Phenom
1
Hello,
It’s been about 6 months that I’ve started 3D Printing, My printer’s a RepRap Prusa i3. It’s a good printer, I almost know how to do good prints but I want flawless prints. I’ve seen great prints with 0.1mm layer height, The layers almost invisible in them, But no matter how small I print (I’ve done 0.05 too) The damned layers won’t let me be. In the attachments I have uploaded my best print, It’s on 0.05, and I had some heavy filters on the camera to hide the layers, but they’re still there. I’m printing with PLA filament, 1.75 type. I print using Simplify3D.
Many thanks.
I don’t know that you could ever get to the point where a discerning couldn’t detect the layers. That’s the province of molds and casts, isn’t it?
That said, those are some great-looking prints!
Zapaer
3
@Phenom
Hi, if you want really good prints you may need to do some upgrades to your printer. Especially if you got it as a kit off Aliexpress/Amazon.
For example you may want to get better stepper motors (0.9 degrees instead of 1.8) as well as better stepper drivers (DRV8825).
Check if your Z-axis rods are bent or wobbly. You could upgrade the z-axis rods to something more sturdy like lead screws. And grease them up.
You can also see improvements by changing your print settings. What nozzle size are you using? If you are printing at 0.05 you should be using a 0.1mm nozzle. You should also print probably in the 30-40mm/s range with good part cooling for PLA. Also maybe lower your z-axis speed settings (through S3D).
You can also try PETG (it’s better in terms of layer visibility).
Finally, you can try post processing using an epoxies like https://www.smooth-on.com/product-line/xtc-3d/.
I would suggest working on getting a .2 layer great first. Once there then start to go for finer layer heights. As mentioned it may take upgrades to achieve those layer heights.
Just remember there is a point of no return where the reduced layer height is only adding time.
