Newbie needs help

Hello everyone, first time posting here. I have a Lulzbot Taz 6 in my possession and I can’t, for the life of me, dial it in. It prints okay on small items but larger items (meaning it takes up a majority of the bed) are coming out unusable. These are the issues that I’m having…

  1. the right side of the bed (as you’re looking at it from the front) prints thinner than the right on the initial layer. Nearly .5mm thinner. While the right side prints too thick and often will not adhere to the bed surface. I’m using a new PEI sheet at the moment. The Z-offset adjustments do not seem to help until it hits the 3rd layer or so.

  2. while performing many of the troubleshooting steps I found on here, I’ve noticed that there seems to be an OVER correction to the auto bed leveling. I’m using a .203mm feeler gauge on top of the right front corner washer and that has assisted, but not completely corrected the initial layer problem.

  3. my layers are inconsistent throughout the print. It can print beautifully for about 5-10 layers and then it’s as if it just gives up on accuracy.

  4. I am having some warping issues. After the initial layers (about 4) I have to manually turn down the bed temp to prevent edge curling.

I have used these printers in the past and have had some pretty great product come out of them. Not sure if I have a lemon or if this is just me chasing a rabbit down the hole for a simple fix.

I am running Marlin v1.1.5.44 single head extrusion.
Material: PLA (205-220)
Temp settings: 206-210
Bed temp: 60 and under
And all Cura settings are on recommended until I can find out what it causing my initial layer problem.

I’m going to attempt to post a pic of the test tugboat to illustrate the issues. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Have you tried the bed leveling procedure found in this post?
https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/solved-taz-6-auto-leveling-is-0-5mm-off-now-perfect-to-0-01mm/6250/1 I highly recommend it!

It also looks like you may be over extruding. Check your e-steps. In fact, find the tests the help you calibrate your e-steps. If you send 100mm of filament through your nozzle you should measure 100mm going through the nozzle and not more or less.

What’s your flow rate? Plastic expands as it cools. I use 90% flow for PLA, that gives me better dimensional accuracy than 100% flow.

Here is a link to the Extruder Calibration Guide that JoeBowler was referencing: https://ohai.lulzbot.com/project/fine-tune-mini-extruder/calibration/
That does show the layout for Legacy Cura, so the layout for the Cura that you are working with will probably be a bit different. If you let us know the version of Cura you are working with I could provide more accurate directions to locate the Console where you would input the GCode commands listed in that guide. Also, on the subject of software/firmware, you list your firmware version as being 1.1.5.44 and I wanted to let you know that based on that firmware it seems like you are most likely using a rather out of date version of Cura so it may be a good idea to update your Cura software and firmware to one of the more current and stable versions.

[/quote]Also, on the subject of software/firmware, you list your firmware version as being 1.1.5.44 and I wanted to let you know that based on that firmware it seems like you are most likely using a rather out of date version of Cura so it may be a good idea to update your Cura software and firmware to one of the more current and stable versions.
[/quote]

The firmware I listed is for the Lulzbot itself. As far as I’m aware, that is the most up-to-date version available. I’m using Cura 3.6.8. I’m also pretty sure that is the most recent version as well. I’m going to try the estep calibration in a moment. I printed off a larger part last night and found that I have many layer shits happening as well. Something I did notice, is that my extruder has some play in on the mounting bracket. Not the gantry, but the bracket. Because of where the screw hole is, it doesn’t fully seat in the bottom portion and it allows it to move left and right. Is it not supposed to be in a completely fixed position?

Yes, the extruder is supposed to fit snugly at the bottom of the mount – that’s why the hole for the screw that hold it in place is slotted. If your’s won’t seat all the way down, you’ll need to figure out why, and resolve that. (It might be that one of the two – the extruder or the mount – is out of tolerance, and you might be able to resolve it by careful use of a file to make the hole longer, so it fits snugly… or, you might find that the mount is cracked or damaged, or the extruder is, and that needs to be fixed by replacing the damaged part.)

Alright, I really appreciate the guidance everyone has given thus far. This is what I have done…

-leveled the X-gantry
-updated software and firmware versions to the latest available.
-secured the extruder head
-cleaned the ever living heck out of all parts(nozzle, washers, bed, guide rods, etc).
-calibrated E-steps (thank you for that one. It was definitely off).
-manually entered filament diameter
-started using a glue stick to assist with bed adhesion.
-messed around with the z-offset.

After all of this, this is what is coming out now. I have a 15% overlap and temp settings are within the manufacture’s listed range for the filament. Where do I go now?



What size is you nozzle? Is it the standard .5 mm or something larger? It still looks to me like a lot of filament is still coming out, as if you’re using a large nozzle diameter or a worn out nozzle. Especially if the nozzle is brass, brass is one of the softest metals used for nozzles. You said you have a TAZ 6 in your possession, as if you acquired it used from someone. It might be worth getting a new .5 mm nozzle. I usually get the Swiss plated nozzle for $15 from Amazon. Also, with PLA & ABS you don’t need to use a glue stick, certain other filament materials need a gluestick as a release agent cause they stick to the PEI surface too well, ninjaflex is an example of a filament that requires a gluestick on your PEI sheet.

What’s your flow rate set to? 100% or greater? I found 90% to work for me for PLA and ABS. What’s your Z-offset? Mine is set to -1.52 for PLA & ABS. The washers on the corner of the bed are about 1.6mm thick, so I’m my gap between the nozzle and bed is about .08. That’s what I found workds best for me.