End-of-year maintenance turned into adhesion problems

[JenniferScience]

This feels like one of those end-of-year mistakes I probably shouldn’t have touched. I did a cleanup and re-leveled my bed, thinking I’d start fresh… and now nothing feels quite right anymore.

Prints are still finishing, but first-layer adhesion feels way more inconsistent than it did earlier this year. Same filament, same profiles, nothing dramatic changed. I’m starting to wonder if winter temps are just making everything less forgiving, or if I somehow disturbed a setup that was quietly working fine.

Anyone else feel like their printer gets more temperamental toward the end of the year?

 

[Alucard]

Yep, end-of-year maintenance can be a trap. Prints finish but the first layer becomes inconsistent and it drives you crazy. I’d bet your leveling is fine but your first layer height is slightly off now. I’d run a quick one-layer square and adjust live until it looks right. What filament are you using, PLA or something more picky?

 

[BloodyBrad]

I did a re level in late December and spent two days blaming filament. Turned out I was a tiny bit too high on Z and the first layer looked “okay” but it was barely squished. I bumped Z down one small step during a skirt and it instantly went back to normal. If you have live adjust, a quick skirt test can save a lot of frustration

 

[Alan]

When it fails now, is it corners lifting, the whole first layer not sticking, or the nozzle dragging the lines? Those three usually point to different fixes. Also worth noting if your room temp dropped since December, because that alone can change how consistent the first layer feels.