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[Solved] Filament not loading  

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Mataos
(@mataos)
Active Member
Filament not loading

I have a Prusa Mini+ and use Prusament Filament. 

At the end of each roll of filament, I am met with the same issue. When loading the next roll of filament because either 1. the sensor has notified me or 2. the print continues without filament coming (when the sensor is turned off), the filament does not 'take'. When I load the filament, it says to push, so I do. The filament has gone up the extruder tube and into the orange motor section connected to the X-Axis. The filament, however, does not get pulled through, so by the end of the loading process, nothing is being purged. If I select unload filament, the filament does not move at all, though it does attempt the process. The change filament and purge filament options do not do anything when I select either of them through the filament menu. The last time this (same issue) happened, I gave the filament a bit of a push into the extruder, it took, then started feeding itself through as it should. 

I feel as though loading filament should not be this much of a hassle. I don't understand the purpose of the filament sensor as it notifies me, but due to loading issues, prints need to be cancelled anyway. Hoping to find help here before going directly to support as last time I did not receive a response until a week later.

Best Answer by Mataos:

The solution for this issue was that the filament wasn't being pushed through the gears - it wasn't catching properly. Now, 2 weeks later on another filament change I had a similar issue but far more knowledge. 

Seeing as the issue was relatively consistent I used multiple different sources to fix. 1. Cut the filament to a point as suggested (helped). 2. Pushed a bit more to support the catching process(helped). 3. Checked for potential blockages and clogs in both sides of the tubing (to hot end and tube feeding into machine) (no help as no issue here). 4. Took the extruder motor part apart. Noticed a buildup of filament shavings and a potential block around the large gear (not the motor gear) (helped a lot). 5. Took apart down to the gears to check alignment and position (helped as their was some movement). 6. Adjusted idle screw tension. Did some other things that I cannot remember but the machine is working as new again. Some of the posts that helped me during this: 

https://help.prusa3d.com/en/guide/how-to-access-and-clean-the-extruder-pulley-mini_126457  
https://forum.prusa3d.com/forum/hardware-firmware-and-software-help/extruder-engine-will-not-turn-gears-in-housing/
https://help.prusa3d.com/en/article/idler-screw-tension_177367/#:~:text=The%20Original%20Prusa%20FFF%20printers,to%20have%20this%20tension%20correct.
For reference - this was the sound I was hearing:

The issue was tied to the gears not moving, as I later learnt that not only was the filament not catching, the gears were not rotating. Sound being made was the same as the YouTube link above, except it was constant. I believe the idle tension change amongst other things fixed this. 

Posted : 20/04/2021 9:35 am
fuchsr
(@fuchsr)
Famed Member
RE: Filament not loading

Not sure I fully understand where you see the problem but from what I can gather it looks like you're not pushing it far enough. As you discovered yourself, it needs to be a pushed a bit into the extruder before the gears can grab it. 

Doesn't seem much of a hassle to me. I press Load and push new filament in as far as I can. Then when it prompts me to push and press continue, it's usually just a little extra push of a second or so for the gears to catch.

Posted : 20/04/2021 11:50 am
Mataos liked
Vexorg
(@vexorg)
New Member
RE: Filament not loading

Are you cutting the end of the filament to leave a point?  I found on my Mini that it had a hard time loading the filament if there wasn't a point on the end, but once I did that it loaded without issue.

Posted : 26/04/2021 10:26 pm
Mataos liked
Mataos
(@mataos)
Active Member
Topic starter answered:
RE: Filament not loading

The solution for this issue was that the filament wasn't being pushed through the gears - it wasn't catching properly. Now, 2 weeks later on another filament change I had a similar issue but far more knowledge. 

Seeing as the issue was relatively consistent I used multiple different sources to fix. 1. Cut the filament to a point as suggested (helped). 2. Pushed a bit more to support the catching process(helped). 3. Checked for potential blockages and clogs in both sides of the tubing (to hot end and tube feeding into machine) (no help as no issue here). 4. Took the extruder motor part apart. Noticed a buildup of filament shavings and a potential block around the large gear (not the motor gear) (helped a lot). 5. Took apart down to the gears to check alignment and position (helped as their was some movement). 6. Adjusted idle screw tension. Did some other things that I cannot remember but the machine is working as new again. Some of the posts that helped me during this: 

https://help.prusa3d.com/en/guide/how-to-access-and-clean-the-extruder-pulley-mini_126457  
https://forum.prusa3d.com/forum/hardware-firmware-and-software-help/extruder-engine-will-not-turn-gears-in-housing/
https://help.prusa3d.com/en/article/idler-screw-tension_177367/#:~:text=The%20Original%20Prusa%20FFF%20printers,to%20have%20this%20tension%20correct.
For reference - this was the sound I was hearing:

The issue was tied to the gears not moving, as I later learnt that not only was the filament not catching, the gears were not rotating. Sound being made was the same as the YouTube link above, except it was constant. I believe the idle tension change amongst other things fixed this. 

Posted : 06/05/2021 1:48 am
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