User guide

24
Filament Variation
Does it seem like there’s too much or too little
plastic being used in your prints? This can
happen when your filament doesn’t look or
behave exactly how the slicing engine expects
it to. Sometimes 1.75 mm plastic lament is
actually closer to 1.65 mm or 1.85 mm. Your
extruder can handle this range of sizes, but the
slicer requires an accurate description of your
lament to create a good toolpath.
To compensate for lament variation, you
can create a custom prole. Instructions
on creating custom proles are available
at makerbot.com/support/makerware/
documentation/slicer.
1. Unspool a couple of feet of lament
and use a caliper to measure it at several
dierent points. Average out those
measurements and note the averaged value.
2. Create a custom prole and click the Edit
Prole button to open the cong le in a text
editor. Then nd the correct “feedDiameter”
setting. You will see two “feedDiameter”
settings, one enclosed in each of the extruder
proles. Change the rst “feedDiameter”
setting if you are printing using the right
extruder on your MakerBot Replicator 2X and
change the second “feedDiameter” setting if
you are using the le extruder.
3. Save the cong le and use your new
custom prole to print.
If you are having trouble with the amount
of plastic being extruded and the value
entered for “feedDiameter” is accurate, look
at the “feedstockMultiplier” setting. This
setting compensates for any dierence
between the calculated volume of plastic
going into the extruder and the actual
amount of the plastic coming out of the
extruder. Like the “feedDiameter” setting,
the “feedstockMultiplier” setting appears
twice in the config file – once in each of the
two extruder proles. When changing the
“feedstockMultiplier” setting, make sure you
choose the setting for the correct extruder.
DIAGNOSING PRINT QUALITY ISSUES CONTINUED