Printing Fine Lines -- Like First Level Calibration Test Print
The First Level Calibration test pattern creates much finer / thinner lines than any of my designs come close to (specifically in the first portion when it is printing the long thin horizontal / vertical lines to test adhesion).
How can I create lines as fine / thin as those? Do I need custom settings in Cura or PrusaSlicer? I just loaded PrusaSlicer so have been using Cura and it ignores elements that are less than 5mm wide. I think I have the default 6mm nozzle.
I am creating roof walkways for some small N-scale trains and need to create a matrix of thin lines. See picture of what I am currently getting which is .5 mm wide x .02 mm thick with the horizontal and vertical elements separated into different layers.
I am pretty much a Noob when it comes to 3D printing so any help would be very much appreciated.
RE: Printing Fine Lines -- Like First Level Calibration Test Print
The default nozzle it comes with is 0.4mm. If you are using one of the preloaded profiles then generally for most extrusion line widths it will be set to 0.45. Any detail less than that will be ignored normally as it 'cant' print it. Theres a setting under print settings > Layers and perimeters called Detect thin walls. If you enable it the slicer will do its best to add a bit so makes it single extrusion width. However this can have undesired consequences depending on your model.
Another option is to go in the print settings>advanced and modify your extrusion widths to be a bit smaller , say 0.42 or 0.4 like the nozzle. You will need to be in advanced or expert mode to see those options though.
Finally if you are printing very small things it might be worth picking up a smaller nozzle like a 0.25. Be aware though that with a smaller nozzle your prints will take a lot longer. Dont buy cheap nozzles, always go for a quality one like the original E3d one that comes with the printer, especially for smaller diameters. Also for a printer beginner read and understand the nozzle swapping process carefully before attempting. While its not hard to do if you miss a step like tightening it at temperature or dont get a seal against the heatbreak then it gets messy.
Try the slicer options first 🙂
RE: Printing Fine Lines -- Like First Level Calibration Test Print
@neophyl
Thanks -- buying a smaller nozzle seems like the easiest option -- I will try to get .25mm and .15mm nozzles for further experimentation.
RE: Printing Fine Lines -- Like First Level Calibration Test Print
You are going to have to configure whatever slicer you use to work with smaller nozzles anyway so why not learn the slicing side of things first. Saves buying new items and it might just be good enough to do what you want anyway.
RE: Printing Fine Lines -- Like First Level Calibration Test Print
You should be able to set perimeters to 0.4 mm wide, then IF your model has 0.4 mm lines for the grid platform then they should print o.4 mm. There will always be some tolerance, but with proper printer calibration you should be close.
Setting Detect Thin Walls is important if a wall is less than the nozzle width. Tells slicer to make the wall anyway, up to a point. Then if that is failing, using XY Comp can help.
RE: Printing Fine Lines -- Like First Level Calibration Test Print
[...] I am creating roof walkways for some small N-scale trains and need to create a matrix of thin lines. See picture of what I am currently getting which is .5 mm wide x .02 mm thick with the horizontal and vertical elements separated into different layers.
Just remember that you can always print the small detail parts later and assemble them. If you've got a background in model railroading, I suspect this is familiar to you.
So far as fine detail, you want a nozzle small enough to print the detail you need, but no smaller. You can get a nozzle to print smaller than the nozzle size, but the results can be a bit rough. Quality nozzles are available in 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30 and 0.35mm, so you've got a lot of options to find the "just right" size for the detail you need. Do be aware that E3D considers 0.15mm "experimental" so be prepared for a lot of ... learning with that size. I find 0.25mm nozzles print quite easily. I've dumped everything I know about using different nozzle sizes into my notes here. My notes on detail prints might be helpful.
I had a small collection of Marklin Z scale trains stolen back in the 1980's. I would have gone nuts with a 3D printer back then.
RE: Printing Fine Lines -- Like First Level Calibration Test Print
Thank you so much everyone -- was able to use the detect thin walls setting and PrusaSlicer to get .4mm lines .4mm apart. Quite a bit finer than I was getting before... I actually printed side-by-side with the first level calibration print and the lines are comparable. Still a bit more work to do (couple of failed spots in the print) but on the right track I think: https://photos.app.goo.gl/J2hMXEuLiHFquXBJ7
I knew I was at the point where I needed to understand slicer settings...
I also bought .15 and .25 nozzles...
RE: Printing Fine Lines -- Like First Level Calibration Test Print
FWIW -- got my .25mm and .15mm nozzles in and redesigned the roofwalk with .25mm elements and printed with the .25mm nozzle which looks fantastic (still needed the detect thin walls setting so really helpful to know about that in PrusaSlicer). Comparable to photo-etched brass to my eye (although could still play with paths / design a bit to avoid the printer making turns at the end of lines).
RE: Printing Fine Lines -- Like First Level Calibration Test Print
Good to hear you are up and running.
fyi: posting photos off-site is a problem since if you ever move them the forum thread is then broken. Best to drag the images to the forum so a record of the conversation is kept in one place.