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I've got an Anycubic Predator (aka Anycubic D). I followed the official instructions and leveled my printer.

The first annoying problem I ran into is that after the auto-leveling, the level test printing shows that the printer wasn't leveled at all. I tried about 4-5 times, and finally leveled the printer (I thought I just got lucky).

The second problem that isn't solved is that the prints I get are of poor quality. Shown in figure 1 and figure 2. The cube should be 20x20x20 mm, but what I got here is 19.6(x) x 20.4(y) x 20.5(z) mm.

fig1 Figure 1 - X-Y (side) view of calibration square

fig2 Figure 2 - Z (top) view of calibration square

Does anyone have any idea about how to improve the printer's printing quality? Thanks in advance.

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3 Answers 3

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A few tenths of a millimeter are pretty common for 3D printed parts; these are related to the printer hardware. These inaccuracies can be exaggerated by over- or under-extrusion; e.g. if too much filament is extruded, it increases the outer dimensions (and decreases the inner dimensions of holes).

The images show some signs of over-extrusion, maybe a little too hot also.

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  • $\begingroup$ It also looks like it wasn't printed very finely, as in, the layer height is pretty big, like a 0.2 or 0.3 mm layer height. The layers seem fairly coarse. When I printed the same cube on my printer at 0.1 mm, the layers were nowhere near that jagged or stepped (like you see in the Y and X faces of the cube). Printing at a 0.1 mm layer height might produce a lot better results. $\endgroup$
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
    May 14, 2020 at 12:40
  • $\begingroup$ Yes. Not very finely. The layer height is 0.2 mm. I tested my estep, it turns out it is actually under-extrusion. Maybe the temperature? I'll try to decrease the temperature and print another one. $\endgroup$
    – Tasca Qiu
    May 15, 2020 at 10:40
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I assume you just assembled it.

  • Check the grub-screws in your pulleys at the top (remove blue covers). They are often too loose or even lost, causing a slipping belt.
  • After that, check your belt-tension, not too loose not too tight and the same for the three towers.
  • Also check that the wheels are not tightened too much.

It is actually best to break down the three towers and reassemble them carefully.

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It might be a good idea to verify that there is a minimum amount of backlash in your system. With the hotend cold, home the printer, and then using your fingers try to move the effector in all six directions (up, left, right, forward, back) and note if there is any play. There should be as close to zero as possible.

If there is any play, then figure out where it is coming from. Check that the pulleys are firmly screwed to the motor shafts. Check that the carriages cannot wobble, and adjust the eccentric nuts if necessary. Check that the belts are reasonably tight and all have the same tension.

Usually the universal joints in the arms are OK on a new printer, but they tend to wear and become loose after a while.

Note: I build and sell replacement arms for the Anycubic Predator, which use zero-backlash, magnetic ball joints. I had this problem on my first printer, and magnetic ball joints solved it.

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