I have spent my day tramming the bed using the G Code from Manual Bed Leveling / Manual Bed Tramming | Bambu Lab Wiki
Then running the program for First Layer Test X1 - X1C - P1P - P1PS by Rockman - MakerWorld
These are my 6-10th attempts to get the first layer to be perfect.
I have 3 spools of Bambu Labs Basic PETG and one of Prusa PETG in my AMS. None of them can complete this first layer/one layer test. After number nine I tried a 4"x4" print in the center of the bed just for kicks but it didn’t even get a quarter of the first layer laid down.
X1C Been using the same code all day, sliced for PETG and loaded onto the SD Card. Using Default Speeds of 50 and 110 for First Layer and First Layer Infill. Takes about 30 minutes to tram and run to the point of failure. Been a real bummer of a weekend.
The first nine times I used a piece of printer paper folded over twice for an approximately .012"/0.3mm shim. Running the paper back and forth under the nozzle until I had the same resistance/drag in all three spots.
For number 10 I used a piece of cardstock whose thickness measures .008".
The thickeness of your card has no relevance to the test, as you’re just ensuring that all points are the same distance to each other. The instructions don’t say to use a card, just to look at the nozzle and raise the bed up with the knobs until it just touched the plate. I did this by eye. The level sensor will (should) take care of the rest. Looking at your results, it looks like you need to clean your plate more than anything, as it’s failing in the same area. The engineering plate seems more ‘slick’ than the high temp side to me. I would clean and dry it well, flip it over and use the high temp side for your next attempt. If that doesn’t work, I don’t know if you can reverse it and start from the back corner first?
I don’t think it’s a leveling issue. The light colored spots look more like a dirty plate.
Put the bed back to the correct level by tramming per the instructions, nozzle just touching the plate.
Clean the plate with warm water and a grease-cutting dish detergent (I use Dawn), rinse well and dry with a clean towel. Handle the plate only by the edges.
The door should be open and the top should be removed or at least held open. With cooler temperatures in my shop, I thought I should keep the door and top closed. That was OK for a small first print with a cool chamber, the second failed because the enclosure was already too warm. My PETG adhesion problems seem to begin once chamber temperatures exceed ~29 °C.
No glue per a ton of Reddit posts talking about how well the engineering plate does without it.
I will clean the plate per your and RMB’s instructions tonight and try again. I washed it before I started but just with water and a light lint towel. Also with some Bambu liquid glue I think.
Thank you all for your replies and help. I will advise once I get home and am able to give this a try.
Cleaning the bed with Dawn did the trick. Super embarrassing that it was such a simple fix, but really appreciate your insight.
I did try first without glue just for giggles since I have gotten good at cleaning the nozzle at this point. Perfect first layer with a naked Engineering plate.
