I just got an Ender 3 and it works very well out of the box, at least for the models that come with it on a microSD card. Anything I run out of my slicer myself is too high off the build plate to adhere properly unless I put an adhesive down first, then have it make a raft under the model. I have very good prints after doing that, particularly a Rotorstorm head that looks surprisingly well detailed. However, I don't want to use all that extra filament.

I'm using the current version of Cura on Linux with its default Ender 3 profile and haven't been able to find anything about this particular problem. I wanted to try Slic3r but it crashes on launch for me. Cura seems to work pretty well for most people, so I'd really like to get past this problem on it. Has anyone seen this before? I wanted to check here before I had to get involved in another forum somewhere or even (shudder) Reddit.

 

Sounds like your z-height isn't calibrated in the slicer software properly. You will probably have to add some g-code to the start of every print that lowers the print head slightly.

I can't tell you how or what exact code, it's been WAY too long since I've fiddled with such things, but there is usually a place in the slicer to automatically add a g-code header to each print. You'll have to research g-code and find the right commands.

 

Thank you for that much. That gives me a place to start looking and some terminology I was missing. Just knowing the right words might help me find what I'm looking for. Considering this is my only real problem so far, I've probably been very lucky.

 

Just be REAL careful with it - the wrong bit of code can send your printhead smashing into the plate at full speed. Go slow and keep your hand on the off switch until you find the exact right bit of code.

 

One more thing you can do to get better bed adhesion is to use an Elmer's glue stick and put a thin layer on the bed. I always printed in ABS and this was a lifesaver, and you can always wipe if off with a wet rag if it doesn't help.

Maybe there's something better these days, I haven't been keeping up with the changes.