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Edit: Solved below. It wasn't the settings at all.

So I switched to the volumetric method for extrusion because I plan on building a filament diameter measuring device to install on the input to the printer. Using volumetric would make it easier to send the printer the proper commands to adjust based on the measuring device because I can just attach my sensor to the RAMBO and with Repetier 0.92.3 I can use it for jam detection and then customize it (custom code, that is) to send an M200 code every so often as well.

My issue is that I have set up Cura and the firmware for "RepRap (Volumetric)" mode but I get absolute shit prints with that now. The layers are delaminating at extrusion settings that they were not prior to this change and the outer perimeters are messy and bumpy on the sides.

I have the firmware retraction set with the exact settings I used to use in Cura for retraction (Cura uses G10/G11 for retraction on volumetric mode) and I set the diameter of all of my filaments in Cura to 1.12837916709551 as required. I also set the diameter of the filament using "M200 D1.71" before I started printing and in the starting g-code in Cura, so the firmware has that setting correct.

I'm honestly not sure what to do now, because if I go back to the previous settings everything works perfect but I want to use volumetric, so here are some photos of the issue in an album.

Well, the problem was solved, it turns out the filament I was using was, for some reason, extremely bad. It was Hatchbox Silver ABS and I realized after a while (and switching to vigin MG94 ABS extruded on my own) that it was very bad quality ABS that was causing the issues for some reason. I don't know if it was the material itself or if it was perhaps poor diameter tolerance, but when I installed the MG94 and did a test print (at 210mm/s, more on that later) it worked fine! Now that I think about it, I can't think of a single print that I didn't have trouble with using this bad material, the only print that came out usable was really bad looking!

210 print speed... whaaa...

Nylocke wrote:210 print speed... whaaa...

I posted a video in another thread, although it still has a bit to upload and process.

Out of curiosity, what was your nozzle temp and print speed on the silver part?

JFettig wrote:Out of curiosity, what was your nozzle temp and print speed on the silver part?

I was printing at 70mm/s with 220-230 deg C (I tested a few settings) and it was horrible no matter what. I didn't have this type of trouble with the last Hatchbox ABS I used, but that was white and this was silver. I had similar problems printing with a black Zentoolworks roll of ABS a few months back. I've also used a purple SeeMeCNC roll, but that was fine. So far the best prints I have ever gotten were from virgin MG94 ABS. I almost don't want to use other colors.

Your nozzle temp is way too low to print that fast. You need around 240-250 for that material printing that fast

JFettig wrote:Your nozzle temp is way too low to print that fast. You need around 240-250 for that material printing that fast

240-250 for 70mm/s? No way. I've been using 220 for a very long time at that speed and it works AOK unless the filament is shit.

Not all filament is created equal. Just because it requires a higher print temp doesn't mean its shit.

JFettig wrote:Not all filament is created equal. Just because it requires a higher print temp doesn't mean its shit.

No, I've tried a variety of temperatures now from 215-240 on that stuff and it simply isn't good quality. I don't know if it is due to material or poor diameter tolarace, but it isn't working very well at all. That's why I'm only using my own extruded stuff now that I can control the quality of.

Coloring (especially in ABS) certainly does have an effect on how it prints. It seems the more opaque the ABS the "more difficult it is to print well" at times. Ive had very excellent results with the Octave ABS (red and black) that I've used, and it is more translucent than several other brands that I've tried. White and silver are the worst in my experience. The colorant(?) used in these colors make it more brittle and in turn muck with how it extrudes. This is true for both Ultimachine and SeeMe ABS.

The only exception to this rule that I've seen is IC3D. They have a very limited color set, black, blue, green, red, orange, and natural. What I have printed with (green and blue) has been very opaque in comparison to Octave, but it has printed very smoothly with very good results.

What extruder design are you using? Or did you buy a commercial one?

Nylocke wrote:What extruder design are you using? Or did you buy a commercial one?

I'm using a Filastruder+Filawinder combo, but I've only made a few kilos of my own stuff so far, all sans colorant. The silver stuff was Hatchbox, which I used extensively and never had trouble prior to this. I'm still working on the volumetric extrusion calibration, too, which I think is causing certain prints to fail for some reason. I think it's still a bit early for volumetric with Repetier firmware, unless you use the older non-M200 method (messing with the filament steps per mm and such). I have nothing but praise for the Fila-products, they both are excellent and I get such good results. Tomorrow, I'm going to run about half a kilo through with some red colorant and see how it does.