layer shifting  

RE: layer shifting

It looks like the second one started well...

Your pictures don't show your first layer well enough to be sure so this is partly guesswork.

It looks like the second print failed when it began to wobble due to poor adhesion - but just in case there was another cause check your belt tensions, they do sometimes slacken a little when new.

Then review your first layer calibration, many people find this thread useful:

https://forum.prusa3d.com/forum/original-prusa-i3-mk3s-mk3-assembly-and-first-prints-troubleshooting/life-adjust-z-my-way/

Also make certain your print surface is clean, a common source of prolems.

Cheerio,

RE: layer shifting

@diem

thanks for the reply. I  Will definitely look at the thread you suggested. Here is the screen shot of the slicer view so you can see the supports. I also slowed the printing down to 80% on the second one. 

Cheers

RE: layer shifting

Scratching my head at first - That first one could not have been bedded as shown, the print lines would be going vertically if so - as shown in the plater view, it looks like an easy print - so much so that i wouldn't expect you to need that support column.  The small bridge in the pivot hole in the arm should be no issue.  Get a good first layer and it should be easy.

RE: layer shifting

@dan-rogers

Hi dan, Thanks for the response. I tried 2 different prints. In the first photo, the one on the left is the first one i tried, the one on the right is the second. The screenshot i posted was of the second one. the first one printed pretty well, but was unstable on the clip part, and snapped. In the second one, the print gets wobbly at the top. 

RE: layer shifting

@dan-rogers

Get a good first layer and it should be easy.

Agreed, but I suspect the first layer might be the problem: so support may be useful as @lane-elms begins to tune in.

Cheerio,

RE: layer shifting

THanks for both of your help. I did the first layer calibration when i first set up the printer, and believe i understand what its supposed to do, so i think it is in a good place. I also checked the belts, and they do not seem to be slipping. They seem pretty tight. The reason i didn't think it was first layer calibration is because the problem happened at like 75% up on the print from the 1st layer. So if you look at the photo, the place where it gets wobbly is almost at the top of the print. Cheers

RE: layer shifting

Hi Lane

That first layer determine whether the higher layers up get wobbly or not.  The  shape of a print, the type of material used - and the first layer squish are all variables that impact whether a design that has proven to be printable is printable by you.

Calibration was your certificate to start your learning curve.  It didn't actually do anything other than set an average live-Z baseline for the currently registered active sheet.  Changing materials can impact whether you can lay down a good print all the way to the end.  Changing brands sometimes is a factor - each filament has it's optimal temperature range.  Another brand filament might not stick at all - or worse yet, stick a little bit but not enough (and thus your higher layers go bonkers)

Lots of articles here about adjusting live-Z .  I'm hoping you read them.  You can't just calibrate and say done with that step.  These aren't televisions or toasters.  They are cutting edge technology robots in laypersons form factors - so they are finnniky.

I don't do a single print without watching my first layer for signs of "the curlies" - little bits curling up.  or the wavies - looks like water skin in a wind.  Both of those will make a long print or a tall print have all kinds of interesting failure modes.   From total melt-down blobs of death, to just a simple spaghetti ball of wasted string - that first layer is what's gonna make or break a print.

Live-Z.

Click the knob right after the wipe.  You can dial in a closer (curlies - go closer) or farther (wavies - go farther) - right there.  You have to be aggressive with the knob to see an impact - so lots of peeps that turn the dial slowly miss this lesson for a few cycles - go .010 at a time, .020 even.  Usually you have 30 to 40 seconds to dial in a small first layer - but dial it in if it looks off.  Watch it and over time you'll get the eye for this or (hopefully not) not.

RE: layer shifting

@dan-rogers

This is a great lesson. Thanks Dan. I'll revisit that for sure. Cheers

RE: layer shifting

The set screw on the x-axis motor had loosened. Thats why it was shifting. But i still got my 1st layer dialed in a bit better! 

RE: layer shifting

Also, check your grub screws.  

RE: layer shifting

@cwbullet

Is one called the set screw and one the grub screw? The ones that hold the belt gear to the motor post. both were a little loose. i tightened them both. THanks for the reply. CHeers

RE: layer shifting

@lane-elms

I have just found that this is a common cause.  I hope you have years of fun printing.