What's causing this?

[ChrisInNewark 0]

Been having a lot of issues lately simply getting my prints to stick to the bed. Out of the box my UM2 worked beaitifully and I had no problems getting my prints to stick using hairspray. After a few months of printing I decided that the glass plate could do with a clean so I took it out and washed it with hot soapy water before cleaning it again using acetone and refitting, releveling and reapplying hairspray. From that point though I've not been able to get any of my prints to stick. I've tried using a gluestick too but with no luck.

I'm thinking that the issue may be a combination of things and isn't  helped by the fact that my filament doesn't seem to be extruding out of the hotend correctly. Instead of coming out in one long strand it's curling up and sticking to the tip of the hotend. Any ideas what's causing this?

I've tried cleaning the hotend with the atomic method but it doesn't seem to have helped.

Here's a video to try and show the problem.

 

Edited April 12, 2016 by Guest

[ChrisInNewark 0]

trim.47830CCE-C28B-4449-A1CD-EC16C0ACD2E3.MOV

trim.47830CCE-C28B-4449-A1CD-EC16C0ACD2E3.MOV

[IRobertI 521]

I don't know about anyone else, but I can't seem to get your video(s) to show up. Maybe try uploading them to Youtube if you have an account there?

As for the curling. Could be that there's a small nick on the nozzle that is causing the filament to drag on one side which makes it curl up. Or it could simply be that it's dirty. Or, it could just be "shit happens". If I see it happening on one of my printers I usually just grab the filament as it's coming out and pull it downwards gently for the first couple of seconds, after that gravity usually takes over.

But in general, platform adhesion problems on the first layer is almost always just a case of getting the bed leveling correct and making sure the bed is either absolutely 100% clean or covered in a thin, even, coat of glue. Printing a bit hotter on the first layer can also be helpful in getting the plastic to flow out and stick better during the first layer.