MakerGear Forum

Hello all,

I'm not exactly how to term the problem I'm experiencing. First some background on the problem:

Object being print: Card deck box
Material: eSun White PLA PRO
Temp: Have tried 205-225C per the range on the roll - problem still persists
Nozzle: 0.5mm
Extrusion width: 0.5
Extrusion multiplier: 0.91 (Calibrated)

What is happening is that intermittently one strip of the shell/outline doesn't stick properly or is perhaps missing, this creates a visible sort of line in the print as you can see in the pictures. This tends to create a weak spot in the thin wall part of the print towards the top when it happens there, which causes it to break easily.

I have observed the issue across 2 different types of white pla pro filament. eSun and another generic brand that I got with another printer I purchased. I have attached some pictures, although it is extremely hard to get it visible on white in the photos. Hopefully they are sufficient.

I have several theories as to what it could be:
- Dust getting in the filament and causing temporary under extrusion?
- Wild variation in the filament roll itself causing under extrusion?

No idea if any of those ideas are valid, but this is impacting my ability to produce parts being sold. So any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Kind regards

White filament is always a bit problematic, and requires slightly higher temps than darker filament. (I personally think it reflects away too much heat, causing bonding issues, or maybe some additives in that color cause trouble.) A lot of people have trouble with white filament pausing and getting jammed.

Couple of things to try:

1. Make sure your Filament Drive Screw tension is set correctly. 15% bite marks. It's a big cause of feeding problems and filament "thinning out" unexpectedly.

Filament Drive Screw Tension: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2694

2. If the "thin spot" always happens on the same side of the card box, check the level, or make sure there isn't something the bed might be hanging up on or hitting. (Like air from a vent.)

3. Rotate the card box for printing by 45°. Gonna slow things down, but it will cause the machine to "rethink the path" it takes. Sometimes that works.

4. Be sure to run a dust catcher on the feed. (Lots of junk on spooled filament that can get caught in the nozzle and cause a partial clog.)

5. And yeah, it might be variations in the filament diameter - you can get a bad spot in a spool. Take a few measurements along the filament with a caliper and see if it is consistent. (Not much you can do about that unless you catch it before starting the print.)

I will try these suggestions, thanks.

I have been down the filament tension road before, however, the v4 Rev E machine has finer gear teeth in the feeder and don't really look like those pictures in the guide, so for me at least, it makes it hard to tell if the bite is enough. I adjusted it about a quarter turn and it looks closer to the 10-15% mark. So going to try this and I will report back.