Layer Drift
Hello everyone.
I have a Core one+ that I bought in January. So far I've put about 600 hours on it with no trouble at all. Recently I've started experiencing layer drift on about 90% of my attempted prints. So far I've tried to following to correct the issue without any luck:
1) turn off "avoid crossing perimeters" in prusa slicer
2) I've checked and corrected alignment of XY Gantry (there was a very slight miss-alignment)
3) I've re-tensioned the XY belts
4) after alignments and tensioning of the belts I reran all the axis and homing calibrations.
4) I've tried different infill patterns in case something was catching there.
5) I've tried printing using the default profiles
The drifting is occurring on multiple objects in multiple project files. The drift is less now but the first time it happened it drifted by as much as almost 2 inches. I've been looking everywhere and can't find any ideas I have not already tried. If anyone here has some suggestions that would be great.
RE:
I forgot to mention I have also made sure the linear rails and the z-axis screws are cleaned and lubricated.
RE: Layer Drift
Where is the layer shift happening? Check to make sure the main cable and PTFE are not sagging and getting caught between the print head and the X motor.
Is it always the same direction or does it vary?
Cheerio,
RE: Layer Drift
Warping can be an issue, just enough so that the nozzle catches the part that curls up as it travels past.
When it next happens, look really closely at the 1st layer before you take it off the plate...if it's warping off the bed then thats probably your issue.
Some pictures would help.
RE: Layer Drift
Definitely pictures. "Pics or it didn't happen"
And also, try "mm" instead of inches. You'll be better off for it. I had to translate 2" into 50mm.
So back on topic, is the 50mm shift always in the same direction? Is it toward the front-right corner of the build plate?
RE: Layer Drift
Same problem here: Unexpected lateral offset of 23mm in X
RE:
Same problem here: Unexpected lateral offset of 23mm in X
No, I don't think that is the same problem. It's describing a sudden, large displacement -- consistent with a single blockage incident of the motors. In contrast, the present thread describes a gradual drift in my understanding, where something would need to shift by small amounts repeatedly. Plus, the thread you linked to discusses a MK4, a printer with a rather different XY mechanism.
The small gradual shifts might not be due to step loss but rather mechanical slippage. @seirsan -- I recommend that you check whether the pulleys are still firmly attached to the motor shafts (via their grub screws). If you tell us the direction of the displacement, we can narrow it down to just one motor.
RE: Layer Drift
I hope the image link here comes through. I couldn't upload the images so I added a link to a cloud folder.
https://1drv.ms/f/c/a0745b536d89221b/IgCNxSOpqM1ySolJAcmulXOSAVs-siFnQWbCUK-AybN8ED0?e=0LXQbe
Thanks for all the replies.
TLDR: it looks like I had belt issues, a small gantry misalignment, and a slicer issue. I'll detail everything below.
The good news is I think I may have solved the problem. It looks like I had multiple things going on. The first drift occurred on a print I had already printed without drifting issues, it just had an area where auto supports didn't get generated so I had to manually add supports and print it again. It was on that reprint that the first major 34mm x axis shift and smaller y shift occured. This was a single large single layer shift.
1) After that I checked belt tension. After that the shifts were much smaller but still there.
2) after doing some research I tried turning off "Avoid Crossing Perimeters" option in prusa slicer, but that didn't seem to have any effect. At this point I had also printed 80 or so parts with that option on and no issues. (I'll be coming back to this later)
3) I started seeing multiple sharp shifts in some prints. After doing more research I checked the x-axis gantry alignment and found a slight ~3-4mm misalignment on the right hand side. After realigning, tensioning the belts, and running all the built in axis and home calibrations, I tried a print and it came out good. Then I went on to a second print and the layer shifts were back again.
This was the point I made my original post because I was at wits end. Then after posting I noticed the second print that failed was a project file that still had Avoid Crossing Perimeters turned on. I turned that off and I'm now 80% of the way through two prints without any issues.
RE: Layer Drift
Can also happen if the belts are very loose.