Unable To Get Decent Prints
So I've been fighting this printer since I got it because it's incredibly rare that I'll actually get a decent print out of it. Quality overall has been shocking and just unacceptable especially given the price (especially given that I paid the premium for it to be pre-built because I wanted to spend more time printing and less time faffing about). Now with that mini-rant out the way...
Prints just come out with heavily inconsistent extrusion between layers, but it's not the 602 "basket weave" issue because each layer itself is consistent in it's inconsistency, i.e. that whole layer will be the same all the way around. This also seems to happen regardless of the size of the print. It's also far more noticeable than 602 because it's clearly visible with the naked eye from every angle.
I have tried:
Tightening the belts (they're tight now, but not so much that it requires a lot of force to pinch them together).
Making sure no bolts are loose.
Relieving the tension on the Z axis trapezoidal nuts.
Making sure the motor pulleys are locked properly against the flat side of the motor.
Repeated X/Y/Z calibration.
K value calibration.
Extruder E step calibration.
Oiled the smooth rods (they move smoothly and without sticking or grinding).
Printing slower.
Printing faster.
I'm just losing my mind, I can't get good prints out of this printer, everything looks crap. Many things can likely be tuned in with slicer settings but even then this printer seems far more finicky than my old printer when it comes to that. That and I don't see these inconsistent layers being a slicer issue. I'm not that bothered about the stringing right this second, although it is incredibly annoying as well, but one issue at a time I guess.
Anyway, here are some images that show the issue well. First being with the filament that came with the printer (Prusa's own supplied) and the second equally as bad print is a *literally brand new* opened eSun spool.
If anyone knows what I may need to do here, please help.
Re: Unable To Get Decent Prints
Belts and print temps ... and then slicer settings.
Have you tried printing the Frog gcode that came with the printer? It sets a baseline expectation and avoids variables like Slic3r settings, etc.
Re: Unable To Get Decent Prints
contact prusa online chat system 24/7 support
log into your account on one of the prusa store pages and in the bottom right corner you will see the Chat system box click in it enter your Invoice number for you Prusa and start the chat system they do an excellent job and will take good care of you.
Re: Unable To Get Decent Prints
The chat system is a nightmare and a waste of time. They send me around in the same support loop over and over, doing the same basic checks which due to how long it normally takes them to reply, takes hours. Then their shift ends, they say they'll pass over all the details to the next person, they pass over nothing and you start the whole loop all over again. I've been through it a bunch of times and can no-longer be bothered. It's been a catastrophic waste of my time and I deeply regret buying this printer.
Turns out the heatbreak itself is bent, or at least the alignment of the heatblock to the finned section seems to be angled which isn't right. I'm not looking forward to how much faffing about needs to be done to somehow try and fix this.
Re: Unable To Get Decent Prints
A bent heat-break seems extremely unlikely - when a person doesn't remove a nozzle correctly the heat-break usually snaps off like a bolt does when over-torqued.
Photos really do help. And you still haven't said whether you have tried printing the included gcodes of the Frog or Benchy.
ps: @Olef -- I stand corrected... were there any cracks in that thing? I'd suspect all sorts of problems with a heat break in that condition, and would never expect it to print anything. One direction it would be fine, and all other directions it would be an absolute mess.
Re: Unable To Get Decent Prints
Heat breaks do bend, they do not always break. See
Re: Unable To Get Decent Prints
Prusa offer a special post sales assitance for your machine because it was prebuilt. Seems odd you attempted to readjust the belts? I suggest you keep following Prusa’s chat advice and if not satisfied get Prusa to replace your unit.
i3 Mk3 [aug 2018] upgrade>>> i3MK3/S+[Dec 2023]
Re: Unable To Get Decent Prints
Just out of curiosity, what's your printer standing on? Have you tried putting it on the floor for maximum stability to see if that makes any difference?
Also, as Tim suggested above, try and print the frog or benchy that came on the SD card. As these don't require any slicing, it might provide some more pointers as to where to look.
PS - "faffing" is now my word of the week.. new one for me 🙂
Re: Unable To Get Decent Prints
. Seems odd you attempted to readjust the belts?
I did that because Prusa advised me to.
Just out of curiosity, what's your printer standing on? Have you tried putting it on the floor for maximum stability to see if that makes any difference?
It's on one of those thick rubber mats that you use for making washing machines quieter. Putting it on the floor wouldn't really work. It's not moving where it is though, the desk is huge and the rubber mat is much larger than the printer (and 6cm thick).
I'm currently doing a tear-down to find what may be the cause and have run into several problems so far:
The extruder gear wasn't really attached to the extruder shaft properly, it literally fell off when I took the motor out.
The heatsink wasn't screwed into the heatbreak properly at all, it was completely loose.
The bottom bearing on the X axis isn't smooth, it sounds rough and only moves a few cm if I push it, as opposed to the two two which glide smoothly.
Going to see what chat has to say about the dodgy bearing.