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Has anyone else got an Ender 3 V2?

Does it.. you know.. work? well work reliably?

have issues here, partly the bed seems slightly warped, indeed I expect this is a large part of the problem. leading to issues with first layer adhesion, nozzle clogs etc.

can run one print and it will be fine, when it completes the exact same file and will take several attempts to get the first layer to stick, the bed levelling will have moved notably as well and can be a royal pig to re-level

levelled with a sheet of paper, typically measuring a few inches in from the corners and going round a few times - then checking the centre and finding its nowhere near the same height

seems wonderful when it works but now I've had it for a year it basically needs watching like a hawk for the first dozen or so layers - if it gets past that without deciding to print spaghetti the result is generally good but so often will get "tearing" on the surface on the first few layers with it then lifting part of the print

it did work pretty well when I first got it, though have always had bed adhesion issues, but at least at the start it tended to stay levelled

The bed itself has a slight concavity at the center above where the heating element is attached to compensate for thermal expansion when heated. You have to level it after you pre-heat the bed. I have a small 1"x1" post it cut out placed at the center under the mag mat to give a little lift at the sink because the depth of the sink is somewhat overdone.

Always level your bed after each print since you can nudge it out when you're peeling the print off the bed - Ender's bed leveling system is relatively "loosie-goosie" and not very stiff/consistent.

Alternatively, the glass bed is a decent upgrade if you don't want to deal with the leveling issue, as well as the DIY auto leveler upgrade.

 skchsan wrote:
The bed itself has a slight concavity at the center above where the heating element is attached to compensate for thermal expansion when heated. You have to level it after you pre-heat the bed. I have a small 1"x1" post it cut out placed at the center under the mag mat to give a little lift at the sink because the depth of the sink is somewhat overdone.

Always level your bed after each print since you can nudge it out when you're peeling the print off the bed - Ender's bed leveling system is relatively "loosie-goosie" and not very stiff/consistent.

Alternatively, the glass bed is a decent upgrade if you don't want to deal with the leveling issue, as well as the DIY auto leveler upgrade.

have been levelling when its heated, learnt that nugget quite early on, ditto about needing to re-do it after each print, though had been hoping that wasn't needed.

I was going to upgrade the springs, several kits available to do it, but all seem to note "oh yes you need to cut the springs as we are too cheap to find ones the right length", though not in those words

the bed has a glass sheet on the metal bed, have tried both ways up, neither seems to be flat - quite visible banding where different layer thicknesses go down and some are squashed while others are fine, and if none are squashed some flat out don't stick

was thinking of one of the auto levelling things I gather can compensate for such things

If the bed is flat, you may have axis sagging. Though it's quite odd that you'd have a non-flat glass bed because those are usually pretty flat in my experience.

In my experience, the Ender 3 base that comes preassembled don't always com fully flush, causing the vertical bar assembly to shift slightly.

Check the levels on your base & the x-axis gantry assembly.

 skchsan wrote:
If the bed is flat, you may have axis sagging. Though it's quite odd that you'd have a non-flat glass bed because those are usually pretty flat in my experience.

In my experience, the Ender 3 base that comes preassembled don't always com fully flush, causing the vertical bar assembly to shift slightly.

Check the levels on your base & the x-axis gantry assembly.

have wondered if the issue isn't the bed not being flat as such but one of the axis having a bump or something

will have a closer look

Buy stiffer springs, garolite bed plate and invest in BL/CR touch. I have not touched bed leveling knobs for about a gazilion of prints (more than a year).

leopard wrote:

 skchsan wrote:
If the bed is flat, you may have axis sagging. Though it's quite odd that you'd have a non-flat glass bed because those are usually pretty flat in my experience.

In my experience, the Ender 3 base that comes preassembled don't always com fully flush, causing the vertical bar assembly to shift slightly.

Check the levels on your base & the x-axis gantry assembly.

have wondered if the issue isn't the bed not being flat as such but one of the axis having a bump or something

will have a closer look

Just following up with a point worth mentioning: if everything else is good and only the bed is warped, you'll have visible issues during the first few layers only, including adhesion.

If you have noticeable issues on the striations on the overall print, the usual culprit is axis related (axis sagging, belt issues, etc)

 skchsan wrote:
Ender's bed leveling system is relatively "loosie-goosie" and not very stiff/consistent.

Mine is still so loose that it loosens during printing. Can't get anything over an inch tall without it catching and taking the top off of the model. Have to cut all of my prints so they lay down.

Saying that it is still a good printer to learn with due to the price point.

 skchsan wrote:

leopard wrote:

 skchsan wrote:
If the bed is flat, you may have axis sagging. Though it's quite odd that you'd have a non-flat glass bed because those are usually pretty flat in my experience.

In my experience, the Ender 3 base that comes preassembled don't always com fully flush, causing the vertical bar assembly to shift slightly.

Check the levels on your base & the x-axis gantry assembly.

have wondered if the issue isn't the bed not being flat as such but one of the axis having a bump or something

will have a closer look

Just following up with a point worth mentioning: if everything else is good and only the bed is warped, you'll have visible issues during the first few layers only, including adhesion.

If you have noticeable issues on the striations on the overall print, the usual culprit is axis related (axis sagging, belt issues, etc)

having printed in a pale grey the first layer shows quite clearly the bed isn't running true, investigation shows there is a "bump" in the Y axis runner (back and forth) below the bed.

its become a problem with a 0.2mm nozzle, likely going back to the 0.4mm or maybe larger and just using it for terrain, which to be fair is what I really bought it for.

may also change the springs

have gone back to a 0.4mm nozzle, its not perfect as means quality loss but I will take "not so good" over "too unreliable", back to just terrain printing

Your machine is defective and you should get it replaced. I have an ender 3 and it's very reliable. After installing a direct drive to prevent clogging issues I've rarely had any issues with it. If your printers taking the top off of things it maybe slipping and needs it's screws tightening because that is not close to normal.

Unless something went horribly wrong with the v2 (Chinese made so possible) it shouldn't have these kinds of issues.

found a useful setting thats stopped various issues, the "z Hop when travelling" which lifts the nozzle up a bit

had this over a year now so won't be getting fixed, have wondered on direct drive etc, does it make a lot of difference?

screws are all tight, well on the machine if not on me, though the bed height adjustors are very free moving and I suspect vibration is moving them

leopard wrote:
found a useful setting thats stopped various issues, the "z Hop when travelling" which lifts the nozzle up a bit

had this over a year now so won't be getting fixed, have wondered on direct drive etc, does it make a lot of difference?

screws are all tight, well on the machine if not on me, though the bed height adjustors are very free moving and I suspect vibration is moving them

Direct drive only solves clogging issues. It won't fix the problems you're describing.

Yo7 wrote:

leopard wrote:
found a useful setting thats stopped various issues, the "z Hop when travelling" which lifts the nozzle up a bit

had this over a year now so won't be getting fixed, have wondered on direct drive etc, does it make a lot of difference?

screws are all tight, well on the machine if not on me, though the bed height adjustors are very free moving and I suspect vibration is moving them

Direct drive only solves clogging issues. It won't fix the problems you're describing.

had a clog twice, not too hard to fix but annoying, was thinking of a few upgrades though a larger resin printer is more likely in the near future, FDM still very useful though