MakerGear Forum

Hello Maker,

after happily printing for quite some time, I ran across a problem now I don't find a solution for.
I'd appreciate any hint or fingerpoint

While printing the first layer I get ~0.5mm steps in the diagonal lines every 3mm or so.

I'd attach a picture but it seems like this is not possible anymore.

BR Michael

Makergear M2 Rev E
Filament: Orange Makergear PLA
Slicer: Simplify3D 4.0.0


[Edit: It's possible to upload pictures now]

msonst wrote:~0.5mm steps in the diagonal lines every 3mm or so

0. Verify the G-Code (perhaps at gcode.ws) to be sure the model was manifold and produced the G-Code paths you expect.

1. With the power off, check to see if the X and Y axes move smoothly under finger pressure. If not, check for mechanical obstructions / lack of lubrication / other glitches.

2. Check the belt tension on both X and Y axes. The belts should be firm, neither floppy-loose nor guitar-string tight.

3. Check the idler pulley on each axis for smooth motion & lubrication.

4. Check the tiny setscrew attaching the drive pulley to the motor shaft on both axes. The screw must be centered on the flat (which runs lengthwise on the motor shaft) and should be squeaky tight.

Pictures of the problem would be helpful ...

Michael,
Please contact us at support@makergear.com. We would love to assist you!
I sounds like you could be having some RAMBo driver issues or possibly an issue with one of your motors.

You're too close to the bed. Add 0.05mm offset to your global Z offset until it goes away.

if your speaking of that wavy pattern in the filament on the first layer then insta is right. that is from printing too close to the bed. the filament is squishing out causing that. it will take a few layers to recover from that and get clean straight extrusions

Thanks for the tips. I'll try it as soon as I get my computer fixed which died yesterday :-/

Thanks again, I'll post asap whether this resolved it.

Br Michael

Hi,

so spare part arrived. In the meantime my fingers are 2mm shorther I guess due to drumming and spinning fingers all the time.

First thing I did was going back to my notes to check what I wrote down when swiching to the orange PLA one month back in order to underestand how the new filament performed during tests then and how I came up with the 225C.
Turned out... guess what... the profiles in Simplify3D didn't have the values which I figured would be best

The 225C worked great with the black filament before, however the orange one seems not to like it as hot as the black one.
Went down to 200C and detached the custom duct (my current view on ducts is right now: They don't really add a lot value )
==> Smooth first layer, however it came off quite easily.

I ran a test cube.
Everything between 200C and 215C gives good bonding, smooth surfaces and sharp edges.
Because of the bad adhesion though I increased the bed to 75 (1-3), 70 (3-6), 65 (6+) and the extruder to 215C (1-3), 200 (3+) (@60mm/s).
So far everything looks good.

I guess the pattern was misleading to me, otherwise I might have checked the temp first
Tought me a lesson though "Document settings and what you do. And even better... read it!"

May I ask what print speeds you are prining on?

Thank you very much for your support

Michael