I’m quite new to 3D printing and just bought a Ender 3 V2 Neo. I’ve an issue when the skirt is printed - it is so thin it is translucent and cannot be peeled off. Lots of scrubbing to get it off the magnetic plate that comes with the printer. Settings are in default. Has anyone had this issue? Any idea for a more efficient way to remove this thin skirt?
This translucency also appears when I select to print a brim, however strangely only in a small portion of the brim (around the upper left to left edge of the brim).
ok not to be little you but people who are new don’t always think of that
im to new to printing to really help you,
Maybe @Jason or @Matthew can lend an opinion
I had a similar issue when I first started about 4 months ago. I have an Ender 3 S1 PLUS. The print would pretty much fuse to the bed and literally had to scrape it off and now is permanently etched into the bed. I think the bed is actually too good.
Have you tried printing in a different location on the bed to see if it the same result?
I started using a glue stick (Elmer’s Xtreme - 40g) and then clean it and apply fresh after about every 3rd or 4th print depending on the condition. I have never had that issue again.
I plan on buying a PEI plate at some point in the near future as I understand they are far superior to what come with the Enders.
It is possible that your print surface itself maybe warped?
I would see if I could flip or even rotate the build surface and reprint the same item. If you get the same defect in the same area I would vote bed leveling, If the defect moves to a different area then something else is going one.
Welcome to our forum, glad that you decided to come on over!
The skirt should be able to be peeled right off without any problems. Is the translucency of the skirt consistent throughout or does it change? Has the printer worked in the past, or has this always been an issue? Would you mind trying to upload some pictures, the easiest way is to upload them to something like google drive or onedrive and then post the link to them here.
Thanks for all your comments. I’ll address the various items separately. As background, I’m using PLA+ with 205 deg C hotend and 60 deg C plate. Rest of settings are per Creality Slicer profile. The trial boat and rabbit prints came off very well. I tried a raft with a print and it came off the plate absolutely clean. I’ve tried brims and the areas from 12 o clock to 8 o clock peeled off nicely, but not the rest of brim. See photos. My last print is with a skirt and somehow even the first layers (as support) got stuck on the plate. I’m cleaning the plate with 91% IPA each time - this is getting to be a drag.
Blenky - I’ve not tried test printing on top of other areas. That’s worth trying.
Jason - That’s another great test idea.
Matthew - Photo 1 is of a print with brim. You can see the different color opaqueness around the print - it is not due to photo lighting. Photo 2 (Metro card) is a part of a brim that was so thin I couldn’t even scrap or peel it. Had to reapply IPA generously and rub to get bits off at a time. Photo 3 is the latest print - skirt with tree supports in middle that both wouldn’t peel off.
Appreciate any ideas you may have for testing the printer settings and cleaning the plate. I’m impressed with the print details off a 76cm figure, but the cleaning efforts is numbing my excitement.
Every time I level my bed I keep manually adjusting the four corners over and over and over until I can check each corner and not need any further adjusting of the slight friction of paper between bed and nozzle. This is important. Then I set the Z offset. Last I auto level. I use a CR-10 Smart Pro. After I very carefully level I may print a Full bed leveling pattern. I like this one:
While printing the test pattern I will watch for just the right amount of thickness around the whole thing. If all of it is too thick or thin I will adjust the nozzle height. If corners are not equal and of the right thickness I will use the wheels to adjust corners and sides. After I have just the right thickness around the whole thing I have excellent results when printing. Laying down a rope is to thick and Opaque is to thin. If the lines are not connecting with gaps between them that is to thick. Just practice and you will learn this.
I prefer to print using a Brim and I watch the brim every print for the same issues as leveling. If the whole brim is thin or thick I adjust the nozzle or if corners are different I adjust wheels. The Brim is my best friend when 3d printing. It tells me how level my printer is at any given time.
I may have to repeat the whole process of leveling on a regular cycle, could be every 5 prints or more. The brim will keep you informed as to how this is at present.
Thanks for this information, a picture says 1000 words! Do you have any sort of BLTouch installed on your machine, it really looks to me like your first layer is set to be a little too low. When you start a print can you hear any sort of grinding or scraping coming from the nozzle hitting the bed during the first layer? And during the first layer do you hear any clicking noises coming from the extruder?
Sorry for the late response; work has been very busy last couple of days.
Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Found my issue - I guess I did set my hotend a little too close to the bed. I repeated the bed levelling again, this time allowing just barely a friction between the paper and the hotend and going around the bed three times plus plus. Did a bed level test print (the one with the 9 small squares) and the results were good. Peeled right off without breaking a sweat. Now I’m ready to print again.
Just had the whole brim seem to thick and not closing the gap between lines after a number of prints. Reset the Z offset only and did not level just to play and learn. Immediately started excellent printing again. This seems to be a regular issue which means it may be normal. Watch the brim, it tells me when I need to address nozzle height etc.
You are correct. the brim and/or a skirt gives you an opportunity to tweak your nozzle height or adjust a levelling wheel if you have a spot that is not sticking.
I usually rub my finger on the skirt to make sure it is sticking and if it moves I adjust the wheel for that area. I typically used brim for small prints that have minimal surface area and skirt for large prints that have a lot of surface area.
I second everything said in this comment! Bed leveling is only an aid in leveling the bed, as much as we may wish it was, its not perfect every time. So usually when I start my print I do some slight adjustments to make sure that everything is hunky dory!
If you find you need a bit more time to tune the first layer, you can always turn the amount of passes for the skirt up in the slicer which will give you more time to mess around.
