I just wanted put an observation about my experience with the V3 KE out there for brand new users like myself.
I’ve only been printing for a month and 85% of that time was spent trying to troubleshoot some very annoying 1st layer printing issues which prevented me from successfully and consistently making prints. After one month of daily use, tweaking speed, flow, width, Z… I was almost ready to give up but decided to run one last Z calibration test print and came to the conclusion that the issue was not with any settings I could adjust, it was hardware related.
Upon testing the bed heating with a Infrared thermometer it was evident that there were a number of cool spots up to -10 degrees. Those cool spot appeared most significantly in the mid point of the bed to the back Y and spanned about 4 inches on the X and was exactly where my 1st layer failed to stick every time.
Long story short I just received the replacement I ordered and after auto calibration, using the same filaments, and without any tweaking except for speed (lithophanes) all my prints 1st layers have been beautiful and stick perfectly!
I’m wondering how many users who are experiencing 1st layer issues think it’s a Z adjustment when it’s actually a faulty bed heating issue? Hopefully this will help one person from loosing their mind trying to fix the issue!
I had the same issue with my new Ender 3 V3 Ke. Right side of the heated bed, about 1 inch in from the right, had consistent first layer issue such as yours. Creality Support had me perform a lot of checks/mechanical adjustments.
A couple of items that I found: the two screws that secure the Y-axis rods at the front of the printer were too short (less than 0.3mm). Both rods had vertical play in them. I replaced the screws with set screws to firmly secure the rods.
Second item was the nozzle housing was loose. When I went to remove the nozzle, the whole assembly wanted to rotate. I removed the silicone sleeve from the nozzle assembly and tightened the two screws securing the heating element. The two screws are covered by the wings on the silicone sleeve.
First layer issue continued without change even after securing items mentioned above. Creality finally sent me a new Heat Bed kit. I installed the new heat bed, reset to Factory Settings, ran the Z and leveling routines and the printer now prints as it should.
Unfortunately I’ve tried all you have mentioned and have the same results. All of my hardware is tight and aligned as best as possible. All the calibrations I can complete are fine. My E-steps seem to be dead on. I can not get a consistent viable first layer because the software/calibration can not compensate (mesh) for the variances in “height” and there is clearly a defect in the bed regarding warping.
I’ve also had a customer service “ticket” with @CREALITY and in the middle of the discussions they decided to not follow up anymore after I tried all their suggestions. I have no idea why.
I guess you should consider yourself lucky they sent you a new bed because they just ignore me.
My printer is now almost 8 months old and should have been taken care of when I contacted them numerous times back when I received it in January/February. I guess they want the clock to run out so they don’t have to send me any replacement parts or a new printer. Figures.
Sorry it’s still not working right…
Not sure if this will help but maybe try different avenues of contact…
Give the ticket # and any other pertinent info:
Just an update: After literally months of back and fourth with Creality Support and and a ridiculous amount of test prints and adjustments Creality is sending a new slide plate and hot bed due to defects. This is what I maintained all along (vindicated!!!).
After seeing so many threads and videos about bed issues I’m convinced there is a QC issue with either parts manufacturing or assembly. You shouldn’t have to modify any machine to get it working as described by the manufacturer/company.
Hopefully this will solve my issue(s).
