Calibration/Printing Issues
I have a m2ks running 3.1 which was purchased in 2017. Overall, had great success with it. I put down the hobby for about 6 months and just came back to it. Did all the calibrations, clean the bed and then print the v2 calibration. See the attached pics on the output. Could use some pointers.
Couple other notes:
Hatchbox PLA, been sitting in my office unwrapped for this whole time.
Filament bunched up is filament load. Appears to load smooth.
Printer is in my office, approximately 75F, stable
Did one wipe of acetone before printing.
RE: Calibration/Printing Issues
Looks like normal oily bed syndrome. Take the bed to the sink, was with pure dish soap and hot water using a fresh paper towel as the dish rag and another fresh paper towel to dry. No touching the bed with fingers, alcohol, acetone. Then try the cal process.
Acetone and alcohol have a tendency to remove oils from your fingers and leave it on the bed as an invisible layer that prevents adhesion. Unless you used gloves...
Alcohol wash: every few prints
- Gloves recommended.
- Once in a while, an alcohol rinse is helpful to remove PLA residue. It does not remove finger oils well.
- Pour a 5 cm puddle of 91%+ alcohol in the middle of the bed, with clean hands use a fresh paper towel to scrub the bed. Wipe up all the alcohol.
Acetone wash: infrequent
(DO NOT USE on Powder Coated sheets)
- Pour a 2 cm puddle of acetone on the bed, scrub it around with a fresh paper towel. It will evaporate fast as you clean. This step removes PEI oxides that form over time and with heat, and improves PLA adhesion to a like new state.
Hot Water wash: often, as needed, and after any of the above
(DO NOT USE on Powder Coated sheets)
- Handle the bed only by the edges.
- Wash the bed in hot water, use a fresh paper towel as a wash cloth, with a few drops of plain dish soap (Dawn, unscented, no anti-bacterial, etc.).
- Rinse well in hot water - if you have very soft water, rinse a bit longer.
- Dry the bed with a fresh paper towel.
- Handle the bed only by the edges.
- Place bed on printer.
Streak test: when contamination is suspected
- With a fresh piece of paper towel, and very clean fingers, dampen the towel with 91%+ alcohol, and wipe the bed side to side moving back to front, like you're painting it with alcohol. The alcohol should be thin enough on the towel it quickly evaporates. If you see any streaks, the bed is dirty and needs a wash.
RE: Calibration/Printing Issues
Update:
Washed the bed thoroughly as describe above and reprinted.
This is actually an improvement but as you can see, still significant adhesion problems.
Then, I took 1000 grit sandpaper and gave the bed a quick sand. Then ran a scotch brite over it. Recleaned with dawn and dried.
More improvement but still not there. So, used the glue that came with the box. Applied a light coat and let dry. Since this is hatchbox PLA, I've always run 210F on the end 60F on the bed. So, that's what I did.
More improvement. Looks like underextrusion and the end is partially clogged? Some of the material looks like it is extruding properly and the end has the proper height but other portions do not. I think the distance between the end and bed is good.
Next steps: Going to try the cold pull and maybe replacing the PTFE tube? Sound like the right path?
RE: Calibration/Printing Issues
The glue is for getting ABS to stick. PLA does NOT need glue. If glue helps, then the bed is dirty and needs to be washed.
Layer 1 is best set using a large part. It gives you time to make adjustments and review the result several times in one pass. It leads to a better layer 1. Also, search the forum for Jeff's "Life adjust my way" thread for more detail.
RE: Calibration/Printing Issues
I did the glue as a test. Have never used any glue in the previous 1.5-2 years. This was the first time.
The bed needs to be washed? Were you able to review all the info I posted above? After completing the method you posted I wet sanded it. Then, I washed it again to ensure no particles were left. There was progress in each step.
The plan was to move on to a larger 1 layer print but wanted to get past this first. Never had a problem after calibration with this test and if this wasn't going to work I know the 1 layer print would have issues.
In the mean time, I did a cold pull twice. Both results looked normal. I did notice that while the end was at 275F that it was sometimes hard to push the filament through. Not sure if it was me at the wrong angle or not but that was the only odd item.
RE: Calibration/Printing Issues
Can't edit a post that's 15 minutes old?
I'll work on the jeff post and share results here.
I noticed the boards are a little slow. Maybe because of odd rules such as above? What board has more traffic?
RE: Calibration/Printing Issues
[...] The bed needs to be washed? Were you able to review all the info I posted above?
Your Mk2S bed is not removable, so unfortunately you can't do a proper dunk under the sink. Of all the techniques, this is the most effective at restoring PEI adhesion.
and miscellaneous other tech projects
He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
RE: Calibration/Printing Issues
Having never owned a MK2 ... my mistake to suggest removing and washing the bed.
Older PEI can have oxides build up ... you could try cleaning off all the glue and scrub with acetone. But sanding should have made this step unnecessary since it should also remove the oxides.
If you suspect a nozzle clog then yes, a cold pull makes sense. Changing the PTFE seems overkill. To my eye, your photos look like simpler adhesion issues where the PLA is touching down but not sticking. That could be from the nozzle height too high, or underextrusion from a clog or extruder drive gear issues (debris in the teeth that drive the filament). It's just too hard to say with one small line of filament.
RE: Calibration/Printing Issues
ok