Layer Isues

[Snips]

Hi guys,

This is my first time on here as I just got my M2 3 days ago Been spending all those days trying to calibrate it and I thought I got it right when I had a whole day of printing perfect prints haha.

Then this started happening again.

I have tried slowing down the print speed to 30mm/s and I'm using a bed of 70C and nozzle at 215C, it seems to still do it. I was using 40mm/s and 220C but that did the same thing, I have also tried leveling the bed again.

The object that I'm printing is the 14 piece Lightsaber from Valcrow and I'm trying to do the Emitter Lens, the other 3 went really well.

Cheers for any help you can provide

[jimc]

hmmm im not too sure what im looking at there in the second pic. are the extrusions starting and stopping short of each other leaving a gap? is this the only thing on the bed you are printing? if so it could be getting too hot. printing a single small item can cause problems because each layer doesnt have time to cool and solidify. print multiples or more parts at the same time. assuming you are using s3d, starting and stop times of the extrusions are controlled by coasting and restart distance settings. excessive amounts of these will cause gaps.....if thats what is happening here. i think some more info will be needed here to help you troubleshoot. maybe save your factory file, zip it and post it up here.

[willnewton]

You should not need to go over about 210 with PLA. I print at 205 for layer one and 200 for the other layers. At 215-220 you can start getting over extrusion and if the filament just sits in the head at these high temps without printing you can even some burning that can cause clogs. If you find yourself having to pump up the temps, then that is usually the first symptom of a larger problem, such as a clog.

Jim's suggestion of multiple prints for small objects or parts that have a tall point, such as a spire, is right on. You might have to do this trick occasionally. Most of the time it will not increase your print time much, as the M2 can print faster since it does not have to reduce speed for short layer print times on a single tiny object. The quality of the print will increase as well since the layers have more time to cool as it shifts from one object to the next.

[jsc]

Hey, that looks familiar: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3179

As jimc said, if you want some more focused advice, post a factory file (File, Save Factory File) here, you may have to zip it up to get it to attach.

I'll just mention that all the bayonet connectors (don't know if that's the proper term) connecting the sections together turn out quite fragile and tight. You may need to file them down.

[Snips]

I did manage to get the whole print done and learned a ton in the process, still got awhile to go in knowing all about it though as expected

I found out it was a cooling issue and has since diminished/gone away with the addition of my new fan duct I designed.

I am still getting this issue sometimes, however this time I have included my factory file I am using to print the parts. If you look at the tip where you see the layers not sticking to each other.

However I am having this issue I can't seem to get rid of, is this what you normally expect the bottom of your models to be when you pull them off rafts?

Just a note with the factory file called wip_more_supports, it is not actaully zipped up just rename the extension

[willnewton]

Is that tip piece being printed by itself? You may need multiple objects on your build plate with small parts like that to give the layers time to cool. In S3D FFF settings you can automatically lower the print speed based on layer print time.

As for your bottom, you need to adjust your Z height. You can do it via the end stop screw or again in S3D settings you can adjust your Z in the g-code. Try .10mm increments to get proper squish and .05mm or less increments to fine tune. A single printed line should look like a flattened rectangle, not a round rod.

Your lightsaber print looks nice, so you just need a bit of fine tuning.

_update- I just reread your post and realized I missed the rafts part. There is no squishing onto a raft or the parts would bond permanently to it. So disregard my above comment about the Z height in this case.

[jsc]

Don't use rafts unless you have to. And you never have to.

Glue stick or hairspray is easy. Or you can start down the alternative bed material rabbit hole, like so many others.

[Karl_Williams]

This is off topic but I notice that you have a metal stepper motor mount on your extruder. Do the new M2's come with that?

[Snips]

I haven't really looked into the reduce layer speed based on print time, but the setting which it is set to at the moment is lower than 15 secs and reduce upto 20% and no that small part was a failed attempt at printing a little robot I found on thingiverse that had built in joints...until his head broke off and I had to stop haha.

I really only printed with a raft when the model was pretty tall and didn't want it to snap off half way through an hour print and waste my first spool of material...I am still using the first yellow tape stuff they put on the glass. It is the same type of tape that they give you first off, I think it's called kapton tape or something is it? Buildtak keeps popping up as a lot of people liking it, but I only have issues with the yellow tape with really tiny bases. I have to practice playing around with brims to reduce the use of rafts. This is the bases that I usually get when I use the default tape.

And yes they do seem to come with a metal stepper motor mount, what did they come with before?

[willnewton]

Yes they do. It's also available to purchase as an upgrade to your older machine. I installed mine yesterday pretty easily.