Ender 3 Pro continual issues after initial successful prints - Updated

Just a quick question?  Have you tried printing other things directly from gcode? I.e. bypass the slicer.  I don’t have an Ender 3, but I’ve seen that there are gcode test prints for it like temperature towers.

Is it possible that there’s something wrong with your slicer besides the profile?  Have you tried updating the slicer program?  I’m making an assumption that the cat is being printed from gcode directly…

ralphjy said:

Have you tried printing other things directly from gcode?

Good point. opalko do you want my 3D Benchy gcode?  I just sliced it (just a minute ago) for Multicomp black PLA (215 nozzle, 60 build plate) for my Ender-3 Pro. That's the Multicomp filament element14/Farnell/Newark sells.

If you want to try it, I'll print it here too, to make sure it comes out ok for me.

It says it will take just under 2 hours to print.

3DBenchy_PLA.gcode.zip

Also, there is still some "clunking" but not nearly as much as on other prints lately. Do you know if you used "standard", "dynamic", or "super" quality settings?

opalko said:

Or, I could just get you to create all my .gcode file haha.

 I just found a new retirement gig!  

If it works, and if your own doesn’t, then I can try exporting that profile (for the black filament), maybe yours has a wonky setting somewhere.

Dang, I didn’t make note of that, but 95% sure it was 0.2 standard.

mine did not clunk at all

I reloaded Cura and wiped all the profile settings I had (I think) so it will be interesting to see what the differences are.

opalko said:

Do you know if you used "standard", "dynamic", or "super" quality settings?

I just checked Cura: Standard 0.2mm, 0.4mm nozzle. No supports, no build plate adhesion.

Cura 5.3.1

Well this is very interesting. I'm out words to describe what I'm thinking; flummoxed is all I can come up with. Mine printed without the issues I saw in previous prints.  But there are some significant differences.

Here are some photos to compare. Yours on left, mine on right.  Yours printed at 215, mine at 200. I used the same filament for both since it's all I have. lol

Mine has 2 lines running across the bottom of the boat, whereas yours has 1?

Not much difference here on the bottom (that I can tell). I think mine is not as readable in this picture but it may be how I have boat positioned.

This one has the biggest difference. Whatever the square box in the back of the boat is supposed to be, yours extends all the way down uniformly to the deck while mine sort of juts inwards.  No idea why, the model shows it sort of tapering inwards but not a sharp change like mine...?

I guess I could try printing again at 215 but this doesn't explain why all the other non-cat, non-boat prints have failed lately! Can't be a clogged nozzle. I did nothing at all between the first and second print like cleaning the bed, the nozzle, none of that. I don't know if comparing the .gcode files is worth the time now. Sooo strange.

Correction: under better lighting I can see that mine doesn't jut inwards there, it's missing any layer in there! It's also in the same plane as that top line that runs around the outside of the boa 

Mine didn’t have those lines. It looks like your printer is having extrusion issues where it skips the layers and ends up with the lines.

I’m assuming your filament has a temperature rating listed? But at 215 that should cover most PLA. And it appears to work well for most of it.

"[Recommend Settings】We recommend printing the PLA filament at nozzle temperature of 200-230°C, bed temperature of 50-65°C, and printing speed of 50-100mm/s."

is what mine says..sort of a wide range..

opalko said:

PLA filament at nozzle temperature of 200-230°C

Right, so at 215 there should be no issues of it not extruding due to temperature settings.

it seems to be an intermittent problem where it clunks and under extrudes. So it’s probably not the filament.

Sorry, this must be so frustrating for you. Seems to be par for the course with 3D printing, doesn’t it  

I’d hate to be that mechanic who replaces everything until it finally works, but I think if it were me I’d probably buy a new hot end setup (less than $20cad on Amazon for the complete assembly, with the tube already in place even), or take the time to pull the hot end apart completely like they show in those videos to make sure it’s all clean inside.

opalko said:

PLA filament at nozzle temperature of 200-230°C

Right, so at 215 there should be no issues of it not extruding due to temperature settings.

it seems to be an intermittent problem where it clunks and under extrudes. So it’s probably not the filament.

Sorry, this must be so frustrating for you. Seems to be par for the course with 3D printing, doesn’t it  

I’d hate to be that mechanic who replaces everything until it finally works, but I think if it were me I’d probably buy a new hot end setup (less than $20cad on Amazon for the complete assembly, with the tube already in place even), or take the time to pull the hot end apart completely like they show in those videos to make sure it’s all clean inside.

For the heck of it I just tried it at 220 and it did about 1/4 of the print and then turned into a spaghetti mess.

You're right; it's so inconsistent that it feels like I am chasing my tail around trying to figure out what is going on and getting nowhere. I will look at getting a new hot end but wonder if this is just the nature of a $240 printer...works sometimes, but mostly doesn't! I'm tempted to buy the same filament you have and see how that works though...

Anyway, you've spent way too much time helping me with this, so I won't keep pestering you and this forum. If I find a resolution I will certainly post an update.

Thanks again!

Robert Opalko

No worries at all, happy to help, it’s all quite interesting and I’m learning a few things that might save me some future pain too.

I do hope you’ll share your findings when you get it figured out!