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Hi, I having trouble getting to the root of this problem. Tried to investigate but since I recently bought the printer and have low experience tampering with it I was hoping maybe someone had a clue what to do. I have a makerbot 5th with the plus extruder. Set on high default settings. I put the fans to 100%. I get theses riples in the print, very visible lines and bounce surface. I have printet lots with pla on my school and have never seen this. Thank you for any input you might have.

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Can you make a screenshot of your settings? If you have a windows computer you can use Snipping Tool.

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How many shells/perimeters are you using? If only one, this could be the point where the internal infill structure touches the outer perimeter. If this is the problem, changing to 2 shells/perimeters should help.

It could also be an error in the STL file.

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You might want to look at this print quality troubleshooting guide. This is the first place I turn to when I experience any print quality issues.

https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-troubleshooting/

Here is the specific link to the problem that I think is similar to yours, but not sure…

https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-troubleshooting/#blobs-and-zits

Hope this helps.

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Looks like something with the up/down z axis. Can you move it smoothly up and down via the control panel?

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To rule out an extruder issue, make sure you are on the latest Makerbot desktop and printer firmware. Then try running the print directly from your computer via USB or WiFi, if you have that set up. The slicer may prep the model for the wrong extruder if you slice the model offline. However, after you do it this way once, I think the Desktop app will save the settings.

There could also be a mechanical issue, in which case you should contact support. If it’s a new printer, it should be under warranty.

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I would be pretty unhappy with that coming off a printer also. I see three problems, 1. blobs, 2. layers that are not smooth, 3. diagonal lines showing.

You said you set the fans to 100%, if this is not the default, go back to the default settings.

You said you are printing on High (fine resolution?) Try the print on medium resolution, it is more forgiving and see if you get better results.

Someone else asked how many shell layers you are using, I would use 2+ for this. Again, there should be default settings for shells (bottom, top, sides) and fill percent.

The diagonal lines are on the vertical surfaces so not from infill. Are there internal walls in the model that are showing? It could be a combination of that an thin walls. If so, wrap the file with something like Netfabb to eliminated internal walls.

The “unevenness” of the layers could be due to cooling too fast if you set the fan speed higher than default for the profile.

You said you have printed lots of PLA at school with no problems. Same or different model/brand machine? Have you tried this model at school? It might be worth doing a comparison with the same file and settings on different printers and see if it is the machine, slicer, or model.

I would stick with the default setting and slicer.

Is this PLA, if so is it “fresh”? Could it have absorbed moisture?

Those little blobs almost seem like they are from garbage collecting on the extruder tip and building up until it got knocked off and attached to the print.

This is all speculation without seeing things in person but I would make sure you are using default settings, the Makerbot slicer, good material and that firmware and software are up to date. If you are not using Makerbot filament (I know, very expensive) that is another variable to consider as sometimes recommended temps are different.

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In summary, I would stick with the default profile settings for whatever material you are using and make sure you are slicing with Makerware at this point to reduce variables. You might also want to do a comparison test and/or a different model such as a simple cube

Has the printer ever printed nicely?

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This is my settings, but basically they are standard ?

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i have it on 2 shells, and the stl was found on thingiverse. i dont think the file looks broken, looks liek something else :slight_smile:

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im on the lates software both places. im not under warrenty :frowning:

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thank you for a very detailed description. im going to try everything default, medium settings and 3 layers. it is very possible that the filament has absorbed moisture, im planning on building a drybox for it. and yes it is PLA.

im going to do a test print and follow it to see if filament is getting stuck to the nozzle and geting knocked off, if so, what to do?

im not using makerbot filament, very expensive yes, ill check up on the temp. the printer is supposed to have run properly and since the extruder is the plus variant no mechanical problems should be up with it (as far as i can read it should have been fixed in the plus model)

again, thanks for the detailed description, i will try all of the things and hopefully fix it. :smiley: thank you

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My 4th gen makerbot has a standard temp of 230 C for the extruder. I find it hard to believe the 5th gens use 205 C.

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i wouldnt know :smiley: since you have a 4th gen., could you tell me if makerbot rpint is the newest software? hard to figure out

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with “make sure you are slicing with Makerware” do you mean to use the old slicing software makerware or should i use the newest makerbot print? just to make sure, one might be better than the other

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Hmm,

my guess is on either of these two:

A - PLA surface is too hot, try reducing print speed for this, especially with “small” prints.

B - Check if the nozzle is clean on the outside, might be that some of the clutter on the outside is dragging along freshly printed material.

Hope it helps…

You you get any reliability out of the Smart extruder+? My 5th gen is parked for the moment and we are using an Ultimaker 2 instead, much less drama.

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No trouble so far, but have only personally printed around 20 hours on it. Think the filament is supposed to be 195 degrees, ever heard of such a low temp? Maybe I should start with 200?

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The Smart Extruder + is way more reliable.

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That’s a pretty useful page. Thanks for posting that.

It’s also why I mentioned printing a print from the computer. The Smart Extruder + has different settings in the slicer. If you slice for a regular Smart Extruder, you’ll get overextrusion.

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I agree. I think your z-stage may be moving a little while printing. It may also not be traveling up and down well. Lubricate the drive shaft. PTFE grease would be good for that. Also check for loose screws.

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Hi,

i had the same issue with my ultimaker but in my case was an calibrating problem. Print plate was too far from print cores. Have a nice day !