Hello,
When I attempt to print an item in particular, about 8" x 4" on the glass, the PLA begins to print properly, but then it messes itself up and all the PLA gets tangled. It messes up the entire first layer. What is the cause of this? It is very frustrating. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks again.
Large items do NOT print correctly.
Re: Large items do NOT print correctly.
Would it be possible for you to post some photos of the failed print and perhaps your model and gcode file? Absent those it will be hard to pin down.
Having said that, my first guess is that either your bed is not level or that your Z-height is incorrect. I would try re-leveling the bed and using this: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:180970
Once that's done I would tweak the Z offset in slic3er - or whatever the equivalent parameter is in S3D - until you're laying down an even first layer without ripples (z offset is too low) or strings (z height is too high).
Having said that, my first guess is that either your bed is not level or that your Z-height is incorrect. I would try re-leveling the bed and using this: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:180970
Once that's done I would tweak the Z offset in slic3er - or whatever the equivalent parameter is in S3D - until you're laying down an even first layer without ripples (z offset is too low) or strings (z height is too high).
Re: Large items do NOT print correctly.
Also watch for warped glass. If the glass is warped it is impossible to have a perfectly level bed. It is not a common problem (at least not to the extent that it interferes with prints; minor warping is common), but something to consider.
Always good to print a 1-layer skirt around the piece you're printing (at a separation distance of, say, 3mm). Especially for large objects. It serves two purposes: (1) you can pretty easily see if the leveling is off, and (2) it gives you time to manually correct the z-offset by turning the knob by hand, which has the same effect as changing the Z offset in the slicer software but is a real-time, last-second adjustment for height errors that your are seeing as opposed to guessing about.
Always good to print a 1-layer skirt around the piece you're printing (at a separation distance of, say, 3mm). Especially for large objects. It serves two purposes: (1) you can pretty easily see if the leveling is off, and (2) it gives you time to manually correct the z-offset by turning the knob by hand, which has the same effect as changing the Z offset in the slicer software but is a real-time, last-second adjustment for height errors that your are seeing as opposed to guessing about.