Gaps in layers
I'm running mostly stock vCore 3.1: Rapido UHF (v1), LGX Lite (v1), RatOS 2.1 latest, etc. The most notable change is a CPAP fan but I had been running that before without issue. Using Overture PLA Black (doubt color matters much) and Orca slicer.
I've been trying to tune my printer to be faster and more accurate. I enabled performance mode and have been calibrating with that. I was about done with tuning and started seeing gaps in my walls in my non-calibration prints. I rolled back some of the more recent changes do see exactly what caused it but i was still having issues. I've gone pretty much back to the beginning and am still seeing gaps. Bed adhesion seems good. Doesn't look like it's under or over extruded for the rest of the print. I'm starting to wonder if it's my extruder at a hardware level. I've cleaned the gears and they weren't real dirty. Everything seems to be fine until it isn't and I'm not sure what is causing it to only gap sometimes. Obviously it's enough to at best cause ugly prints and at worst a total failure. So I need to get this sorted.
I've started printing PA towers to test apples-to-apples changes. I've removed the ptfe tube to the extrude (still has short extruder to hotend piece). I'm now pretty much to default settings in Orca and in the firmware and still having the issue. It's not even consistent when it starts. Most of the print looks great but at some point it starts to not supply enough filament.
Thanks for your help. I'm sure there's plenty I haven't thought of or have tried but don't remember.
Thanks for your help. I'm sure there's plenty I haven't thought of or have tried but don't remember.
11 Replies
Started with:
Filament dryer (Fixdry NT2) -> PTFE -> BTT Filament Sensor 2.0 -> PTFE -> LGX Lite
Calibrated PA, temp, flow ratio, retraction
Performance mode on
Currently at:
Orca stock defaults for RatRig vCore 3, Generic PLA, 0.2
Things I've tried:
- Turning performance mode off
- Reset RatOS 2.1 to factory defaults
- Remove anything between extruder and filament (tubes, filament sensor, dryer) and running filament directly into the extruder
- Raise and lower filament temperature
- Drying filament
- Replace PTFE hotend tube and made sure length is correct (was using Capricorn tube with 2mm inner diameter, but currently using generic PTFE 2mm inner diameter after thinking it was 3mm ID but just measured and discovered it is only 2mm)
- Cleaned hotend for clogs. Heat hotend to 190, let cool to 120 then pull filament. Really seems to clean it out well.
Gaps then I would check your Extrusion Multiplier (EM) or also called flow. it should be between .9-1. if it is too high or too low then you should check your Extruder Calibration.
https://docs.ratrig.com/commissioning-guides/v-core-3-1
check Pressure Advance as well doing the pattern
I had already done all those steps. My em is about .93. If it were something like em, wouldn’t it have gaps all over and not just later in the print? Some of those prints went quite a while before having any issues. So how would em affect that? Honest question.
True! Hmm how are you feeding the extruder? Are you using filament sensor? Anything in the way to cause friction on the filament
That’s what I’ve been narrowing down. I was using a BTT SFS 2.0 filament sensor and initially blamed it for pausing my prints. I’ve since run filament directly into the extruder and still have the same problem.
have you tried running another filament?
I haven’t yet because it’s a bit inconsistent and a different filament won’t tell me what the original problem was. I get it though. I’ll give it a shot and let you know. Could it be something with my extruder? Something mechanically wrong?
I tried another PLA with the exact same gcode and got a decent print. Not sure why. I’ve been using the Overture PLA for a while and haven’t had anything like this happen before and I don’t usually dry it. Maybe with the changing of the seasons in the Midwest US had an effect on it. I’ll try really drying the Overture PLA and try again. Let me know if anyone has any other ideas to try to narrow down the cause so I can prevent it in the future.
I have been having all kinds of problems. So far all is fixed at least for now. I got the beacon probe shipped the other day and I am too scared to install it. Trying to enjoy my printer working well for the next few days 😆
Printed another with the same gcode and the original Overture PLA and it failed. I dried it for 6+ hours. Not sure what’s happening with that spool. Any more ideas from the hivemind?
Another thing to remember is that it was going through the filament sensor and triggering it when it would start having problems which leads me to believe that there is inconsistent PULLING of the filament. (Sensor is on the frame and run through a PTFE tube to the print head). I could understand if the filament is bad that it could cause inconsistent extrusion but what would cause it to keep it from feeding consistently? Is there a property of the filament that could cause it to behave weirdly?
The two filaments I used both have the same temp specs: 190-220C.
Just opened Overture Matte Chocolate PLA printed with the same Gcode, dried for 6 hours. I thought Overture was a decent filament. Am I wrong?
This is the only successful print I’ve had during these tests.
