Troubleshooting - cph-library-makerspace/3d-printer-uberguide GitHub Wiki

These 3D printers often have the same recurring issues. Listed are the trial-and-error solutions for these problems.

Filament jam

If the filament appears jammed or clogged, you may need to partially or fully disassemble the print head to remove the clogged plastic.

Helpful videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0goTwwAVb58

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T993A2laSc&t=132s

Poor bed adhesion

If the print is not properly adhering to the bed, raising the initial bed temperature to 5C above the standard print temperature may help. Additionally, the Z offset may be lowered to increase the "squish" of the first layer, thereby increasing bed adhesion.

Underextrusion

If the print is displaying evidence of underextrusion (not enough plastic is coming out, laying down plastic in an inconsistent string of beads) there are two likely culprits:

  1. The z-offset is too low and is not allowing enough space for plastic to come out of the nozzle consistently.
  2. The nozzle or extruder is clogged and must be removed and cleaned (see above YouTube videos). A cold pull where the nozzle is heated up to the melting point if the filament with a piece of filament in the extruder, then it is allowed to cool slightly below the print temperature before pulling the filament out, hopefully with burnt and clogged plastic in tow.

Temperature fluctuations

If the bed or nozzle are failing to maintain a consistent temperature, run the gcode provided in this repository for either PLA or PETG depending on the main filament used in the problematic printer at the time of the issue. This gcode file will run a PID tune to calibrate the thermistor (temperature sensor).

Firmware Update

If there is a new official Creality firmware release (which doesn't happen all too often), the process to install the (stock) firmware is extremely roundabout and was very confusing.

Official documentation for Ender 3 S1 Plus firmware update (taken from Ender-3S1Plus_HWv24S1_301_SWV2.0.8.28F4_F401_FDM_LASER_Japanese_Korean release from November 28, 2023):

Printer: Ender-3 S1 Plus
Motherboard main control chip version: STM32F401

Display firmware update：
    1. Format the TF card on the computer side, and select 4096 for the allocation unit size.
    2. Put the file "private" 、“DWIN_SET”and “firmware.zlib”into the TF card at
    the same time.
    3. Turn off the printer and insert the TF card into the card slot on the back of the screen.
    4. Reboot and wait for the update to finish.
    5. After finishing the update, remove the TF card and delete the files inside.


Mainboard firmware update：
   1. Format the SD card on the computer side, and select 4096 for the allocation unit size.
   2. Put the STM32F4_UPDATE folder into the SD card  (THIS STEP IS REQUIRED， PLEASE NOTE！).
   3. Turn off the printer and insert the SD card into the card slot on the motherboard.  
   4. Reboot and wait for the update to finish.
   5. After finishing the update, remove the SD card from the motherboard slot and delete  file inside.

video tutorial：
https://www.crealitycloud.com/post-detail/6260f8046a165bebd55811fb

Official documentation for Ender 3 S1 Pro firmware update (taken from Ender-3 S1_Pro_JPN KR_HWv24S1_301_SWV2.0.8.28F4_F401_FDM_LASER release from October 27, 2023):

Printer: Ender-3 S1 Pro
Motherboard main control chip version: STM32F401

Display firmware update：
    1. Format the TF card on the computer side, and select 4096 for the allocation unit size.
    2. Put the file "private" 、“DWIN_SET”and “firmware.zlib”into the TF card at
    the same time.
    3. Turn off the printer and insert the TF card into the card slot on the back of the screen.
    4. Reboot and wait for the update to finish.
    5. After finishing the update, remove the TF card and delete the files inside.


Mainboard firmware update：
   1. Format the SD card on the computer side, and select 4096 for the allocation unit size.
   2. Put the STM32F4_UPDATE folder into the SD card  (THIS STEP IS REQUIRED， PLEASE NOTE！).
   3. Turn off the printer and insert the SD card into the card slot on the motherboard.  
   4. Reboot and wait for the update to finish.
   5. After finishing the update, remove the SD card from the motherboard slot and delete  file inside.

video tutorial：
https://www.crealitycloud.com/post-detail/6260f8046a165bebd55811fb

Additional firmware update notes

The instructions for the display firmware update fail to mention that the display module must be removed from the printer and the back unscrewed and removed to expose the hidden micro-SD card slot. The display slides off of the printer when pushed from the bottom of the display towards the top. Also, it is very important that the display firmware is updated first or the printer may be "bricked" (it will be very broken).