Retraction Test with 9 Steps

thingiverse

This retraction test is divided into 9 equal sections with small tabs, making it easy to compare 9 different retraction configurations in one print. The tabs clearly distinguish each section from the others—no need for calipers or measuring distances! The model has a thin base and is designed to use filament efficiently. It's optimized for a layer height of **0.2 mm**, printing in about **20 minutes**. The FreeCAD solid model is included, allowing you to create your own versions! Add more segments, move the towers apart, or make the tabs stick out far to create a truly evil temperature tower... ### Dimensions Each segment is exactly 5 mm tall; with 9 segments per tower, both towers are 45 mm tall from the base. The base is exactly 0.6 mm tall. Each tab is intended for the first layer of each segment, so they're all exactly 0.2 mm tall and spaced 5 mm apart center-to-center. The towers are 20 mm apart center-to-center and 3 mm in diameter. When printing with a 0.2 mm layer height as recommended, each segment is exactly 25 layers (the base has 3 layers). So, the segments start on the following layers: 4, 29, 54, 79, 104, 129, 154, 179, and 204. The tabs are on these same layers since they align with each segment's first layer. ### Instructions To use this test, you need to change settings at different z-levels. In Cura: 1. Set your desired baseline settings as usual. For example, if you're going to vary the retraction distance, make sure to set your intended retraction speed. 2. From the menu bar, select Extensions > Post Processing > Modify G-Code 3. Add 9 instances of the "ChangeAtZ" script 4. For each script instance, set "Trigger" to "Layer No." 5. Set the "Change Layer" options to whichever layers each segment starts on. For **0.2 mm layer height only**, see the layers in Dimensions above. 6. For each script instance (i.e., segment on the towers), set the configuration you want to test. ### Tips I recommend putting your starting value in the middle segment, then using the 4 above and 4 below to test both directions (greater and lesser values). If there are any stringy filament leftovers stuck to the extruder, clean them off first! They might get stuck to the tower and cause a false positive.