This PLA print has banding in the middle and not sure what’s causing it and if I can do anything about it.
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PS: Don’t forget to do vibration compensation calibration after
Did you dry and calibrate the filament?
I did. The print was done from the dryer and for such a big build I’ve done calibrations between each part (16 hours each so far, 2 parts printed, both have banding).
It’s not a massive concern as it’ll be hidden under the AMS but if it were a part which needed to be flawless I’d like to understand why it’s happening.
The dryer or PTFE adapter, if you are using one, might be pulling your filament. Check the tread i posted some time ago for TPU print issues. Initial layers were looking similar to yours. Try feeding the filament directly into the printer and check if it still prints like this. Cardboard spools and some cardboard spool adapters also cause similar problems.
Thanks will have a look.
The spools are plastic and rotate freely in the dryer. I’ve also fed one of the parts from an external spool holder to the same effect.
I’ll try the last piece fed directly into the back of the printer and see what happens.
Like I said not really a big issue as it doesn’t need to look pretty, just wondered if it’s something I was doing.
I have to say the filament feels/sounds a bit rough feeding into the PTFE, hard to explain but just a bit scratchy compared to my other filaments so maybe it’s just something about this filament and my setup which isn’t quite working. Won’t be buying it again as it doesn’t fit the AMS but it’s served a purpose.
What type of infill did you use?
And
what temp was you build plate?
As ive had something similar, and the cause of my problem was heat from the build plate being trapped in the infill when the bridge and internal solid infill layers were laid down causing pressure in the infill, creating pillowing then as the top surface is printed the hot end scrapes that surface because of the pillowing.
Possibles solutions
Make sure your fillament is dry
Reduce the temperature of your build plate
Open your enclosure
This worked for me, hope it helps you
Not at my laptop at the moment but the only thing I can think is the chamber got too hot. Would this warping be symptomatic of a heat issue also?
It all fits together and most of the distortion will be hidden but it seems pretty extensive.
Filament was dried and fed from the dryer. Build plate is a BIQU cool plate, bed temp set to 35.
I have conducted extensive first-layer experiments with my Wham Bam Carbon Fiber Plate. When the bed temperature was too low, I consistently observed a specific pattern with every filament I tested. This issue may also stem from a combination of bed temperature and first-layer nozzle temperature. However, when using the default PLA settings, I believe the first-layer nozzle temperature is generally fine.
I want to emphasize that these observations are based on my own experience as a hobbyist 3D printer enthusiast. While I am not a professional, I hope my findings might be helpful to others experimenting with similar setups.
Here are the settings I use on my Wham Bam Carbon Fiber Plate to achieve a flawless first layer:
- PETG HF: Bed temperature at 80°C, first-layer nozzle temperature at 260°C.
- PLA Silk+: Bed temperature at 70°C, first-layer nozzle temperature at 230°C.
- PLA Basic: Bed temperature at 70°C, first-layer nozzle temperature at 230°C.
- TPU for AMS: Bed temperature at 80°C, first-layer nozzle temperature at 230°C.
Note: While this setup ensures a perfect first layer, TPU adheres very strongly to the bed.
I also noticed some odd first-layer results when using my Textured PEI Plate. This could be due to the bed temperature being set too low by default. If you encounter similar issues, I recommend printing a 0.2mm layer that spans most of the build plate. Gradually increase the bed temperature by 5°C increments until you achieve a solid first layer that remains intact without threading when removed from the plate.
For reference, printing a 0.2x200x200mm first layer uses approximately 13g of filament. Over the course of my experiments, I tested extensively and used up around 1kg of filament to refine these results.
Too much cooling. With large flat surfaces like this, you don’t want to be blasting the aux and part cooling fans, will only cause issues as some areas cool faster than others. The issue will compound layer by layer until you .re scraping the nozzle across the entire print.
Turn off the aux and part cooling fan and print again and see how it turns out and report back
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I feel like there’s been an uptick in this recently.
Out of curiosity, monitor chamber fan speeds during this
Was it peinted as in the photo or was it oriented in a different way?
Also have you tried printing a test, as in a square thats maybe twice your layer hight, so if youre printing 0.2 print a square whos hight is 0.4 then if it prints ok increase the hight by your layer hight so 0.6, 0.8, 1.0 and so on it doesnt have to be huge maybe 40mm x 40mm x layer hight
Id start there and observe what happens and take it from there, also were there any draughts like an open window or anything.
Im not a professional or anything just trting to work through it logically, we can solve it !!
It was printed as below;
I don’t think (but I’m a beginner here) that this is about first layer adhesion - the pattern in the print suggests it was fine, then started to degrade, then in two of the parts it recovered - so whatever happened did so mid-print. My gut feel is that it’s temperature related.
It turned out fine and is fully functional so I’m not reprinting it.
As mentioned in my previous response, the outcome was good enough not to re-print and functionally it’s perfect so no point trying it again.
Thanks for the advice though, I’ll keep it in mind if I see it on other prints which don’t turn out functional.