Newbie first print question/help
Hey all,
Just got my kit and built it up over 3 days. Really fun build. I have calibrated everything and the results passed according to the machine. I ran the V2 calibration gcode and printed the Prusa logo. As you can see in the attached pictures, I am getting what looks like voids in the print at the exact same spots
And the letters look a bit skewed. The top print the z axis was set to -.250 and the bottom was set at -.500. Any thoughts about what is going wrong? Oh also I loosened the extruded screws to help the filimint flow better into the extruder. I think I had it initially too tight, but it does not seem to have fixed the void issue in the -.500 print.
Re: Newbie first print question/help
This whole visual guide is a great resource, I did notice the under extrusion section?
https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-troubleshooting/#not-extruding-enough-plastic
Robert B.
Re: Newbie first print question/help
That article is helpful. Does it mean I have to run the factory gcodes through the program to fix the issue? Should they not run properly from Prusa?
Re: Newbie first print question/help
hi scott, welcome to the prusa i3 mk2(s) printing community. 😛
➡ first thing you need to do is to get the first layer proper adjusted. but that's not easy with the v2calibration.gcode only... so i've set up another method that i recommend for that job. i suggest to read at least the first 4 to 5 sides of this thread (and use version #4 of the calibration surface).
➡ then you need to find out how proper your extruder delivers the filament into the nozzle.... look at the forum for "extruder calibration" or "10cm trick", usually our i3 mk2 is somehow under-extruding. this test seems to be helpful as well !
➡ third point would be a PID calibration for the hotend, the procedure is described here. at the actual firmware there is a PID calibration for the hotend implemented... but it does only 5 heatup-cycles and unfortunately delivers poor results.
and last, but not least: treat your PEI printing surface well. clean it with pure isopropyl alcohol and sometimes (between every fifth or 10th print) with pure acetone.
💡 this forum is a very good knowledge base, so it's recommended to use the search function frequently. if there is a problem, or something strange happens with your print: you'll probably are not alone and it's very likely that somebody has had the same issue before. 
dem inscheniör is' nix zu schwör...
Re: Newbie first print question/help
Thank you so much for the advice, I will try all you recommend. I printed last night the tree frog. You can see early on I had a couple of voids in the feet and then a lot of strings. The print looks and feels a bit rough in some areas. I lowered the temperature mid print and that seemed to help a bit. Any thoughts about the roughness and the strings?
Re: Newbie first print question/help
yeah, the stringing is a real problem. i've similar problems here with my silver pla filament at the current climatic conditions (had much less (nearly no) problems with stringing during winter).
but from the bottom of your treefrog i can at least see that you need to improve your live z adjustment... and from the rest that finding the correct extrusion multiplier and doing a pid tuning will leap you forward.
by the way, you can check out this version of the treefrog... it should deliver a nice print within 43 minutes.
dem inscheniör is' nix zu schwör...
Re: Newbie first print question/help
Thanks! Do you think the live z needs to be increased (currently at -.472) or decreased? Thanks for the faster frog model. I will give everything you suggest a try!