Get started printing parts

Calibrate your printer

This article will try to show you the best ways to calibrate your printer, and how to fine-tune your slicer settings for your chosen filament.

Calibrate extruder steps/mm
Should be done into the air with no nozzle pressure. Teaching Tech has described how to do this here.

Level your bed
There are lots of videos on Youtube that describes this.

Tune the Z offset
This ensures that your first layer is properly made. There are lots of videos on Youtube that describes this.

Find the right settings for your filament

Calibrate flow/extrusion multiplier
Use this calibration cube to calibrate the flow as described in the video.

Load the cube into your slicer and set the infill to 0%, perimeters/wall line count to 1, and top solid layers to 0. Print it with your desired layer height.

Use digital calipers to measure the thickness of the walls. Your aim is to get this to be the same as your extrusion width set in your slicer.

This is an excellent article which describes how to calibrate flow even more accurate with 2 perimeters/wall lines.

Adjust your new extrusion multiplier to: (extrusion width / measured wall thickness) × old extrusion multiplier.

Find the right print temperature
Use this temperature tower to find the right print temperature. Teaching Tech has described how to do this here, and provides pre-sliced gcode as well.

Find the right printing speed
You could use this STL to fine tune the printer speed. Teaching Tech has described how to do this here, and provides pre-sliced gcode as well.

Tune retraction settings
Use this test to tune retraction settings. Teaching Tech has described how to do this here, and provides pre-sliced gcode as well. Its primarly two parameters to tune:

• Retraction Distance
• Retraction Speed

Pre-sliced gcode files (for Marlin based printers) could be found at Thingiverse. Please be aware that there is an error in Teaching Tech’s gcode files for retraction testing (pr. 13.09.2019). The retractions begin at 10mm on the towers, not 5mm as stated in the video and shown in the picture. 

The whole video by Teaching Tech describes how to calibrate your printer settings:

Printing the parts for the V-king

Finally you could start printing your parts. This video describes in witch orientation to print, and how to use support.

There is also a Google Spreadsheet describing all the parts for the V-king, and suggested printing order. Click the image for access to the spreadsheet.

Choosing your material

PETG or optimally CPE from Filamentum are recommended for all parts.

PLA will work on all parts for a long time but it is brittle and tend to crack sooner or later. PLA also has low TG and will soften at 50C+ so hot sone parts might degrade

With that said, some have been using PLA for the bed support brackets and printing Polycarbonate at 105C on the bed without noticing anything going bad. We can get away with PLA on some hot sones because there is room temp around but it is not recommended over time

Slicer Recommendations

Shell thickness: 2 mm both at walls and bottom/top. Aim for a multiple of your nozzle width.
Layer height: 0.2-0.3 mm
Nozzle size: 0.4 mm or 0.5 mm
Infill: 20% – 30%
Cooling fan: 100% for PLA and 50% or less on PETG

Some of the STL files contains abbreviations in the filename to help you with slicer settings.
Abbreviation explanation:

• SN/SA/SB = Support No, Support All, Support Buildplate
• BN/BO/BY = Brim No, Brim Optional, Brim Yes

All parts are modeled with tolerance to fit but some holes might need post processing. Parts are tight so check your flow if you experience problems.

Start with printing a Y Carrier and a fork, to ensure that they fit together like described in this video:

The recommended mounting order is:

• XY Corner Brackets
  • 2x XY Idler Corner Bracket (upgraded print info after video was made)
  • 2x XY Motor Corner Bracket
• 2x X Idler Bracket and Spacer
• 7x XYZ Carrier Forks and Thumb Screw
• X Carrier Parts (folder)
• 2x Y Carriers
• 1x Titan Extruder Bracket
• Z Drive Parts (folder)
  • Z Carriers with forks
  • Worm Gear brackets
• XY Belt Tensioner (folder)
• Bed Supports (folder)
• 1x Y EndStop Bracket and Flag
• 1x SpoolHolder

This Youtube playlist shows how to assemble the parts, and this Youtube playlist shows you how to mount the printer.