration how-to should be at the top of the forum, I see so many people raging about how big a POS the Snapmaker 2 is but they never spent the time to do any calibration. My prints are far from perfect but at least now I can get something that sticks to the bed consistently and resembles what I want to print.

You are right, this is a major thing. As is linear advance.

It is our job to suggest it to people whenever we see someone struggling, because the admin doesnt want to pin a MUST DO post hehe

As time goes on you will start getting your prints coming out beautifully. I can print a hell of a part in PLA or PETG now.

I am there almost, but now am having shifting problems again. Sigh.

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I think Snapmaker does a disservice to themselves by acting like or trying to make it seem like it’s plug and play. 3d printing isn’t at that stage yet with any printer. There is no such thing as a default with any machine or filament or 3d model or one’s home environment. The sooner people understand that the more success they’ll have and the better the product experience they’ll enjoy


If you look at most other printer manuals, like Prusa, the first chapter after the initial unboxing and assembly is all calibration. It’s part of the hobby.
-S

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Would be so nice to add the extruder calibration steps as a guided tour on the touchscreen. So no need to use a usb connection and terminal codes.
Just step by step walking through a calibration tour like the existing ones.

OMG. Just completed this calibration and my first layer adhesion is UNBELIEVEABLY better, this post needs to be a sticky on the forums.

changed from E212.21 to E249.66

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Hi,

So I Carried out the calibration as per the post.

Once the e-step calibration is complete, is it still suppose to extrude between 90 to 100mm of filament if you had to run the e-step calibration again?

That might be the case. For best results, you want to do the e-step calibration several times to get as close to the right value. Due to human error and a potentially flawed equation, it might not be perfect after the first time. However, there should be an improvement after each time. If not, make sure that you correctly saved the new value. If it still doesn’t make a difference, power cycle the machine.