Schmordan

As well as drying filament, I think printing a new cooling fan system such as the Bullseye or Petsfang duct may also help my cause, by cooling down the filament faster, omnidirectionally and more efficiently. Thank you to all who have helped and contributed to this thread!

I think I might've boiled down the problem to temperature and speed. Yesterday, I tried using a brand new roll of Grey ESUN PLA+ to print the katana blade, and the problem occurred even with that. I noticed that when I reduced the temperature, the effects of the problem seemed to go down. I think the problem is being caused by the hot nozzle melting and warping the already extruded plastic, causing a consistent wave pattern. by reducing the temperature of the nozzle and reducing the time it lingers on one spot, I may be able to eliminate this problem. I might be wrong, as this has never happened before, and it might be a thermistor problem (I had to replace my hotend with the Creality Spider Pro) or another weird issue. if anyone has any other ideas on what the issue is, please feel free to share.

I think I've crossed out both of these issues though, as I tried some other prints later yesterday with the dried filaments, and they came out perfectly. This print took about 1 and a half hours, but didn't show any of the waves shown by the white filament, so i think the E-Steps issue you ran into isn't my problem. Your other issue with the mainboard fan is not apparent either, as while doing another print, i lifted up my printer and saw the fan was operating properly. there is also nothing under my printer blocking airflow to the fan.

I don't think it was though, because I've done multiple great-looking prints that look nothing like the results I'm getting now. I did, however, not use the filament for about a week and a half, but I don't see how the very dry conditions of SA can cause this effect.

I know i'm straying from the original topic, but I just dehydrated my filament (using a DIY method by Ricky Impey) only for a short time and my results are quite good. I think it is clear that the bubbles were caused b y the moisture in the filament, because the bubbles in the new test are minuscule and unnoticeable, and i think i can eliminate them entirely by dehydrating them for another hour or two. The issue of the mysterious white filament is still ongoing. DIY Filament Dehydrator Tutorial:

the bumps are in fact not start/end points, as the line across the middle of the prints are the seams. if the bubbles aren't moisture, what could it be? It might be an extrusion issue to do with flow, nozzle temp or something else. also with the apparent cause of the wave problem coming from the filament being used, what property of the filament could cause the waves to be produced on the white filament print? the filaments are all made form the same brand and type of plastic (ESUN PLA+).

i found a partial solution. I tried some other filaments i had lying around and discovered it was actually the filament that made the wavy pattern. i don't even know how, because i bought the filament at the same time and opened the filaments at the same time as each other, but only the white one has the waves. what is also annoying is that i think both the grey and black filaments have what look to be bubbles from moisture (i think??) that made imperfections on the surface of the prints. I'm in a particularly dry country, but i guess it's time to buy a filament dehydrator. I won't mark this as the answer, as i think there is something else at play here that's affecting the quality, as knowing the proper answer could maybe help me or others in the future.

same effect as all the last results except with a seam. 😕

i'll try to do that, but it might be a bit annoying, as i'm trying to print a collapsing katana for my friend, and seams can get in the way of smooth operation. i'll update you soon about my results.

Sorry for the really late response, as i had some things go on during last week, but i recalibrated my E-steps, which is now 86.7. I reprinted the model and was happy at first ... but then after a few minutes it just got worse.

I have calibrated my e-steps a while ago, but i'll try to redo it later today. i didn't use a calibration cube, and instead, after calibrating my e-steps, i think i just went on to regularly printing again. I'll update you later today, and thank you for your support!

i just tried using the same jerk and acceleration settings that you recommended, and it didn't work, with the same results as the other tests.

I also just experimented with speed, flow and hotend temp, but nothing worked 😞

I tried printing on my hard floor, but the same results occurred. 🫤

@Slashee_the_Cow, i am using ESUN PLA + in black and attached is my project file. i can also confirm that there is no play in the hotend and my bed is not wobbly. i'll try using my printer on a different surface later today and keep you updated. CE3E3V2_KATANA-CURVE-PNP-W-SUPPORTS.3mf