yellowshark

Hi @JATMAN I am wondering what your logic is for the above recommendation; could you explain a bit please.

A variety of things to try. 1. ensure your minimum layer time is at least 10 secs to give the printed layer time to cool before the next layer is deposited. It look small so if that is not possible to achieve you can either print 1 or 2 copies concurrently to increase the layer time. Alternatively you can give z-lift a go - both have their advantages and disadvantages. 2. Use the same print speed everywhere for the printing beyond layer 1. By that I mean the walls/perimeters external and internal, and infill. Changing speed changes changes extruder pressure which takes time to stabilise and can cause spots like you have on the vertical wall of the circular section. 3. Go slow, 25mm/s is good and go cool. Get those fans pumping out 100%; try and get that 195c down as low as possible. If that is normal pla I think you have headroom to go lower. 4. I am not sure what is causing that mess about halfway up the z-axis. maybe you got a stick and too much filament was extruded for that layer, not sure. 5. Actually as you have these problems I would drop to 20mm/s or even 15mm/s although I do not think I have ever gone to 15. 6. Try a different filament, sometimes that can all the difference. 7. Retraction; hmn I am no expert in that area. I got it working a couple of years ago and have never changed my settings since. No doubt someone else will have a view on that. 8. Fine test; yeah difficult aren't they. To me that says extruder too hot; maybe fans not 100%; minimum layer time less than 10 seconds; or just the impossible dream. Maybe worth trying a thinner layer to reduce the amount of filament being extruded

I read somewhere that 3 screws are easier than 4, which is why there are 3. Having never had 4 screws I have no idea!

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Bob, I have just seen this from @gr5 on another thread - it might help you - I was not aware. The extruder system on the UMO used to grind filament a lot when you printed with too much pressure/force on the filament. The UM2 was designed to be able to control this filament such that the feeder would skip back rather than grind the filament. It skips so far back it can take a while before the filament starts coming out again.

@cloakfiend if the 1st layer is actually presented as the top of the model then the quality is ultra important e.g. flat roofs on architectural projects. Software process see above.

When I level the bed it is probably cold but it is about a year since I levelled so I cannot remember. I guess there is an argument that it makes sense to heat the bed before levelling - but you need to make sure, I think, that all the bed is the same temp. first, otherwise it might be smarter to leave it at ambient. I have no idea whether hot or cold has any impact. For nozzle to bed distance my software process revolves around printing 30mm*30mm*.300 cubes and modifying the z-offset, so yes bed and extruder are at operating temps.

Ok thanks for that Bob. Well as I read your settings you are printing too hot :)You have a layer height of .120 at speed of less than 15mm/s. That is a reeeeeally small volume to push through and I suspect I would be no higher than 185c for that. I am not surprised that you are not hearing it on layer 1 because normally one prints slower on layer 1 i.e. less volume i.e. less stress on the feeder system. But in your case I am not sure what speed you are printing at on layer 1. Is the 55% speed reduction effective on layer 1 also? Also I am guessing that your layer thickness may be more on layer 1 (a .12 layer should be difficult to get to stick unless you bed level and nozzle to bed distance are perfect) so on that basis one might expect to hear clicking on layer 1 and not elsewhere! Very weird. Anyway. 1. I would stick with normal PLA until you have resolved this. 2. You have to prime your filament before printing, Firstly, you previous print retracted so the filament is not where it needs to be to keep the nozzle replenished. Secondly you should always check that your filament is flowing straight (i.e it des not curl as it exits the nozzle) and consistently before starting your print. 3. I would do a number of atomic pulls you may have some bronzefill stuck in the extruder somewhere 4. Failing that it sounds like a filament mechanical drive problem or a filament pathway problem; some of the posts above are advising how to diagnose/fix these 5. Double check all your settings and make sure all your speeds apart from travel speed are at or below 1800mm/m -I would chop that 55% modifier - if you do not have a drive problem you really should have no issues pushing .120mm layers through at 30mm/s with a temp of 205 6. I assume you have been checking the temp display on the printer to check it is at 205c. 7. During the print touch the extruder to make sure you that you get that ouch that's hot sensation. 8. Can the filament flow freely from the spool without any restriction - I assume you have the filament size correctly stated in S3D?

@cloakfiend is correct, using a different filament has no impact on the bed levelling; the bed is either level or it is not, you can feed it with chocolate iron filings or super glue, the bed is still level. Now, I do suspect that a lot of you guys either knowingly use the term "levelling" when in fact you are referring to nozzle to bed distance, or you do not actually realise they are different. To me they are different processes; you level the bed and then you fine tune the distance and you do need to do this, as a change of 0.04mm, maybe even 0.02mm visibly shows a better or worse 1st layer finish, and I do not think you can get to that level of precision with bed levelling and a sheet of paper (1.0mm or 1.5mm thick) and sensory perception of the paper movement. That is why I use a software process to set my nozzle to bed distance and it also means I am in no danger of messing up the bed level by moving the screws to set distance.

Windows 7 SP1; DM on its way

Hi Bob a couple of things. Firstly can you advise what your filament resolution and print speed were. When you refer to priming and easy to slip, do you mean it is slipping because the pressure from the drive wheel is not enough or clicking because the teeth are biting into the filament but the filament is stuck so the teeth are clicking out of the filament as the wheel goes around. I think the latter would be the case only if there are teeth marks in the filament - which is what I have always understood grinding to be associated with. Also "I started to print at 195 and again clicking started ". Would I be right in assuming that the clicking starts at some point after layer 1 has been printed? If not what is your layer 1 print speed.

Hi @SandervG Well the scenario was that I was replying to a message someone sent to me. Would they have to be an approved community member to send me a message?

That is interesting @Franny500, I had found the Meshmixer supports, although better than Cura at the time, to be difficult to remove, i.e. I had to use a hobby knife. I guess I need to have a close look at my settings the next time I use it Can you share what yours were?

I don't think so - I ran a .8 nozzle at 60mm/s with .300 layers and used 215 without trying to go lower temp.. I suppose if you were using 1.6 nozzle at 140mm/s you might need to. All comments relate to normal PLA

Sorry, flow 0-10% on the Colorfabb site equates to 100-110%

Well I would taker a visit to the Colorfabb site and start with their specifications; which include flow at 0-10% At 220 you are way way way over.

Some of us have had problems with Colorfabb whites; I cannot comment on UM as I have never tried their filaments. For me the best white, by some distance if Faberdashery's Arctic white. You do not need to buy a 100m reel from them, you can buy a length of 10m or whatever and give it a try. You would want to find out from them what the postage cost will be. I have also used the their transparent filament successfully but I have not tried another transparent filament so I cannot say that theirs is the best.

Are you near the printer when it happens or in bed? You really need to be there so you can get some idea of what is going on, otherwise it becomes a bit like looking for a needle... Is the filament sticking in the reel perhaps. Can you post your speed/extruder temp/retraction settings. What makes it strange is that you are seeing no grinding on the filament. If the filament is meeting resistance then one would expect the drive wheel to cut into the filament and leave evidence! Does the geometry change significantly where the problem occurs - a pic might help us.

Ok I am going to go in a different direction. I am surprised you think the ambient did not go below 15c, I actually doubt that. I am guessing you were probably circa 10hours into the print. Therefore to me it is extremely unlikely that it came off the bed due to temp. unless it really did drop to a low temp. I never print below ambient of 20c so I have no idea what would happen. 3d prints can develop spikes. These normally happen at corners, or if there is retraction they can happen where the extruder leaves the model or enters the model. I have not really studied it but I suspect printing too hot or fast will increase the probability of it occurring ( I guess not running fans may contribute too). Once they start they just get bigger and bigger; to a point where the extruder finally hits the spike when it is solid and the model is knocked off the bed. There have certainly been times when I have baby sat a print, using a screwdriver to push down the soft deposited filament each time a layer is printed.

With ordinary PLA you wouldn't. If using a 0.4 nozzle then really rarely should you need to go above 210. Colorfabb have an advised max temp of 220 for their ordinary PLAs

Lol well I have printed PLA the last three winters (and summers) with the window closed and I am still living, I think.

Cura is a good place for a beginner to start; it is free, easy to use and you can delve into the more advanced settings as you learn how to 3D print. Kisslicer and slic3r are other free options, Kisslicer has a Pro version which is 42usd. Both are worth looking at but if you are starting I would leave it 6 months. Then there is Simplyfy3D which is about 150usd and you cannot get a trial version. It is meant to be really good, which it should be!, but I refuse to give someone 150 bucks if they will not supply a trial version that I can try first.

I am wondering what infill% you are using? Less dense infills will normally require a thicker depth for the solid "top". As @DidierKlein suggests, 1.2mm is a good starting point

Lol not me, that is why I use USB

I recently used Cura supports, with 15.04.02, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much better they were compared with about a year or so ago. The support just easily pulled way from the model with no significant damage to the model; I was happy with the result, no filing or anything like that. I just used the standard settings already in the Cura expert settings.