no I’ve not experience that yet, but a good point to now consider in my deigns is to try and avoid
potentially sealed up air pockets. Maybe it could be done by modeling in an air flow channel through the infills
leading out to a less noticable area so theres no sealed off areas for pressure build up, but I guess it depends on the application.
I’m thinking maybe I could print a clay raft, the on top, my clay form as normal and once its in a leather green state to take
the clay cutting wire and slice off the bottom raft, leaving the infills bottom exposed and now open to
air, maybe firing it upside down with that exposed could help. Or filling in the forms infills in the first place at the cost of extra clay would be a (expensive) soloution.
I had no problems with the pieces I fired and they had little gaps between the walls. I try to build solid walls now to avoid this problem but again the pieces with little gaps fired nicely anyway. I have had some cracking on some pieces but they happened where the build layers were not tight enough together. Also I have adjusted my models now so I make the bottom the same thickness of the walls or even thinner so the drying in more consistent.
I’d also like to ask what people are printing on? I have been trying to find metal or plastic disks that i can remove from the printer without ruining the print. I get the best results printing directly to the print bed because it is so flat and level. But it kills me to wait over a day for the clay to dry out to a less fragile stage. I ordered some plastic pottery bats to see if those will do the trick. I’ve been cutting squares of stainless steel from a spare sheet i have but in the process i slightly bent some so the prints get messed up.
As for the consistency i try to get…its when ive mixed enough denatured alcohol that it starts getting easier to spread, just starting to get a creamy kind of thickness. if i grab a handful im able to squeeze a bunch of it out through the bottom opening of my fist. Also, when printing i know my clay is too wet if the print starts to wabble or be pushed around by the print head, the right wetness should print a fairly stiff object, or at least with the objects ive been printing. If the wall starts to quaver as the print head lays down a layer i usually scrap it and start a new clay mix.
The print Z setting i use for the stainless steel print bed is 433? i think, or something-33. thats the setting for the 2.0 metal extruder tip.
If my printer starts laying down lines that look too squished together i usually back off the air pressure from 4 bar to 3.5 or so, until it starts to leave more of a bead than a totally flat line. Although i do experiment with flatter lines just to see what will happen. on circular vases it seems to not make a huge impact, and i assume the more squished it is the sturdier it will be when fired.
I have a customer who bought a 40/70 with the clay extruder and he is having some real issues with the consistency of the clay and also a few other issues ie: jittery extruding and spaghetti like results , I myself do not have much knowledge on the product and i am hoping someone on here would be able to help him please if possible. He would like some to email or call someone to get some advice. If anyone is able to help please let me know and i will pass on the contact details of the customer. Thank you all
