1 Topic by jellyphant

  • jellyphant
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Topic: Plastic sticks to outside of Extruder

Yesterday I was printing and managed to successfully print a 5mm calibration cube and a few other parts. However, at the end of the day, I was unable to even lay down a first layer print. Plastic ended up sticking to the tip of the extruder when printing.

I do not believe the extruder is clogged because the flow is pretty consistent. However, it's been near impossible to print anything since. Additionally, the bed is level and within a MetroCard's distance from the extruder.

Any ideas?

2 Reply by Downeasta

  • Downeasta
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Re: Plastic sticks to outside of Extruder

Sounds as if it is no longer sticking to the bed.

Wipe the bed off with acetone and try again.

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3 Reply by spapadim

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Re: Plastic sticks to outside of Extruder

You shouldn't be really having problems with a cube, unless bed is too dirty or the 1st layer gap is too large.

If Metrocard slides relatively easily under extruder, that was too big of a gap for me to get prints to consistently stick. It's better to visually judge the shape of the first layer (there are good photos on the SD site). Making a couple of such trials after _each_ time you adjust bed (by 1/8th-1/4th turn) will also help you get a sense of when a first layer looks good. By now I keep the bed level by just observing the first layer and making small adjustments once in a blue moon (accurate enough for most prints).

And a clean surface is indeed essential -- before switching to glass + hairspay, I made sure to lightly wipe kapton with acetone before each print.

Also, once you calibrate your extruder, you may want to try setting the first layer to 120-130% extrusion width in slic3r.

4 Reply by jellyphant

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Re: Plastic sticks to outside of Extruder

Thanks guys!

To update everyone I am using a mirror + blue tape as my bed. I have since been able to make the prints stick, however there are times (when my print head makes rapid back-and-forth movements) that the plastic will start wrapping around the nozzle.

I've tried slowing down my extrusion rate to see if it helps, but I am afraid not.

Does anyone else have any ideas?

What would setting my extrusion weidth = 120%+ accomplish? Thanks!

5 Reply by Lurkios

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Re: Plastic sticks to outside of Extruder

Setting the extrusion width higher would cause more plastic to come out and thus more problems with it catching the nozzle.

If your problem is always on the first few layers, try leveling your bed and adjusting the z-tab so that at max height you can feel the nozzle pressure on a piece of paper, but still move the paper relatively easily. The plastic should look just a little squished when the first layer is extruded.

If your problems are on higher layers, try using a dial guage to measure how far up/down your bed actually goes when you try and move it compared to how far it was set to move and adjust the z stepper in the eeprom to bring it in line.

6 Reply by jellyphant

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Re: Plastic sticks to outside of Extruder

Sounds good - I will keep you guys updated on how this comes along!