How to Calibrate the Hot-End Temperature

How to Calibrate your Hot-End Temperature ABS/PLA/HIPS, Etc.

UPDATED: September 2, 2016

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS ONLY MADE, CURRENTLY, FOR THE SINGLE-HEAD EXTRUDER. WILL NOT NECESSARILY WORK FOR THE DUAL-HEAD EXTRUDER.

Read this entire post first before attempting to print using the GCodes provided or modifying your own files!

Got problems with your prints?
Cracking, warping, bubbling, curling?

Did you calibrate your printer for that spool?

I could go into the physics and chemistry and the differences in materials and their respective make ups. But I bet you just want to know the meat of why it is important to calibrate the printer to each material, and we suggest, every spool you purchase (Excessive? Maybe, but you should at least calibrate for each manufacturer you change to for each type of plastic.). This will ensure you maintain quality prints without the above mentioned issues commonly plaguing our industry.

Blah, blah, blah... How do I calibrate my machine for each filament?

I will be posting the calibration tower (shown below) on the DesignFutures page with gcodes only at this time. The reason for that is because each set of gcodes is for different temperature ranges. Currently I have 2 sets. Both for ABS, but one for each of the manufacturers we use. Every 1cm increment has another temperature increase by 5 degrees Celcius. This will allow you to inspect and test each layer for the best possible temperatures. The print takes a few hours and uses a minimal amount of filament. We are not printing anything extraordinary, just want to see how it prints at different temps. Eventually we will be running this for our HIPS and PLA materials as well, and I will post those gcodes as well at that time.

That is pretty much it. Just print it with the material of your choosing and start the print with the lowest temperature the gcode is rated for.

Setup Your Printer...

Heat the bed to the temperature you are accustomed to (ie. ABS-100C, PLA-60C, etc. See your manufacturer's recommendations for their material.)
Heat the nozzle to the lowest temp the gcode states (CuboidNoFan215-255.gcode would be 215C to start)
Prepare your bed with ABS Juice or BuildTak or similar. ABS Juice or even ABS Glue may seem messy, but we have found it works the best for us when printing with ABS. For our recipe, See this link: (PUT LINK HERE)
Home the printer
Flush the nozzles a few times if it has been exposed to the room temps and humidity
Play the file as you normally would

Check the print...

Marked on the sides are the temp changes. The coolest temp will be at the bottom with the hottest at the top.
Look for cracks between the layers
Find the range where there are no cracking, bubbling, waves or any blemishes
Optionally, you can carefully cut with a knife or break off the layers at the marks
Check for stability between each of the increments
If you find an area that you are happy with, test it by squeezing the corners together
It should be strong in at least a 5 degree area (1cm segment) of the print. That segment is your best printing temp for that particular material from that particular manufacturer.
The test is now over and you now know your ideal temps for printing. This concludes the bulk of the post, but....

To learn how to modify your codes for temp ranges (in case I didn't provide the temps you want to test), read on...

Use this .stl for making your own gcodes. This, alone, will not allow you to calibrate for your filament. You will need to modify the gcodes in order to calibrate for a range of temps. This block is good for 6 different temps.

Recommendations:
0% Infill
2-3 Outlines
Standard recommended speeds found in the ZMorph manual (or other 3D printer manual, if not ZMorph)

To add your own temperature changes, follow these instructions, carefully.

Export GCode file when you are ready to print.
Open GCode file in Notepad (or Mac/Linux equivalent)
Open the Find/Replace window (Windows = Ctrl+F)
Search for "Z10" (Brings up the first instance where your Z-Axis has reached 1cm off of your print bed)
Add a line above that line where "Z10" is located.
FOR SINGLE EXTRUDER HEAD ONLY!!
Type "M104 S###" where ### stands for your desired temperature.
NOTE: This is your first temperature CHANGE. You must first set your printer to a lower temperature (5 degrees C, for this example).
Here is an example of what your code should look like:
G92 E0.00000 (NOTE: Line above temperature input)
M104 S220 (NOTE: M104-Extruder 0 on Single-Head Extruder, S220-set extruder to 220C)
G1 X105.600 Y113.250 Z10.075 F7200.000 (NOTE: Moves head to new height)
The above 3 lines of code is from my Cuboid215-255.gcode file where I set my machine to 215C on the head and 100C on the bed. Notice the first change is 220C (S220). We are raising the degrees by 5C every 1cm increment. This ensures even and equal rising of the temps.
Repeat steps 4-6. For your search, type "Z20" this time and follow the same pattern as before.
Continue to follow the same pattern, increasing Z figure by 10 every time and this will perform a temp change every 1cm.
Double check your work to ensure you don't have typos or anything that doesn't look like the example above minus the "NOTEs" in parentheses.

If you need help or additional questions need answered, reply to this thread and I or someone else would be happy to assist you.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Adjusting and manipulating your gcode files is for the tech savvy only. If you make a mistake, it could cost you down time, not to mention damaged extruders or print beds. Only do this if you understand the risks and feel comfortable changing them. I will be posting generic templates for ABS and PLA, as well as HIPS and maybe PVA. Look for those gcodes instead if you are unsure/not confident with performing these changes. AGAIN, this is only for your single head extruder.

I hope you all find this useful. We sure did. Hopefully, our mistakes will make you more successful.

ABS Calibration Cuboid

Read the above information first before attempting to print using this model, please.

The ABS Calibration gcode (CuboidNoFan215-255.gcode) file can be found here: ABS Cuboid GCode

NOTE: This GCode File is good for ABS Plastic and for single extruder head only. Start your printer's hot end at 215C for this particular file. Use your ABS Filament manufacturer's recommended bed temps or ZMorph's recommendations. Feel free to experiment with that temp, too. We tested 105C and 110C and found that 105C works best for us. But yours could possibly be different due to part tolerances, elevation, etc.

When you print this cuboid, look for a section where the structure looks smooth. As for our print of this cuboid, the top and bottom were bumpy and wavy. So we found the very center of the temp ranges and called that our temperature. I have provided markers in this design that mark where the temperature changes will take place. Each change is a 5 degree Celsius change.

I hope you find this tool useful.

PLA Filament Calibration Cuboid GCodes

Read the above information first before attempting to print using this model, please.

For the file, go here: PLA Cuboid GCodes for v.1.4.11
Image for the model:

CuboidPLA180-215.png

This is the model and GCode file for calibrating your PLA filament for your particular filament and machine. All temperature changes are embedded for your nozzle. All you need to do is setup your machine to print this model. Here's how:

Instructions

Turn on your ZMorph machine.
Preheat your machine: 180C for nozzle, 60 or 65 degrees C for your bed (Optionally, you can print two models. One printed on a 60C bed, one on a 65C bed. Might not seem like much of a change, but might make a difference for your machine.)
Wait for your machine to rise to temp.
Prepare your print bed for printed filament adhesion.
Zero your axis on the center. From the Voxelizer program, Press the "A" icon that may have a flashing circle around it.
Remove old filament properly.
Feed the new PLA material through the machine head
Flush your nozzle several times to remove any old material still left in the head. Usually 3-4 times does the trick.
Load this set of GCodes into Voxelizer and "Play" the file.

This should only take about 3 or 4 hours and it should use approximately 5m of filament. We recommend you do this with every new spool you buy. The actual chemical make-up of your filament varies from manufacturer. Different impurities can be seen from manufacturer to manufacturer. If this seems to be too much, we would recommend performing this test with each manufacturer at the least.

Once you have determined the desired temperature, you should put a note on your spool reminding you of the correct temps for the bed and nozzle.

I have a new video posted on YouTube showing my method of determining the correct temps for your filament. I hope this video was useful for you. If you have any questions or concerns, please reply to this post and I will try to answer them promptly.

PETG

Read the above information first before attempting to print using this model, please.

I have designed a new cuboid for PETG. Though you don't have to use this model exclusively. I just found it to be faster to print and easier to read.

PETG is different from ABS, though visually and structurally they are similar. ABS likes a stagnant heated bed and chamber. PETG likes to be printed with the ZMorph covers removed, a medium sized desk fan (6-8" in diameter) blowing on the front of the print, and a cooler bed (my bed is set to 70C). PETG also prints faster than ABS, saving time and we all know that time is money. My basic models and a generic set of gcodes have been uploaded to the DesignFutures website. They can be found here.

Here are some Gcodes that you may find useful.

PETG gcodes for temps ranging from:

210C - 235C (6 different zones, 5C each)
235C - 245C (3 different zones, 5C each)
245C - 255C (3 different zones, 5C each)
248C - 253C (6 different zones, 1C each)

I would recommend you to start with number 2 and then number 3. If you need a lower range, go with number 1 and if you, like me, determined that 250C was the happy median, look at number 4 and see what works best for you.

Like always, if you need an additional range not listed here, contact me by replying to this post and I can get you a file within a day of reading your post. Or you can go to the top of this post and follow my instructions on how to modify the Generic version yourself. Be sure you read the disclaimer and understand the risks in performing these changes.

Also, in the top section of the files (you can open them with Notepad, Notepad++, or similar), you will find instructions on how to prepare your ZMorph for testing. I go over nozzle and bed temps there, as well as where I made changes to the code and in what lines/parts of the code I injected my code. Make sure you open and read that first section.

Special thanks to the Voxelizer Dev team for including more information regarding the Voxelizer settings inside the gcode files. Great job!

I hope you found this helpful!

Happy Morphing!!