SV07 Tuned Profiles

SV07 Profiles and calibration guide.

Black Friday is coming up, and the SV07 is the printer recommendation for those that can't afford a MK4 (yet!). With Klipper and a volcano hotend, it can print much faster than other bed-slingers at this price point, and most importantly has a large number of calibration options to obtain the best performance. However, I continue to prefer Prusament and PrusaSlicer, so below is my guide for tuning the SV07 printer and profiles. 

3MF files are attached from which the printer profiles can be extracted and saved.

Further general reading / support:

• Makers Muse Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH5RQiuaKlw
• https://www.reddit.com/r/Sovol/ 

Steps

1. Hardware Adjustments
2. Printer Calibration
3. Profile Calibration (Defaults Provided)
4. Filament Calibration (Defaults Provided)
5. Printer Maintenance

Hardware Adjustments

Hardware adjustments should be done first, as these will impact calibration and input shaping. These suggestions are not required for a good printer, but will improve maintenance or reliability. If this is a first printer that has to print its own modifications, input shaping should be repeated after these have been added.

1. (Most important) Concrete paver with isolation pad.
   • Reduces resonance and noise.
   • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y08v6PY_7ak 
2. Wall-mounted spool holder
   • Mounting the spool holder off the printer should provide a more reliable filament path.
   • Holder: https://www.printables.com/model/632754-sovol-sv07-filament-sensor-holder 
3. X Gantry cable management
   • Link: https://www.printables.com/model/500810-sovol-sv07-extruder-ribbon-cable-support-extension/files 
   • This prevents the X gantry cable from rubbing against the fan.

As part of the printer hardware setup, it is import to verify that the movement system is moving freely. This is the most common source of layer shifts and poor print quality. These components are checked when the printer is turned off, so I've not included them in the printer calibration routine. If you change these

1. Check bed (y-axis) roller tightness (prevent y-axis layer shifts).
   • Refer to user manual for how to tighten or loosen.
   • The right tightness should have:
     • Minimal wobble in the bed when shaken from opposing corners.
     • Minimal resistance to movement in the y-axis. If you lightly roll one of the wheels the bed should move.
     • If in doubt, leave as is from factory, and only adjust if you have y-layer shifting.
   • For example, my bed was too tight, resulting in y-layer shifts. I shifted both eccentric nuts one quarter-rotation. 
     • If in doubt, leave as is from factory, and only adjust if you have y-layer shifting.
2. Check bed belt tightness. 
   • Should be the minimum required tightness so that here is no slack (plus a little bi more).
     • When tightened, mark the knob to not if it shifts in future.
   • Too tight and there is too much pressure on the y-axis stepper motor shaft, resulting in missed steps and layer shifts.
   • Too loose and print movements will be inconsistent, resulting in a poor print quality.
3. Check gantry (x-axis) roller tightness (prevent x-axis layer shifts).
   • Refer to user manual for how to tighten or loosen.
   • Same reasoning as y-axis. I made no changes from factory-default.
4. Check gantry (x-axis) belt tightness.

• Refer to user manual for how to tighten or loosen.
• Same reasoning as y-axis. I made no changes from factory-default.

After printing for several weeks, re-check the movement system, and if satisfactory consider applying loctite / fastening glue to prevent movement in the future. However, for me, I incorporate checking the system during printer maintenance.

Printer Config

Change to maximum extruder width

Air Filtration / Airflow

Health and safety - this printer chews through filament, and has no enclosure or built in filtration. As with working with any hobbyist-level plastics / paints / solvents, it should be used in rooms with fresh air flow. Do not sleep with it, no matter how much you love it. Or do. I'm not your mother.

More info can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxMUj7pcPPI&t=0s

Printer Calibration

SOVOL in-built calibration

As per the user manual. These steps are required to have a functioning printer. Gantry levelling and bed levelling should be iterated two to three times.

1. Gantry levelling
   • For first time users or those coming from Enders, you do not need to manually twist each z-rod. Mine was severely off-axis, but the calibration routine levelled without issue.
2.  Bed levelling
   • This process steps you through the bed levelling (and is so user friendly! I used to do this with A4 paper on my old ender 3…)
   • Mark the spring knobs with texta, so that you can tell if they move with position.

ORCASlicer Calibration

OrcaSlicer is an alternative slicer that has excellent calibration tests to test printer properties, see documentation here: https://github.com/SoftFever/OrcaSlicer/wiki/Calibration 

These tests are only required if you want to check the performance of your printer. I used the flow rate test to calibrate my printer flow. I then used the advanced calibration tests to assess max volumetric flow and max speed (via VFA).

Profile Calibration

I have created 3 printer profiles aimed at beginners. These profiles started with the Makers Muse Profile, but with additions including:

• Tuned acceleration and volumetric speed to improve quality and reliability.
  • Tuning based on OrcaSlicer Tuning.
• Start / End G-code macros (Klipper commands).

The speed profile takes maximum advantage of the speed of the SV07. In addition to the speed and acceleration, it also has (a reduced amount) of 2 perimeters, 2 bottom and 3 top layers, with 5% adaptive infill. This profile has generated consistent prints, but with reduced visual quality such as ringing.

The quality profile is slowed down in acceleration and max flow in order to minimize visual artefacts. It also has 3 perimeters and 4/5 bottom/top layers to reduce visibility of internal support structure through light-coloured filament.

The lithopane profile is designed for - you guessed it - lithopanes, with a large number of perimeters and a high infill percentage. This uses feature speed limits rather than volumetric flow, but produces high quality photos.

To use these profiles, download the attached .3MF files. You can then save the profiles there to your user profiles.

Table 1. Profile Settings.

*For Maker's Muser profile see links in video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH5RQiuaKlw

Filament Calibration

Different filaments have different temperature requirements (common to all prints), and different flow rates (dependent on the printer heater block). The table below

For ABS/ASA, a enclosure or controlled temperature will probably be required. Honestly, stick to PLA / PETG / TPU, where this printer excels.

Don't both with a filament dryer, the SV07 chews through it so quickly it won't matter.

See documentation here: https://github.com/SoftFever/OrcaSlicer/wiki/Calibration 

• Temp tower

Table 2. Recommended max volumetric flow settings (Filament→Advanced→Max Volumetric Flow).

*Scaled from Prusaslicer values to measured PLA value. As I test them I will update these values.

Printer Maintenance

• (Every Print) Clean Bed
• (Every ~5 prints) Repeat Mesh Bed level
  • This can be performed for every print (like the Mk4) by changing the start G Code, however I prefer doing manually when I notice first-layer issues.
• (Every ~5 prints) Clean wheels / tracks of debris.
  • This is the downside of the cheaper v-wheel system vs linear bearings.
• (Monthly/As required) Check tighness of movement system (wheels, belts).
• (6 Monthly) Check V-wheels for damage and replace.
• (6 Monthly) Replace nozzle.

Happy printing!