I’m a beginner 3D printing novice. I have done about 5-6 successful prints so far, and my last two have technically come out fine, but they seem very brittle. By brittle, i mean that both prints have snapped cleanly into several pieces, not by design. My extremely novice research has led me to think it’s a layer adhesion issue - it is very cold here where I am right now, and I print in a non-climate controlled shed because of reasons. I do have an enclosure though, so i tried printing my PLA at 205 instead of 200, but same result. Is there a better way to correct prints snapping apart like that? I don’t feel like i used any excessive force.

Ender 3 Pro Polymaker dual matte white/black PLA 1.75mm

  • ArtVandelay@lemmy.worldOP
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    11 months ago

    How cold is cold?

    The printer says the hot end and bed are both ambient at 10C , which is 50F. For reference, it’s 21F outside right now.

    Also, here is a picture of where it broke. The other print was similar. The crack can be seen on the left side of the pic.

    • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      the printer says the hot end and bed are both ambient at 10C

      Try leaving the hot end at ambient, turning on the heat bed to it’s printing temperature. Give it a while for everything to come up inside. considering room temp is around 20-22c or 68-73 F, it’s not quite as bad as i feared, but it could be better.

      The heat bed should be able to warm it up a bit, but that is a very sharp differential, and drafts will cause problems. One thing to maybe try, is printing a tall brim. (basically a single-wall perimeter close to the part. They’re not as useful if you have an enclosure, but they can help shield a draft and keep some of the heat in from the bed better.)

      Clogging could have happened if you’re trying to print too low in temperature, which, given the layer problems, that also looks likely. there’s a few variations, but you can try a cold pull to clear the nozzle (especially if it’s only partially clogged.)

      • ArtVandelay@lemmy.worldOP
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        11 months ago

        My apologies, that room temperature is around 25° f, which is -4c. It’s very cold.

        I just performed a cold pull, seemed to go okay, it was my first one. I feel like the majority of my problems here is simply trying to print when it’s so damn cold outside lol

        Edit: The cold pull definitely seemed to completely solve my first layer issues, great suggestion. I threw a blanket over the next print, we’ll see if that helps

        • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          My apologies, that room temperature is around 25° f, which is -4c. It’s very cold

          yeah. so, what’s your enclosure like? is it fully enclosed? one of those tent-thingies?

          I’d suggest considering some type of insulation. Blankets work- if it’s MDF or mealmine or plywood, stappling them inside. If… insulation is problem… Blankets over a big-enough cardboard box work (just be aware of melting/fire risks. Cotton>synthetics. card board is okay. my old I3 prusa had cardboard under the heat bed instead of cork or neoprene for a long time. Try to keep it small enough to just fit everything inside. (cut the top flaps off and put it over upside down.)

          The heat bed should be good enough to get it most the way there- and if you find it takes too long to heat up the inside… a heat gun can prime things nicely.

    • IMALlama@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      What have your first layers looked like before this? The hard to remove skirt on prior prints is usually from your nozel being too close to your bed.

      • ArtVandelay@lemmy.worldOP
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        11 months ago

        Before this they were typically ok - I did tram the bed again using a sticky note just to be safe. However, since I’m new, i’m still getting a feel (literally) for how much resistance is correct. Would a print sticking too much to the bed be an indication my z offset is too low (meaning nozzle too close) ? Typically people complain about too little adhesion, and i have too much lol

        • IMALlama@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Yes, leveling too low can give you very strong adhesion. It’s worth noting that PEI beds tend to lose adhesion as they and the print cool down. I can remove cooled prints without much effort off my bed, bit hot prints take some more convincing.

          You can set nozzle distance with a mechanical feeler, like your sticky note, but you will need to fine tune some based on things like extrusion temperature and type of filament. This guide was made for printers with auto bed leveling, but the pictures are helpful.

          Here are some signs you’re too close to the bed:

          • a ripply first layer
          • areas of the first layer with no filament and/or a clicking extruder motor (your nozzle is too close to the bed and can’t extrude at all)
          • elephant’s foot (the first few layers stick out more horizontally than the layers above them
          • a thin and brittle skirt that flakes off in pieces vs coming off as a continuous loop. Removing these tends to leave a very thin layer of residual material on your bed that you can see, but not really feel
          • layer lines that are too smooshed together