It is possible for this to be due to a firmware issue in some printers, but in order for this to be the case we need to understand what could be happening that would be due to the printer and not things like build plates being dirty, etc.
Underextrusion
First layer z height
Temperature
(What else have I forgotten?)
In order for this to be an issue that only affect some printers, one reason (putting my electronics tech hat on now) could be that there is a component in the printers that varies between batches which is behaving differently with the new firmware. It should be reasonably easy for Bambu to find and fix this quickly if they take the problem seriously.
Another reason could be due to a mechanical adjustment issue (like bed tramming) that was being correctly compensated for by electronics and now it isnât.
Looking at one of the examples above, it doesnât look like a âstickingâ issue. It looks to be lack of material, which could be under extrusion, low temperature, or a bad z offset, blocking the nozzle (all three possibilities I listed above).
The problem could also be endemic in all printers, but only showing up in printers that were not well setup mechanically in the first place. E.G. based on the panels printed above. If the bed was never trammed well and the printer was auto adjusting z front to back, but this is no longer working, that would explain why the front three panels are fine and the back are â â â â . All those with level beds wonât see a difference as there is no compensation required. I know my bed is flat and I have my bed trammed so there is no Z movement in any direction on a layer, so if levelling failed, it wouldnât matter. So long as it successfully z homes, it will print fine.
Letâs hope Bambu take this seriously and resolve the issue. It also goes to something I learnt with model helicopters years ago. Even with sophisticated electronic controls, you still need everything to be mechanically as close to optimal first to get good results.
What youâre saying definitely makes sense and I would agree. However, I probably have less than 40 small prints on the machine and zero visible damage to either the nozzle or the bed. The first 30 prints were exceptional (I do love the printer! Far better than either of my CR-10 based machines or my MK3s) then it just became VERY problematic very quickly, same print bed, same filament (spools), same machine (slicer, settings, clean beds (iso), etc, etc).
I canât say, and am not saying, that I think it coincides with a firmware upgrade, donât think itâs upgraded since Iâve done the initial set up. But it was completely night and day from one print to the next. Iâve adjusted the Z setting as mentioned in my post above, and Iâve tweaked a few more filament settings (tool temp, bed temp, volumetric, retraction) and it seems that Iâm getting pretty close to where I was initially.
Also, to address the print height issue, in my situation anyway, I havenât printed anything more than 3-4 centimeters.
My initial thought was that it was a calibration problem shrug.
Thuis is normal. Please check the shop and see this remark. This is part of the start sequence. The Nozzle gets cleaned here prior to the bed leveling sequence. IF the nozzle is clogged or stuff from the coating got inside of the nozzle, suggest to change the hotend and try printing then.
The video shows that the bed is just not sticky; the calibration line showed that the first layer height is correct.
Then the possible reasons may be :
The bed is not clean; try washing the bed and reapplying the glue stick again.
The nozzle temperature is somehow lower than expected (which COULD be firmware related); try to enhance the print temperature by about 15°C and see if it will be better. (but probably not, from the calibration raw data, the calculated viscosity of your PLA material didnât differ much before and after the firmware update)
Could you try these solutions mentioned above and upload the video of the full print preparation process recorded by the internal camera?
I know you think thatâs because of the new firmware, but from our observation, the customers reporting this problem is not getting more frequent since the firmware release, so it seems that the firmware is just fine; the problem you met just happened to start from the firmware update, so I am trying to find out what is happening on your machine.
For what itâs worth my unit arrived 7 days ago. All latest updates done.
Done about 30 hours worth of different prints, materials and print plates without issue.
They are full of it. My X1C has been unbelievably reliable until the most recent update. Since then nothing sticks to the build plate. I downloaded SoftFever and did my own pressure and flow calibrations and my machine is running great again. I didnât wash my build plate, I didnât dry my filament, I didnât do anything other than use my own calibrations through SoftFever. This 100% confirms itâs their update that caused our printers to brick overnight.
Iâve noticed minor adhesion problems, and I only use the textured PEI plate - I hated the OEM cold plate as out of the gate adhesion was hit and miss regardless of clean, dirty, glue, no glueâŚ
I have also noticed some âBlobsâ or âBoogersâ that appear to be leavings from buildup on the nozzle with PLA on some recent prints, but it is a new filament that I am trying.
Once this project is complete I will try a simple rectangle print and see if I have a domed/rounded print sliced to see how the top finish comes out.
question can you install the softfever version of software on the same windows machine as bambu studio with no issues and problems? I have downloaded it but not yet installed.
Well that is interesting. Personally I have only been using the softfever fork and have not wasted time with printer automatic flow calibration in weeks. Firmware may well have messed up automatic flow calibration. I still donât see how people canât come up with a better diagnosis of messed up flow and not just ânothing sticksâ.
There is no installer. Just unzip in a new directory (I still keep it in âProgram Filesâ) and create a shortcut for your start menu or desktop. It creates new âBambuStudio-SoftFeverâ directories in appdata/local and appdata/roaming. You might want to copy your user profiles into the appdata/roaming. one
Softfever is a fork of the slicer, itâs not related to FW at all. So what this confirms is it isnât the firmware update but most likely a change in the slicer which I assume you updated about a similar time? The flow rate would seriously have to be messed up in the FW for that to be the cause? All I can think would be itâs a Lidar/camera issue then so HW if so.
I also have to stand up a bit for BL. When dealing with support issues they have to rule out the obvious which is often frustrating for a users, however, as someone whoâs done IT support in the past itâs amazing how many people blame something and say nothing changed only for it to be a basic thing they dismissed.
Softfever provides filament pressure advance settings and helpful calibration prints so you donât need to use the printer flow calibration which is provided by firmware - that is the how it is related.
You would think so and you would think that cause would be fairly obvious, but, no one with problems seems to be able to better diagnose the cause. If CaptainPrinty is right it should be easy for people with problems to try it.
For people trying it: Donât use automatic flow calibration. Do set pressure advance in the filament profile. If you want to try without a calibration print PA for PLA is typically in the 0.02 to 0.03 range.
Hey @BambuLab, what happened to that beta testing group?
This kind of thing really should be picked up before shipping to the masses.
Regular users should not be testers.
Iâm glad my general reluctance to update anything quickly in this case has been useful, but now my problem is going to be that I canât even update to an intermediary firmware - the printer will only let me go from 01.01.01.00 to 01.04.00.00
I have gone back to the cool plate today and running more tests now, as standard its running the PLA at 220c and 35c on the bed. Im going to test higher print temp and then higher bed temp since i would have always run the bed at around 60c normally even on PLA
Those having the issue - have you tried checking bed and nozzle temps with an IR gun to see how close reality matches the printerâs readout? Could be the PID readings are way off and the printer thinks things are hotter than they are.
