magic spring (Slinky)

thingiverse

I wrote a Java program that directly outputs to G-code. To customize it: Open the .jar in Command Prompt with "java -jar spring3.jar". Temperature (in degrees C): Print temp based on filament; go cold (180-190) depending on machine. Cold extrusion shutdown may be an issue; edit G-code and add line "M302 S170" to temporarily set cold extrusion limit to 170. I don't add this to my code because you should watch it closely before trying. Average radius: Spring radius in mm, 30 feels good in the hand, 50 is largest I've made. Width: Extrusion width, 4-6mm is good. Layer height: I recommend twice nozzle width. Degrees per zigzag (DPZZ): Tricky; try 1 or 0.5 and go from there. Most consistent results come from about 2 zigzags per nozzle width (PI*radius*2=2*nozzle*360/DPZZ). It should look fairly fine on the edge. If you find a value that works for a small test, divide this by the same number you multiply the radius by to achieve mostly repeatable results (eg: 10mm, 1 DPZZ should be 30mm, 0.3 DPZZ). Height: Overall height; short for testing (20mm) or tall for something hoping to cut a usable section between failures (100mm). In the past, I've had occasional blobs that won't come apart; I think newer filament is more consistent. Offset X: Used to position on printable area (for delta); if zero in center, should be equal to average radius plus half of width. If 0 in corner, should be 5 or 10. Offset Y: Used to position on printable area (for delta); if zero in center, should be equal to average radius plus half of width. If 0 in corner, should be 5 or 10. Fudge: This is basically an extrusion multiplier (divided by 2 to compensate for an error in my code). For 1.75mm use 0.45; for 3mm filament use 0.153. Good luck; this is heavily a trial and error matter.