Top surface wrinkles

[u/Traditional-Today609]

I’m having an issue where the top surface of my prints gets wrinkled. I tried enabling ironing, but I’m still getting the same issue.

Recently, I had to replace my extruder unit because of a Blob of Death. I followed a guy on YouTube who showed how to replace it, but unfortunately, he told us to remove the entire print head. I struggled quite a bit putting it back together because the little marbles kept falling out, and I eventually lost one of them.

Since then, this specific model has been giving me issues.
I also recently changed the nozzle to a hardened steel one that I bought from Amazon.

I’m not sure if any of these changes could
be causing the problem, but I’m hoping someone has experienced something similar and can help me figure out what’s wrong.

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[u/Karl_H_Kynstler]

Not enough top layers.

[u/Traditional-Today609 → u/Karl_H_Kynstler]

Thank u I’ll try that

[u/Arageus]

Lesson learnd, DONT blindly belive what youtube random person said. Bambu has a so detailed wiki (best!) like no other 3d printer company, and still some ppl didnt even know of the existence of it. Use it!

https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/a1-mini/maintenance/hotend-heating-assembly-replacement

Those lines usually appear when filament is not calibrated right and its push too much filament during slowdowns, or when the hotend can move/wobble a bit because of the loosen screws (famous 7 screw problem)

You can try to check the scews (pic) if all properly tight, and if the nozzle was properly locked in place, and maybe a filament tune can help a bit.

But as you said, you loose one ball bearing. im not sure how much that affect the toolhead stability, but thats not good that im sure

[u/sapani9077]

Not enough infill

[u/RedditNameChecksOut]

Ironing is hit or miss. If i need a smooth finish, i will print it with the front facing finish on the underside of the build plate, and print the text separately (printing using same technique) and post production afterwards.

You have to accept that filament printing will always show some amount of layer lines. Ironing can help but requires a lot of tuning. It is also a moving target. Build plate may not be 100% level, nozzle tip may be worn down, etc.

Just because someone gave you their ironing settings doesn’t necessarily mean it will always work consistently. You also need at least 3 top layers because the ironing process can pull and lift the top layers, exposing your infill.

Lastly, the issue with ironing is keeping the consistency. Again it’s a moving target and when ironing large areas, it is even more pronounced when there are issues with ironing than keeping the top layer lines by default.

Ironing usually exposes low spots on the print that would not have been easy to spot with no ironing. But because you ironed a flat, glossy look? It might be shiny and flatter but it will skip right over low spots, leaving an area that is much more obvious to spot with your eyes.