Couple new questions

[Toyguy]

As I go along, I'm accumulating questions so I can limit the number of HELP! posts to a minimum Any feedback on this batch would be most welcome.

1. Using PLA for now, is filament oozing from the nozzle on its own of any concern? I was wondering if it meant my temperature was too high. I'm using 185C but my thermocouple isn't here yet so I can't guarantee how accurate that is.

2. Is there any well to tell what, if anything, Slic3r is doing? It's been slicing a fairly small, though possibly complex, object for well over 90 minutes.

3. I wanted to print a small bracelet that, when loaded into Repetier Host, came in on its side. That didn't seem a very good way to print it, so I used the functions in Repetier to lay it over and reposition it on the surface. It looked fine in the object view. I sliced it without issue, and the slicer paths all looked good, with the bracelet flat. When I went to print it, however, it began trying to print it as if it were still on its side. Anything else I need to do to change the orientation of an object? I have successfully been able to place multiple objects and move them around the build surface but this was my first attempt at re-orienting an object.

4. If I want to try out other slicers, is it as simple as using the slicer outside of Repetier to save a GCode file, then just load that GCode file into Repetier and RUN JOB?

Thanks!
Dave

[Nylocke]

1: thats fine, PLA is pretty syrupy i guess you could say, just kinda flows once it melts, thats why retraction with PLA sucks

2: no? if its been that long then your model probably has some issues, unless you have a really old computer?

3: dunno whats going on here, doesn't make one bit of sense, are you printing from SD? are you sure you are using the correct G-Code file?

4: yes it sure is.

[Batteau62]

1. Hard to say until you check temp with thermocouple? I print on Printrbot jr. with PLA and it will ooze occasionally. IMO it has a lot to do with the quality of your filament.

2. I used slic3r at first, then almost immediately went to Kisslicer when I found out how fast it slices and has a graphic UI that will let you check tool paths, support etc.

3. If you haven't already- download "Netfab" http://www.netfabb.com/ -and "Meshlab" http://meshlab.sourceforge.net/ and also learn to use "Netfab cloud" http://cloud.netfabb.com/ These will let you fix/do almost anything you want to a mesh file(along with your favorite modeling program-I use Autodesk Inventor Fusion)

4. Loading gcode in Repetier is not difficult at all. Hit the load button in Repetier, find your saved gcode file and open it, do your checks and print, that's it.
Happy printing

[Lochemage]

1) Always going to get some amount of oozing. Higher temp will make it ooze faster and more 'watery' like, but too low and your layers won't bond or the plastic just doesn't come out. Experiment, lower your temp by 5 degree's and try another print, then do it again until you find the lowest temperature that still works. Then update your retraction settings to work with the current temperature you have chosen. Also, PLA is very important that it be cooled down with a fan.

2) Slic3r outputs a few little log messages that tell you what it is working on at the moment, but my guess is, if you have waited 90 minutes and it is not done yet, chances are that it has error'd and has stopped running a while ago. You can tell this in repetier by going to the slicer tab, it will have a giant button at the top that says something like "Slice with Slic3r" and next to it will have a "kill slicer" button. If that kill button is lit up, it means the slicer is still running and your ok for now.

3) Sounds like the orientation of the actual model is not correct. Models need to be oriented so their 'up' is in the Z axis. Some slicers (like KISSlicer I know of) allow you to assign which axis is your 'up' and it will rotate the model accordingly. If your slicer doesn't allow this, you will have to load it up in a modeling program and rotate it yourself, much like Batteau62 mentioned above.

4) This is precisely what the integraded slic3r does in the background, it exports the generated gcode to a temp file and then repetier just loads it. There's nothing stopping you from just importing your own gcode file yourself.

[int2str]

For 2:
Unless you have a very old computer, your Slic3r is hung, if not crashed.
If you have a complex part, or multiple simple parts arranged on the print area and the "Avoid crossing perimeters" option checked, then Slic3r can calculate itself into trouble, trying to find a way out of your part without crossing a perimeter. Kill Slic3r, uncheck all 6 option in that block and slice again. It will very likely finish very quickly. Then enable the options (Detect thin walls etc.) again one by one and see which one causes Slice3r to go insane.

[Toyguy]

Interestingly, Slic3r did eventually finish after 147 minutes I did find a power setting on my laptop that may have been causing a slow down, so I'll see how it goes next time. I also figured out that you can just watch the composition.gcode file that Repetier uses from the file system view. If it's still growing, Slic3r is probably still working. You can't open the file in an editor, but you can TYPE it at the command line to display the content and see if you're getting good G-code or crap.

Thanks for all the feedback!