Help with prusa i3

[Craig Bossard]

Hi 515,

I'm having trouble getting my prusai3 to extrude. I have tried both Bowden and direct drive. Could I come in with it sometime for help? I don't know who to turn to for help and I'm stuck.

Thanks,
Craig Bossard

[Ray Scheufler]

I'm sure that someone can find some time to help with it.  I am busy this weekend.  I am pretty sure I will be at the space tuesday evening.  My initial suspicion is that you either have a clogged nozzle or you have an incorrect thermistor wiring.  We have a thermocouple at the space to verify temperature and tiny drills to clean out the nozzle if it is clogged.

Some troubleshooting questions before you bring it it.

1. What hotend do you have?

2. Has it ever extruded?

3. What material / temperature are you trying?

4. What firmware are you using?

   a. Where did you get your firmware?

   b. Did you choose the correct thermistor?

5. What materials have you ever put through the nozzle?

Ray Scheufler

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[Craig Bossard]

Thanks, Ray,

1. I have a few different hotends.  I have an e3d v6 clone (not on yet), a direct drive extruder (installed) that is just the hollowed out tube with ptfe lining, and another e3d looking bowden extruder that was what I pulled off.  I have been playing with this off and on, but haven't had much luck.

2. I have extruded with this machine before I reconfigured it.  It was finnicky and the X carriage was wobbly, but the extruder seemed fine.  I'm not sure what changed on me.

3. I have been doing PLA working on temps from 170 - 210.

4.I'm not sure what firmware, whatever it came with.  I'm assuming Marlin.  Maybe repetier...  It's an all-in-one ramps combo I think.  I wouldn't mind putting it to repetier, but I haven't gone that far. As for the thermistor, dunno.  I tried a couple of different ones with similar results

5. PLA and ABS long previoius were the materials I've tried.

My prints all fail and it seems like I'm extruding much less filament than I need as well as it not sticking well to the heatbed.  I was thinking of trying a printinz bed.  I also have a ramps setup for a different printer that I would like to use, but I can't seem to get the bang bang heater setup to work for my AC bed relay.

I can try most anything myself.  I just seem to suck at it right now, so I thought I would seek some help.

Thanks,

Craig

[Brad Freese]

If you're under-extruding I would suggest looking around the thermocouple and heater core. Do you have a non-contact thermometer you could use to independently check the extruding temperature? It may not be getting hot enough.

Also, if you think the extruder might be clogged, you can try disassembling the extruder and submerge the tip in some acetone overnight. That cleans it off really well.

Third, are you using the same brand filament? I switched brands once and had a very similar experience. The new one extruded at a different temp even though they were both ABS.

Good luck, let us know what you find.

[That Kid]

I wouldnt mess with non-genuine hotends. Only problems await, unless you get lucky. This is probably where your troubles are at, poor nozzle/heat break machining. E3D is now selling their hotends with cartridge thermistors so its super easy to install. You could also try a Jhead from Hotends.com, a Hexagon from RepRapDiscount, or something else not from eBay.

Is the extruder geared or direct drive? A lot of the time the direct drive extruders arent able to output enough torque to clear even a minor jam. The hotend and extruder are where the rubber meets the road, especially when it comes to frustrations. I recommend spending good money on these two items, I cant use my Rostock right now because of the same issue. Its frustrating because everything else works.

[Ray Scheufler]

If you have been swapping hot ends you may not have gotten the thermistor configuration correct.  I would recommend verifying temperature with a known good measurement tool.  We have an IR gun and a thermocouple at the space that you could try.

Ray Scheufler

[Craig Bossard]

I would like that. Is there a good time to come?

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[Robert Johnson]

I will add to the mess and add check your feed rate. 

Assuming the print head its not clogged 

You can do a test by preheating for abs or pla, measuring and marking 10mm (or whatever amount) with a sharpie from the point where the filement meets the feeder to 10mm up. 

Then using the correct GCODE to tell the printer to extrude 10mm of filament. Did it feed 10mm? If not you can measure the difference and adjust your firmware

This will check your direct drive feed for accuracy

[Craig Bossard]

So I tried that. I tried changing my esteps. Nothing seemed to change.  Also on reboot the esteps value is reset.  I have tried to extrude a length and I cannot figure out why the lengths isn't right...

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[Robert Johnson]

hmm you can look into adjusting the amount of current applied to the extruder motor and the pressure applied to the filament by the gear. 

I will be at the maker space from 6pm to 8pm (friday) tonight and also Saturday from 1pm to 3pm. I am working on finishing up a prusa I3

If you can make it anyone of those times we can always take a look 

[Craig Bossard]

I'll do my best to come in.  Thanks for the help. 

On Friday, July 29, 2016, Robert Johnson <rober...@cox.net> wrote:

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[Ray Scheufler]

Just for my clarification, can you push filament through by hand when the hot end is up to temperature?  If you extruder has a simple way of disengaging (lever to release the roller) then try pushing filament.  It should have some amount of resistance but not too much.  Also, the filament should come out straight down.  If it curves or curls then you may have a partial clog that needs to be cleaned out.

Ray Scheufler

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[Craig Bossard]

Yes. Straight down. 

[Ray Scheufler]

Probably not a clog or temperature control issue.  Probably a roller tension or stepper current issue.  Hopefully Robert can help you this evening.

Ray Scheufler

[Robert Johnson]

I wont be there tonight it turns out .. last minute changes. Still planning on tomorrow 

[Craig Bossard]

 I will try again tomorrow. 

On Friday, July 29, 2016, Robert Johnson <rober...@cox.net> wrote:

I wont be there tonight it turns out .. last minute changes. Still planning on tomorrow 

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[Craig Bossard]

Will anyone be in tonight?

[Craig Bossard]

Would there be a time to come in that someone could take a look this week?

[Chris Johnson]

Craig, I will be down there later today.  What do youwant to accomplish?

Chris

On Friday, August 5, 2016 at 1:40:13 PM UTC-5, Craig Bossard wrote:

[Craig Bossard]

I pull like to have some help figuring out why my prusa underextrudes.  It's all set to go.  I've been confused for a while now. 

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[Craig Bossard]

I would like to add bribery to my plea for help. I just canned salsa, marinara, and froze corn. I'd like to bring some down to share.

[Chris Johnson]

Open house on Tuesday sounds promising.

[Bailey Mader]

Does that bribery mean you'll freeze MY corn for me? Just kidding... I know less about printers than you.

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