Intermittent Problems
So I've been having this issue for a while now and after trying other suggestions I figured I'd try my luck here. From the bottom up. I've made sure all the belts are at a good tension. I've washed my sheet in warm soapy water and let air dry. I've cleaned the bed again with some alcohol several times between each print. I put on some fresh and clean nitrile gloves before I touch anything near the bed. I've adjusted the z-axis to look like the ones in the knowledge base and even had another friend with a different brand printer look at my calibration tests and he says it's about as good as he's ever seen. I've swapped nozzles. I've cleaned the heater block to the point I've lapped it a couple times on the finest grit abrasive sheets I can find. My extruder has been cleaned several times. My filament is kept in a closed box with a desiccant if I'm not using it right that moment. The filament spool is able to move freely. I've tried a very thin application of glue to try and hold things down while printing. Flipped my sheet over to a side I haven't used yet. I've done several factory resets. Flashed the firmware to the latest stable builds available at the time. I've updated all the profiles to the latest ones available to use the brand of filament I'm using (Hatch Box). About the only things I haven't tried is to try is to put on yet another fresh smooth sheet, and I'll order one or two of those in the next couple weeks, and making an enclosure to hold off the still air in a small room. I'm running out of things to try and patience.
I'll make a run of a good 20 hours worth of prints (bed wiped with alcohol after I remove the part) and it'll be running just as smooth as you could hope. Then the next one will start having issues and it goes down hill from there. I'll turn it off, unplug it for a couple weeks to regain my composure. Come back and go through the steps above. Try yet another spool that was still sealed in the manufacturer plastic with desiccant. Run the self test several times, recalibrate it from zero, and then it starts to run well again after a few sputters. Is this normal and I'm just haven't heard about it before? Am I being dense and I should do some other suggested fix? I've heard about people doing prints that run for 24 hours and they can make those for weeks on end, and I'm having getting more than ten 2.5 hour prints in a row before things go pear shaped. If you can think of anything else I can try please let me know. I really want to enjoy this hobby but like I said above, I'm close to running out of suggested fixes to the point where I've even thought about getting a new printer just to see if my current one was somehow dinged in transit and I haven't noticed in the last five years.
You don't actually say what the problems are but I assume you have adhesion issues.
Printing hours are not a true indication of the state of the print sheet - 60 one hour prints leave far more residue on the sheet than one 60 hour print...
Some filaments leave more residue than others, it also varies by manufacturer - further complicated by different pigments ...
yet another spool that was still sealed in the manufacturer plastic with desiccant.
New doesn't mean dry - you have no idea how it was stored/handled before you acquired it. Drying is always worthwhile.
Here is a basic cleaning strategy used by many regulars here:
Clean with IPA between prints. (usually good for a dozen or so depending on filament)
At the first hint of a problem, use dishwashing detergent (Dawn/Fairy) and HOT water.
If this is not enough rub neat dishwashing detergent into the sheet, wait a few minutes then rinse clean with VERY HOT water.
If that's not enough use acetone: *On the smooth sheet only* once or twice a year at most.
All this assumes fingerprints, perhaps stray sugars or light lubricants but if you are using aerosols, sprayers, laser cutters, welding kit or similar in the same workshop then there might be other cleaning agents required. The sheet must be clean.
Cheerio,
RE: Intermittent Problems
What kind of filament are you using? Things are very different for PLA, PETG, ASA, TPU, etc.
Exactly what are the issues?
New filament and dessicant is not sufficient to get dry filament. An actual heated filament dryer always helps and has no downside.
Regards,
Mark
RE:
One thing I've found to help immensely with my mk3s+ was to let the bed heat for a minimum of five minutes to absorb heat before starting a print. The XL does this automatically. I don't know about the mini.
The bed can change shape while its heating so waiting until the sheet thermally stabilizes can increase your print success.
As Mark said in the previous post, the filament makes a huge difference. I clean the textured sheet once a month when printing PETG. With PLA, I carefully clean it after every print. So it makes a huge difference in the type of filament as to how the best results are obtained.
Please post the type of filament, including brand, you're using and what temperatures settings (bed, first layer, etc.) you're using.
RE: Intermittent Problems
I'm using Hatchbox PLA on a textured sheet. I'll try the idea to let the bed heat up for a spell before I start the print. The main issue is that the first layer will print just lovely, then after another subsequent layer or two it'll start "tearing" up the already laid layers. If I move the z-axis up it does the same thing, if I move it down it does the same thing. Adhesion doesn't seem to be an issue and like I said earlier. I've tried adjusting the z-axis up and down while doing the z-axis test print, I forget the actual name. Is there a pre-made filament dryer you'd suggest? Would I just leave it on all the time, or pop in a spool and heat it for a while?
RE: Intermittent Problems
Tearing layers after some time when first layer is done?
I see some thing that may be the cause (in the following order, try one and see if it helps, if not then continue to the next):
- dry the filament (I suggest food dehydators)
- too low ambient temperature - the best is to have at least 18C, ideally 21C in the printer area
- avoid having drafts around the printer - this affects cooling and thus can cause warping, even walking past the printer can cause some issues, or placing it next to the window where cold air pours down the glass pane towards the print bed
- in PrusaSlicer - in Print Settings see Layers and Perimeters > Quality > Avoid crossing perimeters - select that and reslice, it may help from print head hitting printed parts
- check if you have enough cooling, or maybe printing temperatures are too high and this can cause the filament to be cooked and when it is extruded it effectively glues to and also cooks the filament that was previously laid - so maybe you need to lower it? - this can be controlled per filament profile (I suggest printing 'temperature tower' for given filament)
- check what are the temperatures for first layer and the other layers in PrusaSlicer - usually first layer is a bit hotter, but maybe your is getting cooled too much and this causes the print to warp. It will be in Filament Settings > Filament > Temperature > Bed and First Layer / Other Layers
- in PrusaSlicer - check Travel Lift setting, it should be at least the height of the printed layer and is used to avoid hitting printed areas when the printer is moving the head
See my GitHub and printables.com for some 3d stuff that you may like.
RE: Intermittent Problems
If you are using the Prusa textured sheet, it is too rough for PLA to adhere well. It is designed for PETG and other filaments that adhere well to the print bed. That said, I use my textured sheet with PLA but I use glue-stick to coat first. Then I clean after about 4-10 one-hour prints. PLA leaves more residue than PETG and needs to be cleaned with dish soap, not alcohol. Alcohol gets hand grease, but not PLA residue. You can also bump up the bed temp 5C if you are using the textured to help. (I use 65C for my textured bed with PLA). The only reason to use textured with PLA is if you really want the surface of your print to have that 'look'. Otherwise, use the Prusa smooth sheet (or satin) for PLA.
RE: Intermittent Problems
Thank you all for the suggestions. I've made a list of new things to try and I'll get back with the results. Hopefully I'll stumble my way into a solution.
A picture of a failed print would help us.
Cheerio,