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My Prusa got a tumor  

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sungseek.h
(@sungseek-h)
Active Member
My Prusa got a tumor

Hi,

I think I have gone through the worst things that can happen to a Prusa and I wanted to share the story.

One day, I found this when I got home.

https://goo.gl/photos/xjXHVgfJfsTaZKAU8

I know the filament gets stuck in the nozzle occasionally. But have you seen something like this?? The ABS got stuck to the nozzle itself in a terrible way. The larger the chunk got, the easier it would get molten filament like a snowball, I guess. But I didn't know how it started from the first place.

I might have guessed that bed leveling might have led to filament not sticking to the bed and somehow it got stuck on the nozzle. However, I did confirm that the first few layers were printed OK so I suppose printing conditions such as the temperatures were OK as well.

I also investigated all the 3 axes. I couldn't find any weird behavior.

So, what happened? I still don't know. But I was not really disappointed even if I was left there without a clue. When you get used to new things, stupid things always happen.

I reported the case to the CS but they were not to investigate such a messy case. As they said, clogging during printing were not even covered by the warranty. Fair enough (Really, I think so. I'm not sarcastic yet). So I ordered parts to be replaced. As ABS was much more effective in transferring heat than the air, all the parts that had been covered by the ABS chunk were broken (wires cut, parts badly deformed, etc).

After waiting for a few weeks (guys you know) I finally got the new parts and I replaced them. While I was at it, I upgraded it to MK2S with the kit. And it was working perfectly ... until I found this.

https://goo.gl/photos/a7L3oKWxaFR7jvfW6

It could be a symbiote (Spider-man) but it was not moving at all. It turned out that the same thing had happened again. The ABS chunk was formed on the nozzle. This time the filament was black so it looked more devastating.

This time, I thought it was weird. Why again? I have been operating three printers: an M2, a Prusa and a Cubicon. None of them except Prusa had caused such troubles. I was a bit upset and disappointed. After a couple of days, I ordered the damaged parts again. After I found that the two options I had were investing $100 in reviving my Prusa or no additional cost with a dead printer. And I chose the former.

I suggested (with slight hope) to the CS that there would be any chance they would get my unit replaced or something as it might be defective. They said no (fair enough) so I ordered the parts again.

To make a long story short, my Prusa has developed the tumor for the third time. And I think I will quit this time. If I keep trying, I feel like I would get a tumor as well.

I still don't understand why it happened. At first, I was pretty sure I had done something wrong by mistake. But I highly doubt that now as my other two printers have never caused anything like that while my Prusa has done it three times.

Any suggestion would be appreciated, especially on how to discard the machine properly.

Publié : 09/06/2017 2:36 pm
Markus_B
(@markus_b)
Active Member
Re: My Prusa got a tumor

I can´t give any specific advice but,
running octoprint and let it timelapse longer unattended prints at least gives me a chance to see what went wrong.
pretty tough to tell what and when things got crazy with just a big blob of filament to examine.
could be bad adhesion for various reasons, pinda knocking the print off, defective nozzle, messed up slicer settings, ...

may i ask why you order parts at prusa with 2 or 3 well performing printers around and faster suppliers for the mechanical parts like nozzles, heating elements, thermistors,...

Publié : 09/06/2017 7:54 pm
sungseek.h
(@sungseek-h)
Active Member
Topic starter answered:
Re: My Prusa got a tumor

Oh, sure. I was buying other things together such as a MK2S upgrade kit, or spare parts. I thought I was saving money, actually I was not.

Publié : 10/06/2017 5:12 am
jack.f3
(@jack-f3)
Active Member
Re: My Prusa got a tumor

My printer had the same issue, but it happened with PLA. I had printed the file once before successfully but I forgot to put anything and I mean anything on the printed to make the print stick.

Publié : 10/06/2017 5:46 am
Nigel
(@nigel)
Honorable Member
Re: My Prusa got a tumor

I monitor my prints via a networked steerable camera from Foscam. I have stopped these lumps happening before, but if they do. I have always successfully removed them without damage.

Nigel
Life is keeping interested and excited by knowledge and new things.

Publié : 10/06/2017 6:08 am
JeffJordan
(@jeffjordan)
Membre Moderator
Re: My Prusa got a tumor

that's a typical "tumor".
it usually happens when the part you print looses adhesion (doesn't stick properly at the pei sheet) and then gets stuck at the heater block and the printer still tries to go on printing.

to avoid such a blob, make sure that your first layer adjustment is right (take in account that it's a function of temperature, so during summer you'll probably need to lower the nozzle a little bit more). furthermore a so called "blue sock" (heat resistant silicon protector for the hotend) reduces the probability that a loose part glues itself to the hotend.

dem inscheniör is' nix zu schwör...

Publié : 10/06/2017 10:45 pm
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