How To: Simplify3D Dual FFF Profiles for the M2
Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 4:56 am
Until I was introduced to the dual heads, I would have been the first person to say this was a very bad idea. Plugging in someone else’s settings is generally just asking for trouble and questionable results.
But the M2 dual setup is currently limited to the V4 nozzles, which makes them more uniform than the singles, so this could work, with a few precautions. And the coding for the dual prints is more difficult than that for the single by about a factor of ten. S3Dv3.02 has some quirks that have to be worked around that contribute to the issue. So it’s going to help new users to have a starting point that they can kick off from.
READ THIS FIRST
Do NOT try to use these profiles with a MakerGear M2 V4 Rev. E dual printer.
First thing you want to do in Simplify 3D is set your configuration for the new extruder arrangement:
Click on Help > Configuration Assistant, then select Printer - MakerGear M2 Dual in the dropdown.
You are going to need to change a few settings in these profiles to make them work for you.
1. Z-Offset.
This is the single most important thing that you have to get correct, in order to get good results.
Mine is not going to match yours. Make sure you change this to match your value. The Z-Offset is going to have to be the same for both nozzles, no matter what the temperature is for the filament in that nozzle. If you don’t adjust for the different temps, your prints might not work.
The way to adjust the Z-Offset gap so that it matches for filaments that print at widely different temperatures is discussed here:
How To: Correctly Set the Right Hand Nozzle Gap on the Dual
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2917
2. X-Offset.
My profiles have an embedded X-Offset of 25 mm. This is personal choice, as it forces the print closer to the center of the spider axis, not whatever shows on the screen. (One of those S3D quirks.) If it bugs you to see your centered print appear 25 mm to the right on the screen, you can remove that offset.
But your prints will no longer actually print in the center of the plate. They will be about 25 mm off of center. (No idea why it happens, or where to fix it permanently, and I’ve tried. This is a work-around.)
3. Temperatures
I run a borosilicate plate with a PEI surface. It takes lower bed temperatures. Try the profiles the way they are first, and if you have trouble with sticking you can increase the bed temps by a few degrees, to whatever you normally use. I also tend to print on the low side of temperature ranges, it cuts down on oozing. Increase the extruder temps only if you feel you need to. The defaults cause a lot of oozing issues.
4. Auto-Configuration
Do not click on the Auto-Configuration buttons. As a matter of fact, do not touch the Auto-Configuration buttons.
They are idiot buttons. I hate them. With a passion that burns white-hot.
I have taken out the option wherever possible, because pressing on the Auto-Configuration buttons will change some of the settings, but not all the settings that need to be changed, for whatever filament you want to change it to.
In these profiles, the necessary settings are coded into the profiles themselves, and appear in the Profile title. You’ll get strange/lousy/crappy results if you try to use Auto-Configure on them.
(If you want to create your own dual profiles – start with the MakerGear M2 dual profile default and adjust from there. Remember to save the results under a new name, or you will modify the original, and that way lies madness. )
5. Filament Diameter
For dual extrusion profiles, the filament diameter has to be the same value for both filaments. (Whether the actual diameter is the same or not.)
At the standard filament diameter of 1.75 mm, I actually re-tested every spool of filament that I own, to develop the corrected extrusion multiplier for each spool at that diameter. They all came out to 0.90, with a couple of minor differences for the specialty filaments. So if you really feel the need to test them, use a standard filament diameter of 1.75 mm for all the spools, and re-run your calibration squares. The extrusion multiplier can be changed for each extruder, so you’ll need to use that to fine-tune if you want to. The diameter needs to stay at 1.75 mm.
Or you can just use 0.90 for your Extrusion Multiplier and 1.75 mm as your filament diameter. It works very accurately for about 98% of the filaments, and is close enough for the other 2%.
6. Layer Height and Width
For dual extrusion profiles, you have to have the same layer height and extrusion width set up for both nozzles.
7. Labeling Bug
There is a bug in S3D concerning the labeling of the extruder that is used for the shield, when you are using a single filament for the shield, instead of both. It seems to appear randomly, I can’t find the common denominator...what it does is show you that you have specified one filament to be used for the shield, but then when it is sliced, it uses the other extruder for the shield. And it prints how it is sliced.
The main reason I put such detailed descriptions into the profile titles is – it’s going to be really confusing if you think that the shield is going to print out of PVA (as shown in the Profile setup), then it prints the shield in PETG, which is what I actually want it to do. (PVA is horribly expensive; you don’t want to waste it if you are using it in a print.)
(Unfortunately, there’s no way around the bug that I can find – it’s just going to list the wrong extruder.)
When in doubt, the slicer results should match the title of the profile.
8. Starting and Ending Scripts
If you’re switching from a single M2, I use a different startup and ending script from what you are probably used to. I like to park the print head for the dual in the center of the X axis after a print, (not over on the left), and I move the print head off the plate before homing Z on the right side of the bed.
Feel free to change those to whatever you like. (If you touch an Auto-Configuration button with one of these profiles open, you might just change them without realizing it. )
I have not yet experimented with Tool change code – these use the available S3D settings. Because of that, things like Brims and Shields are necessary – In addition to adding stability and catching drips, they correct another bug in S3D that does not reverse a retraction on the inactive tool head for the first layer.
9. Money Back Guarantee
Yeah, right…… . I can’t promise that they are going to work for you the way they do for me. (One hint: It’s all about the gap.) Having said that, if anyone else wants to share their Dual profiles, feel free to use the thread. We might as well get them all rounded up into one place.
We are limited on attachments – I’ll put the actual profiles into the comments below.
But the M2 dual setup is currently limited to the V4 nozzles, which makes them more uniform than the singles, so this could work, with a few precautions. And the coding for the dual prints is more difficult than that for the single by about a factor of ten. S3Dv3.02 has some quirks that have to be worked around that contribute to the issue. So it’s going to help new users to have a starting point that they can kick off from.
READ THIS FIRST
Do NOT try to use these profiles with a MakerGear M2 V4 Rev. E dual printer.
First thing you want to do in Simplify 3D is set your configuration for the new extruder arrangement:
Click on Help > Configuration Assistant, then select Printer - MakerGear M2 Dual in the dropdown.
You are going to need to change a few settings in these profiles to make them work for you.
1. Z-Offset.
This is the single most important thing that you have to get correct, in order to get good results.
Mine is not going to match yours. Make sure you change this to match your value. The Z-Offset is going to have to be the same for both nozzles, no matter what the temperature is for the filament in that nozzle. If you don’t adjust for the different temps, your prints might not work.
The way to adjust the Z-Offset gap so that it matches for filaments that print at widely different temperatures is discussed here:
How To: Correctly Set the Right Hand Nozzle Gap on the Dual
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2917
2. X-Offset.
My profiles have an embedded X-Offset of 25 mm. This is personal choice, as it forces the print closer to the center of the spider axis, not whatever shows on the screen. (One of those S3D quirks.) If it bugs you to see your centered print appear 25 mm to the right on the screen, you can remove that offset.
But your prints will no longer actually print in the center of the plate. They will be about 25 mm off of center. (No idea why it happens, or where to fix it permanently, and I’ve tried. This is a work-around.)
3. Temperatures
I run a borosilicate plate with a PEI surface. It takes lower bed temperatures. Try the profiles the way they are first, and if you have trouble with sticking you can increase the bed temps by a few degrees, to whatever you normally use. I also tend to print on the low side of temperature ranges, it cuts down on oozing. Increase the extruder temps only if you feel you need to. The defaults cause a lot of oozing issues.
4. Auto-Configuration
Do not click on the Auto-Configuration buttons. As a matter of fact, do not touch the Auto-Configuration buttons.
They are idiot buttons. I hate them. With a passion that burns white-hot.
I have taken out the option wherever possible, because pressing on the Auto-Configuration buttons will change some of the settings, but not all the settings that need to be changed, for whatever filament you want to change it to.
In these profiles, the necessary settings are coded into the profiles themselves, and appear in the Profile title. You’ll get strange/lousy/crappy results if you try to use Auto-Configure on them.
(If you want to create your own dual profiles – start with the MakerGear M2 dual profile default and adjust from there. Remember to save the results under a new name, or you will modify the original, and that way lies madness. )
5. Filament Diameter
For dual extrusion profiles, the filament diameter has to be the same value for both filaments. (Whether the actual diameter is the same or not.)
At the standard filament diameter of 1.75 mm, I actually re-tested every spool of filament that I own, to develop the corrected extrusion multiplier for each spool at that diameter. They all came out to 0.90, with a couple of minor differences for the specialty filaments. So if you really feel the need to test them, use a standard filament diameter of 1.75 mm for all the spools, and re-run your calibration squares. The extrusion multiplier can be changed for each extruder, so you’ll need to use that to fine-tune if you want to. The diameter needs to stay at 1.75 mm.
Or you can just use 0.90 for your Extrusion Multiplier and 1.75 mm as your filament diameter. It works very accurately for about 98% of the filaments, and is close enough for the other 2%.
6. Layer Height and Width
For dual extrusion profiles, you have to have the same layer height and extrusion width set up for both nozzles.
7. Labeling Bug
There is a bug in S3D concerning the labeling of the extruder that is used for the shield, when you are using a single filament for the shield, instead of both. It seems to appear randomly, I can’t find the common denominator...what it does is show you that you have specified one filament to be used for the shield, but then when it is sliced, it uses the other extruder for the shield. And it prints how it is sliced.
The main reason I put such detailed descriptions into the profile titles is – it’s going to be really confusing if you think that the shield is going to print out of PVA (as shown in the Profile setup), then it prints the shield in PETG, which is what I actually want it to do. (PVA is horribly expensive; you don’t want to waste it if you are using it in a print.)
(Unfortunately, there’s no way around the bug that I can find – it’s just going to list the wrong extruder.)
When in doubt, the slicer results should match the title of the profile.
8. Starting and Ending Scripts
If you’re switching from a single M2, I use a different startup and ending script from what you are probably used to. I like to park the print head for the dual in the center of the X axis after a print, (not over on the left), and I move the print head off the plate before homing Z on the right side of the bed.
Feel free to change those to whatever you like. (If you touch an Auto-Configuration button with one of these profiles open, you might just change them without realizing it. )
I have not yet experimented with Tool change code – these use the available S3D settings. Because of that, things like Brims and Shields are necessary – In addition to adding stability and catching drips, they correct another bug in S3D that does not reverse a retraction on the inactive tool head for the first layer.
9. Money Back Guarantee
Yeah, right…… . I can’t promise that they are going to work for you the way they do for me. (One hint: It’s all about the gap.) Having said that, if anyone else wants to share their Dual profiles, feel free to use the thread. We might as well get them all rounded up into one place.
We are limited on attachments – I’ll put the actual profiles into the comments below.