GregValiant

I read the Gcode file into AutoCad and it looks exactly the same as Burtoogle's image. A single move to the right front corner before starting on the raft. There are no moves (G0 or G1) in the Gcode to account for the behavior in the video. This leaves the firmware as the culprit and (I think) something is causing it to do a G162 X Y at the end of every layer. The G162 X Y tells the machine to home the X and Y axis to maximum (which I assume is the right rear of your machine). If that is true then it kinda has the feel to what was said about camera position. I don't know that your older firmware would have supported that but it is what would happen to move the head out of the way and allow a photo to be taken after every layer. Going through the Gcode line-by-line (I'm retired) there are a few lines of code in the beginning that are odd. In particular is the M158 line. M158 doesn't appear to be supported by any printer firmware. Also, the hot end temperature seems to be bounced up and down. I'm not sure what's going on there. It appears that the hot end settles down at 100 degrees. That is below cold extrusion temperature and isn't making sense to me. My suggestion is that you go through all the menus in the firmware and look for things that might cause the machine to move to Xmax and Ymax every time the layer changes. From the Gcode file: T0 ;Select extruder 0 M104 S208 ;Set temp to 208 M109 S208 ;Wait for hot end to get to 208 M82 ;absolute extrusion mode M73 P0 ; Set build percentage to 0 M158 ; This is "turn mist coolant on" and isn't supported by printer firmware (I found it on a CNC site) G21 ; Set to metric G90 ; XYZ to absolute positioning M104 S220 T0 ;Turn extruder 0 up to 220 M109 S100 T0 ;Turn extruder 0 down to 100. Don't wait for it to cool down. G162 X Y F2500 ;Home X and Y axis to maximum G161 Z F1100 'Home Z axis to minimum G92 Z-5 ;Set Z location to -5 G1 Z0.0 G161 Z F100 M132 X Y Z A B ;Loads the axis offset of the current home position from the EEPROM and waits for the buffer to empty. G1 X230.0 Y5.0 Z10.0 F3300.0 M6 T0 ; Tool change to extruder 0 M6 T0 ; Tool change to extruder 0 M108 R3.0 T0 G1 X230 Y5 F3300.0 G1 Z0.6 F1100 M108 R4.0 ;Not sure about this. Either "exit hot end wait period" or "Set extruder speed". I didn't find parameter R. G4 P1500 ;Wait for 1500 mille-seconds. M105 ; report temperature G1 X210.0 Y5.0 Z0.6 F3300.0 G92 E0 G92 E0 G1 F1500 E-6.5

As Carla said, the best option is to set the initial layer height. You can also push the "Material / Initial Layer Flow" up to 110% or 120% BUT that would mean more plastic in the way for the subsequent layers and you would still have over-extrusion symptoms unless you back the flow off to 95% for layers 2 to 5 or so. I've gotten very consistent at leveling the bed and I run Initial Layer Height at .20 and Initial Layer Flow at 105%. Those layers just above layer#1 generally get covered right up by infill or another layer. I like to concentrate on the first layer because it is so important to a good print. A little over-extrusion on inside layers is a good thing. Under-extrusion can lead to weakened parts.

I swapped the magnetic bed for a glass bed on my 3 Pro. I use the same Cura settings as I did with the magnetic bed. The machine has loosened up over the months I've had it and I can print faster now but slowing down the outer wall speed makes for nicer looking prints. I have printed ABS a bit. The bed struggles to get to 110C but at 109C it runs fine. I throw a Hefty leaf bag over the top for a hood and it prints ABS fairly well.

The "Union overlapping volumes" settings is enabled. I think I did that when I was searching for a fix. The current model printed very well.

Perfect. Thank You.

Occasionally I'll get an STL file from someplace like Thingiverse and I will want to add printed text to it. I import the model into Cura and then bring my text in and embed it in the first model with some of the text object a few layers higher than the model. Cura prints the text and the model as two entities as if they were separated on the build plate. As the image shows - the infill prints and then the letters print in the area where the infill already exists. Once the print head is above the first model the problem goes away. But the over-extrusion in the areas that the two models overlap causes missed steps and/or blobbing. What I want is for Cura to see them as a single model and slice it accordingly. This isn't a problem if I design everything because I can create a union in ACad and Cura will see a single model. I have played with commands that include the word "overlap" but there are still double lines on each layer and I've tried a couple of things with "per model" settings but they didn't work. Is there a way to fool Cura into seeing a single model?

I'm not exactly sure by what you mean "the wider layer printed before the object". Do you mean a brim? It looks like you are just too far above the bed on the first layer and that causes the nozzle to not squish the plastic down enough. You will get better and more consistent leveling the more you practice it. If you use parchment paper (.05mm) for leveling instead of printer paper (.10mm) you will be closer, and nothing sticks to parchment paper. One of the settings in Cura is "Quality / Initial Layer Height" and I think the default is .28mm. I would suggest that you make it .2mm. That should help as well but it's usually a leveling issue.

The physical aspects of your machine need to be known by Cura. In Cura, go to Monitor and pick your machine. Pick Manage Printers and Machine Settings. Make sure the build surface and height are correct. The most popular error is having "Origin at Center" selected when it isn't true. I don't know your machine but the left front corner is the most popular Origin location. While you are there make sure that the correct "G-code Flavor" is selected. Hopefully that's all there is to it.

The hot end fan runs 100% and continuously so there aren't any settings for that one. The layer cooling blower is adjustable and if you have a beastly blower installed and it blows on the nozzle too much it can cause hot end problems. The stock one shouldn't be causing issues.

I think that's too far. Try 1/4 - 1/2 turn instead. With 1-2mm of the Bowden tube sticking out and getting squished when you tighten the nozzle, the inside diameter of the bowden tube will get squished smaller. Prints with a lot of long retractions will move soft material into that necked down area and cause a blockage. Prints without a lot of retractions don't seem to notice near as much.

Could be syntax. The Power Spec website says it uses Replicator firmware. Checking the Replicator site might give more info. There was a hint there that they want you to use their slicing software. It could be a proprietary thing.

I'm running win10 and I recall that it was a simple installation so no help there. Python is a programming language. I believe both Pronterface and Cura are written in Python. If you will attach a problem Gcode file here I can take a look tonight. If you open a Gcode file in Cura and go to the Monitor pane, one of the boxes on the right is "Send Gcode". If you send "M117 Hello" then Hello should show up on the LCD screen. M106 S255 turns the fan on 100%. M107 turns it off. If that stuff works then coms are good. I know you have been in there but double check all the machine settings to insure they are what your machine requires. In particular check the "G-code flavor". I just re-read your first post. The "blinking BLTouch" has me wondering if the Auto-Level command is causing a problem. What I don't know about auto-leveling fills libraries but you might try hand leveling and then disabling the Auto-Level command in the Gcode file by putting a semi-colon in front of the G29 line. MAKE SURE your bed is below Z=0 or the nozzle can scrape when you try to print.

Rule #2 - "Never upgrade an operating system". I have had several mind numbing experiences trying to do that. The word "drivers" should be 4 letters. I don't particularly want to run up another learning mountain either but thanks for the suggestion.

The SD card slot is hardwired into the system. Not being able to print from and SD card (provided the card is good) points to a problem on the motherboard. Not being able to connect via the USB could also be a problem on the motherboard. It's the age old question of "Is it the hardware or the software?". If you have Pronterface installed then can it connect and talk to the printer? For communication - Pronterface has a two-way interface that Cura does not. If you send M503 to the printer it should respond with it's current settings. Can I assume that "USB printing" is enabled in Cura? It's under Marketplace and needs to be enabled for USB com's. Since it worked before this is probably not the problem but checking can't hurt. The drivers for the USB connection are installed with Cura. Maybe a re-install will clear up the com problem but not being able to print from SD card seems to point to the printer.

Thank you. I can quit looking now.

I am running Cura 4.6 on an older Sony laptop under Windows 10 Home. Cura runs well but I don't have the "Simulation" option. After poking around it seems that the simulator requires OpenGL on the video system. This video system is Intel HD 4000 which (it is alleged) supports OpenGL 4. Visits to the Intel and Sony sites haven't turned up anything. I did update the video drivers from the Intel site. Looking at the Cura install folder there is no mention of OpenGL32.dll. I was wondering if it should be there. I haven't really needed the simulator but another tool to play with couldn't hurt. My question is can I get the OpenGL driver somewhere?

When you slice a part and have Cura create the Gcode file there should be something like this at the beginning: M140 S50 ;Tell the printer to heat the bed M105 ;Report the temp to the LCD M190 S50 ;Tell the printer to wait and do nothing until the bed is up to temp M104 S205 ;Tell the printer to heat the hot end M105 ;Report the temp to the LCD M109 S205 ;Tell the printer to wait and do nothing until the hot end is up to temp As Carla said, only one heater is at full power at a time. When they are simply maintaining a temperature they don't use as much power. Adding the heated plate may change your Z. You might have to move the Z switch up to compensate for the thickness of the heated bed.

Fixed. It was me all along. I would leave a bit of Bowden tube sticking out of the inner heat sink tube so that when I installed the nozzle it would assure a seal. Turns out a little is a lot and the bottom of the tube was distorting and getting too narrow. So I threw out my not-so-great idea and all is good. I think I'll go sit in a corner now with the pointy dunce hat on. I do have the coolest hot end in town though.

This is the kind of thing where some support from Creality would be appreciated. I installed a 1.1.5 silent board in my Pro and I think that one does come with a bootloader (whatever that is!).

I suppose it will depend on what you're fishing for (and what actually hits!). I've thought about making some lures but I'm in Florida now and mostly it's fishing with either cut bait or shrimp.

I see the Z numbers in the file match what you saw on the LCD. The numbers I posted above were off the top of my head. The numbers from the file are: Layer 18 at 3.9 Layer 19 at 4.1 ;Pause before layer 20 Repeat Layer 18 at 4.3 Repeat Layer 19 at 4.1 Layer 20 at 4.3 Layer 21 at 4.5 Maybe a moderator can comment on that. It's not making a lot of sense to me. Regarding the flow - the numbers you entered into Cura (114%) are used to calculate the E values that Cura put into the Gcode file. So the E values are already at 114%. When you manually add an M221 you will be changing those 114% values so go with the M221 S115 and then bring it back down with M221 S100. I get good adhesion from PETG and PLA doing that even when the top surface cools down when I'm slow to get the printer started again. Not to knock your design there, but I'd put a slot from the front ring to the tail hook attachment point. You could wire them together and it would be a lot stronger than trusting the plastic to keep a strike from tearing out the hook.

It doesn't work that way. Cura will not allow itself or the plugin to crash into a part and it appears you want it to go where plastic has already been placed. That qualifies as a Bad Thing because there just isn't anywhere for the plastic to go, and the head might move the print. What the redo does is repeat the layers but continuing upwards. (Cura layers start at 1 and Gcode layers start at 0. The numbers below are Gcode layer numbers.) Layer 18 at 3.9 Layer 19 at 4.1 ;Pause before layer 20 Repeat Layer 18 at 4.3 Repeat Layer 19 at 4.5 Layer 20 at 4.7 Layer 21 at 4.9 etc. I haven't used the redo. Instead, I hand code an M221 S110 when the print resumes and increase the flow for the first layer after the pause. The 2nd layer after the pause gets an M221 S100 to return the flowrate back to 100%.

At the top right of Cura click on Marketplace / Installed and then scroll down and make sure "USB Printing" is enabled. When Cura starts it will open the USB port to the printer. The port must be open to update the firmware as well as to print from Cura.

Well, there have been no suggestions so I ordered a replacement hot end fan. My current theory (theory #41a) is that some strings have wound around the shaft of the fan rotor and it isn't putting out what it should. I arrived at this theory because everything besides the fan has already been replaced. I ordered a Delta 4015 and will put a 1/8" spacer behind the metal cover to move it outboard 3.2mm. That should allow the 12cfm fan to fit inside. Theory #41b states that Creality put all the cheapest stuff they could get away with in the machine along with cutting the physical requirements as close as they could. I figure you can't over-cool the hot end. If 80% more air doesn't cure the problem I'm gonna design a dry ice system.

Put a "Pause at Height" (or two) in the Gcode file. Make the pauses below where you would anticipate the clog. It's a stupid workaround but it would allow the model to finish. I have been working on this same problem on my Creality machine for 2 weeks and haven't come up with a solution yet.