Irregularities on the Z axis of prints, but not repeated banding

SJ314 · 2017-02-18T05:07:27.000Z

I am having a rather odd issue with my printer where the layers are not perfectly aligned in an irregular fashion. It is not the traditional z-banding however, for it is not in a repeating pattern. I have some pictures describing the issue. https://goo.gl/photos/qZhW9Vonz31CMahL7 . I am running a bowden setup with very little friction in the tube. I am using a triple lead screw system with 4 smooth rods for support. The filament is pretty good. Also, a point of interest is that the irregularities tend to decrease, but no disappear at lower layer heights, also, the irregularities seem to go away at certain points of the print and re-appear in others. I am truly bewildered as to what may be causing the issue.

PlastiPrint3D · 2017-02-20T09:08:38.000Z

Looks like an over extrusion / over heating problem. Have you calibrated the E-steps value for the extruder? Have you checked what diameter your filament actually is with a caliper and fed this into your slicer?

Nutz3d · 2017-02-20T09:13:18.000Z

Hey

That looks like your bed mounts need tightening. I had similar trouble and it got worse until the bed was shaking - then I noticed Basically the X/Y movement causes the bed to shift a little when it has momentum and changes direction or stops. Depending on how loose it is it only happens every few layers or so.

I’ve heard people say they super glue the mounts and screws to stop this happening with the wooden mount printers.

Cheers

Dave

Zapaer · 2017-02-20T09:53:43.000Z

Hey,

I agree with both of the comments below. Make sure your bed is not wobbly/vibrating, you can check by simply pushing on it slightly, it should not be moving. Once you check that everything is secure (nuts/bots/springs, ect), then measure the diameter of your filament at various points. They should be +/-0.1mm of whatever diameter it’s advertised to be (1.75mm/2.8mm etc). If not, it can cause extrusion issues.

Then proceed to calibrate your E-steps for the extruder. The idea is to check whether or not the printer is actually extruding 100mm of filament when you tell it to. You will need a caliber and a marker (permanent). Measure out 5-6 100mm intervals on your filament and mark them with the permanent marker. Then extrude the filament such that you reach a point close to one of the marks and extrude 100mm. You should be able to see if there is a significant difference (say it’s extruding only 110 instead of 100). If this is case you will need to make a change in the firmware, multiply the E-steps by the ratio of theoretical/actual(measured) extrusion distance.

If none of those issues work, try printing at a lower temperature (235/240C) for ABS (185/190) for PLA.

Also if you are printing PLA make sure you have a part cooling fan.

You can also find troubleshooting solutions to most 3D printing problems here: Print Quality Guide | Simplify3D Software

and here: https://all3dp.com/common-3d-printing-problems-3d-printer-troubleshooting-guide/

Good luck!

murzwern · 2017-02-20T10:59:27.000Z

I had the same issue. My bed was moving…

kissfan4 · 2017-02-21T12:38:55.000Z

Something is not tight, print a test cube and check to see if you can find a pattern.

MrJefferson3D · 2017-02-25T02:53:15.000Z

Hi there , I had a similar problem and the solution for me was to ensure that the bets are fully tensioned to the point that they make a sound .

The other solution is that you extrusion multiplier is to high meaning that whenever you make a corner the extra preassure inside the nozzel is pushed out dude to pressure difference .

Also try this :

https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-troubleshooting/#curling-or-rough-corners