PETG Infill and "Final" Layer Problems
I've recently been trying to print fixtures and game-inserts our of PETG (Esun brand) and been running into problems.
Settings:
Nozzle at 235C
Bed at 85C
Printing speed around 70mm/s
Fan speed at 50%
First Problem: When using Triangle infill in S3D, during the whole print the infill layers would lift and hit the nozzle on the following pass. This left with springing, incomplete layers, and a blobbing mess on the nozzle. I'm quite confused on what might be causing this, maybe 70mm/s is still too fast? The bottom layers did not lift during the print and was very flat when removing.
Second Problem: I moved onto Honeycomb infill and got better results on the infill. However, the final layer (Not the first layer) of the print was only ok. The majority of the layer looks and feels fine, but the bottom left corner seems to have a rough patch like if the nozzle dragged through it a slight bit (circle on the left). Also, there are some lines that is missing filament (see 2 right circles). These concerns are not that critical (sandpaper to the rescue), but I never had any of these problems when printing with PLA.
Any ideas on how to overcome these issues?
Re: PETG Infill and "Final" Layer Problems
I would start by raising the z height a little for the PETG (compared to the PLA). It looks a bit close.
Is your bed fairly level?
Re: PETG Infill and "Final" Layer Problems
Hello Rob, thanks for the reply.
I can try raising it a bit more, but doesn't the Z-level only affect the first 3 layers of the print? (Live Z Adjust is what you're referring to?)
I believe it's leveled. I did the XYZ calibration 2 prints prior. Any way I can verify that it's correctly calibrated?
Re: PETG Infill and "Final" Layer Problems
It's my understanding that an incorrect z level can have a cascading effect on more than just the first few layers. A lot of factors go into how much of an effect though.
I would start by printing a set of calibration squares with PETG using your current settings and see what they look like. If all the squares look even but show signs of scratching, holes, gaps between layers etc then you need to adjust the z height. If some squares look good and others don't then you most probably have a bed level issue.
If they all look ok then at least you have eliminated the above two possibilities. It only takes a few minutes to print so is well worth the exercise.
Good luck.
Re: PETG Infill and "Final" Layer Problems
Change top layers to a total number of 7 or something higher. I had this when going from Cura to Simplify and I never had an issue with holes in the top layer again. 🙂