AO-100 nozzle depth during print

I noticed that the nozzle seems too far low during printing, see video link below. is this because of the ABS expanding or a software issue that I need to research?

0.5mm nozzle, 3mm abs, measured and incorporated at 2.85, 225°c hot end 110°c bed, slowed default speeds down by 10mm/s, increased first layer to 0.5mm, reduced infill to 0.2.

Thanks in advance.

edit: video link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChD347WVkEc&feature=youtu.be

Your video link isn’t showing, but there can be a couple things that can cause nozzle dragging. If your part is lifting off the heated bed at all, it can get taller and cause the nozzle to hit the part. If you turn the printer on and start printing right as soon as it hits temperature, the hot end has not finished thermally expanding yet, and it will get slightly longer and can hit the part. 225°c is about 5°c lower than reccommended extrusion temperature. Never tried it personally at that temperature, but it could be the filliament isn’t expanding as much as it is expected because it is colder than it is expecting for that material.

Another possible cause is mechanical. Check your Z couplers and see if one or both of them are split and or loose. if thats the case, the layer height advance that it thinks it is performing may not occur all the way, leaving the nozzle lower than it should be.

it is normal to see some minor drag marks during printing unless you have the “avoid crossing peremeters” setting checked, which will add time to your prints.

Try printing 4 of those items, as it looks like the previous layers are still hot and wobbly, or enforce a minimum layer time in Slic3r under Filament Settings > Cooling

That’s a good idea… i’ve also got 2 fans i was thinking of setting up - is there a suggested way to mount the fans on the AO-100? I’d like to get this dialed in as much as possible so i can print the upgraded motor mounts and x-end clamp eventually.

This fan: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:19886 works well. Keep in mind that when printing with ABS you’ll rarely use the fan, maybe for bridging or smaller objects only, since cooling too quickly can cause splitting.

Thanks for your help.

Sure thing!

I had the same exact problem when I printed those simple drawer knobs I designed. I was using my clam knife to flatten the top of the knobs while the hot end was printing. :smiley:

Doing what Orias suggests:

Made a big difference. So much so that I’ve not felt the need to set up a cooling fan yet.

You need to check “Enable auto cooling”. I kept the default values for Cooling thresholds.

Thanks, i checked and enable cooling was already selected. I’ve been working on lithophanes and i’m in the process of making a larger one but here is one i did yesterday… if there is something inherently wrong, please let me know but i am really happy with how this turned out: http://i.imgur.com/eoKldhk.jpg

0.5 nozzle, 220 nozzle, 110 bed (+5 for first layer) 0.2108mm layer height including the first, slowed print speeds down by about 10mm/s from default Slic3r configs.

Wow, cool. I don’t think I’ve seen that yet.

One more… it’s been a learning experience and when i graduate to a smaller diameter nozzle, i’m sure the prints will be nicer with a slower print speed. http://imgur.com/a/IbJrE#1

That’s for sure, print speeds with a smaller nozzle grow rapidly. I used to use a 0.25mm nozzle, but my draft settings still tool hours to print a decent size print, now with my 0.50mm nozzle the same print takes 30m. I now have two nozzles, one with a 0.50mm tip and one with a 0.25mm tip. Takes me a few minutes to swap out the nozzle, once cooled.

I know this might be deviating a bit from the thread subject but what nozzle are you using and why did you choose it? I’m wanting to build a new printer that can do PP and maybe PVC eventually… still trying to learn about thermoplastics…

I have 2 of their nozzles, one is v1.3 and the other is there 2.0 version.