I built a MakerFarm i3v kit this last week, and have a few questions/issues that I could use some advice on. This is my first experience with 3d printing, so I'm possibly a bit clueless.
First, I'm getting melted filament (PLA) pooling on top of the hot end that starts dripping down after an hour or so of printing. This is a Hexagon hot end. Is this just a matter of screwing it together tighter, or is there something else that can cause this? It is on pretty tight, and I am afraid of stripping it. Particularly, can this be caused by running things too fast?
On that subject, other than the dripping issue, my biggest problem looks like it will be print time. I'm out of the house frequently and would really prefer not to run things unattended. So I have a few questions about print speed:
- What is a typical speed setting (flow rate or whatever FR % means on the Marlin LCD)? I've been running at 200% without noticeable print quality problems or things seeming too hot, but suspect the high speed is maybe leading to the dripping problem. Do people typically just run at 100%?
- How can I get an estimate of total time before I start printing? It seems like this would be straightforward given the gcode. Is there a tool (preferably for Mac) that can tell me this? I can't seem to find it in Slic3r.
- Is there any way to do a long-term pause and resume? I'd really like to be able to print for a couple of hours, pause, and power down while I go about my business, and pick up where I left off maybe a day later. Or does PLA/ABS just Not Work That Way?
