Totally new to 3D printing

I am a complete noob. I have tried several different settings but continue to have the same problem. I am using Inland filament and Simplify3D software with the LulzBot_mini_kdp_n0_nozzle_offset profile from this site. The mini is connected to a Windows 10 system with 8gb ram and an AMD A10 processor. Any advice on how to improve the print would be appreciated.

What material is the filament? Have you tried using the version of Cura that Lulzbot recommends? Is the filament 2.85mm? The quality of that print is like nothing I’ve ever seen, so it’s really tough to guess at what the problem could be. It’s always best to rule out the simple things first and trying out the recommended free software seems like a good start.

Just a wild guess here, but that looks like massive over extrusion. It’s always best to start as simple as possible with 3D printing. There’s a substantial learning curve to all this. My best suggestion is to go back to Cura and start with the simple settings and when you feel comfortable with your prints, move on to advanced settings and learn those inside and out. You have to learn the nuances of the printer, the software, and even the filaments. It seems like a lot at first but it becomes easier as you go. Once you’re familiar and comfortable with printing with Cura, then you can move to S3D, which has much more printing control features and more to learn. Study this link over and over. It will be your best friend with both Cura and S3D.

https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-troubleshooting/

Start with a test object like a small cube to print over and over until you get it dialed in and remember to take baby steps when adjusting print settings. Adjust one thing at a time and make small adjustments each time until the prints look like they should.
Best of luck on your journey.

Echoing what others have said. Start with Cura and use standard profiles. Do, Try, Learn. There’s a learning curve here. Once you’ve got a handle on what things do in cura (many many many months of learning at least) then you can try other slicing software. I personally use S3D now, but I had a year of learning and trying before I was ready to make the jump. It’s a powerful piece of software, but there’s less “hand holding” than in cura.

Jim

Thanks for the comments so far.

I tried Cura but got the same results with the PLA 2.85mm fliament. I reduced the extruder to 85% andd the problem continues.

I am continuing to experiment.

I went back to Cura as suggested and printed a 20mm test cube. Everything printed great except for the first few layers. The Z-axis measured 19.97, the x-axis measured 20 and the y-axis measured 19.81.
TIA

Did you print a skirt around the part before printing the main cube? If not, please do.


Take a pair of calipers and measure the thickness of the skirt piece and let us know what the thickness is. It would also help if you took a short video of the printer laying down the first layer. It would be extremely easy to diagnose then. :slight_smile:

-Jim

The skirt around the model ranges from .40 to .43 in different areas.

I also reprinted the tank and results are better but I am still having issues.

Video file is too large to send as requested.

This was printed with supports and there is a hole on the right-hand side where the PLA did not stick together.

Well, maybe it’s the filament. Have you tried any other filaments? I’d try some Poly Lite or ESun PLA ($6-9 a roll) or some ColorFabb nGen ($38 a roll). Those are all very easy to print filaments. Just a thought.

If it does the same thing with different filaments using stock settings in Cura, then maybe something is wrong with the printer.

Also make sure your Inland filament is 3mm diameter and not 1.75mm. You should only use 3mm (2.85mm) filament in Lulzbot printers.

So, we’re looking at the bottom of the cube and the tank in the pictures you posted? For the cube, I’ve never seen a first layer like that but it looks like your filament wasn’t extruding for the first half of the block. Have you tried adjusting the tension on the idler roller, either increasing or decreasing. You might also need to clean your hobbed gear if you’ve been grinding. As far as the tank is concerned, if we’re looking at the bottom of the print, something must be fishy with the supports because it looks like everything is bridging.

One thing that like to do before a print is bring the hot end up to temperature in cura and manually extrude material to make sure everything is flowing properly before printing. Perhaps you’ll gain some insight from trying that. Try messing with the hot end temp and the idler tension while extruding into mid air.

Hello Stuntz,

It appears that you may be dealing with a file issue.
Why don’t you send the stl file into support so that they can look it over and see what may be going on.
If you will let them know the filament you are using and the settings, such as layer height and temp, they can see what may help.