Only for the true 3D nerd

If you are totally obsessed by print quality and want to mess with Marlin values here is a PID guide....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APzJfYAgFkQ

Doesn't it seem to be a bit of overkill? Is there any actual correspondence between the proportional/integral/derivative algorithms of a PID controller and the actual process dynamics of the hot end or bed heater? I'd be concerned about having too many knobs to turn.

berttheghost said:

Doesn't it seem to be a bit of overkill?

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That was my reaction. On the other hand I've watched a lot of Thomas Sandlerer's videos and they're pretty good, so when he says you can improve the quality of your prints I listen.

But then, I don't know whether the target temperatures I'm using are the best ones anyway, so what's the point of trying to fine tune them.

Ya... that kind of stuff is WAY down my list of things to tinker with.

I'm still on the fence with stuff like adding a Raspberry Pi, Octoprint, etc.

berttheghost said:

Doesn't it seem to be a bit of overkill? Is there any actual correspondence between the proportional/integral/derivative algorithms of a PID controller and the actual process dynamics of the hot end or bed heater? I'd be concerned about having too many knobs to turn.

Click to expand...

No idea as I am still learning all about 3D printers before I decide which to buy, but I posted it here for those that are technically further down the road and may want to give it a whirl. As for the too many knobs to turn, expect lots of that if you want to get best quality from a 3D printer

I’m still learning how to control the head and platform temp manually myself, to get the best out of my machine, but what I’m finding is that colour matters too.
I reckon when I change to a different colour filament reel, I must adjust my heat setting accordingly, I didn’t figure on that happening...

I still manage to Feck-up a few of my prints...

Nifty said:

I'm still on the fence with stuff like adding a Raspberry Pi, Octoprint, etc.

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I added Raspberry Pi/Octoprint a few days ago. It's great

I hadn't dared to print via USB from my main PC in case Windows Update rebooting or whatever stopped my print, and it was a real pain transferring prints on an SD card from my PC to my printer. With Octoprint on my PC, I now develop models in scad, slice them in cura, print them with Octoprint all from my PC. If they're not right, I repeat the cycle, all from my PC. I can control the printer, heat it up, do what I want. At the moment, the printer is only 6 feet away, and if I turn round I can see the temperature on the display. but I've got the temperature in front of me on my PC in Octoprint, so I use that rather than turning round. It's so easy.

It wasn't difficult to do. I used this and this . The Raspberry Pi I used was an old one without WiFi so I used this WiFi dongle . I connect to Octoprint from my browser, and control it from there. Octoprint supports web cams and I'll add a camera if I start printing ABS in the garage.

It's definitely worth adding this.

The Hat said:

I’m still learning how to control the head and platform temp manually myself, to get the best out of my machine, but what I’m finding is that colour matters too.

Click to expand...

I'd read that different colours are better at different temperatures, but I've only used black and fluorescent green so far. I've not seen much difference.

My problem is that what I print looks OK to me. I print calibration cubes and benchys, and they look reasonable. The dimensions are sometimes out by 0.1mm, but that's the quoted resolution for the printer.

I'd like to do better prints, but I'm not sure what to look for.

FryingSaucer said:

I hadn't dared to print via USB from my main PC in case Windows Update rebooting or whatever stopped my print

Click to expand...

The latest version of Windows 10 lets you dictate when update reboots occur.

For instance, click on the Action Center cartoon bubble in the lower right of screen, click on All Settings, click on Update and Security, in the left column heading Windows Update click on Advanced Options and turn ON the Pause Updates.

There are other ways of setting up a delay or pause for updates such as found at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/update/waas-restart

Google something like "windows 10 disable automatic restart 2017" or "windows 10 update prevent restart" for more methods.

@FryingSaucer - I had no idea what Benchy's main purpose was until I clicked your link. I just assumed it was a nice little object that was good to use as a first print Benchy - Benchmark Doh!