Color/texture shift on specific layers - driving me insane ...!

Bambu Lab X1 Series Bambu Lab X1C
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Two weeks ago, I bought an X1C. Was initially pretty happy with it but then I started printing the base part for the Gameframe system, which I’ve bought in order to make my own board game table. And that’s when the troubles started: after the first, 8-hour print, I was appaled to see that there were drastic changes in color on some layers, creating an uneven finish. I made some research about the issue, and read tons and tons of post - here and elsewhere - about it, about how it was related to changes in speed/temperature/layer cooling etc. All fine and dandy. Problem is, even after playing with all these settings, the problem is still not solved. Changing the filament did make them less visible because it is clearer in hue, but they’re definitely still there, and I don’t like them.

Indeed, I’m at my wit’s ends. I’ve tried slowing down the print, the outer walls, the infill, tried checking and unchecking some filament/printing settings, tried changing the volumetric speed, the layer time, even bought a different, high-speed black PLA, to no avail … I’ve tried printing outer walls first. I’ve tried raising the temperature. Messing with the cooling. Even when the speed/flow preview is all uniform in the slicer, it’s doesn’t change anything, those same shift in hue/shine remain. Always there, always at the same spot.

I’m desperate, as I really need this part to turn out as good as possible for my board game table project.

The only thing I seem to notice is that these lines seem to match the place where the screw holes are but this gets me nowhere (found a hint in this thread by mgtarallo that this might be the issue but he said changing the filament did the trick, which it didn’t for me: No Consistency on Surface Sheen Matte Shine Glossy Outer Walls Banding).

Would someone be willing to help me? I can send the .stl for further testing. I’m starting to turn insane, and very angry that a $1200 printer can’t do that right… Mgtarallo, if you read this and are still around, don’t hesitate to shed some light on the issue :slight_smile: !

Thanks in advance.

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See if this helps:

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It doesn’t. Saw the video, first thing I tried !

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Hey there, I’m still here and I’m still actively posting and still learning all the different nuances about this printer.

It’s still sort of a love-hate relationship.

It really depends on the project and the model and everybody’s mileage is going to vary.

So what I did notice what is working for me is using PETG HF filament And increasing the nozzle temperature in the filament profile to about 260° (not the default profile temp)

and using snug supports where my through holes are at a 90° angle that way they only are supported in the hole and not on the build plate.

I will attach a picture here of one of my models to give you an idea and you can see it is consistent even with through-hole.

I’ll happily try to help you throughout just tag me and definitely will work together through this.

Believe me when I first got these printers (x1c) I was a Prusa fanboy. (I still am) and I was hating these units. Eventually, I learned how to work with them and I bought two more.

I will admit that there are things that still annoy me about them, but the speed at which they print and with the multicolor option Still wins me over.

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Whoa, what a difference indeed ! Wish I had this kind of results. Happy that you’ve taken the time to drop by and answer :slight_smile: .

Well, right now, I am indeed starting to hate the machine and having buyer’s regrets … But seeing that you’ve stuck with it and bought more is reassuring.

For the supports, I’m not sure I can do much, at least for this specific part, because the instructions manual that comes with the set says it should be printed on its side, so that the holes are not touching the plate at all. But how exactly do you set yours up?

As for the filament, maybe the second one I bought was also not great, but that would be two times in a row. First one was Forshape PLA, and now Elegoo PLA + High Speed. I could try an official Bambu spool but that would make the cost of the project skyrocket as I need around 10 kgs to print it all.

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I completely understand your point of view. I tried to get filament on Amazon that would work for me and I had mixed results so unfortunately, I am sticking with the.Bambu branded filament, I buy the refill rolls. That doesn’t mean you won’t find one that works for you. It’s just I gave up and just am sticking with what I know works for me. I usually buy a lot so I get free shipping, and the refill rolls aren’t that much more than rolls with the spool that I used to get from Amazon.

I also make sure to dry my filament with the filament dryer. Certain other filaments are more hygroscopic (like PETG).

What I will do for you is create a video and send you the link. I’m happy to help as many have helped me in this forum. If you can direct message me, please do so. Or I can do the same.

Another tip is to make sure you use the color maps looking at speed temperature flow fan speed as well. I forgot to mention that I changed the fan speed in the filament profile to a consistent 40%.

When you look at the color map and you look at the layers, you can see the differences in colors and sometimes they reflect on your print.

I’ll be in touch soon

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This is absolutely caused by speed changes in the printing, which causes the filament to get more or less heating as it spends different time being heated, and the colour/texture changes with temperature. You can see it follows the large holes where the printer slowed down. You will see this yourself if you do a volumetic flow test with that filament.

Some things I would try would be (a) slow down print speed, (2) use high-flow filament, (3) slightly raise or lower the printing temperature depending on what effect you want to achieve.

This actually looks like a very good print, and I don’t quite understand why you would be unsatisfied with the Bambu machine that produced it.

You could have got an ender-3 and rolled the dice for their quality control, and maybe got that object with color bands, or maybe got an object that was crooked and didn’t fit where it was supposed to.

Silk filament would also help to disguise the effect, as it’s all shiny all over. Carbon fibre might also do the same thing, as it’s fiberous all over. Hoiwever the cost (CF) or poor strength (SILK) of these filaments must be taken into account.

This sort of effect is very common in 3d-printing and the cheapest solution might be spray paint, or design with a different geometry. Most prints like this are functional (like car parts etc) for which the surface appearance does not matter and it’s onyl recently we have been displaying them in homes or using them for furniture.

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Wow, that’s very kind, thank you ! I haven’t touched fan speeds yet, so maybe that’s something I’ll have to look into.

Talk to you soon !

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Well:

a) I did. Slowed down outer walls, infill, etc. Didn’t change a thing. Only thing the slow speed did was creating bad VFA, which, from what I understand is also a drawback of X1Cs.

b) Did that too. Pla+ high speed from Elegoo. If anything it looks even worse.

c) Tried to increase the temp up to 240°C, didn’t see much change.

As for the aesthetics, I don’t find it pleasing as such; it’s meant to be attached all around the perimeter of a table so I’d rather it looked clean. And with the kind of money that printer demands, I expected better results !

Yes, it does seem the large holes are having an effect. But that’s the point: how can the speed be standardized so that it doesn’t create differences? I even tried unchecking “slow down for overhangs” but it didn’t do anything.

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Elegoo FDM is low quality and cheap, I have not used their filament but if it’s like their FDM printers I am surprised it even prints. It’s odd as their resin printers are some of the best.

I don’t think the issue is fully solvable on any printer, but I wish you luck if you continue to work on improving it. I do think you would get better results using quality filament, but it’s not going to be perfect. In the low price filament range, I’ve had good results and even colors with Sunlu PLA+ with the speed limited to 12 volumetric, but I haven’t (obviously) tried this particular model.

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I see. I I didn’t know Elegoo was a cheao brand, but I’m inclined to believe it because I don’t really like the quality, the color seems more greyish than black for some reason. The Forshape was darker but presented the same issue…

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Quality brands at reasonable prices are eSun, Polymaker, the new Sunlu releases (which I haven’t used yet, but just received one to try), and a few others.

There are some that run $40-$50 a spool for PLA, but I’ve had good enough results with the ones I listed, that I can’t see spending that much money right now.

BTW, when not using Bambu filament did you do a calibration on the one you’re using?

And so you know, eSun has specific Bambu settings on their sight for their filaments. Each one of the Bambu printer models has specific settings for that model. They didn’t just do a single setting for all Bambu printers.

Here’s a list of quality filaments.
https://all3dp.com/1/best-pla-filament/

Here are the eSun profiles
https://www.esun3d.com/zldownload_catalog/3d-printing-settings/

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Got it, thank you for the list. Yes, I previously saw that Esub offered ready-made profiles. May be worth a shot.

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As for calibration, I only did the auto calibration in Orca, and also used the additional settings found on 3dfilamentprofiles.

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Out of that all3dp list,

Sunlu and Jayo are the same company. They have other brands too whose names I have forgotten.

Overture and polymaker are also the same company.