Love to hate my Printer!!

[Atocha]

I received my M2 in late December. It replaced two previous DaVinci's. The DaVinci's introduced me to Bed leveling hell. Throw in some really crappy software and it wasnt long before I was itching to get a real printer.

I do loves this machine but it frustrates me to my core at times. Just as soon as I think I have bed leveling down to a science my prints will prove I don't know Jack.

Here's my observation:

Printing anything in the middle of the bed usually works great. If I try and print several small parts the endmost ones usually fail at some point or another. But if I print something that takes up more space centered, it prints fine. Ive used rafts, no rafts, no difference.

The leveling process seems to be trial and error with error be the operative word.

[willnewton]

Your description is a pretty good match for a bowed glass bed. This is a common issue with M2's, but some beds are worse than others. You may have a pretty bad one.

If it's as evenly distributed as you say, then at least your bed is level!

Many folks use an alternative bed, such as a Mic6 aluminum plate to solve this issue. I have even used an extra layer of tape on the bed at problem corners. Most of the time you just print in the center, but on a larger print, I will bump the Z-axis offset -0.05 or -0.10mm to get those outlying areas adhered, and deal with a bit of extra squish in the middle of the print.

Several folks have gotten replacement glass from MG. If yours can't be worked with, you might want to ask them about one.

[Tim]

Although, also consider that "bowed glass" is a common misinterpretation of "bowed rails", which happens when there is too much tension on the belts (there are several forum threads discussing this). The amount of bowing is difficult to detect by eye, and the effect is that the nozzle is lower in the center of the print area, making it appear like the glass is bowed upward at the center.

[PcS]

And if like me at one point you have had a really badly bowed glass and x rail bow it can be very frustrating. I would invest in mic 6 plate and e mail makergear and see if you could buy the new spider and bottom end stop setup. It makes z off set adjustments and bed leveling a non issue . Since I converted and switched my bed has been perfect. And stayed that way. I no longer need z hop either.They really need to add this to the upgrade page. It is a game changer !!!

[willnewton]

I forgot about the x-axis too. Somewhere on this site is a picture of that, but I can't find it.

[wmgeorge]

If he just got the M2 in December wouldn't it be in Warranty? So one would expect the glass if it is bowed to be replaced with one that was not. As far as leveling goes, mine seems to hold its settings pretty well. I doubt if it came from the factory with belts too tight.

[PcS]

Most any surface that is heat cycled can bow. Turning it over can help immensely. I would not in good conscience ask for a warranty for borosilicate.

[wmgeorge]

Most any surface that is heat cycled can bow. Turning it over can help immensely. I would not in good conscience ask for a warranty for borosilicate.

Just wondering how glass can bow, (at the low heated bed temperature) and wouldn't a customer receiving a "new" top of the line 3D printer expect it to be working out of the box? A phone call to support could solve that problem.
Go over to the Lutzbot forum and look at the issues they are having with sagging X support rods on the TAZ 5 and members are suggesting for mods on a $2200 printer.

[Jules]

One of my glasses also has trouble holding on to small footprint items at the outer edges. I put more adhesive there. Problem solved.

Having said that, the folks at MakerGear are good enough types to probably replace the glass if there is enough of a problem with it that it interferes with all printing. But there's every likelihood that the replacement sheet will also have a slight bow or defect.....we are talking about glass here.

I tend to agree with insta that it would be an excellent idea for MakerGear to offer some jazzy options for a premium one day. I could see offering an upgrade package (for say an additional $100) to cover a specially milled and beaded aluminum plate as an option in place of the glass, which would be perfectly flat. (Those require specially printed corners and cutting and finishing.....it would have to cost more.) But I bet they'd sell a bunch of them.

And for those of us who want one now, we can always go out and buy one 3rd party.

But don't overlook tim's point about the tightness of the X-axis belt - i suspect mine might be a bit too tight from when I installed the mufflers last year. Check the tension, it doesn't have to be extremely tight....it's super easy to loosen a couple of screws and fix that by shifting the motor just a hair to the left in those large slots.

[PcS]

Most any surface that is heat cycled can bow. Turning it over can help immensely. I would not in good conscience ask for a warranty for borosilicate.

Just wondering how glass can bow, (at the low heated bed temperature) and wouldn't a customer receiving a "new" top of the line 3D printer expect it to be working out of the box? A phone call to support could solve that problem.
Go over to the Lutzbot forum and look at the issues they are having with sagging X support rods on the TAZ 5 and members are suggesting for mods on a $2200 printer.

Anything heated expands. Plate glass has a fairly low thermal expansion rate, but it gets unevenly heated multiple times. I have been through more than one piece of glass and when new they have all been flat enough. but after a couple of months they are not. I am sure if he asks they would probably send him a new plate.