Skip to content

USING PRONTERFACE WITH THE BIGTREETECH SKR 1.4 TURBO

Ok, so I have the SKR 1.4 TURBO which I will be installing into the Creality CR-10 S5, and to make it work properly, I had to create my own firmware and burn it to the board. Once it is on the board I want to ensure it works properly before I spend the time, rewiring the board and placing it into the control box. How would I verify the board works properly?

Pronterface

This little app allows me to test the board after the firmware has been installed to make sure it works. Also if I am having problems with CR10S5, because the EXP1 and EXP2 ports are not working with my SKR 1.4 Turbo…this little app will let me understand why.

To use pronterface, download it from:

Extract the files to the desktop

On your SKR 1.4 turbo, make sure you set the jumper on the 5v pair instead of the 12-24v pair

Plug the board into the USB drive on your computer and let it boot up

Now open the \Printrun-win-18Nov2017 folder

Launch the app named pronterface.exe

and click Connect within the app

If all went well, this will connect to your board and give you the following message in the dialog box all the way to the right
Connecting…
Printer is now online.

So your board works!

You can send the M503 code to it and check out all the nitty gritty, or you can simply power your board down and install it in the printer

PETG – JAMMING HOTEND, BRITTLE LAYERS AND BREAKS EASILY [SOLVED]


Let’s start here…some PETG prints were amazing…clips, guides, knobs, just about anything without a long flat layer that had infill.

Then began my struggle (see the image below)


After meticulously dialing in my system, running retraction tests, heat towers, extrusion stepper modifications, extrusion multipliers, drying out filament and many many other steps to prep my system for a successful run with PETG prints…. My hotend kept jamming or under extruding, the extruder would click and click, and my prints were terrible.

After it would finish printing, it would break apart by simply touching it….

The solution to this…..

Open Simplify3D

Modify the FFF process

Go to the cooling tab

Set cooling on Layer 1 to 0

Remove all other setpoints

Uncheck the box that says Increase fan speed for layers below

Save, reslice and reprint

The result…

A solid print in PETG

PETG loves heat….and is ruined with cooling

Now It’s time for me to go back around and reconfigure my system with the extrusion multiplier, speed tests, heat towers, retraction tests….everything

ENDER 3 PRO – SIMPLIFY3D – CONFIGURING THE EXTRUSION MULTIPLIER

To figure this out, you can download Teaching Tech’s files on Thingiverse
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3071464

Unpack the files

Open up Simplify3d

Import the file called cube

Go to your processes and change the following settings:
On the Extruder tab
Set extrusion width to 0.48
Set extrusion multiplier to 1.00
Drag the Infill slider to Zero
On the Layer tab
Set Top Solid Layers to 0
Set Bottom Solid Layers to 0
Set Outline/Perimeter Shells to 1

Click Prepare to Print for the cube

You should see that the cube is 1 layer wide

Measure the wall thickness of this cube after it prints. My wall thickness measured in at 0.58

Now, to find out if the extrusion multiplier is accurate, run the following formula:
Desired Wall Thickness / Measured Wall Thickness * Extrusion multiplier = New Extrusion Multiplier
(Ex. 0.48 / 0.58 * 1.00 = 0.8275)

I will round the 0.8275 up to 0.83 and set this as my Extrusion Multiplier setting

Now to reprint the cube to ensure accuracy

PETG – TEMP TOWER – Simplify3D

In working with PETG, one of the first things you MUST do is print a temp tower, or heat tower, or temperature tower, or whatever you personally call it. This is essential, for understanding what temperatures work best with your filament, manufacturer, and color.

To print this temp tower, first, I had downloaded this model from thingiverse:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3535163

Next you will want to unpack and import the model into Simplify3D

Then you will open up your Process settings

Navigate to the Temperature tab

Click on Primary Extruder

and Modify Layer 1

Layer 1 should be set to 260C

Now you will click Add Setpoint and continue to add setpoints until you have the following displayed in the Pre-Layer Temperature Setpoints box

Layer 1 – 260
Layer 41 – 255
Layer 81 – 250
Layer 121 – 245
Layer 161 – 240
Layer 201 – 235
Layer 241 – 230
Layer 281 – 225
Layer 321 – 220

Save the settings, Slice the tower, and print it

You will want to note which temperature produces the most efficient results without stringing, sagging, or any other issues.

And that will be the temperature in-which you print the rest of your objects with.

If you change Manufacturer, Color, Density, etc, you will want to reprint the tower to note the new settings.

ENDER 3 PRO – UNDER EXTRUSION ISSUE [SOLVED]

To fine tune your Ender 3 Pro you will need to measure the amount of filament that is passing through the machine using the following test, to ensure your settings are correct

First you going to want to disconnect your hotend from the extruder, and place these in an area where you can heat them up and they will not damage themselves or anything around them.

Next you’re going to want to go into the settings of your Ender 3 and click on preheat PLA. This will warm up the hot end and allow you to extrude for our test

Measure out 120mm from entry point on extruder to the spool, and mark it on the filament using a notch or a marker (I prefer a slight notch)

Open Octopi
Go to Terminal Tab
Enter in the following code
G1 E100 F100
Press Send
This will extrude 100mm of filament

Now measure the difference of what went in, verses what is left.
I extruded 90.5mm instead of 100mm, and have 29.5mm left before my notch

Back in Octopi
Terminal Tab
Enter in the following code
M503
Press Send

Search for M92 line and verify it says E93
This is what you will edit

To figure out the new value for E93 do the following
100/90.5*93=102.76
E93 should be E102.76

The values above translate to this
100 – Distance that should have been extruded
/ – divided by
90.5 – is the distance that was extruded
* – Multiplied by
93 – This is the E93 value we saw earlier

Back to Octopi Terminal Tab
Enter in the following
M92 E102.76
Press Send

Enter in the following
M500
Press Send

Your new settings are saved, and your extrusion will be accurate. Feel free to repeat the above steps to ensure your settings are correct and the extrusion works as expected

Dimensional Accuracy with PETG on the Ender 3 Pro aka Elephants Foot [SOLVED]

In printing PETG On the ender three pro I found a variety of settings and examples and temperatures all of which are great suggestions and will leave me in the direction that I need to go however none of them are exact to what I need.

So I started with printing the calibration cube and found the X and Y axis are fine, however the Z axis seems to have some extra squish to it meaning that it’s about 0.3 mm too short, and those first few layers seem to bow outwards

Down my settings are as follows

PETG – AmazonBasics PETG Black

Nozzle – 250C

Bed – 80C

Printer – Ender 3 Pro

after a bit of measuring and fine-tuning I found that my bed temperature was too high so the solution was very simple.

Change the bed temperature to 60C and re-print

Problem solved and my next cube had the perfect dimensions

Ended 3 Pro – Massive Layer Shift in Mid Print [SOLVED]

OK so I was in the middle of printing the gauntlet from the predator costume and about halfway through the print a massive layer shift occurred. Continuing on with the print thinking that I can just cut that Layer and reattach it properly another massive layer shift happened.

Layer shift generally happens very early on in the print out is because a base layer essentially had issues. With this being so far and you can tell that’s not the case at all …. so what was causing all this

After re-slicing and re-printing check in the environmental factors and 100 other things the final verdict on it was……

Heat!

This was printed in an enclosure in the ambient temperature was above 90°F. This temperature in the enclosure caused the later shift because one of the Axis motors temporarily overheated and shut down, all while the other two motors kept on printing. When the motor restarted it was in the wrong position causing the later shift.

ENDER 3 PRO – PETG ISSUE – EXTRUDER CLICKS AND PETG WORN DOWN BY EXTRUDER [SOLVED]

So this is she was a tricky one your extruder starts to click but the PETG still prints for a while. If it goes on long enough your PETG will stop printing all together and jam in the nozzle

When you clear the jam by pulling the PETG out and you look at the hot end part of it, it’s melted and thicker than the rest of the filament.


When you look at the filament where it was stuck in the extruder it’s substantially worn down and sometimes it’s completely broken off

Essentially what’s happening here is you are putting too much filament through the extruder and it’s backing up at the hot end. Once it backs up too much it jams the nozzle in your extruder starts clicking and wearing down the filament all the way to the point where the filament will break off

The fix for this is easy slow down the amount of filament you are putting through the extruder and that will solve the issue. PETG cannot print as fast as PLA so you will need to put new settings in for the print speed field in your slicer.

I have found that printing somewhere between 1800 to 2200 mm/min is the sweet spot for my under three pro running Amazon basics PETG black. However this setting will change depending on the manufacturer you use and the color and the density of the filament as well.

IMPORTING A CURE PROFILE

Quick How-To Guide to walk through the steps of importing a .curaprofile file into your Cura Application, and enable it.

Download and install the latest version of Cura. In my case it is 4.6.1

Click Settings

Select Printers

Select Manage Printers

Click Profiles

Click Import

Navigate to your .curaprofile and upload it

Now, create a new Cura project

In the Top Right of your screen click Printer Settings

Click the drop down arrow next to Profile

Select your Profile (the one you just uploaded)

You can now slice using the imported profile