Markforged Desktop - Onyx Pillars Test Print

Now let’s explore how this test print can be used to diagnose some common printing issues, including some potential failure modes and what they mean. On a good test print, walls and floors are well formed, lacking gaps or stringing. The plastic is uniformly distributed, and all shapes are dimensionally accurate. If the material is wet, the print may show stringing between pillars or off of walls. The material in the tube might be wet, or it may be the entire spool. A good test is to remove and discard several feet of filament from the spool, reload the plastic, and then run the utility again. If the test print still shows signs of wet plastic, you will want to discard the whole spool and replace it with a brand-new spool.

If your test print has gaps in the roof or floor layers, then you are experiencing under-extrusion. Run the under-extrusion troubleshooting utility. If the print has pitted walls that appear as gaps in the vertical walls, check for tangled print material in the dry box or jams in the extruder or printhead. If necessary you may need to change the nozzle. If the prints look OK, check the prints for inaccurate pillars by physically inspecting the test print. Look for circular pillars that are wider than they are tall or vice versa. Check the square pillars as they may incorrectly print as rectangles. Another sign of dimensionally inaccurate pillars is if you notice the plastic is not evenly distributed. A possible solution to this issue would be to check the belt tension and the bearings in your pulleys. Dimensional in-accuracy on this print can be a sign that the motion system on your printer needs to be calibrated.