How To Get The PERFECT First Layer on Your 3D Prints

May 2024 Update - • How To Get The PERFECT...
Getting a smooth, consistent first layer of plastic to stick to your print bed is one of the most important aspects of FDM 3D printing. There is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding about this out there so allow me to attempt to demystify it for you.
00:00 4 fundamentals
00:44 Bed Adhesion
05:10 Bed Level
07:05 Z or nozzle offset
11:12 Slicer setting

[@katt4787]

Thank you SO MUCH, there are so many junk videos out there for explaining z-offset, you explained it beautifully and really helped me fix my prints. +1 subscriber.

[@designbydave]

Glad it was helpful!

[@GodisWithUsMinistries]

FINALLY someone who actually helps with the z offset

[@designbydave]

Glad to be of help!

[@GodisWithUsMinistries]

@@designbydave you deserve tons of subscribers. Thanks for this

[@YetiCaveMedia]

Ok, this was a great video. Explaining the exact shape of the nozzle distance issues is what I needed. It made it all click. Most people just show a picture and say too close too far. Thank you so much for this video!

[@designbydave]

Glad it helped!

[@tristanw8865]

Oh man, exactly the video I needed! I had those tiger stripes rippling through my first layer. It was a struggle to find a video with exactly this problem. Thanks for making this video.

[@designbydave]

Glad it helped!

[@911Hammer]

Agree.. best video out there on this topic! ❤ it!

[@sahhull]

If you have an Ender3. Dont expect your bed to be flat. Mine are lower in the middle. I fixed it by sticking some alu tape to the magnetic surface. It shimmed up the middle enough to level it.

[@designbydave]

That's pretty much going to be the case for most print beds. I made an updated video where I talk about that a bit, and the need for a probe to compensate. Your idea for mechanically "flattening" the bed sounds like something worth trying as well.

[@WolfgerSilberbaer]

Thanks for some good examples. Nozzle too close to print bed is 100% my issue.

[@designbydave]

Glad to help!

[@martyj5538]

Showing examples of bad z offset was super helpful!

[@designbydave]

Glad to hear!

[@UzunKamis]

Important points, thank you.

[@mgrantom]

Very succinct. This helped me a bunch. Thanks!

[@designbydave]

Glad to help

[@gravis00]

Fantastic video. Great explanation and examples

[@designbydave]

Glad you liked it!

[@SVSky]

Thanks this is super helpful. Having to learn this through trial and error has been tough.

[@designbydave]

Glad to help! Yeah it can be tricky to isolate variables, especially as those variables change with materials, and even part geometry. Lots of people post online "WhAt'S WRonG wIth My prINT?" without taking the time to investigate. And then the responses are often less then helpful.

[@PrincessPumprnickle]

Thank you for this video! I have been trying to print a part with small holes for mounting and was having problems with warping and decreased adhesion around the small areas on the first layer. Increasing the bed temp, decreasing print speed, and adjusting the z-offset in real time while watching the first layer was just the trick I needed. Again thank you so much!

[@designbydave]

So glad to help!

[@turtletuga1785]

❤ Thank you so much great video

[@grayparagon4164]

I liked how you kept it VERY quick and beginner friendly for those slicer settings that help with first layer. I think this is a missing link for me thats gonna help beyond just touching that bed all the time.. prolly too much messing with the whole 4 corner bed leveling for my own good.

[@designbydave]

Glad to help!

[@xxxfreshman]

Thx, i have a silicon carbide glass Plate, and this is amazing, it holds everything ABD PETG PLA, without problem, only thing is that you have to wait until it has Room Temperature, but believe me it made my life in 3D Printing much easier.

[@xxxfreshman]

And now my Printer prints mostly every time, directly after cleaning the plate with alcohol. No Spray nothing, i have a CR10-S with BL- Touch double Gear, full metal headend and a Ruby Crystal Printhead. 🙂

[@naidol]

Best common sense explanation on the internet. Thanks 👍

[@designbydave]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ScottWinterringer]

yet this is a trained item.... so how was it common sense...

[@robodelux]

Great information, I will have to try hairspray.

[@designbydave]

A slight update to this, I might suggest trying Magigoo adhesive as possibly a better alternative. I haven't tried it with PETG, but with PLA its great. They also make nylon and polycarbonate specific versions which work perfectly. They are all water soluble so they wash off the part and build plate easily.

[@domlebel]

your a boss man !! thanks a lot

[@designbydave]

Glad it helped

[@shaun8309]

Can't wait to follow your advise! I'll give some feedback soon. Just got a Ender 6, small parts print perfectly, but larger parts not so good.

[@designbydave]

There's a lot a play with larger parts other then the first layer to consider. Material warp as it prints, supports etc. However a good first layer is critical.

[@shaun8309]

@@designbydave Shot man. I'm pulling my hair out from frustration. But I'm sure I'll get eventually. Thinking now that I have never set my z axis home adjustment screw when assembling the printer.

[@tomwilliams2753]

thank you for problem solving advice that saved me. Go halve the manufactures temperatures range. 10 degrees between crap and strawberries. thank you.

[@designbydave]

Glad it helped

[@acondi4853]

Hi David, awesome video! just wandering if you had a video about insulating the inside of your ender 6? and why you did it? Thanks, keep up the awesome vids!

[@designbydave]

Hey thanks for checking it out! I don't have a video about the insulation and I put that in after I made my main Ender-6 video. I just lined the inside with cheap, garage door insulation, held on with double sided tape. The insulation keeps the enclosure warm, not quite as warm as a proper heated enclosure, but warm enough to print challenging materials like ABS, ASA and Polycarbonate. See my video about printing carbon fiber PC for more on that - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIGsdnlvqrx-iaM

[@acondi4853]

@@designbydave thank you very much. I have already watched that video. it’s awesome!

[@ApolloFX_CZ]

soo thanks to you i now know my Z offset was too low ..... thank you very much

[@designbydave]

Glad I could help

[@kibagami25]

I've heard people use G10 and G11 sometimes. This material is great and has high heat levels.

[@designbydave]

Yes those can be great from what I here.

[@JDMRaw]

my first layer on my ender 3 v 2 while printing a lithophane box had good squish and great adheasion, the only issue i had was the lines of each pass were just barely touching like fine hair, just missing eachother. if i pull the first layer off and looked through it, it would be like looking out of cosplay white eyes. so that first layer at .2 layer hight making it .25 may work. thank you

[@designbydave]

What you're describing usually means that the z offset is too high, however in that case you would likely have very poor adhesion. I would first check that you are extruding properly. Calibrate esteps and then flow %. Also check the extrusion width in your slicer. I'm usually at 0.45mm width for a 0.4mm nozzle.

[@JDMRaw]

@@designbydave zoffset is good, bed is level. I’ll have to check the width. How do you calibrate flow? I have my Esteps calibrated.

[@JDMRaw]

@@designbydave also my extrusion widths are set as percentages. I’m using super slicer. It does a pretty good job. It’s just. You can use % or mm to justify settings.

[@designbydave]

@@JDMRaw calibrate flow percent (Prusaslice3r calls it "extrusion multiplier) by printing a small, single or double perimeter, hollow object and measure the wall thickness. It should be the extrusion width specified in your settings. If not, adjust multiplier accordingly.

[@whoarewenow]

thank you for explanation! but what if right bottom of the bed is too far and in the same time left up - is tooo close while testing? How can i proceed here without any adjustable knobs on corners? ender v3 ke, autoleveling and auto z offset

[@designbydave]

I'm not sure I understand. Your printer should still have a way to mechanically level the bed before doing the auto leveling

[@whoarewenow]

@designbydave no, in new Creality printers there is no manual knobs anymore. Ender v3 KE, CR 10 se, K1 - nope. Everything on bed sensor

[@designbydave]

I'm not sure about those printers. There must be a way to mechanically level the bed to a "good enough" state before the auto calibration. I suspect that is done at the factory before shipping. Perhaps your printer is mechanically too far from level that the auto calibration can't compensate. You will need to look into a specific leveling procedure / workflow for your printer. @@whoarewenow

[@F1v30h1]

Seems that my temperatures are across the board 10 degrees higher then want is recommended by the manufacturer. New to 3d printing so not sure what to make of it…

[@designbydave]

As long as you are getting desirable print results, that shouldn't be an issue. Could be that your thermistors are not that accurate which wouldn't be unheard of considering these mostly cheap, mass produced components in consumer level 3d Printers.

[@EbrahimAlzaabi-jd7nf]

Hello I have a question I’m kinda new to 3d printing and I’m not sure if it’s normal or not that’s why I came here but the bottom of my 3d print I feel like it’s too visible and has a lot of lines pls help me! Thanks.

[@designbydave]

The appearance of the bottom of your print will depend on the print bed surface. If it's smooth, you should expect to see the extrusion pattern (lines.) A textured bed will help to hide those lines.

[@EbrahimAlzaabi-jd7nf]

@@designbydavehey I don’t get it Do u have insta so I can show u a pic of what I mean?

[@EbrahimAlzaabi-jd7nf]

@@designbydavepls answer man your the only hope I got.

[@1937Brett]

The 1st one happened to me on a new bed I had to heat my bed plate more

[@1937Brett]

How do u access the printer settings on the pc

[@learnthrivecompassion422]

The settings are in the slicer. I use the slicer Cura.

[@paulcole1171]

the problem I am have is that the first layer is not coming away from my project any ideas to why please

[@designbydave]

"first layer not coming away from my project" What? More details please

[@paulcole1171]

@@designbydave The initial first layer that goes onto the bed before the project starts on top of it which is fine and it sticks to the bed nicely but when the project is finished and I try to remove or seperate the first layer or bed layer from the project it is stuck fast to the project and very hard to remove

[@Mindless_One]

@@paulcole1171 Let the Bed cool down before trying to remove the part,,, if its still stuck hard and won't come off,,, remove part and build plate ( i assume your using Glass or some type of removable plate) and put it the Fridge or Freezer for a while -,

[@jaycurtis213]

Are u active

[@designbydave]

Yes

[@MegaTechnoteacher]

Bed Traming not leveling

[@designbydave]

Ok