Filament broke into pieces in the white tube
When I noticed that no filament was coming out anymore, I first unloaded the filament.
But I cannot load any new filament, it felt like the outside entrance was stuck.
So I unscrewed the top panel, and saw that the yellow filament is broken is several pieces inside the feeding tube.
I cannot push or pull it from the outside of the printer.
How can I loosen the filament insertion point where it feeds into the Nextruder?
I already unlocked the idler door, and I don't see any 'waste' inside that part of the extruder.
It's just a matter of getting the old filament out, so that I can insert another filament.
Thank you!
RE: Filament broke into pieces in the white tube
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RE: Filament broke into pieces in the white tube
Helpdesk was very helpful, and I shared some pictures. Together we made it 🙂
But all articles are always about the extruder being stuck.
This was very different... The extruder and hotend were just fine.
The issue was about filament that broke into pieces inside the feeder tube, and it got completely stuck.
So I 'only' needed to disconnect the feeder tube from both sides, hold in in my hands, stretched it and then pushed the broken segments through.
Well, easier said than done.
To disconnect the feeder tube from the extruder works well; just unscrew the metal part (it's size 8) and done.
The outside feeder is a different ballgame. Unscrew works fine, but then... oh ... my ... almost impossible to fit the three elements together again.
I struggled for about 1 hour to get 2 screws back in place. And as a consequence, the outer feed for new filament is not cooperative anymore. Now I really have to push hard to get the first 5cm in again. But oh well... Printer is printing just fine now.
Root cause analysis: never use PLA older than 10 years. It had dried out, and is crumbling in pieces...
For those 20 euro, just buy some new stuff...
Hope this helps...
RE: Filament broke into pieces in the white tube
Another note: PLA absorbs humidity which will also make it very brittle. I have found it is very important to dry out PLA before using it.
Helpdesk was very helpful, and I shared some pictures. Together we made it 🙂
But all articles are always about the extruder being stuck.
This was very different... The extruder and hotend were just fine.The issue was about filament that broke into pieces inside the feeder tube, and it got completely stuck.
So I 'only' needed to disconnect the feeder tube from both sides, hold in in my hands, stretched it and then pushed the broken segments through.Well, easier said than done.
To disconnect the feeder tube from the extruder works well; just unscrew the metal part (it's size 8) and done.
The outside feeder is a different ballgame. Unscrew works fine, but then... oh ... my ... almost impossible to fit the three elements together again.
I struggled for about 1 hour to get 2 screws back in place. And as a consequence, the outer feed for new filament is not cooperative anymore. Now I really have to push hard to get the first 5cm in again. But oh well... Printer is printing just fine now.Root cause analysis: never use PLA older than 10 years. It had dried out, and is crumbling in pieces...
For those 20 euro, just buy some new stuff...
Hope this helps...
RE: Filament broke into pieces in the white tube
Root cause analysis: never use PLA older than 10 years. It had dried out, and is crumbling in pieces...
For those 20 euro, just buy some new stuff...
Hope this helps...
I just threw out some 6 year old spools that were crumbling. Sad because one of them was the first spool I every bought.