Filament Jam Issues
I have had my printer for about 2 weeks now and at first everything was printing fine. Now whenever I try to print something it will print the first few layer fine but eventually stop extruding. When I pull out the filament it is balled up on the end. I'm unsure what could be causing it and I would appreciate some help. I'm brand new to 3D printing so I'm still learning, but I have tried to do a cold pull and I've attached a picture to show what that looks like as well.
Re: Filament Jam Issues
The cold pull looks very good;
It sounds like the print is failing because the filament isn't sticking to the bed. The two common reasons are Layer 1 cal is wrong, usually too high; or the bed is dirty. A photo of the carnage can help distinguish which is more likely. Start a print with a fair sized layer 1 area, snap a photo and post it.
Fingerprints and PLA are arch enemies. If you haven't washed the bed in hot water with a dab of dish soap, probably time to do that. I need a macro to write the wash procedure... lol.
Water wash: as needed
Handle the bed only by the edges.
Wash the bed in hot water, use a fresh paper towel as a wash cloth, with a few drops of plain dish soap (Dawn, unscented, no antoi-bacterial, etc.). Rinse well in hot water - if you have very soft water, rince a bit longer.
Dry the bed with a fresh paper towel.
Handle the bed only by the edges.
Place bed on printer.
Alcohol rinse: every few prints
Once in a while, an alcohol rise is helpful.
Pour a 5 cm puddle of 91%+ alcohol in the middle of the bed, use a fresh paper towel to scrub the bed. Wipe up all the alcohol.
Streak test: when contamination is suspected and after a wash
With a fresh piece of paper towel, and very clean fingers, dampen the towel with 91%+ alcohol, and wipe the bed side to side moving back to front, like you're painting it with alcohol. The alcohol should be thin enough on the towel it quickly evaporates. If you see any streaks, the bed is dirty and needs a wash.
Acetone wash: infrequent
Pour a 2 cm puddle of acetone on the bed, scrub it around with a fresh paper towel. It will evaporate fast as you clean. This step removes PEI oxides that form over time and with heat, and improves PLA adhesion to a like new state.
Re: Filament Jam Issues
I'm sorry if my original post was confusing. I'm not having any trouble getting layers to stick to the bed. Usually my prints start out fine, but after a large portion of the print is done the filament will stop extruding from the printer. When I stop the print and pull the filament out, it is balled up on the end of the filament and that seems to keep if from extruding.
Re: Filament Jam Issues
If the heat break is not firmly attached to the heat sink you can get issues like that. Does the heat block move if you try to gently twist it?
Re: Filament Jam Issues
No, the heat block is firmly attached and doesn't move when pressure is applied.
Re: Filament Jam Issues
When all this is happening, does the extruder being making loud clicking noises?
The small lump on the filament is pretty normal. So is the stretchy part when you do a cold pull. The middle of the nozzle gets warm before the tip comes free, and stretches. The nozzle heats about 3/8" of plastic, and is a bit larger in diameter than the filament.
Zip and upload the STL. Almost always, when a part starts, and is looking as good as your first layer, and later fails in a ratsnest or furball, there is some unsupported area of the part that starts the process.
Re: Filament Jam Issues
No, I was having issues in the past with the tension bolt being to tight but I've since corrected that and no longer have any clicking. I'm not very experienced with 3D models so its possible I'm messing up the file somehow. I'll try a different model and see if the issue persists.
Re: Filament Jam Issues
So this is the latest print failure. It starts out fine, but after several layers the extruder becomes jammed. I'm at a loss as to what to do next.