In addition to the bigger issues I posted separately, here are many other issues I’m currently dealing with. Some are just minor/picky issues, or suggestions.
MEDIUM PRIORITY
only lately, all of my prints have many layers that are darker than the rest - probably a third of the layers actually - almost looks like wood grain. I tried several different filaments. I have no idea why, except I think temperature changes could do this. I haven’t noticed the temps fluctuating though.
extreme heat creep issues ever since I got the printer, especially using PETG for some reason. I’ve been 3D printing for many years and have never had heat creep issues until I got this printer. The heat creep is so bad that it’s literally impossible to print large models, or medium size models with solid (95%) infill. The heat sink and fan on the cold seem way too small. I also don’t see a way to upgrade the heat sinks or fans to something bigger. I get nozzle clogs in the middle of every large or dense print. If I aim an external fan at the cold ends, this often solves the problem, and I think proves there is insufficient cooling on the cold ends. but so much cooling is not ideal, especially for PETG, ABS, etc. since it can result in weak parts.
there are very noticeable vertical lines in all of my prints, since I got the printer, even at very low speeds. it’s not a high-frequency vibration. I think this might be normal for this printer, but I don’t get such lines in other/cheaper printers I’ve been using for years (e.g. CR10’s). I would expect higher quality prints from the J1 compared to my CR10s, but flat surfaces are definitely much worse (J1 overall detail is better). Is it possible to upgrade the extruder motors or whatever may be causing this?
I ran the vibration compensation calibration wizard hoping to reduce the vertical lines. On the test model I printed, the very bottom row (not part of the test) clearly looks much better than the 4 options I have to select from. Is this normal? Is the bottom row with no vibration compensation? If so, is there some way to turn off vibration compensation?
Only lately, I’m getting lots of warnings that there was a power failure when there wasn’t. Such as when I turn the printer on. I think this is a sign there is a bad wire/connection somewhere.
LOW PRIORITY
Very loud clunk every time I turn the printer on, ever since the printer was brand new - is this normal? Something I need to adjust?
Often when I send files from Cura to the printer over wifi, they are never received by the printer, and no error is given. I noticed this happens when the internal memory on the printer is full, but even when it’s not full, I still have this problem fairly often.
The whole screen/interface freezes once in awhile and I have to restart the machine.
Fairly often, a print finishes and shows 100%, but the printer doesn’t realize the print finished and I have to tell it to cancel the print.
Creaking noise when the z-axis moves up and down, every since the printer was brand new. The noise has not gotten worse, nor better. I put additional grease on the z-rod, but that didn’t help. I can’t tell where the noise is coming from exactly.
Filament is sometimes breaking right as it turns to go into the tool heads, since the radius of the turn is too tight. Possibly the filament is just poor quality or too old sometimes.
Inadequate part cooling when printing fast. I bought the upgraded case fan, and that seems to help.
Both toolheads are quite loose on the X linear rail. They rattle a lot when moving them by hand, and you can see the nozzle moving around a lot. I would expect this to greatly impact print quality, but it seems as though it may not. I’m uncertain. I expected much tighter tolerances.
Sometimes, I’d like to use bigger nozzles and also print faster using larger nozzles and/or thicker layers, but I think the heater block and nozzle heater are too small, severely limiting the speed, and I see no good way to upgrade. Any suggestions?
Sometimes, I would like to print at least 315 C nozzle temp and 115 C bed (PC), but this is beyond what the printer can do. Any way to upgrade?
the auto bed leveling does not work well. the clearance is not good when it’s finished and I have to manually adjust the z-offset each time. Not a big deal, since the clearance remains constant over time, unlike many printers. However, I feel like I need to adjust the back-left and back-right corners independently, and it’s not possible since there is only one Z rod in the middle. It’s close enough, but not optimal.
IDEAS/SUGGESTIONS
when flipping the build plate over, to use the smooth side or textured side, the Z offset needs to be adjusted. it would be convenient to have two different presets rather than changing this manually each time.
The gaps between the doors and enclosure panels are larger than I feel is necessary, but not a big deal.
A built-in web camera would be helpful for remote monitoring, but I think Snapmaker doesn’t want to add this.
Considering including a bunch of replacement nozzles and silicone heater block socks with the printer, if possible, or make a kit available for purchase.
it seems I can’t quite print the full dimensions stated (300x200x200), at least using Cura and the J1 profile I have loaded.
When the printer finishes a print, it leaves the cooling fans and LED light on. Not a big deal, but it would be nice if it automatically turned everything off, perhaps after 5 minutes or so (if cooling is needed).
Sometimes I’m filling up the internal memory, usually with very complex models or too many models saved to internal memory. Ideally, the machine would have a bit more memory. More importantly, it’s not giving me any error message or warning when memory is full or almost full. For example, when I’m sending files to the printer from my computer, sometimes it just doesn’t work because the printer memory is full, but there is no error message.
A FEW THINGS I FIXED
something was wrong with the X-linear rail and snapmaker sent me a replacement (thanks!)
there was not enough grease on various pulleys, bearings, Z rod, etc. I added some using a syringe.
There was hardly any thermal paste in the cold ends. I disassembled and added more. that made a noticeable difference in reducing heat creep, but there are still major heat creep problems.
There was some buzzing/vibrating on top of the case, which I fixed
major heat creep problems, so I designed some ducts that velcro to the upgraded/J1S case cooling fan, so the fan shoots right at the cold ends. helped a lot.