Submitted 3 days ago by user_6282638282@sopuli.xyz to 3dprinting@lemmy.world
https://sopuli.xyz/pictrs/image/8983925e-2b49-4738-a329-77260f3057d5.webp
I printed a model in PETG shortly after a PLA print, which was fine, and it damaged the plate as shown. What’s odd is I’ve printed this same model with this same filament on this printer and it was fine. The temps in the gcode are the same between those prints.
Is this a Z-offset issue? Would PLA and PETG require different Z-offsets on the same printer?
Yeah, this happened to me when my Z offset was too low. RIP your bed and raise your offset. Also check how your nozzle looks after that. Looks rough
From the pic it looks almost like the first layer is still on the plate, or is it etched on? I doubt it’s the latter or your nozzle would be completely obliterated (and it would’ve made a god-awful noise the entire time). Sorry for the dumb question but, are you sure it’s not just filament with incredibly strong adhesion? Does it stop a scraper if you hit an edge?
Yes it’s definitely “etched” into the textured surface of the plate, although I don’t have a microscope to confirm, it feels that way. There’s no edge to catch with a scraping tool. And you can see in the photo from my previous reply that material is embedded in the bottom of the print!
It’s possible it made god-awful noises, because it’s in a shop and because this was a “repeat print” I just set it and walked away.
Then I would suggest checking if you have filament g-code set in your slicer, I guess it’s possible the z-stop was calibrated with a z-offset applied, and when it was removed by setting PLA the nozzle tried to go slightly below 0. What firmware are you running?
MxRemy@piefed.social 3 days ago Does that bed have a PEI coating? PETg can stick to PEI so well that the combination is relatively well known for destroying beds. Plenty of people still print that way without issue, but it depends on having your first layer really well dialed in, or putting some adhesive between the two.
I’ve been trying to figure out what the Ender 3 V3 SE comes with by default, simply so I can order another. But it definitely has a textured coating of some kind.
What printer? Is this a residue that is raised, or a depression on the plate, or just a surface finish reflectivity change?
Sorry, I edited the post to add: Creality Ender 3 V3 SE, with the stock plate.
It does indeed feel like a depression. Or more accurately, it feels like the texture surface has been removed. This seems to be confirmed by dark residue on the bottom of my print, which I can only see because I happened to be using a light filament. Image
I also destroyed my Ender 3 V3 SE’s stock plate with petg. It just sticks too well to petg, I was only able to reliably print petg when I changed plates.
I guess this may indeed be a z issue, those diagonal lines could be when the nozzle moved from corner to corner without laying material down.
I don’t think this has anything to do with the material or temperature or anything like that.
I’m not overly familiar with the Ender, but maybe run a bed levelling protocol or other calibration option? The plate is probably toast unfortunately.
@user_6282638282 I've had similar problems. It may be the coating has been removed from the bed. It happens when filament sticks too much, PETG is pretty bad for it. I tend to leave my bed to cool so the piece pops off itself. That doesnt always work. Following other advice to reduce adhesion like bed temp, offset etc may work.
I didn’t even time it to remove right after completion, that’s just when I came back to the shop after dinner. But it did feel warm, so maybe it had just finished. Judging by the print, though, it was pretty thoroughly embedded… I’m not sure any amount of cooling would have helped, but now I’ll never know!
@user_6282638282 yeah, when its stuck hard sometimes it just wont come off. Ive killed a couple of beds like that. Basically do the opposite of getting better adhesion! Thinner first layer, lower temps, larger nozzle offset etc
cecilkorik@lemmy.ca 3 days ago Maybe it’s an opportunity to upgrade to something that’s not an Ender :) The bed leveling/z-offset issues on them are a nightmare. I did the same to mine. I lowkey think that’s why people recommend them as a first printer, because they know you’re inevitably going to destroy the bed and by that time you’ll have decided whether it’s worth continuing in the hobby with a better printer or whether you hate it completely by that point.
I have an ender I inherited and put a ton of mods on.
It absolutely sucks for consistency on z-offset.
The bed is shit, the auto leveling is inconsistent, even not leveling it seems to not home properly every time.
I want a better printer but have been too cheap to buy something reliable. It’s at the point I really want to print something that I have to spend so much time making sure it actually gets the first few layers it’s usually not worth the effort.
What would you recommend instead?
I’d not heard anything negative about Ender, and until now have not had issues. I even printed this giant-ass computer case and fan shrouds with good success: printables.com/…/1616167-amd-bc-250-case-atx-psu-…
I think the problem in this case is my inexperience, and unearned confidence due to previous success.
I really like my U1. I also have an Anycubic S1 and have destroyed many build plates. The U1’s heated bed is a big plate of machined steel with magnets embedded. My S1 is heated bed is plastic with a soft magnetic plate. I’ve done a lot of petg and pctg on my U1 with auto level every time and it hasn’t failed yet.
I went straight to Prusa, which mostly protects me from my own ignorance and gives me way more confidence to actually learn and experiment with different materials, it’s worth every penny, haven’t looked back. YMMV. I too destroyed my Ender’s bed with inexperience. More than once. Being cheap, I suppose that’s why it isn’t such a tragedy. The other option is to just replace the print bed and carry on. I went through about 3 before I gave up on Ender. Still on my first Prusa Satin sheet 3 years later. I flip it occasionally just to even out any wear and tear.
dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Are you sure you didn’t scrape your nozzle against the plate the whole way? I’m looking at those long diagonal lines there that appear to be travel moves.
You will have to adjust your Z offset every time you print at a different build plate temperature or appreciably different nozzle temperature, because thermal expansion will cause the plate and nozzle to grow in size slightly the hotter they get and that will take up some or in extreme cases all of the gap.
I have a different set of Z offset presets for every material I print with, because the temperatures are all different.
user_6282638282@sopuli.xyz 3 days ago
It’s possible that it was scraping… my printer is in a detached shop and because it was a repeat print, I though it was all good and walked away.
I had some trouble with the printer auto bed-leveling before which would leave the Z-offset too high and I had multiple failed prints due to poor/no adhesion. So I’ve made a habit of doing auto-leveling and then reducing the Z-offset .06mm to .08mm. I last did this with PLA since that’s what I use most. It did not occur to me to do that when changing materials, since I don’t recall it being a problem before… but it’s possible I never did this exact sequence before.
Thanks for confirming.
dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I think it’s a sound theory then, that your nozzle scraped the surface off of your build plate. Both the plate and nozzle are now probably roached. On the bright size, nozzles are cheap. The plate, less so.
I have learned not to allow my printer to auto-level with every single print. It’s just as likely as not to get it wrong, and unless you have major league mechanical issues the relationship between your plate and nozzle should not be changing from print to print except when you change temperatures. You should be able to generate one Z offset preset per temperature combination and use it repeatedly until you make some other mechanical change to the printer such as replacing the nozzle or replacing the build plate.
Also watch out for having debris trapped underneath the steel build plate and its magnetic base, which will cause nozzle crash issues. Scraps of black filament are the classic way this happens, since they’re functionally invisible in poor light against the black magnetic surface.