Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...  

RE: Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...

Have you adjusted the extruder tension screws? Too loose and they'll slip. Too tight and filament can be deformed, causing feed problems. I recall there's only 1 tension screw with the Mk3S housing, but the Mk3 had 2. Mine are tightened so they stick ~1mm out of the extruder housing. Inspect the extruder idler in the door and make sure it can rotate freely. Inspect the PTFE tube under the gears to make sure it's not deformed. Those are the things I'd start with.

RE: Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...

@bobstro

Thanks, but I’ve done all that.  Even replaced the PTFE tube.

RE: Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...

Posted by: @dik-harrison

@bobstro

Thanks, but I’ve done all that.  Even replaced the PTFE tube.

It would be far simpler if you'd summarize what you've done rather than asking us to guess. Good luck with it.

RE: Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...

I'll see if I can't put something together.  Won't be easy because I'm also dealing with prints not wanting to stick well at the outermost 40-50cm of the build plate.  So I've done a lot of late to try to remedy both issues.

P.S. In the OP I misspoke, I should have said that the heat-break I installed was with without the enlarged section.

RE: Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...

I have determined that the problem is heat-related, if the temp in the enclosure gets to about 27c, the drive gears start grinding the filament.  Never had this problem in the past, even when the temp got over 30c.  The basement room where the enclosure is located is currently at 19c, but come summer it is going to start to heat a bit, and keeping the temp below the problem range is going to be more difficult.  Today I printed two items that took about 1.5 hours (and forgot to turn on the fan), when I started the third print, the extruder immediately started grinding the filament instead of pushing it through,  There was no jamb...

RE: Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...

@dik-harrison

Has this filament been around for a while?  Might it have absorbed water?

Try drying it before printing.

The outer edge adhesion problem is probably a slightly soiled bed; that's where your finger go ... try a thorough clean with dish soap and HOT water.

Cheerio,

RE: Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...

@diem

Thanks for your response.

No, and the filament is in the top section of the enclosure that has two drying units.  This has happened with numerous spools, even when first removed from the shipping bag.

A thorough cleaning of the build plate has reduced the lack of adhesion.  I'm beginning to think that my working on solving the adhesion issue may have caused the jamb problem.  Going back to basic settings to see if that solves the problem.

RE: Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...

@dik-harrison

Check you tension gear.  This happens from time to time.  If it repeats it self, the gear is probably too tight.  The required tension could be too much for the filament or it is a fluke.  

RE: Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...

@cwbullet

I've tried various tensions and now have what seems to work best as long as the enclosure doesn't get above 27c, I don't have the issue.

RE: Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...

@dik-harrison

Ok.  It makes sense.  I have never had it do to an enclosure, but this filament could soften more.  When filament?

RE: Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...

Mostly I print Verasity PLA from Filstruder (filament made by KVP) on master spool "Koils".  But have had the jamb problem with other PLA filaments.  Since the recommended temp range is 195c to 215c and I'm printing at 210c, think I'll try reducing the temp and see if I still get good prints without the jamb problem.

RE: Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...

@dik-harrison

I have a roll sitting on the shelf.  Never used it.  I ordered it when I bought my filawinder.  

RE: Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...

Except for Prusament, it is my favorite filament, and Filstruder is here in Georgia so I get what I order the next day most of the time.  And the price is very competative.

RE: Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...

@dik-harrison

I also live in GA and live the ability to get things fast from them.  I have been eyeing the filament extuder to make filament and Railcore.   

RE: Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...

I have yet to seriously consider getting another printer, as I'm happy with my MK3 (now 3S) and although I print a fair amount, it is almost only practical things for my woodworking shop, printer, or the house.  That means I mostly print prototypes until I get what I want.  I sometimes wish I had another printer when a print is going and I want to prototype something else I'm working on, but as the printer is in my basement lab room off of the workshop, I have to have the printer in an enclosure to protect it from the dust that filters everywhere.  Don't really have room on the workbench for another enclosure.

I have a large trash bag in a PVC pipe frame under the workbench that I put failed prints into but doubt I'll ever do anything with it as I don't think I do enough printing to justify making filament from the recycled filament.

RE: Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...

After reading through your blog, you are quite the adhesion expert compared to me.  If I have further issues, I guess I'll try one of the adhesives you reviewed.  I got my MK3 early in 2018 and have only just started having this filament extruder issue.

RE: Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...

Not quite to the level of @bobstro, but I have been doing this for a long time.  

RE: Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...

@dik-harrison

I have a large trash bag in a PVC pipe frame under the workbench that I put failed prints into but doubt I'll ever do anything with it as I don't think I do enough printing to justify making filament from the recycled filament.

Even Prusa don't do it with their huge print farm, quality issues, but they do use it for injection moulding.

Here is something else to try:

I use up my scrap plastic; failed prints, support, obsoleted prototypes etc. by making simple panels that other makers sometimes find useful in their projects.  You might be able to use them yourself.

Below is a typical one, ca 150gm 22x16x0.35 cm. I scatter the waste, PLA in this case, onto a rectangular, non-stick baking tray and 'bake' for 10 minutes in an electric oven at 100 degrees C.

Cheerio,

RE: Filament stops feeding and gets ground by the hobbed gear, but there is no jam...

Posted by: @diem

@dik-harrison

Even Prusa don't do it with their huge print farm, quality issues, but they do use it for injection moulding.

I think I might be missing something.  Prusa does print many of its parts.  Very few do they make with infection molding.