MK 4 Clog  

RE: MK 4 Clog

Hi Agrippa

Just a little tip for you regarding posting a question on the forum.

The more information you can provide about your issue, for example, what type of filament were you using at the time of your "clog" What type of filament were you using before the "clog"? What type of nozzle was used? Post up the g-code of the model when your "head clogged" for other forum users to problem solve for you? Post up photos of the affected area, ie, state of your print bed etc? If you provide this information as a bare minimum the higher the chance you will have of someone replying and helping you. There are some very talented, helpful and engaging people that use this forum and they go above and beyond to help people like yourself all of the time but you need to be a little more detailed about your issue that you are requesting help on.

Vague questions will only garner vague responses, if a response at all!

Just remember that is a public user forum that is operated and owned by Prusa Research but not staffed by them. If you're having lot's of issues because you are new to this as you have stated, then I suggest you comb through countless articles that Prusa has provided on printing techniques and problem solving articles on their website. There is a multitude of information out there if you just search it.

If you get stuck then I suggest that you contact Prusa Support on the shop page, bottom right hand corner, and take it from there.

Good luck:)

RE: MK 4 Clog

@muddymaker is right - with one small exception:

Post up the g-code

The g-code is rarely of much use for basic problems, most often the better plan is to save your project as a .3mf file.

Complete the usual slicing process then:

Files > Save Project as

Zip the .3mf and post it here. It will contain both your part and your settings for us to diagnose.

...and a picture of the failed print is usually useful too.

Cheerio,

RE: MK 4 Clog

Thank you for the protocol.  I am new to 3D printers.  I will post these things that you asked for.

I do have another question though.

The three failed prints are due to the filament breaking off inside the gears that push the filament down through the nozzle.  This machine is brand new and was assembled and tested by Prusa.  I was able to clear the first two jams by heating the nozzle with a soldering iron and pulling out the filament.  This last time the filament has broken off flush with the tube that guides it into the nozzle.  I will purchase a nozzle cleaning kit with the needles and try to use that to clear the broken filament.

When the filament breaks then it wont feed and it clogs the nozzle and feed tube.  Should a brand new machine break the filament off inside the gearbox?

The new MK 4 is also inside of the enclosure I purchased.  This has been a very bad introduction to 3d printing.  I have hundreds of original models that I want to print because I make 3d models for game companies and animations.

I will post the .3mf file and a picture so that  you all can look at them and maybe tell me if this is user error.

Pirhana E

RE: MK 4 Clog

@ Muddyman 

Thanks for the advice.  I read forum posts for hours and watched you tube videos as well.  I am 1% less ignorant than I was last week.

0.35mm first layers will cause problems - return to 0.2mm.  There doesn't seem to be any vertical detail to justify 0.1mm layers, 0.15mm or 0.2mm will print faster.

You have turned off print bed heating - why?

And you are using RepRap Sprinter gcode generation, again why?  Prusa generally use Marlin 2 ...

In fact you have changed so many parameters that you would probably do better reverting to the default profiles.

And if you had told us:

due to the filament breaking off inside the gears that push the filament down through the nozzle.

We would have instantly deduced you were using damp PLA and told you to dry it before use - do so.

Cheerio,

RE:

The spool is from Prusa and I opened it last week.  There is no dampness where the printer is but I bought some new filament just in case.

I was unaware that bead heating was off, I dont remember telling it to do that.

I got the nozzle cleaning kit to clear the clog and now I get a thermistor error code and the nozzle wont heat up at all.

If I can get this mess of a printer to work I will try the settings you advised.  Reprap is what the slicer generated as far as I know.

Thank You.

RE:

What is this?

RE: MK 4 Clog

Looks like a power supply with the lid off 

RE: MK 4 Clog

So if I understand you properly, you print inside an enclosure. As you mention that you used the spool that came with the printer, which would be Galaxy Black PLA, I further assume that you are printing PLA. Is this correct?

If I got it right, you might have a very simple to solve problem, namely too much ambient heat for PLA. When you print PLA in an enclosure, you should always leave the doors open. If the enclosure is shut, you will get temperatures inside that can cause the PLA to melt too far up on the heatbreak and your nozzle will clog. This can also occur with PETG, though it is much less likely because of PETG's higher melting point.

Printing in a closed enclosure is something you should only do if you use materials that require it, especially ABS/ASA and high-temperature filaments such as Nylon. For PLA and PETG, it is better to keep the doors open.

RE:

I strongly suggest uninstalling and reinstalling your copy of Prusa Slicer.  Then use the default Mk4 profile with the predefined PLA profile and a predefined 1.5mm layer profile.

Select 'Support on build plate only' from the drop-down but leave everything else alone.

Import the file (not load), slice, print and show us the result.

Cheerio,

RE: MK 4 Clog

@joantabb  I know its a power supply.  It is not an integrated circuit board like the ones shown in the trouble shooting guide.  I am a touring musician and I know exactly what I am looking at.  This board is 1960s tech that exists in my classic Hiwatt amplifiers. 

@ Zappes  I appreciate the advice. Yes it is the galaxy black that came with the printer last week.  I guess I somehow screwed up the slicer settings.  I cant clear the clog this time because the filament broke off flush with the feed tube and now the heating element throws me an error code.  There is no damage to the wires or the heater block that I can see ( unless it came that way.)

I followed the troubleshoot guide that suggests checking the wires and 5 amp fuse.  The board in the guide is not like the power supply board in my machine at all.  In fact Prusa nor any other supplier offer this Japanese power supply board for sale that I can find.  Because the heater element will not heat the clog can not be cleared and I can not print.

The guide clearly shows that when you open the power supply there is an integrated circuit board.  Not so much on my machine.   Is the integrated circuit board they shown in the troubleshoot guide located somewhere else maybe?

RE: MK 4 Clog

Is this the  sort of board you were expecting?

this  is the XBuddy controller board which has three fuses in the bottom right hand corner, as circled...

The other board that you pictured appears to be inside the Delta Powersupply  there is a fuse in the power connector assembly, on the outside of the case, between the IEC 10  amp connector and the Power Switch, to the best of my knowledge there are no fuses inside the delta powersupply.

RE: MK 4 Clog

The wettest filament I have ever received came from Prusa.  It happens.  Don't assume a "fresh" spool is dry!  This happened to me the first time I printed PETG.  As a newbie, I had no idea that this could happen, but it does on occasion.  I was hearing hissing and popping while printing and had just awful prints.  I dried the filament for 24 hours, and things were totally different!  Nice prints.  Recently, I had issues with printing TPU.  Some of the issues were moisture related.  Dried the filament at a higher temperature and the surface finish improved markedly. 

Once you get the thermistor stuff fixed and the filament cleared, dry your filament before using it.  PLA gets brittle under some conditions.  Nearly all filaments benefit from drying. 

Sorry you ran into a bunch of problems with your new MK4.  Hope you can get them sorted out.  Try not to get frustrated, there's lots of little things to know in the beginning, which is tough when you start 3D printing.  Keep asking questions and we will try to help out.