Filament stuck? Prusa i3 mk3
After finally getting my i3 mk3 to print awesome things, I ran into a problem during my last print. I was printing with the Prusa PLA and the 0.05mm layer height preset in Slic3r PE. A few hours into the print I heard a clicking sound from the printer and saw, that the spool wasn't turning and nothing was being extruded. I immediately stopped the print. What had happened was, that the filament broke off right above the PTFE tube and below the extruder gears. I managed to remove the filament from above, but now there is still some stuck in the PTFE tube. How can/should I remove this filament? Also, what could have caused this?
Re: Filament stuck? Prusa i3 mk3
Hi Ryan.
heat the extruder,
open the hobbed wheel door on the extruder,
if you can see the end of the filament, grab it with your long nose pliers and pull it out
if you can't grab with pliers, try poking it with an allen key,
if the filament won't come out, you have two options,
1, dissassemble the extruder and remove filament, (safer option)
2, heat the extruder , removing the nozzle will improve your chances, stall the left hand fan, and let the heat soak up the cold end a bit, and try pushing the filament out, ( there is a risk that this will cause distortion in the extruder plastics) I have been lucky...
Beware, as soon as the filament starts moving let the fan run to begin cooling... My opinion, I will give this a try, and if it fails, I can still disassemble the extruder
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
Re: Filament stuck? Prusa i3 mk3
I have had the same issue where the filament is stuck and the end is below the extruder wheel. The end is also just inside the PTFE tube. This situation was due to incorrectly estimating the amount of PLA filament left on the spool during a part build. The filament ran out and the printer continued through its motions until the build was finished. The printer ran for about an hour in in that condition.
In attempting to clear it I heated the hot end up and let it soak for about 10 minutes, as suggested in the PRUSA maintenance section of their web site. Everything heats up properly but I could not load a new spool. I have taken it apart including removing the PTFE tube. It is well stuck. (See the attached photo). Does anyone have suggestions of how to get this cleared out?
Thank you,
Peter