PEEK is an insulator, correct?
Having read through this thread again, I wonder if heat is getting to the sub frame and causing some of your distortion?
I read somewhere that over tightening on initial bed assembly could cause print leveling issues. Heat could certainly amplify the effects of that.
If PEEK isolates the bed from the frame it may resolve some of that distortion you are seeing. I would try to print a full bed layer again and compare your 3x3 grid and see if any improvements.
Through the entire thread, I haven’t read much about the adjustment of your PINDA. I’m curious if fidgeting with those adjustments have given you fits or not. If so, you might consider reinstalling the position. I read (somewhere else) that while you can calibrate with it grossly out of position, I wonder if there is such a thing as adjusting for too much “gain” on that one sensor to get desirable results? During my bed leveling calibration, I wasn’t happy with how much gain was required and moved my PINDA slightly so that it calibrated much more quickly than in its original position. If that doesn’t make sense, let me know.
Question: this is rabbit hole bait and could take us off topic so apologies ahead of time…functionally, your prints are good? Part corners aren’t lifting, warping, etc? Even with those small defects, parts functionally work. Sometimes with 3D printing good enough is simply just that.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Peek is an insulator, or at least an insulator compared to a stainless washer! Cheap M3 steel washers are stamped and have sharp edges, so I wanted to avoid any chance of the steel cutting through the coating on the PCB. As it turns out I used carbon filled PEEK which is claimed to be stronger and more moisture resistant. My thinking was I wanted a non sharp washer and a tiny bit of give. PEEK was the highest temperature plastic material that I could find easily in M3.
Haven't needed to change the position of the PINDA. I installed it according to the instructions (with a tie wrap for a spacer, if I recall) and haven't had an issue with it. Not really sure what you mean by gain. By moving slightly, do you mean closer to the base, or further?
On the rabbit hole question... Since replacing the thermistor (due to thermal anomaly error shutdowns) I have yet to get a successful real print. I did a small 1x1x1/2 print and it popped off the plate after getting to be 1/4" tall. Lots of spaghetti. Previously, prints were only ok on parts of the plate. Other parts had issues, ie they were too far away for correct adhesion. These problem areas matched (from memory) the areas that the bed visualizer said were too low. The first layer cal in the printer menu is not sufficient for me to dial it in, as it is only one tiny spot. (Before replacing the thermistor, I was able to get a somewhat ok first layer on about 50% of the plate. Large parts would lift on corners.). I'd like to be able to print larger parts, like needed for a printer enclosure.
I had set up the nylocks + peek months before replacing the thermistor. The plate was higher in the center and lower at the edges. I could get an ok print on the bottom center, if it wasn't too large. After the replacement of the thermistor, the plate appeared flatter but a lot more tilted, but I had not adjusted anything on the plate. But the printer had been moved and physically turned on it's sides to do the thermistor replacement.
If I am using a 0.4 mm nozzle and have a 0.2 mm "first layer thickness" setting, does that actually mean that that layer should measure 0.2 mm with a micrometer?
I don't like this eyeball stuff, the pictures that are provided online are not in focus, and I honestly cannot tell if a first layer is ok. I can tell if it is obviously bad, or obviously good, but not if good enough. It would be good to know some quantifiable values to be within a range, say pad thickness is between 0.199-0.238 mm. Have a Quantum micrometer, so physical measurement is preferred. I'd guess that many bracketed in focus photos ranging from bad to good, with gradations in between would work, but I have not found something like that.