New P1S Combo - nothing properly sticks to the build plate anymore

Bambu Lab P1 Series Troubleshooting
1

Hi there,

I have a new P1S with AMS set up since saturday. It’s my first BambuLab, but I have a few years of printer-experience with other models.

Since yesterday evening, nothing is sticking to the bed properly anymore. I was able to get one simple print to stick with a raft, but only then. I mainly use aftermarket filament (Elegoo, material4print), but the supplied BambuLab PLA doesn’t work either. The pre-sliced files from the SD card fail as well. I use the default textured PEI plate; and of course I also have that set in the BambuStudio :slight_smile:
Sometimes the print comes off very fast, sometimes it takes a while and dislocates mid-print, leading to spaghetti.
One time, the purge-line dislocated and sticked to the nozzle, getting dragged into the print (see image)

timelapse_2023-12-12_22-55.avi_snapshot_00.00_2023.12.13_21.20.35
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The last print that worked flawless was a drybox for the AMS; small footprint (so prone to dislocate) and lots of fine walls, but worked as expected (Elegoo PLA). I started that print yesterday before work; when I got home, the issues began.

Things I tried:

  • washing the build plate with hot, soapy water
  • washing the build plate with 99% Isopropanol
  • leaving the door open
  • keeping the door closed
  • removing the top glass and leave the door open
  • using a large brim
  • using OrcaSlicer instead of BambuStudio
  • raising the bed temp 5°
  • raising the bed temp 10°
  • bed leveling enabled before every print
  • at some point the nozzle clogged as well, I usued the needle, removed with an allen key and then did a cold-pull (like described in the wiki)
  • I dried the filament

It’s not that I never had a dislocated print before, but usually that was due to faulty bed-leveling on my end. Since I had a printer with a leveling sensor, I never had this happen, especially not with a textured plate (on other printers, of course)

I live in central europe, it’s not humid here, room sits around 35-40%, filament lives in the AMS at 28%. Room temperature is around 20°C. Right now the printer sits on a very stable dining table, usually it has its own place but its footprint is too small to do maintenance like placing the AMS somewhere else and reach every corner. I bought on of those pavement stones, but it’s still drying.

I’m a bit puzzled where to go and what to try from here. What are other troubleshooting methods I forgot about?

Best,
Lucas

2 Likes
2

As little addendum - while playing with the FTP connection I found the printer saves “realtime” videos as well, not sure why it does but I found some videos of failed prints

Also regarding that list above, I also tried

  • flipping the build plate on the other side, in case the initial side has some issues
3

Might seem a bit silly but is your bed heater actually working? The only time over had pieces fail like that is when the bed heater has been turned off due to being set to cool plate.

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4

Hi there RMB,

the textured plate has always been selected inside slicer (regardless if I tried BambuStudio or OrcaSlicer), and it does actually heat. As the pre-sliced files on the SD fail as well now, I am kinda assured the problem has to sit somewhere else :frowning:

I also opened a ticket, but with the current backlog I’m afraid it will take very long. The printer is a bit too expensive to just keep it, so hopefully I can resolve this in the 2-week-return-window :frowning:

Best,
Lucas

5

I bought the exact same machine end of this November. Gold textured plate and all. I when thru an inch of glue stick then got some 91% IPA because I read it helped. First trial wasn’t great but as I continue to clean with IPA it gets better. PLA and PETG sticks fine so far.
I’m using stock settings btw.

1 Like
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Hi there Dean,

thanks for the suggestion! From what I gathered, glue stick is not recommended for the textured PEI plate? And is more commonly used to properly get the stuff off the plate, and not solve for adhesion? Probably it does both

Either way, as it should work without glue, I’d appreciate if I got a working machine instead of a work-around machine, so to speak. As it doesn’t tackle any root cause :o

Best,
Lucas

7

Buy some #0000 steel wool. Use isopropyl alcohol as your libricant and scrub the build plate. Youre not looking to remove anything but the sheen. I have 12 P1S and had 8 prusa MK3S+, and this had to be done to all of them. Sure, out of the box the prints stick just fine, but then prints will fail to stick. This was always my solution, which I picked up from another forum (Prusa). It doesnt ruin your build plate at all, doesnt even really change how it looks. Just knock the sheen off of it and youll be good to go.

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8

Isopropyl is okay but Ammonia is far better at removing any surface oil. Isopropyl doesn’t always get everything. I also use School glue stick when it’s needed and never have issues. School glue leaves a nice film and with a little ammonia on a cloth, it you can redistribute the residue and it works for the next print with adding more glue stick. Hope this helps.

1 Like
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Hi there @OrionDay , I never heard about that but why not give it a try. i ordered some, can hopefully pick it up tomorrow!

Hi @mentaldrifting , thanks for the suggestion! The thing with the glue is, it’s not tackling the inherent issue that happens here. It’s a workaround, and I really don’t want to use glue, which is why I’m using the textured plate :frowning:

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10

My first inclination is that your part fan is not running.
PLA usually needs the cooling fan to reliably stick to the bed and it’s self.
PETG is the opposite. It seems to print much better with the fan off.

But you also mentioned the filament clogging. Assuming you have the correct temp for the filament you are using, did you try increasing the print temp by 5-10 degrees?
One of the first thing’s I do with a new filament is print a temp tower starting with the high end of the temperature scale for the filament. This is where OrcaSlicer is very useful.
You can then examine the layers to best decide where the temperature works best with the given filament.

Another thing that can affect bed adhesion is EF (Elephant Foot) compensation. If this is too high it won’t smoosh the filament on the bed properly.

And I always… ALWAYS… spray my bed with isopropyl alcohol and wipe with a lint free cloth between my prints. Invest in a cheap spray bottle and fill with 70% isopropyl. A little goes a long way. This removes those pesky oils your hands are putting on the bed that you can’t see.

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Hey there @Lexi , thanks for all the pointers!

Part fan is running, audibly as well, haha :slight_smile: PLA and PETG both won’t stick properly

I didn’t do a temp tower yet, I think my first clog was down to a lot of retracts while printing an AMS drybox in PETG. I unclogged the nozzle then, but as it was my first time I maybe didn’t do the cold-pull right or something. The 2nd time the nozzle clogged, it was with BambuLab PLA.
Proper temp towers is something I want to do with the filament, however right now I just can’t because it doesn’t stick, haha :slight_smile:

I didn’t touch the elephants foot at all, and left it at the default of 0.15mm; should I make it smaller? What is a good result?
By now, as some sorta hopeless test, I replaced the nozzle for the 0.6mm hardened steel one I ordered with the printer. In there, the compensation defaults to 0. And what can I say, it started promising, but…

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A bottle of 99% isopropanol sits next to my printers since 2018, haha :slight_smile: by now I scrubbed the plate with hot soap water, Isopropanol, orange cleaner… no dice :frowning:

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Can you show the print settings in Bambu Studios?

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I am having the exact same issue with my new x1c. Cool plate at 65 degrees it sticks fine. (Yes I know it’s a little hot) Bambu pei plate nothing will stick to it no matter the temperature. Worked once now doesn’t. Tried ammonia, ipa, everything. Meanwhile I used pei plates on all my ender printers with great success.

14

I strongly recommend following bambus recommendation and using 600-800 grit sandpaper to lightly rough your plate. I had the same problem as you’re experiencing, and all it took was a light sanding to resolve the issue.

15

I would request a replacement.
A hassle to pack up, but mine has worked near flawlessly since black Friday. I clean the textured plate once a week or less, they always stick. The two times it didn’t I was using bambu’s basic bronze pla which there are seperate instructions for that I didn’t know about. The other time was iboss pla+ filament, and I just had to increase the bed heat a bit and it was amazing. Its been utterly reliable otherwise.

16

what are you drying the plate with?

17

Have you checked that your nossle is straight and not bent ?
Try to swap extruder to confirm that the issue is not nossle / extruder related.

I had such an issue after the nossle had hit a part on the printbed.

1 Like
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I found that the best way to get a decent bed adhesion is the use of a strong hairspray. I apply a thin even coat to the cleaned build plate. Since i use this method, i never had problems anymore!

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Seriously? They recommend that? (I don’t usually read instructions) wonder why they wouldn’t do that from the factory. My pei plates for ender 3s have always worked without fail.

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Wow, so many answers, thanks guys :slight_smile:

@OrionDay I ordered the 0000 steel wool, and paid Premium for Express shipping, and now I received 1 instead of 0000. Splendid. I can get 000 locally - you think that also works?

@Jackson1 it’s literally the default settings inside BambuStudio (except I do 3 walls instead of 2, and other infill than grid). For 0.6mm nozzle, I tried the 0.24 and 0.3 presets (though I don’t get why it’s .3 and not .32), BambuLab PLA. Of course I used other settings some time before, but those also don’t stick.

@Dirhal it’s the same for me, on my cheap Anycubic it’s never been an issue :frowning: I have one of those cheap PEO plates from china, but I’m a bit anxious to test it tbh, in case something is off and that plate “brakes” too. Actually I even through about using my Anycubic plate on the Bambu, but as it is smaller I’d get issues with the leveling as well as the purge line, so I scrapped that idea

@Skribe I googled for it, they do indeed recommend this to “restore adhesion”; after four days I don’t think it should need that, but I guess it’s the same idea as the steel wool. I happen to have very fine grit sandpaper at home, I will try it tomorrow morning.

@richie283 the issue is that I already contacted support regarding this (mainly because I coudln’t post in the forums after registration directly), no answer yet. From what I gather from other customers is that BambuLab support has a huge backlog and I have no idea how long it could be that they get back to me regarding a replacement. I also have no idea how returning the printer works, as I seriously consider this right now (also because the A1 seems pretty neat and saves me some money)

@StreetSports that is something I asked myself quite a lot as well. I tried paper towels, (clean) towels from cotton, as well as microfiber cloth (the “smooth” kind for glasses). What do you recommend?

@Madness3D I replaced the stock nozzle with a hardened steel 0.6mm one because I also thought it could be the culprit, but no dice :frowning:

@Sascha1975 judging by how your name is written, do you happen to be german? Could you recommend a brand/store where to get it from? I am absolutely no fan of glue or hairspray or whatever, but I guess it’s worth a try. The textured PEI shouldn’t need any of this and that is absolutely the reason I print with those, it somehow seems that BambuLabs does have some issues with those (at least I read about adhesion issues a lot, shame nothing helped so far, time for hairspray and sandpaper I guess, haha)