Why is this happening to me (dragging PLA when printing bigger ground fill)

My hotbed+kapton and PLA nozzle (0.5mm) is fine tuned.
I've tried to print the first layer with 0.2mm (Z) and up to 0.4mm. (the usual extrusion height)

Still, any big print with bigger ground area to fill, seems to end up in a huge mess (like the attached image)

the "solid block" test , and "thin wall test" works perfectly every time, - nozzle starts to drag material sooner or later.

Try turning up your feed rate in the firmware.
Plz provide complete specs of your system



Dan

Thanks - what specs should I provide ? machine model ? - sfact settings ?
what's a good feed rate ? mine is 10mm/s - rpinting perimeter at 5mm/s , inside at 6mm/s

Some tips:

Adjust z endstop height or increase first layer start height.
Level the bed.
Make sure the bed isn't uneven (printing on glass is awesome).
Lower the speed (first layer).
Increase bed temperature.
Run checks to see the flow is consistent (clogged drive mechanism etc).
Increase hot end temperature (on first layer only, optionally).

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-Nudel
Blog with RepRap Comic

Type of machine
Type of extruder + extrusion temp
Type of headed bed + temp

Extrusion rate in firmware could help.

Oh here's one thing to try as well... sand your tape with very fine paper and clean with acetone.

looks to me like parts of it are not sticking down as they should, are you cleaning the tape with anything as even finger marks can prevent sticking? I clean my glass with methylated spirits and kitchen towel, or you could try acetone

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Experimenting in 3D in New Zealand

Also help to oil your nozzle to make the plastic less likely to stick to it.

Specs:
It's a modified (extra big, but currently with standard hotbed) Prusa Mendel.
Wades geared extruder, and this bolt, gives usually plenty grip until it for some reason slips: [xyzprinters.com]
I am using this hotend: [wiki.2printbeta.de] - but threaded a hole, and mounted the thermistor be fixed using a screw. - Printed at 185degree and up to 200degree to compensate for distance between thermistor and printhead (PLA did not get brittle)

Heated bed temp is 60degree, aluminum sheet covered by kapton tape, cleaned with acetone, but not sanded.

travel speed 10mm/s , edge/first layer 5mm/s , normal speed 6mm/s descenter1

I just found a major problem:

When releasing the extruder's grip on filament, I see that any few second long pause gets the filament stuck !
It's like: I feed the extruder by 2-5mm/s using fingers - it extrudes just fine - then stop for 3-10 secs to simulate longer travel distance (like my prints have) - then, significantly more force is needed to move the filament down.
I pulled out the filament few times, there are notches and uneven surfaces on it - on the part that have been 6mm above the nozzle.

Thanks for the nozzle info.
I reduced the nozzle temperature, reducing jams. (it was on the higher side to improve sticking to hotbed.)
Then I sanded the hotbed (kapton)
Will lubricate the nozzle as advised - thanks.

Is your print surface flat? usually aluminum prints beds are uneven unless you are using tooling plate (around 1/4 thick)

If you continue to have problems with your hotend you could try a makergear.. I use them and they work great!