I’m having similar problems. My printer has now clocked up around 2,200 hours. I’ve always kept up with all the scheduled maintenance, and so far I’ve only replaced the extruder as a test.
I often get layer shifts on the first and last layers, and when the print involves more complex structures, all the layers end up shifted. The problem appeared relatively suddenly.
I’ve already considered whether it could be a software issue, but reverting to an older firmware version didn’t help either. I also have a second, newer A1, and it prints the exact same files without any problems.
At this point, I’m honestly pretty desperate and really don’t want to start randomly replacing parts without knowing what’s actually causing the problem.
If I were to replace anything, I’d probably start with the Y-axis belts, since the layer shifts are happening in that direction.
You’re gonna need to post pictures and 3mfs, we need to see the kind of stuff you’re doing if we’re going to have any hope of diagnosing this.
Also, details like “is the shift always in the same direction” …
@JonRaymond can we break this out into a new thread please?
I have these three pictures. The file itself is pretty much irrelevant, since I’m having problems with everything I print. I’m thinking about replacing all the belts and seeing if that helps.
I have two A1s: one of them prints everything perfectly, while my older one with 2,200 hours is having these issues.
I’ve also tried different filament settings. I use filament from eSUN, Elegoo, and Anycubic.
You didnt share a pic of your printer, but check for constrained PTFE lines or other obstructions. Like a poop bucket off the side that the arm hits at a certain spot, or a PTFE that gets snagged on the gantry corner. Layer shifts can happen from that sort of interaction. Have you had eyes on the printer as it does this, or only ever came back to the result?
I haven’t completely disassembled the printer yet, so I can’t share any pictures of that at the moment. So far, I’ve only vacuumed everything again, freshly greased and oiled everything, and retensioned all the belts, but the problem is still there.
I’m going to disassemble the printer now and check whether the belts show any signs of damage.
I have an eye on the printer, but there is nothing suspicious.
I just had the same issue on my A1 Mini after 1000 print hours. Clean off your rails, and make sure that you use the correct lubricant on the rails afterwards. My issue was being caused primarily by using the wrong kind of lubricant, but it completely cleared up after I wiped the rails clean and applied the right kind of lubricant.
I found the problem with my printer. I checked all the belts, and they were completely fine. In my case, replacing the hotend was the solution. I used to change the nozzle quite often, so maybe the clip or something similar had become worn out. The nozzle is noticeably tighter now as well, and the print quality is back to perfect.
Hi there! My A1 is doing the same thing. I’m very new to truly understanding how to fix this machine. May I ask you what you did? I wasted 3 rolls of filament now..
