KISSlicer vs CubeX

[Scott]

This might sound crazy, but I get much better results when using Cubex slicing software on my CubeX duo. I've been trying to get Kisslicer to work for over a year now. I follow along here on the forum every day to try to learn how, but its not working. I get filament flow fails almost every time with kisslicer. I have made a few small parts successfully with Kisslicer, but no large prints and not very many. With CubeX software I know I'm going to get a useable part, with kisslicer there's a high chance it will fail.

I like the features and flexibility of Kisslicer and would like to get it to work.

Some differences I notice between the 2 softwares;

CUBEX:

1. The filament coming out of the nozzle is a large amount, the extrusion width is wide, maybe 1 - 1.5mm wide. Yet its not sloppy, each layer stacks nicely on the previous layer, no Fuz or stringing.

2. The infill is also much thicker wider, same thickness as loops. this make the infill strong.

3. Infill does not change direction. It lays each line of infill directly on top of the previous ones. This makes the infill stable and not sag.

4. The start of each infill segment is attached well to the outer loops, it primes enough to Not skip when starting each segment.

KISSlicer:

1. Filament extrusion is small and precise, looks good but why so much less when the layer height is the same when using CubeX, both at .25mm

2. Infill seems even thinner, maybe .3 - .5 wide. Makes week infill.

3. Infill changes direction each layer causing the layers to not bond to previous layers because there nothing to bond to when switching direction. Each segment sags down until it touches the 2nd segment under it.

4. The start of each infill segment skips some and does not bond to the outer loops, needs to prime more (loops do this too). This especially noticeable when infilling narrow areas where it uses small non-continuous infill segments, it seems like the extruder can't keep the nozzle pressure up enough. It basically skips all the small segments in narrow areas, like when printing a 5wx20Lx5H test block.

All of this is showing me that per the same layer height, KISSlicer outputs way less filament than CubeX and seems to cause filament flow failures. I have tried changing many different settings in Kisslicer, but have no good results. I can print the same part with CubeX and Kisslicer one right after the other, the CubeX parts is great and the KISSlicer parts either fails or is not useable at all.

Sorry for ranting, but I have spent a LOT of time on this and its very frustrating. Anybody ever experience this and find a solution!!??

Thanks,

Scott

[hugues]

Hi Scott,

All you said sound to weird as i was unable to get a descent print with the cubex software. 3DS also close the cubex to ABS and PLA but you can easily print lot of different materials with kisslicer; like other 3D printer.

Maybe you failed your fine tune/calibration, all printer have to be calibrate and maybe the cubex more than other. 

We can help you, please post picture and .bfb.back of a fail print. All your con points sound really simple to solve (infill -> %infill / extrusion width -> flow tweaks....)

To help you you can go on http://www.cubexupgrade.com/tipstricks/kisslicer/ it's badly written (sorry i'm french :-))  

[giovanni.v]

Do you have installed Cubeitmod with the ini files ?

Le lundi 3 novembre 2014 14:55:42 UTC+1, Scott a écrit :

[Scott]

I have installed the Cubeitmod with ini files, I even downloaded them a few times, saved to different folders, then tried it, with KISSlicer in the correct folder of course.

I just tried a KISSlicer file using a cartridge of cubex gray PLA (1.7mm), and I printed 5 test blocks successfully. Then switched back to Matterhacker 1.75mm blue PLA, changed the diameter size in Kisslicer to 1.75 (that's the actual average of the Matterhacker filament) and tried the same test block. It failed just after starting layer 4 (the blue part in the middle). I cleared the build surface and started the same print file, no changes, and it completed just fine. Then I printed the blue square on the left, and it printed ok.

Hugues, I read your site. I had tried the same procedure before, from here on the forum. I went thru it, but when I change solid% or Infill%, I don't get much of a change if at all. I increased the Flow Tweak from 1 all the way to 1.6, that's what the parts ran at shown in the pic. At lower flow tweak values, the loops and the infill were skipping and thin. Even so, the infill shown is still not adequate, it stringy and completely attached.

I could live with the crappy infill if I could get it to not fail.

I was running Proto Paradigm filament and its average dia. was 1.8. At first I was able to make a few parts but then it started failing every time.

It seems that my CubeX does not like filament larger than 1.75.

[giovanni.v]

read my post here :

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/kisslicer-refugee-camp/voltage/kisslicer-refugee-camp/cenVYBGtew0/NbRxBaSaBtUJ

and set the voltage of your extruder to 1.5-1.6 Volts , this will reduce flow failures.

With the Cubex you should only use filaments 1.75 +/- 0.05mm, with 1.6Volts I've been able to print 1.85mm filamnet but with 1.88mm I had flow failure.

[Peter Gregory]

You can also bypass the feed tunes and route the filament directly into the print head at the top of the printer.
I found my feed tubes were causing a lot of drag on my filament.
Especially if it was thicker than Cubex filament.

I had a hot end go bad on me after about 2 years of service.
Known good filament would not melt well or feed well.
The filament would jet at an angle and would block often.
Despite cleaning with a wire or the supplied drill bit, it would not work well.
I retired the hot end and used another one with less wear and it solved the problem.
How old is the hot end? Is it jamming frequently? Lots of clicking when it feeds?

[PenskeGuy]

On Monday, November 3, 2014 5:55:42 AM UTC-8, Scott wrote:

All of this is showing me that per the same layer height, KISSlicer outputs way less filament than CubeX and seems to cause filament flow failures. I have tried changing many different settings in Kisslicer, but have no good results. I can print the same part with CubeX and Kisslicer one right after the other, the CubeX parts is great and the KISSlicer parts either fails or is not useable at all.

Sorry for ranting, but I have spent a LOT of time on this and its very frustrating. Anybody ever experience this and find a solution!!??

Because of what you describe, that KS is more precise and generally outputs less material, you must calibrate KS to your printer. You don't say whether this has been performed, so here's the instructions.

[Scott]

I was trying to work thru the thin-wall-solid-cube-calibration when I was having all the failures. It would only print a few layers then fail, so I couldn't perform calibration. I was using jet #1, so I started switching components with jet #2 to see if there was a problem with the cubex. I narrowed it down to the mother board as the faulty part. The extruder driver board was ok and worked on the #2 jet.

 

Giovanni, I read that about the voltage a few months ago, so I changed the voltage on jet #1 to 1.5V. It did seem to help and I printed a few small parts with it, but could it have caused the mother board failure? Jet #2 still has the voltage at 1.1 and it still works, so I started to try the testing on that jet. That's what was used to print the test blocks shown above. I'm waiting on a mother board and new hot ends (stock ones). Maybe I need to try better hotends, where do I buy them? 

Peter, I thought the hot end was the problem before I found the bad mother board, so I swapped in the new hotend, still didn't work. It was not clicking. While I was watching it, it would be outputting filament just fine then stop, and the fail would appear on the screen. What was really strange was it would fail at the same exact layer, same distance from the start of the loop, (thin wall calibration). I think this was caused by the mother board though.

Notes:  

1. Try better hotend

2. increase voltage to 1.5, again

3. Try calibration again

[Peter Gregory]

If you are not using CubitMod, the Cubex software can lower the RPM to 0 on stretches of slow extruding.
Cubex only supports .1 resolution RPM with the stepper motor.
If it goes long enough, the filament detection system will detect no filament was being extruded and stop the print with filament fail.
Check the RPM values while it prints and see if the values are very small.

[Scott]

I have tried both the latest CubeItMod.exe and CubeItMod491.exe

I'll check the rpm next time.  Maybe the rpm goes too low with the skin thickness set to 0?

[giovanni.v]

Giovanni, I read that about the voltage a few months ago, so I changed the voltage on jet #1 to 1.5V. It did seem to help and I printed a few small parts with it, but could it have caused the mother board failure? Jet #2 still has the voltage at 1.1 and it still works, so I started to try the testing on that jet. That's what was used to print the test blocks shown above. I'm waiting on a mother board and new hot ends (stock ones). Maybe I need to try better hotends, where do I buy them? 

Hi,

the voltage is not a problem bu you may have damaged the motherboard when you set the voltage if you touched it with the screwdriver.

For sure a better hot end gives better results, after having tested some I've decided to build one myself because I was not totally satisfied with those on the market.

At the moment I'm still testing but the results are already very good, if other people are interested I can produce some when I've finished with the testings.

Here's what I've printed with a 0.4mm nozzle.

[y.ult...@gmail.com]

Very good print !

[hugues]

Just to compare, i printed the same robot with a 0.2 nozzle. The 0.4 Giovanni's hot end rocks ! Keep us on news !
http://www.cubexupgrade.com/produit/merlin-hot-end-for-cubex-assembled/

[Scott]

Thanks, to everyone for all your help! I'm now printing production parts with KISSlicer on my cubex. Here's a pic of the first good parts.