Extruder Frustrations
I built my mk3 and I have been printing wonderfully for about 2 weeks and now the extruder just randomly stops extruding after 5 hours. And I think it's because of the screws in step 16. I cannot for all the hellfire and love in my soul get these two screws to catch on the other side they apply no pressure to the other side of the gears supposedly helping force the filament through. When I put slight pressure with my fingers on it when loading the filament everything comes out fine.
What I've tried:
Longer screws with the same springs and nuts to keep slight tension- It just wiggles the bolts loose after 5 hours of printing and without the pressure filament does not extrude
Cold pulls to see if it was a clog- Nothing noticeable came out.
Unloading and reloading filament- nothing changed after 5 hours
Rebuilding the entire extruder.- No dice the above problem still happens.
Replaced the DOA Filament sensor- No change...
I'm at my wits end. Please help. If you need pictures of my assembly I will gladly post them when I get home.
Re: Extruder Frustrations
Pictures may be helpful
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: Extruder Frustrations
See attached
Re: Extruder Frustrations
is your "hatch door" missing the nuts?
Step 4 Idler assembly (part 2)
I have a Prusa,therefore I research.
Re: Extruder Frustrations
And it needs to move freely.
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Re: Extruder Frustrations
Also, motor wiring is routed incorrectly (should go through the cable slot), and pinda cable loop is going the wrong way and putting a hard turn in the pinda cable. I’d fix these to prevent rapid wear and tear.
Re: Extruder Frustrations
To me the screws look like they are not screwed in enough, on mine the screw heads are basically screwed in so the top of the head is flush with the side of the black part.
Normal people believe that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Engineers believe that if it ain’t broke, it doesn’t have enough features yet.
Re: Extruder Frustrations
Ok Update time!
I put the nuts in the extruder door and now everything is doing well. I also noticed the gear on the extruder motor rod wasn't on the flat end so I fixed that as well it extrudes fine the issue is just getting large prints to adhere and not curl on the edges
Re: Extruder Frustrations
nice, glad its working now. now just for the curling. I swear it can be a few things. I normally just have to just wash with dish soap and water. maybe put a box around your printer. see if drafts are doing it
I have a Prusa,therefore I research.
Re: Extruder Frustrations
Would this tape attached to the build plate help with adhesion cause right now it’s just the spring steel plate and a 91% IPA wipe down to clean it 5 mins before new prints.
Re: Extruder Frustrations
For PLA, as long as your Z height adjustment is low enough (not too low, but correct), I haven't had any problem with it sticking directly to the coated sheet. For some other materials, my go to has been the included glue stick, which really seems to work great. It dries, but the heat from the bed seems to reactivate it under the first layer of the parts, and it also offers some protection for materials (like flexibles) that would otherwise stick too well to the PEI.
I've heard Kapton tape is good for certain materials, but also doesn't stick to the bed super well, but it seems like a pain to install, so I haven't bothered to try.
Re: Extruder Frustrations
did you clean your bed with dish soap?
I run hot water out of the tap and take a new paper towel soap it up and wash the plate like a dish. wash off the soap and dry it. the PEI sheet works great for PLA.
people seem to like 97% or higher IPA. and some people use pure acetone (I haven't had to use)
I have a Prusa,therefore I research.
Re: Extruder Frustrations
There should already be PEI sheet on the plate. The Kapton tape is unlikely to improve upon that.
Re: Extruder Frustrations
Ok Update time!
I put the nuts in the extruder door and now everything is doing well. I also noticed the gear on the extruder motor rod wasn't on the flat end so I fixed that as well it extrudes fine the issue is just getting large prints to adhere and not curl on the edges
Post some photos (and filament type). Usually it's just down to making sure the build plate is clean, and getting the Live-Z value correct.