Bad/weak prints
So I'm spent 2 days printing this in PETG, and this is how it looks after cleaning it up, removing supports, welding a piece of it back on that broke off, and trying to make it look half way presentable. And it's still garbage. I've been printing in PETG a long time with a lot of successful prints. But I have no idea what's been happening to my RatRig 3.1 500. Ever since I upgraded to the newer tool head, it's been problem after problem and I've had to rebuild it twice. Is this just a Super Slicer settings I need to tweak or is there something mechanically wrong? Any overhangs come out terribly, the walls barely hold up, the infill is no better. What settings do yall use with PETG? I've turned speed down to 60, temp is 225° and fan on 20%. I'm willing to try any kind of tweaks to get this thing working like it used to.
17 Replies
In one of those pictures I'm seeing a good bit of ringing, might want to run the tuning for that. Otherwise, 90% of my issues with petg have been fixed by drying the filament first.
How can I safely dry it? Pop it in the oven for a bit? No sarcasm intended with that question
@SithMaster015 if you're oven has a low enough setting you can but you don't want to melt or even soften the filament you just want to dry it. The best options are filament dryers specifically designed for the job and as an added bonus you don't have to worry about destroying the inside of the oven if someone else decides to preheat to 450 F or something before you get your filament out.
I'm looking on Amazon and I see some that can hold 2 rolls of 1 kg. Would one like that hold a 3 kg roll? That's what I use for my RatRig
@SithMaster015 they usually say if they work with larger rolls which ones are you looking at from what I saw the sovol fits two rolls 200mmx70mm which is a 1 kg roll or 1 200mmx150mm which is likely a 5kg roll so it should fit a 3 as well you have to kind of hunt around the pictures and other information in the Amazon listings
I'm not seeing any like that. Mind dropping a link for me? Best I see are ones that hold 2 rolls at a time
https://www.amazon.com/Sovol-Filament-Dehydrator-Printing-Compatible/dp/B09686Z5R3?crid=26ANXRFHUHCJS&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.epATbz0a5ViMYdeWDRVoKK_nFzLk-ehmfIfvd3MJQ1f8gcuOgFy8ideWWLpgZZ2Kb7enBve9Galy_I0deNYE_04pzxji4yuxmyM6YZvkZU1rnZvu1rXR348xBgF2bsrtpsOPHrJWkTFPgCUy46UTlD4lIXDsOHwFbxY_u1Npu49g9-iFg-rigAsh1Kq7ASrFw9SwH7IfsefO1zbEXIyc5Q.UJooahUWXdUg6sPyYYZrwenMC8H--m9reDwKp-75e8c&dib_tag=se&keywords=filament+dryer&qid=1744437432&sprefix=fila%2Caps%2C110&sr=8-3
Is the one I found I have never used or know anything about it so I won't vouch for it but it's there. I did find some some who said the sunlu s4 and the creality 2025 space pi filament dryer plus may work with larger spools possibly with slight modifications take that with a grain of salt and of course look around and see what others not on Amazon are saying as their reviews are less than reliable to put it mildly.
@SithMaster015 this one will as well though but I cannot recommend it because I had one and it was crap but here it is if you want to take a look
https://www.amazon.com/Official-Filament-Polyphemus-Auto-Rotation-Auto-Humidity/dp/B0CYRW889Y?crid=26ANXRFHUHCJS&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.UfE2d8VPlbFR7PKk27Q-NflR_XMa8HigpkUQAIrfcMCdn0yTzuC2emKpYQyfZoFEwYEuygemWapvh_XYHGTp02v4323MIfVuu1sdqwA-6LJgGFuGqPyIy9adWMNMFSmaulOl585V6atMobQy4bMWbliDttxyrjCQMCPvpY544BJaQrA4F3djr016hLk6RpTl_bOOJcqML9bkfQp768IYxQ.MVDAHUA6sXolfTp7CRM9Iq_XEm1OTG_hOCnD_7p10yg&dib_tag=se&keywords=filament+dryer&qid=1744438192&sprefix=fila%2Caps%2C110&sr=8-22&xpid=vZrrM5iYI0QTu
【EIBOS Official 】3D Printer Filament Dryer Box Polyphemus with ...
Eibos polyphemus filament dryer with 360° automatic rotation, 130W PTC heating, fit for 3kg large filament spools.
I haven't ever used any spools bigger than 1kg but if the diameter is the same and only the thickness increases than I don't see why the Sovol Filament Dryer Box 2025, SH04 wouldn't work as well but again I don't own one I can't recommend it. The dryer I use is the printdry I bought off matterhackers but it is too hard to recommend because it is so damn expensive with everything it it is almost 340 USD that's with the large spool addon and the second chamber I only got it because it was the only one at the time that dryed 4 spools at once
https://www.matterhackers.com/store/l/printdry-pro-3-filament-drying-system/sk/MYP8VU3Z
MatterHackers
PrintDry PRO 3 Filament Drying System PrintDry PRO 3 + Additional C...
The PrintDry PRO 3 is the perfect moisture control solution for filament storage. This filament drying container features automatic humidity control, keeping your filament ready to print at any moment. This storage provides a quick and simple way to store your filament without any hassle. Dry up to 85C / 185F Automatic humidity control Keeps yo...
Well I ordered one. It'll be here Tuesday. Everything I've read seems to indicate that the ones that can hold 2 1kg spools will hold a 3kg spools just fine. Wish me luck.
@SithMaster015 which one did you go with
Update! The dryer is here and... it turns out I may have come down with a mild case of the stupids. My 3kg rolls are way wider than a normal 1kg spool. I have 1kg spools. I just use them on my Prusa since I don't use such huge prints. But I still want to try this thing. My 1kg and 3kg spools are different brands and even without the dryer my Prusa does perfect prints almost every time on the 1kg. So I'm going to try the 1kg Overture on the RatRig and try to mount my 3kg Polymaker on the prusa just to see if there's any changes between the two. Now that being said, anybody know where I can find and how I can mount a filament runout sensor for my RatRig? If I'm going to use smaller rolls on big prints I'd like to not accidentally lose a whole roll while I'm away on my 12 hour shifts at work.
as far as cases of the stupids, at least nothing got damaged!
It's the small victories lol
What kind of toolhead do you use now ?
Can I recommend a food dehydrator? I've been using one for about a year now and it's adjustable enough to fit a variety of spool sizes. With an indicator card it gets the filament to <10%
I'm using a cosari that I cut the inner rings out of:
https://www.amazon.com/COSORI-Dehydrator-Temperature-Overheat-Protection/dp/B09GFVL7QX
I typically go for 24h at 130F for petg.
DO NOT USE THIS FOR FOOD AFTER FILAMENT!