PLA curling at the nozzle

[GAP]

After 20 minutes setting up the bed level I tried to print a file and it failed.
Tried another file and success.
Tried to repeat printing the same file again and fail
Same settings nothing else touched, time between prints less than 5 minutes.

This is an example of what is causing me so much frustration the success at the bottom the fail at the top.
The PLA was just dragged off the bed by the nozzle and this while printing the brim.

[ge_rik]

Steve may well have identified an issue. If the object you are trying to print is floating above the build plate by 0.1mm or so, then it could result in the problems you are encountering. Similarly if it's base isn't perfectly level or flat then you'll get the same problems.

In TinkerCAD, you can ensure a shape is grounded by clicking on it to highlight it and tapping the D key (D for Down).

I use Cura which allows me to import several objects and orient them on the bed. There's a button on it called "Lay flat" which ensures the highlighted object is lying flat on the bed.

As Steve says, keep it simple. Try printing a few downloaded simple individual shapes without messing about with them beforehand. Steve might spot if there's an issue with the Gcode files you've sent him.

Rik

[Jimmyb]

I was considering buying a printer last year, but space, time, and what I would really need it for stopped me.
Having read through this saga of yours, it has been inspiring as to some of the issues a novice can encounter. I do have sympathy with you, as I too have had issues when engaging in a new (to me) endeavour, but eventually the issues are resolved, and months later you wonder what the fuss was about.
So keep persevering I am sure it will all "come clean in the wash", and thank you for sharing your frustrations it has been very enlightening

[-steves-]

I am not sure about anyone else but when I got my first 3D FDM printer, I could not get anything to stick to the build plate, after a couple of days (about 30+ attempted prints) I finally figured that I had not set the Z offset / Z level correctly and my attempt at levelling was horrendous. As time goes on, you just get a feel for the manual levelling and as Rik says, you look at the skirt or brim as it's laying down and adjust the bed as and when needed, just by a tweak, I actually did one of mine this morning as the front was starting to sag a little and it wasn't going sticking like it should, so I moved the wheels just a mm at the front and moved the build plate up, just a tiny fraction, all fixed for another few prints, until something else goes wrong

[ge_rik]

I've just been looking at the Creality website. I'm thinking of Christmas coming and see their cheapest Ender 3 (the DIY version) is just £130. Very tempting. I also noticed this picture in the blurb

It shows the springs being very tightly compressed which is what Steve suggested. Are yours as compressed as this?

Rik

[GAP]

Rik yes my springs were compressed as that but as I adjusted the bed they became looser and did not provide enough tension on a couple of addjustment wheels.
I replaced the original springs with the one I bought and that problem went away.
I levelled the bed and again tried to print but with no success.

With the bed now level I then sat and thought about what I was seeing and I came to the conclusion that I may have an adhesion problem and not a levelling issue.
I had a checklist of things to try and the next item up 'was use glue to improve adhesion' I looked around some office suppliers and newsagents for "Pritt" as recommended by RIK but could not find any.
Next I looked on the net for something close and found "UHU" glue stick was a close alternative, so following a raid on SWMBO's craft supplies I had a UHU stick and smeared the glue over the print bed and tried a print, success!, so next up was to see if the result was repeatable and again, success!, 2 more prints of 2 different files. There was an issue with one file in that it was wider than the other 2 so it was over an area where there was no glue.
This has reinforced that I may now be onto something so the next move is to cover the plate with glue and try to reprint the file I sent to steve and see how that goes.
I am familiar with the "D" button in tinkercad after seeing Rik's post about it.
With 20/20 hindsight maybe I should have moved onto using glue earlier but was reticent to do something to a brand new printer that I was unsure about.
I am hopeful that I am now on my way to enjoying 3D printing.

[Jimmyb]

Rik yes my springs were compressed as that but as I adjusted the bed they became looser and did not provide enough tension on a couple of addjustment wheels.
I replaced the original springs with the one I bought and that problem went away.
I levelled the bed and again tried to print but with no success.

With the bed now level I then sat and thought about what I was seeing and I came to the conclusion that I may have an adhesion problem and not a levelling issue.
I had a checklist of things to try and the next item up 'was use glue to improve adhesion' I looked around some office suppliers and newsagents for "Pritt" as recommended by RIK but could not find any.
Next I looked on the net for something close and found "UHU" glue stick was a close alternative, so following a raid on SWMBO's craft supplies I had a UHU stick and smeared the glue over the print bed and tried a print, success!, so next up was to see if the result was repeatable and again, success!, 2 more prints of 2 different files. There was an issue with one file in that it was wider than the other 2 so it was over an area where there was no glue.
This has reinforced that I may now be onto something so the next move is to cover the plate with glue and try to reprint the file I sent to steve and see how that goes.
I am familiar with the "D" button in tinkercad after seeing Rik's post about it.
With 20/20 hindsight maybe I should have moved onto using glue earlier but was reticent to do something to a brand new printer that I was unsure about.
I am hopeful that I am now on my way to enjoying 3D printing.

Sounds very promising, seems you may just have cracked it.

[GAP]

Rik yes my springs were compressed as that but as I adjusted the bed they became looser and did not provide enough tension on a couple of addjustment wheels.
I replaced the original springs with the one I bought and that problem went away.
I levelled the bed and again tried to print but with no success.

With the bed now level I then sat and thought about what I was seeing and I came to the conclusion that I may have an adhesion problem and not a levelling issue.
I had a checklist of things to try and the next item up 'was use glue to improve adhesion' I looked around some office suppliers and newsagents for "Pritt" as recommended by RIK but could not find any.
Next I looked on the net for something close and found "UHU" glue stick was a close alternative, so following a raid on SWMBO's craft supplies I had a UHU stick and smeared the glue over the print bed and tried a print, success!, so next up was to see if the result was repeatable and again, success!, 2 more prints of 2 different files. There was an issue with one file in that it was wider than the other 2 so it was over an area where there was no glue.
This has reinforced that I may now be onto something so the next move is to cover the plate with glue and try to reprint the file I sent to steve and see how that goes.
I am familiar with the "D" button in tinkercad after seeing Rik's post about it.
With 20/20 hindsight maybe I should have moved onto using glue earlier but was reticent to do something to a brand new printer that I was unsure about.
I am hopeful that I am now on my way to enjoying 3D printing.

Sounds very promising, seems you may just have cracked it.

Unfortunately no; today 7 attempts (same file) with only 1 success no change between attempts but the filament just would not stick.
This hit and miss result is now getting beyond a joke.

[ge_rik]

Are you redoing the glue between prints? If you are printing the same file, the glue will need to be renewed where the part was printed. After a while, I remove the glue completely and start again (I use a broad bladed chisel to remove it).

I spread the glue in overlapping stripes in one direction and then do another series of stripes at 90 degrees to make sure the glue is evenly spread.

Rik

[GAP]

Are you redoing the glue between prints? If you are printing the same file, the glue will need to be renewed where the part was printed. After a while, I remove the glue completely and start again (I use a broad bladed chisel to remove it).

I spread the glue in overlapping stripes in one direction and then do another series of stripes at 90 degrees to make sure the glue is evenly spread.

Rik

After sitting the printer in the naughty corner and ignoring it for about a week (I went outside and built some track on the cane line) I returned this afternoon and;
1. Cleaned off the glue from the bed and,
2. pushed the wire tool up through the nozzle (it was printing in a vertical wavy pattern) to clear any obstruction.

Before cleaning off the glue I thought about how it applied and it was lumpy and did not lay with an even thickness, surmised that as it was in SWMBO's craft box it may be to old.
I purchased a new stick and voila!! it spread smoothly and with an even thickness.

The next thing I looked at is the angle of the feed for the filament into the extruder assembly, the filament was stretched taut and had a near 90 degree bend before entering.
A quick look on the net revealed that the roll on top of the printer can lead to laying down issues as the roll can wobble the frame because it is top heavy.
I downloaded a file for an extension that takes the roll off the top and lets the filament feed in from the side. With no weight on top of the frame the chance of the reel wobble upsetting the extruder's travel is alleviated.
At the moment this is happily printing with the filament sticking to the new glue, nothing else was done to the bed level settings, so fingers crossed I may be able to start printing successfully.

It appears that I may have made every rookie error in the book, here's hoping the mistakes I have learned from are the last ones I will come across.

[ge_rik]

I'm keeping everything crossed, Graeme - except my eyes.....

Rik

[Trevor Thompson]

Well done - for persevering.

It won't be the last problem - but they will get smaller as you gain experience!

Trevor

[philipy]

Well done - for persevering.

It won't be the last problem - but they will get smaller as you gain experience!

I agree with Trevor, well done.

[GAP]

Just remembered I did make one change with the last print and that was to click the "recommended" button on the Creality slicer. I have no idea what else I had changed from the recommended settings other than selecting a brim instead of the skirt that is recommended. I might reslice all my files using recommended and see how I go.
Also think that I may have had a clogged nozzle even though I pushed the wire tool up into it a number of times, what I did differently this time was push it up for its full length and then forced filament through the nozzle till I has along string (found how to move the Z axis up via electronics rather than by hand).

Pictures of my filament roll relocated from the top rail to on the side.
It does make the printer footprint wider but the trade off is that I can now move the printer away from the edge of my bench as the roll is not hitting shelf (plus I get access to the shelf back).
The other benefit is that the filament feeds straight into the extruder assembly with no tension or sharp bends.

[ge_rik]

Sometimes, it's worth going back to square one and restarting with a clean sheet (mixing metaphors, but it sort of works .... )

It would be worth your while investing in some spare nozzles. Much easier to simply replace the nozzle than try to clean it. They're not very expensive on eBay.

Rik

[GAP]

Sometimes, it's worth going back to square one and restarting with a clean sheet (mixing metaphors, but it sort of works .... )

It would be worth your while investing in some spare nozzles. Much easier to simply replace the nozzle than try to clean it. They're not very expensive on eBay.

Rik

I have a spare nozzle and tried to undo the original (suggested I replace the nozzle earlier in the drama) but it is screwed on that tight I am reticent to use any force to undo it.

[-steves-]

Sometimes, it's worth going back to square one and restarting with a clean sheet (mixing metaphors, but it sort of works .... )

It would be worth your while investing in some spare nozzles. Much easier to simply replace the nozzle than try to clean it. They're not very expensive on eBay.

Rik

I have a spare nozzle and tried to undo the original (suggested I replace the nozzle earlier in the drama) but it is screwed on that tight I am reticent to use any force to undo it.

If ever removing anything around the hot end, be it the nozzle, the tube or the filament, ensure you have preheated the hot end to at least 190 degrees, other wise you are trying to break the filament at the same time

[-steves-]

Also think that I may have had a clogged nozzle even though I pushed the wire tool up into it a number of times, what I did differently this time was push it up for its full length and then forced filament through the nozzle till I has along string (found how to move the Z axis up via electronics rather than by hand).

You should be pushing the cleaning "pin" down into the nozzle, not up, otherwise you are pushing the blockage up, ready for it to be pushed back into the nozzle. Again, ensure the hot end is preheated

[GAP]

Also think that I may have had a clogged nozzle even though I pushed the wire tool up into it a number of times, what I did differently this time was push it up for its full length and then forced filament through the nozzle till I has along string (found how to move the Z axis up via electronics rather than by hand).

You should be pushing the cleaning "pin" down into the nozzle, not up, otherwise you are pushing the blockage up, ready for it to be pushed back into the nozzle. Again, ensure the hot end is preheated

I pulled the filament out before pushing the wire up, nozzle at 200C then I replaced the filament and hand fed a large amount through the nozzle to clear it.
I will look at the nozzle again to see if I can get it out without breaking anything, the mount feels flimsy plus I have to remove the fan and cover to get at the nozzle.

[-steves-]

Also think that I may have had a clogged nozzle even though I pushed the wire tool up into it a number of times, what I did differently this time was push it up for its full length and then forced filament through the nozzle till I has along string (found how to move the Z axis up via electronics rather than by hand).

You should be pushing the cleaning "pin" down into the nozzle, not up, otherwise you are pushing the blockage up, ready for it to be pushed back into the nozzle. Again, ensure the hot end is preheated

I pulled the filament out before pushing the wire up, nozzle at 200C then I replaced the filament and hand fed a large amount through the nozzle to clear it.
I will look at the nozzle again to see if I can get it out without breaking anything, the mount feels flimsy plus I have to remove the fan and cover to get at the nozzle.

That's odd, on all my Enders I just use the spanner straight on nozzle, I don't have to take anything off?