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What Does A Skirt Do?  

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Neal
 Neal
(@neal)
Reputable Member
What Does A Skirt Do?

I understand what and how rafts and brims do what they do. They provide more surface area on the bed to assist in adhesion. But why a skirt? How does a few (or many) lines of filament outlining a print, but not touching it, help?

Thanks,

Neal

Posted : 09/02/2018 2:35 pm
vaxxi
(@vaxxi)
Estimable Member
Re: What Does A Skirt Do?

Reading the manual usually helps: http://manual.slic3r.org/expert-mode/skirt

It's said that it can somehow help with surface warping by protecting the base with 1-2 layers of plastic against currents.

Posted : 09/02/2018 2:47 pm
Neal
 Neal
(@neal)
Reputable Member
Topic starter answered:
Re: What Does A Skirt Do?

Thanks. And I did read about it. Just different manuals. And the ones I read only said the skirt helps with bed adhesion. They did not say why they helped with bed adhesion.

Thanks Again,

Neal

Posted : 09/02/2018 3:35 pm
vaxxi
(@vaxxi)
Estimable Member
Re: What Does A Skirt Do?

I don't see how it could help with bed adhesion. A brim, yes; a raft, yes; Mickey Mouse ears, yes (selective brim basically) 😛 I've turned it off and there's no problem, the nozzle pressure seems just fine after laying down the initial line in the bottom left corner of the bed.

Posted : 09/02/2018 3:38 pm
AJS
 AJS
(@ajs)
Noble Member
Re: What Does A Skirt Do?

A skirt does a few things. I have mine set to 3 wide and 3 high.

1) They give a small draft protection from the bed/first layer interface. If you have a drafty area this helps.
2) They are printed first (the first layer - anyway) so it makes sure the filament is primed and any color changed is done.
3) If a print breaks loos, it will catch on the skirt. While the print will be lost (1-2mm shift in it), it is LESS likely to be a catastrophic tumor inducing failure.

None of these are required, so having it off is not an issue, but I think it is worth the safety provided..

Any advices given are offered in good faith. It is your responsibility to ensure that by following my advice you do not suffer or cause injury, damage or loss. If you solve your problem, please post the solution…

Posted : 09/02/2018 3:46 pm
Steve
(@steve)
Estimable Member
Re: What Does A Skirt Do?


1) They give a small draft protection from the bed/first layer interface. If you have a drafty area this helps.
2) They are printed first (the first layer - anyway) so it makes sure the filament is primed and any color changed is done.
3) If a print breaks loos, it will catch on the skirt. While the print will be lost (1-2mm shift in it), it is LESS likely to be a catastrophic tumor inducing failure.

And here I was thinking that I knew a ton about 3D printing after 5 years experience.
All logical if you think about it, but it proves you're never too old to learn. Thanks for that!

XL (5T) / MK4 / MK3S+-MMU3 / MK3S / MK2.5S-MMU2S / Mini / SL1S

Posted : 09/02/2018 4:29 pm
Neal
 Neal
(@neal)
Reputable Member
Topic starter answered:
Re: What Does A Skirt Do?

Thanks to all. I really appreciate it. I like to know the WHY of things as much as the HOW of things.

Neal

Posted : 09/02/2018 4:33 pm
ntdesign
(@ntdesign)
Reputable Member
Re: What Does A Skirt Do?

It also makes sure the nozzle is primed and extruding when the print actually starts, basically establishing good filament pressure. If you miss the first corner of the actual print, it is very likely to form a loose end that will detach later.

Posted : 09/02/2018 4:50 pm
ron
 ron
(@ron)
Estimable Member
Re: What Does A Skirt Do?

For me not so usefull. But I keep it for:
1. Essentialy to test the first layer adhesion with my nails. As i change material regularly, live adjust z has to be adjusted quite often. Skirt says me if the print will go nice or fail. It is proper to prusa as the pinda probe is sensible to temperature. And a read that not all is solved for mk3.
2. Prime. But more important than 1.for me.

Posted : 10/02/2018 1:36 am
SeaDog
(@seadog)
Eminent Member
Re: What Does A Skirt Do?

The skirt allowed you to prime the extruder and to preview the first layer before it starts printing the model. It is essentially the same thing as the first layer calibration that you do when setting up the i3 except that on manual leveling beds you may need to tweak the leveling before every print. Recently, some folks have used a "tall" (many layers high) skirt around a part to keep some heat around the part when having problems with adhesion.

Posted : 01/03/2018 8:14 am
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