Materials

Kisslicer Welcome to Kisslicer

Material

Nozzle Best Temp Temp (°C) (°C)

Bed Temp (°C)

ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene)

225260

245250

80

PLA (Polylactic Acid)

180220

185-190

50

HDPE (High Density PolyEthylene)

110

Nylon

235260

235245 (not tested)

45~

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)

180

180

40

Notes Materials are dependent upon the manufacturer and different colours may have differnt variables. (best temp based on BfB materials) ABS is a general purpose, strong, and very resistant type of plastic. It is a bit more expensive than HDPE, but it also is a bit higher quality material than HDPE. (fumes may kill your pets okay for most humans though) commonly used for injection moulding as it can be taken to higher temperatures it should be able to go to higher details up to 50 microns or higher. Polylactic acid is a cheap, biodegradable polymer, that is produced from lactic acid, which can be obtained from the maceration of starch and sugars in biotanks. It exhibits higher friction than ABS which can lead to extruder jams, PLA can also absorb moisture which will cause popping sound whilst extruding . This is very common engineering plastic. It is used in a wide variety of consumer goods. It's strong, durable, and has a decent melting point. It's also very cheap. Unfortunately it has, compared to FDM-friendlier plastics, a very high shrinkage factor when solidifying, so there isn't much of a chance of it ending up being the main working material of choice for RepRap. high distortion bad bonding Prints are flexible and wear resistant, less brittle it also has a self lubricating property that is good for gears. Its stringier, thus overfill can be messy, it requires a different bed material as it doesn’t stick to glass or metal. It warps more than ABS. Filaments may need oven drying (150°C 3-4 hours) before use as it has a tendency to absorb moisture though it can also be dyed. A water soluable plastic, can be used as a support and dissolved, cannot be heated past 200°c or too high of a heated bed temp. Expensive and water sensitive, look to links for more information 5–6

When you load Kisslicer this is the screen you will be presented with. First thing you should do is click the show settings options, then open your model, the mesh error key will demonstrate what the colours you are seeing if if there are any problems with your model, these can be fixed in programs such as Netfabb or Meshlab, but often manual repairs to model may need to be carried out prior to slicing. The colour guides can be called up manually through the help menu at any time, the mesh error key will not appear if model is clean - prints will only come out as the cleanly as the model put in. Basic navigation - left click pans around window, mouse wheel zooms in and out and right click allows rotation around model

Click here to view more options Notes: Hovering mouse over options will produce an explaination of what each option is, I have tried to simplify these descriptions Any option with an * before it is a more advanced more advanced options

Home Page

There is not a lot to be said about the initial screen. It presents you with the information about your build and is actually more important after you have sliced your model.

Import model here

How to view model

Option Model Model +paths

Paths Open Slice

White box next to G-code Show settings Setting Level

Speed slider

Copy Style

Delete Style Center

Option ribbon

Main page info 7–8

Explanation Shows model STL Shows the model and the print paths in a rotatable 3D display. This allows you to check what will be printed prior to print; controlled by the Path % and Z Value slider Displays paths in a zoomable birds eye view, also controlled by the path % and z value sliders Select model (one model at a time unless you have pro version) Runs the slice command which generates G code, this button changes into save once the slice has been carried out (if you make a significant change to build after generating a G-code you will need to re-slice the model) Shows you material usage and time estimate ( I have found with the 3D touch the time is often half hour to an hour longer then the estimate depending on the job) Click to display option menus, or just click on tabs Choose level of control over settings. This prevents you from changing certain advanced settings if you choose beginner or intermediate” Slide the bar left or right to choose speed settings. Speed is displayed above bar. For the 3D touch 45 is extremely fast and 4 is slow, but accurate pick speed according to job, 25 loop speed is a good place to start. Lets you duplicate printer settings which you can then rename and save new files information to (this button will also be the copy Material and Printer button once in appropriate tab) Lets you delete a selection of file settings (this button will also be delete Material and Printer button once in appropriate tab) Centres your model, sliders offset it

Style

The style menus is where you pick the layer thickness. This essentially is the resolution and density of the print.

Style option

Options Skin thickness

Number of loops

*Inset surface

Extrusion width *Infill extrusion width

Layer thickness

Infill slide bar move to left to increase desnsity and to the right to hollow an item or to reach the vase option

Loops go from inside to perimeter Wipe De string Infill style Infill slider

Jitter°

9 – 10

Explanations How thick the skin of the model will be, how much of the surface will be solid infill if not covered by the loops. This can be useful for angled surfaces. How many loops will be performed whilst printing job, a loop is a pass along the perimeter of the object and relates to skin thickness and extrusion width. This feature can inset (move the walls inwards) of your model in the X Y plane, values over .5mm should not be used and the model should be adjusted, negative numbers can be used to expand the walls. Width of extruded material coming from extruder (should be equal to or greater than “” nozzle ) 3D touch has a nozzle of 0.5mm Is the infill extrusion thickness, usually leave same as extrusion width, you can make it thinner to decrease stress and warping created by contracting material or thicker to improving bonding This is thickness of each layer how much the Z height changes each layer, the thinner the layer the finer the detail (however imperfection of print are often magnified) the thicker the layer the faster the print (slight loss of detail and not as good at printing overhangs) thickness should not exceed extrusion width. (I recommend thickness of 0.125, 0.25 or 0.5) Loops go inside out rather than outside in this can be useful if printing items with an overhang as it gives material more to hold onto. Activates wipe option which wipes nozzle clean Activates de-string commands to help reduce stringing when printing items with gaps or multiple items The shape of the infill pattern Controls the amount of infill used when printing (how dense the item will be range from 100% - 0% hollow, there is also a vase option which produced a hollow item with no top surface) Causes each layer to start at a random location around the perimeter to hide seam lines. The value defines the maximum angle limit of distribution. 0° Starts each layer at the same point. 10° Limits the layer starts to within a 10° angle around the perimeter. 360° Distributes layer start points anywhere along the perimeter

Support

Support option

Main support options

This is where you decide what sort of support you want on the model including raft style, thickness of support and angle at which it needs supporting

Main Raft Options

Options Support slider

Support [deg] slider

*Support Z roof *Sheath Main Support

Inflate support *Gap Raft Z-roof Setting

Inflate raft Prime pillar

11 – 12

Explanations Specifies the amount of support produced Rough support is the least amount of support you can choose and Ultra is the maximum amount of support Contols the limit at which support is produced beneath angled overhang sufaces. Angle is determined from the vertical, angled surfaces below this limit will revieve no support Limit how high support is built. To deactivate this feature, set to -1 This adds a perimeter around the the sparse support bed, this adds strength to the support but makes it hard to remove. Expands the support by this many mm. Can be useful for undercut support Is the horiztonal gap between the support and the object Select raft type as a default I recommend having a skirt this produces a perimeter around the material that helps insure extruder is primed, can be set to no raft (none), A grid produces a classic flat based raft that can improve adhesion to bed and decrease warping, but can be difficult to remove, pillar support is good for uneven beds Extends the raft by this much in the X Y axsis from the object Builds a single walled cylinder as tall as the heighest layer of the model wiping in nozzle before moving. Helps aid part cooling of small components (the plastic needs to set before more molten plastic hits it or it will just make a mess), it also helps ensure priming for multi head printers.

Material

This is where you set up all the perimeters for which ever material you use ABS has a higher warp rate then PLA but is less prone to absorbing moisture and is good for components needing strength but it is brittle once printed it needs a higher temperature then PLA and is often recommended to use PLA first as ABS can be more tricky. PLA warps less then ABS is slightly more flexible, but as it has a lower melting point it is less useful if being used in components that generate heat. Temperature settings (a good place to start) Drop down menu (use once you have set up different materials)

Material tab

ABS -

First layer: 260°c — Main temp: 255°c — Keep warm: 250°c — Bed temp: 110°c

PLA -

First layer: 195°c — Main temp: 188°c — Keep warm: 180°c — Bed temp: 60°c

Options Diameter

Main First layer

Keep warm *Fan cool sliders *Fan Z

Min layer

*Flow tweak *Destring options

*Fan/cooling options *Flow Adjustment options

Cost of printing can be calculated if you weigh a print

*Min *Max *Z-lift *Prime *Suck

Note: Use the Copy Material button to duplicate the default material, you can rename it and change the settings as you wish ( I recommend making a default ABS and PLA setting). You can also delete materials as well. 13 – 14

*Wipe *Speed *Min jump *Trigger°

Explanations The diameter of the filament material. Check in 3 places of the filament using callipers and enter the average number, this will increase accuracy of print as this is how Kisslicer calculates flow rates Default temperature of print Temperature for first layer of print, usually set to hotter to improve adhesion, if higher than main there will be a pause after first layer is printer for the extruder to cool down Used for when printer uses multiple extruders, keeps the other extruder head at a constant temp set by the keep warm number Control degree of fanning used whilst printing, PLA needs more cooling applied than ABS How high the build gets before fanning starts, advanced users say first few layers should not be cooled with a fan and should be printed slower as this allows more natural cooling, resulting in better adhesion and less warping If layer is quicker then this the print will be slowed down to help allow cooling (warning: print head never leaves the object for narrow prints a prime pillar maybe a safer option) The flow/extrusion rate of the material, every material and colour has unique properties and should be callibrated for all materials, 1 is a good default. Minimum extrusion speed of material. This is an absolute limits that KS will not exceed Maximum volumetric flow rate. This is an absolute limits that KS will not exceed Lifts the extruder head this amount before a move if de-string is enabled How many mm to prime before starting a path (how much it pushes out), after de-string is enabled How much plastic (in mm) is retracted at the end of a path (if de-string is activated) Distance that the nozzle will wipe itself before moving to new region The speed of the retraction and prime, said to be better with a high speed of retraction (30) Any jump less than (<) this value will not wipe (if de-string is activated) Any jump greater than (>) this value will trigger a wipe(if de-string is activated)

Printer You will need to set the printer bed on your first use. The 3D touch bed size can be seen in the screen shot, most of these options will not need to be changed after the initial set up. Sub Tab

Print Tab

Options Hardware Number of extruders *Loop/solid infill overlap Bed size *Bed center *Bed roughness *Z-settle

*Z offset

Firmware

Explanation Where you set up printer specific details How many nozzles/extruders printer has, 3D touch has 2 (a third can be attached) Controls how much the solid infill overlaps the inner most loop Dimensions of bed (3D touch x=200 Y=200 Z=180) Centre of the bed, not all printers have the same centre point Fatten up the first layer of material this compensates for unevenness in the bed During a hop or triggered Z-lift, the bed moves down then up again by this amount. Not applicable to printers without moving beds. Often used in connection with bed roughness, applies an offset to Z height for all layers of the build. Negative values move the bed and nozzle closer to each other. Warning: Use with caution or nozzle could be driven into the bed Check firmware type is set to BFB and uncheck PWM fan if using the touch as it lets fan cycle. Different printers may vary

You may copy and delete printers using these buttons like the materials (useful if you have multiple printers) 15 – 16

Printer continued

You have to assign a material to an extruder, if you change materials in an extruder you must change it here. The speed settings are an important variable that can create numerous flaws in a print and affect other factors. Material Selector

Options Extruders

Object

Speed Lower quality and Slow – higher quality and Fast columns

Perimeter

Solid infill and support Sparse infill

Explanations Set the extruder materials. This is where you tell the printer what materials are in the extruder heads, choose here from previously created materials. Is the primary build object. Set the extruder number to the relevant extruder/material, this is where you would set up multi- material prints. Here is where you set the speed default values Are where you set the values for the speed slider on the right of the window the faster you print the lower you accuracy the slower you print the higher your accuracy, changes in temperature may be needed if you print faster or slower. My recommended settings can be seen on the screen shot. Sets the speed at which the outer most loops are produced (inner loops print at increasingly higher feed rates up to the Solid Infill speed.) Sets the speed at which the material on the inside of the object and the support is produced Is the speed at which the low density infill is produced

Note: screen shot shows a good print speed parameters for the touch other printers may vary.

17 – 18

G-code tabs

Trouble Shooter Poor layer adhesion

These are more advanced tabs that allow you to enter specific G-coding I would not recommend adjusting these unless you have experience *Matl G-code – you can apply specific Gcoding to materials, (not needed most of the time) *Ptr G-code – you can apply specific Gcoding to parts, users should hit the default button to insert the correct printer G-code variables after selecting firmware format.

-

Increase temperature of material

-

Check Z height

- Decrease speed - It is good to keep the extrusion width ÷ layer height to above 1.5

Excessive stringing -

Check de-string option is selected

-

Check de-string jump and trigger in material settings

-

Increase prime and suck rates,

-

Create a prime pillar to help parts cool

-

Slow down print speed

- Decrease temperature (WARNING: you should print at lowest possible temperature of consistent extrusion and good adhesion, but the lower the temperature the more work the extruder is doing. Too low and you can damage the head. Each material is unique and finding a materials sweet spot may take some calibration)

Excessive Z ribbing - Slow down the print speed. With the Rapman printers they don’t like going to fast 40max around 20-30 is normally okay. -

Can also be caused by the hardware. Edits can be made to the machine by advanced users.

Unexpected behaviour despite correct settings - Turn it on and off and or just re-run the job. A bit like a computer if you’re are confident about the settings it can often be a case of just restarting the machine. - Your settings may well be wrong

19 – 20

Trouble Shooter ii

Glossary

Nothing coming out the head or its coming out intermittently

- Check filament spool is moving freely



- Check the bearing which puts pressure on the real is screwed in firmly

Word Adhesion Filament Infill



- Check z height gap isn’t to narrow Hot end G-code Kempton tape Micro stepping

- Set extruder temp and extrude material to check nozzle is primed

First layer is pulling away from the bed -

Check bed temperature PLA 60°c and ABS 90-110°c

Skin STL

-

Add a raft into your build

Solid infill

-

Check Kempton tape is clean and applied properly

Sparse Infill

-

Check extrusion temperature PLA 188-195°c ABS 255-260°c Stacked Sparse Infill

- Edit your model and circles or rectangles onto the corners of the model to increase corner surface area

Stringing Support Z Height Z Ribbing < >

21 – 22

Definition How well the material sticks to the layer bellow The printable material will come in a long thin coil usually 3mm thick this is the filament Everything that is inside the skin of the model that stops it being hollow and gives some support The tip of the extruder Code that is read by the machine Yellow heat proof tape that should be on the bed The small moments created by the rotation of the motor up the threaded rod The out perimeter/wall of the model Stereolithogram is a file mesh based style format that can be exported from most CAD software Solid infill is solid, there is no space between adjacent paths Is generated as an internal support structure to transition between Stacked Sparse Infill and Solid Infill or Loops that will form a top surface Is the one chosen by the Infill density slider. The lower the % that is chosen, the farther apart the paths become Fine tendrils of material that are produced when the extruder moves from one object to another The waste material produced to support the shape whilst it builds the primary object The gap between the tip of the extruder nozzle and the heated bed (should be 0.6mm) Uneven extrusion of material as through the layers of the model Less than symbol Greater than