Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 5-25.
Retraction settings
If you have no idea what to put here, I'd rec-
ommend starting with 0.75mm and moving
up from there if you notice that you're still
getting stringing between gaps. The value
I'm using here is so high because of the Ulti-
maker's extruder gearing.
Figure 5-24.
Extruder settings
Don't bother with extruder offset unless you
have more than one extruder. If you do, this
is the horizontal and vertical distance be-
tween your extruders.
Lift Z will raise the extruder (or lower the bed)
during retraction and before moving to the
next path, where it will lower, in order to
avoid knocking the part off the platform or
dragging plastic with it. If you're building tall
parts that may get knocked off the platform
easily, set this to one layer height. If not, I
would leave this at 0.
Speed is how quickly your extruder motor
will reverse to retract the filament. You want
this to be quick, so do some tests with your
extruder and see just how fast you can re-
tract. I'd recommend starting at 15 mm/s and
building up from there, since once again, ex-
truders will differ wildly in gearing and motor
speed.
Extra length on restart is the length of plastic
you'd like to extrude after traveling to a new
path and prior to moving again. I don't use
it, since it would just put extra plastic down
where I don't necessarily need it. The only
application for this may be when your ex-
truder has serious problems starting up
Since there's so much to talk about when it
comes to retraction, I'm devoting the whole
next step to it.
Retraction
Retraction (
Figure 5-25
) is one of the coolest
features in Slic3r, and will greatly improve
the quality of your prints. By retracting the
hot filament with the extruder motor during
travel moves, plastic oozing is prevented.
The length of filament to retract before mov-
ing to the next extrusion path will depend
wildly on the motor and gearing you have.
