MakerGear Forum

Hey, guys. I've recently been put in charge of the 3D printer at my school, which we're using a way to increase interest in engineering fields. It's been great so far, but there are still a few kinks we need to work out, one of them being this;


The batarang I'm trying to print comes out perfectly on one side, but stringy on the other. I don't quite understand what the issue would be. Any suggestions? Help is greatly appreciated! (Please forgive the low quality, I did my best with the pictures.)

Pictures are fine, but we need to know what material you printed with (black PLA?), settings, etc. What software did you use to slice the model? What temperature did you print at? And, which batarang (there are about a hundred of them on Thingiverse)? Many objects on Thingiverse aren't flat or aren't manifold or have parts that are too thin to fit, and can cause problems with slicing and printing. The more we know, the better we can help you.

Tim wrote:Pictures are fine, but we need to know what material you printed with (black PLA?), settings, etc. What software did you use to slice the model? What temperature did you print at? And, which batarang (there are about a hundred of them on Thingiverse)? Many objects on Thingiverse aren't flat or aren't manifold or have parts that are too thin to fit, and can cause problems with slicing and printing. The more we know, the better we can help you.

Sorry for the lack of info! We're using black PLA, I'm not sure what you mean by software used to slice the model, but we use Simplify3D for the printint controls. (I assume that's what you mean?) I printed at 220C for the extruder and 72C for the plate. The batarang I used was http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:26130.

Infill:100% (might be an issue)
Primary Layer Height: 0.15mm
Skirt: 8mm offset, 1 layer
Support: None
First Layer: 100% height/ width, 0% speed

I can happily provide any other information you want!

Which side is the stringy side? I'm betting it's the bottom. If so, your z-stop is set too far from the nozzle and it's not adhering to the bed properly. Run through steps 3 and 4 from this guide: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2778

Also apply some glue stick to the bed.

jsc wrote:Which side is the stringy side? I'm betting it's the bottom. If so, your z-stop is set too far from the nozzle and it's not adhering to the bed properly. Run through steps 3 and 4 from this guide: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2778

Also apply some glue stick to the bed.

The bottom is, yes, the stringy side. We've had this issue for quite a few prints. In fact, only on print has been 100% successful! I'll go through those steps tomorrow (I don't happen to have a caliper on me!) and try again then. I'll report back tomorrow. Thanks for the help!

I agree with Jin, it's an issue with the first layer not sticking properly. The best thing to do is to follow Jin's advice and make sure the leveling and Z-height are correct. You can also adjust the Z knob manually while it's printing the skirt, if it looks like it's printing a little too high or low. It won't hurt the motor to force it by hand.

Printing at 100% infill should not be a problem with PLA, although the model is so thin, there isn't going to be much infill anyway.

72 degrees C on the heated bed is a bit hot for PLA; normally one would use about 60 degrees. I doubt that would be causing problems, though.