Robox ABS filament completely totally not sticking to bed issue

[drfrei @drfrei My Robox is a Blue Commercial Version]

I have had the filament curl and warp but nothing like this.

If the youtube video works you can see nothing at all sticks to the bed, it all bunches up around the nozzles like toothpaste.

I have levelled the gantry many, many times, tried various nozzle heights (currently low I think at 0.25), x, y and z tests, speed tests, cleaned nozzles, etc. but the filament is now not sticking at all to the bed. I am using ABS Chroma Green with the first layer set at 125, then 110. I am sure this is fixable: after a period of inactivity and some maintenance the printer was working okay for a print or two before this started happening. I am now absolutely baffled and will try anything.

 

Please help.

[Mike @17bt CHORLEY, Lancashire]

@drfrei Two obvious things here

The bed looks remarkably shiny, have you got it wrong side up? But the biggest faux pas is your purge is not staying in the silicon bin, and is stuck to the nozzle, so when it levels the nozzle is much higher up than what it should be, so it can’t possibly stick on the bed, plus with that much ooze around the nozzle it would wipe it off if it could.

Simple test, use the tweezers and keep the purge ooze in the bin, and see what happens. I think you’ll find it’ll stick, if PEI sheet is matt side up, wiped with isopropyl alcohol and nozzle snot free. 🙂

[drfrei @drfrei My Robox is a Blue Commercial Version]

Thanks so much Mike, I have been picking the ooze off the nozzles like a demented robot, trying to anticipate the movement of the head, without much luck. I have also cleaned the bed with isopropyl alcohol several times. What did not occur to me is that I might have inadverently flipped the bed over during a calibration cycle. Would make sense as the only thing I can trace that I did between having a great print and having a godawful mess was some calibration steps.

Alas, turning over the bed has made no difference. The filament just won’t stick: it is most disastrous when the head moves 90degrees: instead of the material staying on the bed at the corner, it follows the nozzle looking a lot like a rubber band.

I will try calibrating again, I would be grateful for any more suggestions: I know this is a common problem and I have suffered it before, but never as disabling as this.

[Mike @17bt CHORLEY, Lancashire]

@drfrei You might see better results after calibration, especially redoing the nozzle height tests without any contamination.

There’s a small possibility the PEI sheet needs roughing up a bit with P320 sandpaper using a small circular action, washing in soapy water to remove dust, leaving to dry, and trying again, but as it was doing OK before, and what I saw in the youtube snippet, I think that nozzle height/bed levelling was the major issue.

Generally, if nothing I being put down on the bed, and the extruder is making a grumbling noise, you can assume that you might be too close to the bed, and there is insufficient space between nozzle and bed, BUT if there is ooze building up, you are too far away from the bed, as it’ll pigtail out of the nozzle, and squirm around the nozzle, instead of pushing onto the bed.

Very occasionally the PEI sheet can bulge in the middle, especially when using higher temperatures (ABS etc) and obviously stop material going onto the bed, as the nozzle is too close effectively. The clue there is, the line deposition (thickness) will improve, as it moves to another less distorted area.

 

 

[BHudson @bhudson I have both RoboxDual and other Robox versions Arizona, USA]

@drfrei Your tip wipe is missing. This means the filament being purged at the start of the print stays on the tip. You will need to either find your tip wipe or purchase a replacement. If you do not know what the tip wipe is, you will need to read the user manual downloadable on the downloads page.

Your PEI Sheet is also glossy, and it looks like your nozzle height is too high, though I can’t tell for sure from the angle of the video, but as there are no indications of any material left on the bed I suspect the nozzle is too high rather than too low. Most print heads do well with a nozzle height of about 0.20-0.30.

You may want to open a support ticket as you can get specific instruction tailored for your specific printer and the support agent can provide additional detailed instruction via the support portal.

I operate two Betas and four Production Robox.
I am the US/Canada Technical Support engineer for the Robox.
See my 3D Hub site at https://www.3dhubs.com/phoenix/hubs/ben

[drfrei @drfrei My Robox is a Blue Commercial Version]

Thanks @bhudson and everyone else. I have made some good progress with this through:

1. Reducing the nozzle height to lower than recommended by the paper test (0.20)
2. Re siting the wiper which I had of course removed because I thought it had no function in my desperation to find a solution (I know).
3. Sanding the bed with 400gsm wetordry and cleaning with isopropyl alcohol.

I still have problems with small features in the first layer (warping and sticking to nozzle head), but with prints with a larger, more spread out base I am now at least getting some good prints.

Also the print is now very hard to remove from the bed!

I had put in a support ticket already…regarding support, this forum has been very helpful.

 

[Mike @17bt CHORLEY, Lancashire]

Also the print is now very hard to remove from the bed!

@drfrei That sort of suggests in my experience, that you can increase the nozzle height further without detriment. Try increasing this by a small amount, say 0.05 at a time to both nozzles, and see if this makes it any easy to pull off the bed when cold.

Small features warping with ABS can benefit from having a brim attached, but sticking to the nozzle head, suggests you might be a little too close as well. Ultimately, you could try the newer lower warp ABS formulations, like TitanX, as Robox Chroma Green ABS is old school.

[drfrei @drfrei My Robox is a Blue Commercial Version]

Thanks Mike. I didn’t realise Chroma Green was old school, I have ordered some SLA .

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