1st Layer Advice
This seems to be about the best I can get for a first layer so far. This is at live z adjust of -820 and at -800 the filament tends to be dragged around instead of sticking and at -850 it seems to wipe the filament off with the print head. By the 2nd layer it's sort of better and this whole print was only around 10 or 15 layers and the top looks great.
The bed is nice and clean with window cleaner and the filament is pla. I used a bed temp of 75, the default of 55 never seemed to work. Using 215 for the extruder, which I think is the default for pla as well.
Re: 1st Layer Advice
Here is my starter advice for getting your printer going well, and avoiding some of the common frustration inducing issues.
0) Make sure the belts are tight, and all of the axises are free to move smoothly. Make sure the wire bundle coming out the back of the extruder is held high and does not droop down where it will hit the print when the extruder is at any height. Make sure the X and Y axis are as perpendicular as you can judge by eye.
1) Run the Self Test from the menu. Make sure everything is connected correctly.
2) Make sure PINDA is above nozzle tip by <1mm but above the nozzle. About 0.6mm is a good starting point (but anything between 0.5mm and 1.0mm is fine), which is about the thickness of a credit card. Place a sheet of paper on the bed, and run the XYZ Calibration from the menu. Stay with the machine, and watch it. As it hunts for the calibration points, watch if the paper moves. If it does, STOP THE PRINTER. That means the nozzle is dragging and the PINDA sensor is a bit too high, lower it and try again, but make sure it is still higher than the nozzle tip. Repeat until you have a good XYZ Calibration. (Note the instructions on the XYZ calibration, and make sure the nozzle tip is clean.)
3) Set your Live Adjust Z roughly correct.
a) Set Live adjust Z = 0.00. (XYZ Cal does this).
b) Do a Calibrate Z. (Head must be clean of drips and lumps).
c) Do a Home. This leaves the head at Z=0.15mm. DON’T SKIP THIS STEP.
d) Use Setting -> Move Axis X and Y to get in the approx center of the print space. DON’T TOUCH Z.
e) Put a piece of printer paper under the head. Printer paper is approx 0.1mm
f) Wiggle the paper while adjusting "Live Adjust Z" (in settings) until the paper just starts to drag on the paper.
g) Back off a bit (50) on the “Live Adjust Z"
NOTE: If your Live Adjust Z value is >1mm something is wrong. It should be approx the distance from the PINDA probe to the nozzle. Anything between 0.4mm and 1.0 should be fine. (Less than 0.4 means the PINDA probe might catch on some print that curles up a bit, greater than 1.0 means either you did something wrong, or are just barely in the PINDA’s detection range.}
Now you have set the nozzle approximately 0.15mm (paper +0.05mm) above the bed while the printer’s electronics think the Z is at 0.15mm.
4) Load some filament.
a) Make sure the tension screws are about 14mm from the body with no filament in the extruder. (This is looser than is intuitive for most people. Too tight or too loose will cause issues.)
b) Heat the extruder. You can do this with pre-heat or settings->temperature.
c) Use Load Filament from the menu. Continue until you have a nice thin strand coming from the extruder.
d) Cool it back down.
5) Make sure the bed is very clean.
a) Wipe with as pure an isopropyl alcohol (IPA) as you can find. The little toweletts are not enough in my opinion. Use (and re-use) a paper towel and a good squirt of IPA.
b) (If really dirty, you can use Windex followed by Acetone followed by IPA, but that should only happen if you had used glue stick or other things on the bed and want to really clean it off). I do this if I am changing materials.
6) Get your Live Adjust Z dialed in real well.
a) Print using "Calibration_surface_PLA_75x75@200um_v4.gcode" found in Jeff's "Life Adjust My Way" Thread (Read through page 7 or so till you see the .v4 code. Look at the pictures.)
http://shop.prusa3d.com/forum/prusa-i3-kit-building-calibrating-first-print-main-f6/life-adjust-z-my-way-t2981-s150.html
b) Repeat until you have a nice test print - all stuck together and one nice clean sheet.
7) Do the PID calibrations for the bed and the extruder from the calibration menu. Note: Some users don’t like the PID calibration and feel it has caused problems. Others have had great luck with it.
8) Print a few of the included gcode files. Start with the Prusa logo. The gears are a great test and fun thing to have.
9) Start with a few things on Thingiverse that are easy. Learn how to use the slicer of your choice (I like Slic3r, but there are many options and opinions and all have pros and cons). Start with things that don’t need supports. Trust me, supports should come in after you have good confidence in your printer and yourself. I suggest a Benchy as a great test print to make sure your printer is dialed in correctly. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:763622
10) Start designing your own things. Learn supports settings. Try different filament types.
Any advices given are offered in good faith. It is your responsibility to ensure that by following my advice you do not suffer or cause injury, damage or loss. If you solve your problem, please post the solution…
Re: 1st Layer Advice
Here is my starter advice for getting your printer going well, and avoiding some of the common frustration inducing issues.
Exactly the sort of thing I was looking for. I found the calibration file here (so no need to hunt for it if you're reading this and want your own copy): http://shop.prusa3d.com/forum/prusa-i3-kit-building-calibrating-first-print-main-f6/life-adjust-z-my-way-t2981-s30.html It's near the bottom of the page.
With my 1st gen, I just had to be sure a business card fit without binding under the nozzle. This one has been more of a mystery since the default assembly instructions adjustments don't quite seem right, or perhaps my build is just enough different with something slightly skewed. Anyhow, looking forward to getting that flat square adjusted to work well.