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I re-read my question and realized I made a confusing one, so I am rewording a LOT.

So the software I use is Craftware. When it comes to the first layer I have it set to .25mm, with the following layers being whatever I specify otherwise. And because of this there shouldn't be a difference with the first layer even though I choose different layer heights based on the project. But for some reason it is not the case.

When printing .2mm layer height everything works great. The print adheres amazing, the nozzle is at a really good height. Everything simply works.

When printing .1mm the first layer does not stick. A lot less plastic is coming out the nozzle. And it is a disaster. Have tried increasing the amount of flow a bit, but didn't help (I might need to raise it a lot more)

So I don't understand what is going wrong. The first layer is supposed to be set at .25mm no matter what the layer height is otherwise. What do I need to do or look at?

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  • $\begingroup$ No need for fixing issue. I took the first layer extrude adjustment from 100% to 200% and now the first layer is looking as it should, yay. It does what I need it too. Understand that when I try to adjust the z axis with the .2mm layer height. So I would rather go 200% when I do use .1mm layer height because otherwise I use .2mm much more often $\endgroup$
    – Ljk2000
    Mar 22 '18 at 16:52
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    $\begingroup$ Did any of the posted answers solve your issue? If so, please mark it as the accepted answer. If not, then either refine your question or please post your comment above (which appears to contain the solution) as an answer, and then mark it as accepted in 48 hours, in order to remove your question from the unanswered queue. Answers are not allowed in comments, and may be deleted. If your answer is posted as an answer then it becomes searchable and may help others with the same issue. $\endgroup$
    – 0scar ♦
    Oct 4 '18 at 7:22
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You likely need to re-calibrate the Z-height of your nozzle. The reason that a lot less plastic is coming out of the nozzle at 0.1mm is that the actual gap is likely smaller than 0.1mm. This makes the print bed act essentially like a partial "lid" on the nozzle which occludes the outflow of molten plastic.

Simplify3D has information on their website regarding the issue which can be found here: https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-troubleshooting/#not-extruding-at-start-of-print. Hope this helps!

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Assuming you are using a 0.4mm nozzle, 0.1 layers are very close to the edge of what you can do. As @PR90 said, a Z adjustment will probably help.

My process for this:

  • If you have a heated bed, preheat before levelling.
  • set a large brim on the print, slow-ish first level (about 40mm/s)
  • start with the bed levelled normally, and start the print
  • wait for plastic to be extruding, then adjust the bed until it starts bonding

This does require adjusting the bed with the print in progress, so make sure you are safe and don't get your fingers in anything hot or otherwise dangerous.

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You have asked several questions here.

"why is first layer set to 0.25" -- check the gcode file, opening it in a text editor, to see what layer values are specified.

"looks like under-extrude" -- please show a picture. If it's purely that the print failing to adhere, you may need to adjust the Z-zero point slightly. Or perhaps When you printed at 0.2mm, for whatever reason the transverse stress on the base layer is less than when printing at 0.1 mm (e.g., linear speed adjustments needed).
Is the second layer somehow not adhering to the first layer? It is possible that the linear speed setting for the first layer is too high and that should be adjusted. Or perhaps the z-height for the second layer is inconsistent with a 0.1mm layer setting, so check the gcode there too.

In general, adherence problems can be dealt with by adding a raft or brim. See if that suffices.

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  • $\begingroup$ I re-worded my question with the intention to help you and others understand my problem better. Thank you for the answer, I will look at those Gcode files once. $\endgroup$
    – Ljk2000
    Mar 21 '18 at 15:41

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