Bed leveling issue or filament problem?

[Alecsm 2]

What do you think guys? This is the first layer 0.1 mm

[flowalistik 181]

I would say BED, you can leave some more space between the nozzle and the bed.

Sometimes the same thing happens to me, and I don't really know if it's the nozzle or the bed, because as you can see, in some parts of the layer there is no plastic, but in the outer part there is. Maybe the glass tends to comb 0.01mm when heated and that's why. Any expert in the room that can clear this?

[yellowshark 153]

Hmn not seen that before! The easiest way to remove the filament from the question is to load up another pla filament and see what happens. Is that some sort of fluorescent colour? If so use a normal pla filament - specials can have attributes that affect adhesion. Set bed to 60 -65c, set extruder to 200c +/- 5c; set initial layer print speed to 20 mm/s; set layer height to 0.300mm - unless you are experienced (maybe you are) .100 1st layer can be difficult to get right. If you are using a glass bed then use a digital thermometer to check the glass temp is 60c or whatever in the area you will be printing on before starting the print. If you do not use any adhesive then use some glue or hairspray.

Manually feed some of the filament through the nozzle to make sure the filament is flowing nicely before starting your print.

make sure whatever it is you are printing on is clean. I just use hot water to get the hairspray off by glass and ensure it is clean. There is a chemical that is popular but I forget the name

OK assuming it is bed levelling. Are you a beginner or experienced? I ask because it can be difficult for a beginner to get it right, practice makes perfect. Do it carefully and slowly; it is really important and must not be done poorly. Check carefully; are the three measuring points really the same? If you are not sure do it again until you are sure. If it is the levelling and/or nozzle to bed difference then I think you must by some way off, I have not seen a 1st layer that bad and therefore I am guessing that maybe you rushed it - apologies if you were meticulous

search on Google with site:ultimaker.com bed levelling to access the many threads on this subject.

[Alecsm 2]

thanks for reply. I did another print today, perfectly done, without any filament reload or bed leveling ...maybe the nozzle were clogged!? I print often with first layer between 0.06 to 0.15 without any problems. I'm still thinking if the filament is good enough. I'm using Innofil PLA (yellow, not fluorescent) but it was sold by a local company like "clearance".

I will let you know if I'll have news

Thanks

[yellowshark 153]

Well that is good news, sort of . Yes it could be a nozzle blockage, although in my experience that is re-occurring until you clean the blockage; not saying it has to be. Possibly more likely is the filament sticking in the feed system somewhere. If the provenance of the filament is dubious I would do some measuring and see if it is a consistent width below 3.0mm. That happened to me once, even with a highly reputable manufacturer, at various points it was over 3.0mm and sticking in the Bowden tube.

[yellowshark 153]

Well that is good news, sort of . Yes it could be a nozzle blockage, although in my experience that is re-occurring until you clean the blockage; not saying it has to be. Possibly more likely is the filament sticking in the feed system somewhere. If the provenance of the filament is dubious I would do some measuring and see if it is a consistent width below 3.0mm. That happened to me once, even with a highly reputable manufacturer, at various points it was over 3.0mm and sticking in the Bowden tube.

[geert_2 557]

I think it might be two effects combined?

- The 45° diagonal irregular extrusion might be a feeding problem (dirty nozzle, filament diameter variation, friction variations, worn teflon coupler, whatever...).

- But the too thin areas parallel to the print head rather seem to be a glass problem to me. Glass plates are never perfectly parallel, they have variations in thickness. (Just like plastic or metal plates.) In a window this is often visible: you can notici it when the landscape behind gets deformed when looking through the glass. Or it could be warping of the glass due to heating? I have this too on one of my printers, always in the same place, and it can't be leveled out, because that makes other areas worse. It only shows up when the first layer is 0.1mm, not when it is 0.2 or 0.3mm.

[StephanK 30]

With a first layer height around 0.1 mm I get the same "blank spots with no coverage or just a very thin film" effect as well, If I increase the distance from nozzle to glass bed and up the first layer height to 0,2mm it is gone. I assume with 0.2 mm there is enough plastic to even it out.

I got myself a cheap dial gauge and some crude holder for it and while this ain't all that precise, I think the measurements indicate that my glass plate by itself simply isn't flat.

Now, I don't know if modern industrial glass plates are supposed to be perfectly flat or not.

[yellowshark 153]

I think the one on the Hubble is accurate