Can't seem to get good prints on eSun PLA+
Hey all, here are photos for reference: https://imgur.com/a/ZUDsFNU
And here is my gcode file: https://file.io/SAF354LL7Dkt
Printing on eSun PLA+ on Prusa Mini+. I did a few cold pulls after switching to this filament. Prior to this filament, I had been printing most things on .10mm (DETAIL preset). Mostly pokemon toys for my sons to paint / play with. They have turned out very well with little to no issues. But I was hoping to get less brittle pieces by switching to PLA+. Unfortunately, the PLA+ has been a hassle to get printing properly. As seen in the photos, it is very... patchy. I don't know what is going on with that first layer... And the prints come out with a variety of imperfections. And stringing is very bad. This is a fresh roll of PLA, taken out of the vaccuum sealed pack today. (and the hotend is only a week old)
I did just recently fix an issue with the extruder. The grub screw was completely loose on one of the gears - so the filament just stopped coming out completely. I took apart the extruder, and tightened the grub screw. Hoping I didn't cause any issues in the process.
E.g., I'm using 220c first layer temp, and 204c temp for other layers. 60c for bed. I do have a 6mm retraction length and 40 mm/s retraction speed (found based on searches for eSun PLA+ printing).
(I am hoping to eventually switch to the .25mm nozzle, once I have prints coming out as expected with the .4mm nozzle)
RE: Can't seem to get good prints on eSun PLA+
Here's how that file/settings printed. You can see a lot of weird little nicks/divets in the print.
RE: Can't seem to get good prints on eSun PLA+
I've managed to get some pretty decent prints at 190 degrees... which seems super super low for this filament and I wonder if something is wrong with the hot end (its a brand new one, preassembled from prusa).
RE: Can't seem to get good prints on eSun PLA+
Anyone able to tell what the problem is by those pics?
MODERATOR - can you look into this?
You are getting no responses because your pictures are not showing - how are you including them?
Cheerio,
MODERATOR - can you look into this?
RE: Can't seem to get good prints on eSun PLA+
Okay. I tried to add images using an imgur link, but not sure why that didn't take. Go ahead and delete this post.. I'll submit a new one.
RE: Can't seem to get good prints on eSun PLA+
I just solved a simmilar problem with a brand new fresh spool of esun pla+. I was getting lots of stringing, popping sounds and holes in extruded lines of filament, especially at low print speeds (first layer ect.) and higher temps. Because the filament is brand new the last thing i suspected was moisture in the filament. But after finally drying a test string of filament in the oven for just an hour at 50 C the difference in print quality is night and day, I can now print at 220 C and normal speed. You might want to do what I did and dry a test string of filament, the difference should be apparent at the first layer.
RE: Can't seem to get good prints on eSun PLA+
I have had a lot of problems with esun PLA+ myself. Couldn't figure out how to print without a lot of stringing. It seemed counter-intuitive, but when I lowered the temperature to 195/200 degrees, it printed fine. I've read that some people have printed PLA+ as low as 170/180, but seems wierd as PLA+ should be printed at a bit higher temp than regular PLA.
RE: Can't seem to get good prints on eSun PLA+
I had loads of issues with eSun PLA+.. managed to fix them by using a dry box (esun one actually) the issue seems to be that their filament comes wet... even if its factory sealed.
RE: Can't seem to get good prints on eSun PLA+
I've Kingroon KP3S Pro S1 with it's Titan clone direct drive.
I've some eSun PLA+ with different color.
I like the quality of printing and the stiffness.
But I've the same problem of stringing.
I've been able to reduce at almost 90% drying the filament at 60° for near 4h, and with 1mm->3mm retraction and 40mm/s -> 55mm/s retraction speed.
If ther're no towers to opposite sides, printing are awesome and strong with this filament.
RE: Can't seem to get good prints on eSun PLA+
In general, I thought this filament was just Anti-Prusa, as it will only behave with my AniCubic KobraMax, but then again it runs PLA with a nozzle temp of 230C and bed at classic 60C. Could we push the Mini to run like an AnyCubic?
RE: Can't seem to get good prints on eSun PLA+
Hey guys, just bought an eSun PLA+ just because Prusa Mini has a profile for it. Well, it has tons of issues as described by some of the members here.
At first, it seemed like the nozzle was clogged, as I was printing with PETG before. Nope, the nozzle was fine. Then I thought it was the extruder wheel or something like that, nope, it works just fine. I've also tried lower temps and different speed combos.
1. I don't want to dry my filament every time I buy it. especially if it was sealed.
2. My local dealer(not the one I bought from), has the same complaints from people.
Eventually, I managed to print something with it but not without issues. My settings were all over the place. 225 nozzle and 30mm/s speed did the job for me. The popping sound did not stop.
Too much time was spent on this 25-USD roll of filament I would say.
How do I know the filament is the issue?
- The moment I changed to another filament, everything was solved. Prusa PLA, Fillamentum, and an unknown PETG...😳
- Too many forum topics regarding this specific brand and the problems related to it.
- My local dealer has too many returns...
so...have a good printing day.
RE:
Correct my previous message, I dry at 40°, it's important because 60° will cause vetrification of this filament.
I saw it coms almost wet from factory so it needs some drying just before use.
I saw that it need retraction similar to PETG, 3.5mm to a direct drive.
I print 215°/60.
From the same company I tried ePLA Lite, totally different product it doesn't suffer the problem of the PLA+. But they don't have all the colors of the PLA+.
I'm having good results just playing with different parameters. But I saw that Cura Slicer has a profile expressly for this PLA+ that resolve most of the problems.
I'll buy again because the parts have good stiffness. It's only 9% less tough than Sunlu PLA+.
RE: Can't seem to get good prints on eSun PLA+
I'm having similar issues with black eSun PLA+. I tried printing using fresh spool with Prusament PLA profile, but it was stringy and i noticed popping sound during print. I was like okay, it sounds like wet filament, so I dried it, but that didn't help. Stringing, popping sound and ocassional holes in layers was still there.
Tried different temperatures and had best results with 210°C which is quite low. I disassembled and cleaned the extruder, cleaned nozzle..
During the testing i noticed that popping sound comes right after retraction. A ha!
Looks like default retraction length (3,2mm) is too much for PLA+ and during retraction, some air gets into the nozzle that causes these issues.
My custom profile right now is:
Temp: 210°C
Retraction length: 2,4mm
Retraction speed: 50mm/s
Hope that heps someone from fiddling with a printer for whole week 😀