sharahamo

The PVA doesn't seem to sticks well to PLA now with the current update. It works well before the 4.0. Mind that this is for new PVA and new PLA, moisture doesn't play a part here. And as the PVA doesn't sticks well, it travels throughout the model while printing, and get caught in midway thus leaving a lot of holes and scratches on the body. See picture

@piphil @Dim3nsioneer many thanks for confirming that this is a bug. Yes I am using the latest firmware. Hopefully this will be fixed soon or is there's any way to report this bug? I reckon somebody else has done this.

I am using Ultimaker 3 and trying to do the XY levelling for the first time. However, the printer does not seem to print the Y grid, while the X grid prints fine. Apparently this happens due to the material not being extruded, and because Y is being printed first, no material comes out. When in X, the material already reaches the nozzle and prints the grid. I know that the material is pulled from the nozzle when not in use. But this seems like a stupid setup, probably a bug in the software? The X and Y grids print fine when I move the material manually prior to calibration Shouldn't Ultimaker move the material first before printing the grids like in the normal print?

Thanks for the tips! that's a really good idea. I also found out that the colorfabb pla/pha material does not work well with PVA. I have to stick to original ultimaker pla. Shame that they dont have that many color options

I have tried every possible solution. We do put it in a dry box with desiccant but to no avail. Also tried the oven solution. Probably it has been out for too long and expired? But I wasted more money on failed print and a lot of time too. So far I am having 10 streaks for successful 12 hours printing with my new PVA.

I found out the solution to my problem... Is by using a new set of PVA. The one that I used before has been opened for 8 months, and no matter how much I dry it out it won't work. When I use a new one, voila! I should make it a habit to by 255g instead of 750g PVA. I am throwing away £80 worth of old PVA now...

@kmanstudios My apologies, forgot to mention the details. I'm using Ultimaker 3. Material 1 is Ultimaker PLA and Material 2 is Ultimaker PVA. I am printing at Layer height 0.2mm Wall and bottom/top thickness 1.2mm. Infill density 20% I have a humidity indicator in my room and it's quite low actually, around 33%. The material isn't very soft and pliable, almost like the PLA, making me think that the humidity may not always be the case. I am using the laest Ultimaker Cura version 2.6 Attached is the project file UM3_MainBody_v1.0.3mf When the PVA is extruding well, I also have problem where the material is not sticking to PLA. I am trying to figure out the best configuration of PVA, i.e. the flow, temp, speed, layer height

@kmanstudios I was wondering if you could help e suggesting the best setting of cura for this model attached. I have been having real problem even when I kept the material dry, mostly because of the material PVA grinding, mostly because PVA is being used every now and then in very little amount, in between roof and floor. MainBody_v1.0.stl

I have done this and it does not work. I do this every time the print fails because the nozzle will be clogged. The brim (PVA) looks really nice but then it goes down the drain. The thing is I have PVA being used for small holes in between the floor and the roof, so probably they don't have time cool down properly because it's being constantly used but in a very very small amount. I feel so hopeless and wasted a lot of materials.

@kmanstudios i am printing now and the PVA is not extruded. The material seems okay, not too soft. My concern is I am printing PVA at certain parts only i.e. roof and floor of support and small holes, so the gap between the use of PVA and PLA can be big. DO you think it might causes the blockage? Is it better if I use all PVA as support rather than using PVA as roof/floor support only? Eg here https://www.simplify3d.com/support/materials-guide/pva/ it says that the cons of using PVA is Greater chances of clogging if the nozzle is left hot when not extruding

I have this problem as currently being discussed here, and I am trying every possible method to prevent this problem. So far nothing works. I may need to resort to using the box

Hmmm that gives me an idea. I should probably cut about a few meters PVA and let it be extruded from a bag (i think the full spool could be too heavy to leave on the table). I will try this and see where it gets.

@Smithy I have done all the proposed methods but so far the first half layers are fine (first 5.5 hours) but the rest are starting to get dodgy. I am not sure what's the cause but I feel like the PVA aren't that soft though. And I have to reclean the nozzle everytime it happens I am also using about 1.2 m of PVA thoughout my print (PLA 15m). It is because the wait between the layers of PVA are too long that the nozzle starts to get clogged?

@Smithy thanks for the tips. I am currently having issues where The PVA is under extruded and I have to 'mock' changing material mid print to ensure the nozzle is not clogged during printing (i.e. unload and load again). I notice that the material is grinded a bit at the extruder when it's under extruded. Is it because the nozzle is clogged or is it because of the extruder? The nozzle doesn't seems to e clogged though. When I reload the material mid print the material comes out of the nozzle fine.

Sorry i know this is old thread. does this basically mean I should do hot pull mid print? I dont get your point 4. Take older leftover PVA, like those bits when it was changed out and leaves the parts that were in the bowden tube, and push it though.