Filament Tuning

Purpose

Flow calibration ensures that your printer's extruder accurately dispenses material, improving print quality.

Prerequisites

• Klipper firmware installed and configured.

• Printer connected and set up.

• Basic printer calibration (such as axis calibration) completed.

Steps

1. Preparation

1. Confirm Printer Temperature: Ensure the hotend is heated to the appropriate printing temperature for your material. For PLA, set the hotend to around 200°C.

2. Check Nozzle: Ensure the nozzle is clear and not clogged.

3. Mark Material: Use a segment of material and make a mark at 100mm from the extruder gear.

2. Positioning and Extrusion

1. Home the Printer: Home all axes to ensure the printer is in the correct starting position. This will move the print head to the center of the build plate, making it easier to observe.

2. Extrude Material:

   • First Extrusion: Send the following command to extrude 50mm of material:

   G1 E50 F100

   • Second Extrusion: Immediately follow with another command to extrude another 50mm:

   G1 E50 F100

3. Measure: After the two extrusions (totaling 100mm), measure the total length of material extruded from the mark you made. The total length should ideally be around 100mm.

3. Adjust rotation_distance

1. Calculate New rotation_distance:

   • If the actual total extrusion length deviates from the expected 100mm, use the following formula to calculate the new rotation_distance:

   New rotation_distance = Old rotation_distance × (Actual extruded length / Target length)

   For example:

   • Old rotation_distance: 22.6789511

   • Target length: 100mm

   • Actual extruded length: 98mm

   Using the formula:

   New rotation_distance = 22.6789511 × (98 / 100) ≈ 22.21

2. Update Configuration File:

   • Edit the printer.cfg file and update the rotation_distance with the new value:

   [extruder]
   ...
   rotation_distance: 22.21

4. Save and Restart

1. Save Configuration: Save changes to the printer.cfg file.

2. Restart Klipper: Restart Klipper to apply the new configuration.

   RESTART

5. Verify

1. Retest: Perform the extrusion steps again to ensure the actual extrusion length matches the expected 100mm.

2. Adjust: Continue adjusting rotation_distance as needed until the extrusion is accurate.

Notes

• Perform flow calibration after the hotend temperature has stabilized.

• Ensure that the material used is consistent to avoid calibration errors due to material differences.

• Keep a record of each rotation_distance adjustment for tracking and troubleshooting.

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