4d ago

Filament won't adhere?

ISOLEYIN Ultra PLA 3D Printing Filament 1kg, 1.75mm

I got two spools of this stuff (black and white). First few prints with the white went perfectly. Since then, it won't adhere normally.

I've tried increasing the bed temperature to 60, filament temperature to 210, washed the bed and reapplied the glue, dried the filament.. nothing works.

When I try a raft, it blobs through it, and then won't adhere to itself.

I'm assuming it's me, but idk what I'm doing wrong.

Please be kind, I've only had my printer for a couple of months.

13 comments

How did you wash the bed? I used the greasy dish sponge and took me a bit to realize my mistake.
- A little Windex for the first round, and then Dawn dish soap and warm water. I always use paper towels.
  
  Yeah. That's not a good idea, despite everyone recommending it. (Well, manufacturers don't, neither do professionals) Dish soap is actually often putting a limited greasy lawyer on things to protect skin,etc. Isopropanol for the win. A very very small amount is enough.
  If it's so bad it needs water then use Iso later on.
I have had bad, wet sections of PLA refuse to adhere to beds or its own layers. There's a lot of ways a filament manufacturer could fuck up the blend or moisture control, especially with cheaper shit.
Cut a section out and hold a lighter or heat gun under the end until it softens and curls up.
Good filament should look smooth and the same color. Bad filament will get bubbly, wart-looking texture and take on a yellow sheen. The bubbles are moisture leaving the plastic and the yellow sheen is the plastic breaking down, it will have no adhesion.
Worth trying to dry it just to see if it improves at all but cheap filament is gonna be cheap.
- Oh, and I'll try this, thank you.
- Weirdly, it worked no problem for a few days before it just didn't anymore. Maybe I'll try drying it again.
Something I didn't see mentioned so far: have you checked if your nozzle is perhaps too old? I had filament curling upwards and creating blobs due to a nozzle being too old. Especially brass nozzles can wear out rather quickly if you use your printer regularly. If the filament would like to stick to the nozzle itself or move sideways (i.e. curling up when extruded) it rather quickly screws up prints.
Simplest way to check is of course to use other filament.
As you have already dried it(which is the most common issue. How did you dry it?) another issue can indeed be your heatsink. Do you have any other filament and does that have the same issue?
Filament not sticking to itself sounds pretty unusual.. Found this review on youtube. The channel has 6 subscribers and I have no idea if it's legit or disguised marketing, but all the comments mention similar problems as yours. There's also this review, with more negative comments. One person says they managed to get good prints by raising the print temp even more, but don't do that if you have a PTFE lined hotend. I.e. only try higher temps if you know for sure that you have an all metal hotend.
- I guess that's why it was on super sale then... oof. Thank you!
beirut_bootleg is correct. With bed aheision issues, always start with washing the plate with warm water and dish soap and and a clean paper towel. Dry the plate with a clean paper towel. Keep your fingers from touching the plate's surface to prevent the oils from your skin coating the plate.
If this doesn't solve your issue, then we need to try something else.
- I definitely wash the bed correctly. I'm new but I know that much 😄
  
  Well, that's new information then.

13 comments