I have been eyeing CNC routers for a long time. Although I would like a nice fancy CNC from some of the established players, I can’t justify (or afford) that kind of money right now. So, here we are.
I just pressed start on the print for the core on my Creality K1. Hopefully it turns out alright. Up until now all of my prints have basically been toys. This will be my first functional print. I am just using the PLA that I happened to have on hand.
I spent a bit of time calibrating my K1 prior to this and had to make some adjustment for skew. Other than that it wasn’t too bad.
Well, I’ll be back tomorrow. Hopefully with a pictures of a nicely printed core.
I just had a failed print, while printing yz_plate_max.
I ran out of black so I switched to white. They were both Creality Ender PLA. They were from the same order, so the same age. The black printed very nicely, but the white had some layer adhesion issues. All of the settings were the same.
I’m not sure if I should try another print with the white or not.
The crappy white filament left a residue on my print bed. I got what I could off and then my next print (black this time) didn’t adhere to the bed. I don’t think I’ll ever use white again.
I heated up the print bed and then used isopropyl alcohol and the print bed pretty much looks like new. I should probably do this on the regular anyway.
Now my print went all spaghetti on me. I’m not sure why I’m having so much trouble all of a sudden. My core printed perfectly and now nothing is working right.
I cleaned the bed with isopropyl again and then I washed it with soap and water. To say that soap and water are a requirement is an understatement. The isopropyl didn’t actually clean the bed at all. All it did was dissolve everything and smear it all over the bed. As soon as I put some hot water on the bed there was a heavy greasy layer. Dish soap and hot water took it right off.
Hopefully the next print (going now) turns out. I’m learning all of this as I go along.
Yes, dishwashing detergent is extremely effective at removing grease.
As an aside, it is well known that when making models, the model is disassembled after assembly and then washed in an ultrasonic cleaner filled with dishwashing detergent to degrease the parts.
That’s how good it is.
But be careful.
The commercial dishwashing detergents used in restaurants are so powerful that they can erase your fingerprints. (I have already experienced this at a part-time job when I was a student.)
It may be frustrating. But you are learning a lot. Take your time. Be patient. Be methodical. You will come out the other side with a better printer and way more knowledge. And, it’s always ok to take a break.
It really can be frustrating. But it is one of those things where the harder you push, the harder it pushes back. Sometimes you have to just go take a shower and let your mind wander before coming up with that eureka moment.
Cleaning my build plate has solved all of my printing problems. Everything is printing beautifully now. I’m currently printing the last black part. Next will be the accent color parts.
