First, I am a bit frustrated at this. I know I shouldn’t be but to be completely honest I just preordered the Snapmaker 2 and have been battling this issue with the Snapmaker 1 now for a week. So I am getting really worried.
I’ve had the snapmaker 1 for about 6 months now and it has done fairly well, at least to my knowledge. Lately though my prints have come out just bad. Some layer shifts and what looks like walls missing.
I’ve started trying to print some tests due to the above and I’ve noticed I get a slight layer shift at the same spot in each test. Exact same (see pictures).
I’ve adjusted the temperatures, re-sliced the model, moved the model on the build plate, and even autotuned my PIDs. Same layer shift, same place.
I am honestly at a lost past one of my linear modules being faulty.
Googling this issue leads to doing smaller layer heights and slower speeds. I already run this thing at between 9 mm/s to 14 mm/s, a whole lot slower than anything else I see online. There is already a thread about this where they just lowered the speed to something like 40 mm/s. Which just blows my mind, if I printed anything at that speed it would not be recognizable.
Reddit told me to tighten the belts on the printer. Well this printer doesn’t use belts. And why would it always happen at the same spot if the belt was loose?
Please I am begging for anyone to help me on this. I’ve had so much fun with this product and I am so excited for the next one. But I can’t justify it if things go wrong mechanically in less than a year.
I use Cura to slice and Octopi to upload to the printer.
I was going to ask if you were printing really fast, because I’ve had a similar issue when I set the travel speed to 100 mm/s. It wouldn’t happen every layer, but when it did happen, it was at the start of the same long travel movement and there was a loud click. Since you lowered the Inner Wall speed to 14 mm/s, I assume you lowered the other speeds as well, or at least didn’t increase them.
It’s interesting that it goes both directions, positive Y and negative Y, but I don’t see any ±X offsets (assuming you printed that mini test in the default orientation). My problem only moved in one direction, but that direction changed based on the object being printed.
Cura and Octoprint introduce some variables. You said you’ve been happy for the last 6 months, did anything change around or shortly before the problem started?
If nothing comes to mind, I’d start by slicing using SnapmakerJS, saving it to a USB stick, and printing from the USB drive.
If that works ok, slice using Cura, save to USB, etc.
Then try using Octoprint using the SnapmakerJS GCode.
Feel free to abort any print as soon as you notice a problem, there’s no reason to complete a bad print for testing purposes.
Thanks @clewis for the advice. And sorry about the initial post, I was trying to contain my frustrations but I didn’t do too well.
I decided to try a completely different STL and see what happens. I can post a picture later but it was one of the best tests I have done for overhangs. It is thicker than the above and the increase is less extreme, but at the same height there is no layer shift.
I am going to try your suggestion later with snapmaker js and using the USB. Also plan on doing a full maintenance this weekend. I think I need to start upping the speed myself as well. The values I am using are just slightly modified from the defaults in Cura, but it seems that most people can print a lot faster.
To answer you question, my most recent change to the printer is the addition of the enclosure.
Regarding speed, I copied the 3 default print qualities in SnapmakerJS to Cura, and generally print Normal or High. I’ve also added two more settings, Ultra-High and Prototype. Ultra-High prints at the same speed as High Quality, but with a 0.05mm layer (the smallest allowed by Snapmaker). Prototype prints a 0.2mm layer, and all of the non-initial-layer speeds set to 80 mm/s. I most use Prototype when I’m designing models, and need to verify that I measured correctly.
Just to double check, did you follow the instructions for setting up Snapmaker in Cura? I don’t know GCode very well, but I think the extra GCode is just to prime the nozzle. So I don’t think it’s strictly required, but should help get a good initial layer down.
I would like to hear your results. I haven’t had any issues switching between SnapmakerJS and Cura, but I have been considering OctoPi.
Hi TedTheTitan, the problem layer shifts also happened to me a few times, with me the cause was always pollution by filament residues in the y-axis.
since i realized this coverage, i’ve never had layer shifts again.
Hi TedTheTitan,
by https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4002414 is still missing the end pieces for mounting on the Y-axis. I wanted to work on them again, I still lacked the time for it.
I will upload them today, maybe you have to edit them manually.
I’m sorry they’re not perfect.
The decisive factor for me was that the solution works.
For me it was crucial that the solution works and it still does.
Under the heating plate I made the connection between the covers with a very thin piece of textile and double-sided adhesive tape.
Instead of the glides, it might be useful to develop thin guide rails on the side of the Y-axis to lift the covers. But just pay attention to the screws of the platform.
