3DPrinting @lemmy.world atocci @lemmy.world 3 mo. ago

I've finally done it, a perfect first layer in progress

One painful firmware update later and the z-offset bug that has plagued me since getting the Neptune 4 Pro is finally resolved and first layers are good again just like that. I just had to share the thrilling end result.

25 comments

You can't know if it is perfect, when it still is in progress
- Haha thankfully the first layer really was flawless, but I had to cancel this print for unrelated reasons pretty soon after posting anyways. Turns out I was so excited to finally get printing again, I forgot to re-enable supports in the slicer after the last thing I printed a while ago didn't need them.
- ~~Why be like that? Why be the person that has to piss on someone's parade, when all they want to do is share a small, personal win?~~
  
  Edit: As covered elsewhere in this particular comment thread, this was indeed a joke. I take it back.
  
  And, I think we can all agree, OP needs to share how they've achieved what may turn out to be the perfect first layer. As an Ender3 owner, I've all but given up trying to achieve this, so open to any tips or tricks I haven't tried.
  
  I read it less as them shitting on them and more them making a joke about how things tend to immediately go wrong the second you say anything positive about it.
  
  It was indeed a joke, partly on the unforseeability of 3D printing, but also partly at celebrating too early. You don't celebrate a champions league win, when you have a lead at the half time.
Don't forget to swap the springs out too. At least for me my Neptune had trash springs that couldn't hold tension to save its life. I bought a cheap set on amazon and i stopped banging my head against the wall. Mind you i have the plus, so maybe not an issue for the pro.
- Silicone "springs", plus printed thumbwheels without a ton of clearance for the leveling screws, really helped my i3 clone a lot. I could go multiple prints without having to relevel! It was like a dream.
- I printed some locks for the leveling knobs to keep them in place, would new springs do the same thing?
  
  Doesn't prevent the screw from turning necessarily. What you need is better tension.
Z offset bug? Is this why I've been having problems for months? I had it working ok but it didn't last too long
- Might be! Depends on how long you've had the printer because more recent orders will have shipped with the allegedly fixed firmware. Basically, you want to never set the z-offset in the web UI without having the fixed firmware, otherwise things will get weird and my build plate has the scar to prove it.
  
  Damn, mine is from December last year and I did not update the firmware because it was working ok out of the box after only adjusting the z-offset and leveling.
  
  Recently I've had some first layer issues that a nozzle swap didn't fix, so thanks for sharing, I've got some playing to do I guess.
It's not a little squished?
- The perimeter does seem a little squished, but the lines making up the fill look pretty good. It could just be the lighting.
  
  Too much squish = ripples and I don't see any of those.
- I don't think it was squished, it came out without any of those ripples and the perimeter didn't have any elephant's foot.
  
  Hella tight! Congratulations 🎉
Have to say, that is a pretty clean first layer, kudos!

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