1

Since I bought my printer I’ve been printing ABS without any issues using the default settings:

Feedrate: 40

Travel Feedrate: 55

Bed temp: 100

Print temp: 220

Infill: 10%

Now I ran out of my ABS roll and have had trouble ever since with most prints using PLA, half way through the printer will start creating a layer of stringy mess, I’m not too sure what is happening exactly maybe under extrusion, maybe the PLA is cooling too quickly or temp isn’t right and is melting the PLA filament further up than it should.

Here are the settings I’ve tried (All Infill: 10%):

Feedrate: 40

Travel Feedrate: 55

Bed temp: 60

Print temp: 220

Feedrate: 40

Travel Feedrate: 55

Bed temp: 60

Print temp: 205

Feedrate: 50

Travel Feedrate: 80

Bed temp: 60

Print temp: 205

All result in the same mess around the same layer, then I noticed on ReplicatorG one of the Gcode lines “something will be printed but there is no guarantee it will be the correct shape”. So thought ok it must be the software, but in between all these failed prints I’ve managed to print a door stop perfectly fine which has confused me even more, using the exact same settings as above.

I also checked for the same line in the Gcode for the item in the picture that is still in the printer and could not see it mentioned anywhere, but still it created a mess. The printer almost doesn’t seem to follow the usual route for printing like something is misaligned suddenly half way through.

Is there alternative free software I could try?

Any thoughts guys? Your help would be much appreciated!

See attached pictures.

IMG_20160816_225336.jpg
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IMG_20160816_225348.jpg
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IMG_20160816_225529.jpg
IMG_20160816_225529.jpg4000×2992 1.71 MB
IMG_20160813_101139.jpg
IMG_20160813_101139.jpg4032×3024 3.32 MB

2

Your extruder temp is very high for PLA. The most likely cause is that the PLA is getting warm/soft too soon and getting stuck.
-Jesse

3

I think your layer height may be to large. Double check and see if its between .1 - .3 mm.

I used to use nothing but ReplicatorG. But i discovered flashprint and never went back. 3.12.0 works very well.

It has great options and slices super fast. I also think the quality of the prints has improved due to flashprint.

http://www.ishare3d.com/3dapp/public/FlashPrint-ii/

4

MindFuLL may be correct.

Last night I finished an 11 hour print with black esun PLA. Brand new roll that was opened 1 day ago. The print came out flawless.

.1mm layer height

I printed at 200 C nozzle

bed was 60 C

Cooling Fan ON @ 2nd layer

NO Hood and my door has been removed since I mainly print PLA.

Travel was 40 mm/s

Flow was 100% (repG wont show flow)

So yes you may have been to hot.

ANDREW (1)_0.jpg
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5

HI @Harisahmad, @MindFuLL I’m not sure the extrusion temperature is the problem - I print PLA at 217 all the time and it’s fine - and Harisahmad has tried it at 205, which I’d think was getting on the low side… The only obvious difference I can see between the doorstop and the two failed prints is size. Both the failed prints are printing towards the edges of the bed, so I’m wondering if it’s a calibration issue? That doesn’t really explain why the first few layers seem OK though.

Can you upload the .stl files? It’s hard to see what the print should look like from the photos and I’m also wondering if it’s the model itself. Have you run it through netfabb?

6

I’ll try Flashprint thanks! The layer height was 0.27 on all prints

7

Thanks cobnut, I followed these recommendations for printing PLA which I thought were reasonable: Flashforge 3D Creator forum. But when the print messed up I reverted to the default. Yeah that’s what’s confusing, it prints perfectly accurate and then half way through it goes wrong. I’ll upload a .STL file tonight Thanks for the help!

8

I’ll try something a tiny bit lower see if it helps!

9

See I’ve been printing with it all enclosed, as the link above I think said that it helped. I’ll try similar settings to yours to see if it helps

10

@cobnut

See attached .STL files.

What is Netfabb? (that probably answers your question haha)
Nonlethal_Door_Stop_Multitool.stl (1.52 MB)
square tray.stl (704 KB)
VR_Body2.STL (25.4 MB)

11

So I tried Flashprint, similar settings. (I tried 200c and it didn’t seem to extrude properly and created ball of filament on the first layer). I had the exact same problem, I see the printer making stringy layers so watch it for a bit and see it trying to print in mid air and slightly out of alignment. I have reset all settings on the printer previously, to make sure I hadn’t messed anything up. I’m running out of ideas, now that I’ve tried different software could it be something to do with the hardware?

IMG_20160818_192102.jpg
IMG_20160818_192102.jpg4000×2992 2.64 MB

12

I know this post is old, but I’m wondering if the OP ever found a solution. I am a high school teacher and I purchased 3 of the same machines and I am getting the same issue. It will print fine for the first 30 - 60 minutes then it will print in mid air with nothing being extruded and sometimes it will restart extruding and end with a stringy mess. I will try lowering my bed temp and pulling the tops and doors off. When I watch I find that the object being printed is not cooling down enough before the next layer is printed. I tried messing with a delay between layers but that didn’t work.

13

Hi @mjh410 what are your print head temperature/fan settings? What material are you using?

Jon