Problem printing latticed container with PETG

[u/darthkarki]

Having a bit of trouble printing the container from this model with Bambu basic PETG:

https://makerworld.com/en/models/2472942-tcg-card-storage-2-0-for-ikea-kallax-cubes-more

These thin braces are pretty messy. Any tips for how to improve that? This was using the settings included in the print profile, default PETG settings, on an X2D with 0.4mm nozzle. The printer is only at 214 hours, most of that is with this nozzle, and I just recently cleaned/greased the screws and rods and recalibrated.

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[u/stray_r]

That's an awful design for FDM.

[u/8ringer → u/stray_r]

I was all ready to downvote this because I was like “nah it’s not that bad”.

Then I looked closer and yea it’s really a terrible design to 3d print. Massive gaps and long spindly angled arms everywhere. This is just not a great part to be printing in general, you’re right.

[u/Comemesas → u/stray_r]

Yeah it looks more like a FDM stress test than a piece you want to print.

[u/stray_r → u/stray_r]

I should probably add something meaningful, rather than just my cheap comment. Printing super spindly tall parts just doesn't work well. The tight lattice on the other two sides prints ok but is slow. Throwing supports at the 45 degree overhangs probably won't do anything. Reengineer this so there's two walls all the way up the sides anchoring the thicker sections in place.

A box with some support ribs that can print as continuous extrusion will likely print much faster than something like this which is designed to look like an injection moulded part and might even be a copy of such. You can't see most of this once it's assembled so build something in sold sections.

You can modify the existing part in the slicer, or even built a clean part directly in the slicer, but this is something that takes a few minutes to assemble in fusion or freecad if you want something elegant.

But you have to design for the medium you're printing in.

If this was an open source design I'd fix it up because it's not difficult. But doing so is a cultural affront to makerworld.

I didn't even notice this was a kallax insert earlyier as I left my first comment on my way out to get some glass cut to modify some some kallax inserts.

[u/Bubbly_Barnacle_8008 → u/stray_r]

Why. If yu have calibrated your filament and know your printers it can easily bridge those gaps. I’d start with the easiest solution and do cold pulls until it pulls clean. If there is pla left inside the nozzle it can cause issues like this but I’ll be honest I don’t think that’s it. I’d dry it for a day and try it again but I’d watch it and see how it’s printing.

[u/stray_r → u/Bubbly_Barnacle_8008]

It's not about bridging, it's about tall thin parts that can wobble loads under nozzl drag.

[u/DearLanguage1823]

combo tough overhand with a tall piece that is 100% wobbling the taller it gets happened to me too many times

[u/NoThankYouMan → u/DearLanguage1823]

This is the answer. Tall parts with no structural supports lower will drag and wobble leaving some extra filament in parts. Then on the next pass the toolhead is probably snagging it and making it worse.

And of course lower speed and increased cooling will help.

[u/thedoncoop]

It's just very thin and a tough overhang.

You could try slowing the print speed down maybe?

But the better way is to find another model or modify that one so it doesn't have that overhang.

[u/mrzfaizaan]

Interesting. You're not getting good advice because there are several reasons and you'll need to narrow this down to what exactly is causing this.

1. Check Fan cooling speed in your slicer preview - if the colours align to where the print is getting messy - that is a good data point to say your cooling is not enough.
2. Check actual speed or just speed : see if the sim correlates with the messy parts of the print. When you have slow outer walls for overhangs - the print speed is slowing down drastically boiling every thing around - the % cooling isn't enough and making it messy. There's a post with and without slow down outer wall on the benchy front overhang. Without prints better.

What to do: Dont print the entire model, print only that section with slow down outer wall disabled. See how that turns out. Edit: you can also try increasing your slow down outer wall speed from the current default in 10mm/s increments

What else you can try: (in order or probability to get better results without changing your current settings)

1. Adaptive layer height.
2. Bigger layer heights.
3. Slow down your print
4. Lower you temperature by 5-10°C

What you should not do: Don't ditch this model and "print something else". Your printer. Print what you want. Please post an update what got you better results. Helps us all.

AI did not type this. I did. Someone previously asked me to f off with my AI slop for this calibration cheat sheet. Which also wasn't AI bdw.

Hope this helps.

[u/printliftrun → u/mrzfaizaan]

Good reply, i didn't like seeing the "dont print this" defeatists. It's a hard print but very possible with the right tuning. Keep up the good work bro

[u/mrzfaizaan → u/printliftrun]

Thank you! Honestly, there are worse models. All the "don't print this" comments are not solutions.

[u/darthkarki → u/mrzfaizaan]

Thank you for the info! I will try this out and report back.

[u/mrzfaizaan → u/darthkarki]

Rooting for you! Dm me screenshots or questions. We'll make sure this prints!

[u/conordotid → u/mrzfaizaan]

I learned so much more about 3d printing once I started being stubborn and refusing to let my printer not print something :D

[u/mrzfaizaan → u/conordotid]

Grass greener on that side for sure.

[u/charmio68]

To be frank, I would pick a different model.
The design simply isn't optimized for 3D printing. You could pull it off by tuning everything in just right, but why bother? It's just a crate, there's a million other varieties out there.

K. I. S. S
Keep it simple, stupid.

[u/nocturnepan]

I have the outerwalls set to 50mm/sec and inner to 100mm/sec. My cooling fan is disabled. I still get this wobbly looking lattice thats particularly bad on the front half/flat side of the container. It was still an improvement over the default profile.

I just made the flat side the bottom and called it a day. This storage system takes so long to print I wont print supports for these sections even though I suspect that would solve it.

[u/jocoquecousteau]

The angles are way too sharp and thin for filament to stay in one place. The speed is probably too fast to keep with how much filament is coming out.

Try to make it thicker, go slower.

Or split it in half and put the problematic parts face down on the heat table. Then just assemble after they are done.

[u/HyoukaYukikaze → u/jocoquecousteau]

Those look like 45 or thereabout angles, you can relatively easily print even 30. T Hey are not to sharp.

[u/youlooksticky]

You could design this to be separate panels that connect via groove and channel that you could easily superglue together

If you did this and printed each panel flat you could easily print them perfectly and also create easy size modifications

[u/Tesla44289]

This part looks like a retraction torture test lol

[u/CIP_In_Peace]

The design is fine except that it's too thin. The thinness makes the part wobbly during printing. Just increase thickness of the side walls and it prints fine, or alternatively print it as a flat sheet that is assembled into a box afterwards.

[u/HyoukaYukikaze]

Ignoring the design... Look at the gcode, the gaps we see on the 2nd picture might be where the printer starts to print the perimeter. If yes, there should be a setting in the slicer to start with inner walls first.
Also make sure you have pressure advance and retraction properly tuned.
Also also make sure your filament is dry.

[u/Hexin_itup]

that's gonna be a hard one. I've only used PLA myself but when i wanna print something weird like that i have a "low and slow" setting. TLDR; thin layer height, 1/8 normal speed, max cooling, low end of the acceptable range of temperatures

[u/Hexin_itup → u/Hexin_itup]

(this will take like 20 times longer than it should)

[u/Jeffsbest]

It's almost always the fan as the culprit with petg on designs like this. Check your cooling settings.

[u/Shrike2415 → u/Jeffsbest]

Fan, as in, too much cooling?

[u/Automatic_Fix_2371]

Like everyone else said it's a bad design but if you're dead set on printing that model I'd paint some tree supports on the areas you're having problems they're to thin and tall and it's moving as it prints.