Software for a syringe-based extruder

Does anyone know which software is needed for a syringe/paste extrusion based printer? I am currently using slic3r with repetier host but all of the parameters seem to be based around filament printing. I'm not sure whether this matters or not, but I just cannot see any of the parameters that are normally associated with syringe-based printing (suckback, pushout) which is making it difficult to calibrate.

The printer is basically a reprap prusa i3 just with a syringe head instead.

Surely suckback and pushout are exactly the same as retraction distance/speed and "extra length on restart" and so can be set in the retraction parameters in the extruder window? If not, what is the difference?

Dave

Thank you, i'll give it a try. Would I be able to control the flow rate of the material with this then? Within slic3r configuration I can only see speed parameters for the x-y-z axis of the printer.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/31/2015 02:42PM by jordj.

Quote
jordj
Thank you, i'll give it a try. Would I be able to control the flow rate of the material with this then? Within slic3r configuration I can only see speed parameters for the x-y-z axis of the printer.

The flow rate is a dependent variable that is determined as a function of extrusion width, layer height and printing speed. Slic3r calculates the feed amount for a particular move to supply the correct volume of material to fill the layer height, extrusion width and move length. The printer's controller uses this to control the feed rate so as to ensure that the volume of material requested is spread evenly along the move (i.e. it locks the feed rate to the XY travel speed). You cannot therefore control flow rate directly, nor does it make any sense to do so. There is however a parameter to control the calibration of the extruder (if it is not delivering the requested volume), and that is the "Extrusion multiplier" under the "Filament settings" tab, which will increase of decrease the flow rate in proportion to the value set (e.g. 2 will double the flow, and 0.5 will halve the flow). You will probably have to play with that parameter by trial & error to get the correct volume extruded from your syringe. Theoretically if you set the filament diameter to the inside bore diameter of your syringe and the plunger is set so that it moves the exact distance the extruder is commanded to move (i.e. if you extrude 10mm of "filament" the plunger moves by 10mm), then the multiplier will be correct if set to "1".

Dave

That was explained very well as I understand the logistics of the software now! Thanks again for all of your help!