Sfact

For SFACT to work you need to have Python 2.7 installed.

SFACT is only compatible with Stepper extruders and best works with Sprinter Firmware and Pronterface host program.

After the download finishes unrar the file anywhere on your harddrive. If you have already installed Pronterface put it into a folder called skeinforge inside the pronterface folder (instead of SF-ACT folder).

Then run SFACT with the shortcut (SFACT-START) or find skeinforge.py under skeinforge_application folder and click it.

Close it down and rerun it. Now you are ready...

Now go to the dimension tab and set there your measured filament diameter.

Then in CARVE set your desired layer thickness in mm. (+- 20% of your nozzle diameter)

then set the extrusion width (perimeter width) you desire... setting it the same as the height will give you great overhangs and good print but it will take longer to print...

Thats all..

The default settings should give you very nice prints....

Some extra explanations...

Carve

THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION You make...

Decide your layer height( for Z resolution) Decide your extrusion width (for XY-sharpness). (Imagine to write small letters with a thick marker) In SFACT it is entered in mm as you probably do not design an object like : lets make the wall thickness 3 times the bottom thickness or so... It will not change when you change layer height.

Important is here that your width should be at least the same or higher than the layer height.

Also: 0.8 x D^2 <= w x h <= 2 x D^2

where D=nozzle diameter, w= extrusion width, h= layer height other wise you wil squirt around or drip extrusion uncontrolled.

Infill in direction of bridges: leave it on when you are printing a technical part where you have flat bridges.. Turn off if you are printing organic shapes with lots of half and angled overhangs.. Other wise you will end up with many unnecessarily 100% filled layers.

Clip

Clip over perimeter width (ratio)If you get gaps where the perimeter line start and end join increase it, if it forms a bulge, decrease it.

Comb

When your retraction is not working well enough you can make the extruder go detours around "loops (empty areas)" of your part.

Cool

Dont use it...if possible... use a fan instead.

Dimension

Must enable this for stepper extrusion to work !!!

Watch your extruder and set retract speed to the fastest it can handle safely without stripping filament, skipping steps etc.

Measure your filament and enter here. Later you can use the packing density setting to increase or decrease overall flow (smaller = more flow..)

The other settings you can leave at default..

Fill

Infill width over thickness ratio does not exist in that form anymore... Now its just a scaler that defaults to one.

What it does is it ONLY moves the fill lines together (1). And you dont need to change it every time.

Infill perimeter overlap: Here higher value gives you more overlap.

Multiply

Activate multiply, set rows and columns to 1 each, set x and y center to 100 each. This will center the object on the board.

Speed

Set here your feedrates for the print.. values up to 70mm/s should give you decent prints. A good method is to set the feedrate (the value the fill is printed) relatively high and then to reduce the speed for the perimeter (the shell that we see and perceive as nice).. I normally use half speed of the fill..

Use same values for feedrate and flowrate as long as you really know what you are doing... (like feed= 70 / flow =70 and perim feed = 0.5 / perim flow = 0.5)

If you go for high speeds it might be a good idea to increase the extrusion temperature, but do not use SFACT's (or SkeinForge's) temperature control as it makes you wait during temperature changes and therefore spoils your print. Workaround: print before getting to correct temperature.. >> make the values for the temp increase/decrease rates really very high, like 100deg/sec..)

Travel feedrate should be as high as possible without skipping steps, shaking your printer too much and stressing your hardware.. (150 seems a nice value...with sprinter and accleration of course...)