Prusa i3 mk3 Clicking Then Failing
Sorry if this has been covered before but I'm experiencing issues with my mk3. My prints are failing about 3/4 of the way through (>10hr prints). The failures are always preceded by a clicking sound (coming from the Bondtech gears?). Furthermore, the fails are often occurring at the same spot. I'm using Prusament at the recommended settings in the slicer. This happens on my more premium filaments but doesn't happen with Hatchbox or Dikale filaments. Any recommendations?
Best Answer by bobstro:
Much may depend on the specific part you're printing. 2 common problems often occur further on in many prints.
- Large areas of infill are often printed at relatively high speeds. The Prusa profiles have been a bit aggressive in terms of infill speeds. If you out-run the hotend's capacity to melt and process plastic, you can get clicking as unmelted filament fails to feed through the nozzle, resulting in back pressure and extruder skips. This can lead to jam. Slice your part and examine it in your slicer preview. See if high speeds are being used on features that are printed that far in.
- Near the tops of prints with lots of detail, a high number of retractions can generate heat in the extruder which can creep into the extruder and be sufficient to soften PLA prematurely, resulting in difficulty feeding the filament, again causing skips and possible jams. Again, slice and spend time in your slicer preview to see if there are lots of retractions in areas where you are experiencing failures.
Another problem can be caused by hot ambient temps. The E3D V6 hotend is rated to 40C ambient temps. At higher temps, the efficiency of the hotend air cooling drops. This can result in heat creep up from the heater block, past the transition zone and into the cold zone above the heatbreak. Again, this can result in skips and jams. If you are printing in an enclosure or in unusually high temps, increase air flow.
Different filaments will have different degrees of viscosity, which may account for the differences you're seeing. Increasing temps slightly (5-10C) can help with flow, but can contribute to heat issues and introduce stringing, so spending time examining your print in slicer preview is worthwhile.
RE: Prusa i3 mk3 Clicking Then Failing
Much may depend on the specific part you're printing. 2 common problems often occur further on in many prints.
- Large areas of infill are often printed at relatively high speeds. The Prusa profiles have been a bit aggressive in terms of infill speeds. If you out-run the hotend's capacity to melt and process plastic, you can get clicking as unmelted filament fails to feed through the nozzle, resulting in back pressure and extruder skips. This can lead to jam. Slice your part and examine it in your slicer preview. See if high speeds are being used on features that are printed that far in.
- Near the tops of prints with lots of detail, a high number of retractions can generate heat in the extruder which can creep into the extruder and be sufficient to soften PLA prematurely, resulting in difficulty feeding the filament, again causing skips and possible jams. Again, slice and spend time in your slicer preview to see if there are lots of retractions in areas where you are experiencing failures.
Another problem can be caused by hot ambient temps. The E3D V6 hotend is rated to 40C ambient temps. At higher temps, the efficiency of the hotend air cooling drops. This can result in heat creep up from the heater block, past the transition zone and into the cold zone above the heatbreak. Again, this can result in skips and jams. If you are printing in an enclosure or in unusually high temps, increase air flow.
Different filaments will have different degrees of viscosity, which may account for the differences you're seeing. Increasing temps slightly (5-10C) can help with flow, but can contribute to heat issues and introduce stringing, so spending time examining your print in slicer preview is worthwhile.
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RE: Prusa i3 mk3 Clicking Then Failing
@bobstro
That makes perfect sense! Thank you so much for your help!