What are the most common 3D printer maintenance issues?

The best way to mitigate this is to look at the filament specification and recommendation. Going to a slightly larger nozzle is sometime the safest. Then when more confident on the printer going smaller nozzle size. This saves time and money…

one of my remote manufacturing team members kept having huge clog problems with a new printer, despite everything looking perfect... I asked him for the filament. He told me it was a marble PLA. I looked it up- it was the kind with actual ground up rocks in it, not just black pellets

Paper level is about 10 years old method for levelling. Most printers out there have Probs for automated levelling. This allow perfect first layer. There are multiple methods for auto levelling. Screws and knobs are a great way to fail your prints! It will consistency over time.

the feeler test is super old. it's a decade old technique from machinists, and works in a pinch, but materials, heat, and so on will change the result. I still use screws and knobs because I have an old machine, but I'm skilled enough to adjust it and feel the height as it prints the skirt or brim. just use auto-level. it works.

I suggest buying and using filament in smaller quantities (250/500 grams) to keep its functionality intact, if you are not finishing a 1kg roll of filament in 2-3 months. I usually printed everything in a single color to prevent throwing away unused and unpacked filament (as they would perform worse with accumulated dust and humidity).

Depending on your use-cases, you may want to do benchmarking studies where you compare the "safe" but expensive OEM filament against "risky" cheaper alternatives. In fact, I've seen situations where new filament makers will give you filament for free if you're willing to try it out and provide an objective review. This is where having benchmarking / qualification geometries comes in handy. They can be as simple as step features of various heights, vertical posts and holes of varying diameters, as well as arches/overhangs. Check out NIST's geometry. Lastly, don't treat the parameters and filament independently. You may need to alter your parameters if you change your filament - but that's where R&D and the fun is!

some filament, even from reputable brands, gets stored in a humid location first. To some degree, popular filament brands are good because their product isn't stored for long. plastic bags aren't truly waterproof either. If you keep filament in a totally dry area or with silica gel for a couple weeks, you can leech out moisture. Don't immediately blame a brand for poor filament, it's a simple material, and most retailers don't understand or can't follow its long term storage needs.

Firmware crucial for printer operation. Safety big focus, controls bed temperature, reads G-codes. - Regular updates, maintenance is important. - Wrong firmware can cause blue screens and other issues. ) - Firmware like Marlin, Klipper popular in community for customizability.

An important thing to also consider having is a base set of "tough" geometries you can print to requalify your system after any major firmware update. This is routinely done in production environments - but can be important especially if major changes are being made to fundamental slicing, toolpaths and other functions. Lastly, if you find an issue with the firmware update, let the developers know, and post it up on the user forums! They're your gold-mine of information, fixes and tips. Keep the knowledge growing!

?? ???? ?????????????? is not like a smartphone, it ???? ???????? ???????? ???? ?????????????? ??????????????: it can do amazing things but the servicing is a pain So when choosing consider ?????? ?????????????????? ???????????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????????????????? ???????????????????? mentioned above??(nozzle clogs, bed leveling, effects of heat on parts of the equipment, powder impact on tubes...) And especially consider if ????-?????????? ???? ???? ???????????????? ???????????????? (service bureau) is better for you: - If you are very focused on scaling some specific parts/applications build the scale in-house - If, on the other hand, you want flexibility and have very low volume, use an external vendor

3D printers are a geek's custom car. If you let the maintainer do their job, they'll learn their personalities, and appease the machine spirits accordingly. A skilled optimizations expert will understand the zen of finding the balance between fixing a 3D printer, and working with its quirks.