So I think I found what the problem is called. I *think* my issue with text is “Gaps in thin Walls.” This is problem is described exactly as legreatmagnet 2 below said, it is written up here Print Quality Guide | Simplify3D Software 15 I think Simplify3D has a setting for thin wall behavior, I can’t find anything that sounds similar in FlashPrint. I sooo don’t want to spend $150, but if I do, and it is an improvement I’ll update this post for future generation noobs.
You can “trick” the slicer either way. All you need to do is adjust the nozzle size smaller. So say even though the nozzle is .4mm, you tell the slicer the nozzle is .35mm, this way it WILL make toolpath in those small areas, but to compensate, you have to also tweak the flow rate. I use simplify 3d, and gap fill works ok in some instances but I usually just change the nozzle diameter and then increase the extrusion multiplier. When you preview the toolpath, look to make sure it is making a pass to completely fill in your lettering, if its not keep tweaking the nozzle diameter until it does.When you go to print it if it comes out not good, you have to tweak the flow rate more.
So here is what I’m talking about. The one that only made two passes is a nozzle diameter of .4, then by telling it the nozzle was .38, it made 3 passes. I actually want to write something that makes 3d printer friendly text.
So I bought Simplify3D, and by default the text looked the same as FlashPrint (other areas of the print improved…i think because it defaulted my pla temp to 230…i thought it was fine at 200…but it made a huge improvement in a tricky area of my particular model.)
But after reading their helpful tips, I increased the Infill / Outline Overlap to 40% (i kept increasing it until the preview looked reasonable). That worked enough, still not perfect, but a big improvement. You can compare the attached to the previous attempt.
I think this setting is a brute force way of dealing with the nozzle diameter issue with fill. Not as elegant as legreatmagnet’s solution, but got me there without math, but now I have the stringy issues.
I really like simplify 3d, and I tried alot of slicers, there is a few quirks about it, but they do update it often. Just looking at the text it seems like that’s a retraction issue. I’ve never played with PLA yet, so I can’t really say much. I’d set the retraction to pull a little more filament up and see if that helps. Also, I’m not sure how thick the base of the star is, but you could experiment by just putting the star below the bed in simplify 3d, that way you can just try printing the text alone.
