Rough surfaces?
I have a MK3S+ that I print almost non-stop with. The printer has started printing rough surfaces (see image) and I'm not sure what the cause might be. The model I'm printing is one that I have printed many times, and this is the first I've seen something like this. Also, the problem has progressively gotten worse over the last 3-4 prints.
Any thoughts to point me in the right direction?
RE: Rough surfaces?
The mystery deepens. The problem occurred with spool of black PETG filament. I tested two different colors of the same brand of filament (red and silver) and those prints came out just fine. I also tried a new spool of black filament and the print came out rough again. So for some reason the black filament is coming out rough while other colors come out fine, again with the same brand of PETG filament.
Also, I tried the same problematic black on a different printer and that print came out fine.
This is bizarre. What would cause the black filament (only) to print so rough, while other colors of the same brand and type (PETG) would print fine?
RE: Rough surfaces?
Evil pixies. 🙂
Sorry, dont really know the answer but wanted to reply so i get notifications if someone does come up with a reason
RE: Rough surfaces?
You probably have thought of that already yourself but what was the packaging of that new spool of black PETG? Was it properly vacuum packaged with desiccant? Could it be that the black filament is an older batch and was moist already on delivery?
If that isn't your issue, is it a high quality brand?
Different colours can behave quite differently in certain cases. It can be that certain colours or batches of filament are having quality problems while other colours are fine.
I know that for example for white TitanX vs black TitanX. Not that I would have seen blobs there though.
Mk3s MMU2s, Voron 0.1, Voron 2.4
RE: Rough surfaces?
You probably have thought of that already yourself but what was the packaging of that new spool of black PETG? Was it properly vacuum packaged with desiccant? Could it be that the black filament is an older batch and was moist already on delivery?
If that isn't your issue, is it a high quality brand?
Different colours can behave quite differently in certain cases. It can be that certain colours or batches of filament are having quality problems while other colours are fine.I know that for example for white TitanX vs black TitanX. Not that I would have seen blobs there though.
Both spools of black filament were properly vacuum sealed. I use Paramount PETG exclusively and use it a lot. Both of these black spools printed terribly on the printer in question. Both black spools printed perfectly fine on another printer. And I tried red and silver on the first printer and those printed fine. So it's not the filament itself.
This is just baffling. This just started to happen a couple days ago and I haven't changed anything on the printer or the models I am printing.
RE: Rough surfaces?
Mysterious. But it must be the filament (batch or colour), otherwise other colours wouldn't be different. However it is apparently not only the filament but also something with that printer too. I have no clue what.
Mk3s MMU2s, Voron 0.1, Voron 2.4
RE: Rough surfaces?
You've probably done it but have you checked everything related to your extruder? Extruder door tension, hobbed gear clean and centered and hobbed gear set screw tight? I have found some filaments have different "texture" or "smoothness" and pull through differently than other filaments of same manufacturer. Kind of looks like you are getting no extrusion for a few mm's and then the gear catches again and you get a blob as it forces out a little extra.
RE: Rough surfaces?
You've probably done it but have you checked everything related to your extruder? Extruder door tension, hobbed gear clean and centered and hobbed gear set screw tight? I have found some filaments have different "texture" or "smoothness" and pull through differently than other filaments of same manufacturer. Kind of looks like you are getting no extrusion for a few mm's and then the gear catches again and you get a blob as it forces out a little extra.
My next experiment is to tighten the door tension screw. I have inspected the gear for cleanliness and centeredness, but I did not check the set screw yet.
I also thought this was an under-extrusion issue. It looks a little like some of the examples I've seen in the Prusa help articles.
RE: Rough surfaces?
Tightening the door tension seems to have solved the problem. Two prints came out perfectly. Hopefully I'll remember this the next time it happens.
I still think it odd that different colors of the same brand and type printed fine while the black did not.
RE: Rough surfaces?
Glad you got it figured. Must be the additives for different colors, or perhaps you got a couple black rolls from the same batch that were slightly different from the other colors for some reason. Diameter, or raw PLA or something. Who knows.
Glad you got it fixed though.