Very irregular first layer, "Life Z" file.
My prints adhere to the bed, and they turn out pretty well. But the first layer gives me problems. So I used Jeff's "Life Z" file and played with live Z adjustment to try to figure out what is going on. Weirdness ensued.
If you look at the attached photo, you'll see two Life Z prints, at different Z settings. The one on the left is what I thought should be about the right setting. The one on the right is at a higher setting, obviously too high.
What's striking is the consistency of the irregularities. The exact same pattern is printed both times, just at different Z heights.
There are areas that look about right, and then areas where the plastic piles up and gets ragged.
I've washed the bed with Dawn, rinsed and dried it, then wiped it down with IPA. I've surfaced it with a dry dishwashing sponge to remove material. Still the same result.
So I'm looking for some understanding of what's happening, and how to correct it.
RE: Very irregular first layer, "Life Z" file.
Both look far too low (too negative). The filament is nearly grinding into the bed and adjacent lines are squished to the point of disrupting adjacent lines. I suggest resetting the Live-Z setting to 0, then working down (make the value more negative) in large increments (0.1mm) until you start to get adhesion, then smaller increments (0.06) until the adjacent extrusions start to close up. At some point, the lines will merge cleanly and infill will match up with the perimeter lines. Proceed in fine increments (0.02mm) until it looks good.
RE: Very irregular first layer, "Life Z" file.
Thanks for the suggestion Bob. I've tried many different Z heights. The pics are just 2 that illustrate the problem. I don't understand why the same pattern is reproduced every time I print the file, regardless of Z setting.