Can't get past the initial layer without a critical failure

[OtterDragon 0]

I am using an Ultimaker 2+, with a glass build plate (sticker side up) and a 0.4mm nozzle, and up until recently it was printing just fine. I did a 14 hour print and it came out perfect, no defects, very smooth, works great.

 

However, since completing that print, I have been having a plethora of issues, which I've tried to fix with many different solutions such as lowering/raising the nozzle temp/heated bed temp, different ways procedures for leveling the bed, and adjusting settings in Cura, but nothing has fixed the issues.

 

Most commonly what happens is the initial layer will not adhere to the build plate in certain spots, or it will adhere initially, but after a minute or two, it will warp upwards off of the plate. Sometimes, filament in thin area will come out of the nozzle, onto the plate, and as soon as the nozzle changes direction, it pulls the filament with it, curling it up off of the bed. I have tried printing with a brim, but even the brim itself is having these issues.

 

I am using a black 2.85mm PLA, I have tried many temps between 185 - 210 C, and bed temps of 50-70, but the same problems occur regardless of settings.

 

A couple prints made it past the initial layer with only small problems, but those small problems ended up causing complete loss of plate adhesion later in the print, resulting in a complete failure.

 

At this point, I am not sure what to do to solve this issue, any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[gr5 2,172]

First of all - it's 90% most likely that the bed is too low.  You can confirm by pushing up gently on the bed as it prints the bottom layer.

 

Secondly - you really need to watch this video.  It's packed with details about getting parts to stick very very well and... well and why these tricks work.

 

 

[OtterDragon 0]

3 minutes ago, gr5 said:

First of all - it's 90% most likely that the bed is too low.  You can confirm by pushing up gently on the bed as it prints the bottom layer.

 

Secondly - you really need to watch this video.  It's packed with details about getting parts to stick very very well and... well and why these tricks work.

 

 

 

 

Thanks, giving the video a watch, however I have releveled the bed many times, with different heights (using the 0.15mm calibration card, and using the 'touch the nozzle to the build plate, then back off lightly', and a things in between) and I think the latest bed level is right where I want it.. the initial layer looks smooth with no excess material, no rounding, and no transparency.... until of course, curling/warping happens and the whole thing fails.

[gr5 2,172]

So there is more to bed adhesion then just proper leveling.  You have to set the bed to 60C (which you've done) and you have to clean the bed of dust occasionally and you should put down a very very thin coat of glue as shown (3 different ways) in the video.  You also need brim or rounded corners (or both).

[gr5 2,172]

It would help to see a photo of the print when it starts warping.  I assume it's just the corners?

 

[OtterDragon 0]

 

 

This is a print that is currently in progress, and the best print I've gotten going so far, by lowering the initial layer speed to 15 (as opposed to the default 30) and using a tight bed level (maybe a little too tight as I am seeing some rough spots on what should be a flat layer)

 

All other prints I have done at 100% speed have had the issue in the photo above, but far more widespread, to the point that the print must be aborted before the initial layer is even 25% done.

 

This was not an issue before. Before this, I was printing at 210c / 60c for nozzle/bed tempatures, and at 60m/s throughout the entire print with no issues.

 

 

My big issue here is that part of this print cannot be done with brims, due to a breakaway support that may have issues if I use a brim... but I could be wrong.

Here is what I am trying to print: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2627593

Again, I printed this successfully, all parts at once, with no brim or support on the first attempt.

 

 

Also to be clear, I am having these issues with every print now, not just this specific file. Old gcodes that previously worked fine are failing as well.

Edited May 2, 2019 by OtterDragon

[OtterDragon 0]

The print is progressing wonderfully, but I want to know why I was forced to use a brim and print at 15m/s when I previously did not have to, as this will be a problem when I get to the parts that cannot use a brim

Edited May 2, 2019 by OtterDragon

[OtterDragon 0]

The video posted helped alot. I had been increasing the speed of the print because I thought the problems were occuring due to the heat of the nozzle lingering around too long and over heating parts of the print. In fact, the solution was to do the opposite of this, and slow down the print speed.

I am currently doing a print in which I adjusted initial layer speed to 15 and infill speed to 50. The table the printer is sitting on isn't entirely stable, so a lot of unwanted wobbling can occur if the printer jerks too hard. This seems to have fixed the issue, and I guess a slower first layer is good practice, its just a bit annoying that I had to slow it all down.