First print-- issues with tallthin.g from the SD card...

[minusbacon]

I hope (.06) was a typo it should be a .006 feeler gauge. As long as it's even across the bed (even if you can't feel it) it will be fine. Set the right side then when you go back to the left the left side pay attention to how much you have to turn the screw until you feel resistance on the left. Then just turn it back half of what you just did and it should be split. When we are talking measurements of .001 it won't be enough to notice.

I'm an idiot. Totally missed the " in .006". I bought mm gauges. .006" = .1524mm. Guess I'll start over using the .15mm gauge. Or is that .024mm going to make a difference? I can postpone this till tomorrow when I can get inch gauges.

[sthone]

The .15mm will work fine, .0024 of a mm I think you'd need a microscope to see.

[minusbacon]

The .15mm will work fine, .0024 of a mm I think you'd need a microscope to see.

When you say "you want just a slight resistance", do you mean just barely touching or that the nozzle and bed should have some grip on the gauge?

[sthone]

Slight grip on the gauge as you pull and push it.

[minusbacon]

Finally got the bed "leveled." I'm using quotes because the left and right sides (x axis) I just can't get even. When I feel slight resistance on the right side, I move to the left, repeat. I can't get it set to where I feel resistance on both sides. So I had to eyeball the very slight empty gap above the feeler gauge and did my best to make them even. Can't feel it grab the gauge at all on either side.

Did your bet level print and here's what I get...

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Full print. You can see some of the issues already.

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The noodle of filament on the right side is the skirt that didn't get put down properly. It didn't lift up, it wasn't put down. It started the line but the beginning of the filament stuck to the nozzle. You can see where it did the same for the left side of the lower right square.

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Lines on the inside of the two left squares aren't square/straight.

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Inside corners of the top two squares aren't completed.

Why do I have a filament sticking to the nozzle problem? And why aren't lines/corners being completed? It's like extrusion turns off before it should be done with the line. Or the nozzle moves to print a different line before it completes the one it's on.

Should I leave the Z stop and bed level as is or change something?

I can't thank you all enough for the help.

[minusbacon]

Did the extrusion calibration and the Z offset calibration. The test cube measures .40 thick and 2mm tall exactly.

Prints are still complete crap.

Tried printing the M2 tool holder three times. Each time I got this...

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This is my third try. Outline prints fine after I slow everything down-- 50mm/s, 100mm/s when it isn't printing. At normal speed it always messes up that right corner.

Even with it slowed down, once it gets to the inside circles it's gobs of filament city. The beginning and end of the circle doesn't get laid down and either folds over on to another part of the circle OR it doesn't print the whole circle at all. As I said before, these areas aren't lifting up after being printed, the nozzle is leaving them up and/or not completing them. Then there's that gob to the right of the three circles on the left.

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Side view.

As I mentioned, I've done all the recommendations in Jules write up and corresponding posts referenced in there. What next?

[ednisley]

Outline prints fine after I slow everything down-- 50mm/s, 100mm/s when it isn't printing.

AFAICT, trying to lay down the first layer of PLA at 50 mm/s on what looks like clean glass is ... aggressive.

Set the first layer speed to 15 mm/s. When you get good adhesion, you can increase the speed.

Why do I have a filament sticking to the nozzle problem?

Because if the plastic doesn't stick to the platform, it has nowhere else to go.

Along a straight line, the goo coming out of the nozzle pulls against the entire length of the adhered thread, which has sufficient surface area on the platform to stick against the pull. On a corner, the goo pulls sideways against the adhered thread and the filament peels off the platform. After that happens, re-adhering the plastic to the platform becomes purely hit-and-miss as the nozzle drags a growing pile of cooling goo along with it.

You want stick-to-the-nozzle problems, though, try PETG. [grin]

This is PETG at 15 mm/s, laying down a 0.20 mm first layer:



No muss, no fuss, perfect adhesion.

Highly recommended: glue stick or hair spray. Bare glass may work for a while, but there's no point in maximizing your frustration. You'll find plenty of recommendations; I use a pump spray bottle, rather than an aerosol, to minimize the overspray.

[sthone]

Everything in your pictures looks great except for the fact that I can see your glass is still bare.

I don't know what else to tell you but DUDE....GO GET A GLUE STICK!!!!!!

You are seriously TORTURING yourself.

[minusbacon]

My printer has an issue properly creating and laying down dramatic curves and turns. As seen below...

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All the corner/curve mess ups you see aren't being placed properly. Is that a speed thing or something else?

I am going to get a glue stick today just to cross that off my list. After watching every failure I don't think I have a bed sticking issue, I think it's something else. Filament isn't lifting after being placed down, it isn't being placed right in the first place.

[minusbacon]

I changed the speed and so far so good. BUT what is the right way to change the speed of the print or various parts of the print? I changed just about every number for speed settings in S3D, but I'm not exactly sure what the proper way is.

What are the best setting(s) to change that change the overall speed of parts of a print or the whole print?