I have a TAZ 6 that I’ve been printing with for over 11 years. Recently I’ve been having some larger prints peeling away (warping on edges) from the build plate during printing. I’m using an M175 V2 running 1.75mm PLA filament on the past few prints. The exact same head and filament printing smaller items have no issues. I’ve had the same issue with my SE 0.5mm head running 2.85mm filament as well, with various spools of PLA.
I’ve read something about adjusting the first layer to get a “squish,” but I haven’t found any specifics on how to do that. I’ve tried cleaning my build plate completely with iso alcohol, I’ve tried a glue stick, etc. My PEI looks solid, so I’m really at a loss what to try and fix this print failure.
I’m printing with the same temps that Cura LE has picked for these various filaments. My PLA is printing around 210C with the bed at 60C.
The first layer “squish” is usually adjusted by adjusting the Z-offset. The M851 will show and/or adjust the Z-offset (if the offset is negative, making the number closer to zero will move the nozzle away from the bed).
You can add a brim to your larger prints and/or try a slightly higher bed temperature. Also don’t turn on the part cooling fan until you have a few layers down.
If you have success with smaller prints, but not larger, first thing is, what shape? A long rectangle is one of the trickiest things to print since all the shrinkage from cooling is in a single direction.
Beyond that, there’s the issue with leveling on the Taz 6 from the corner measuring method. If you have a little bit of plastic residue on the nozzle, it can screw up the first 1-2 corners, with the other 2 being ok. If you are only printing in the center, the z offset may been adjusted to compensate for the measurements being off, but that only works in the center of the bed.
If you can post some pictures of the top and underside of that first layer, it will tell us a lot about the situation.
I appreciate the inputs! I’m going to attach a few photos of the one item that came off (a second one also came for mid-print, same sort of size and shape). It’s printing in the center of the build plate. Looks like I need to upload one at a time.
Note I’ve never done much of anything with my build plate except an occasional cleaning with iso alcohol. Never sanded it or anything else. I’ve tried a glue stick before, especially with ABS and PETg.
I haven’t adjusted my Z-offset before either. And the printer is in a room with a pretty stable temperature.
I appreciate all the inputs. I did a bunch of test runs to adjust my Z-offset. I think it’s better, yet I’m still having some trouble with material lifting off.
This time though, I was able to finish the print that kept failing. I used a skirt this time which I think helped it survive, but barely. I’m attaching photos showing it did lift off. Also, when the print was finished, I barely had to touch it to remove it. So it was really to fall off.
I’m really wondering if my PEI is worn out? I cleaned the bed with iso alchocol again prior to this print. No gluestick this time. I remember years ago that PLA would be effectively welded to this bed after printing. Now I look at it wrong and it pops off. It’s pushing 11 years old, but doesn’t “look” like it’s bad. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Lower the z offset (more negative) at least another 0.05mm. I would then keep lowering it by 0.01 until it looks right. But do a simple test print like a 50x50x0.25 cube so you don’t waste too much filament in the process.
