Re: Extruder feed problem
I had a similar problem with a roll of MakerGeek PLA filament. What I found is that there are spots along the filament that are wildly out of spec. In a 30' span the diameter ranged from 1.69 mm to 1.89 mm. This caused the same issues that are being described here.
Re: Extruder feed problem
Hello again, my issue was that it was overfed and clogged, the printer couldnt handle the speed.
After some research and testing i managed to print again successfully by tweaking the settings in Slic3r, i just asumed the original downloaded settings from Prusa would work but i was wrong.
Hope you all gets it to work 🙂
Best regards
Re: Extruder feed problem
regarding my issue, it seems to come from the GCode.
When printing only one tile it works great. With 4 in the same print the extruder does not feed properly on the second or third tile.
For another tile model I have been able to print 4 (even 5) in the same print wothout any issue.
I sliced with Cura as I get much faster printing times than with Slic3r for these models.
Julien
Re: Extruder feed problem
Unfortunately I have to deny myself. I just ran a new print, same tile same gcode (already loaded in Octoprint) and the extruder started skipping steps.
I will change the spool and see if it helps.
Julien
Re: Extruder feed problem
3d printing beginner here. I seem to be having the same problem: factory-assembled i3 MK2S, received last week. Using Prusa Blue PLA and Das Filament black PLA, but filament didn't seem to make a difference. I managed to get 4 small prints out of it that were good (2x Batman, 1x Prusa Logo, 1 set of 3 small pieces modeled in Fusion and Sliced in Slic3r). Another one of my models, a simple but tall 15cm extrude, failed after about 10cm on the first try (nearly 4h print time), 5cm height on the second. I then tried to print the Triceratops from the SD card, and had 3 failed attempts, first one at about 5cm height, the others at about 2cm and 1cm. Prints seem to fail earlier now.
The result is always the same: the filament seems to get stuck or the nozzle is clogged. Printer runs out of filament and ends up "printing" cobwebs and air. Unloading isn't easily possible. I have to trigger "unload" in the menu and pull the filament at the same time a few times until it dislodges. The pulled filament looks pretty mangled.
I did clean the nozzle a good few times, also at high temperature, but didn't do a cold pull. Performance after cleaning looks good.
I also tried to check for bad wiring by positioning the extruder in space roughly where it failed, loading filament and wiggling the wiring of the extruder, but the extrude didn't stutter.
During the last failed attempt at printing something larger (the extrude again), I paid extra attention that the filament spool was moving freely and filament wasn't overly tensioned, but that didn't make a difference.
Any ideas?
Re: Extruder feed problem
Ok, cautiously optimistic now that it was only a nasty clog that led to stripped filament. I was only using PLA. Here's what I did:
* heated the nozzle to 295C and tried to dislodge clog with provided acupuncture needle and guitar string
* set temp to 215, removed the extruder fan to let the heat travel up and melt whatever was stuck
* manual extrusion: pushed filament in by hand
* cold pulls with Prusa PLA at 160 and 100 degrees
* re-adjusted the spring screws on the extruder (this was suggested by support). Original setting might have been a bit too tight, but I can't be sure. Right now both screws are set at about 14mm spring length.
* broke a fan blade because I was impatiently trying to remove a running extruder fan and hit a blade with my hex key
After that I was able to print the Triceratops successfully for the first time.
Re: Extruder feed problem
Just adding myself to this problem. I have been thru 3 hotends, 2 e3ds and 1 knock off. I have done:
Cleaned nozzle with brush and needle
Hot pulls, cold pulls
Rebuilt hotends with different heat breaks, blocks, nozzles, and ptfe tube
Adjusted tension and checked alignment
Replaced heat element and thermistor
Problem happens at random on preloaded files and slic3r. I am using prusa included pla bronze color.
Re: Extruder feed problem
I have a similar problem, if I print objects and the slicer creates a lot of retracts combined with only small, dot-like extrusions, it seems that the gdcode "unloads" the filament and it stops printing.
This seems to be worsened by the filament guide I am using, it is a small loop in the center of the spool, which creates tension/a pull on the filament on the extreme positions of the print bed.
So that means, if the X axis is on the edges, retracting a lot with the filament under tension, the filament pulls itself out of the extruder.
this happend half a dozen times now which left me puzzling till I noticed, it is not clogged but really unloaded.
Test this by just loading the filament, you can see the extruder bearing make way for the filament to go back in, a sign for it beeing unloaded.
I will print a new, filemaned guide (not a small loop, but more like a wider slot) and see if it fixes things.
Re: Extruder feed problem
Hi,
I ended up modifying my Prusa to a geared bowden extruder - nearly all problems vanished, at least all extrusion and clogging problems 😛
Now I have to find suitable settings to get rid of the stringing 😉 (but at least i get working parts, at the moment with a little bit post-print-work)
My solution: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2277417
In my opinion the extruder is one of the most important parts for reliable printing - the original one of Prusa seems to be working good only in a small area concerning material and temperatures (and dust/impurities, ...). The torque of the motor is not very strong clogs can't be loosened. As said, this never occured again since i have the geared extruder.
So, now I'm happy, and I'm sure to get rid of the stringing (settings retraction, speeds)
Re: Extruder feed problem
I had this exact same problem. My printer worked beautifully with almost constant use for over a month, and then suddenly my extruder would start clicking and the filament would jam partly into every print. My filament was by makergeeks, and a variety of colors.
I tried:
lots of atomic/cold pulls
other filaments
replacing nozzle
replacing teflon tube
inspecting filament diameter
changing print and retraction settings
In the end, what worked for me was removing the heatbreak and re-applying much more thermal paste as seen in these instructions:
https://wiki.e3d-online.com/wiki/E3D-v6_Assembly
This solved my problem instantly, and ever since my printer has been performing perfectly. Hope this helps!
Re: Extruder feed problem
Ok update. I did a load of cleans and it worked for a few prints. Then it stoped. I tried a few more atomic pulls but nothing.
These are the last few prints I have tried. I have printed these models before.
And the finished model should look like this.
Any ideas?
Martin.s12,
did you ever find out what is causing this issue and did you manage to fix it?
My printer is now suffering the same issue, i.e. randomly there are very weak layers, they can in the middle or at the end of the print.
The printer is useless in this state and I have no idea how to fix it.
There are a few other threads with similar reports, none seem to have found a fixable problem.
What would be a good test object to assess if the problem is gone? I'm over all the waste of filament trying to print fins that fail after 5, 10, or 20hrs into the print. How about the cylinder shown? The Benchies always seem to work, the poor layers never seem to happen in the first 50mm.
Re: Extruder feed problem
The test cylinder printed without any under-extrusion problems.
OpenScad code in case you want to use it:
$fn=75;
cylinder(r=5, h=200);
cylinder(r=10, h=1);
But is it helpful? I still have my doubts and only a full scale print will show if it is fixed.
Re: Extruder feed problem
We are having the same problem. Print starts out fine and then part way through there is a jam. It is very frustrating and we aren't sure how to fix it. Did you resolve your issue?
Re: Extruder feed problem
We are having the same problem. Print starts out fine and then part way through there is a jam. It is very frustrating and we aren't sure how to fix it. Did you resolve your issue?
It looks like putting a new PTFE tube into the extruder has fixed the problem.
I have now printed several fins without any more 'weak blob layers'.
Re: Extruder feed problem
Hi guys,
I have had lot of this happening to my printer to latley.
What i noticed is that it started with this after last SW upgrade on the printer.
It started with this stepped feeding at the start strip on end of the bed.
Then it began to fail in prints. It varies from filament to filament, and when it starts in the print.
Grey filament from prusa fails alot, but cheap black filament from local store fails lesser but mostly like in the end of a 3 hour print..
I havent solved the problem, and i have tried suggestions mentioned here but cleaning.
I will try to go back to last SW and see if it continues since it was so clear that it started after upgrade.
Seems like stepper tries to pull the material, but it hops over the motors steps and just jams like the motor has gotten weaker.
Could it be new SW that causes this?
Have any of you an older version than "prusa3d_fw_3_0_11"?
Best regards Ed
Re: Extruder feed problem
Bonjour from France,
Will try to explain as much as possible, since november i print about 250 similar pieces without trouble, with 309fw, then the similar trouble (motor jump) came with 3010 fw, 1 on 10 pces with deffect, then enjoying upgrade to MKIIS i put a brand new e3d hotend thinking trouble will gone away, and upgrading to 3012 fw, and what surprise, the trouble come's on each print even a the first layer, by analysing, the trouble is on the drive of the motor, to verify, i decide to disconnect the extruder and connect a 2nd motor outside to see what's going on, and launch a print as you will see on video (as i don't know how to load, you will find a wetransfert link to download the file. I last test i decide to downgrade fw to a lower version 309, and use an older file from the begining (Slic3r 1.31.6), just finished and the result is still the same, but less/shorter motor jump on one print , the piece is not good.
By know i can't solve the trouble, may theses lines help someone to find the way to solve it.
Best regards
Re: Extruder feed problem
Same problem here.
Ordered a brand new hot end from Prusa, but not very inclined to replace it from what I read in this post...
Any support from experts would be very welcome...
JYL
Re: Extruder feed problem
Same problem here.
Ordered a brand new hot end from Prusa, but not very inclined to replace it from what I read in this post...
Any support from experts would be very welcome...
JYL
To get expert advice, you need to ask a clear question.
Re: Extruder feed problem
The problem is clear and has been described dozen times on this thread:
What to do when the extruder stops feeding the hot end leading to unusable prints?
I finally end up by changing my hot end (the printer is only couple months old though!!!)
I also uploaded the last FW release (3.0.12).
And tried to print the same part for the fifth time.
It worked fine for about 3h30, the time to print the first 12 millimeters and then failed (see attached picture).
It is printed with Prusa PLA provided with the printer.
It is sliced using slick3r, mode normal 0.20mm, Prusa PLA 1.75mm, most of the parameters to their default value.
Would this mean that the life span of a Prusa printer is just couple months?
JYL
Re: Extruder feed problem
When you say you changed your hot end, does that mean that you kept the same old heat-break and PTFE tube?
Since I tapered and chamfered a new PTFE tube into the heat break, the problem is gone.
Printing a big fin per day now.