I’ve been wondering for a week why I can’t print with PLA. I’ve tried everything, the whole spool, and still no luck. Do you know what I’m doing wrong? The print is very fragile and will probably crack anywhere, especially in the bottom corner area.
Does anyone have any tips on what to set to make it firmer? Thanks.
There is a significant difference between various PLA brands and types.
What brand and type of filament are you using?
For example, I printed a puzzle toy using PLA Silk+, which looked great but didn’t last 10 minutes with the kids.
To better assist you, we need that information as well - along with whether the filament has been dried, and if so, for how long.
drying was not done, it was a completely new wrapped spool. So I will try to dry it again. It is a DEVIL DESIGN PLA YELLOW 1.75 mm filament
Unfortunately “new” does not mean dry. The bags allow some moisture through. So drying before use is a good idea.
Still, PLA should not delaminate like that.
What is the chamber temp during printing? Do you have the printer in a cold area? In that case, you may want to print closed and with a chamber temp of at least 25°C.
Finally, it looks like you are trying to print a basic PLA with High flow settings. Have a look at the “Generic PLA” settings. That may help. Or reduce maximum flow to say 12, down from 21. Unfortunately, there’s no may flow given in the pics.
Suggested adjustments to test first:
First, make sure filament is as dry as it can be.
Increase the hotend temperature to 230°C.
Raise the bed temperature to 55-60°C.
Reduce the maximum volumetric flow rate to 18 mm/s.
Slightly decrease the fan speed during the first layers.
Check and calibrate the flow rate.
So I did everything requested and the result is almost the same, it’s slightly improved, but even with a little force the layers can be separated. The only great improvement is the bottom layer on the pad, which is very strong and does not separate from the filling. I kept the chamber temperature at 30° throughout the entire print, I dried the filament for 5 hours at 50°C.
I am also facing the problem that the end of the print is lifting, what could be the cause? This happens at layer 2, then the problem gets worse.
I calibrated it twice and each time it came out a different number. The first was 0.933 and the second was 0.958, that’s the second print with the gaps
5h at 50°C is a bit on the low side. The bambu drying recommendations can also be applied to other brands. Filament Drying Recommendations | Bambu Lab Wiki
Heavy fluctuations in calibration values are an indicator for major filament issues such as moisture. You may also want to check the next 2-3m of the filament for diameter stability.
However, with warping occuring this heavily, this early chances are it also occurs on the calbration patches?
Then please just dry the filament and use the “Generic PLA” filament profile without any changes. Default flow rate should be 0.98 but I can not check atm.
Also, please just use the default “Generic PLA” cooling settings. You are a very long way from fiddling with those.
The lifting you are seeing is called warping and a known but manageable issue with 3D printing. It results from a hot layer deposited on a colder layer cooling/shrinking.
Typically, I try to first get a good print rather before even thinking about going faster. That is why I recommended a max flow rate of 12mm3/s. There is really no point in failing fast twice if in the same time you can succeed once.
Also, before trying again, give your plate a(nother) good scrub with dishwashing liquid, warm water, a stiff, clean brush and a splash of IPA/Isoprop before and after. It is quite important to be able to get the calibration right which is impossible with early onset of major warping.
Try to print slower. Say, max volume metric 11 mm3/s and everything under 100mm/s for speed except for travel.
