Can I improve consistency of layer alignment?

Printed this on standard settings using PLA Basic profile. Are those lines normal or can I do better? I have 204h on my printer. Gray is Creality PLA. But I have the same “problem” on original bambu filament (boat on 2nd picture), especialy those marked bumps.


how does the speed model look in bambu studio?

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To answer your question; No, there is no way in hell that this is an acceptable print.

The fact that you’re getting this kind of failure on multiple filaments points to an irregularity in your filament feed. I don’t know why but there have been a slew of AMS-induced feed issues on this forum as of late. Maybe it’s partly due to higher humidity in the Northern Hemisphere this time of year but feed is your first problem that has to be verified and remedied.

I just responded to another post with the same advice. Many people visualize the AMS and Bambu printer as a single system. They are not. They AMS is an add-on that in and of itself can cause issues. To verify this, take the AMS out of the equation before you do any more troubleshooting and run a first layer test using a single-spool-only mode. This will reveal feed issues. Then if the issues still manifest itself, use the maintenance procedure outlined in the wiki and just do a thorough cleaning and lubrication check. Also check for dust and contaminants in your belts and Lead screws. Then after you’ve fixed the core printer issues, put the AMS back into service and run the diagnostics again.

https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/p1/maintenance/p1p-maintenance

I recommend that you perform first layer tests from the start. This will reveal flow issues without wasting a lot of filament or time. If you’re not familiar with that. Simply right-click, add a cube primitive and scale it to 200x200x0.20mm which will lay down a one layer thick line. If you are having filament flow issues, it should manifest itself clearly. The other option is to do a cylinder test which will produce a simple geometry. The equivalent first layer test for that is to produce a cylinder primitive that is 50x50x150mm tall. Print it using spiral vase mode which will ensure that you have a thin ribbon only one layer thick in a round geometry. Again, this is a quick print that does not waste filament but is unforgiving if you have any feed issues.

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Thanks for suggestions!
My 1st layer tests

  1. Printed on Creality PLA (default)

  2. Printed on Bambu PLA (default settings)

  3. Comparsion of both:

  4. AMS disconnected but with top glass cover (worst result IMO)

  5. AMS disconnected, top glass removed (best result?)

Is this design flaw? Can I do someting without printing upgrades to €877 machine? :smiley:
Looks like this is a point where PFTE tube is most stretched and it’s hitting top glass.

This is not a design flaw; it’s a clear indication of flow issues, which is why first layer tests are so valuable. Given the excellent test example you’ve provided, calibration and remedy should be straightforward.

May we assume that this test was done using a single-spool feed without the AMS?


Thank you for the clear photos, especially with contrasting filaments under identical lighting—it’s incredibly helpful for diagnosing the issue. Most people don’t take this step, which makes troubleshooting much harder.

Using two filaments from different makers in the same test is ideal, especially since you got identical results. Now, focus on slicer settings before moving on to more mechanical adjustments.

The filament flow gaps shouldn’t be happening, as you noted. The identical deformation in the same spot suggests plate contamination. Avoid harsh solvents like IPA for now; instead, use dishwashing soap like Dawn (or Fairy Liquid in the EU/UK). Apply a generous layer by hand, rinse with hot water at high pressure, and repeat twice. Dry the plate and run the single layer test again to ensure proper filament adhesion.

Rerun the first layer tests with a clean plate to rule out filament issues. If the output is smooth, the flow rate is likely calibrated correctly or close enough for the next step.

If gaps persist, you’ll need to do a manual calibration. I recommend using Orca Slicer, which has built-in calibration utilities. This YouTube video is one of my favorites for its easy-to-understand process. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymywqch6R8w

If you suspect compromised flow, running a max flow test using Orca can help compare the filament profile with actual measurements. This test takes about twenty minutes, so before that, try a quick first layer test in quiet mode, which reduces printer movements by 50%. If the gaps disappear, it’s likely a flow calibration issue. You can activate quiet mode from the printer’s panel or the slicer’s device menu. Note: In the slicer, the setting might reset during plate warmup, so you may need to click it multiple times.

If you suspect the flow rate, you can find the “Max Volumetric Speed” or “Max Flow Rate” test in Orca Slicer. It’s not available in Bambu Studio. No worries—both slicers can coexist on the same machine without causing conflicts.

The tutorial for how to calculate the max flow rate is in the video linked above but here is the web version. Calibration · SoftFever/OrcaSlicer Wiki · GitHub

Once you have the calculation, update your filament profile with the new setting and run the test again. Save the setting, then reopen the 3MF project to ensure the newly renamed filament profile is loaded and the changes have stuck. I usually recommend reducing the max flow rate calibration result by 25% when testing for filament flow issues, but use your discretion. Note the slicer’s estimated print time to assess the impact of the flow rate reduction on your model, and decide how much you’re willing to trade speed for quality.

Now, you’re not done yet. Rerun your original test model in single-spool mode to verify if it “made a difference.” It doesn’t need to be perfect; the goal is to eliminate one cause at a time. You might get lucky, but from what I see, there could be more than one issue.

If you want to save filament, cut a section of your original model(the boat?) that shows the most anomalies and use that as your test model in single color/single spool mode.

If defects persist, run the 50% test again. If the problem is reduced but not eliminated, it could indicate a mechanical issue. Then, it’s time to tackle the monthly maintenance tasks—focus on cleaning and lubricating the lead screws, and clean the carbon rods with IPA only (no lubricant on the carbon rods).

Once you’ve ruled out and calibrated the core printer, then and only then you can put the AMS back into the loop and repeat the test sequences to better understand what the AMS may or may not be contributing to the issues you are experiencing.

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Many thanks again for detailed explanation. You have pointed me to right direction. Flow issues are now fixed :slight_smile: I must admit that it was my fault. Some time ago I tried to calibrate filament flow. I thought I’m calibrating it for this specific filament only and it will be saved to slicer profile. But it looks like it’s saved to printer itself!
After running 1st layer test at 50% as you recommended, it printed no issues. So I decided to reset printer to factory defaults. And?

Perfect print at 100% speed.

I have also printed tower. It’s not perfect in my opinion. I think I will clean and lubricate rods later today and run bigger print in next few days. I will report after that.

Many thanks for your help so far! :slight_smile:

Edit:
So it looks like print quality stays the same:

You have no idea how many times that has happened to me until I viewed Len Dizzle’s YouTube channel. It was he who strongly suggests after every calibration step, save the profile and reopen the slicer before moving onto the next. It was driving me crazy as to why my filaments were “falling out of calibration” when it was actually a malfunction at my desk which was found in that space between the keyboard and the chair. :wink:

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Now that you have addressed most of the filament issues, we can still see problems with flow. This “ringing” pattern is typically associated with oscillations in older printers that lack input shaping, which compensates for stepper motor-induced vibrations. However, other factors could also be at play.


BL Printers specifically design to compensate for this but they achieve this through the initial vibration calibration that most of us only run once. I probably should have asked sooner but when was the last time you performed a vibration compensation calibration?

You can rule out or confirm vibration as the issue. Verify this before running the vibration compensation test; otherwise, you won’t know if it was the cause. Run the same model test with the highlighted cylinder I noted above, limiting it to 20mm height since the issue appears immediately will save time and filament. In this test, reduce the speed using quiet mode, which cuts it to 50%. I mentioned this earlier, but here it is again.

If quiet mode does not alter the smoothness at all then we know this is likely not a speed-induced issue.

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If none of these steps have any effect, only at this point and I truly mean “only” at this point—after ruling out all the “soft” issues—should you consider checking your belts and pulleys and performing vibration calibration. I rarely recommend starting with mechanical adjustments because we often end up altering parameters set by the factory. Honestly, how many of us can truly claim to fully understand what the factory did? Often, things are made worse when someone unqualified takes a screwdriver to something the manufacturer set. Fortunately, Bambu has a very good Wiki with easy-to-follow videos.

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In the meantime I have also opened a support ticket for this issue.
What is did already:

  • printed tower at 50% speed > same result
  • cleaned and lubricated lead screws
  • performed bed tramming (support recommendation)
  • tightened hotend screws (support recommendation - they where a bit loose)
  • performed belt tensioning procedure
  • executed full calibration, bed leveling and vibration compensation
  • printed tower using 2 different filaments

Results are identical as before. Absolutely no change. I’m going to live with it, I feel a bit tired tinkering with the printer. I was using Ender 3 v1 for 5 years with issues over and over again, printing ton of upgrades etc.

Here is comparsion with previous tower:


And with Bambu orginal filamant.

And this is how my prints look :slight_smile:

Ender 3 but faster :slight_smile:

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