Not sticking!
After a very successful start, on both PLA and ABS I am now struggling to get the first layer(s) to stick 🙁
I always get a good line at the front left of the table (getting the filament to flow...) but when printing the model the frame will not stick!
I have tried cleaning the print bed diligently with Isopropyl Alcohol and gauze pads and there are no marks/fingerprints I can see
I printed some 75 x 75 test squares and adjusted the Z hop until I got a nice even surface (at -0.475) and printed the Prusa logo perfectly but nothing since! My 'calibration' rationale for Z was a rough surface was the nozzle picking up the filament (too low) and gaps in the lines not squashed down enough (too high).
Tried adjusting the Z hop down to -0.650) but an concerned about digging into the print bed (so far I have managed not to do this!)
Is it time to start using the ABS pen I got with the kit or buy some hairspray??
This is my second 3D printer and getting prints to stick was the reason I went for the Prusa in the first place.
Re: Not sticking!
"Z-hop" or "Live Z Adjust"? They are quite different.
Print the Prusa logo from the SD card and post a picture of the first layer.
Peter
Please note: I do not have any affiliation with Prusa Research. Any advices given are offered in good faith. It is your responsibility to ensure that by following my advice you do not suffer or cause injury, damage…
Re: Not sticking!
Oh - I thought they were the same!
Yes, I will attempt to print a sample tonight and post a photo tomorrow, thanks - I printed a quick change spool holder in ABS (rollers with bearings) and was stunned at how good it was, so I know the printer is good but can't work out what I have changed!
I did print a Prusa logo when I finished the calibration steps and it was perfect - I'll see how it turns out tonight...
Regards
Chris
Re: Not sticking!
As an aside I actually meant 'Live Z Adjust' - the printer settings have always been set to 'Original Prusa i3 MK2 with Z Hop'
Chris
Re: Not sticking!
Z-Hop aka Z-Lift is lifting the nozzle during non-printing moves. I have no idea what would happen if this was set to a negative value...
Peter
Please note: I do not have any affiliation with Prusa Research. Any advices given are offered in good faith. It is your responsibility to ensure that by following my advice you do not suffer or cause injury, damage…
Re: Not sticking!
The only adjustments I have been making are to "Live Z Adjust"?
Had a go last night, first 4 or 5 were a tangled mess, as I gradually lowered the nozzle they got better - I stopped at -0.600 which seems to give reasonable results? (see attached)
I printed two samples one after the other without changing anything, interestingly one was 0.15 depth and the other just over 0.30...not sure why??
The main problem is often the perimeter gets picked up and dragged around which can ruin the first layer? I let one Prusa logo complete and got a good print even though the perimeter got dragged - the side facing the print bed showed this.
I have created a test strip 20 * 100 * 0.2 and will experiment with this tonight - I guess when I use slic3r I should change the 'Print settings' from '0.15 OPTIMAL' to '0.2 NORMAL' ?
The Prusa logo first layer I have attached was printed as it was on the card - 'PLA_Prusa_200um_20M.gcode'
As an experiment I also tried the Tree Frog - no chance, just a tangled mess!
Thanks for the help
Re: Not sticking!
That first layer looks good. Try cleaning your bed with Acetone. Sometimes you need more than alcohol.
Also, try another spool of pla. I had this one spool that I could never get to stick
you are not using a filament oiler by any chance?
Re: Not sticking!
Think I have found an approach that works consistently 🙂
I have made some fine adjustments to the Z height, although I cannot seem to hit 0.2 (nearest is 0.207 - 0.210)
The trick was lowering the print speed to 25% for the perimeter and start of the first layer - I had tried this before but hadn't noticed that the speed is reset to 100% unless you wait until the print has actually started - I put it back up to 100% when the diagonal lines are being printed?
This has worked very well, printer has been going consistently with no problems - I have attached some samples which I am very pleased with (sorry about image quality, taken with my phone)
Next step is to try some ABS and PET using the same approach and see how I get on but thank you very much for the advice 🙂
Chris
Re: Not sticking!
PET is super hard to print well. Stay away from it. Just use PETG if you want and you also need to make sure you use some glue stick so you don't get the print welded permanently to the PEI (experience is talking here)