<p>Does Z offset matter after the first layer?</p>
<p>I am using a commercial PLA filament to print 72 mm (length) x 42 mm (width) x 3 mm (thickness) samples. There are 30 layers to be laid in total with each layer's height being 0.1 mm. The nozzle diameter is 0.4 mm. The part is 100 % solid and the raster angle is 0°. I am using Ultimaker Cura slicer and the printer is Ender 6. I encounter the problem of nozzle scraping the uppermost region of multiple (5 samples, all aligned at the top of the build plate) as the print job progresses. I assume it begins after 20 layers (possibly). The scraping is absent in the bottom region of the rectangular-shaped printed samples.</p>
<p>Has anybody else encountered this problem, has solved it or can think of what might be causing this? Could an off Z offset setting have an influence on the later layers?</p>
<p>Do note that the first layer is laid down fine with no visible voids or signs of nozzle scraping the bed/deposited neighboring raster.</p>
<p>These images show the scraping phenomena. The warping was not an issue during the execution of the print job, so please disregard it. The bunny print has no flaw and the G-code for this was present beforehand in the Creality Ender 6 SD card, while the orange samples were designed on Tinkercad and sliced using Cura.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/yrPNG.jpg" alt="bunny print" />
<img src="https://i.sstatic.net/4nour.jpg" alt="orange sample" /></p>
<p><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/h3r1xc08euk7156/AACiWvRpKieajYU-PIDsurH_a?dl=0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Original Dropbox link</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-18T12:44:41.307Z
Can you clarify what you mean by "scraping"? Does it look like the picture [here](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/q/5596/11157)?
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-18T17:50:42.617Z
Hello, I have uploaded a dropbox link in the OP which has the images. The bunny image has been added to show that there was no problem while printing with the GCODE for bunny print that was provided in the Creality Ender 6 SD card. I do not know what was the layer height there, it could be 0.2 mm which might be responsible for the print success, but I can't say for sure.
Beenum
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-18T18:41:04.693Z
I inlined the images (please include all relevant material *in the question* not as links to off-site hosting) but I'm having a hard time telling what I'm seeing vs what I'm supposed to be seeing.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-18T18:42:57.750Z
If you're printing at 100% infill, the problem is probably just slight overextrusion accumulating after many layers, since you'll be trying to pack more total material into the volume than there is space for - as it builds up, it will start to push up and around the edges of the nozzle. This is part of why most people recommend against true 100% infill.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-18T20:20:06.703Z
Is there any way to fight against over extrusion? Can I increase the printing speed to purge the melt quicker rather than allowing it to accumulate layer after layer? I did encounter the problem of large quantities of polymer melt literally oozing out of the orifices of the hot end and making a mess on the print bed.
Beenum
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-18T21:04:11.300Z
You can reduce the flow % either in your slicer or via the printer's controls.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-19T02:02:52.393Z
Do you think offset matters after the first layer? I mean if a perfect first layer has been laid down, would z-offset still have a bearing on the print success of the remaining layers or the part as a whole? All the literature I have come across on the internet posits that z-offset mainly concerns itself with ensuring the deposition of a flawless first layer.
Beenum
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-19T02:53:04.900Z
What do you mean by Z offset anyway? My reading of it would be a correction for the distance to the bed. At true 100% infill, in some sense it would affect the entire print (because there's never any slack space to take up the excess material) but you're unlikely to have extrusion rate that perfect anyway - either you're underextruding (leaving slack space for it to self-correct) or overextruding (in which case the cumulative effect of over-extrusion will be much greater than a one-time error.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-19T04:23:15.357Z
Yeah, that is what I was referring to as z-offset.
Beenum
<creality-ender-6>
Z offset's possible role in scraping final printed layers
Beenum
# Z offset's possible role in scraping final printed layers

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-03-18)

Does Z offset matter after the first layer?

I am using a commercial PLA filament to print 72 mm (length) x 42 mm (width) x 3 mm (thickness) samples. There are 30 layers to be laid in total with each layer's height being 0.1 mm. The nozzle diameter is 0.4 mm. The part is 100 % solid and the raster angle is 0°. I am using Ultimaker Cura slicer and the printer is Ender 6. I encounter the problem of nozzle scraping the uppermost region of multiple (5 samples, all aligned at the top of the build plate) as the print job progresses. I assume it begins after 20 layers (possibly). The scraping is absent in the bottom region of the rectangular-shaped printed samples.

Has anybody else encountered this problem, has solved it or can think of what might be causing this? Could an off Z offset setting have an influence on the later layers?

Do note that the first layer is laid down fine with no visible voids or signs of nozzle scraping the bed/deposited neighboring raster.

These images show the scraping phenomena. The warping was not an issue during the execution of the print job, so please disregard it. The bunny print has no flaw and the G-code for this was present beforehand in the Creality Ender 6 SD card, while the orange samples were designed on Tinkercad and sliced using Cura.

![bunny print](https://i.sstatic.net/yrPNG.jpg)
![orange sample](https://i.sstatic.net/4nour.jpg)

[Original Dropbox link](https://www.dropbox.com/sh/h3r1xc08euk7156/AACiWvRpKieajYU-PIDsurH_a?dl=0)

**Tags:** creality-ender-6

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Can you clarify what you mean by "scraping"? Does it look like the picture [here](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/q/5596/11157)?  
> **username_0**: Hello, I have uploaded a dropbox link in the OP which has the images. The bunny image has been added to show that there was no problem while printing with the GCODE for bunny print that was provided in the Creality Ender 6 SD card. I do not know what was the layer height there, it could be 0.2 mm which might be responsible for the print success, but I can't say for sure.  
> **username_1**: I inlined the images (please include all relevant material *in the question* not as links to off-site hosting) but I'm having a hard time telling what I'm seeing vs what I'm supposed to be seeing.  
> **username_1**: If you're printing at 100% infill, the problem is probably just slight overextrusion accumulating after many layers, since you'll be trying to pack more total material into the volume than there is space for - as it builds up, it will start to push up and around the edges of the nozzle. This is part of why most people recommend against true 100% infill.  
> **username_0**: Is there any way to fight against over extrusion? Can I increase the printing speed to purge the melt quicker rather than allowing it to accumulate layer after layer? I did encounter the problem of large quantities of polymer melt literally oozing out of the orifices of the hot end and making a mess on the print bed.  
> **username_1**: You can reduce the flow % either in your slicer or via the printer's controls.  
> **username_0**: Do you think offset matters after the first layer? I mean if a perfect first layer has been laid down, would z-offset still have a bearing on the print success of the remaining layers or the part as a whole? All the literature I have come across on the internet posits that z-offset mainly concerns itself with ensuring the deposition of a flawless first layer.  
> **username_1**: What do you mean by Z offset anyway? My reading of it would be a correction for the distance to the bed. At true 100% infill, in some sense it would affect the entire print (because there's never any slack space to take up the excess material) but you're unlikely to have extrusion rate that perfect anyway - either you're underextruding (leaving slack space for it to self-correct) or overextruding (in which case the cumulative effect of over-extrusion will be much greater than a one-time error.  
> **username_0**: Yeah, that is what I was referring to as z-offset.  

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## 0 answers

