I have (4) P1P printers that all print well, and I print with PETG almost exclusively. Prints on 3 of the printers all come out with a glossy finish, but prints from the fourth printer have a more matte look, and it is quite noticeable. What I don’t understand is that I am printing the same models, using the same settings etc, but this one printer comes out more matte.
Normally a glossy finish is due to a hotter print temperature, so that makes me think the hotend on the fourth printer is not getting as hot, even though the temperature settings are the same across all the printers.
Before I replace the hotend, is there anything else I should try first? Because I print the same models across printers I don’t want to have to increase the temp for one printer etc.
Speed and temp have an impact on the finish, and I had adjusted the gcode settings to give a more glossy finish across all my printers.
Same gcode, same firmware, same everything as far as I can tell. I might try doing a cold pull to clear the nozzle, but again it’s printing OK besides the matte finish. The top surface might be a little more rough than the other printers too, which could point to an extrusion issue.
Good suggestion. I swapped nozzles and the matte finished followed the nozzle, so it appears there is indeed some issue with that particular nozzle. No idea what but I’ll live with it for now.
Unfortunately I spoke too soon about this. I moved the hotend (nozzle, thermistor, heating element, fan) from the problematic P1P (printer 1) to another P1P (printer 2) and at first I thought the issue traveled with the hotend. But subsequent prints make it clear that the problem stayed with printer 1 and did NOT move with the hotend.
So the printer is the problem. I have tried cleaning off the feed gears and the other maintenance suggestions, but something just isn’t right and I can’t figure it out. Again, the prints come out fine, except that the top layer is slightly more rough and the print is more matte than the other printers.
I’m at a loss so any suggestions would be most welcome.
This did help considerably with the matte vs glossy finish, but I do get a little more stringing now. Also, increasing the nozzle temp by 10C puts me at 265C for PETG. That does seem on the higher end.
Again, I only experience this with one printer. Because of that I opened a case with Bambu so we’ll see what they say.
Update: it turns out the real issue wasn’t necessarily a “finish” issue, but rather it was a top layer issue. Bambu support directed me to thoroughly clean the carbon rods and re-adjust the tensioner clips on the back of the printer. After doing that the printer seems to print just like the other printers again, and the top layer is smooth and has a more glossy finish. For good measure I cleaned the other printers I have in the same way too.
