Poor print quality issues - reaching my frustration limit!

[mitchfx]

After over a month of good printing success with my Dremel Idea Builder and Simplify 3d things have deteriorated into a sad state. I've tried multiple calibrations, nozzle cleanings, filament changes, tempuratures, settings, speeds etc. but can no longer get the level of quality I was getting up until a couple of weeks ago. I'm getting what appears to be a combination of strong ringing combined with sparse extrusion. I've attached a photo of one of these problem areas.

Is it possible this could be caused by loose belts or maybe platform vibration?

[JoeJ]

Definitely looks like a hardware issue. There are clearly visible large vibrations and inconsistencies there. Maybe some loose belts or set screws.

Obviously, there really isn't anything to do here from the software side. Just print one of the same files your printed before that worked well. Then you can focus on what hardware issues have emerged that is causing the same exact file to print differently.

It's clear from your picture that something is definitely wrong with the machine

[mitchfx]

Joe,

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, this is actually a re-run of a previously successful print. It exhibits more obvious problems using this specific PLA which might be due to the fact it is much less translucent than all my other filaments. I'm suspecting I might need to do some belt tensioning and rail cleaning/oiling as a first step. The machine does seem to vibrate more now than it originally, which might also mean some issues with the platform and leveling springs. The Dremel platform is clear plexi so it's not too heavy, which probably makes it more prone to bouncing around if things are not tuned just right. I've been looking at a way to dampen the bed a bit and even possibly have a new platform cut out of real glass or aluminum.

It's been a good printer so far until this issue, but I'm considering returning it since I still have about 30 days to do that. My Rapide 200XL arrives in a month or so hopefully, but I still want to have two printers. Still on the hunt for something to replace the Dremel in that equation.

[drector]

All belts have a tendency to strech when new - my printer got really sloppy after a month of use. You might start by tightening everything.

[mitchfx]

My Y belts seem pretty tight and even make the magic "Cello" sound when plucked. The X belt feels a bit sloppy but I never checked it when new for comparison. I might try one of those tensioning clips on the belt (Y belts already have some in place which probably explains their tautness), but unsure where to place it in order to avoid colliding with the extruder or anything else. I would also like to try and dampen the build platform if possible since the entire bed is made of plastic and prone to vibration.

In the meantime I did some quick cleanup to the rails, taulman pull to clear the nozzle and put a fresh adhesive pad (Dremel's own heavy duty tape thingy) to try and get everything ship-shape. I ran a couple of small test prints at both 100 and 80 micron and the results were darn nice! I suspect I will still get the usual problems once I try a larger print again since this unit seems to struggle the longer it goes and the higher the layers get.

100 Micron - EasyFil Bronze PLA

80 Micron - Push Plastic Gray PLA

[mitchfx]

Just received a replacement extruder assembly from Dremel and it's printing as good as new now. Must have either been a chronic partial nozzle blockage, bad stepper motor or degraded PTFE liner.

[KeyboardWarrior]

Just received a replacement extruder assembly from Dremel and it's printing as good as new now. Must have either been a chronic partial nozzle blockage, bad stepper motor or degraded PTFE liner.

Your prints look really good to be honest. Especially when scaled that small, I think that you're pushing the upper limits of quality for desktop 3D printers. The Dremel is certainly a great machine, but I think expectations of prints are important to keep in mind (especially since these look really good already).