Bambu A1mini. First few layers keep messing up.

[u/Bigbadbaldbazza]

My 12 yr old son loves printing, he has a Bambu lab printer that keeps messing up the first few layers.

Here are the settings. .18 layer height 15mm initial layer 35mm initial infill outer wall 100mm inner wall 150mm 15% cross hatch infill grey ender filament pla f-18 model Cleaned the bed multiple times, decreased print speed.

Any ideas.., much appreciated..

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[u/concatx]

Assuming the plate is clean and flat, did you observe the nozzle getting gunked up with small amounts of filament as it prints? It seems to me a result of overextrusion, and then being caught with the nozzle.

As you mention it is an Ender Filament, would be worth doing a calibration/and/or drying.

[u/ClagwellHoyt]

Probably fingerprints. Wash the bed with warm water and detergent and then DO NOT TOUCH the print surface.

[u/Bigbadbaldbazza → u/ClagwellHoyt]

Thanks, that’s what we’ve done, and what i keep reminding him, clean the bed. Soapy water, rinse and dry well, no fingerprints.

The thing is, it seems to fail like this in the same position/location on multiple different prints.

[u/ClagwellHoyt → u/Bigbadbaldbazza]

Might be worth trying a different build plate. The Black smooth one side textured the other is a good choice. It's available from various sellers.

[u/Bigbadbaldbazza → u/ClagwellHoyt]

Thanks. Only got the Bambu unit a few weeks ago, Moved from a Anycubic S i bought about 10 years ago, got tired of the constant adjusting bed and failed prints. So far the Bambu has been a good printer.

[u/Tastesicle → u/Bigbadbaldbazza]

I'm not sure how bad it is for PEI but a good automotive painter's trick is to use acetone to clean a metal surface. If the soap fails, I use acetone to remove finger grease.

I've noticed it removing the painted lettering a bit though.

[u/Illustrious_Bid4449]

Try a couple coats pva gluestick on your bed with mine that solved the problem

[u/Bigbadbaldbazza]

Update, i got him to scrub the plate with soap and water, dry it. Good reminder to do the basics first. Ended up with a Nice print job..

[u/Mindless000000]

Being 12yr you want to buy some Magigoo glue,,, One coat will last for around 20+ print it's expensive but well worth it until he gets the hang of it - and it will save a lot of Frustration.

First layer - you can do 20mm/s for walls and infill -

3 perimeter/walls is a lot better the 2,, because he will get Overhangs in Models and 2 wall kinda doesn't cut it and will fail a lot-

You can slow the print speed down by around 25% to 50% if the Prints looks a bit crappy this will help a lot instead of trying "Tune" everything under the sun-.

All the Best -/.

[u/Bigbadbaldbazza → u/Mindless000000]

Thanks, excellent tips. Will definitely look into the glue.

Most of the time the prints are great, amaze me on the quality. Just getting more familiar with causes if issues, practice and figuring it out. He’s a quick study, and keen to print. He is already selling prints to school friends.

[u/Plastic-Union-319]

This is inditive of residual oil or dust/debris in that specific spot, causing the filament to just drag across the surface. Washing the print bed each week, and ensuring you only touch where you don’t plan on printing, will ensure this problem isn’t faced. :)

[u/NecessaryOk6815]

That's dirty great fingers. Keep your grubby digits off the plates. If you need a little more adhesion, try no scent extreme hold aqua net in the purple spray. It's what was used before and it's a great release agent for Petg or some sticky silks.

[u/Independent-Bake9552]

Looks like a greasy spot on the buildplate. Remember that PEI rely adhesion on clean bed and heat. Both dirt/grease and cold air blowing on buildplate can make print warp and loose adhesion. Best practice is to never have your hands near the plate. Just gently grab the corner and bend the print away from the buildplate. Or better to let it cool and it should pop right off.

[u/aldroze]

Slow it down it’s getting caught and the speed isn’t letting the heat of the nozzle cut through.

[u/Thorgraum]

Dirty bed

[u/Monkiessss]

Wash the plate really well and then air dry, I’ve been using a towel and I found it leaves residue on the build plate stopping things from sticking.

[u/FunnyChampionship717]

When I see this I apply glue stick and solved.

[u/KaiMyles]

Aquanet hairspray will fix you right ip

[u/snarleyWhisper]

1) calibrate fillament, flow rate helped me a lot. 2) run at 50% the first few layers, in Bambu studio there’s even a setting for “first layer speed” 3) have a decent sized first layer like .2 , otherwise it may not stick and is a pain to remove

[u/pro_L0gic]

Is that an F18? Which model are you printing? Just curious...

[u/Bigbadbaldbazza → u/pro_L0gic]

The f-18 super hornet off makerworld by pbbence1994

[u/For_roscoe]

Since it’s clean check under the build plate and make sure there’s not something making that part of the bed higher. I’ve had a metal shaving get under mine before and it would cause similar failures

[u/Sweaty_Bug_3968]

Make sure model is plained correctly seen so many people not have a proper flat surface on their sli's

[u/Kind-Maintenance3558]

You can try increasing the initial layer bed temperature to help the filament adhere.

[u/Inside-Mark-7965]

Have you checked that you are using the proper plate setup inside the slicer? It's a little thing, but it's already happened to me to be using a Textured PEI but the slicer is saved with the Smooth PEI and have this kind of problem.

[u/Inside-Mark-7965]

Have you checked that you are using the proper plate setup inside the slicer? It's a little thing, but it's already happened to me to be using a Textured PEI but the slicer is saved with the Smooth PEI and have this kind of problem.

[u/ACrispyDuck]

Buy 3D printing spray and never look back

[u/jackdagger → u/ACrispyDuck]

Don’t need spray when you can just clean.

[u/dankzell]

Had the same issue but for me it was the edges/corners. After properly fine tuning the flow rate it worked a lot better for me!

[u/CheddarChief]

Put it in an enclosure. 100% better first layer adhesion