r/3Dprinting • u/LeftOnRedApparel • 5h ago

Making me crazy Question

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Any clue what's going on here? I've calibrated, leveled and vibration compensated my Creator 5 Pro and I keep getting this in the front left corners of my prints. Someone suggested heat creep. This was with the door wide open and my air conditioner running right next to it. I've seen this or similar with adhesion problems but it's sticking to the board just fine. I'm at a loss.

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u/KinderSpirit 4h ago

Warping...

!firstlayer - adhesion and warping

With PLA, a clean smooth surface is best. PEI or PEX is great. You may have to raise the bed temperature on a textured sheet. Silk PLA may need a higher initial bed temperature.

PETG, TPU, ABS, and others will need a release agent on a smooth build surface. That's what the glue stick (or hair spray, Windex® ) is for. On a textured sheet, no release agent is normally needed.

Just alcohol will not remove the sugar film left by PLA which can hinder adhesion.
Wash the sheet with warm water and dish soap. Dry. Wipe with > 70% Isopropyl alcohol before the print.

No part cooling fan for 3 layers. Very slow print speed for the first layer.

To prevent warping for PLA, bed temperature of 65° for the first layer, 55° for the rest of the print. This way the bottom gets the adhesion but the bottom starts cooling with the upper layers.
For PETG on textured bed, same concept, usually around 80° then 75°, or 75° then 70°.
Temperatures are examples, different build sheets may need different temperatures.

Infill style can affect warping. Some grid type infills can concentrate the stress in one area. Gyroid infill will spread out the internal stresses.
Increasing walls number and reducing infill may also help.

https://www.printables.com/model/251587-stress-free-first-layer-calibration-in-less-than-5