i3 mk2 not printing after an hour or more
I have set up my first 3d printer(i3 mk2), dialed it in quite nicely, no skew, proper z height, did the prusa test print with the pla that came with the printer and the first one came off the bed (poor adhesion), tried the second time with a mostly successful print with a corner lifting so I changed the bed temp, the third print was the whistle which printed perfectly, so I decided to print the triceratops, it printed the raft and supports just fine but after checking back after an hour the printer was moving its head like it was printing but was not extruding filament, was about a 1/4" above the item like it thought it was still printing but wasnt, and the info on the lcd said 120/0 60/0 for the temperatures, after doing some research someone mentioned the gcode might have not been complete so I found another object, put it through the slicer and saved it making sure that it was done slicing before doing so and checked the file size against the original to make sure, it printed with the same results, after about an hour or so it was moving in the air but no filament, the temperatures read the same as last time, 120/0 60/0, I have checked the connections on the board, the wires look okay, thermistor is connected the bed properly, print head will heat properly and load filament just fine when I select it on the control panel, I am out of ideas and no one seems to have had this same issue, some help would be appreciated
Re: i3 mk2 not printing after an hour or more
For those of you that have read this and have had the same issue, I finally figured out what was going on. It appears that even though I sliced the objects with slic3r and the prusa settings there was still issues with the gcode. I am not sure how to fix this for these couple of items but everything else I have printed has been successful even with longer print times.
Re: i3 mk2 not printing after an hour or more
I spoke to soon, as I was typing the last post my printer did the same thing. It lost its information and stopped extruding, the extruder motor made a clicking noise this time. From another site for another printer they explain that my issue is that the motor is over heating and that the only thing I can do is turn off the printer to let it cool down, or put another fan on the motor.
Re: i3 mk2 not printing after an hour or more
The clicking noise can imply that your iddler springs may not be properly tensioned. Without filament, the tension screws should be about 14mm from the body of the extruder.
If this is something you haven't done yet, please read this nice post from aaron.s5: https://shop.prusa3d.com/forum/prusa-i3-kit-building-calibrating-first-print-main-f6/-before-you-ask-troubleshooting-video-updated--t472.html#p39190
Re: i3 mk2 not printing after an hour or more
I might have missed something but it sounds like the extruder idler screws loosened up. It might be worth backing them all the way out, open the extruder idler up and check to see that the extruder pulley is clean, and then tighten the screws back in. Tighter is better to ensure pressure on the filament.
Re: i3 mk2 not printing after an hour or more
Are the fans blowing the correct direction?
Re: i3 mk2 not printing after an hour or more
Yes the fan is facing in the correct position and runs properly.
Re: i3 mk2 not printing after an hour or more
Tighter is better to ensure pressure on the filament.
Not entirely true. Too tight and it starts to grind the filament, You want enough pressure so that it can grip and advance, but not so much that it tears up the filament. Too tight and it will start to clog the teeth of the hob gear with filament shards.
Re: i3 mk2 not printing after an hour or more
You said "proper Z height", but what exactly do you mean by that? Have you adjusted the live Z? Poor bed adhesion with a functioning (and clean) bed implies not enough of the filament is being squeezed onto the bed. Live Z will adjust for that. What is your current live Z setting?
Re: i3 mk2 not printing after an hour or more
Yes I have followed all of the manual adjustments, I did the live z, its printing just fine, the whistle is proof of proper adhesion of the bed and filament, but after about an hour or so the problem starts to occur, the only setting that I was off on was the tension screws for the filament. I was including the head of the screw into the calculation so the springs were too tight. I have corrected the error and will reprint the triceratops tomorrow hoping that it fixed the issue. I will let you all know the outcome as soon as it is done, or not done, fingers crossed.
Re: i3 mk2 not printing after an hour or more
Okay, for those who wish to know, the tension screws were to tight, just finished 2 successful prints, 7 hours alltogether. Thank you for the suggestion and getting me back on my feet.
Re: i3 mk2 not printing after an hour or more
Tighter is better to ensure pressure on the filament.
Not entirely true. Too tight and it starts to grind the filament, You want enough pressure so that it can grip and advance, but not so much that it tears up the filament. Too tight and it will start to clog the teeth of the hob gear with filament shards.
But of course: too tight is too tight. That goes without saying. Quoting from the Assembly Guide, 5.Extruder Assembly, Step 15:
"It is alright to tighten the screws with higher force, we need to induce pressure on the idler."