Story of a beginner who can't print without failure (curling filament get's on my nozzle 100% of the time)
Hi guys,
new here since tonight. I just finished building my MK3S a week ago, had issues with calibration but made it. This is my first 3D printer so I know absolutely nothing about this, really !!! I decided to build it after reading some reddit posts saying that I would understand more how it works by building it myself. Took me a week doing this when my kid was asleep and now it's running, but that's it. It does everything but printing right. I did manage to print the prusa logo and bottle opener between a lot of fails. Now I cant start a print without a big mess.
I need your help understanding some basic things, looking at youtube videos with people that already know everything helped a little but I can't find direct answers to my questions. I am only using PLA, started with prusa filament out of the printer box, tried 3 different brands after my first fails (nearly all my prints) with same exact result. I used only PLA settings from the printer (Nozzle and bed heat) and tried the models on the SD card, then some prints from other website that i converted to gcode using PrusaSlicer. This is the only way i found to print from the SD card by the way.
1 - Is it normal that PLA is always coming out of my nozzle, i mean while it is heating, and continuously dropping from it after it's at 215 degree. What happens is when I start printing, while it's calibrationg the 9 points, it rolls and get stuck on my nozzle (every single time) and then I know I'm in deep trouble. The print is gonna get ruined (100% of the time).
2 - Is it possible that my nozzle is already clogged (using 0.4mm that came with it), I didnt even printed a complete bungie yet, can't finish it without failure, and how did this clog happened ? I did try several cold pulls using PLA, found nothing that look like dirt inside the nozzle, perfect print of the nozzle, don't have nylon or cleaning filament to test with. By the way, if someone can suggest me a link to buy some nylon, everyone say use nylon but what nylon ? Do i have to buy a complete roll at 50 bucks to get some or can i get a small roll like cleaning filament?
3 - I found "1" video that really explained how to do my 1rst layer : lowering Z-axis until i can't move the PLA from my bed, just rolling my finger without applying force, am I right ? Do i need to lower it a little more after it stick to the plate ? I'm using the textured powdered-coated plate that came with my printer.
4 - I did break PLA at second cold pull, got filament stuck inside, got it out with plyers using the access door on the right side, then noticed long filament lines following my filament when changing color. Finally got a clog inside, heated at 285 degree, then used the small allen key to push it down and did 2 cold pulls after that, got the dirt out then nothing on the second pull. Filament is still dropping continously and rolling on my nozzle.
I really really want to love this new hobby but right now I can't even do anything except wasting PLA (i wasted more doing cold pulls than printing), searching for answers everywhere and rolling my eyes in my head when iI try something new that is not working. I already ordered new nozzles but I dont know if it will help, filament could have been stuck inside my PTFE tube but it's not explaining why PLA is always leaking from the tip of the nozzle.
I seriously hope that someone will have answers for me, if not i'll have 7 different color rolls 1.1kg PLA that will sit there, along with my headache and my unhappy kid that really want his pikachu print. And if one day I can start printing, I'll need to know what a printing profile is and how to use it. Yeah i'm far from there I know. If any of you can point me in the right direction to learn what I really need to know about 3D printing, I'll take any suggestion.
SuperNOOB thank you in advance.
RE: Story of a beginner who can't print without failure (curling filament get's on my nozzle 100% of the time)
3d printing has a steep learning curve, so take your time, read a lot the forum to get tips, finish prints will come later.
Dripping of filament is normal, just clean it just before the printer starts moving, for calibration is no problem if it is a little.
In the settings of printer set bed calibration on 7x7.
Most important for printing is:
Clean bed so filament will stick,
First layer calibration should be 100%, then sticking is the best.
(both above , if you do not do this good, prints will get attach to the hot nozzle, and then after the print, you will have a big ball of filament sticking to the nozzle).
A new powder coated bed sticks not as good, clean with dish soap a few times,and take time for this, also scrub a little with a sponge with scrubbing side. Use no alcohol.
First layer, get this 100% , is very important.
PLA sticks not as good to powder coated plate, but of course this should work, but cleaning and first layer should be 100%.(more then on a pei sheet).
RE: Story of a beginner who can't print without failure (curling filament get's on my nozzle 100% of the time)
Clogged nozzle, move extruder to 100mm, extrude by hand, check if stream is thick enough, if it is to small you have a partial clog, check with more then 1 filament, you can also first extrude a stream with higher temp, to clean a little the extruder, adjust temperature to normal, then extrude and check if it is thick enough.
RE: Story of a beginner who can't print without failure (curling filament get's on my nozzle 100% of the time)
RE: Story of a beginner who can't print without failure (curling filament get's on my nozzle 100% of the time)
PLA and clogged nozzles, search forum for this, with this hot weather there are more users that does have this problem.
You can avoid this by using petg filament, that does print better with your powder coated plate.
Solution for PLA I do not know, some say use a sock on the nozzle and it is gone, if it is truth I do not know,
but temperature has to do with this, if you are printing in a enclosure ad a extra fan to blow cold air in the enclosure, the extruder cooling system can only work till 35C degrees(I think), after that the cooling does not work, you could try to ad a extra cooling fan on top of the extruder motor that gets very hot and could give heat to the pla through the gears, a stl you can find on thingiverse( i have done this in a enclosure).
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2975582 this is for the mk3.
To avoid everything, you could use petg till it gets colder, then use pla, and see if it solves the problem.
RE: Story of a beginner who can't print without failure (curling filament get's on my nozzle 100% of the time)
Hi, thx for these advices, i will make sure to follow them. I used both soap and alcohol, I'll make sure to only use soap for PLA. I had no adhesion problems after I started cleaning the sheet every print i did but i did try alcohol last and i got more problems, didn't think it could be related. My first layer seems really fine when i look at it, perfect adhesion, lines at straight. Ill post a picture when I get to it, dont have much time since i posted. Maybe tonight.
Since i did my last cold plug it seems that my streams of filament it not as thick as it was. Maybe my clog got bigger. Anyway I received my nozzles from amazon so I'll start with changing mine to see what is happening. I dont use an enclosure since i just started this and didn't really know what i needed. Seems PLA dont need an enclusure so I went with that. Will it make a better result using enclosure in general ?
When you say the filament dropping is normal, is it supposed to get harder and easy to remove before the printer beginner calibration. I used my pliers to remove the filament dropping (i try to not touch the tip of the nozzle)but usually the filament is only stretching and follow the pliers, it's not breaking and it start curling on the nozzle when I do so and I know my print will be messy. I had better results than that with my first prints, when i didn't know i had to clean the sheet and then i got big balls of filament on my nozzle + the print attached to it.
What brand of PETG do you recommend, I can't order a lot of known brands from amazon.ca (I'm in Canada) and they add extra shipping and import fee so it's like double the price of PLA. I wanna make sure I try someting that works. If you know a another web site where i can order other good brands, let me know. Did you print your fan mount with PETG too, would it work with PLA or it would just melt because the PLA can't support much heat.
Last question, what does PETG do better then PLA and what do you usually print with that material ?
RE: Story of a beginner who can't print without failure (curling filament get's on my nozzle 100% of the time)
@supernoob
I am not sure where you are in Canada, but I am in Ontario and here are a few links to vendors that I use.
Incidentally, the last one is a Prusa dealer and where I purchased my printer. They carry parts as well.
I have no relationship with any of these companies other than as a customer. I hope this reference does not violate any forum rules. Just trying to help.
Drinking alcohol can cause memory loss. Or worse, memory loss!
RE: Story of a beginner who can't print without failure (curling filament get's on my nozzle 100% of the time)
Thx, I ordered my printer from the same dealer and some Materio3D PLA but I didn't saw them selling PETG, I'll have to check that. Thx for the other links, we can't just buy from Amazon all the time.
RE: Story of a beginner who can't print without failure (curling filament get's on my nozzle 100% of the time)
Fan mount I printed with ABS.
RE: Story of a beginner who can't print without failure (curling filament get's on my nozzle 100% of the time)
Thx, I ordered my printer from the same dealer and some Materio3D PLA but I didn't saw them selling PETG, I'll have to check that. Thx for the other links, we can't just buy from Amazon all the time.
I am not sure if Voxel sells PETG, but I have ordered from 3D Canada. They have free shipping over $100 (Canada Post), but the FedEx rates seem reasonable from them for fast delivery.
Drinking alcohol can cause memory loss. Or worse, memory loss!
RE: Story of a beginner who can't print without failure (curling filament get's on my nozzle 100% of the time)
Fan mount I printed with ABS.
I just changed my fan shroud yesterday and it is already starting to melt. ABS might be a better idea, but i haven't tried that yet. Thanks for the suggestion.
Drinking alcohol can cause memory loss. Or worse, memory loss!