Swollen Calibration Cube

Hey guys so I am pretty pumped that I finally got to run a complete calibration cube without it stopping on me. However it seems like when it starts getting about 1/4 of the way up the cube flexs as the nozzle passes over. So instead of having nice sharp edges and flat sides it has rounded edges and swollen sides. I am assuming it has to due with my initial level height being too low but maybe I'm wrong.....it has been known to happen every once in awhile . So any advice on this would be great.
Thanks

Do you have a picture?

I worked on it today and it was defiantly not my initial height. I believe it is either my Z axis steps/mm or it is something in Slic3r. I followed the equations for the steps/mm and I set the correct nozzle size and filament size in Slic3r. I even used my caliper to check the filament size. Anyone have some advice?

Here is a bit more info:
motor steps per rev = 200
A4988 Stepper Motor Driver microsteps = I believe is 16
threaded rod is a 24 - 10 which based on this:
[www.mcadguru.net]
the pitch is 1.058mm
Which gives me a Z steps per mm of 3024.57

That looks more like your esteps are twice as big as they should be.... so your extruding far to much plastic

Just tested it out and my feedrate is actually lower then it should be. I'm gunna fix that now. But after my prints are over my z motors are not at the same height so my x-axis is no longer level. I had an issue with my z motors during homing that one would stutter while the other would run without an issue, the solution was to lower my max acceleration, and I believe this might be cauing this issue. These are my settings right now that are still causing issues even though I have lowered them significantly.

#define DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT {79.77,79.8,3024.574669,415.71} // default steps per unit for Ultimaker
#define DEFAULT_MAX_FEEDRATE {500, 500, 2, 25} // (mm/sec)
#define DEFAULT_MAX_ACCELERATION {9000,9000,100,10000} // X, Y, Z, E maximum start speed for accelerated moves. E default values are good for Skeinforge 40+, for older versions raise them a lot.

#define DEFAULT_ACCELERATION 450 // X, Y, Z and E max acceleration in mm/s^2 for printing moves
#define DEFAULT_RETRACT_ACCELERATION 450 // X, Y, Z and E max acceleration in mm/s^2 for retracts

// Offset of the extruders (uncomment if using more than one and relying on firmware to position when changing).
// The offset has to be X=0, Y=0 for the extruder 0 hotend (default extruder).
// For the other hotends it is their distance from the extruder 0 hotend.
// #define EXTRUDER_OFFSET_X {0.0, 20.00} // (in mm) for each extruder, offset of the hotend on the X axis
// #define EXTRUDER_OFFSET_Y {0.0, 5.00} // (in mm) for each extruder, offset of the hotend on the Y axis

// The speed change that does not require acceleration (i.e. the software might assume it can be done instantaneously)
#define DEFAULT_XYJERK 20.0 // (mm/sec)
#define DEFAULT_ZJERK 0.4 // (mm/sec)
#define DEFAULT_EJERK 0 // (mm/sec)

If one of the z motors is stuttering, then that usually points to the stepper driver voltage settings not being high enough. Also, you need to make sure the z threaded rods are not binding in any way. When I first put together my i3, the threads in the m5 rod had some gunk in them and it would cause similar behavior when it would hit the gunk. I ended up having to run an m5 nut up and down the whole rod to clean it all out, then some 3 in 1 oil and they work good now. You should also disconnect the threaded rods totally and make sure the x-axis moves smoothly up and down when you raise and lower it manually.

Quote
brucehvn
If one of the z motors is stuttering, then that usually points to the stepper driver voltage settings not being high enough. Also, you need to make sure the z threaded rods are not binding in any way. When I first put together my i3, the threads in the m5 rod had some gunk in them and it would cause similar behavior when it would hit the gunk. I ended up having to run an m5 nut up and down the whole rod to clean it all out, then some 3 in 1 oil and they work good now. You should also disconnect the threaded rods totally and make sure the x-axis moves smoothly up and down when you raise and lower it manually.

Running a nut or better yet a die up and down your threaded stock is always a good idea for nice clean movement.

Thanks Mike

Thanks guys, I am using 3 in one oil but defiantly clean them up and make sure there is nothing gunting up the works.

Also I my motors are wired in series, so I might give turning up my vref a bit higher to output more current and see if it is a voltage issue like brucehvn says.

Thanks again!!!!

Hey guys thanks for all your help. I got it figured out. My issue was my DEFAULT_MAX_FEEDRATE was set to 2 (mm/sec) but my max mm/min is about 110. I did not see that it said mm/sec. Attached is a 25mm calibration cube that seems pretty good to me. A bit more steps/mm setting tweaking and I should be ready to go. I'm so excited.