…following on from previous posts…
So this one is at .3 LH. The big difference is that I changed the extrusion multiplier in Slic3r to 0.9 from 1.0. This has to mean that the problem is overextrusion, doesn’t it?
If it is, and I have calibrated the e-steps correctly, what should I do next? Note the slight bulging at the corners.
Print the .5mm-thin-wall object from here (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5573) and then measure the thickness of the wall to see if it’s what your wall thickness is set to in your slicer or not.
First of all triple check your nozzle diameter setting in slic3r. Too much material on perimeters and infill not touching itself nicely was a symptom of telling the slicer i had a bigger nozzle than I did for me.
Second, those corners look much more like lash than overextrusion. How tight are your belts? Mine can be strummed like a string instrument. Also double check the grub screws on your pulleys.
Lastly, try installing cura, using its setup wizard to input all your machine info then using code from it. Cura is imo the best test for mechanical vs slicer issues, because on a perfect mechanical machine cura gcode is just about perfect. It doesn’t really have many settings for you to mess up software side.
Measure your actual filament diameter with a caliper in a number of places and make sure your filament diameter setting, in Slic3r, is correct.
Your extrusion does not appear to be smooth. What happens when you free-extrude (like when you are loading filament and are trying to purge your nozzle) – does it come out smoothly?
Your perimeters still look a little over-extruded, but it could also be a result of backlash (lack of belt tension).
Your infill looks under-extruded - is your nozzle diameter correct? Also, what is the extrusion width to layer height ratio? That could be off, causing that 'wiggly" look.
The dotted look on the sides indicates too low of an extrusion temp as the feeder is forcing it through the nozzle. Temps will vary between manfacturers, colors, and batches/rolls. It should look smooth. Having said that, the curling at the corners looks like not enough cooling. Do you have a fan, preferably a nozzle fan, cooling the filament once it comes out of the extruder? Like Jim mentioned, accurate filament diameter is one of the key items to get right. I typically measure 10 or so spots at various angles to the filament. Then average those out to x.xxx. Only then do I tune the extrusion multiplier.
Tune the whole thing in this order: filament diameter, e steps, temp, then extrusion multiplier.
Sorry if I came off brash or crude, but I’ve seen your posts over the last week struggling with this thing, and just couldn’t help it. What printer/extruder/hotend are you using?
Belts checked, grub screws checked. Frightened to tighten them any more for fear of putting to much pressure on the motor spindles. Slic3r checked, nozzle size .5
Diameter of actual extruded material is .55
I ran the thin walled piece. Came out pretty nice, no lift on the corners. Average of the 4 walls (measuring just to top few layers) is 0.73. All 4 walls were within .01 of each other.
In Slic3r I found the default extrusion width in print settings advanced. It is set to 0 (auto) for perimeters and infill.
Yeah, that’s pretty seriously over extruding. What’s the diameter of your nozzle?
I had lots of problems until I manually set the default extrusion width to 20% over the nozzle size. In your case, try 0.60
Next, make sure your your filament diameter is well measured at multiple points in multiple directions. I took 8 measurements and averaged them all. I found that a micrometer is 10 times more accurate than a caliper here. I bought the cheap 30$ ones from harbor freight and am glad I did. Use the calipers for long distances, and the micrometer for short distances.
Next, calibrate your Z endstop/print start height. Properly calibrated you should be able to fit a piece of paper under the nozzle and move it without it catching. Make sure your nozzle is free of plastic when you test this, and your heated bed is up to temp.
Check your x and y travel distances by printing out a 2-3 layer square or rectangle as big as you can print.
The issue you are seeing is caused by up to 3 issues. Bad starting Z height, bad filament width, and bad extrusion multiplier. The extrusion multiplier is the last thing you should modify, after you verify that all of the other settings are correct.
@Kamil_Steglinski As I said earlier I’ve been playing with this for about 18 months so I’m not new to it. It was working much better and has gone off the rails. I like posting pics and getting other opinions while working through these things. And I think it helps other newer users as well. That is what this community is all about.
It seems that some people like to calculate pitch, gear size, motor steps, total stepping degrees etc. (engineers are usually over-engineers) I just plucked the extruder from the machine, and without the hot end attached, extrude 100 mm. Then measure it. Adjust the number in the firmware until extruding 100 mm extrudes 100 mm. I did the same with the X, Y, and Z. I believe that a bigger movement on the axis gives a more accurate result. If you have a 200mm ruler, then move/extrude 200mm. If that is not your problem, then at least you will know that is not your problem.
The first few levels seem to be alright. Because you put a large amount of material in the object and because it is not completely filled, the material in the centre might flow al little bit in contrast with the corners where it solidifies directly. With every layer this accumulates. Try to print an box with just the outside or with a very low filling of the core. Enough to support but open enough the allow to cool. And raise the temperature slightly to get a more even flow out of the nozzle.
A lot of good stuff here. It’s going to take me some time to get through this and unfortunately I have to start the work week now. Shame all this work gets in the way of my printing 
Thanks all, great community, go Google+!
It’s hard to know without seeing the printer at work, but the regular notches in the side facing the camera look like rough stepping on that axis. It probably isn’t related to your extrusion settings, it’s more likely to be either a low-quality stepper motor (hopefully not) or too much drive to that motor. In tandem with adjusting the extrusion, you may want to look at adjusting the trimpot on that axis (and perhaps all of them, if you’ve never gone through that process).