Stuff your 3D printer has made today...

[fractured]

You got lucky with that! Looks like your "skirt" has not stuck to the bad at all, let alone to itself. One of the foot pads has also lifted slightly. That indicates not enough squish due to too high nozzle. I recommend you have a good go as setting your bed level so that the first layer gets squashed down firmly to the bed and the filament sticks to itself to form a firm layer.

If it's not bed height (although I think it is) then it may be your first layer is too fast or the extrusion rate too low.

Many thanks for sharing your wisdom. I did wonder if I had the nozzle low enough, but with aging eyes I didn't want to go too far. I printed one of the whistles after the frog and the first attempt came loose when on the upper layer. I cleaned the bed and repeated it and it stuck so didn't alter further even though I thought it perhaps needed it.

After reading your advice I got the reading glasses out and dialed the nozzle down a bit and it is far better, so many thanks!

 

[Dr.Al]

A very simple 3D printed box liner:

The box I've just made is for storing earplugs and I figured that having a plastic liner might be easier to clean. It's a close sliding fit in the box, so if I decide I don't want it any more, I can just pull it out. The sparkly "Galaxy Black" PETG filament looks quite smart to me.

It's nice being able to make things like this in exactly the size you want them to be.

 

[fractured]

A very simple 3D printed box liner:

View attachment 381002

The box I've just made is for storing earplugs and I figured that having a plastic liner might be easier to clean. It's a close sliding fit in the box, so if I decide I don't want it any more, I can just pull it out. The sparkly "Galaxy Black" PETG filament looks quite smart to me.

View attachment 381003


It's nice being able to make things like this in exactly the size you want them to be.

What printer do you have and what temperatures do you use for printing.

I am just about to order some of the PETG filament you suggested.

I printed some small toolbox feet yesterday. Very simple little blocks to raise by 20mm, but the main thing was I had drawn them and turned my drawing into the file for printing. Just a first step....

I need the PETG now though as I want my parts to be usable working pieces. I need to get some confidence with that.

 

[Dr.Al]

What printer do you have and what temperatures do you use for printing.

Prusa i3 MK3S+ and the default Prusament PETG profile in Prusaslicer. I've never felt the need to tweak it from the default. There can be a little bit of "stringing" on non prusa filaments, but it cleans up easily just by rubbing your thumb against it so I've never bothered to put the effort in to setting up a different profile. I mostly use the cheap stuff as the prusa stuff is £££ - the galaxy black stuff I've got was thanks to the printables "prusameters" thing which used to be more generous than it is now!

I can't remember the temperatures it uses but it's about 240°C and 85°C from memory. I use the satin sheet pretty much exclusively for PETG and apart from wiping it with IPA between prints and every few weeks giving it a soapy water wash, it doesn't really need much in the way of TLC.

As I think is common with a lot of people, it took me a while to get the Z offset tuned. It's worth spending some time on this with prints like this one and (once that's done) this one.

 

[fractured]

I need to check my sheets will be OK. I have the standard sheet and also the textured.

 

[fractured]

Prusa i3 MK3S+ and the default Prusament PETG profile in Prusaslicer. I've never felt the need to tweak it from the default. There can be a little bit of "stringing" on non prusa filaments, but it cleans up easily just by rubbing your thumb against it so I've never bothered to put the effort in to setting up a different profile. I mostly use the cheap stuff as the prusa stuff is £££ - the galaxy black stuff I've got was thanks to the printables "prusameters" thing which used to be more generous than it is now!

I can't remember the temperatures it uses but it's about 240°C and 85°C from memory. I use the satin sheet pretty much exclusively for PETG and apart from wiping it with IPA between prints and every few weeks giving it a soapy water wash, it doesn't really need much in the way of TLC.

As I think is common with a lot of people, it took me a while to get the Z offset tuned. It's worth spending some time on this with prints like this one and (once that's done) this one.

I have just checked and it looks like the textured sheet will be suitable for PETG.

Thanks for the advice and links, really useful for me at this stage. I will try the Z calibration as you suggested.

 

[Bladevane]

@fractured - it’s not just the Z calibration ( that is part of the machine set up menu), you also need to spend some time in understanding then adjusting your first layer for each type of sheet.

 

[Dev]

Once you get used to it you can run your finger tip over the skirt (doesn’t sound right) and know if it’s too High, too low or juuust right.

 

[ukracer]

I buy it from hexeal chemicals: https://hexeal.co.uk/products/ipa?variant=52047399174

They also sell on ebay, but I think it's cheaper buying direct.

Interesting read today.
Ex chemist started up a 3D printing business. Closing on Thursday sadly but here are his views on IPA.

Private Site

wedge3d.co.uk

 

[Screwdriver]

Interesting read today.
Ex chemist started up a 3D printing business. Closing on Thursday sadly but here are his views on IPA.

Private Site

wedge3d.co.uk

Oh well, how about that. What did I say...

If you use PVA/gluestick/hairspray for bed adhesion, water is the best solvent to clean up a removable bed. With a little bit of soap.

Once fully dry a quick wipe down with IPA will help keep it grease free before applying hairspray (in my case).

 

[Dr.Al]

Interesting read today.
Ex chemist started up a 3D printing business. Closing on Thursday sadly but here are his views on IPA.

Private Site

wedge3d.co.uk

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. It's quite surprising. While I definitely wouldn't dispute that the soapy water wash is the best thing, I'm too lazy to do that every time and I typically only do it once a month or so. If I don't wipe the satin sheet with IPA after each print, it only takes a couple of prints before I find the print doesn't stick to the bed (I learnt this to my cost after making the same mistake a few times and having the same problems each time). If I do wipe it with IPA, I never have any problems at all. So maybe the 99% stuff isn't as good as 70% IPA and I have no doubt that it's not as good as a thorough soapy water wash & dry, but it definitely makes a difference & I'm going to keep using it.

I will try diluting the IPA with distilled water to make a 70% solution, but I'm not sure how I'll tell the difference given that the 99% stuff does what I want it to do.

 

[Dr.Al]

... and yes, it's sad that wedge3d.co.uk is closing. They were (I think) the only UK seller of the prusa filaments and accessories. While they were more expensive than buying from prusa direct, the postage costs (and, if you go over the £135 VAT threshold, the courier admin fees) meant that the difference wasn't that big really.

I'm probably as guilty as the next man of choosing the cheaper filaments for most of my printing, but it was nice to have the option available when wanted. It was also comforting to know some of the spare parts could be bought in the UK rather than waiting for postage from The Czech Republic.

I guess lots of people going for cheaper options like the stuff from amazon means that wedge struggled to make ends meet (although the website did mention personal reasons as well as economic ones).

 

[Screwdriver]

In the years I have had my printer, I have washed the bed precisely twice. I can happily print for a week or so in between hairsprays and I might give it a quick wipe with IPA if there are any scrags or marks in the bed. Then once a week or so it gets another light dusting of hairspray.

Eventually I expect to find a thick coat of white residue from baked on hairspray so I guess I might give the bed a proper wash every six months ish.

 

[Dr.Al]

In the years I have had my printer, I have washed the bed precisely twice. I can happily print for a week or so in between hairsprays and I might give it a quick wipe with IPA if there are any scrags or marks in the bed. Then once a week or so it gets another light dusting of hairspray.

Eventually I expect to find a thick coat of white residue from baked on hairspray so I guess I might give the bed a proper wash every six months ish.

I wonder if that's a difference with the hairspray increasing the adhesion (I don't coat the bed with anything before printing).

What filament do you use & what's the bed material?

The satin powder coated sheet on the prusa seems to get a very, very slightly oily residue on it after printing PETG. If I look closely under the right light, I can see it on the bed. The IPA removes that residue and I think it's that residue that stops later prints from adhering well. If I use PLA (usually on a different, untextured sheet), I've never noticed that residue, although I think I can count on my fingers the number of times I've printed PLA, so I don't have a lot of data to say either way.

 

[Screwdriver]

I wonder if that's a difference with the hairspray increasing the adhesion (I don't coat the bed with anything before printing).

What filament do you use & what's the bed material?

The satin powder coated sheet on the prusa seems to get a very, very slightly oily residue on it after printing PETG. If I look closely under the right light, I can see it on the bed. The IPA removes that residue and I think it's that residue that stops later prints from adhering well. If I use PLA (usually on a different, untextured sheet), I've never noticed that residue, although I think I can count on my fingers the number of times I've printed PLA, so I don't have a lot of data to say either way.

I only print in PETG. For my taste, there are too many variables to keep swapping plastics. I have noticed the sort of oilyness too, might be worth looking into but it has caused no issues for me.

I print with a bed temp of 90ºC and the print sticks like superglue. Once the bed cools down, the print literally falls off and is only held by suction to the sort of oil film you refer to. Sometimes I have to slide a large print off!

 

[Dr.Al]

I only print in PETG. For my taste, there are too many variables to keep swapping plastics. I have noticed the sort of oilyness too, might be worth looking into but it has caused no issues for me.

I print with a bed temp of 90ºC and the print sticks like superglue. Once the bed cools down, the print literally falls off and is only held by suction to the sort of oil film you refer to. Sometimes I have to slide a large print off!

What's the bed material?

Whether the print falls off or not for me tends to depend on the size of the print. For anything with a footprint over about 30 mm × 30 mm, I find it falls off (as the bed calls, the print will shrink at a different rate to the metal bed sheet and I imagine the force this induces separates the print from the part). For small things, this doesn't happen and they have to be pulled off or the sheet bent to release them (neither of which is difficult at all).

 

[ukracer]

In the years I have had my printer, I have washed the bed precisely twice. I can happily print for a week or so in between hairsprays and I might give it a quick wipe with IPA if there are any scrags or marks in the bed. Then once a week or so it gets another light dusting of hairspray.

Eventually I expect to find a thick coat of white residue from baked on hairspray so I guess I might give the bed a proper wash every six months ish.

My use is very similar. I "think" the hair spray. (I use 3D lac) merely blocks the oils from hands etc that stop the print sticking.

 

[ukracer]

Many thanks for sharing your wisdom. I did wonder if I had the nozzle low enough, but with aging eyes I didn't want to go too far. I printed one of the whistles after the frog and the first attempt came loose when on the upper layer. I cleaned the bed and repeated it and it stuck so didn't alter further even though I thought it perhaps needed it.

After reading your advice I got the reading glasses out and dialed the nozzle down a bit and it is far better, so many thanks!

Does your printer have Marlin firmware?

 

[MattF]

What are the general differences between PLA & PETG, in regard to suitability for certain types of item?

 

[Screwdriver]

What's the bed material?

Whether the print falls off or not for me tends to depend on the size of the print. For anything with a footprint over about 30 mm × 30 mm, I find it falls off (as the bed calls, the print will shrink at a different rate to the metal bed sheet and I imagine the force this induces separates the print from the part). For small things, this doesn't happen and they have to be pulled off or the sheet bent to release them (neither of which is difficult at all).

I use the standard glass bed (standard on the Ender3 Pro). Clearly the bed expands when heated and the part will cool much more quickly allowing the print to release. All of my prints, no matter what size, release from the bed when cooled.

My use is very similar. I "think" the hair spray. (I use 3D lac) merely blocks the oils from hands etc that stop the print sticking.

No. Hairspray is just PVA glue. Same as over priced "specialist" sprays and glue sticks.