First layer sticks unevenly, forms blobs
I've had the i3 MK3 for a while and everything used to work fine, but recently, I've been having issues with the first layer not sticking evenly. I tried the obvious things, like cleaning the print bed with isopropyl alchohol, recalibrating the printer, playing with the Z distance. I also tried increasing the bed temperature from 60C to 75C.
The strange thing is that some parts of the bed stick fine, but others tend to not stick enough. Decreasing the Z distance and increasing the temperature seemed to help initially, but I'm still running into issues. Prints repeatedly fail during the first layer. Some parts of the first layer will form little blobs that disrupt the rest of the printing. Sometimes screw holes don't stick properly as well. Advice welcome. I attached a picture in case someone has seen something like this before.
RE: First layer sticks unevenly, forms blobs
Your bed is not clean.
Clean with dish soap, this cleans it the best.
Then clean with alcohol for the next prints.
then clean with dish soap again.
If you use glue stick, clean every print with dish soap.
(every few months clean with acetone, this is not good for the bed, but cleans very good)
Glue stick i use for, big flat models(pla and abs), and for models with only small foot prints on the bed.
Then first layer calibration is important, to stick the first layer.
RE: First layer sticks unevenly, forms blobs
I hadn't heard of washing it with dish soap. I tried that and the first layer has stuck perfectly. Hoping it will keep working from here 👍
RE: First layer sticks unevenly, forms blobs
Keep hands and fingers away from the PEI sheet. Oils and PLA do not mix.
Also - the central portion of your bed looks raised. Make sure you don't have plastic fragments between the sheet and the fiberglass heater bed. The steel sheet needs to be clean on both sides and sit flat on the heater.