First Print - A disaster

[dan]

So I tried to print a simple shape. First time, I did not feed teh PLA all the way through the white tubing so didn't print. Fed it the rest of the way through and about 20 seconds into it's movement it starts to acutally push the material out...but..it did not seem to rise (the arm) so it just kept on just spinning the start of the print.

I put elmer's glue (stick form) on the glass as I read that was what was recommended...but what else can I try?

[aria...@gmail.com]

I'm not sure exactly what happened from your description. But if I understand correctly your print didn't stick to the bed.  If I'm visualizing what happened correctly your nozzle is probably to high and you need to adjust your Z Offset (It's been a few years since I've used my Lorei so I don't remember where it is in the menus, maybe someone else can tell you if you can't find it, or I can look at mine tonight). Adjust it in small increments as you don't want to smash the nozzle into the bed.  The arm rises in very small increments (whatever you layer height is set to) so its not easy to see that it's moving with your eye, you can watch the z-axis lead screw though to see if it's turning.

[Wesley Hayward]

I recommend blue painter's tape, apply it to the print area and then lightly rub a bit of isopropyl alcohol over it, makes it tacky. If the print comes off cleanly, you can actually reuse the same tape if you hit it again with the alcohol. It usually sticks like crazy though so that's rare for me.

As mentioned by the other post, your layer height determines how much your printer's Z axis moves upward. If I print a miniature it's usually 0.05mm layer heights, which are fairly imperceptible except over a longer course of time. If you are unsure of a print, leave it for 5-10 minutes and come back to check on it and see if your Z axis is moving.

Also, if you're loading a filament in, I'd recommend going to your Lorei's screen menu under "Prepare", then Preheat PLA. This will get whatever nozzle you want up to temperature, then try to feed the filament through until you see a string of material come out of the nozzle. That way you'll know that the filament is ready to go.

On Sunday, August 16, 2020 at 12:59:16 PM UTC-4 dan wrote:

[Jens]

I have applied a sheet of BuildTak on one side of the glass bed. I have good results with it for PLA. If I opt for ABS-slurry or gluestick then I simply flip the bed an am good to go.

[dan]

It's been non-stop headaches for me. Big issue is I can't seem to get the PLA to stick to the bed, which causes it to spaghettify immensely right out of the nozzle. Even if I raise the nozzle and just try to feed through the PLA it just loops on itself. UGH.

I wonder, if anyone would be so kind, maybe give me a step-by-step (with maybe a test GCODE to use). I know it's a big ask, but I'm pretty desperate here.