If you never actually removed the nozzle then my guess is that the whole assemble including the barrel (cold tube) where the filament enters from the stepper may have slid down slightly.
If that is the case then it will need a full disassembly to get things back in place.
I know someone who is going to stop by early next week who is much more experienced than I to take a look at the printer and hopefully teach me a thing or two. I will definitely let you know what we discover.
One other quick thing, if I could ask. I am debating whether or not to purchase another one of these Qidi printers (the one that is currently unusable) or another Flashforge Finder. The quality of the Qidi prints seem to be a little better and the machine itself seems to be built a little more sturdy. However, the Finder has been steady and ultra reliable. I also prefer the slicing software with the Finder. Very user friendly. Any advice? I am also slowly starting to read up on layer heights and how that can effect printing quality. Would you mind giving me your two cents on how it works on what my layer height setting should be at? Right now they’re set at the defaults of 0.27 (first layer height) and 0.18. Is that an acceptable setting?
Thank you again for taking the time to assist me. I really appreciate it!
As far as a machine it really depends on what you need out of it.
Size, materials, budget etc.
As far as layer heights go the defaults in Flashprint are fine. For a 0.4mm nozzle size a 0.2mm (0.18mm in Flashprint) layer height is pretty standard and I wouldn’t deviate much from it until you really have a grasp of settings and what they do. Meaning, going to a 0.1mm height adds a whole new set of issues so if you are working with other printing issue then throwing in a thin layer height will mostly aggravate the other problems.
Going to thinner layer heights can show better print results for some models but also significantly increases print times.
First layer height is more something you get a feel for. A thicker first layer height can be useful when the bed isn’t absolutely, perfectly flat whereas a thinner first layer may get you better adhesion.
Again though. If what you are using works then stick with it as you gain experience.
The biggest thing I think in 3D printing is to make small changes, one at a time and for a specific reason and already have an expected result in mind.
After a test, do the results match what was expected? If so, good, and if not then why not? Figure out why you didn’t get what you expected. Maybe the change wasn’t the one needed for the result desired.
