What is the driver of the filament line across the front of the build plate when a print starts, and why are some more complex than others?
My P1S runs a single bead of filament across the front, turns 90 degrees and prints a line maybe .5"/12mm and that is it. I see other pictures and on the build plate will be multiple lines, angles etc and curious as to purpose.
You are probably referring to the purge line at the front used to prime the nozzle. There should be another one at the back right corner.
With the X1C, there’s the option to print a calibration arrow for its LIDAR to calibrate the filament pre-print. That is probably what you are seeing in the pic’s.
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P Series
The P1S creates a single ‘L-shaped’ purge line, it is used to test flow and may be run more than once.
X Series
On the X series printers, there are far more lines and these are related to more intense calibration tests as well as appearing in two locations, the front and the back.
Only on the X series printers.
A Series
It is much shorter and fatter and again might be printed slightly further away a second time if it feels it is needed.
Some people wish to get rid of the lines hoping the print job will be faster.
IMHO The tiny amount of time it takes helps to make a better print.
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Thank you all.
My father and various teachers taught me that “The only stupid question is the one that is never asked.”
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I was at a newly opened Microcenter in Charlotte, NC and they were putting a Carbon through its paces and had some awesome multi-colored prints they had done. I talked to the guy who was tending to the printer and I asked him about the wastage from all the color swaps and he told me if time is a concern, then yeah, it’s an issue, but he then made a valid point. He said go weigh the waste, you’ll find it is very little from a weight standpoint.