Skeinforge for RapMan

Draft

Some mission critical stuff is missing. For now, I just verify and edit the g-code, in particular to adapt the raft for larger pieces, or to slow down printing/augment extrusion rate for pieces that I want "smooth".

Introduction

Skeinforge is a tool chain for printing 3D objects.

The purpose of this entry is to write down the most important parameters and settings for the RapMan V3.1 as installed at TECFA (each Rapman may be a different)

Otherwise, read the "official" Skeinforge article on BFB wiki.

The Interface

Skeinforge is currently in Beta and each of the three Interfaces I have seen over the last month was different :) - Daniel K. Schneider 10:19, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

Here is a screendump of the 2010-03-05 version:

Screen capture of Skeinforge 2010-03-05

Some parameters for Craft

• Click on the "craft" button to define parameters

Chamber

Turn off, this is to control bed and chamber temperature. (Now what do they mean by "chamber") ? I know that some people have heatable print beds and working in overheated rooms ....

Clip

Clips the ends of loops to prevent bumps from forming

• Default: ON

Comb

Moves the extruder around inside holes to prevent stringers in those holes.

• Default: ON

Cool

For ABS Turn off (to be confirmed, maybe in some situations it would be needed ...)

Dimension

??

Fill

Allows to define how an object should be filled. This is an important parameter section you should adjust to your needs.

• Default: OFF (put it on for solid objects)

Parameter	Explanation	Default	Comments
Solid Surface Thickness	Defines the number of solid layers that are at the bottom, top, plateaus and overhang	3	I use 4
Infill Pattern:	Specifies how to fill in empty spaces inside	Grid Hexagonal	Keep this, it is so pretty

Fillet

Purpose: Rounding of corners

• Default: OFF

Flow

Can be found under "Speed" since the Feb 2010 version. The flow script sets the flow rate by writing the M108 gcode.

Jitter

Jitter jitters the loop end position to a different place on each layer to prevent the a ridge from forming.

• Default: ON

Multiply

Print several objects.

Raft

Raft is a script to create a raft, elevate the nozzle and set the temperature. It is very important to get this one right.

• Base is the first layer and that sticks to the print bed
• Interface are the other raft layers, typically one or two.

Parameter	Explanation	Default	Comments
Base Feed Rate Multiplier	???	1	Maker it greater than the default	-	Base Flow Rate Multiplier	Defines the base flow rate multiplier. The greater the 'Base Flow Rate Multiplier', the thicker the base, the lower the 'Base Flow Rate Multiplier', the thinner the base.	1	Maker it greater than the default	-	Interface Infill Density (ratio)

Speed

Speed is a script to set the feed rate (which means head movement speed in mm/s) and flow rate. The resulting thickness of the filament is a combination of the two plus of the temperature.

Parameter	Explanation	Default	Comments
Add Flow Rate	Will add g-code	On	If nothing comes out of nozzle check this.
Feed Rate	Defines the speed of the print head	16 millimeters/second	seems a bit too much for precision work.
Flow Rate	Defines the extrusion rate	210	This may be too little. I often use 350 or 400
Perimeter Feed Rate over Operating Feed Rate (ratio)	Slows the print head down when printing "outsides. Can give a higher build quality on the outside at the expense of slower build speed	1	I use 0.8
Perimeter Flow Rate over Operating Flow Rate (ratio)	Slows down the flow rate when printer "outsides". In principle, this should match the Perimeter Feed Rate above (else lines will be too fat)	1	I use 0.8
Travail feed rate	Defines the speed of the print head when it is off	16	slow down for figures with lots of little pieces, since the printer will go bang, bang, bang.

Temperature

Parameter	Explanation	Default	Comments
Base Temperature	Base temperature	200	This is much too low (ABS in my RapMan likes about 247 and 238 for the raft...
Interface Temperature	???	200	not enough
Object First Layer Infill Temperature	???	200
Object First Layer Perimeter Temperature	???	220
Object Next Layers Temperature	???	230
Support Layers Temperature	???	200

Links

Download

Skeinforge

Tutorials, Manuals, etc.

• More Skeinforge (BitsFromBytes Blog).
• Skeinforge settings (BFB Blog)
• For ABS, the best information probably is ABS (BitsFromBytes Wiki)
• Skeinforge Fill
• Skeinforge Quicktip: Fill (outdated with respect to the interface)
• Skeinforge Carve