Customizable Retraction Tower

While there are surely plenty of retraction test prints available online, there aren't any that allow you to try different settings without printing multiple objects. With that in mind, I've created this customizable retraction tower that allows you to test up to 5 different values at once.

This is possible through the use of “virtual extruders”, which essentially involves telling PrusaSlicer that there are more extruders available than there actually are. Doing so allows you to set different settings for each extruder, then assign each to a particular level of the tower. The result is a tower with 5 levels, each with different retraction settings.

To use this tower, simply open the .3MF file and navigate to the Printer Settings tab, then adjust the settings for each extruder as shown below. Make sure you modify the nozzle diameter and select an appropriate layer height if you are are using a something other than 0.4mm!

Depending on your setup, your saved filament profiles may not appear when using the printer settings included in this file. If this is the case, you may need to modify the dependencies for the filament you wish to tune.

To get started, head to the Filament Settings tab, select Dependencies on the left, and switch to Expert mode. You should see a section titled “Compatible printers condition,” as shown below:

As an example, the Generic PLA filament profile includes the following dependencies by default: 

nozzle_diameter[0]!=0.8 and ! (printer_notes=~/.*PRINTER_VENDOR_PRUSA3D.*/ and printer_notes=~/.*PRINTER_MODEL_MK(2.5|3).*/ and single_extruder_multi_material)

What this essentially boils down to is that this filament will only be available for printers that:

• are not using a 0.8mm nozzle
• are not a genuine Prusa MK2.5/MK3 using a single extruder for multi-material prints

Since this test print utilizes a single extruder for a “multi-material” print (at least in terms of how the slicer understands things), these dependencies prevent it from appearing as an option.

The simplest solution in this scenario is to remove the !( and ), leaving you with nozzle_diameter[0]!=0.8 and printer_notes=~/.*PRINTER_VENDOR_PRUSA3D.*/ and printer_notes=~/.*PRINTER_MODEL_MK(2.5|3).*/ and single_extruder_multi_material

These dependencies now allow the filament to appear as an option only for printers that:

• are not using a 0.8mm nozzle
• are a genuine Prusa MK2.5/MK3 using a single extruder for multi-material prints

In other words, this profile will now likely only appear when printing this test print, or when using a MMU.

If this is confusing to you or you simply prefer not to figure out how to modify the dependencies for your specific filament, you may also simply delete the dependencies all together. 

While removing the dependencies is more than likely okay for this test print, note that the dependencies are there to help prevent undesirable results due to a particular filament/nozzle/printer combination. If you choose to save your changes, I would advise you to save a copy specifically for this test print unless you know what you're doing.