Terrible consistency and performance

[Humanphyti]

Hey all,

recently (the past 6 months) I’ve been getting really, really spotty performance out of my P1P (owned for about a year and change). I’ve swapped beds to fix adhesion issues tha simply washing the bed with isolpropyl alcohol wouldn’t fix, I’ve swapped nozzles (twice now due to the aforementioned bed adhesion issues) to try to fix some print failures mid print. And I thought, after two full beds of pretty successful prints that I had resolved my issues at last.

Fast Forward to today, I started a print before I left for work this morning hoping to to have it finished by the time I got back and when I got home from work I was greeting with a bed of print failures mid print.

I am at an absolute loss as to what the heck could be going wrong with this printer. but I definitely had better and more consistent performacne with my old Ender 3 S1. Does anyone have any ideas, please? I want this thing to become a tool again and not a hobby.

Some images are attached of the failures, slicer settings, and start up G-code.

Start Up G-code:
;===== machine: P1P ========================
;===== date: 20230707 =====================
;===== turn on the HB fan =================
M104 S75 ;set extruder temp to turn on the HB fan and prevent filament oozing from nozzle
;===== reset machine status =================
G91
M17 Z0.4 ; lower the z-motor current
G380 S2 Z30 F300 ; G380 is same as G38; lower the hotbed , to prevent the nozzle is below the hotbed
G380 S2 Z-25 F300 ;
G1 Z5 F300;
G90
M17 X1.2 Y1.2 Z0.75 ; reset motor current to default
M960 S5 P0 ; turn on logo lamp
G90
M220 S100 ;Reset Feedrate
M221 S100 ;Reset Flowrate
M73.2 R1.0 ;Reset left time magnitude
M1002 set_gcode_claim_speed_level : 5
M221 X0 Y0 Z0 ; turn off soft endstop to prevent protential logic problem
G29.1 Z{+0.0} ; clear z-trim value first
M204 S10000 ; init ACC set to 10m/s^2

;===== heatbed preheat ====================
M1002 gcode_claim_action : 2
M140 S[bed_temperature_initial_layer_single] ;set bed temp
M190 S[bed_temperature_initial_layer_single] ;wait for bed temp

;=============turn on fans to prevent PLA jamming=================
{if filament_type[initial_extruder]==“PLA”}
{if (bed_temperature[initial_extruder] >45)||(bed_temperature_initial_layer[initial_extruder] >45)}
M106 P3 S180
{endif};Prevent PLA from jamming
{endif}
M106 P2 S100 ; turn on big fan ,to cool down toolhead

;===== prepare print temperature and material ==========
M104 S[nozzle_temperature_initial_layer] ;set extruder temp
G91
G0 Z10 F1200
G90
G28 X
M975 S1 ; turn on
G1 X60 F12000
G1 Y245
G1 Y265 F3000
M620 M
M620 S[initial_extruder]A ; switch material if AMS exist
M109 S[nozzle_temperature_initial_layer]
G1 X120 F12000

G1 X20 Y50 F12000
G1 Y-3
T[initial_extruder]
G1 X54 F12000
G1 Y265
M400

M621 S[initial_extruder]A
M620.1 E F{filament_max_volumetric_speed[initial_extruder]/2.4053*60} T{nozzle_temperature_range_high[initial_extruder]}

M412 S1 ; ===turn on filament runout detection===

M109 S250 ;set nozzle to common flush temp
M106 P1 S0
G92 E0
;G1 E10 F200
M400
M104 S[nozzle_temperature_initial_layer]
G92 E0
;G1 E10 F200
M400
M106 P1 S255
G92 E0
G1 E5 F300
M109 S{nozzle_temperature_initial_layer[initial_extruder]-20} ; drop nozzle temp, make filament shink a bit
G92 E0
G1 E-0.5 F300

G1 X70 F9000
G1 X76 F15000
G1 X65 F15000
G1 X76 F15000
G1 X65 F15000; shake to put down garbage
G1 X80 F6000
G1 X95 F15000
G1 X80 F15000
G1 X165 F15000; wipe and shake
M400
M106 P1 S0
;===== prepare print temperature and material end =====

;===== wipe nozzle ===============================
M1002 gcode_claim_action : 14
M975 S1
M106 S255
G1 X65 Y230 F18000
G1 Y264 F6000
M109 S{nozzle_temperature_initial_layer[initial_extruder]-20}
G1 X100 F18000 ; first wipe mouth

;G0 X135 Y253 F20000 ; move to exposed steel surface edge
G28 Z P0 T300; home z with low precision,permit 300deg temperature
G29.2 S0 ; turn off ABL
G0 Z5 F20000

G1 X60 Y265
G92 E0
G1 E-0.5 F300 ; retrack more
G1 X100 F5000; second wipe mouth
G1 X70 F15000
G1 X100 F5000
G1 X70 F15000
G1 X100 F5000
G1 X70 F15000
G1 X100 F5000
G1 X70 F15000
G1 X90 F5000
;G0 X128 Y261 Z0.0 F20000 ; move to exposed steel surface and stop the nozzle
M104 S140 ; set temp down to heatbed acceptable
M106 S255 ; turn on fan (G28 has turn off fan)

M221 S; push soft endstop status
M221 Z0 ;turn off Z axis endstop

M109 S140 ; wait nozzle temp down to heatbed acceptable
G0 X125 Y259.5
G0 X131 F211
G0 X124
G2 I0.5 J0 F300

M109 S140
G2 I0.5 J0 F3000

M221 R; pop softend status
G1 Z10 F1200
M400
G1 Z10
G1 F30000
G1 X230 Y15
G29.2 S1 ; turn on ABL
;G28 ; home again after hard wipe mouth
M106 S0 ; turn off fan , too noisy
;===== wipe nozzle end ================================

;===== bed leveling ==================================
M1002 judge_flag g29_before_print_flag
M622 J1

M1002 gcode_claim_action : 1
G29 A X{first_layer_print_min[0]} Y{first_layer_print_min[1]} I{first_layer_print_size[0]} J{first_layer_print_size[1]}
M400
M500 ; save cali data

M623
;===== bed leveling end ================================

;===== home after wipe mouth============================
M1002 judge_flag g29_before_print_flag
M622 J0

M1002 gcode_claim_action : 13
G28

M623
;===== home after wipe mouth end =======================

M975 S1 ; turn on vibration supression

;=============turn on fans to prevent PLA jamming=================
{if filament_type[initial_extruder]==“PLA”}
{if (bed_temperature[initial_extruder] >45)||(bed_temperature_initial_layer[initial_extruder] >45)}
M106 P3 S180
{endif};Prevent PLA from jamming
{endif}
M106 P2 S100 ; turn on big fan ,to cool down toolhead

M104 S{nozzle_temperature_initial_layer[initial_extruder]} ; set extrude temp earlier, to reduce wait time

;===== mech mode fast check============================
G1 X128 Y128 Z10 F20000
M400 P200
M970.3 Q1 A7 B30 C80 H15 K0
M974 Q1 S2 P0

G1 X128 Y128 Z10 F20000
M400 P200
M970.3 Q0 A7 B30 C90 Q0 H15 K0
M974 Q0 S2 P0

M975 S1
G1 F30000
G1 X230 Y15
G28 X ; re-home XY
;===== fmech mode fast check============================

;===== nozzle load line ===============================
M975 S1
G90
M83
T1000
G1 X18.0 Y1.0 Z0.8 F18000;Move to start position
M109 S{nozzle_temperature_initial_layer[initial_extruder]}
G1 Z0.2
G0 E2 F300
G0 X240 E15 F{outer_wall_volumetric_speed/(0.30.5) * 60}
G0 Y11 E0.700 F{outer_wall_volumetric_speed/(0.30.5)/ 4 * 60}
G0 X239.5
G0 E0.2
G0 Y1.5 E0.700
G0 X18 E15 F{outer_wall_volumetric_speed/(0.3*0.5) * 60}
M400

;===== for Textured PEI Plate , lower the nozzle as the nozzle was touching topmost of the texture when homing ==
;curr_bed_type={curr_bed_type}
{if curr_bed_type==“Textured PEI Plate”}
G29.1 Z{-0.04} ; for Textured PEI Plate
{endif}
;========turn off light and wait extrude temperature =============
M1002 gcode_claim_action : 0
M106 S0 ; turn off fan
M106 P2 S0 ; turn off big fan
M106 P3 S0 ; turn off chamber fan

M975 S1 ; turn on mech mode supression

[mltriebe]

Since you mentioned bed adhesion and only cleaning with alcohol, have you cleaned the bed with soap and water? IPA won’t get everything off the plates.

[Humanphyti]

I replaced the bed with a brand new one so that shouldn’t be the issue. All the parts were in the right place when I returned. its mostly the bird’s nest or spider’s nest at the tail end of the print that I’m trying to figure out.

I did clean the other bed with soap and water though.

[VictorLagina]

do you have aux fan? if so turn it off… it mostly looks like you are getting a clog… filament cooling too fast or not hot enough… what hotend size? if.2 it will drive you nuts unless you calibrate each filament. If .4 it seems like your temp might be slightly too low to keep up with the speed… calibrating filament is good for all hotends but mostly so for the .2mm its finicky. P1P is an open case printer(unless you enclosed it) so even A/C or a Ceiling fan blowing on it can cause cooling issues. The pics you uploaded are too tiny cand blurry to really see your settings… but these few suggestions might help you

[Humanphyti]

So, no Aux part fan. I’m using a .4mm Hardened steel nozzle with Hardened steel feed gears (I’m forgetting its name). The nozzle is set to maintain 220C. Funny you mention the cooling issue, it is in a backroom in my apartment that I don’t heat during the Canadian winters and it was right around 0C all day today (so the room is about 10C-15C). To resolve the pictures issue I took better pictures, sorry my phone camera is from 2019 and wasn’t a good camera then.

[Sergiu_I]

Most likely a semi-clogged nozzle. It can happen anytime, especially after a few successful prints. Such issue is mostly driven by low material quality. I have seen / got such cloggings often with shiny - silky materials. When the material quality is poor, the extruder needs to be cleaned properly too, it is probably dirty and slippery.

[Humanphyti]

How would you recommend cleaning it? I installed this nozzle something like two weeks ago. I’ve gotten this issue with High Speed PLA from Creality and from Bambu Matte Bone PLA.

[Sergiu_I]

It is not quite easy. You have to remove the hotend keeping all the cables connected. Pre-heat the hotend to 250°C and remove the piece of filament cut inside. Then use a hex 1.5mm Allen key to push any remaing material out of the nozzle - multiple times. Finally use a 0.4mm pin to make sure the very top of the nozzle is clean.
All the operations can be made keeping carefully the hotend in hand - or I have in my designs a support designed for P1S for this operation.

[Humanphyti]

I will be giving this all a try tonight when I get home. Your support on your maker world page looks quite useful. I’ll probably do a quick clear of the nozzle with the ‘old stick a hot 1.5mm Allen key in the exposed filament off cut and extract said filament with a tug’ (had to do this about 3 days ago when I wasn’t getting any flow out of the printer. Guess I didn’t clear it completely), print your support, and then do a more proper clear and clean when my need for three to seven hands is gone and I don’t risk an unexpected disconnect.

I really appreciate the help and insights from everyone on this thread!

[Humanphyti]

This unfortunately did not work. I tried running about half a meter through the nozzle by removing the Bowden tube, heating the nozzle to 250C, and then running about half a meter of filament through the nozzle by manually advancing the feeder. Something I noticed was that something the gears would make a strange clicking noise during the advancing process. Is this the gears slipping on the filament? Any idea what causes that?

Anyways, when I finished running that filament through it seemed to be extruding well and consistently so I queued up a print and went to bed. I woke up to the same result as my above pictures.

When I went to remove the filament I heard the same clicking when the printer was trying to retract the filament. I replaced those gears with hardened steel gears like 6 months ago. I’m continuing to get more and more perplexed.

[Sergiu_I]

The cleaning procedure supposes to completely take out the hotend, so you can clean it inside with the Allen key. Burnt filament fixed on the inner wall needs metal on metal cleaning.

You need some pins like these ones for the final step - the very top of the hotend cleaning:
https://www.amazon.com/5Aplusreprap-Cleaning-Needles-Printer-Stainless/dp/B09WDSLT3M/135-5709942-3293465?pd_rd_w=yw9mV&content-id=amzn1.sym.6640a844-ab24-4352-ac9b-78899e683a5e&pf_rd_p=6640a844-ab24-4352-ac9b-78899e683a5e&pf_rd_r=R9FPAEK9TJYE27T51EV3&pd_rd_wg=GUlGJ&pd_rd_r=4d9c84c4-3f9a-4a19-b18a-53cc1a12c7f4&pd_rd_i=B09WDSLT3M&th=1

Then the extruder gear needs to be cleaned properly - fully removed and cleaned.

Finally I would not use anymore the filament you show in your pictures - it might be just a bad batch.

[user_3580919966]

Is this pla or something else?

[Humanphyti]

This is just PLA. I now have to write more to reply.