Printing a Disk - Always One Rough Area

I’ve printed three versions of a model - a 5mm thick disk, with writing on the side nearest the build plate. The back of the disk (top side when on the build plate) was printed without ironing

Each of the three prints came out with a “rough” section that’s always in the same place and is always the same size and shape.

Here is an image of two of the three prints:

What is causing this rough section, and how can I get rid of it? Is the bed just not level?

I’m printing on the Bambu Labs Textured PEI plate and before printing I always run the Bed Levelling procedure. I printed just the top 8 layers and used ironing (topmost layer) with the default settings and it came out perfectly!

Thanks for your help.

Could be bed leveling, but it also could be bent nozzle. You may try swapping your nozzle with the one included.

You may also want to verify your bed is level or not. This process is a bit more involved so I recommend the first option as there is no wait or drawback to doing so.

A common reason I find is infill patterns causing collisions with the nozzle end, or something to that effect.

What is the rough spot’s orientation on the build plate? Front, back, left, right edge? If you rotate the model, does the rough spot say in the same place or does it move?

What filament are you using? Temp? Build Plate Temp?

What infill are you using (grid?)?

How many top layers?

Speed?

Is the filament calibrated?

Fan settings?

Is the bottom of the print uniform in this area, or did it start to lift while the print was still underway?

First thought: If the rough spot is on the side of the build plate with the Aux fan, I think the top of a 5mm thick print will be pretty much in line with the fan outlet.

2 Likes

Looks like my problem:
https://forum.bambulab.com/t/x1c-there-are-strange-patterns-at-abs-and-high-resolutions-0-2/19910

Have you tried cleaning your textured PEI plate in soapy water? I was experiencing exactly the same problem, and cleaning the plate fixed it.

There isn’t much information. What is clear is that the top surface is not uniform, not only in the rough part. @RocketSled guess may be the most likely. Without further info is difficult to help.

1 Like

Ok… some answers for you.

Firstly, turning on Ironing with the default Bambu studio settings (and Iron Top Layer Only) fixed all issues.

What is the rough spot’s orientation on the build plate? Front, back, left, right edge?

3 o’clock position. It’s on the uppermost layer (away from the build plate).

If you rotate the model, does the rough spot say in the same place or does it move?

Don’t know, only printed them this way round. :wink:

What filament are you using? Temp? Build Plate Temp?

Matterhackers Build PLA.

Was the PEI Textured plate… brand-new from Bambu Labs (3rd or 4th print).

What infill are you using (grid?)?

Was using Grid, but have since changed to Hilbert Curve at 30%. The Grid was too little infill.

How many top layers?

It was 3, but changed it to 4. Have never had to do this before on any other print.

Fan settings?

All default…

Is the bottom of the print uniform in this area, or did it start to lift while the print was still underway?

Adhesion was perfect across each of the three prints (which were all printed on different days).

Shadow:

Looks like my problem:

Not really. Mine looks like bread dough or pastry dough that’s been bent a little too far!

P1PNoob:

Have you tried cleaning your textured PEI plate in soapy water? I was experiencing exactly the same problem, and cleaning the plate fixed it.

No. It’s a brand new plate and this is the only model that had the issue. The plate is exceptionally clean! :wink:

Kallvin:

A common reason I find is infill patterns causing collisions with the nozzle end, or something to that effect.

Could be. It disappeared when I used Hilbert Curve and increased infill to 30%, and used Ironing.

Thanks, all, for your help.

I appreciate the feedback, thank you too.