¶ Slice Parameters Summary - Material
Material
¶ 1. Print Temperature
¶ 1.1 Printing Temperature
Concept description: This refers to the temperature of the nozzle during printing. Print temperature is one of the most influential settings because it affects how the material behaves during the printing process. Even small differences in temperature can have a big impact on the flow of plastic.
Each type of filament has a certain printing temperature range. This will usually be listed on the box and technical data sheet. Increasing the temperature generally makes thermoplastics more fluid. This allows the printer to extrude material faster because internal friction is reduced. When printing with large layer heights, wide lines, high flow rates, or high speeds, the temperature needs to be close to the high end of the temperature range.
However, hotter printing also makes it harder for the material to cool, so this causes the overhang to sag more (requiring more support) and cause more stringing. Temperature settings that are too high can cause material degradation while printing. This may clog the nozzles and possibly damage the printer. Setting the temperature too low can cause the feeder to grind the material, causing it to stop extruding.
¶ 1.1.1 Initial printing temperature
Concept description: Refers to the lowest temperature at which the nozzle is heated to the point where printing can begin. After being put on standby while a different extruder is printing, the nozzle will start at a slightly lower temperature. After printing starts, it will heat up to normal printing temperature immediately.
Restarting printing at a slightly lower temperature can reduce the amount of leakage when the nozzle is idle. After all, most leaks occur when the nozzle is at its highest temperature. Lowering this temperature will effectively make it start printing at a slightly lower temperature, allowing bleeding to occur during the print process when it is actually needed.
¶ 1.1.2 Final printing Temperature
Refers to the temperature at which cooling begins before the end of printing. The nozzle will be cooled to final printing temperature before switching to a different extruder. In effect, this causes the nozzle to cool down prematurely before the extruder has finished printing. When the extruder switch occurs, the nozzle is expected to reach final printing temperature, at which point it will begin to cool down. After that, it will continue to cool down to standby temperature.
¶ 2. Build Plate temperature
¶ 2.1 Build Plate temperature
Concept description: This setting is used to heat the temperature of the printing platform. If the value is 0, the heating bed will not be adjusted. Heating the build plate will keep the material slightly fluid and tacky.
Some materials form crystals when frozen, which can cause the material to shrink significantly when frozen. The heated bed keeps the material at a temperature just above freezing to prevent shrinkage and maintain the viscosity of the liquid plastic. This is all to improve the adhesion between the printed parts and the printing platform.
However, if the build plate temperature is too high, the print will be very smooth where it contacts the build plate. This causes the material to sag slightly, resulting in an elephant's foot at the bottom of the print target. This can be compensated for by the initial layer level expansion setting, but will affect dimensional accuracy. Heating the build platform also creates a temperature difference between the material on the build platform and the material higher in the model, which can cause warping when the taller material begins to shrink.
If this setting is set to 0 degrees, CrealityPrint will not output any commands that change the print platform temperature.
When you adjust the build platform temperature in the material profile, this will adjust the default build bed temperature setting. Typically, the build platform temperature will be equal to the default build platform temperature, but sometimes selecting a different quality can make subtle adjustments to the build platform temperature.
This print platform temperature setting is the actual setting used for printing.
¶ 2.1.1 Build Plate temperature Initial Layer
Concept Description: This setting will heat the build plate to the specified temperature when printing the first layer.
Concept description: The printing platform allows materials to cool faster because heat from the molten material can be transferred to the printing platform faster than to the insulating air.
Concept description: Heating the build plate slightly hotter when printing the first layer keeps the material out of freezing temperatures longer so it doesn't get temperature shocks that cause layers to shrink and warp.
Concept description: After the first layer is completed, the hot bed temperature will be set to the normal hot bed temperature, but it will take some time for the hot bed to reach that temperature.
¶ 3. Material Flow Ratio
¶ 3.1 Material Flow Ratio
Concept description: There may be a volume difference when the consumables solidify after being melted. This setting changes all flow compensations proportionally.
This feature allows you to change the way the printer adjusts line width: instead of changing the flow of material through the nozzle, the printer changes the speed at which the nozzle moves.
FFF printers are notoriously poor at changing the rate at which material flows from the nozzle. If the printer changes the speed of the paper feeder, it takes a fraction of a second to actually translate into a change in flow rate. By that time, depending on the print speed, the nozzle may be a few millimeters past the point where the flow rate should be adjusted. It's even worse if your printer has the feeder detached from the printhead and has a Bowden tube in between.
The printer can not only change the feed speed, but also the moving speed of the print head. The print head can accelerate faster and therefore have better control over the width of the line. If the printhead speeds up while the flow rate remains constant, the same amount of material stretches a longer length, reducing line width. If the print head speed is slowed down, the same amount of material is packed into a smaller space, increasing line width. The setting is a ratio. It can adjust flow rate (0%) or print speed (100%) or a combination of both. The ratio can even exceed 100%, which means the flow rate is reduced to produce thicker lines, but the speed is reduced even more to compensate.
Increasing this ratio to 100% means that it uses speed rather than flow to change line width, which has the following effects on printing:
• Line width may be more accurate, thereby improving the dimensional accuracy of your prints.
• The flow rate will remain equal, which makes printing more reliable, especially for specialty materials.
• In some places, the print head moves faster, causing ringing. This setting only applies to changes in line width caused by fitting lines to the width of thin parts and sharp corners. Changes in flow due to settings (e.g. padding vs. wall line widths being different), as well as features like bridging or ironing, will not be compensated. Even if this setting is set to 100%, printers that implement linear advance or similar compensation features should still use these features, as these settings may still cause flow changes.
¶ 4. Wall flow
¶ 4.1 Wall flow
Concept description: Refers to the flow compensation of the wall wiring. This setting only adjusts the flow rate of the wall. The flow rate of the wall can be adjusted separately from the flow rate of the rest of the print.
Adjusting the flow rate within the wall is an expedient solution to problems with extrusion rate or dimensional accuracy.
If there is an extrusion rate problem only when printing the wall, it is best to check the printing speed and temperature simultaneously.
Maybe the material isn't getting enough power from the nozzle, a higher print speed might help. It may be that the line is too thin to extrude properly. It's also possible that the material is too cold or too hot.
If there is a problem with dimensional accuracy, it is best to look at the Horizontal Extension of the shell module and the set printing order.
¶ 4.1.1 Outer wall flow
Concept description: Refers to the flow compensation of the outermost wall wiring. This setting only adjusts the flow rate for the outer wall. The flow rate of the outer wall can be adjusted separately from the flow rate of the inner wall.
Adjusting the flow rate during the outer wall process is a stopgap measure to solve problems with extrusion rate or dimensional accuracy.
The same effect can be achieved by adjusting the Exterior Wall Width and Exterior Wall Insertion settings, but this setting may be a more intuitive way to make initial adjustments.
If there is a problem with the extrusion rate only on the outer wall, it is best to check the printing temperature.
Maybe the material isn't getting enough power from the nozzle, a higher print speed might help. Maybe the lines are too thin to extrude properly. Maybe the material is too cold or too hot.
If there is a problem with dimensional accuracy, it is best to look at the Horizontal Extension of the shell module and the set printing order.
¶ 4.1.2 Inner wall(s) flow
Concept description: Refers to the flow compensation of all wall traces (except the outermost wall trace). This setting only adjusts the flow rate on the inner wall. The flow rate of the inner wall can be adjusted separately from the flow rate of the outer wall.
Adjusting the flow rate during the inner wall process is a stopgap measure to solve problems with extrusion rate or dimensional accuracy.
If you are experiencing extrusion rate issues only on the inner walls, it is best to look at the print speed and print temperature. Maybe the material isn't getting enough power from the nozzle, a higher print speed might help. Maybe the lines are too thin to extrude properly. Maybe the material is too cold or too hot.
If there is a problem with dimensional accuracy, it is best to look at the Horizontal Extension of the shell module and the set printing order.
¶ 4. Top/bottom Flow
¶ 4.1 Top/bottom Flow
Concept description: Refers to the flow compensation of the top/bottom traces. This setting only adjusts the top and bottom flow rates. The top and bottom flow rates can be adjusted separately from the flow rates for the rest of the print.
Adjusting the flow rate at the top and bottom is a stop-gap solution to problems with extrusion rate or non-waterproofing. If you only have extrusion rate issues during printing on the top side, it might be best to look at the infill density and pattern or possibly infill gradually to reduce the distance the top side needs to bridge. If the extrusion rate problem occurs only when printing the bottom surface, check the density, pattern, and supported gradient fill. Temperature and print speed are also important factors in achieving good, consistent extrusion.
If the top or bottom is not waterproof, it is best to adjust the temperature. Pilling should be prevented, but if the temperature is too low, you will see under-extrusion occur.
¶ 5. Infill Flow
¶ 5.1 Infill Flow
Concept description: Refers to the flow compensation of filled traces. This setting only adjusts the flow rate of the fill.
The flow rate for the fill can be adjusted separately from the flow rate for the rest of the print. Adjusting the flow rate during filling is a stop-gap solution to problems with extrusion rate or intensity.
The same effect can be achieved by adjusting the line spacing and line width of the fill, but this setting may be more intuitive.
Problems with the extrusion rate or strength of the fill are usually caused by one of two things: crossovers in the fill pattern, or too much variation in flow rate between the fill and other structures.
Adjusting fill pattern or line width may be more effective than adjusting this flow. Choose a fill pattern that doesn't intersect, such as zigzag, and choose a line weight that's closer to the wall and skin extrusion rates. If you need to increase line width to increase strength but flow is limited, it's better to use a fill multiplier instead of increasing flow.