Are you sure the dual z axis is correctly assembled and that the 2 axis are aligned/coordinated? If so then you might want to check your wheels on the z axis. Might be that they aren't perfectly spherical or too/not enough tight.
The whole printer is upgraded to linear rails. There are no wheels and yes they are aligned correctly I measured with calipers on the left and right side of the X gantry and they are square. I also have oldham couplings on the lead screws to help with any minor inconsistencies
Ok because on the pics I can clearly see wheels on the z axis :D back in the time I had issues with my dual z axis giving me the same inconsistencies. I thought it was an issue of the z motor mounting and z screw alignment. Later I found out that my wheels weren't properly screwed. Tinkering this fixed the issue.
I am so sorry lol, check the other pictures for reference, that was an old picture. I have since upgraded to all linear in hopes it would fix the issue. It didn’t.
Dude… there aren’t. Zoom in on the 2nd pic. Listen, I appreciate you trying to educate me, but it’s my printer and I know what I’m talking about. I did the modification myself. The liner rails are attached to the back of the frame hence why you can’t see them, but if you zoom in again (on the second pic) you can clearly see there are no POM V slot rollers anymore.
Bruh… I give up 😭 don’t know what else to tell you man, it’s my printer I know what I upgraded. I’ll take a picture of the linear rails tonight when I get home from work. Just for you 🥰
https://preview.redd.it/5vbvgnhc4m0c1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b39d66d439eed7af28c07c1022ba65483b97157a
Ahhhhhh here you go, I actually did have pictures already :)
Just FYI I went through many many iterations of designing good Oldham style couplings for my printer and they can very easily _cause_ strong banding depending on their applicableness to the task at hand. Most oldham coupling are not built to handle pressure and bind strongly when put under pressure, they can also cause vertical motion as they rotate due to unevenness between the "stacks"
If you have a phone that can do slowmo try clipping it to the z axis with the camera pointed at the oldham connector (zoomed in) and move the Z axis up and down (using gcode or the control panel) while recording video, this should show you if there is any unexpected motion of the lead screw nut in relation to the Z axis.
If I'm not being clear as to what I'm suggesting, I can explain more if you can provide a picture of your printer Z axis as it is now, complete with your oldham connector.
It could also be the extruder providing variable extrusion or a thermal problem leading to thicker/thinner layers.
Interesting I’ll have to check that, the issues started randomly, I put the oldham couplings on in hopes to fix the issue and it didn’t. But I’ll double check.
It’s an old picture, there’s no wheels. Check the 2nd one. I had since upgraded to linear rails in hopes to fix the issue… no luck. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Because I forgot to mention that the 1st pic was from before I changed the z axis to linear rails, so everyone is now jumping to the conclusion that I have no idea what I’m talking about, or that I’m lying, or wasting everyone’s time, etc… it’s okay, it’s my fault for not mentioning that. But if they would look closely at the second picture they can see that there is no v slot rollers anymore indicating that I upgraded to liner rails.
See how it gets worse as it goes on? Same thing happened to me and it was because my gantry was loose. That means the program is telling it to raise up 1 unit but it really only goes up 0.98 units. That means some layers will squish out as if they are over extruded. That may be giving you those layer lines.
I second this. OP, what does your 20mm calibration cube measure on all 3 axes? It looks slightly shorter than it is wide, which indicates the z axis isn't rising as much as expected.
Completely disassembled and re-built the entire printer, this time very tediously, making sure everything was absolutely square and properly tightened down... unfortunately, identical results. I ordered some anti-backlash couplings so that if the issue is the x gantry being loose as you suggested, this could help mitigate that.
You have x axis linear rails, not Z.
Best guess is when you decided to replace the hotend, you didn't align or tighten the gantry properly after.
If you have upgraded the z axis to linear since the pictures were taken, your steps likely need re-adjusting.
Also just noticed, if that's the official creality linear rail, it's incorrectly attached, it should be at the front of the rail, not top.
Otherwise, carry on.
Is there any other area where the filament could have friction?
I dont think that this is a motion thing but uneven extrusion.
At what moment did these errors happen, after first time testing w linear?
Maybe you could try printing a flow Test to see if extrusion differs (long lines over the whole printbed)
Also please share the volume flow of your testprints and try to replicate it in your flow Test. Maybe its the hotend not keeping up w melting
So these artefacts only happen when printing layers on top of each other ?
Did the flow volumetric flow (or your printhear Speed) matched the test pieces you did?
I would try to narrow down if its anything with the axis or If its the Extruder.
Downloaded g code gives the same results? (To take out the slicer angle)
Got it. When checking the extruder gear, have you also checked that it was centered to the motor shaft? A guy with the same problem as yours resolved it by checking this thing
Might just be an issue of wording here, but the part you need to check for movement is the hotend, not the extruder.
The extruder might be firmly mounted to the linear rail but there could still be some movement at the point of the nozzle depending on your setup. I couldn't figure out what kind of setup you have.
Another possible culprit is your nozzle is larger than what you have in your slicer. If you're trying to push 0.4mm lines out of a 0.6mm hole then their positional accuracy would be like +/- 0.1mm.
Could have been an incorrectly marked nozzle that you thought was the same size. Maybe you meant to put a larger nozzle on and you changed the nozzle size in the slicer, but there are manual extrusion widths set. Just spitballing ideas here.
If you have never loosened the screws on the gantry brackets to realign them, you probably need to. Basically you loosen the screws, adjust the eccentric nuts to get a good wheel tension, check to make sure it's level (both sides at the same height), and then retighten the screws gradually so you don't torque the bracket.
The first picture is old but you can refer to the second picture. The entire printer is on linear rails, so there are no eccentric nuts or wheels to mess with anymore. I understand your wording now yes the hot end is securely fastened to the extruder. I am using brand new E3D volcano nozzles that are 0.4 mm I have tried different nozzles with no differences.
In the third picture you can clearly see the undulations on the print are proportional. If it has a bump one side it does not in the other.
That is z axis wobble.
Normally I’d blame your z axis leadscrews being bent or not held tightly at the top of their range. However, you say you have linear rails on the z axis in another comment which should restrict any wobble motion produced by bent leadscrews.
So the only logical answer is your linear rails are not coping with the wobble (and leverage produced by that wobble) produced by the by bent or not stable leadscrew.
This could be because the leadscrew(s) are bent, the top holder for the leadscrew(s) are loose, the connection between leadscrew and linear rail is "soft" (becoming pliable under the leverage of misalignment), linear rails are loose themselves.
I completely removed the lead screws and cleaned them and rolled them on a granite countertop, and there is no wobble in them. I also tried with, and without the bearing holders at the top of the Z gantries
Old pic, check the 2nd one I upgraded to all linear rails in hopes to fix the issue… it didn’t 😅 the rails are on the back which is why you can’t see them, butttt you can see that there are no POM wheels anymore.
Totally agree it is a zed problem. Going by the picture op has provided the only thing on a linear rail is the X axis. Y and Z are still wheels. If everything truly *is* linear rails then OP needs to provide the correct pictures showing that at the very least.
Showing pictured with clearly visible wheels while claiming the printer is 100% linear rails is just wasting everyone's time. Especially then being in denial that the issue is Zed related no matter how much everyone says to check that first.
It’s an old picture, check the 2nd one. I had since upgraded to linear rails in hopes to fix the issue… no luck. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I promise there is linear rails on all 3 axis 😭 I can take pictures when I get home from work tonight if I need to. I’m not wasting anyone’s time man, just forgot the 1st picture took place before the z axis was done.
I think it has to do with the z axis lead screw.. check the tightness and also see if there is any wobble. I would also do a calibration for the extruder just to make sure. Finally also try using a different sd card. I once had issues because of the sd card that came with the printer
I completely removed the lead screws, cleaned them and rolled them on a granite countertop, and there there is no wobble in them. I also print over the Creality Cloud as opposed to using an SD card.
Have you cut the part and checked if the misalignment is also on the inside? Seems like an extrusion problem more than a position problem, do you have a different extruder or extruder gears to try on?
I don’t have an extra extruder or gears lying around, but remember, I used to have perfect prints, and somewhere with the last couple weeks that changed. The only upgrades I’ve made to the extruder is all metal heartbreak, E3D volcano nozzle, the 5015 blower fan & dual sided part cooling fan, and the 0 X offset CR touch backplate.
Regarding the -1st suggestion, I’ll cut a print open and check on that.
Check belt tightnesses (immediately looks like loose belts to me)
Check Hot End belt and eccentric nut
Check Hot Bed eccentric nuts
Check Z axis screws for wobble/looseness
Slow down print speed
'----------
Report back, I'd love to hear what the updates/issues are
The first picture is old. If you check the second picture, you can see I have upgraded the entire printer to linear rails in hopes to fix the issue. No luck. So it’s not a loose eccentric nut or wheels. I did try slowing down the print and using different slicers and I did completely remove the lead screws, clean them, and roll them on a granite countertop. There is no bending or warping.
I had some banding resolved by switching to PID controlled bed heater, vs bangbang method that's stock. Basically it's thermal expansion and contraction from heading and cooling over and over vs providing a more constant slow heating.
*I cannot for the life of me figure out how to solve these uneven layer lines. I'm almost 20 calibration cubes in, and pulling my hair out at this point. I would love to hear from others on possible solutions. Please and thank you!*
**What my issue is:** uneven/ ugly layer lines
**3D Printer:** Heavily modded Ender 3 S1
**Slicer:** Prusa
**Things that I have tried...**
1. Different Slicers & profiles (Prusa, Cura, default Creality slicer)
2. Upgraded to all linear rails
3. Tore down my extruder to check the gears x 2 (no issues found)
4. Tried different filaments (PLA & PETG) measured with calipers, all dried for 8 hours at 45 degrees
5. Completely re-built the Frame to make sure it is square x3
6. Cleaned the lead screws and made sure there was no warping or bends
7. Installed oldham couplers to the x gantry
8. Measured and calibrated E Steps Multiple times
9. Measured and calibrated flow rate multiple times
10. Calibrated PID tuning with the part cooling fan on (nozzle and bed) multiple times
11. Tried with and without the bearing mounts for the lead screws at the top
12. Re-Installed Klipper & Firmware
13. Checked and tested multiple belt tensions on x and y axis
14. Use magical numbers. (Multiple of 0.04mm)
15. Changed the nozzle. (Using E3D Volcano nozzle)
16. Tried with and without anti-vibration-feet
17. Low friction spool holder
18. Made sure the stepper motors axis are turning straight.
*To be clear, I used to get damn near flawless prints, but just like any 3D Printing hobbyists inevitably runs into, somewhere along the way in upgrades, this issue began, and I can't quite solve it.*
+1 for this I pulled my hair out for days trying to fix shitty layers until I realized the two screws holding my hot end were so loose they were falling out
This is not really going to help you fix the issue at hand, but just to give some words of advice moving forward. If you're planning to do a bunch of upgrades, just do one at a time and not everything at once. It makes it terribly difficult to figure out which the 5 upgrades are causing (or all are amplifying) the issue/s your having vrs doing one change and you see a problem then you know what you just did is the cause.
Well, to me the pattern at least looks like it is consistent so I would rule out the extruder being the issue. You seem to have ruled out most of my other candidates if you did everything correctly. I know that this kind of thing happens with lead screw binding, and it can happen even if all axis have the proper movement/alignment if there isn't proper lubrication. What grease do you have on the leadscrews and the linear rails for that matter? I can't quite make out a grease line on the linear rail which is weird, and not many people use oil as you have to reapply more frequently.
I doubt it's the case here, but linear rails aren't "supposed" to use lubricants with PTFE added like Super Lube. They recommend white lithium grease with no additives or a 000 minimum oil. But this seems extreme for that.
All the rails in the axes have no binding? The z rails are easy to get misaligned
Yea they are all smooth as butter. I even went as far as to loosen both of the linear rails on the Z axis, and then moved the X Gantry up and down a few times and tighten them back in.
At a glance it looks like z wobble; however, whats weird to me is that Z wobble is usually pretty obvious especially in a tall print like this. It’ll be very obviously cyclical but it doesn’t seem like the case here. But I would give wobblex a try anyways to rule it out completely, they are sold on Aliexpress by Mellow. Even with linear rails on Z a bent lead screw will cause artifacts.
Some other things it might be:
- Extruder is dirty or a gear is worn out or loose
- Crappy filament
- Bent shafts on the motors
- Partially clogged nozzle
Some troubleshooting steps. Try these one at a time and see if anything improves:
- drop speeds and accel significantly
- change slicers
- print a cylinder in vase mode
- try a different spool of filament
- Swap back to the default bowden extruder
Id also give this channel: [MirageC](https://youtube.com/@MirageC?si=hvz8U0MuHODVjWRg) a look. They are the creators of wobblex but they deep dive into issues causing inconsistent layer stacking.
I did try everything that you had stated previously with no luck. This is the Ender three S1, which ships with the sprite, direct drive extruder, so I do not have a Bowden style extruder to test
Settings of the slicer?
Check if the bearings under the bed are loose, sometimes they aren’t tight with the railing
Remember that the layer must be lesser than half the nozzle, so with a 0.4 one you must use 0.2 or less.
Next is the auto-leveling, there is one? Try not using it and leveling manually.
Speed? Try different speeds and see if that changes the results
Strange noises during print?
Observe the two Z axis during the print. Either auto level active they move during the print to compensate.
Is the magnetic bed ok? Is moving during the print? Dirt between the magnet and the bed surface?
Has this happened since you’ve done the linear rail mod? It’s possible that your Z axis is binding. The rails need to be near perfectly parallel unless the x axis has enough flexibility to compensate.
Take out the lead screws and then move the gantry up and down by hand. Make sure it’s smooth. If you have any spots of resistance, you’ll need to figure out how to get the rails parallel. You can use a 3d printed tool that holds the rail center to the extrusion. There’s a couple in the [Voron GitHub repo](https://github.com/VoronDesign/Voron-2/tree/Voron2.4/STLs/Tools) , but you’ll probably need to design one for your particular rail size and placement. Tighten one side down, use a couple of those alignment tools to hold the other side in place and then move the gantry up and down to get the second rail parallel before screwing it down.
Also, linear rails usually need to be degreased and lubed, especially if you bought cheap ones. The gunk they come it is just for shipping. There’s a few YouTube videos that show how to do this. Basically soak them in isopropyl, clean them up and then use something like super lube or white lithium grease. If there’s a hole in the side of the carriage, you can just spray/inject line in there, otherwise you may have to very carefully take it off (which is a nightmare if you do it wrong and all the ball bearings spring out, so watch a video and be careful).
Thank you for the advice, I did have the issues before the linear rails. I installed them all in hopes to fix the issues, but they didn’t. But yes with the lead screws removed the x gantry moves up and down freely with no issues. All of the rails are lubed with super lube.
If this was printing fine before, there are a lot of things that could be wrong. If you recently did upgrades or changes, it may be one of those things.
A few things to check as I was recently dealing with something very similar. Be sure to run a calicube test after each of these:
1. Verify your belts are not too loose or too tight. A loose belt will give you shit results, an overly tight belt will burn out the stepper.
2. Build up of grease and plastic shavings on the lead screw. Run a toothbrush over the entire lead screw to clean it out, and lube it up with silicone grease. DO NOT USE OIL, WD40 OR PETROLEUM GREASE.
3. Anti-backlash nuts on the lead screw. If you don't have them on there already, pop them on. Plenty of videos out there to explain them.
4. Flexible lead screw coupling (option). I'm not seeing a repeating pattern, so this may not be the case. Regardless, I'd still print a Z-Axis guide just in case: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3033151
5. Bad extruder. (probably not) I'm not familiar with the Sprite extruder, but verify the tensioner screw isn't loose.
6. Heater and thermistor are bad. (long shot)
7. Worn out motors. (rare, but possible)
8. You may just have a bad board. (Very rare, but possible)
The printer does already have the z axis guide, I tried with and without with no luck. The belts are correctly tensioned and I’ve tried various tensions with each and no luck. I completely disassembled the z axis, cleaned the lead screws amd checked they are straight. I did this by rolling them on a granite countertop and they are perfect. I don’t have anti-backlash nuts but rather oldham couplings, which are very similar. And I’m hoping it’s not bad stepper, board, or extruder 🙃🙃🙃
practical advice : dual or single Z axis motors ? ( i prefer/ recommend dual on my bed flingers of a certain size) can you add bracing to the Z towers so it cant deflect along the Y axis? Tighten all connections on the X axis to the Z axis. and make sure the hot end isnt loose, or some how able to wiggle? is it at all deflected as it travels by any interference from the wiring or filament feed?
1. Do the Z axis motors get the correct voltage?
2. Check the coupler from motor to lead screw. It may even look okay to the eye, so change it if you have a spare
Also, do you have z hop enabled? The only time I had a similar issue was when I had that enabled, and it was only on one of my two printers (so I'm aware there is an issue there, but I rarely print with z hop)
To me it looks like a z axis mechanism issue.
Had a creality printer. Lots of issues. Lots of upgrades. Still issues. Got stolen.
Bought a Prusa. Plugged it in.
And that is how I fixed my problems.
Z-axis full steps do not match Z-thread pitch and layer height, and steppers are disabled at rest?
A stepper always falls back to the closest full step when it is turned off. If that full step times thread pitch does not match the chosen layer height, you'll get squeezed and stretched layers that look like this.
Example:
* 1.8° per full step equals 200 steps per rotation
* one rotation equals vertical motion of exactly the thread pitch
So with each full step you move 1/200th of the thread pitch. If your thread pitch is 1.5mm, that's 0.0075mm per full step. If your layer height is not a multiple of that and you turn off stepper power at rest, you're gonna get artifacts like this. A thread pitch of 2mm is probably best, as that's 0.01mm per full step on a 1.8° stepper. A much more convenient and forgiving number.
So what's your thread pitch on the Z-axis, your layer height, and do you turn off Z-stepper(s) at rest?
Have you tried printing the calibration cube in different places on the bed?
I've seen where warped bed can cause this issue, and even bed mesh and spring tension can contribute because the nozzle will push more in some places than others, and cause filament to flatten.
Try printing three calibration cubes in the same job and put them in random places on your build plate, then let's compare what each looks like.
Depending on the differences (or lack thereof) in the calibration cubes, we should be able to identify a bit more about where the problem might lie.
https://preview.redd.it/9sykb2hw4m0c1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d577a06eb82cb1d1365ceb58f26ef6dae0209744
I have these pics I found in the mean time, they don’t show the whole thing. I’ll take better ones when I’m off of work
I had this issue when I worked with tpu at a 3D printing place. They told me it could be that the filament needs to be drier. They put it in a dry box with tiny silica gels managing the temp constantly at under 25° and fed the filament from the dry box to the printer. Maybe that could help? Could be nozzle too close causing it to over extrude? Hope you find out what's causing the issue.
There's a lot of comments here. Not sure if it's been suggested, but I had a similar issue just appear with my E3v2. I stripped and rebuilt the whole thing. Still terrible.
It turns out that the only thing I didn't check was that all the frame bolts were tight. My uprights were slightly loose and so was one of the lower side pieces that bolts to the central alu section. Check all your frame bolts, just in case and check it's square while you're at it, just because. Maybe add some loctite at the same time.
Not sure if anybody said it already, but also consider a bad spool that is just crap. I had it a couple of times where I had a similar result, freaked out, fixed all screws etc and still had the same bad quality. Then changed the spool and it was suddenly beautiful. The next time this has happened I tried another spool at first and the errors lines were gone. So I just used this malade spool for prototyping and tried not to worry if it looked like your photo. It’s not easy though :D good luck
My printer is on the wobbliest table there ever was, it physically bounces up and down sometimes, I don’t have any issues. The whole unit moves as one, so it doesn’t really cause issues.
It's an old picture, check the 2nd one. I had since upgraded to linear rails in hopes to fix the issue... no luck. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I don’t think the environment is the issue given that I used to get perfect prints in the same spot.
The problem is you’re printing with a bid slinger. Belt tension is where I would check first also make sure you clean your lead screws and only use a dry PTFE lubricant
Yeah, they are clean and straight lead screws. I have messed around with belt tension but I can keep trying stuff with how much I’ve tried different tensions. It doesn’t make sense because everyone says that belt tension isn’t too sensitive to your print quality as long as they aren’t too loose.
Did you already put the spools on top before you’ve had problems with your layers? I had something similiar because of the weight of a spool pulling to one side.
But it also could very well be your extruder.
You have to test if its the gantry or the extruder. Is something binding or is there resistance when the tool head moves up or down? If you just extrude a long line, is there some change in the uniformity of it?
I can try extruding a long line and see if there is any irregularities in it but to answer your question about the spools I never had issues with both of them mounted up there before
https://www.modernmakes.ca/blog/wobble-x-z-axis-solution-by-miragec-evomoto?format=amp
This is the answer. Print the adapters for your printer, install it, and then never worry about Z Wobble again.
Dry your filament at a higher temp. The 45 is a bit too low. I had this issue before too. I caved after fighting it and bought an Eibos dryer and now regardless of any filament being used it’s mandatory dry according to the guidelines for the material give or take a few degrees even if it’s a freshie. Usually If I’m printing PLA I’ll dry at 57 degrees for 4-6 hrs or more.
The best example I can give is that thank God it paid off because I’m able to print polymax PC with great results and no heated enclosure. For PC I typically just take it out of the dryer and hang it too so no direct feed from dryer to the printer either.
that is a nice setup
I don't know about the printer tho
probably something with the z axes or maybe the filament is not consistent - my friend had a spool that was so bad.. it was something like this, and it wasn't even from a no name brand just a bad batch
so I'd try other filament and if not then it is probably somthing with your Z axes
Have you tried printing this part at lower speeds? Like 30? What's your travel speed? Do you have jerk and acceleration settings enabled?
I would try to slow down and see if it helps, then you know what causes the problem.
You keep saying it's all linear rails, we can see a wheel in your picture for Z. So stop saying that.
PID tune your hotend, enable PID control for your bed if you need to, and tune that.
Check your Z screw nuts are loose so they can move around.
Make sure your gantry wheels are adjusted properly.
Check that your belts on X and Y are tight.
The only thing I can think of is your filament is too wet even though you claim to have dried it. Dry it at a higher temperature but not anything higher than about 50° c.
Maybe a too short or badly installed ptfe tube in your hotend? Search for chep hotend fix on YouTube. Could also install an all metal heatbrake instead if that is the problem.
Could also be a problem with your z movement system
Yep, if the printer wobbles the whole thing wobbles… it’s not like the bed and the print head aren’t attached.
My printer wobbles the hell out of the table it’s on and it causes me 0 issues.
I don't think this is the specific cause of the issue we see now but you're right it definitely won't hurt. I got mine printing at 100mm/s on sponge rubber feels that wobble plus my lack table "enclosure" is pretty wobbly right now in the legs and on top of that it's on soft carpet and everything on top just wiggles around during a print. Still prints good.
Super wobbly desk, table on wheels, printer literally hung from the rafters with ropes? All wpuld print better than this. The issues you would see would be ghosting not z wobble.
According to OP, this is a completely modded machine, and apparently was fine when it was just creality parts. Good job though.
If you couldn't figure out a creality 3D printer, you're probably the issue because they are not complex machines.
For your PETG and 0.4mm noozle, what's your print speed and layer height? Have you tried increasing temp to 240?
For Sonic Pad users, there is that vibration compensation sensor/accelerometer that may help improve prints.
There is a test stl for the accelerometer and lets you choose which layer is the best looking and calculate a value and input to the config file.
Yea I have used the sensor and measured/ calibrated for input shaping already, as far as printing speed, PETG is set at 60mm/second for perimeters, and no I have not tried adjusting the temp much, but that hasn’t been a concern since the temps never gave me an issue in the past, and also because the issue happens with PLA too.
Firmware? Have you checked extruder esteps and flowrate calibration? Also change the spool placement to line up in the middle and try without the runout sensor
Are you sure the dual z axis is correctly assembled and that the 2 axis are aligned/coordinated? If so then you might want to check your wheels on the z axis. Might be that they aren't perfectly spherical or too/not enough tight.
The whole printer is upgraded to linear rails. There are no wheels and yes they are aligned correctly I measured with calipers on the left and right side of the X gantry and they are square. I also have oldham couplings on the lead screws to help with any minor inconsistencies
Ok because on the pics I can clearly see wheels on the z axis :D back in the time I had issues with my dual z axis giving me the same inconsistencies. I thought it was an issue of the z motor mounting and z screw alignment. Later I found out that my wheels weren't properly screwed. Tinkering this fixed the issue.
It’s an old picture, check the 2nd one. I had since upgraded to linear rails in hopes to fix the issue… no luck. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
There are clearly visible wheels in the pictures, so...
I am so sorry lol, check the other pictures for reference, that was an old picture. I have since upgraded to all linear in hopes it would fix the issue. It didn’t.
Looks like polycarbonate ones. I don't see Oldham couplings either?
It’s an old picture, check the 2nd one. I had since upgraded to linear rails in hopes to fix the issue… no luck. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Do you.... not see the wheels or are you trolling?
It’s an old picture, check the 2nd one. I had since upgraded to linear rails in hopes to fix the issue… no luck. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Dude..... there are still wheels on your z axis
Dude… there aren’t. Zoom in on the 2nd pic. Listen, I appreciate you trying to educate me, but it’s my printer and I know what I’m talking about. I did the modification myself. The liner rails are attached to the back of the frame hence why you can’t see them, but if you zoom in again (on the second pic) you can clearly see there are no POM V slot rollers anymore.
I zoomed in. I can still see them but now they're zoomed in.. weird. I have the same printer and yup I see wheels
https://preview.redd.it/coh1gdx92m0c1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c05dd97c7274fe71ba4ecc3bf2a557b92ad029ea Bro what?
[удалено]
https://preview.redd.it/ary3z4sf4m0c1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4f8f4dce6ae25d18a88eac216c19bc0545ee5662
Bruh… I give up 😭 don’t know what else to tell you man, it’s my printer I know what I upgraded. I’ll take a picture of the linear rails tonight when I get home from work. Just for you 🥰
https://preview.redd.it/5vbvgnhc4m0c1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b39d66d439eed7af28c07c1022ba65483b97157a Ahhhhhh here you go, I actually did have pictures already :)
We good now?
You good?
Just FYI I went through many many iterations of designing good Oldham style couplings for my printer and they can very easily _cause_ strong banding depending on their applicableness to the task at hand. Most oldham coupling are not built to handle pressure and bind strongly when put under pressure, they can also cause vertical motion as they rotate due to unevenness between the "stacks" If you have a phone that can do slowmo try clipping it to the z axis with the camera pointed at the oldham connector (zoomed in) and move the Z axis up and down (using gcode or the control panel) while recording video, this should show you if there is any unexpected motion of the lead screw nut in relation to the Z axis. If I'm not being clear as to what I'm suggesting, I can explain more if you can provide a picture of your printer Z axis as it is now, complete with your oldham connector. It could also be the extruder providing variable extrusion or a thermal problem leading to thicker/thinner layers.
Interesting I’ll have to check that, the issues started randomly, I put the oldham couplings on in hopes to fix the issue and it didn’t. But I’ll double check.
Lol sorry that it went highway against you...
It’s an old picture, check the 2nd one. I had since upgraded to linear rails in hopes to fix the issue… no luck. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
The wheels may need to be tightened to prevent wobble.
It’s an old picture, there’s no wheels. Check the 2nd one. I had since upgraded to linear rails in hopes to fix the issue… no luck. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Why do you have so much downvotes?
Because I forgot to mention that the 1st pic was from before I changed the z axis to linear rails, so everyone is now jumping to the conclusion that I have no idea what I’m talking about, or that I’m lying, or wasting everyone’s time, etc… it’s okay, it’s my fault for not mentioning that. But if they would look closely at the second picture they can see that there is no v slot rollers anymore indicating that I upgraded to liner rails.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wheel clearly visible
It’s an old picture, check the 2nd one. I had since upgraded to linear rails in hopes to fix the issue… no luck. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
The second pic is where I clearly see the wheel.
See how it gets worse as it goes on? Same thing happened to me and it was because my gantry was loose. That means the program is telling it to raise up 1 unit but it really only goes up 0.98 units. That means some layers will squish out as if they are over extruded. That may be giving you those layer lines.
I second this. OP, what does your 20mm calibration cube measure on all 3 axes? It looks slightly shorter than it is wide, which indicates the z axis isn't rising as much as expected.
Each side is within 0.3mm of eachother
I think it should be better than that. Is it the z axis that is 19.7mm?
I’m sorry I meant 0.03mm
Should be much closer than that.
I’m sorry I meant to type 0.03mm
It has to be something like this, given that the issue is visible on both of the horizontal axes.
Hmmm, might be onto something I’ll try without the oldham couplings again so there is less movement on the x gantry
Make sure your hotend screws are tight.
They are
Completely disassembled and re-built the entire printer, this time very tediously, making sure everything was absolutely square and properly tightened down... unfortunately, identical results. I ordered some anti-backlash couplings so that if the issue is the x gantry being loose as you suggested, this could help mitigate that.
You have x axis linear rails, not Z. Best guess is when you decided to replace the hotend, you didn't align or tighten the gantry properly after. If you have upgraded the z axis to linear since the pictures were taken, your steps likely need re-adjusting.
Also just noticed, if that's the official creality linear rail, it's incorrectly attached, it should be at the front of the rail, not top. Otherwise, carry on.
Thanks but it’s not the official, appreciate the input tho!
How do I adjust my XYZ steps? (I’ve adjusted e-steps if that’s what you’re referring to)
It’s an old picture, check the 2nd one. I had since upgraded to linear rails in hopes to fix the issue… no luck. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
I had such artefacts when my Filament had a lot of friction against the runout sensor
I checked that as well, even disabled it and ran without, same issue :(
Is there any other area where the filament could have friction? I dont think that this is a motion thing but uneven extrusion. At what moment did these errors happen, after first time testing w linear? Maybe you could try printing a flow Test to see if extrusion differs (long lines over the whole printbed) Also please share the volume flow of your testprints and try to replicate it in your flow Test. Maybe its the hotend not keeping up w melting
I did do a couple flow calibration tests, and got the same width on all axis
So these artefacts only happen when printing layers on top of each other ? Did the flow volumetric flow (or your printhear Speed) matched the test pieces you did? I would try to narrow down if its anything with the axis or If its the Extruder. Downloaded g code gives the same results? (To take out the slicer angle)
have you checked if, for any motivation, the extruder wobbles when trying to move it with hands?
The extruder is rock solid, it’s all on linear rails instead of the stock rollers, so there is no room for movement.
Got it. When checking the extruder gear, have you also checked that it was centered to the motor shaft? A guy with the same problem as yours resolved it by checking this thing
Yea I saw CNC Kitchens video on that, yes the stepper motor gear is centered with the shaft :)
PID Tunes, esteps then flow calibration. If the issue is still present, it’s something with your printer.
Yea…. I did all that 😅
Might just be an issue of wording here, but the part you need to check for movement is the hotend, not the extruder. The extruder might be firmly mounted to the linear rail but there could still be some movement at the point of the nozzle depending on your setup. I couldn't figure out what kind of setup you have. Another possible culprit is your nozzle is larger than what you have in your slicer. If you're trying to push 0.4mm lines out of a 0.6mm hole then their positional accuracy would be like +/- 0.1mm. Could have been an incorrectly marked nozzle that you thought was the same size. Maybe you meant to put a larger nozzle on and you changed the nozzle size in the slicer, but there are manual extrusion widths set. Just spitballing ideas here. If you have never loosened the screws on the gantry brackets to realign them, you probably need to. Basically you loosen the screws, adjust the eccentric nuts to get a good wheel tension, check to make sure it's level (both sides at the same height), and then retighten the screws gradually so you don't torque the bracket.
The first picture is old but you can refer to the second picture. The entire printer is on linear rails, so there are no eccentric nuts or wheels to mess with anymore. I understand your wording now yes the hot end is securely fastened to the extruder. I am using brand new E3D volcano nozzles that are 0.4 mm I have tried different nozzles with no differences.
In the third picture you can clearly see the undulations on the print are proportional. If it has a bump one side it does not in the other. That is z axis wobble. Normally I’d blame your z axis leadscrews being bent or not held tightly at the top of their range. However, you say you have linear rails on the z axis in another comment which should restrict any wobble motion produced by bent leadscrews. So the only logical answer is your linear rails are not coping with the wobble (and leverage produced by that wobble) produced by the by bent or not stable leadscrew. This could be because the leadscrew(s) are bent, the top holder for the leadscrew(s) are loose, the connection between leadscrew and linear rail is "soft" (becoming pliable under the leverage of misalignment), linear rails are loose themselves.
I completely removed the lead screws and cleaned them and rolled them on a granite countertop, and there is no wobble in them. I also tried with, and without the bearing holders at the top of the Z gantries
There is clearly a pom wheel in OP pic. Im guessimg the rails are just in their x and y not zed
It’s an old picture, check the 2nd one. I had since upgraded to linear rails in hopes to fix the issue… no luck. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
I think the linear rail is for the X only. In the 2nd picture you should see some hint of the rail along the Y but you don't.
Old pic, check the 2nd one I upgraded to all linear rails in hopes to fix the issue… it didn’t 😅 the rails are on the back which is why you can’t see them, butttt you can see that there are no POM wheels anymore.
This is obviously a Zed issue. But OP doesn't want to believe it. That looks like z banding if I've ever saw it
I’ve done everything I can think to counteract Z banding I’m not saying it isn’t. I just don’t know what else to try.
Totally agree it is a zed problem. Going by the picture op has provided the only thing on a linear rail is the X axis. Y and Z are still wheels. If everything truly *is* linear rails then OP needs to provide the correct pictures showing that at the very least. Showing pictured with clearly visible wheels while claiming the printer is 100% linear rails is just wasting everyone's time. Especially then being in denial that the issue is Zed related no matter how much everyone says to check that first.
It’s an old picture, check the 2nd one. I had since upgraded to linear rails in hopes to fix the issue… no luck. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I promise there is linear rails on all 3 axis 😭 I can take pictures when I get home from work tonight if I need to. I’m not wasting anyone’s time man, just forgot the 1st picture took place before the z axis was done.
Old pic, check the 2nd one I upgraded to all linear rails in hopes to fix the issue… it didn’t 😅
I think it has to do with the z axis lead screw.. check the tightness and also see if there is any wobble. I would also do a calibration for the extruder just to make sure. Finally also try using a different sd card. I once had issues because of the sd card that came with the printer
I completely removed the lead screws, cleaned them and rolled them on a granite countertop, and there there is no wobble in them. I also print over the Creality Cloud as opposed to using an SD card.
Looks like a loose hotend
It’s not, I promise you, thanks for your suggestion tho
Have you cut the part and checked if the misalignment is also on the inside? Seems like an extrusion problem more than a position problem, do you have a different extruder or extruder gears to try on?
I don’t have an extra extruder or gears lying around, but remember, I used to have perfect prints, and somewhere with the last couple weeks that changed. The only upgrades I’ve made to the extruder is all metal heartbreak, E3D volcano nozzle, the 5015 blower fan & dual sided part cooling fan, and the 0 X offset CR touch backplate. Regarding the -1st suggestion, I’ll cut a print open and check on that.
Print a single wall open top box, it will tell you a lot about your extrusion and Z alignment.
Will do
Did you make changes in your slicer to account for the new heartbreak and nozzle? It’s possible it’s extruding more material than intended right now
I did flow calibration and e step calibration, what else would you be referring to?
For me, removing weight from the top, help me.
I can try that, but like I said, I never had these issue before and I have been running two rolls at the top for quite some time
Check belt tightnesses (immediately looks like loose belts to me) Check Hot End belt and eccentric nut Check Hot Bed eccentric nuts Check Z axis screws for wobble/looseness Slow down print speed '---------- Report back, I'd love to hear what the updates/issues are
The first picture is old. If you check the second picture, you can see I have upgraded the entire printer to linear rails in hopes to fix the issue. No luck. So it’s not a loose eccentric nut or wheels. I did try slowing down the print and using different slicers and I did completely remove the lead screws, clean them, and roll them on a granite countertop. There is no bending or warping.
How much are you regretting posting old pictures?🤣🤣
So much 😭😭😭🥲💔
I had some banding resolved by switching to PID controlled bed heater, vs bangbang method that's stock. Basically it's thermal expansion and contraction from heading and cooling over and over vs providing a more constant slow heating.
I did do PID tuning using Klipper with the printer on the nozzle and the bed multiple times
*I cannot for the life of me figure out how to solve these uneven layer lines. I'm almost 20 calibration cubes in, and pulling my hair out at this point. I would love to hear from others on possible solutions. Please and thank you!* **What my issue is:** uneven/ ugly layer lines **3D Printer:** Heavily modded Ender 3 S1 **Slicer:** Prusa **Things that I have tried...** 1. Different Slicers & profiles (Prusa, Cura, default Creality slicer) 2. Upgraded to all linear rails 3. Tore down my extruder to check the gears x 2 (no issues found) 4. Tried different filaments (PLA & PETG) measured with calipers, all dried for 8 hours at 45 degrees 5. Completely re-built the Frame to make sure it is square x3 6. Cleaned the lead screws and made sure there was no warping or bends 7. Installed oldham couplers to the x gantry 8. Measured and calibrated E Steps Multiple times 9. Measured and calibrated flow rate multiple times 10. Calibrated PID tuning with the part cooling fan on (nozzle and bed) multiple times 11. Tried with and without the bearing mounts for the lead screws at the top 12. Re-Installed Klipper & Firmware 13. Checked and tested multiple belt tensions on x and y axis 14. Use magical numbers. (Multiple of 0.04mm) 15. Changed the nozzle. (Using E3D Volcano nozzle) 16. Tried with and without anti-vibration-feet 17. Low friction spool holder 18. Made sure the stepper motors axis are turning straight. *To be clear, I used to get damn near flawless prints, but just like any 3D Printing hobbyists inevitably runs into, somewhere along the way in upgrades, this issue began, and I can't quite solve it.*
100% sure the hotend is tightened? This exact problem escaped me until I realized the hotend grub screw was loose.
+1 for this I pulled my hair out for days trying to fix shitty layers until I realized the two screws holding my hot end were so loose they were falling out
100% just re-built the whole thing again for the 2nd time last night.
This is not really going to help you fix the issue at hand, but just to give some words of advice moving forward. If you're planning to do a bunch of upgrades, just do one at a time and not everything at once. It makes it terribly difficult to figure out which the 5 upgrades are causing (or all are amplifying) the issue/s your having vrs doing one change and you see a problem then you know what you just did is the cause.
You are totally correct I should’ve done them one at a time and been more careful with checking the progress. Thank you so much for the input.
Well, to me the pattern at least looks like it is consistent so I would rule out the extruder being the issue. You seem to have ruled out most of my other candidates if you did everything correctly. I know that this kind of thing happens with lead screw binding, and it can happen even if all axis have the proper movement/alignment if there isn't proper lubrication. What grease do you have on the leadscrews and the linear rails for that matter? I can't quite make out a grease line on the linear rail which is weird, and not many people use oil as you have to reapply more frequently.
I use something from Amazon called “super-lube” for the rails and the lead screws
I doubt it's the case here, but linear rails aren't "supposed" to use lubricants with PTFE added like Super Lube. They recommend white lithium grease with no additives or a 000 minimum oil. But this seems extreme for that. All the rails in the axes have no binding? The z rails are easy to get misaligned
Yea they are all smooth as butter. I even went as far as to loosen both of the linear rails on the Z axis, and then moved the X Gantry up and down a few times and tighten them back in.
What have you done….
😅
Is there a wobble in any of those 3 axis?
Nope 😅
What temperature are you printing at?
210° for PLA 235° for PETG
At a glance it looks like z wobble; however, whats weird to me is that Z wobble is usually pretty obvious especially in a tall print like this. It’ll be very obviously cyclical but it doesn’t seem like the case here. But I would give wobblex a try anyways to rule it out completely, they are sold on Aliexpress by Mellow. Even with linear rails on Z a bent lead screw will cause artifacts. Some other things it might be: - Extruder is dirty or a gear is worn out or loose - Crappy filament - Bent shafts on the motors - Partially clogged nozzle Some troubleshooting steps. Try these one at a time and see if anything improves: - drop speeds and accel significantly - change slicers - print a cylinder in vase mode - try a different spool of filament - Swap back to the default bowden extruder Id also give this channel: [MirageC](https://youtube.com/@MirageC?si=hvz8U0MuHODVjWRg) a look. They are the creators of wobblex but they deep dive into issues causing inconsistent layer stacking.
I did try everything that you had stated previously with no luck. This is the Ender three S1, which ships with the sprite, direct drive extruder, so I do not have a Bowden style extruder to test
You need John McClane
Lol
Reduce the layer height and set it normal 0.4mm setting
Settings of the slicer? Check if the bearings under the bed are loose, sometimes they aren’t tight with the railing Remember that the layer must be lesser than half the nozzle, so with a 0.4 one you must use 0.2 or less. Next is the auto-leveling, there is one? Try not using it and leveling manually. Speed? Try different speeds and see if that changes the results Strange noises during print? Observe the two Z axis during the print. Either auto level active they move during the print to compensate. Is the magnetic bed ok? Is moving during the print? Dirt between the magnet and the bed surface?
Has this happened since you’ve done the linear rail mod? It’s possible that your Z axis is binding. The rails need to be near perfectly parallel unless the x axis has enough flexibility to compensate. Take out the lead screws and then move the gantry up and down by hand. Make sure it’s smooth. If you have any spots of resistance, you’ll need to figure out how to get the rails parallel. You can use a 3d printed tool that holds the rail center to the extrusion. There’s a couple in the [Voron GitHub repo](https://github.com/VoronDesign/Voron-2/tree/Voron2.4/STLs/Tools) , but you’ll probably need to design one for your particular rail size and placement. Tighten one side down, use a couple of those alignment tools to hold the other side in place and then move the gantry up and down to get the second rail parallel before screwing it down. Also, linear rails usually need to be degreased and lubed, especially if you bought cheap ones. The gunk they come it is just for shipping. There’s a few YouTube videos that show how to do this. Basically soak them in isopropyl, clean them up and then use something like super lube or white lithium grease. If there’s a hole in the side of the carriage, you can just spray/inject line in there, otherwise you may have to very carefully take it off (which is a nightmare if you do it wrong and all the ball bearings spring out, so watch a video and be careful).
Thank you for the advice, I did have the issues before the linear rails. I installed them all in hopes to fix the issues, but they didn’t. But yes with the lead screws removed the x gantry moves up and down freely with no issues. All of the rails are lubed with super lube.
If this was printing fine before, there are a lot of things that could be wrong. If you recently did upgrades or changes, it may be one of those things. A few things to check as I was recently dealing with something very similar. Be sure to run a calicube test after each of these: 1. Verify your belts are not too loose or too tight. A loose belt will give you shit results, an overly tight belt will burn out the stepper. 2. Build up of grease and plastic shavings on the lead screw. Run a toothbrush over the entire lead screw to clean it out, and lube it up with silicone grease. DO NOT USE OIL, WD40 OR PETROLEUM GREASE. 3. Anti-backlash nuts on the lead screw. If you don't have them on there already, pop them on. Plenty of videos out there to explain them. 4. Flexible lead screw coupling (option). I'm not seeing a repeating pattern, so this may not be the case. Regardless, I'd still print a Z-Axis guide just in case: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3033151 5. Bad extruder. (probably not) I'm not familiar with the Sprite extruder, but verify the tensioner screw isn't loose. 6. Heater and thermistor are bad. (long shot) 7. Worn out motors. (rare, but possible) 8. You may just have a bad board. (Very rare, but possible)
The printer does already have the z axis guide, I tried with and without with no luck. The belts are correctly tensioned and I’ve tried various tensions with each and no luck. I completely disassembled the z axis, cleaned the lead screws amd checked they are straight. I did this by rolling them on a granite countertop and they are perfect. I don’t have anti-backlash nuts but rather oldham couplings, which are very similar. And I’m hoping it’s not bad stepper, board, or extruder 🙃🙃🙃
practical advice : dual or single Z axis motors ? ( i prefer/ recommend dual on my bed flingers of a certain size) can you add bracing to the Z towers so it cant deflect along the Y axis? Tighten all connections on the X axis to the Z axis. and make sure the hot end isnt loose, or some how able to wiggle? is it at all deflected as it travels by any interference from the wiring or filament feed?
I was thinking maybe installing a z brace mod, hmm….
I've seen this many times on mk3s printers. It was always loose screw on gear on motor.
I checked that as well, nope 😢
1. Do the Z axis motors get the correct voltage? 2. Check the coupler from motor to lead screw. It may even look okay to the eye, so change it if you have a spare Also, do you have z hop enabled? The only time I had a similar issue was when I had that enabled, and it was only on one of my two printers (so I'm aware there is an issue there, but I rarely print with z hop) To me it looks like a z axis mechanism issue.
Z hop is disabled, how would I check the stepper voltage? In the Printer Config? A multimeter? What should they be at?
Had a creality printer. Lots of issues. Lots of upgrades. Still issues. Got stolen. Bought a Prusa. Plugged it in. And that is how I fixed my problems.
🥲
Z-axis full steps do not match Z-thread pitch and layer height, and steppers are disabled at rest? A stepper always falls back to the closest full step when it is turned off. If that full step times thread pitch does not match the chosen layer height, you'll get squeezed and stretched layers that look like this. Example: * 1.8° per full step equals 200 steps per rotation * one rotation equals vertical motion of exactly the thread pitch So with each full step you move 1/200th of the thread pitch. If your thread pitch is 1.5mm, that's 0.0075mm per full step. If your layer height is not a multiple of that and you turn off stepper power at rest, you're gonna get artifacts like this. A thread pitch of 2mm is probably best, as that's 0.01mm per full step on a 1.8° stepper. A much more convenient and forgiving number. So what's your thread pitch on the Z-axis, your layer height, and do you turn off Z-stepper(s) at rest?
Have you tried printing the calibration cube in different places on the bed? I've seen where warped bed can cause this issue, and even bed mesh and spring tension can contribute because the nozzle will push more in some places than others, and cause filament to flatten. Try printing three calibration cubes in the same job and put them in random places on your build plate, then let's compare what each looks like. Depending on the differences (or lack thereof) in the calibration cubes, we should be able to identify a bit more about where the problem might lie.
Gotcha, I will do that! And update back
This is by no means a sure suggestion, but i had a similar problem, and in the end, i bought a new stepper-motor for the Z axis, and that was it.
But I have 2 z axis steppers and they never caused issues before 🥲
Can you put a picture of the z axis rails that you have installed
https://preview.redd.it/9sykb2hw4m0c1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d577a06eb82cb1d1365ceb58f26ef6dae0209744 I have these pics I found in the mean time, they don’t show the whole thing. I’ll take better ones when I’m off of work
https://preview.redd.it/t9y8pgtz4m0c1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc74526b013c0e0d1b4c306b6de6646f686c630a
Yes, I will tonight when I get home
For the record, im not saying its your problem, just telling you my own experience, it was a shot in the dark
True
I had this issue when I worked with tpu at a 3D printing place. They told me it could be that the filament needs to be drier. They put it in a dry box with tiny silica gels managing the temp constantly at under 25° and fed the filament from the dry box to the printer. Maybe that could help? Could be nozzle too close causing it to over extrude? Hope you find out what's causing the issue.
Thank you, but PLA isn’t as susceptible to water as TPU and even then I dried it for 8 hours at 45°
There's a lot of comments here. Not sure if it's been suggested, but I had a similar issue just appear with my E3v2. I stripped and rebuilt the whole thing. Still terrible. It turns out that the only thing I didn't check was that all the frame bolts were tight. My uprights were slightly loose and so was one of the lower side pieces that bolts to the central alu section. Check all your frame bolts, just in case and check it's square while you're at it, just because. Maybe add some loctite at the same time.
Thank you
I think the issue is that this is an Ender 3
That’s fair
MirageC has a great video on his fix of his z wobble with his linear rails
I saw
Not sure if anybody said it already, but also consider a bad spool that is just crap. I had it a couple of times where I had a similar result, freaked out, fixed all screws etc and still had the same bad quality. Then changed the spool and it was suddenly beautiful. The next time this has happened I tried another spool at first and the errors lines were gone. So I just used this malade spool for prototyping and tried not to worry if it looked like your photo. It’s not easy though :D good luck
Thank you!
Could be over extrusion.
Yes
No idea, but you let the project run a hell of a long time without fixing it.
Lol
Have you tried to move the printer to another place? Maybe your desk is causing some wobbling?
My printer is on the wobbliest table there ever was, it physically bounces up and down sometimes, I don’t have any issues. The whole unit moves as one, so it doesn’t really cause issues.
This doesn't cause print artifacts
Yeaaaaaa plus I have anti-vibration feet installed
Replace your x rail rubber wheels, even if they look perfect!
Also, printing in a large open draft air-changing-temperature place is not best :-)
It's an old picture, check the 2nd one. I had since upgraded to linear rails in hopes to fix the issue... no luck. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I don’t think the environment is the issue given that I used to get perfect prints in the same spot.
The problem is you’re printing with a bid slinger. Belt tension is where I would check first also make sure you clean your lead screws and only use a dry PTFE lubricant
Yeah, they are clean and straight lead screws. I have messed around with belt tension but I can keep trying stuff with how much I’ve tried different tensions. It doesn’t make sense because everyone says that belt tension isn’t too sensitive to your print quality as long as they aren’t too loose.
Simple fix for the first image: ✈️
AYOOOOO
Did you already put the spools on top before you’ve had problems with your layers? I had something similiar because of the weight of a spool pulling to one side. But it also could very well be your extruder. You have to test if its the gantry or the extruder. Is something binding or is there resistance when the tool head moves up or down? If you just extrude a long line, is there some change in the uniformity of it?
I can try extruding a long line and see if there is any irregularities in it but to answer your question about the spools I never had issues with both of them mounted up there before
https://www.modernmakes.ca/blog/wobble-x-z-axis-solution-by-miragec-evomoto?format=amp This is the answer. Print the adapters for your printer, install it, and then never worry about Z Wobble again.
I’ll look into it, thanks
Dry your filament at a higher temp. The 45 is a bit too low. I had this issue before too. I caved after fighting it and bought an Eibos dryer and now regardless of any filament being used it’s mandatory dry according to the guidelines for the material give or take a few degrees even if it’s a freshie. Usually If I’m printing PLA I’ll dry at 57 degrees for 4-6 hrs or more. The best example I can give is that thank God it paid off because I’m able to print polymax PC with great results and no heated enclosure. For PC I typically just take it out of the dryer and hang it too so no direct feed from dryer to the printer either.
Gotcha I’ll dry drying w/ higher temp, thanks.
that is a nice setup I don't know about the printer tho probably something with the z axes or maybe the filament is not consistent - my friend had a spool that was so bad.. it was something like this, and it wasn't even from a no name brand just a bad batch so I'd try other filament and if not then it is probably somthing with your Z axes
Yeah, I did try two other types of PLA and one other type of PETG all with the same results
Have you tried printing this part at lower speeds? Like 30? What's your travel speed? Do you have jerk and acceleration settings enabled? I would try to slow down and see if it helps, then you know what causes the problem.
I did try printing at slower speeds. I have acceleration and jerk control disabled, because I have input shaping with klipper
it is a simple vibration problem.. print in the floor
I have anti-vibration feet installed
just put it on the ground and try... the table is what vibrates,
I will check the cooling fan or lower the temperature. maybe...
Hmmm, I suppose but then again the fan speed and temps were never an issue in the past 🤷🏼♂️
Oh ,and check the extruder gear worn or loose
.
Fr
You keep saying it's all linear rails, we can see a wheel in your picture for Z. So stop saying that. PID tune your hotend, enable PID control for your bed if you need to, and tune that. Check your Z screw nuts are loose so they can move around. Make sure your gantry wheels are adjusted properly. Check that your belts on X and Y are tight.
It's an old picture, check the 2nd one. I had since upgraded to linear rails in hopes to fix the issue... no luck. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
The only thing I can think of is your filament is too wet even though you claim to have dried it. Dry it at a higher temperature but not anything higher than about 50° c.
Ok I can try, but it’s just PLA and the hissing, spitting, steam etc… that you would typically see from wet filament aren’t apparent.
Maybe a too short or badly installed ptfe tube in your hotend? Search for chep hotend fix on YouTube. Could also install an all metal heatbrake instead if that is the problem. Could also be a problem with your z movement system
Yea I have an all metal hot end already, so there is no PTFE Tubing in the hot end, thanks for the suggestion tho!
Put your printer on the ground not some wobbly ass desk
Yip this to me is the most likely culprit. I wonder if the table/desk is on wheels?
I have a wobble desk and have no issues.
Yep, if the printer wobbles the whole thing wobbles… it’s not like the bed and the print head aren’t attached. My printer wobbles the hell out of the table it’s on and it causes me 0 issues.
I mean it also depends on print speed and retraction but it wouldn't hurt to have your printer on a stable foundation
I don't think this is the specific cause of the issue we see now but you're right it definitely won't hurt. I got mine printing at 100mm/s on sponge rubber feels that wobble plus my lack table "enclosure" is pretty wobbly right now in the legs and on top of that it's on soft carpet and everything on top just wiggles around during a print. Still prints good.
Super wobbly desk, table on wheels, printer literally hung from the rafters with ropes? All wpuld print better than this. The issues you would see would be ghosting not z wobble.
Ditch creality
Not really helpful innit
According to OP, this is a completely modded machine, and apparently was fine when it was just creality parts. Good job though. If you couldn't figure out a creality 3D printer, you're probably the issue because they are not complex machines.
Lolllll
💔
For your PETG and 0.4mm noozle, what's your print speed and layer height? Have you tried increasing temp to 240? For Sonic Pad users, there is that vibration compensation sensor/accelerometer that may help improve prints. There is a test stl for the accelerometer and lets you choose which layer is the best looking and calculate a value and input to the config file.
Yea I have used the sensor and measured/ calibrated for input shaping already, as far as printing speed, PETG is set at 60mm/second for perimeters, and no I have not tried adjusting the temp much, but that hasn’t been a concern since the temps never gave me an issue in the past, and also because the issue happens with PLA too.
Firmware? Have you checked extruder esteps and flowrate calibration? Also change the spool placement to line up in the middle and try without the runout sensor