Filament Runout
So I tested the filament sensor using a print from Octoprint last night, and the printer mostly did what was expected, and it's a hugely useful feature so I don't feel like I have to waste the last scraps.
It stopped printing, moved to the corner of the bed, and then told me to unload filament. It seems like the printer is using the same command as a color change for this. However, since in this case the filament has run out, shouldn't it skip the unload step?
I mean, the filament sensor is a little bit above the gears, so it's possible there's a few mm in the gears I imagine. So wouldn't backing out that small fragment without actually being to access any material to pull it out completely end up making things more likely to jam when I stick new filament in there?
Re: Filament Runout
Hi Joe,
the printer should have backed out the remaining stump of plastic, so that you can feed in new plastic...
guess it didn't work this time...
Most times it works for me, when it doesn't there are two failure modes.
1, the extruder tries to back out the filament, and it jams in the filament sensor chamber... this seems to happen because the filament is tightly curled (which is common at the end of a roll), and ends up missing the exit hole in the filament sensor...
you can recover this by carefully openning the extruder hobbed wheel access window, and moving the filament down with long nosed pliers, until the top of the filament is visible in the window, then pulling it out...
2, the filament end is driven below the hobbed gear, and cannot be unloaded,
you can recover this by again openning the window, and grabbing the tine visible filament end, with your long nosed pliers, and pulling the remainder out...
in both cases, re fit the hobbed wheel tension screws, and continue by inserting the end of the new filament...
regards Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility. Location Halifax UK