1 Topic by blue68 (edited by blue68 2019-03-11 18:40:47)

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Topic: Can’t make an Anet A8 successfully print large features

Hello everyone,

I own an ANET A8 and have great trouble solving a problem when printing wide features.
I print with default CURA 3.6.0 profile “Normal” with print speed reduced to 30mm/s.
My filament is SunLu PLA+ and print them at 220°C (When printing at 200°C I had under-extrusion problems) with retraction of 6,50 mm at 25mm/s.

Small objects are printed pretty well.

When I print big objects, layers are not sticking to each other.

I tried to print the test boat. It starts well and then at a certain height it gets bad.

After many attempts to solve the problem, I am running out of idea. Has someone any clue?


PS: the printing was fine before I made some changes:

    Used another filament brand (former one was Ice PLA)
    Added autoleveling probe (BLTouch)
    Changed printing bed surface (from glass to buildtak)
    Updated to MarlinFw - bugfix 1.X (from ANET FW)
    Enclosed the printer in a Plexiglass box.

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2 Reply by carl_m1968

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Re: Can’t make an Anet A8 successfully print large features

Could be a driver getting too hot. Try putting a fan on the controller and try another print. You need to find out exactly what changes where made by that update. See if they have a change log anywhere.

A note on firmware updates and this is true for all brands and devices. Unless an update specifically addressed an issue you are having it is best to not update as very often an update will break working things and not even fix problems.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

3 Reply by heartless

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Re: Can’t make an Anet A8 successfully print large features

I agree with Carl, firmware updates can be problematic in and of themselves.

but I am curious - why the enclosure?
PLA does not need an enclosure to print well.

SD4 #1 & #2 - Lawsy carriages, E3D v6, Rumba controller board, mirror bed plate, X motor fan, upgraded PSU & Mica bed heater
SD4 #3 - in the works ~ Folgertech FT-5, rev 1
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4 Reply by blue68

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Re: Can’t make an Anet A8 successfully print large features

Thank you for your answers.

I have installed marlin for bed leveling and updated to the bugfix version because I had problems with bed probing coordinates. I will try to revert back to the stable branch 1.9.

I made an enclosure because I had issues of objects not sticking well to my glass bed. I will try to leave the door opened during the print.

5 Reply by carl_m1968

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Re: Can’t make an Anet A8 successfully print large features

blue68 wrote:

Thank you for your answers.

I have installed marlin for bed leveling and updated to the bugfix version because I had problems with bed probing coordinates. I will try to revert back to the stable branch 1.9.

I made an enclosure because I had issues of objects not sticking well to my glass bed. I will try to leave the door opened during the print.


Try Aquanet hairspray on the bed.

Also what temp is your bed.

Is your first layer height correct?

Should be about half of your desired print height. The first layer height is controlled by bed leveling. Typically the paper method works in most cases until you want to print .1 layers then you have to use a feeler gauge with the .05 blade.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

6 Reply by blue68

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Re: Can’t make an Anet A8 successfully print large features

I changed my bed and do not have sticking issues anymore. I am currently printing at 60°C

I made these modifications:
- Flashed Marlin FW v1.1.9 from here http://marlinfw.org/meta/download/.
- Left the door of the enclosure opened + installed a fan blowing air to the anet board.

The printed object appears to be better but i still have layer not sticking together:
http://soliforum.com/i/?awasB8n.jpg

It seems to be "Delamination of layers" but even printing at 230°C with a fan at 70% does not solve the issue. Do you think it could come from a HW problem ?

7 Reply by carl_m1968 (edited by carl_m1968 2019-03-14 18:21:03)

  • carl_m1968
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Re: Can’t make an Anet A8 successfully print large features

blue68 wrote:

I changed my bed and do not have sticking issues anymore. I am currently printing at 60°C

I made these modifications:
- Flashed Marlin FW v1.1.9 from here http://marlinfw.org/meta/download/.
- Left the door of the enclosure opened + installed a fan blowing air to the anet board.

The printed object appears to be better but i still have layer not sticking together:
http://soliforum.com/i/?awasB8n.jpg

It seems to be "Delamination of layers" but even printing at 230°C with a fan at 70% does not solve the issue. Do you think it could come from a HW problem ?


Have you calibrated your extruder so that when you ask for 100mm of material, 100m is consumed? You have top mark the raw material 100mm from the entry point of the extruder. Then your host heat the extruder and command it to fee 100mm. Look where the mark is now, should be right at the entrance of the extruder. If not then you need to change the steps per mm on the extruder +/- depending on if your mark is still visible or actually gone.

We need to make sure we have proper calibration before we can diagnose problems as calibration is often the biggest and most forgotten problem.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

8 Reply by blue68

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Re: Can’t make an Anet A8 successfully print large features

I tested the extruder and I noticed two issues when extruding 100mm of filaments (G1 E100):
- I hear strange noise like "Kr Kr Kr Kr Kr" and it does not extrude correct distance
- I see the motor driver turning without pushing the filament, leading to incorrect extruded distance

9 Reply by Dave455

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Re: Can’t make an Anet A8 successfully print large features

That description sounds like the extruder  is slipping.  The filament is not being pushed by the drive wheel.
When this started happening on my Maker Ultimate, I installed a Bondtech extruder.  It has both filament drive wheels driven, so it grips the filament a lot better.  I suppose too fast extrusion rate or too low hot end temp could make pushing the filament harder and cause the slipping.

Dave
3D printer - Monoprice Maker Ultimate with mods-
microswiss hot end, Bondtech extruder, twin cooling fans & ducts, insulated heater block, enclosed with Lexan like the Wanhao D6 it is based on.

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