First layer issues with newly upgraded MK4S.
I have recently upgraded my printer to the MK4S and I am experiencing some first layer issues. In the image, it looks like there are gaps in the first few lines. I have never seen this before when printing with the MK4 before upgrading. Then after those first few lines go down, it seems that the nozzle is dragging across the print and causing it to clump up. Is this an extrusion issue or a z offset issue? I remember changing my z offset when I first got my printer but I do not remember what to. I am also new to this high flow nozzle. I would appreciate any direction I can get on getting this solved.
RE: First layer issues with newly upgraded MK4S.
Is the nozzle loose?
RE: First layer issues with newly upgraded MK4S.
- Are you using the high flow profiles in Prusaslicer?
- Make sure the nozzle type is set to high flow in the hardware settings section of the LCD menu on the printer. Some firmware versions set it erroneously.
Formerly known on this forum as @fuchsr -- until all hell broke loose with the forum software...
RE: First layer issues with newly upgraded MK4S.
Is the nozzle loose?
No, not that I can tell. The nozzle seems to be secure.
RE:
- Are you using the high flow profiles in Prusaslicer?
- Make sure the nozzle type is set to high flow in the hardware settings section of the LCD menu on the printer. Some firmware versions set it erroneously.
I am using the HF profiles in Prusaslicer. I typically use the MK4S HF 4.0 which is what my nozzle is.
I also have the hardware set correctly per the instructions from Prusa after completing the hardware additions/modifications.
I did have a firmware update recently. I am not certain if that changed it yet. I can look in a little bit. I did change to high flow nozzle in the printer menu initially though after completing the upgrades.
RE: First layer issues with newly upgraded MK4S.
I just confirmed that high flow nozzle is enabled in the settings menu on the printer.
RE: First layer issues with newly upgraded MK4S.
I'm not sure what could cause this, maybe loosen the nozzle, make sure it's pushed up all the way and tighten.
If that doesn't work I'd reach out to support.
RE: First layer issues with newly upgraded MK4S.
I'd swap the HF with a regular flow nozzle, to see if that makes a difference. I gave up on the HF after a week. Hardly any meaningful difference in speed but a bunch of issues, so why bother.
Formerly known on this forum as @fuchsr -- until all hell broke loose with the forum software...
RE: First layer issues with newly upgraded MK4S.
I think I found what could be the issue? If you will notice I am printing with PETG. The nozzle temperature is only going to 175. The spool recommends 230. I have PETG selected as the filament when I loaded it into the printer and also selected in Prusaslicer……..So why is the printer only going to 175?
RE:
That is during the bed probing stage, yes? That is so the filament does not drip all over the print sheet during probing. The temp should go up after bed probing is finished and before the start of the actual print. You can also see on the display that the bed has not yet reached the final temp for printing.
RE:
Yes, that's the "no leak" temp while the bed is heating up for MBL.
I remember changing my z offset when I first got my printer
Not sure what that means? There's no way to change the z offset on the printer? Do you mean in the slicer printer profile? In which case I'd set it back to zero.
With PETG and the textured sheet I find I need to manually adjust live Z when the print starts. After bed leveling and the nozzle and bed having reached target temps, as soon as the print head starts to move to the print the start line, long press on the knob until the live Z adjustment menu pops up. I set live Z to -0.03 or -0.04 for PETG. Marketing of course claims that with the load cell the first layer is always perfect but enough people have reported issues on Github and the need to make live Z adjustments that I think that's a myth.
Formerly known on this forum as @fuchsr -- until all hell broke loose with the forum software...
RE: First layer issues with newly upgraded MK4S.
Not a myth for me. Last week I upgraded my MK4 (one of the first ones, arrived in mid-April of 2023) to MK4S. First layers were no problem before the upgrade with any material I printed with it. Have only printed PETG and PLA with it after the upgrade, still testing, but happy with the upgrade so far.
RE: First layer issues with newly upgraded MK4S.
Yes, that's the "no leak" temp while the bed is heating up for MBL.
I remember changing my z offset when I first got my printer
Not sure what that means? There's no way to change the z offset on the printer? Do you mean in the slicer printer profile? In which case I'd set it back to zero.
With PETG and the textured sheet I find I need to manually adjust live Z when the print starts. After bed leveling and the nozzle and bed having reached target temps, as soon as the print head starts to move to the print the start line, long press on the knob until the live Z adjustment menu pops up. I set live Z to -0.03 or -0.04 for PETG. Marketing of course claims that with the load cell the first layer is always perfect but enough people have reported issues on Github and the need to make live Z adjustments that I think that's a myth.
That makes sense. Yes, I changed it in the slicer. I did some troubleshooting a while back and changed it slightly in Prusaslicer. I never had any issues printing with PLA and PETG before the upgrade. After the upgrade so far, I have printed a few pieces that are round but not anything flat. The piece that I am trying to print now, is some of the final pieces of that project. I have close to 100 hours of time printing this project so I want to figure this out so I can finish the project.
RE: First layer issues with newly upgraded MK4S.
Not a myth for me. Last week I upgraded my MK4 (one of the first ones, arrived in mid-April of 2023) to MK4S. First layers were no problem before the upgrade with any material I printed with it. Have only printed PETG and PLA with it after the upgrade, still testing, but happy with the upgrade so far.
I am certain this is something I did wrong and not the printer’s fault. I just want to figure out what it is so I can correct it.
RE: First layer issues with newly upgraded MK4S.
Did the self-test routine after performing the upgrade run successfully for all the axes? Did you have to repeat one of the tests or did it run successfully to the end at first try?
Z offset is located in the Printers tab of PrusaSlicer:
RE: First layer issues with newly upgraded MK4S.
Yes. Everything was successful. I just ran another test a few days ago and it was successful as well. It’s probably not necessary but I run the test about once every month to make sure all is good.
My current Z offset is 0. A while back Prusa moved the MK4 to legacy printers in the Prusaslicer configuration. So I uninstalled it and removed everything and reinstalled it hoping to get the profiles for the MK4 back before I realized they were moved to legacy.
All of the settings and everything I had were removed trying to fix that. I will look at the live Z offset and see what I can find. I should look for a first layer test and try that and see what happens.
RE: First layer issues with newly upgraded MK4S.
I removed all my old MK4 profiles from PrusaSlicer after the upgrade and used the new profiles for the MK4S for the things I printed after that. I did not use any old projects that have saved printer settings from before in them.
Could it be that you used old projects saved for the MK4 that have the offset setting still in them?
RE: First layer issues with newly upgraded MK4S.
No. I started printing a rather large project right after the upgrade. The other parts printed fine but they didn’t have any flat areas. And this part that I am trying to print now, it prints the ends of the part just fine. It just starts to have this issue once it starts going inside of that initial perimeter of the part.
RE: First layer issues with newly upgraded MK4S.
Could there be something stuck between the print plate and the surface of heated bed there? Even a small piece of debris can cause some unevenness of the print plate. I have seen that sometimes on my printer when during the bed probing the nozzle goes up and then down again over a certain spot on the plate. Usually there is a little piece of filament debris under the plate.
RE: First layer issues with newly upgraded MK4S.
Could there be something stuck between the print plate and the surface of heated bed there? Even a small piece of debris can cause some unevenness of the print plate. I have seen that sometimes on my printer when during the bed probing the nozzle goes up and then down again over a certain spot on the plate. Usually there is a little piece of filament debris under the plate.
I can check more thoroughly. While cleaning the build plate, a quick glance did not show anything out of the ordinary.