Something failed, now prints are far too thin

[Wulf]

RigidBot 10x10x10, Repetier with Slic3r

I was printing fine for about a month (with some newbie-related difficulties), and then "something" happened. Every job just started printing far too thinly, things started coming out as a spiderweb that would vaguely resemble my job if I was lucky. Cranking up the extruder rate to ridiculous levels would help slightly but nothing close to a solid object.

I tried everything I could think of. Reinstalling the software, replacing the firmware, setting up a completely new computer to control it, etc. I assume it's mechanical but I'm not sure how. I'm a newbie to 3d printers but have a general understanding of electronics. I've been hesitant to start ripping things apart unguided however in case I make things even worse.

I'm not sure if it's common, or was happening before the issue, but I've noticed bits of PLA 'shavings' on top of where the filament feeds into the extruder. Is that normal, or indicative of too much resistance as it's being pulled in?

I can take a video of it printing later tonight if anybody's willing to help.

[Roxy]

I can take a video of it printing later tonight if anybody's willing to help.

A couple short videos will get you lots of insight. Most likely, a couple small changes will get you back to where you want to be.

[Wulf]

The piece as seen in Repetier-Host:



The monstrosity as seen in reality:



Any input? Thanks.

[Wulf]

Is the video quality good enough to get an idea of what's happening? If anybody has suggestions for a better recording angle let me know.

[3dkarma]

Firstly, level your bed. It's easy to see that on one side, the first layer isn't sticking as the nozzle is too high, but on the other the filament is being spread too thinly on the bed as the nozzle is too low. Level your bed and get the first layer correct.

Secondly, calibrate your e-steps per mm, as per the reprap wiki calibration guide. http://reprap.org/wiki/Calibration

If you're still having problems after that, come back with another video.

[Wulf]

It's definitely due for re-leveling and I'll take care of that right away, but the problem began before it became unlevel. I screwed it up at some point in my attempts to fix it.

Thanks for the response and I'll try get a new video up soon.

[DBFIU]

Your problem sounds like a clogged nozzle...

[Wulf]

I'll try make a video tomorrow, but the bed's been re-leveled. I've discovered my print bed is not level in the process, but I can deal with that another time. As long as I print near the center, it's level.

Extrusion rate seems perfectly calibrated to the best of my detection abilities.

Now the problem seems to be narrowed down (as i see it) to when it's filling in a layer. Perimeters are coming out fine while it traces lines around the edge, but when it fills in the area between perimeters it's too thin. So now I'm getting objects with a fine horizontal shell but with non-solid top layers.

[kathmorgan12]

I have encountered this problem before too. The printed results became thinner and it wasn't really good to look at. I read blogs and other forums and through it, I was able to fix up the problem. Fortunately, it's fine now.

[DBFIU]

Wulf I had your exact same problem. Perimeters seemed to be ok, infill was too thin and couldnt support anything. My problem ended up being my pinchwheel slipping when doing infill and supprots. It could do well with long extrusions like perimeters but infills are a lot of back and forth, pinchwheel couldnt handle it so it slipped a lot and extrusion came out crappy.