Random banding issue. Layers don't line up perfectly.

[pjfossee]

I'm trying it out now. Best lead I've got. Thanks!

[pjfossee]

My retraction seems a bit better now but the print still looks pretty much the same. Unfortunately it didn't solve my original issue. I'll just keep trying new things one at a time. Any other ideas? Thanks!

[clough42]

Check the bottoms of your Z threaded rods. If they're not flat, and the uneven edge is in contact with the motor shaft, artifacts like this can occur. You can just file them flat or better yet, file them flat and then drop a BB into the tube so it provides a single point of contact on the bottom of the screw.

Another thing to check is to be sure your filament is unrolling freely into the extruder. I saw something similar to this once when my filament was tangled and it spent the night pulling against a half-hitch tied around the spool.

Someone also suggested making sure your hot end wasn't loose, and I didn't see you respond to that, specifically. You said your axes were all tight, but is the hot end tight in the carriage? Is there any wiggle in the way the hot end is mounted to the extruder?

[pjfossee]

Thanks for the reply. I checked the Z-rods and tried a BB. No luck. The filament thing made sense but alas watching it/ making sure it was loose through a whole print didn't help. The hot end is tight too. I can move it but its only due to the flex in the wood. I've made sure all the connections are as tight as possible. One interesting thing is that my prints are significantly better in Slic3r. I've been with Cura because I liked how it sliced objects better but I figured I'd give Slic3r another chance. There is still some banding but its much less severe. Any idea why the slicer might have such a big impact. Possibly a clue to solving the issue. I'll just keep at it one variable at a time. If anyone has any more ideas I'd love to hear them. Thanks

[clough42]

Thanks for the reply. I checked the Z-rods and tried a BB. No luck. The filament thing made sense but alas watching it/ making sure it was loose through a whole print didn't help. The hot end is tight too. I can move it but its only due to the flex in the wood. I've made sure all the connections are as tight as possible. One interesting thing is that my prints are significantly better in Slic3r. I've been with Cura because I liked how it sliced objects better but I figured I'd give Slic3r another chance. There is still some banding but its much less severe. Any idea why the slicer might have such a big impact. Possibly a clue to solving the issue. I'll just keep at it one variable at a time. If anyone has any more ideas I'd love to hear them. Thanks

Maybe different print speeds?

[pjfossee]

Ah I wish it were that easy. I've tried 10mm/s - 75mm/s. Faster seemed a bit better but I think it's just masking the issue more than solving it.

[moyesusa]

Is the Death Star from your pics this one?

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:245922

If so, I'll take a stab at printing tonight and see what mine looks like.

-moyes

FYI, 9/10 times I end up going back to Slic3r. Never really liked what Cura or MatterControl was giving me.

[pjfossee]

Yep, that's the same one. I couldn't thank you enough for doing that! I'll print one out again with my slic3r settings to compare. Thanks!

[pjfossee]

I solved the problem. It was just the fluctuation in the heated bed temperature causing the issue. I feel like an idiot for not realizing it. Especially because I did think of it two weeks ago but after a print came loose with the heated bed off I trashed the idea. I just read a forum post talking about different types of relays and mentioning that mechanical ones like mine sometimes cause too much temperature fluctuation. I noticed my temperature varied between 69 and 72 Celsius but just considered it normal. I know better now! I seem to be able to print fine if I turn the bed off after a few layers. I don't think that should present too many issues would it? Thanks for all the help guys - I solved about a dozen other issues I didn't even know I had thank to your help.

[pjfossee]

image.jpgIf anyone's curious. I'm sure you can tell which one is the better one. Same layer height.