Issues with a specific type of filament only
I'm having a weird issue with add:north's E-PLA filament, and only that type of filament (all 6 different colours of it that I currently have). Printing with any other type of filament (add:north's X-PLA, Amphora and Textura also Prusa's own PLA) is working perfectly.
Whenever I try printing the the E-PLA the extruder starts clicking and then inevitably stops extruding. That happens within 5-90 minutes of starting the print. After that the filament does not unload smoothly and requires some force to pull out. The end of it is thicker (forms a bit of a "bulb" and the gears have grinded away at the filament. The printer still works perfectly fine after loading a different (or the same) filament. I have completed multiple 10+ hour prints with different types of PLA with no issue straight after unloading the E-PLA.
I have tried to fix the issue by increasing and lowering the temperature, increasing and decreasing flow, lowering, increasing and disabling retraction, tightening and loosening tension on the gears, increasing and decreasing printing speed, lowering fan speeds, doing a cold pull. None of those seemed to help at all.
I have been trying those settings/fixes on a 3DBenchy sliced by both Cura and Slic3r (including the benchy gcode preloaded on the SD card that came with the printer).
Again, this ONLY happens with the add:north E-PLA, all other PLA types I have are working without an issue. I ran out of ideas what else to try to make it work outside of some hardware fixes that I have seen suggested elsewhere (upgrading the fan and extruder alltogether, trying a different/bigger nozzle). I would very much appreciate any help on the matter as I've been trying to fix this for the past 2 weeks now and am slowly giving up hope.
Re: Issues with a specific type of filament only
cold pulls won't fix everything. its entirely possible there are still some bits in there at any point in the hotend, especially if the gears are already grinding.
this is a good opportunity to do a tuneup:
-nozzle/heater block seated correctly
-heatbrake greased and seated correctly
-ptfe tube inspection/replace with the proper chamfers
also make sure its dry, is this biodegradable pla more hygroscopic than other types?
Re: Issues with a specific type of filament only
Hey, thanks for the answer!
I only did a cold pull "just in case" to see if it could be a clog but from what I could tell there was nothing of the sort.
The problem started within a days of assembling the printer so I don't think the parts are to blame, especially since every other filament works without a problem. I did want to check on the PTFE tube though so I will probably disassemble after the holidays to inspect the inside since nothing else seemed to work.
I did suspect moisture but deem it quite unlikely a suspect... I heard some popping when printing with the X-PLA but that one works fine and it started as soon as I opened a fully new filament straight out of the packaging so I'm not sure how that could absorb moisture that fast. No popping with E-PLA however. The moisture in the room is ~33%, I couldn't find anywhere what moisture levels are recommended for PLA filaments, except that normally moisture shouldn't be a problem unless you literally soak them in water.
I don't think the E-PLA is specifically more hygroscopic but I have no actual info on it. I tried emailing the manufacturer about the problem as well but received no answer so far.
Right now I was hoping to find a different solution I can try before the end of the holidays when I'll be able to tinker with the printer itself.
RE: Issues with a specific type of filament only
Did you ever figure this out @henrik-n4? I seem to have the exact same problem with Add:north E-PLA. Had a longer printer succeed after bumping the temperature to 225, but this doesn't seem to be repeatable, as the next one failed midway with extruder gears eating through the filament.
RE: Issues with a specific type of filament only
Different filament, same problem, includes a solution:
(replace Prusa-specific E3D heatbreak with original E3D v6 heatbreak)
RE: Issues with a specific type of filament only
RE: Issues with a specific type of filament only
I think you're right! That's the issue! Thanks 🙂
RE: Issues with a specific type of filament only
@stian-e Most of the E-PLA filaments (all the "fancy" ones like the aurora and marble etc.) started printing without any issue after upgrading to MK3S. However I'm still having the same issue with plain white and black E-PLA. The video @vojtech-p6 linked seems to be pretty spot on though so it's worth looking into!