Nozzle Temperature

Each type of plastic, and each colorant for each type of plastic alters the ideal printing temperature. E.g., I can print opaque PLA at 165°C with fantastic results, but my translucent PLA prefers 180°C!

Every machine will have different numbers due to differences in thermistor, and how close to barrel temperature your thermistor is actually sensing.

Here's how I find my optimum temperature for each roll of filament that I have:

1. Choose a fairly simple model that's large enough that you can clearly see the infill while it's printing
   1. Infill Rectangle for Nozzle Temp - NextCloud
2. Make sure your hobbed bolt's teeth are clean of debris such as chunks of plastic
3. Make sure your idler is tight! really tight! "it hurts my fingers to pull on it and I still can't move it" tight! A too-loose idler gives exactly the same symptoms as too low temperature.
4. In the [extruder] section of the printer.cfg, change min_extrude_temp to 100
5. Start printing
6. Lower temperature by 5° every 2-3 layers
7. When infill starts being a row of dots instead of a line, increase temperature by 10°.
8. Keep monitoring print, increase by 5° if your infill goes dotty again If you find that your prints are weak along the layer lines or even delaminate mid-print, you may need to go higher again. With ABS, wrapping your printer in a towel helps a LOT by keeping out draughts and breezes- but beware any PLA parts caught within!
9. Store or remember that temperature for that type of filament
10. In the [extruder] section of the printer.cfg, change min_extrude_temp to 170

I'm thinking a temp tower or something similar might be more efficient as this took 20 minutes.

Archived from Triffid Hunter's Calibration Guide