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swimming in PLA - too much extrusion on corners/ends

Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2014 7:51 pm
by HoosierCruz
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Hi Everyone,

Thanks for checking out my issue - it's my first post to this forum!

I am getting some extra PLA globbing-up on the corners and edges of my print. I took down the extr. 1 max feedrate from 100 to 45 and I even reduced the extr. 1 steps per mm by 33% and nothing seemed to change.

Here's a couple shots:
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IMG_2611.JPG
Thanks for all the help!!

Aaron

Re: swimming in PLA - too much extrusion on corners/ends

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 8:24 am
by duvdev
it seems to me that the gap between the extruder head and the bead is too small so you get alot of melted filament in the hotend, the pressure in there is growing and when the head is getting a bit higher then the bed all the melted plastic is pushed out.

I think reclibratint the hotend will do the job.

Re: swimming in PLA - too much extrusion on corners/ends

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 9:00 am
by BenTheRighteous
Yep I agree with duvdev, this looks like a bed leveling and z0 height issue.

Re: swimming in PLA - too much extrusion on corners/ends

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 9:06 am
by HoosierCruz
ahh thanks! I am a Makerbot convert, and I always had to have that nozzle SUPER close to the plate for it to stick - so as you both guessed, the nozzle is pretty tight against the bed.

thanks again @dudev @BenTheRighteous

Re: swimming in PLA - too much extrusion on corners/ends

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 10:44 am
by Jimustanguitar
Position your nozzle so that it lightly drags on a piece of copy paper. No need to make it as tight as you've got it.

After that, get everything level, and then check your horizontal radius...

Check out the manual for a detailed description of everything. Good luck! Glad you've come over to the light side of the force :)

Re: swimming in PLA - too much extrusion on corners/ends

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 12:01 pm
by HoosierCruz
Thanks @jimustanguitar - I backed the nozzle off the plate a little bit, turned the flow rate back up a tad and it works great now. However, I would like to continue fine tuning because the edges are a little messy when printing vertical angles.

Re: swimming in PLA - too much extrusion on corners/ends

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 12:13 pm
by Earthbound
Messy edges might be improved by a slightly lower temperature. What temps are you running now?

Re: swimming in PLA - too much extrusion on corners/ends

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 12:56 pm
by Jimustanguitar
HoosierCruz wrote:I backed the nozzle off the plate a little bit, turned the flow rate back up a tad and it works great now.
Your flow rate should be something that you can calibrate and leave alone after you get it right. There are lots of settings to play with, but that's one that shouldn't require tweaking.

Re: swimming in PLA - too much extrusion on corners/ends

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 7:29 pm
by RAMTechRob
Also check your retract settings.

Re: swimming in PLA - too much extrusion on corners/ends

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 8:19 pm
by lordbinky
After fine tuning everything else, increasing jerk can also help on issues with corners (note: increasing it too high will cause other issues though). The other option is to decrease the print speed.