Broken Filament Removal
Hi - total noob here. I appear to have some duff filament which snapped as I was loading it. It now won’t load, purge or reload. I’ve tried applying pressure to engage the hot end feed, but the filament is not moving.
Can anyone give me some tips? Bear in mind it needs to be basic!
RE:
Open the extruder idler lever. See if there is filament you can grab with the needle nose pliers. Tweezers will work, too. Lift it up a bit so it clears the hole going into the nozzle, then pull it out and down, and remove the broken length from the Bowden tubing. Once that first piece is out. or if you can't see anything there, feed new - non-brittle filament into the side Bowden tubing above the spool, press it up and through the filament sensor and all the way to the extruder. This should push any other broken pieces to the extruder where you can easily remove them. Once the new filament is visible, pull it back down to the spool, close the idler door, and proceed with a normal filament load sequence.
RE: Broken Filament Removal
Thanks. I’m going to have a play at the weekend. Fingers crossed!
RE: Broken Filament Removal
Hi - I think it’s broken close to the filament sensor. I’ve tried threading filament in to push the broken bit through but it appears to be jammed.
I can’t see any filament at the extruder and the Bowden tube appears to be empty when I’ve shined a bright torch at it. Not sure if it’s supposed to be see-through though.
All suggestions welcome!
RE: Broken Filament Removal
Did you try to push filament into the ptfe from the extruder side ?
RE: Broken Filament Removal
If the broken piece is small, it's possible it lodged in the first sensor; that would require disassembly. If it's a longer piece and wedged above the first sensor, it probably won't want to come out backwards either, though I'd expect you'd be able to push in fresh filament to force it up to the extruder. It's probably time to take the right side panel off and take the Bowden tubing out of the sensor to gain access to any stray filament pieces. From there you can slide fresh filament into the open Bowden end to flush it up to the extruder. It'll also be easier to test if something is blocked inside the sensor. And if so, open it up to clean.
Here's the manual for assembling the sensor: have a look, it isn't that complex and if you are handy with a screwdriver it is serviceable by end users. Just don't lose any parts like the ball bearing.
https://help.prusa3d.com/guide/7-bodywork-electronics_835530#844901
RE: Broken Filament Removal
That’s what I was hoping it wasn’t. Thanks for the response and link. That’s my Sunday afternoon sorted! 😂
RE: Broken Filament Removal
Did you try to push filament into the ptfe from the extruder side ?
No joy! Thanks for the response, though!