problem with severe bending with PLA

[wernerjanssens 0]

Hello

 

this is my first post on this forum. Prints from my ultimaker (using cura 4.6.1and makerfill PLA, different colors) result in disappointing quality. Printing in the z-axis is severely bent inwards (photo 1), straight corners are not straight (photo2), top layer is not flat (somewhat "bubbly") (photo 3)...

 

A second problem occurs with makerfille ABS where the adhesion between the layers is very weak resulting in very fragile models. Cura has so many, many settings I don't know where to start tinkering. Any advice  would be appreciated.

[Smithy 1,145]

Hello and welcome!

Many problems and many questions, I will try to answer some of these:

 

- Bubbles = pillowing, is often caused by too low cooling, espacially for PLA you should always set 100% fan which is the default for the Cura profiles. But it can also happen when you print too hot or too fast. Additionally check how many top layers you have, increase the value by 1 or 2 to get extra layers, which solves also the pillowing.

 

- Bent inwards: good question, I guess you print too fast, try to print with 40mm/sec, just to see if it solves the problem.

 

- Straight corners: I guess your x/y axles are not 100% square. If you print a circle then this circle will be more an elipse, when the x and y axles are not 100% perpendicular. You can find instructions how to adjust them again here: https://ultimakernasupport.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004168943-Aligning-the-Axes

 

- ABS: Printing ABS is not so easy and depends on the brand of the filament. Ultimaker ABS is easier to print in my opinion than others, but I don't know Makerfill. Generally you can try to print a little bit hotter and avoid too much cooling (fan speed). When the extruded filament cools too fast you get a not so good bonding to the previous layer. So ABS is from a handling point of view the complete opposite of PLA. There you print cooler with 100% fans. For ABS you can even try to turn off the fans if you don't have overhangs. Otherwise use a very low value.

 

And you are right, Cura has many many settings, but for the beginning, use mostly defaults and use the default profiles. Adjust just one (or a few) settings at once and check the result.