Pressure advance is the most important setting for clean Pro PCTG prints. It's called Flow Dynamics or the K value on Bambu Lab printers and Linear Advance on some Marlin printers.
What it does
Pressure advance controls how your printer builds and releases pressure in the nozzle when it starts, stops, speeds up, slows down, or turns a corner. Because Pro PCTG is so viscous, there's a lag between the extruder pushing filament and plastic leaving the nozzle. Without the right value, you get extra material at the end of lines and too little at the start of the next.
Signs your pressure advance is off
| What you see | Usually means |
|---|---|
| Blobs or bulges at corners, lumpy or gapped seams, oozing at sharp direction changes | Not calibrated, or too low |
| Thin or rounded corners, gaps right after corners or at the start of lines | Too high |
| Uneven outer walls, rough surfaces, extra stringing, fuzzy small details | Not calibrated for this filament, color, or nozzle |
How to calibrate
- Calibrating pressure advance in Bambu Studio
- Calibrating pressure advance in OrcaSlicer, PrusaSlicer, Creality Print, and Klipper
- Snapmaker U1 owners: see Snapmaker U1 notes first. Its automatic calibration gives wrong values for Pro PCTG.
When to recalibrate
- The first time you print Pro PCTG on a printer
- When you switch Pro PCTG colors. A value tuned on black may not suit clear or white.
- When you switch to Matte Black, CF10, or GF10. The fibers change the value noticeably.
- After changing nozzle size or type, or replacing the nozzle or hotend
- After big changes to temperature, print speed, or max volumetric speed
- Any time corners, seams, or walls start looking wrong again
You generally don't need to recalibrate for every new spool if the printer, nozzle, color, and profile stay the same.
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