Hi Folks,
I learned a bit with this latest project and thought it might help someone. I printed a baby Groot model from Thingiverse at 70% scale:
I used wood-filled PLA from Sunlu. Luban version is 3.7.0 and my Snapmaker A350 was running 1.10.0 / 3.1.8.
I print on a spring steel sheet, powder coated, smooth side:
I use 5 x 5 auto calibration.
Settings were as follows:
Flow: 100%
Print temp: 215°C
Print Temp Initial Layer: 215°C
Final Print Temp: 200°C
Build Plate Temp: 60°C
Build Plate Initial Temp: 70°C
Quality: Normal (with mods)
Layer Height: 0.16mm
Initial Layer Height: 0.2mm
Initial layer Line Width: 110%
Shell: Standard settings
Infill: 15%
Speed: Initial layer 9mm/s
Infill 50mm/s
Outer Wall 15mm/s
Inner Wall 20mm/s
Top/Bottom 25mm/s
Travel speed 70mm/s
Initial layer travel speed 12mm/s
Retraction Enabled
Retract at Layer Change Selected
Retraction Distance 6.5mm
Retraction Speed 30mm/s
Z Hop When Retracted Selected
Z Hop Height 1mm
Surface settings - no change
Adhesion - Skirt, 2 lines
The first version was done with the following support settings:
Support Placement: Everywhere
Support Pattern: Lines
Support Density: 15%
Support Overhang Angle: 56°
Print time was about 36 hours.
The result was as follows:
I was happy that the print turned out reasonably well overall, but the supports were pretty challenging to remove cleanly. I needed 2 of these prints so for the second I tried with supports beyond 86° overhangs (instead of 56°). Print time was about 30 hours. The result was as follows:
One area of Groot’s chin really sagged due to lack of support, but it was easier to clean that up than to remove so many supports from the first print.
After some clean-up the two prints are as follows (first print is on the left):
In general I was pleased to see the possibility of achieving reasonable results with less support material. I hope to try Cura with tree supports sometime as that sounds easier to remove.
Happy printing!
Mechan8