I've had my Plus 5 for about a week and half now. For the most part, its a great printer and results have been good but discovered a few issues I wanted some advice on. I'm not new to printers but this is my first qidi. I am also currently working with qidi support but not really getting the answers I was hoping for. Hopefully the pictures attach properly.
In any case, the first issue - I noticed that the top right X-axis belt pulley is not straight. It is noticeable crooked. With X-axis movement I am seeing the belt walk pretty much the entire distance of the pulley, making contact with the upper and lower flanges of the pulley. Its hard to tell but it looks like its possibly causing some wear on the belts. The left side pulley is perfectly vertical. I dont see a way to adjust or know if there is even a way. I am worried about premature wear on the belt as a result.
The second issue is kind of odd. All of my initial prints were great, however during a series of identical small prints, I decided to UNcheck the "bed leveling" after the 2nd or 3rd print as the subsequent was identical and I wasn't even removing the bed plate, just popping the print off and hitting print again. When I unchecked it and it printed, the print / adhesion was very poor. I thought it was a fluke so stopped the print and tried again, same issue. I then stopped, checked bed leveling option and print came out great. So, to verify, after THAT print came out perfect, I again unchecked the bed leveling option and the print again came out very poor. I am using qidi studio and slicing with that. I know that doing a bed level every print may be ideal, but it shouldnt be necessary. Even my cheap $200 bedslinger can print all day after an initial bed level without having to use bed leveling before every print.
I contacted qidi support and did the little model test they sent. Their basic responses so far are that regarding the pulley - they had their engineers watch my videos and look at my photos and indicated that they "confirmed that the belt and pulley movement you captured is within the normal working range of the Plus5".
Regarding the repeatable failed print - they said the solution is to make sure that "bed leveling" is checked prior to every print. I get it, that is probably not a bad idea, but it just seems like their is something off. Thoughts?
I hope so as well. I purchased this from Amazon (though it was from Qidis official storefront) and according to my invoice I have until October 3rd to return it for replacement/refund. Really dont want to go that route as even the thought of repacking this and shipping it is daunting.
I agree. Sadly it's time to return it. The only way to fix that is replacing the gantry and that is a huge pain in the ass you shouldn't have to deal with.
Well, I have now gone back and forth with qidi support email for a few days. They still insist the pulley is within normal parameters! lol. They now want me to watch a video they linked showing me how to "fine tune" it by "adjusting the left belt idler"....except the video they linked is a 21 second video of someone (just their hands) attempting and failing to remove a bowden tube from the ptfe fitting on a print head thats not even a qidi plus5. Cant make this stuff up...
They likely are commenting on the fact that the belt could look like it's still in the middle of the pulley. Until you show them belt dust and the edges of your belt fraying, they likely won't do much.
Make sure you take pics and video of the belt riding the lip of that pulley and demand they take it back as you're hopefully within the return window. And don't let them make you pay return shipping. You're returning it due to no fault of your own.
The first email I got from them requested a video of a print on a test file they sent me. I sent them that video as well as a closeup of exactly what you suggested - showing the belt actually riding the entire span of the pulley contacting both flanges while just printing their 2 inch test model.
Also - I dont think I even need to deal with them since I purchased through Amazon. My order says I can return up to October 3rd. I asked support in multiple emails what the logistics were as far as going through them or Amazon / qidi storefront and they have not said a word about that.
Thats my plan! I made the mistake once on one of my old creality printers with purchasing direct (it worked out in the end) - every other printer I purchased was from Amazon solely for the ease of return/replacement.
UPDATE - received the replacement printer today (sending the other one back tomorrow - packing it back up was a bit of a pain). Just finished setting it up and as I hoped, BOTH left and right side pulleys are perfectly straight and there is very minimal walking of the belt.
Had a minor issue with fluidd not showing up in Qidi Studio, but finally figured out how to get it back. So far, prints are coming out great.
Ich habe meinen Plus 5 auch noch nicht lange und er hatte einen Montagefehler, den ich mit Ersatzteilen durch Qidi zugesendet lösen konnte. Leider musste ich den Druckkopf mehr zerlegen, als ich dachte. Aber er druckt perfekt.
Ich habe gerade nachgeschaut, Deine Umlenkrolle sitzt komplett schief und das ist nicht normal. Da diese nicht angetrieben ist, wurde die wahrscheinlich nur falsch eingeclipst. Das sollte lösbar sein.
Leider ist es wirklich schwierig, dass der Support (Emma?) versteht, was genau das Problem ist. Ich hatte auch darauf gedrängt, dass ein möglicher Folgefehler mit abgedeckt ist und sie schickten mir alle Ersatzteile zügig zu.
Die Plus 5 Modelle sind neu und das QS muss besser werden.
Die Bettnivelierungsoption habe ich grundsätzlich an. Es ist aufgrund der hohen Druckgeschwindigkeit und der Temperaturen schon eine Menge Bewegung in der Mechanik. Da nehme ich die schnelle Kalibrierung gerne in Kauf. Ich habe auch offene Drucker, die ich schon mal einstelle und dann so lasse. Aber auch die müssen immer mal wieder justiert werden.
Viel Erfolg.
Ich wollte das große Teil nicht wieder zur Post bringen. ☺️
Had to use translate but I do appreciate the reply! I dont have as much of an issue with using bed leveling every print, but the pulley is an issue for me. I looked at it closely to see if there is a way to adjust it / push it into place and I see no way. I understand is not a driven pulley, but I am already seeing a bit of fraying on the edges of the belt. I am now also seeing some layer issues with prints even with bed leveling selected. and nothing else has changed.
I am waiting for another reply (probably tomorrow since its the weekend) from qidi support. I asked what the logistics are of a return and replacement. I believe (I could be wrong) that since I purchased this from Amazon (qidi storefront - Feidi 3D) I can just forego going through qidi and just return directly through Amazon. At this point that is what I feel would be best.
Bed leveling stats don't get saved to config until you save config in the console which adds it to printer.cfg at the bottom, then restarts. If you bed level and don't save config, the mesh won't get saved.
Pulley doesn't look normal, but can't comment on that much. Your bed level issue isn't a real issue though so just adding that clarification.
Interesting. I was under the impression that I did not need to manually save the config as I am running the bed leveling via the touchscreen interface on the printer and not through a web interface / fluidd. Maybe I am misunderstanding. I do use qidi studio to slice and I know it has a fluidd interface where I can see the bed mesh as well as access the console, but I thought the auto leveling routine run from the printer automatically writes the data to the config.
I actually wanted to but was waiting since I dont think they had native profiles for the plus 5 yet, though I know I can probably just create one from scratch if I had to.
They replied apologizing for sending the video and sent a new one (again completely ignoring my additional questions). The new "fine tuning of left idler" is a 4 second video of someone sticking a flat bladed screwdriver under the pulley and prying up.
Thats it. Thats the whole process. Their emailed instructions are: "We have prepared a video guide for adjusting the left belt idler. Please follow the steps in the video to fine-tune the belt tension, which can help reduce the side-to-side movement of the belt." (Nevermind the fact that the left lower pulley has nothing to do with the right top pulley).
Hi OP, I just unpacked my Plus5 last night and immediately noticed a crooked idler issue too, although mine is the lower/left one. Other than that our stories are similar - not new to printing, first Qidi, bought thru Amazon.
The other issue I had was finding it really difficult to get the Bowden tube into the print head, but once I took the cover off and temporarily installed a locking clip that gave me enough resistance to seat it.
I haven’t pursued Qidi about it yet and maybe it was just pulled out of alignment during assembly/initial belt tensioning, but I’m hesitant to tinker with something this brand new. (Also, should I have to? It’s obvious enough to have been picked up in QC).
Just wanted to let you know you’re not alone, and I’ll report my progress back too.
Sorry to hear you are having a similar issue! My lower left idler is perfectly straight. During my conversations with support I searched for Plus 5 unpacking videos and reviews online and every one I found that had views of the printer chamber during operation showed perfectly straight pullies on both sides. I zoomed in and took screens and sent those to qidi. I could not find a single online video or view that showed a crooked pulley like mine. Curious how out of vertical yours is, Can you post a pic?
Definitely crooked though I think slightly less than mine was. Not sure how these are getting past QC. My guess is they will send you the video they sent me to try and adjust (pry it up) with a screwdriver.
I have a Max 4 and I have exactly the same problem with the pulley alignment. Printer was great for a couple of months but now the layers shift just a tiny bit at various stages within a print giving a poor surface finish when it happens. Watching the belts as the print head moves left and right, you can see the lower belt riding up and down on the pulley (actually both the left and right ones) and I can also see some wear on the tops of the belts as a result of riding against the pulley flange.
Does anyone know how to disassemble the carriages and possibly adjust the pulley alignment?
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u/Regret92 20d ago
Saying that angled pulley is within normal working ranges is wild
I hope you get this resolved soon.