My first print but something isnt right?

Hi everyone,
Before i start i just have to say how fantastic this forum is, there is so much information and the way people help / advise eachother is great.

Anyway, to the matter at hand, after months of research, sourcing all the parts, building and calibrating i have finally finished my Prusa i3. I've printed afew test cubes but as you can see from the pictures they are far from perfect. Im not sure where the issue is but something isnt happy. im printing 1.75mm abs and i ran the print at 0.2mm layer height with the extruder at 230 degrees and the bed at 110 degrees C


What i've got.
Prusa i3 Einstein variant
0.35mm J-head
Direct drive extruder
mk2 heated bed with glass and kapton tape
gt2 belts
ramps 1.4
marlin firmware
repetier host

What ive done
Calibrated X,Y,Z
Calibrated extruder
Tried single wall prints and the wall thickness comes out at 0.41
tightened belts / pulleys

While watching the print the base stays perfect on the glass but as its doing each layer the corners of the layers seem to be trying to lift, i played with the heat settings of the extruder between 220 - 240 degrees C but it didnt seem to make much difference.

Im at a loss of what to try next and im hoping someone could point me at some things to try

Kind regards
Max

It looks like "elephant foot" which is generally caused by the heated bed being too hot.
For ABS 110°C should be fine but I would try 100°C to see if it improves (or not).

---

Bob Morrison
Wörth am Rhein, Germany
"Luke, use the source!"
BLOG - PHOTOS - Thingiverse

Hi, thanks for your reply, ive never heard of that term but googling it threw up prints similar to mine, so i took your advise and lowered the bed temp to 100°C and ran the print again, sadly it had no affect, ive read some people saying that acceleration settings affected print quality, i based mine on the makerfarm i3 and adjusted the steps etc to suit my setup, could this have anything to do with it? ive copied some of my firmware and attached before by chance it is this

//// MOVEMENT SETTINGS
#define NUM_AXIS 4 // The axis order in all axis related arrays is X, Y, Z, E
#define HOMING_FEEDRATE {50*60, 50*60, 2*60, 0} // set the homing speeds (mm/min)

// default settings

#define DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT {80,80,4000,108} // default steps per unit for Ultimaker
#define DEFAULT_MAX_FEEDRATE {250, 250, 2, 22} // (mm/sec)
#define DEFAULT_MAX_ACCELERATION {1000,1000,5,1000} // X, Y, Z, E maximum start speed for accelerated moves. E default values are good for skeinforge 40+, for older versions raise them a lot.

#define DEFAULT_ACCELERATION 500 // X, Y, Z and E max acceleration in mm/s^2 for printing moves
#define DEFAULT_RETRACT_ACCELERATION 500 // X, Y, Z and E max acceleration in mm/s^2 for retracts

// Offset of the extruders (uncomment if using more than one and relying on firmware to position when changing).
// The offset has to be X=0, Y=0 for the extruder 0 hotend (default extruder).
// For the other hotends it is their distance from the extruder 0 hotend.
// #define EXTRUDER_OFFSET_X {0.0, 20.00} // (in mm) for each extruder, offset of the hotend on the X axis
// #define EXTRUDER_OFFSET_Y {0.0, 5.00} // (in mm) for each extruder, offset of the hotend on the Y axis

// The speed change that does not require acceleration (i.e. the software might assume it can be done instantaneously)
#define DEFAULT_XYJERK 20.0 // (mm/sec)
#define DEFAULT_ZJERK 0.4 // (mm/sec)
#define DEFAULT_EJERK 5.0 // (mm/sec)

your accelerations are still higher than the MF I3's.

Hi umdpru, do you think they are too high? i got those settings from downloading the firmware from makerfarm's website

Start out at 100-110 on your bed temp, then after the first layer, drop the bed temp down to 80. This should stop your warping. 80 is warm enough to keep the print attached to the bed.

The thing that works for me really well, is a thin coat of hairspray on the glass, this will reduce any curling at the corners.

Thanks, i lowered the bed temp to 80 with the first layer set at 110, its helped alot, nearly perfect in fact, the only issue i seem to have is that the layers dont seem to bond as well, i might try increasing the hotend temp, im currently set at 220, i'll increase it to 240 and see how that goes

Quote
Horse Renoir
Thanks, i lowered the bed temp to 80 with the first layer set at 110, its helped alot, nearly perfect in fact, the only issue i seem to have is that the layers dont seem to bond as well, i might try increasing the hotend temp, im currently set at 220, i'll increase it to 240 and see how that goes

I would raise extruder and 5°C ° increments when you get close might even be as close as one or 2° be careful don't go to hot it will create char and clog the hot end

That problem is caused by bed being too hot. I use to get that all the time as bed had not controller. So I put one on and now set the bed to 95c and never have a problem like that and yes my ABS sticks just fine at that temp.

Try to print more tan one piece. Try with 2 or 4. It is a temperature problem with your layers. They can not be cool when the next starts. So give time to be cool, while the extruder gones to the other piece.

Quote
Gaodesign
Try to print more tan one piece. Try with 2 or 4. It is a temperature problem with your layers. They can not be cool when the next starts. So give time to be cool, while the extruder gones to the other piece.

yup, second this. you could slow down the print speed but printing more than one would give better results.