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Problems getting a good print, poor quality and looks terrible.
DIYglenn
Posts: 31🌟 Super Member 🌟
Hey!
I have an issue with my A5 (well it has never been working properly since I purchased it almost a year ago).
The problem now is that the extruder stepper is making a loud grinding noise when retracting. It also seems to be messing up the first layer because of this. The bed leveling etc. is fine, but f.ex. when I have multiple small objects on the first layer (a square, bunch of circles) it strings/drips when moving between them, and doesn't always have filament ready when drawing the circles, ending up with a half circle, or maybe just a line. Almost as if the filament is delayed, and rather spread out when traveling afterwards.
These doesn't stick to the buildplate, and are often ripped off the next time it comes around to do a perimeter.
Not sure if these problems are related, but it seems logical.
I have 8mm retraction at 50mm speed atm.
I have an issue with my A5 (well it has never been working properly since I purchased it almost a year ago).
The problem now is that the extruder stepper is making a loud grinding noise when retracting. It also seems to be messing up the first layer because of this. The bed leveling etc. is fine, but f.ex. when I have multiple small objects on the first layer (a square, bunch of circles) it strings/drips when moving between them, and doesn't always have filament ready when drawing the circles, ending up with a half circle, or maybe just a line. Almost as if the filament is delayed, and rather spread out when traveling afterwards.
These doesn't stick to the buildplate, and are often ripped off the next time it comes around to do a perimeter.
Not sure if these problems are related, but it seems logical.
I have 8mm retraction at 50mm speed atm.
Post edited by DIYglenn on
Comments
- check that the extruder gear teeth are not clogged with filament
- check that the grub screw on the extruder gear is tight
- check that the extruder motor cable is in firmly
- check that the PTFE tube is firmly inserted into the bowden connector, and is not loose.
Can you perhaps record a video for us to see the problem?
I disabled Z-hop, and increased retraction distance to 8mm, and speed to 50mm/s.
The sound is gone, but the extrusion is worse than ever. I also think there is something wrong with the X/Y calibration, as the perimeters are separated, and infill is not connected to the outer perimeter.
My current print is larger and forgiving in its design, so as long as it is made, the first layer can be ugly. It's a 120mm fan vent, but I can't even print parts that are smaller and have a "complicated" design.
I changed initial layer print AND travel speed to 15mm/s, but no difference.
I'll post some photos later, and a video if I get the noise issue again so you have something to work by.
JGAurora has tried helping me the last 8 months. I've finally got all my broken parts replaced, but my printer still doesn't perform as I'd like. Parts are not strong enough to be usable, not printable, or just inaccurate.
I really hope you guys can help me out, I've given up my printer the last few months, but after reassembling the whole thing, I'd finally like to make it work as intended.
Attached is my currently printing STL (probably 12-15 hours). It can't be attached for some reason...
I'll just let it print, even though the part won't be perfect. This is second largest print I've done, and since it's square and I made corner discs, I hope it won't curl up like the last large print.
I need four of these for a large project, where two of them will be more complicated. I just want to get my printer working, so fed up with it, but I still want to use it.
I got a Wanhao i3 V2 at work which outperforms this thing 10 times when it comes to accuracy and strength of prints, which is sad, the 300x300mm bed is so awesome on the A5, and I'd love to utilize it.
For "mass production" the A5 is great, just put each print alongside Y axis, and print one by one.
Man... I just want this thing to work. Sorry for the rant.
Print is messy with a lot of threads:
The skirt is printed nicely, except maybe the first 10cm which typically creates a bunch of dots while being primed.
The X-axis "squiggly" line is probably only supposed to be travel. If it is supposed to be extruded, then it is done poorly. Notice the line from the circle, the nozzle seems to be oozing.
Oozing continues for every time the nozzle comes back and adds a circle (strange how cura doesn't slice it to do it all in one go (three circles/perimeters)
Notice how the skirt and outer perimeters look fine, but the circle is underextruded, and not sticking to the bed properly - bed leveling is not the issue.
Another angle. Messy circle and small details.
Hardly a circle... This came off and is missing on the finished print.
Stringing is bad. The circle perimeters aren't connecting, and it seems like the filament that SHOULD be there is spread on the traveling lines. Also notice at the bottom, there is a slight gap on the skirt, and it is pretty bad on the perimeters of the model. That happens especially on the X+ side of the bed, no matter what I print - always a gap between the perimeters.
Messy after travelling. Also notice the missing filament in the perimeters on the bottom of the honeycomb pattern.
Notice the missing filament in the corner discs. Doesn't matter, but for a model that would be awful... A lot of stringing going on.
First circle when starting the print, and then a looong line where it's supposed to just travel.
I'll update other posts with the "finished" print.
Try slow down the print to 35mm/s and see what changes.
I'll upload some photos later when I'm back home.
Edit;
Photos from the finished print:
A LOT of stringing going on. The layers look OK, except the corner disks which are bad, and the first layer as well...
From underneath. Notice the gap between perimeters and infill, and a rather ugly first layer... There was also a bit of edge lift, even though the bed is as level as I can get it.
Removing the disks reveals the biggest problem with my A5 printer - very weak prints. Instead of tearing alongside the edge, it rips the entire layer off. I'm printing at 215C and 65C bed, maybe I need to increase it even more?
The infill underneath looks bad as well...
As you can see the infill has a gap around the hole, it is not fused together.
Anyways, this is much faster than my other profile - twice as fast actually, and it seems to be performing pretty much the same as before. So at least we can probably say that the print speed isn't an issue. Actually faster printing seems to clutter less than before.
The only difference I did was increasing 0.8 to 1.2 on wall thickness (3 lines) and top/bottom. I also turned on Z Hop.
There is still some filament being spread around though, so maybe retraction and temperature settings needs to be adjusted. The nozzle is oozing when not printing.
However the Wiki says 6.5-8mm retraction at 75-150mm/s speed, while the profile linked has 6.5mm and only 2.5mm/s!
Anyways, the biggest issue except missing filament and oozing is perimeter separation on X+ side of parts.
Maybe try dropping temp by 10-20C? I'm assuming you've installed the community firmware? Some photos would be really helpful - uploading of photos seems to work, but tracking down this file upload problem is keeping me stumped at the moment!
Added some photos now. Will update with more from the finished print as well.
Yes, definitely using the the community firmware. Fixed a 11.x% under-extrusion for me
(1) try slow your first layer to 12mm/s
(2) drop temp 10-20C
Perhaps turn retraction off for the moment, retraction is not really important for this problem, and I don't think that profile is really tuned properly... ask me later on once you have this problem solved, and I can share some other profiles (from other people) with you.
Please see the post further up. I've added photos from the added print.
It seems to be better (and much faster!) than before, but still not a very good print.
215/65C for the first layer.
Still weak circles, and stringing/dripping when moving
Separated perimeters in the circle, messy around it.
Notice the outer line (down, X+ side) has separation between the perimeters, but not the left side. Messy around the circle, filament that should've been elsewhere.
Perimeters are much better on the X- side (top)
Helper disks has a initially poor infill. Seems like the printer doesn't wait for the extruder to be ready with filament?
Perimeters separated at the bottom. Infill seems to overlap with inner perimeter.
Large infill/perimeter separation on Y- (?) axis. Also separated between circle and infill.
There are so many problems with the print... I cannot understand what's wrong. I've never had any problems with other printers
https://github.com/Ultimaker/Cura/issues/2476#issuecomment-357624835
Horrible with prints I usually do; Cases with vents/holes in them.
Unfortunately this means A LOT of retracts, super slow prints.
Will wait and see if the fix which allows this setting for first layer will be pulled in, or if I'll have to compile it myself.
It lifted in a couple of the corners when printing with 205C/65C. Will see if 200C/55C is a better temperature.
It did however reveal some calibration issues:
This is when slightly pinching the calipers diagonally (not touching top/bottom layers) so the measurements are accurate. Also tried rotating slightly when measuring to confirm the measurements are correct.
This is probably not too bad, but I guess enough that some larger prints would be inaccurate. This is with the newest community FW.
Also, when connecting with Repetier-Host, I get no information under "Firmware EEPROM Settings" (M503).
Isn't this set in the custom firmware?!
I also have a ~7mm under-extrusion when measured (using Repetier-Host to feed).
I don't understand... Could there be something wrong with my FW?
So I could not get M503 to work. But I KNOW I have the new firmware, because the printer is acting differently, faster movement, then very slow movement when homing - so the FW is the 1.1.8 one.
I reuploaded the same 1.1.8C, and ran the commands - And guess what, M503 works...
Unplugged, tried again - Same.
Will do some more tests (like e-steps etc) and see if it has been corrected.
I ran M502 - Then M500 as the suggested after connecting the LCD.
When issuing "M503" this is the result:
After testing the extruder I got 11.76mm of under-extrusion.
Is this correct for everyone else?
My calculations gave me E113.33 (-11.76mm correction).
I used this guide to figure it out.
Weirdly enough, it's still 8.25mm under extrusion afterwards?!
Try again...
E128.6...
Did slightly more than 100mm now...
This doesn't make sense...
Is Repetier-Host doing something wrong when feeding?
The last time I tried now, it started grinding...
After a couple of tests, using the JGAurora built in extrusion program (concluding that Repetier-Host was pushing to fast), I find that E103.59 gives the correct amount.
Might have to fine tune and test more though...
I’ll still do some measurements to double check (move axis 200mm and measure).
There’s probably reason to suspect multiplier here, check shell thickness.
https://jgaurorawiki.com/a5/stepper-drivers
Thanks for posting your journey as progress things - its definitely helpful to see what you've tried and what problems you've faced.
That's what I thought. Maybe some others will see the same issues.
Actually I don't get that much grinding anymore. I think it was skipping because the temp was a bit too low and Repetier-Host a bit too "aggressive" when feeding. When using the display on JGAurora it never skips a step.
I ended up with E103.10 as the correct steps to get 100mm fed through. At least that's as close as it will get atm.
I also increased flow to 105%, because my 1.20mm walls were 1.15mm (and I rounded up a bit).
I'm now VERY close to 20x20mm on the cube, so this seems to be the right thing to do. My prints are a bit uneven though. That is, my cubes have rough sides in addition to some waves.
The waves are probably from vibrations (jerk/acceleration issues?)
The rough sides/lines could be that the filament is inconsistent, so I'm ordering some new spools from a known vendor.
My part is a 100% perfect 20.00x20.00x20.00mm, but the walls are now 1.30mm instead of 1.20mm (8% too thick).
This is strange when I initially had walls that were almost 5% too thin! The temperature seems to have a big impact, and I will have to investigate, trying with 100% flow again.
But I might ignore it as well, 1.20mm vs 1.30mm doesn't really matter, and the dimensions of the cube is perfect.
The big difference here is the STRENGTH of the part. Holy crap, I've never gotten anything that looks this great that isn't easily ripped apart.
Probably because:
1. The 5% increase in flow fills better between the perimeters. Everything is simply 5% thicker in all directions than before.
2. The increased temperature reached a "magic" point where it fuses the layers and perimeters better. With the added plastic from the increased flow, this also gives a much better bond.
3. The speed is now 30mm/s for outer wall, 40mm/s for inner, and 60mm/s for infill. The inner wall had 60mm/s before, which gives a difference of 100% between outer and inner wall - this is not a good idea if the walls are to properly fuse together.
Will continue testing, temporarily concluding that the filament is the source for the lines in my print (inconsistancy in filament thickness) and that the vertical waves/ripples/ghosting is because of vibrations or jerk/acceleration settings that might need to be adjusted.
Anyone else that have managed to get rid of ripples in their prints? Especially visible on flat sides or sides with text..
How low will I have to go with the JGAurora?!
Suggestions? The belts are tight, so that shouldn't be the issue. I've replaced the springs on the bed - they are stiffer than ever.
Here's an example of a cube from Thingiverse.
What I can see is underextrusion (top layer), wobble/vibrations on the sides, and you might also be able to see the ringing I'm experiencing.
Here are some pics which I should've posted earlier:
I've continued printing the 20x20mm cube I made with different settings.
This is from my post further up, the strength issue. I went with a 105% flow, and after also increasing to 210C from 200C I got a very strong print, but not prettier.
200C, 100% flow at left, EASILY torn apart, and 200C, 105% flow at the right - possible to break, but not easy.
210C, 105% flow.
Part is "unbreakable", but still not a great looking part. You can easily see both horisontal lines and the vertical ringing.
The white part is from the A5
I also calibrated acceleration and jerk, starting at 500 acceleration and 10/10 jerk, and working my way down to 300 and 5/5. Still not good though.
Here's my progress:
Left to right;
1. 105%, 210C. Part has 1.30mm walls instead of 1.20mm
2. PID calibrated, Acc/jerk changed
3. Acc and jerk changed to current (300 and 5/5).
4. Reduced flow to 100%. Walls are approx 1.27mm
5. Filament measured, varies from 1.72 to 1.75, using 1.73 as filament diameter in Cura, flow 95% - Walls are 1.21mm
6. Reduced flow to 94%, walls are 1.20mm, as the design.
I also lowered the bed as much as possible, and moved the Z axis stop lower. That way the springs have more tension then before, but this didn't remove the ringing. The belts are nice and "plucky".
As the amount of plastic is slightly reduced, the part is a bit smoother. While the difference is not that apparent here, it has improved between print 1 and 6.
Please bear in mind that I have never done any calibrations on Wanhao i3, just printed. I find it strange that this printer cannot produce a straight wall....
I'm running out of ideas. I just cannot get a good looking print. The gcode moneycat printed "OK" when I got it, and it did look much better when I sliced it myself, but the part was very weak, so I stopped using the included filament, as it always had issues.
After now reducing my flow settings etc, I am afraid that I might see some weak parts again, but I'm focusing now on trying to get rid of those lines before printing anything larger.
Can anyone else test this on their printer? It take approx 22 minutes to print. (0.2mm layers)
My print speed is very low (30mm/s outer, 40mm/s inner, 60mm/s infill) so I can't see that this should be a problem either.
Here's some photos of my latest print (the rightmost)
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