FlashForge Creator Pro, can get filament to stick to table

[ApocalypseCow]

Hey all,
Total newb here. I just bought a Flash Forge Creator Pro and am trying to run the 20mm calibration cube as a first part. I have been trying unsuccessfully for two days now to get a line to stick. I have gone to the control panel and pre heated it to 220 for filament and 115 for bed temps. I am running the ABS that came with the printer. I have calibrated the table with a sheet of paper as well. I just cannot get a line to stick to the table. I have tried Painters tape, but to no avail. ANY HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Thanks!

[curious aardvark]

you've used decent blue painters tape.
I had this problem with abs. Only way I could get it to stick reliably was to use a raft.

What you actually need is to slow the first layer down to about 10% of the the rest of the print. That's one reason why rafts work so well. They always go down really really slowly.

Also 220 is very low for abs, at that temp it'll be fairly stiff and unsticky. Try hotter. 230, 235 and 240.

What software are your using for the slicer ?

[ApocalypseCow]

I am trying to run with the Slicr slicing program, it just sounded good.

Also, I have tried to heat the table up to 125 and 245 for the extruder, just to give it a go. Unfortunately according to the sceen on the front of the printer it looks like it tries to cool everything down to about 100 table and 200 extruder. The printer seems to position the head at about 0-x and 0-y and hold there until the temps drop, I am guessing that is a big part of my problem. Sometimes it helps to walk away from things for a while and clear your head. Will I have to tap in to the G-code and raise the temps to start printing at?

[Marm]

I never had good results with tape, Glue is an option.

[ApocalypseCow]

I never had good results with tape, Glue is an option.

Thanks, I was going to give that a go last night but once I found the glue stick in the house it turned out to be pretty old and dried up. I will probably stop tonight and grab a new one.

[Marm]

Just get the Elmers or equivalent brand. The big mega sticks are the best value and coverage area. I believe I'm using Hercules Glue with great results.

[curious aardvark]

umm, how are you using slic3r ?
By default it simply won't work with a flashforge x or pro.

And I never had bad results with tape. But I don't use cheap tape.

The glue stick on pet or kapton tape works well. It can sometimes be a problem getting the print off the bed.

But at the moment I'm leaning more towards how you're using slic3r.

[ApocalypseCow]

umm, how are you using slic3r ?
By default it simply won't work with a flashforge x or pro.

And I never had bad results with tape. But I don't use cheap tape.

The glue stick on pet or kapton tape works well. It can sometimes be a problem getting the print off the bed.

But at the moment I'm leaning more towards how you're using slic3r.

What issues would I need to correct to get Slic3r to work? For some reason my printer will nt recognize that I have downloaded and installed Python. I was able try another run last night and changed the temp for the extruder in the g-code to 230, and it did stay there. Unfortunately I was unable to get a new glue stick so I wasn't able to try that trick, I will tonight, and things are still not sticking.

[Sebastian Finke]

What issues would I need to correct to get Slic3r to work? For some reason my printer will nt recognize that I have downloaded and installed Python. I was able try another run last night and changed the temp for the extruder in the g-code to 230, and it did stay there. Unfortunately I was unable to get a new glue stick so I wasn't able to try that trick, I will tonight, and things are still not sticking.

There are two ways to do this. Either

1) Use slic3r to create G-code, open this g-code in RepG to export it as x3g. Not always flawless.

or

2) Use Makerware/Makerbot Desktop. This export x3g directly and is perfectly compatible with your FFCP.

[Sebastian Finke]

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Slic3r is bad or a waste of time. Just that if you're a beginner and struggling with the basics then rather use a slicer that exports programs that required no extra tweaking in terms of formats. My 2 cents.