A little advice on first prints

GunsOfNavarone

Registered
Registered
Joined
Jun 26, 2018
Messages
1,733
As some of you know, I just purchased a Creality Ender 5 pro. After a quick put together....bed level I slapped some 1.75mm PLA in a went to town. I noticed it dragged a fine string into the earliest stage so I aborted. I felt maybe the gap between head and bed were too small, slightly leaned it out and went again. Looked incredible! I used .05 and I’m happy. Went again, this time I used .2 and you can see the strings it pulled in and it just went to poo. These are my 1st two prints so I expect issues, but honestly, I have NO IDEA where to start trouble shooting...thank God for you gems!
 

Attachments

  • E264563F-79E4-43E6-B1E0-D8B567D484DB.jpeg
    E264563F-79E4-43E6-B1E0-D8B567D484DB.jpeg
    410.3 KB · Views: 214
  • D3989C0D-B066-40BA-82C6-89A4A1A12163.jpeg
    D3989C0D-B066-40BA-82C6-89A4A1A12163.jpeg
    343.6 KB · Views: 196
  • 9DF3B642-AA5A-4B90-A917-4C53C30B2FA7.jpeg
    9DF3B642-AA5A-4B90-A917-4C53C30B2FA7.jpeg
    294.8 KB · Views: 209
Stringing seems to happen a lot more on PLA+ filament
Check your extruder temperature , it should be around 200 to 215C
You can also set filament retraction in the settings
 
I don't have that printer, so I can only be general with things. Try increasing the retraction amount and lower the temperature a little bit. Running too hot can make strings more likely. PLA is usually pretty forgiving once you get close though.

Check out the bed leveling and make sure you have it good. There are a bunch of ways, but the manufacturer's usually have at least some basic directions and there are a ton of YouTube videos that cover it. The first layer being as close to perfect as possible makes a huge difference.
 
I don't have much history to go on, but the finer resolution worked WAY better than the fast/thick version. Any ideas based on that? I have no idea what reaction time is or what to do with it. I'll watch some videos, seems like there would be a better way than Creality shows, to where a pices of printer paper slightly drags. Like I said, the very first shot was slighty stringy and I lifted the nozzle SLIGHTLY. I would think a specific thickness gauge would be better, maybe I'll find one just slight thicker than a "piece of printer paper" and see what that does. That first part really is perfect, I'm happy with it and the ONLY difference is the layer thickness...but it took 6.5 hours! Don't want to have to always do that setting if possible.
 
The paper thing is largely because just everyone has some and it's remarkably consistent for something most people have sitting around the house. There's nothing wrong with using a feeler gauge or shim stock. You need the whole bed being the same distance from the nozzle.

What size is the nozzle? There is a limit on layer height based on the nozzle diameter. However, 0.2mm is not generally going to be considered high. I usually use a 0.5mm nozzle and 0.2mm is a higher quality setting.

If the first layer is consistent, let the print go for 5mm or so. Even if it's stringing. It will give you a better idea of how things are going.
 
You seem to be talking about the Z-offset, or how high the nozzle is from the bed? That's different from the layer height that you set in the slicer. You use the paper trick to get the nozzle to a close approximation of "zero" and then you can adjust that number as needed to get the right amount of "squish" on the first layer. The bead from the extruder should be slightly flattened as it's applied on the first layer. How much depends on the filament, so you have to experiment a little bit. PETG for example actually needs to be about .2 HIGHER than the your zero point. It doesn't like to be squished.

Can't say much more than that really as you're probably using Marlin on the printer, and I don't remember enough of that to tell you where it gets adjusted! :) Speaking of layer height though, the rule of thumb is 75% of your nozzle width is the limit. You can run into problems getting enough filament thru the extruder to keep up with demand. It's not a hard rule, just a place to start.

.2 layer height is what I usually use no matter which nozzle, and .4 when I'm in a hurry and using a .6mm nozzle.
 
here's some stuff to help you get the printer tuned:

extruder calibration

tuning your slicer

slicer setting for the first layer

Print quality trouble-shooting

5 ways to get your prints to stick
 
Thanks for the advice and directions guys, I don't mind learning it all, but where to start helps as the instructions are pretty much how to put it together....that's it. I'll try to put some tinkering time in tomorrow...as I am getting by with a decent final product, I'm knocking out 20 ER32 holders as fast as I can! Fine tuning is needed and I watched a video about a "110mm filament test" that looks helpful as well....
 
Last edited:
I admin a reddit channel and a discord server for 3D-printing (but with a different firmware), so I have a habit of lecturing that's expected over there, but maybe not here! LOL So I'm trying not to write a book, but there's a lot of calibrating that the printer company doesn't tell you about that will help a lot.
a basic list would be
  1. level the bed
  2. check each axis with say, 100mm of movement and make sure that's what it moves.
  3. set the height of the nozzle when at "zero" (z-offset)
  4. calibrate your extruder steps and flow rate (multiplier)
You may as well be learning machining again with all the stuff you have to know!
 
Thanks @MikeWi thats what I need. It’s crazy though, I watched that Australian guys’ video and I had no idea what he was talking about. I essentially just turned this thing on and pushed play. I don’t know the acronyms, the terminology, the software(s)....nothing. I really feel stupid. I’ll get there, but I’m walking....slowly, while others are sprinting. I know people are truly trying to help, but I’m reading stuff and watching videos truly sweating...like I’m listening to an unfamiliar language & will have a test in an hour!
 
Back
Top