Prints lifting due to air flow

1

I’ve always known that drafts of any sort can cause your print to have issues whether it is with your print lifting from the bed or layer adhesion but I didn’t know how tiny a draft it takes.

I had recently moved my printer to my workbench to do some maintenance and to clear a jam. This is in the same room as where I normally keep my printer. After getting the hot end reassembled I will normally check my bed tramming and z-offset and print a small calibration print to make sure everything is working. This worked great and all was good, so being lazy I left my printer on my workbench and attempted to print some cable hold down clips. The print started to lift almost immediately so I cleaned the bed… same thing… I’m thinking what the heck, I lean back in my chair and notice the heat vent in the ceiling about 6 feet away… I couldn’t feel any draft and the furnace wasn’t on buuut…

I moved the printer off my workbench and back to where I normally have it and was able to print with no lifting at all. I plan on moving my printer to a different location eventually so I will probably be building some sort of enclosure just to keep the drafts off.

2

If you are using Cura, there is a hidden “Draft Shield” option. I’ve had pretty good success with it on larger prints.

3 Likes
3

I do use cura… I’ll have to go look for that option

4

I use Draft Shield (it’s in experimental) and I’ll use Ooze shield instead (in dual extrusion just cause it’s there if I’m using dual) in the winter months because my printers are in the cold drafty basement. They work well for me as well.

5

My basement is quite cool and caused a similar issue. I decided to build a low cost ($55) enclosure. I tried a draft shield but stumbled at the waste shield. I can see that every once in a while for something specific. Routinely it seems to me an enclosure is more feasible in the long run.

6

I think that’s the way I’ll go. This summer I’ll make something.