Ripple first (and after)
Hello,
I recently received my Core One and I have already printed several parts with very good quality, so overall I’m satisfied with the machine.
After that, I started two prints of a plate containing 5 circles.
On the first plate, the first layer was not very clean — the surface showed some waviness.
On the second plate, the issue became much worse (see photo). The first layer is very irregular.
What I don’t understand is why the quality seems to get worse from one print to the next even though I didn’t change anything between the two jobs.
Setup:
Filament: eSun PLA
Profile: Structural
Nozzle: 0.25 mm
Layer height: 0.15 mm
Build plate: cleaned with dish soap and wiped dry and ipa
Machine is new
Context: I’ve been using a MK3 and a MINI for about 3 years, so I’m familiar with standard procedures.
If anyone has ideas on what to check first, I’d really appreciate the help.
Thank you!
RE:
These waves are caused by the nozzle being too close to the bed. I would start by making sure the nozzle is clean before the print. Filament stuck to the nozzle can cause the mesh used to level the bed to be inaccurate. If still seeing these ripples after cleaning the nozzle, you can raise the z-offset by 0.02mm to start or otherwise try changing the extrusion multiplier to 0.97.
RE: Ripple first (and after)
also check the two thumb screws that hold the nozzle. Getting them tight enough (but not excessively) is not completely straightforward as they can be somewhat hard to reach. To confirm without touching the screws, push the hotend slightly left and right. It shouldn't budge.