not printing right

evanr · Post by **evanr** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 1:51 am

Hi all,

Things were printing well and then it just didn't print right anymore

I'm using 'Production Full Support' profile, no adjustments - extruder 200C, Bed 60C.

... wondering if I need to re-level the table, raise it or tweak the stepper motors or?

First few seem to print perfectly

any help, much appreciated! thanks.

evanr · Post by **evanr** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 1:53 am

meant to say... first few layers seem to print perfectly.

hvdd · Post by **hvdd** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 2:25 am

what's the speed you are printing ?
did you check temp of the extruder on screen ?
seems me no feed from filament ....
can be filament obstruction or not enough pressure on the stepper ???
rgds

evanr · Post by **evanr** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 4:02 am

Ok thanks hvdd.

I noticed the blue filament was 1.75mm, then I switched to my current red avg 1.69mm.
When I retract the red filament I can pull it past the extruder wheel by hand easier.

So you may be right... will try to tighten the bolt for extruder arm.

evanr · Post by **evanr** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 7:37 pm

Well, I must say this is getting frustrating.

I adjusted the extruder tension for the filament and everything was working great:
- Speed 25mm/m
- no speed multiplier
- Extruder 200C
- Bed 60C
- using PLA
- SFACT as the slicer.
- Profile: "Production Full Support" with filament set to 1.68mm dia.

And then out of nowhere, half way through the print it starts printing about 1" off to the side so I canceled the print.
- Not to mention the Skeinforge software is only reporting Layer 1 of 75 printed when it is clearly on at least Layer 30 or so.
- I also set the switchable fan to NOT turn on at the beginning and it turns on.

Here is the picture.

aikx · Post by **aikx** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 8:48 pm

Simple Explanation: The stepper lost steps and continues printing more to the right.
Cause: stepper to hot for a moment or electric connection trouble or stepper driver potentiometer bad adjusted or ?

evanr · Post by **evanr** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 10:56 pm

ok, thanks aikx.

I re-sliced the part and printed again with same settings as above, only this time I set the bed to 65C.

The part is ok and useable, but you can see in the picture there are a few problems:
- Z not straight
- some wavy-ness
- part lift from the bed

If the stepper motor is the problem, based on the pictures how would I know which pot-meter motor to tune x,y or z?

satoer · Post by **satoer** » Tue Jan 01, 2013 10:20 am

You have to adjust the X-stepper driver pot. (Based on the second picture not the thirt) Thats the one closest to the 12v power supply connection. Turn the pot a tiny bit. Have you mounted the heatsinks with 2 component thermal adhesive?
Test the x axis by moving the x axis left and right at 300% speed for about a minute. If it skips steps (=needs more power) turn the pot a tiny bit clockwise (real tiny, and be carefull,there delicate). If the motor stops completely at regular intervals (= stepper driver overheating) turn it a tiny bit counterclockwise.

Clean the kapton with acetone before printing.

evanr · Post by **evanr** » Tue Jan 01, 2013 7:52 pm

ok, great advice.
thanks satoer!

I'll work on it.

Happy New Year all!!

satoer · Post by **satoer** » Tue Jan 01, 2013 9:25 pm

Happy new year to you too!

Another cause of the wrapping (=object peeling of the bed) is too much distance between the nozzle and the bed. Calibrate it that the nozzle almost touches the heated bed. An be carful homing it when the extruder head is cold. Cold filament leftover on the nozzle can scratch the Kapton.

Another solution to get good adhesive of the fillament to the heated bed is to heat the head for the first layer up to 230 degrees. for the remaining layers you regular temperature.