I got me 3D printer, awesome!

[Frozennova]

Are you checking for level in the centre of the build plate as well as the edges? Most platforms aren’t level and naturally most people check for level in the corners which are often higher than the centre where most parts are printed

Levelled at the corners then approx 100mm from the corner, bed has very little warp checking with a straight edge. I do

@Frozennova which slicer and what profile?

Also https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-troubleshooting/ for tips.

Latest Cura using the CR10 Profile with adjusted bed size as that's what a lot of people seem to suggest for getting started.

 

[Lakeland]

Levelled at the corners then approx 100mm from the corner, bed has very little warp checking with a straight edge. I do

Try moving the nozzle to the middle of the bed as you sometimes get gantry's that aren't flat which can raise the nozzle in the centre of the bed. I've tried all sorts of different methods to set the nozzle height but the best I have found is setting it visually. I shine a light behind the nozzle and set the height so there is a slight gap, moving the nozzle round the bed and trying to find a bet fit scenario.

I'd hazard a guess that the nozzle is too close to the bed looking at the pic which causes the issue of no filament being extruded which leaves gaps in the bottom layer.

4 layers at the bottom is more than enough, you can get away with 2 layers no problem.

Temps I use are 55oC for the bed and 205oC for the extruder.

If you take a video of the first layer being printed and post it up here (dropbox type link maybe) I'm sure we can work out what the issue is for you.

 

[Frozennova]

Try moving the nozzle to the middle of the bed as you sometimes get gantry's that aren't flat which can raise the nozzle in the centre of the bed. I've tried all sorts of different methods to set the nozzle height but the best I have found is setting it visually. I shine a light behind the nozzle and set the height so there is a slight gap, moving the nozzle round the bed and trying to find a bet fit scenario.

I'd hazard a guess that the nozzle is too close to the bed looking at the pic which causes the issue of no filament being extruded which leaves gaps in the bottom layer.

4 layers at the bottom is more than enough, you can get away with 2 layers no problem.

Temps I use are 55oC for the bed and 205oC for the extruder.

If you take a video of the first layer being printed and post it up here (dropbox type link maybe) I'm sure we can work out what the issue is for you.

Think you might be onto something there, first layer is almost indistinguishable from the bed.

Will relevel it around the center this evening.

Edit: levelled the bed from scratch again and ended up going backwards, bought it up a touch and improved then (Wrongly or rightly?) increase initial layer height from 0.2mm to 0.3mm and ended up with the below result.

 

[Rroff]

£100 or just below if you are prepared to do some self-assembly or there are some that are pretty much ready to print out the box for around £150 though I'd advise spending a little more as there are some decent ones that come up in sales fairly frequently at around £170. Then you need some filament and depending on printer something like decorator's tape and some hairspray or Pritt Stick glue to aid bed adhesion which will add another £10-30 or so.

 

[Lakeland]

Think you might be onto something there, first layer is almost indistinguishable from the bed.

Will relevel it around the center this evening.

Edit: levelled the bed from scratch again and ended up going backwards, bought it up a touch and improved then (Wrongly or rightly?) increase initial layer height from 0.2mm to 0.3mm and ended up with the below result.

Very nice. I suspect increasing the layer height moved the nozzle further from the bed which made the difference. I find layer height to be very sensitive, once it’s dialed in don’t touch it!

Sometimes I print a 100mm cube and visually inspect the first layer to make sure it’s even, adjust and reprint until it’s sorted. With the cr-10 and big levelling knobs you can do this on the fly, not sure about the ender but I think you can get in there.

 

[Frozennova]

Very nice. I suspect increasing the layer height moved the nozzle further from the bed which made the difference. I find layer height to be very sensitive, once it’s dialed in don’t touch it!

Sometimes I print a 100mm cube and visually inspect the first layer to make sure it’s even, adjust and reprint until it’s sorted. With the cr-10 and big levelling knobs you can do this on the fly, not sure about the ender but I think you can get in there.

Spent the best part of 20 hours over the course of last week printing various odds and sods ( Some useful, some not) to really get a an idea of what can and can't be done etc. Got everything dialed in pretty well now, the only minor annoyance left is the odd blob/zit on Z travels most of what I can find suggests coasting helps but so far its gone the opposite way

 

[hyperseven]

Spent the best part of 20 hours over the course of last week printing various odds and sods ( Some useful, some not) to really get a an idea of what can and can't be done etc. Got everything dialed in pretty well now, the only minor annoyance left is the odd blob/zit on Z travels most of what I can find suggests coasting helps but so far its gone the opposite way

What have you printed?

On my E3:
Adjustable X/Y belt tensioners
electric box fan duct
filament guide
tool tray attached to the top extrusion
LCD cover
Fang cooler for 5015 fan
wheel for filament feed

 

[Frozennova]

What have you printed?

On my E3:
Adjustable X/Y belt tensioners
electric box fan duct
filament guide
tool tray attached to the top extrusion
LCD cover
Fang cooler for 5015 fan
wheel for filament feed

Filament Guides
Tool holder on top linear rail
Fan guard.
SD Card holder
Some Helical gears
A small box to play with snap hooks
An adapter for 5 litre cans to allow me to put a hose on the end to dispense from them (Pic below of the CAD model in Solidworks anyway) (Screenwash type 5 litre cans)
A gauge fascia/bezel



Currently trying to get bridging figured out

 

[Rroff]

Printed myself a little headphone extension dongle thingy



Needs a lot of polishing and a finish but that is a job for another day - the layers don't show up anything like as obviously to look at the lighting/camera seems to have emphasised them.

I probably should have created the mesh in a bit higher resolution as well.

 

[deuse]

Think you might be onto something there, first layer is almost indistinguishable from the bed.

Will relevel it around the center this evening.

Edit: levelled the bed from scratch again and ended up going backwards, bought it up a touch and improved then (Wrongly or rightly?) increase initial layer height from 0.2mm to 0.3mm and ended up with the below result.

Is your bed textured?
If you are using glass then the bottom should have a mirror finish.

 

[Frozennova]

Is your bed textured?
If you are using glass then the bottom should have a mirror finish.

It is, I've got a glass bed waiting for me at royal mail.

The texture is actually quite useful for me in some cases

 

[deuse]

It is, I've got a glass bed waiting for me at royal mail.

The texture is actually quite useful for me in some cases

I now have a textured bed since I made my own magnetic bed. I miss a glass bed.

 

[Minusorange]

Does anyone know how much 7.5mm would translate to in GCode for X axis movement

G1 X0.1 Y150.0 Z0.2 F1500.0 E15 is wiping my nozzle in the wrong spot and I need it to come in 7.5mm to wipe on the actual glass bed

 

[Rroff]

I'd assume those coordinates are in mm - though E15 seems a bit high - that is probably quite a bit of filament.

EDIT: What is the rest of the script? its possible something is mixed up between relative and absolute movement.

 

[Minusorange]

I'd assume those coordinates are in mm - though E15 seems a bit high - that is probably quite a bit of filament.

EDIT: What is the rest of the script? its possible something is mixed up between relative and absolute movement.

All I needed do was change X to 7.5 and it's done the job

 

[bulb66]

Hey all,

Not sure if anyone is interested but the company I work for, who happens to sell 3d printer parts has started a Facebook group to share builds, prints and just somewhere for the 3d printing enthusiasts to talk.

If anyone wants to join here's the link.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2156946534537976

J.

 

[Frozennova]

Gave the glass bed a go today.

Love the surface finish on the bottom of the print from it, but struggled with adhesion. (Srubbed with fairly liquid dried then cleaned With IPA)

PLA prints were starting to lift/warp after approx 15-20 layers, PETG has been a total mess, it'll lay the first perimeter down for the skirt absolutely fine, then the second perimeter picks it up and drags it around even with hairspray

 

[hyperseven]

Gave the glass bed a go today.

Love the surface finish on the bottom of the print from it, but struggled with adhesion. (Srubbed with fairly liquid dried then cleaned With IPA)

PLA prints were starting to lift/warp after approx 15-20 layers, PETG has been a total mess, it'll lay the first perimeter down for the skirt absolutely fine, then the second perimeter picks it up and drags it around even with hairspray

which hairspray and bed temp?

 

[Frozennova]

which hairspray and bed temp?

Silverkrin as it was what was in the house.

Going to give it another go tomorrow, had it start lifting around halfway through on the stock build plate which was solved by bumping bed temp from 50c to 70c. I think i was trying to run before I could walk by trying to change too many things at once (Filament and bed material)

 

[bulb66]

The best bed material I've found for PETg is blue tape and glue stick and bed around 60°c.

Works a treat and once finished remove the part and use warm water to clean glue residue off the print.

Even prusa recommend glue stick on PEI sheet with PETg.