major layer gaps and horrible seams - any advice?
My Prusa Mini used to work great and give me incredible surface finish for 4 years. Recently in the past few months things have taken a horrible turn and my prints come out with terrible wall finishes and seams. Giant gaps in layers! It seems like an underextrusion problem, having read through the forum, but I wanted to see if anyone else has run into this and had any other advice? Thank you in advance!
RE: major layer gaps and horrible seams - any advice?
Have you ever changed the PTFE tube in the hot end? They wear out and may clog the hot end. Have you done a cold pull? You can tell when you heat up the nozzle and push manually if it feels clogged. They used to have instructions all on one page but it seems now the instructions are slideshows (boo).
https://help.prusa3d.com/guide/how-to-replace-a-hotend-ptfe-tube-mini-mini_119449
This one is on one page still:
https://help.prusa3d.com/article/cold-pull-mini_126399
What kind of filament and has it been dried? Drying always makes things better with no downside.
Regards,
Mark
RE: major layer gaps and horrible seams - any advice?
thanks Mark! I will inspect the tube in the hot end asap. I've done a few cold pulls and have used a brand new filament roll out of the vacuum sealed bag but neither of those have helped.
RE: major layer gaps and horrible seams - any advice?
Filament may still be wet right out of the bag. I strongly recommend a heated filament drier. I put the rolls I am going to use in for at least a few hours and every overnight if using for more than one day.
When doing a cold pull, it should be possible to push the filament through the hot end with your fingers without that much force, depending on the temperature and filament used. Once you do it when it is working right, you can then detect later when it is clogged by feel. Using the needle to clear any burnt filament pieces from the hot end can't hurt either. I also clean off the nozzle with a wire brush and Xacto after every print. Be careful not to short anything out. A silicone sock helps to keep things clean.
Regards,
Mark
RE:
Also do a typical maintenance check if you have not done it, such as checking if all the screws are not loose, check belt tension, PTFE short and long tube quality ( if not used up or burned), heatbreak/heat block and nozzle position, and if the nozzle needs replacement.
https://help.prusa3d.com/article/regular-maintenance-mini-mini_133222
See my GitHub and printables.com for some 3d stuff that you may like.