Cura raising nozzle by 0.4mm before starting print?

[Gaius_Marius 0]

Hello, I notice that despite having my endstop set lower, cura does not lower the z axis as far as it could go when printing the first later.  This is a big problem because I don't get good adhesion whatsoever, nor an accurate base layer, which is essential for starting the print.  If someone more experienced than me could tell as to why this is and how to fix it, I would greatly appreciate it.  I'm a bit of a newbie to cura and really 3d printing as a whole.  Thank you!

[gr5 2,210]

Even if you slice at 0.1mm layer height, the bottom layer is typically 0.27mm or .3mm (depending on the version of cura and which profile you have).

 

Assuming .3mm:

So Cura sets the Z height to exactly 0.3mm and extrudes exactly enough for .3mm worth of material.  However I agree it works better if you overextrude the bottom layer.  For some printers like a UMO this is very difficult to do.  The solution is a parameter called "initial layer flow".  You can set that to somewhere around 150%to get a nicely squished bottom layer so your part sticks well.

 

Or you could edit the gcode file by hand and change the .3 to .15.

[Gaius_Marius 0]

I am currently running a makerfarm pegasus if that makes a difference.  The initial layer flow is a good idea.  I should try that.  If this doesn't work what method do you use for editing the Gcode?  I don't have any software currently that will let me do that as far as I know.  (I haven't even learned any basic Gcode commands to be quite frank.)

[gr5 2,210]

Any text editor will work.  For example on Windows you can use notepad.  Search for the letter "Z".  It will be one of the first 3 Z's in the gcode file most likely.  Something like:

G1 Z0.27

 

Which means move Z axis to position 0.27mm.  Or more likely:

G1 X101.11 Y34.37 X0.27

 

 

[Gaius_Marius 0]

I'm confused.  I can't even see the Gcode itself in cura, so how am I supposed to modify it and then paste it back in?  Sorry if this seems really basic.  It's just something I know next to nothing about.  Are you saying I should try to open the Gcode file directly with a text editor, like notepad or textedit?

Also, I'm going to be without internet in the woods for the next 4 or 5 days so if I don't reply I'm not ignoring you.