3D printing can be fun but sometimes challenging. With so many variables it is not surprising that often a print does not always turn out as expected. Here a some simple tips for improving your success ratio.
- Buy a quality filament. Sure you can find on eBay cheap filaments but as with everything in life – you pay for what you get. If it is cheap there is usually a good reason.
- Make sure your print bed is level. It pays to ensure you a have a level bed and your printhead is the right distance from the bed. Follow your printers instructions. Time spent here will be well rewarded.
- Set the Z-gap between your printhead and printbed to your printers instructions.
- Check the first few layers. It pays to watch these first few layers as if these do not print properly it is highly likely the rest of the print will have problems. This could result in many hours and much filament wasted.
- Print small parts and not large parts. There is always the temptation to print as big as you can. But if there is a problem the whole part can be wasted. Better to print small parts that can be fused together later as if one part has a problem there is less waste and you will only have to print a small part again.
- Maintenance and Cleaning Up. Like any printer – abuse it and it will let you down. It pays to follow the instruction manual and any maintenance procedures as well as to regularly clean your bed with rubbing alcohol. Use Kapton Tape or Buildtak to improve filament adhesion to your bed.
- Don’t get Tangled! Keep an eye on the filament feed to ensure the filament is not loose on the spool. Again a problem with cheap filaments.