The whisps of plastic between the lower towers would be characteristic of a lack of retraction or possibly some oozing due to a high temperature for the filament in use.
I don't use Cura but have a hunt around in the Advanced Printer settings and make sure you have 2-3mm of retraction set. Also assuming the temperature is somewhere close I run 205 for the first layer then 200C for PLA from there on up so if you have 220C for example reduce it.
So process of elimination start at the ground floor then work your way up ![Wink ;)](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/xwink.gif.pagespeed.ic.cldandycH0.png)
The default E3 profile in Cura runs PLA at 200°/200° with bed at 50° and it has a roughly calibrated retraction profile for both normal print and for bridging modes that works well out of the box; it's better than the profile made for my Diggro.
![Face Palm :palm:](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/xfacepalm.gif.pagespeed.ic.EBDwh1hCfo.png)
For JUST BEGINNING, I recommend Cura as it has the most community support for E3.
Recent versions of Cura have streamlined the options dropdown a bit; you'll have to go into Settings/Configure Settings Visibility to toggle Bridging Mode settings on; you want this for this test print.
Again, I also recommend printing a temp tower first, if you've eliminated all the first-build gotchas I outlined in my first post. If the Bowden tube isn't sealed/locked down properly, it will totally screw up the retraction; this attracts the
flying spaghetti monster like 5-year-olds to cake & ice cream.
![Wink ;)](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/xwink.gif.pagespeed.ic.cldandycH0.png)
Like bean said... start from the ground up; but I certainly wouldn't go switching horses in mid-stream with a new slicer when Cura is the E3 community favorite hands down (for beginners) with proven good results from the default E3 profile.
![Confused :-//](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/confused0024.gif.pagespeed.ce.5xOqKkq0Co.gif)
As far as the bed leveling; you want to start out with ~3-4mm of thread showing under the nuts, as close to equal height as possible by eye is plenty close enough. Set your Z-stop so the switch clicks closed just as it contacts the bed. Tighten all 4 wheel-nuts 2 turns (CCW), then start a 5-point bed leveling like this one:
I use a 3M Post-It for bed leveling; get the good ones that are a little thicker (thick enough you can't see through them, notebook paper is too thin) along with his gcode for the 5-point leveling. Fold the sticky part of the post-it over itself; this keeps it from fouling anything, and it gives you a good handle. Use the main body of the Post-It under the nozzle, not the folded-over part.
First I do the leveling cold, then a second round where I heat up the bed and nozzle to operating temp. Just like he does with his sticker, you adjust the level up so you can feel drag on the paper, but just loose enough that you can still PUSH the paper towards the nozzle without it buckling. If it buckles, you're too tight.
Recently, as I've gotten used to my printer (annoyingly, it turns the hotend/bed off during the leveling routine), I've found that leveling it cold, then loosen (this "tightens" the gap) 1/4 turn on all 4 bed wheels gets it pretty close to dead-nuts every time. Run Chuck's spiral print pattern for fine-tuning and you'll be golden.
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mnem
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