Lot of good information in here - since you are taking the time to test so thoroughly, what you might want to consider is to create a reference table with your results for the different layer heights, with pertinent settings (extrusion width, height and width multipliers, temps, etc.) and the optimum gap to get a good bead. That would make it a lot easier for you to use with your future prints.
And one thing you definitely need if you are going to do such a careful study is a good set of feeler gauges. You can stop getting close and get exact with your measurements. (Kind of hard to measure a TCBY card thickness if you don't have one on hand, and 110 lb cardstock can be different thicknesses depending on the density).
Printing ABS w/ glass bed-NO kapton, hairspray, ABS juice!
Re: Printing ABS w/ glass bed-NO kapton, hairspray, ABS juic
Great idea Dr.Verne! Got a good set of feeler gauges on order. I'm going to need a systematic and efficient way to calibrate simply because I'll have to do it so often, thus why I'm testing thoroughly now while I still have time. Anyway, it seems that .22-.27mm off the bed with a .28mm layer seems to be ideal. Glassy smooth bottom and top of bottom layer appears nice, even and uniform. Anything below .16mm seems to invite trouble as excess builds on the edges during infill promoting lifting of the outlines.
Now that a reliable calibration technique has been perfected, off to vase testing! (Aka, minimizing the appearance of the z-scar.)
Now that a reliable calibration technique has been perfected, off to vase testing! (Aka, minimizing the appearance of the z-scar.)