TreeFrog printing problems
TL,DR: What is the problem with my treefrog, see the photos on the bottom.
I've assembled the original MK2S kit according to the instructions. Some of my test prints come out fine, but I can't get the treefrog sample (from the sdcard) to print. I haven't attempted to tweak any slicing parameters, assuming that the presliced model should print correctly. I'm printing with the silver PLA which came with the printer.
My first issue was most likely related to insufficient print cooling, although I would appreciate if someone confirmed this. It turns out that the plastic piece on the print cooling fan was not screwed on properly. After securing it, I've also put a desk fan nearby to cool the whole print area (it is quite hot here in the summer).
You can see the first prints below - the frog in the front was printer after fixing the cooling issue (ironically, there was a power loss during the print, so it still didn't come out ok). The remaining ones are previous attempts - you can see the front of the frog lifting up.
Afterwards, I've managed to run a full print and it came out mostly ok, except for the head. A strange "rift" has appeared at the nose level, also the eyes seem to be missing some material.
My questions:
1. What am I doing wrong? 🙂
2. Could the problem be caused by the desk fan cooling the print too fast?
3. Should the infill be continuous, or is it acceptable to have holes (see first picture, central frog)?
Re: TreeFrog printing problems
Well, seems to me you're underextruding. The infill shouldn't have holes either. I do not think it's a problem of too much cooling.
If you say its really hot where you are, it could be a problem of not enough cooling. There's two fans on the MK2S, the part cooling fan and the hotend fan. We're concerned with the hotend fan here. If heat creeps up the heatbreak and softens up the PLA above it, it'll get increasingly harder to push the proper amount of filament through - leading to under extrusions.
Or you might simply have a partially clogged nozzle - try cold pulls.
Or the extruder gear is gunked up - open the exdruder door and check.
I guess the 2 tension springs on the extruder door could have an effect here too. Too lose or too tight would be problematic. I think the manual said 11 (or 13mm?) measured with filament loaded whas a good starting point there.
Or if you're still using the crappy spool holder that came with the printer, the filament might not unspool properly (too much friction)