Problems printing UM FlexPLA

[reibuehl 37]

Hi,

I have enormous problems printing Ultimaker Flex PLA. I think the root cause is related to the bed leveling, or more precise the distance between bed and nozzle.

If I level the bed with a sheet of paper, it seems that the nozzle is too close to the bed and the pressure that the feeder can put on the flexible filament is not enough to properly extrude the first layer. The nozzle gets clogged and the feeder eventually grinds into the filament and thats it. I use IRobertI's feeder and have also oiled the bowden a little and if I use the Maintenance --> Advanced --> Move Material function, the extrusion works perfect. Just when printing, it fails.

I tried doing the bed leveling with a 0.10mm thickness gauge in case my paper is too thin, but that seems to be too much gap. The extruded filament is not pressed properly onto the bed, so it is not sticking to it and corners are straightened out to lines. It looks more like laying out a hose than extruding :(

What can I do?

Reiner

[DidierKlein 725]

I would do the leveling like you used to do it.

With the paper you have to feel some resistance but not too much.

Then try a print with a couple of skirts around and fine tune while the skirt is printed. Or print some bed leveling thing that you can find easily on youmagine or thingiverse.

Trick with Flex PLA: always keep a low constant speed (30mm/s). And have a good tension in the feeder to avoid slippage

[reibuehl 37]

I tried it again with the paper method, but did not get a much better result:

Now the - i think it is underextrusion - starts on the third layer.

[swordriff 119]

EDIT:

Under Extrusion starts at layer 3.

Does the 3d layer have an increase in speed?

[reibuehl 37]

No, all the same. I did an Atomic Pull now and tried again, but this time it started already on the Brim - nothing gets printed at all, just clogging of the nozzle. The brim seems to be done faster than the 30mm/s that I have selected for the rest.

[DidierKlein 725]

Do you use the snap on guide with Robert's feeder (mandatory for flex filament).

Maybe you need to increase the tension of the bearing?

[reibuehl 37]

I use the snap on guide and have tightened the tension a few times now without success.

[DidierKlein 725]

What's the temp you use for extruding? If i remember well i used around 230°c for the FlexPLA from UM. (But mine was white)

[reibuehl 37]

Mine is Black FlexPLA. I tried 220 and 210 - unfortunately Ultimaker does not give any advice on speed and temperature on there website/shop.

I printed white FlexPLA in the past successful with the Standard PLA settings of my UM2.

[DidierKlein 725]

Maybe try increasing then?

And for speed slow is the trick. For .2mm layers i print at 30mm/s max.

As i said before put the same speed everywhere, and maybe also disable the minimum time per layer box to make sure the speed stays constant

[reibuehl 37]

I was using the same settings as you suggest, but I will try the minimum layer time checkbox on my next try. I do however assume that this will not have an effect as the layer times are well above the minimum layer time.

My last settings where:

 

[profile]layer_height = 0.2wall_thickness = 0.8retraction_enable = Truesolid_layer_thickness = 0.6fill_density = 100nozzle_size = 0.4print_speed = 30print_temperature = 220print_temperature2 = 0print_temperature3 = 0print_temperature4 = 0print_temperature5 = 0print_bed_temperature = 70support = Noneplatform_adhesion = Brimsupport_dual_extrusion = Falsewipe_tower = Falsewipe_tower_volume = 15ooze_shield = Falsefilament_diameter = 2.89filament_diameter2 = 0filament_diameter3 = 0filament_diameter4 = 0filament_diameter5 = 0filament_flow = 100.0retraction_speed = 40.0retraction_amount = 4.5retraction_dual_amount = 16.5retraction_min_travel = 2.0retraction_combing = Allretraction_minimal_extrusion = 0.02retraction_hop = 0.0bottom_thickness = 0.3layer0_width_factor = 100object_sink = 0.0overlap_dual = 0.15travel_speed = 150bottom_layer_speed = 30infill_speed = 30solidarea_speed = 30inset0_speed = 30insetx_speed = 30cool_min_layer_time = 5fan_enabled = Trueskirt_line_count = 1skirt_gap = 2.0skirt_minimal_length = 150.0fan_full_height = 0.5fan_speed = 100fan_speed_max = 100cool_min_feedrate = 10cool_head_lift = Falsesolid_top = Truesolid_bottom = Truefill_overlap = 30support_type = Linessupport_angle = 60support_fill_rate = 15support_xy_distance = 0.7support_z_distance = 0.15spiralize = Falsesimple_mode = Falsebrim_line_count = 20raft_margin = 5raft_line_spacing = 3.0raft_base_thickness = 0.3raft_base_linewidth = 1.0raft_interface_thickness = 0.27raft_interface_linewidth = 0.4raft_airgap_all = 0.0raft_airgap = 0.22raft_surface_layers = 2raft_surface_thickness = 0.27raft_surface_linewidth = 0.4fix_horrible_union_all_type_a = Truefix_horrible_union_all_type_b = Falsefix_horrible_use_open_bits = Falsefix_horrible_extensive_stitching = Falseplugin_config = (lp1.object_center_x = -1object_center_y = -1[alterations]start.gcode = ;Sliced {filename} at: {day} {date} {time};Basic settings: Layer height: {layer_height} Walls: {wall_thickness} Fill: {fill_density};Print time: {print_time};Filament used: {filament_amount}m {filament_weight}g;Filament cost: {filament_cost}G21        ;metric valuesG90        ;absolute positioningM107       ;start with the fan offG28 X0 Y0  ;move X/Y to min endstopsG28 Z0     ;move Z to min endstopsG92 X0 Y0 Z0 E0         ;reset software position to front/left/z=0.0G1 Z15.0 F{max_z_speed} ;move the platform down 15mmG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded lengthG1 F200 E3              ;extrude 3mm of feed stockG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded length again;go to the middle of the platform (disabled, as there is no need to go to the center)G1 F{travel_speed}end.gcode = ;End GCodeM104 S0                     ;extruder heater offM140 S0                     ;heated bed heater off (if you have it)G91                                    ;relative positioningG1 E-1 F300                            ;retract the filament a bit before lifting the nozzle, to release some of the pressureG1 Z+0.5 E-5 X-20 Y-20 F{travel_speed} ;move Z up a bit and retract filament even moreG28 X0 Y0                              ;move X/Y to min endstops, so the head is out of the wayM84                         ;steppers offG90                         ;absolute positioning;{profile_string}start2.gcode = ;Sliced at: {day} {date} {time};Basic settings: Layer height: {layer_height} Walls: {wall_thickness} Fill: {fill_density};Print time: {print_time};Filament used: {filament_amount}m {filament_weight}g;Filament cost: {filament_cost};M190 S{print_bed_temperature} ;Uncomment to add your own bed temperature line;M104 S{print_temperature} ;Uncomment to add your own temperature line;M109 T1 S{print_temperature2} ;Uncomment to add your own temperature line;M109 T0 S{print_temperature} ;Uncomment to add your own temperature lineG21        ;metric valuesG90        ;absolute positioningM107       ;start with the fan offG28 X0 Y0  ;move X/Y to min endstopsG28 Z0     ;move Z to min endstopsG1 Z15.0 F{travel_speed} ;move the platform down 15mmT1                      ;Switch to the 2nd extruderG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded lengthG1 F200 E10             ;extrude 10mm of feed stockG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded length againG1 F200 E-{retraction_dual_amount}T0                      ;Switch to the first extruderG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded lengthG1 F200 E10             ;extrude 10mm of feed stockG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded length againG1 F{travel_speed};Put printing message on LCD screenM117 Printing...end2.gcode = ;End GCodeM104 T0 S0                     ;extruder heater offM104 T1 S0                     ;extruder heater offM140 S0                     ;heated bed heater off (if you have it)G91                                    ;relative positioningG1 E-1 F300                            ;retract the filament a bit before lifting the nozzle, to release some of the pressureG1 Z+0.5 E-5 X-20 Y-20 F{travel_speed} ;move Z up a bit and retract filament even moreG28 X0 Y0                              ;move X/Y to min endstops, so the head is out of the wayM84                         ;steppers offG90                         ;absolute positioning;{profile_string}start3.gcode = ;Sliced at: {day} {date} {time};Basic settings: Layer height: {layer_height} Walls: {wall_thickness} Fill: {fill_density};Print time: {print_time};Filament used: {filament_amount}m {filament_weight}g;Filament cost: {filament_cost};M190 S{print_bed_temperature} ;Uncomment to add your own bed temperature line;M104 S{print_temperature} ;Uncomment to add your own temperature line;M109 T1 S{print_temperature2} ;Uncomment to add your own temperature line;M109 T0 S{print_temperature} ;Uncomment to add your own temperature lineG21        ;metric valuesG90        ;absolute positioningM107       ;start with the fan offG28 X0 Y0  ;move X/Y to min endstopsG28 Z0     ;move Z to min endstopsG1 Z15.0 F{travel_speed} ;move the platform down 15mmT2                      ;Switch to the 2nd extruderG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded lengthG1 F200 E10             ;extrude 10mm of feed stockG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded length againG1 F200 E-{retraction_dual_amount}T1                      ;Switch to the 2nd extruderG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded lengthG1 F200 E10             ;extrude 10mm of feed stockG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded length againG1 F200 E-{retraction_dual_amount}T0                      ;Switch to the first extruderG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded lengthG1 F200 E10             ;extrude 10mm of feed stockG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded length againG1 F{travel_speed};Put printing message on LCD screenM117 Printing...end3.gcode = ;End GCodeM104 T0 S0                     ;extruder heater offM104 T1 S0                     ;extruder heater offM104 T2 S0                     ;extruder heater offM140 S0                     ;heated bed heater off (if you have it)G91                                    ;relative positioningG1 E-1 F300                            ;retract the filament a bit before lifting the nozzle, to release some of the pressureG1 Z+0.5 E-5 X-20 Y-20 F{travel_speed} ;move Z up a bit and retract filament even moreG28 X0 Y0                              ;move X/Y to min endstops, so the head is out of the wayM84                         ;steppers offG90                         ;absolute positioning;{profile_string}start4.gcode = ;Sliced at: {day} {date} {time};Basic settings: Layer height: {layer_height} Walls: {wall_thickness} Fill: {fill_density};Print time: {print_time};Filament used: {filament_amount}m {filament_weight}g;Filament cost: {filament_cost};M190 S{print_bed_temperature} ;Uncomment to add your own bed temperature line;M104 S{print_temperature} ;Uncomment to add your own temperature line;M109 T2 S{print_temperature2} ;Uncomment to add your own temperature line;M109 T1 S{print_temperature2} ;Uncomment to add your own temperature line;M109 T0 S{print_temperature} ;Uncomment to add your own temperature lineG21        ;metric valuesG90        ;absolute positioningM107       ;start with the fan offG28 X0 Y0  ;move X/Y to min endstopsG28 Z0     ;move Z to min endstopsG1 Z15.0 F{travel_speed} ;move the platform down 15mmT3                      ;Switch to the 4th extruderG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded lengthG1 F200 E10             ;extrude 10mm of feed stockG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded length againG1 F200 E-{retraction_dual_amount}T2                      ;Switch to the 3th extruderG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded lengthG1 F200 E10             ;extrude 10mm of feed stockG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded length againG1 F200 E-{retraction_dual_amount}T1                      ;Switch to the 2nd extruderG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded lengthG1 F200 E10             ;extrude 10mm of feed stockG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded length againG1 F200 E-{retraction_dual_amount}T0                      ;Switch to the first extruderG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded lengthG1 F200 E10             ;extrude 10mm of feed stockG92 E0                  ;zero the extruded length againG1 F{travel_speed};Put printing message on LCD screenM117 Printing...end4.gcode = ;End GCodeM104 T0 S0                     ;extruder heater offM104 T1 S0                     ;extruder heater offM104 T2 S0                     ;extruder heater offM104 T3 S0                     ;extruder heater offM140 S0                     ;heated bed heater off (if you have it)G91                                    ;relative positioningG1 E-1 F300                            ;retract the filament a bit before lifting the nozzle, to release some of the pressureG1 Z+0.5 E-5 X-20 Y-20 F{travel_speed} ;move Z up a bit and retract filament even moreG28 X0 Y0                              ;move X/Y to min endstops, so the head is out of the wayM84                         ;steppers offG90                         ;absolute positioning;{profile_string}support_start.gcode = support_end.gcode = cool_start.gcode = cool_end.gcode = replace.csv = preswitchextruder.gcode = ;Switch between the current extruder and the next extruder, when printing with multiple extruders.;This code is added before the T(n)postswitchextruder.gcode = ;Switch between the current extruder and the next extruder, when printing with multiple extruders.;This code is added after the T(n)

 

[DidierKlein 725]

Also disable retractions

Why 2.89mm in filament diameter?

[reibuehl 37]

Ups... that must be a typo... I will correct that.

[reibuehl 37]

I corrected the filament diameter in the profile now and disabled brim and retraction and set the minimum layer time speed to 30mm/s to prevent any change of speed. This time I got a little bit further, but as soon as the print reached the smaller parts, it started the underextrusion again:

The item I want to print is this: https://www.youmagine.com/designs/ultimaker2-flat-feet

[ultiarjan 1,208]

Mine is Black FlexPLA. I tried 220 and 210 - unfortunately Ultimaker does not give any advice on speed and temperature on there website/shop.

I printed white FlexPLA in the past successful with the Standard PLA settings of my UM2.

I print at 230-240 degrees with Makerpoint MP Flex45, speed 20mm/s at 0.4 nozzle and 0.1 layer. And for layer adhesion I use "Cubestick" the UM glue does not work on the flex material. I would advise slower and hotter..

[mrkennedy 0]

Any suggestions for print bed temp? Also, with glue or blue tape or other? trying first print in flex on manday!