u/p5ql

Please help, bought old Ender 5 and can't make it work. PLA.

Model: 20×20×20 mm calibration cube. 10 print cycles, 2026-05-05. Slicer: Ultimaker Cura 5.12.1. Extruder: Trianglelab Matrix (Direct Drive), firmware Marlin 2.0.7.2, board BTT SKR Mini E3.

#	Nozzle/Bed °C	Print speed	First layer	Adhesion	Cooling fan	What changed / result
001	200/50	50 mm/s	~40 mm/s	none	—	Z-offset not set, filament not sticking → cancelled
002	200/50	50 mm/s	40→20 mm/s	none	—	Bed 50°C > filament max (45°C) → front corners lifted. Cube detached
003	200/45	40 mm/s	20 mm/s	brim 5mm	—	Bed lowered to 45°C, brim added — print cancelled due to layer shift (unrelated to corners)
004–005	200/45	40 mm/s	20 mm/s	brim 5mm	—	Motor/homing failures, never reached printing
006	190/45	—	—	—	—	Cancelled immediately (Z-offset corrupted after leveling)
007	190/45	40 mm/s	20 mm/s	skirt (no brim)	standard	No brim — cube shifted. Back corners lifted (worst at back-right) — cause: mesh compensation raises nozzle at the back (+0.25–0.275mm) → weaker first-layer squish there
008	190/45	40 mm/s	20 mm/s	brim 8mm	standard	Brim fixed bed adhesion. But top corners curled upward — insufficient cooling on upper layers. Print completed
009	190/45	60 mm/s, 0.2mm layer	20 mm/s	brim 8mm	standard (100%)	Print speed increased — top corners still curling, nozzle caught a raised corner and ripped the cube off the bed

Cycle	Nozzle, °C	Bed, °C	Print speed	First layer	Layer height, mm	Adhesion	Fan
001	200	50	50 mm/s	~40 mm/s	—	none	—
002	200	50	50 mm/s	40→20 mm/s	—	none	—
003	200	45	40 mm/s	20 mm/s	—	brim 5mm	—
004–005	200	45	40 mm/s	20 mm/s	—	brim 5mm	—
006	190	45	—	—	—	—	—
007	190	45	40 mm/s	20 mm/s	—	skirt	100% (S255)
008	190	45	40 mm/s	20 mm/s	—	brim 8mm	100% (S255)
009	190	45	60 mm/s	20 mm/s	0.2	brim 8mm	100% (S255)

Key pattern across cycles

1. 002: bed temp above filament spec (50 vs 45°C) → front corners lifted.
2. 007: no brim, mesh compensation raises the nozzle at the back corners → weaker first-layer adhesion there specifically.
3. 008–009: once brim solved bed adhesion, a different cause appeared — top corners lifting (not the first layer!), consistent with classic warping from uneven cooling/shrinkage, possibly worsened by the 60 mm/s speed.

Corner lifting in this series comes from two distinct mechanisms:

• early cycles (002, 007) — first-layer/adhesion problem (bed temp, brim, mesh leveling),
• later cycles (008–010) — top corners curl up after the part is already anchored to the bed, consistent with classic warping from uneven cooling/shrinkage, not bed detachment.