1

Novice printer here, looking for help with my new Flashforge Finder. I am trying to create a large square game board by first making four smaller squares. After printing the four (identical) boards I discovered that they formed a gap when placed together and determined that my “square” is actually between 0.5-3 degrees off at each corner, forming slightly skewed parallelograms. I am positive that my 3D model is a perfect square so I suspect something might be misaligned on the printer. Any ideas on how to check/fix this issue?

Thanks!

2

Before I can help you with your question, could you tell me what kind of material you are printing? ABS, PLA? Do you have a heated build plate? What temperature is your extruder and build plate set to? Are you printing to glass? Do you use any method to help with bed adhesion?

3

Hard to diagnose. Pictures would help. I would try printing at half speed and see if anything changes. This would help narrow down whether your motor/driver is missing steps or you axis are actually out of alignment or something else.
-Jesse

4

Thanks! Flashforge Finder only uses PLA and does not have a heated build plate. Extruder set to 220. Struggled with bed adhesion at first, removed the proprietary bluetak and have found that 3M blue printers tape plus a raft prevents the curling I first encountered. I am attaching a photo that shows what should be four perfect squares aligned against a carpenters square and each other. Your should be able to see the gaps formed.

Thoughts on what could cause this and how I might fix it? Thank you again.

IMG_2224.JPG
IMG_2224.JPG2448×3264 1.3 MB

5

Thanks! I provided additional information on the comment below and attached a photo showing four squares that are actually (very slightly) four parallelograms. I appreciate your help.

6

If the layers line up vertically then it’s unlikely that your motors are losing steps. Are your belts/pulleys/etc and tight and moving freely? I’m not familiar with your specific machine but the most obvious answer would be that your x & y axis are skewed(not totally perpendicular). That should be easy to verify by visual inspection. Also, I would go download some small calibration models off thingivers to test with.
-Jesse

7

Your cross bars are slightly out of alignment - purely a mechanical issue - drop FF an Email and ask them how to set them straight - I suspect a simple drive adjustment. If the cross bars that the head rides on as it moves left and right, are slightly skewed, the print will be also. Simple mechanical job :slight_smile: