Layers not sticking or looking good.
Finished setting up my printer yesterday, been playing with it all night and day and I can't seem to get anything set up properly.
Wondering if someone can give me a little help. Included some pictures of whats happening, and the layer calibration results. Most of the time it just doesn't stick at all on actual prints.
Re: Layers not sticking or looking good.
A few things pop to mind, as I was in the exact same situation last week.
1. Make sure you've got your z-axis set correctly. It looks like you're about 0.4mm too high. I started with prints that looked like yours, and ended up about -1.217 for PLA (live adjusted to -1.240 for PETG). It was a little scary adjusting that low, but it really improved performance.
2. When you progress beyond the provided .gcode files, try both Slic3r and Prusa Control. I had much better results with the latter.
Re: Layers not sticking or looking good.
Wow thanks man, I was certain it was as low as I should move it, was a little scared to go lower, I moved it a decent amount more and now it seems to be printing fine.
Re: Layers not sticking or looking good.
Wow thanks man, I was certain it was as low as I should move it, was a little scared to go lower, I moved it a decent amount more and now it seems to be printing fine.
Just as an additional bit of help regarding "first layer"
The top of the first layer should be "smooth"
If it's got "grooves/ridges" between the extrusion lines, you can EASILY feel you are "too high"
If it feels like "sandpaper" and it's rather "rough" but feels 'flat" you are too close.
It should be smooth to the "finger" (not fingernail, you will feel a texture with fingernail)
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Re: Layers not sticking or looking good.
This post helped me. I used a live-Z of -2.0mm and now my prints are sticking to the hotbed and looking good.
Re: Layers not sticking or looking good.
Hank you again, right now they are printing which is a step up from before but aren’t looking the greatest.
The end results on the few I did were “okay” but the layer lines are clearly visible, and the first few layers are complete crap looking.
Based off this picture from what I am understanding, I should lower it more even still?
Re: Layers not sticking or looking good.
This post helped me. I used a live-Z of -2.0mm and now my prints are sticking to the hotbed and looking good.
Timothy, you should really read the manual before your nozzle crashes in the bed.
Bear MK3 with Bondtech extruder
Re: Layers not sticking or looking good.
I'll move the probe up 2mm so I don't need such a large offset.
Re: Layers not sticking or looking good.
After much playing around I finally got it dialed in where I am confident it’s a solid good first layer and prints are turning out better.
I want to thank those who gave input and helped out, really appreciate it.
I looked through the manual front to back and searched google, I know the information is out there but hearing what to do from users who experienced this themselves was a lot more helpful then anything else I found.
Great community here, thanks again!
Re: Layers not sticking or looking good.
I got my printer a week or so ago and have had a problem getting my prints to stick. I have tried a ton of different Z settings but going that high 1.0-2.0 my lines are really faint and almost to the point where nothing comes out. I have had some decent small prints at .555 BUT the they do not stick that well. I am sure this is user error but any other ideas to get my first layer to stick?
Re: Layers not sticking or looking good.
I got my printer a week or so ago and have had a problem getting my prints to stick. I have tried a ton of different Z settings but going that high 1.0-2.0 my lines are really faint and almost to the point where nothing comes out. I have had some decent small prints at .555 BUT the they do not stick that well. I am sure this is user error but any other ideas to get my first layer to stick?
What are you printing (PLA, ABS?) and what is your Bed Temp? PLA seems to stick well for me at 60C, but for ABS, I had to go to 120C instead of the default 100C.
Re: Layers not sticking or looking good.
PLA, I will raise the temps see how that works
Re: Layers not sticking or looking good.
60 degrees are perfectly OK for PLA, so do not raise the temperature.
What you need to do is clean your bed properly.
Use a mild soap solution and water and your prints will get stuck.
Bear MK3 with Bondtech extruder