First Layer Issues

[Lightpath]

Hey all-

I'm not quite sure what I'm doing wrong... Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated... I am having a hard time getting a good first layer.

My setup is:
Rostock Max V2
Duet
PEI on top of glass on top of Onyx.
I'm using kisslicer at the moment, but I'm open to trying something new.

http://i.imgur.com/HGknuzw.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ykCFtsx.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/R0xO9Zs.jpg

[Polygonhell]

Your Z calibration looks to be off to me, it's printing the first layer with the head too low.
Basically if the head is too close to the glass as you print the pressure builds up in the nozzle and at somepoint either the extruder eats the filament or the filament pulses out as the pressure causes the head to lift slightly.

I like MHackney's advice of printing a single layer print and measuring the first layer thickness with calipers to verify your Z setting.

There also looks to be some uneveness in the first layer, which is a general calibration issue.

[Lightpath]

Ok, I'll try raising my z-height a bit and see what happens. Thanks!

[mhackney]

Did you read the posts linked in my signature? You might find them helpful.

[Lightpath]

I'll take a look at those links again. Your posts are generally some of the ones I've read the most of.

[Lightpath]

Ugh.

http://i.imgur.com/plPUgaQ.jpg

Somehow I thought the Duet was supposed to help with bed issues... This is after I ran the auto calibration.

[mhackney]

No auto calibration is going to fix a bad mechanical build. Not that yours is, just saying.

What are you using for your probe? If you are using FSRs I assert the problem is probably one or more mounts are binding and the FSRs are not triggering properly.

[Lightpath]

I've had pretty good results out of it before. I've tried using a machinists square on the towers and they seem pretty square to the platforms.

My hunch is also the fsr mounts. I have one of your design printed, I'm trying to get the other two out of it.

[mhackney]

Ok, FSR mount issue makes sense.

Do this assuming you have the JohnSL board...

tap very lightly with 1 finger all over. You should see 1 to 3 LEDs on the John SL light. If some locations require more tapping force than others, you have your culprit.

[Lightpath]

I had a super loose belt. Tightened it up, and the print is better. I'm going to print off the other two fsr mounts, get them installed, and see if that helps.

That's a great idea, I'll do that as soon as the mounts finish printing.

[Lightpath]

Tensioning the belt made a big difference, I still need to tweak the fsr setup though, one of my fsrs isn't triggering as fast as the others. I'm going to replace the neoprene washer and see if that makes a difference.

[Lightpath]

MUCH better results I think. I tightened all the belts, replaced the FSR mounts with better prints of my own design, and tweaked the FSRs so that they all appear to trigger on the same amount of pressure ( unscientific but...). I tried the same thing three times to make sure I was getting consistent results:

Get the temps to the correct levels
Home the towers
auto calibrate
print the test:

http://i.imgur.com/uV9TmX7.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/0DxvKPH.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/D8XZewV.jpg

I still have some work to do I think.

I'll do further tweaking today when I get home from work, but overall I'm making progress. Any suggestions are appreciated, but I think my "bad mechanical build" may be somewhat less bad.

[Windshadow]

looks very good I have yet to get a complete outer ring on this test (I don't count the ring outside the part of course) and yours looks fine even near the top... Well Done

I am still working on getting the outside of the printing area dialed in... I may be going to FSR sooner rather than waiting for the SeeMeCNC kit for retrofitting the RMV2 to use the accelerometer device they have developed

[Sonrisa3D]

MatterControl has a 13 point bed leveling which helps shore up and minor 'calibration' errors along the way. Here is a deeper dive https://www.matterhackers.com/articles/ ... ontrol-1.4

[barry99705]

MatterControl has a 13 point bed leveling which helps shore up and minor 'calibration' errors along the way. Here is a deeper dive https://www.matterhackers.com/articles/ ... ontrol-1.4

Yea, trying that "calibration" made me go back to square one. It's horrible. They really need to just focus on the program and stop trying to be a hardware company. The tablet sucks ass, and now they're releasing another one!

[Lightpath]

I am getting closer to the root of my problem.

I think one of the FSRs close to the z axis is triggering a little earlier than the one between the x and y axis:

http://i.imgur.com/yYHx5GK.jpg