Mesh Bed Leveling and Poor Prints
Hey all,
I purchased and MK3S a couple of months ago and honestly, having a pretty awful time - It's really become the bane of my existence.
Since I arrived and pieced it together, I've had maybe 3 good prints out of 30. There's various printing issues which I can't always identify, recently one that affects just the first 2 cm layers (heat bed temperatures?). Then I also had the temperature probe fail for an unknown reason (support kindly sent me a replacement). Now I'm trying to understand why the mesh bed levelling is so poor for me.
Essentially what I'm doing at the moment, is first layer calibrating according to the guide, then trying to print an object which occupies more than 50% of the bed area, and it's a nightmare. If I raise the level, then PLA doesnt stick, if I decrease it, it looks an absolute mess. Even if get this part right, then the out edges are completely out and will peal away - so I adjust those. The problem is, it's taken hours and hours (over a few days) to do this every time I want to change the filament for example (which I need to occasionally).
At this point, I'm wondering whether I've been unlucky and there's an issue with the mesh bed levelling / probe also.
Things I've done: Checked the runners underneath. Adjusted/tightened the bolts according to the guide. Adjusted the gear tension. Tried re-calibrating the probe. Adjusting the Lin. correction. Re-calibrating XYZ.
Does anyone have any suggestions or can point me in the direction of where to go next? I am knew to this and naturally ignorant, so I appreciate any patience..
Cheers,
RE: Mesh Bed Leveling and Poor Prints
Prusa has a CHAT available in their STORE website. Log in like you are going to buy something and CHAT is available lower right of the screen.
RE: Mesh Bed Leveling and Poor Prints
trying to print an object which occupies more than 50% of the bed area, and it's a nightmare.
Similar issue that I had, I was able to resolve with Bed Level Correction.
https://help.prusa3d.com/article/TPGip0OmaP-bed-level-correction-kit-only
RE: Mesh Bed Leveling and Poor Prints
Bed cleanliness is important, I wash my removeable bed, in the sink, using a squirt of Dish washing detergent (Dawn or Fairy liquid, or similar) with hot water and a Scotchbright pad... then wash it off with Clean water, and dry with clean paper towels.
have you got the latest firmware on the printer? 3.7.0 for a Mk3, or Mk3S
do you have it set to 7x7 mesh bed levelling?
the Prusa first level calibration tool is not easy to use, I will add a link to one of the tools I use in the next post
have you tried increasing the bed temperature to 70C? larger prints often benefit from a higher temperature
regards Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility. Location Halifax UK
RE: Mesh Bed Leveling and Poor Prints
Jeff Jordan's thread 'Life Adjust Z my way' was always a good advisory thread, but it appears to have suffered in the move to a new forum, so I will attach the files here for your benefit
regards Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility. Location Halifax UK
RE: Mesh Bed Leveling and Poor Prints
Hey all, thanks so much for your help and patience.
Thanks Joan - Yes it's always clean! I've upgraded to the latest version (not sure how I missed that) and am giving 7x7 a go. I'll try increasing the heat bed temperature too for the larger prints. I'll a read through the recommended thread and use the first layer calibration .gcode as an alternative.
I'll hopefully have some more time over the next few days to go through it slowly. If still no luck, I'll have a chat with support and see what they say (missed that too).
Thanks again for the tips !
RE: Mesh Bed Leveling and Poor Prints
7x7 mesh bed levelling does the best automatic magic, for you...
'life Z adjust my way', sorts the middle of the build plate for you,
there is another configuration option, 'Bed Level Correction' which allows you to change Z values for the edges of the build plate, relative to the centre of the build plate...
I use a gcode file similar to those in the attached zipfile.
the gcode prints a large square frame on the buildplate using concentric infill, run the appropriate file for a couple of laps, then stop the print, if there are areas where the filament is squished too much, or too little, adjust the appropriate Bed Level Correction parameters to correct the issue and re run the gcode to see if you have improved the results. if you have a problem with a corner, adjust the two adjacent sides as appropriate,
I have not been able to test these files as I don't currently have a mk3S
I have included the 3MF file, in case people want to create files for other printer configurations
good luck,
Regards Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility. Location Halifax UK
RE: Mesh Bed Leveling and Poor Prints
You might also take a look at https://github.com/PrusaOwners/prusaowners/wiki/Bed_Leveling_without_Wave_Springs
I've had issues with the outer edges of my plate not printing well (one corner was clearly high while another was low) so I'm going through that leveling option while I have the printer apart for it's MK3S/MMU2S upgrades.
RE: Mesh Bed Leveling and Poor Prints
As I just spent all weekend unsuccessfully trying to sort out levels in the corners of the built plate., I think I better subscribe to this topic. Hopefully 3.7 firmware will do the trick.
i3 Mk3 [aug 2018] upgrade>>> i3MK3/S+[Dec 2023]
RE: Mesh Bed Leveling and Poor Prints
Hey all, thanks for all your help.
So a little bit of an update. I manage to get pretty close with the bed levelling correction (you can certainly correct everything). However I've been receiving these odd Z calibration errors every few attempts (though no debris was on the nozzle).
I went to make some adjustments this morning, and it was all of level again despite retaining the same settings... very odd. The next it produced the Z calibration error again, I let it re-calibrate the Z axis. This time it ploughed into the removable plate! Now... it certainly doesn't work lol.
Support have again kindly sent me a replacement.. so hopefully it's the main issue. I'm speculating there was some minor damage in transit at this point, as my experiences seem quite abnormal.
Anyway, I will update again once I fit the replacement and let you know whether it's a contributing factor.
Thanks again,
RE: Mesh Bed Leveling and Poor Prints
Bed cleanliness is important, I wash my removeable bed, in the sink, using a squirt of Dish washing detergent (Dawn or Fairy liquid, or similar) with hot water and a Scotchbright pad... then wash it off with Clean water, and dry with clean paper towels.
I wonder, doesn't Scotch-Brite scuff the PEI surface?
RE: Mesh Bed Leveling and Poor Prints
*replacement PINDA probe that should read
RE: Mesh Bed Leveling and Poor Prints
Bed cleanliness is important, I wash my removeable bed, in the sink, using a squirt of Dish washing detergent (Dawn or Fairy liquid, or similar) with hot water and a Scotchbright pad... then wash it off with Clean water, and dry with clean paper towels.
I wonder, doesn't Scotch-Brite scuff the PEI surface?
Yes, yes it does.