Makerbot Replicator 5th generation overheating

[Tillsbury Gromit]

Hi all, new here. Finally got Google Groups to let me in...

Replicator 5g arrived yesterday.  Not going too badly so far, but after one print today the nozzle wouldn't cool down.  Temperature was stuck on 230C, whatever I did.  Tried starting a new print -- got an "unexpected error" from the software.  Tried unloading and reloading filament twice, no change.  Only solution I found was to remove the extruder and blow on it constantly, while rebooting the Replicator.  Once it had restarted I put the extruder head back on and it was down to 100C or so.  It's been behaving since then.  

Bit concerning though.  Apart from preventing printing, presumably this might be one of the causes of the fires we hear about?

So now I can't be sure whether the machine will stop heating the nozzle when it's completed a print.  

Another problem I've had is that it's impossible to level the bed, as the adjustment doesn't go far enough.  When it asks me to turn the front knob, it doesn't matter whether I turn it all the way until it's stuck, or the other way until it comes off.  The light doesn't come on.  It does come on if I tighten the knob fully and then push upwards on the bed quite hard.  This is the only way to get on to the next step of levelling sideways (which works fine).

As it happens, I'm printing with rafts which doesn't care too much about level, and I can level it by eye and get it good enough to print on.  But it's a bit rubbish going on about assisted levelling that just doesn't work.

Is there any more in the way of online assistance than this group?  Is there any further documentation and/or troubleshooting available other than the ridiculous page on Makerbot's website, that doesn't even contain the information it says it does about manual levelling?

[Ryan Carlyle]

This forum is pretty much as good as it gets, sorry. MBI is not known for thorough documentation. They won't even "sticky" the common troubleshooting steps at the top of the forum here. Kind of baffling.

For the hot end to get stuck at 230C, the firmware must be actively engaged in running the PID heater control, yet not processing any commands to shut off the heater. That's a bit strange. Not impossible, because this is new and fairly untested firmware, but still odd. How long did you let it sit? There should be an inactivity shutdown timer after X minutes (10-30). 

If that safety shutdown is not functioning, it's a serious safety issue and vaguely makes me think it could void the UL certification on the product. I STRONGLY encourage you to CALL tech support and report this issue. Don't email, don't ask around on forums, just pick up the phone and call Makerbot and tell them there's a software glitch that could burn somebody's house down.

If anybody is wondering, killing power to the bot while it's hot is not a great idea, because the thermal shielding / thermal barrier tube relies on active fan cooling to keep the hot block's heat from excessively conducting up to plastic parts that aren't supposed to be hot. It's fine in an emergency, but don't do it on a regular basis.

[Arthur Tilly]

Absolutely not.  I only rebooted as a last resort, and as I said I removed the extruder and blew hard on it continually while it was rebooting.  When it came back up and I reattached the extruder, it was at 110C, so it seemed to work ok.  But removing the extruder or killing power without doing this could easily bust things on a permanent basis.

I don't know whether I left it inactive for 10 minutes.  I was unloading and reloading filament, and then trying to start a new print which failed with an "unexpected error" (presumably that the nozzle was too hot).  I then tried a fair few things but wasn't interested in hanging around with the nozzle being continually heated.  The filament was also dribbling out of the nozzle all this time...

It's probably Saturday over there now isn't it?  In which case waste of time ringing them until Monday evening our time...

[Jetguy]

Support is open on Saturday.

Call them.

[Arthur Tilly]

Update on the heating issue.  I think I know what is causing it (perhaps).  Although I haven't tried to replicate it.

If you unload the filament, and don't confirm that it's been unloaded (as you're busy swapping over the reels and feeding through the next one), it will time out from retracting the filament after a short while.  Then you go straight to "load filament" while the nozzle is still hot (as you've now got the next reel ready).  It did it again after I did this, and I remember that that's what happened the first time.

Again, a reboot fixed it.

There should be a new firmware menu option "change filament", which retracts, maintains the heat setting, then asks you to feed in the new one and sorts itself out.

Other than that, still working ok.  A bit of a clog a couple of times today while loading, but nothing a bit of a push with the filament wouldn't sort.

[Itlan]

Had the same issue on my first printer. My extruder would find home in the middle of the plate, then go to the front middle where I would level the build plot with knobs then its SUPPOSED to go to the right middle. But mine went to the back middle where I could never level it with the knobs o matter what I tried.

Called MBI and they said they had never heard of that issue so sent me a new extruder thinking that was the cause. But once I got the new extruder it was doinked out of the box and wanted me to unload filament even thought nothing was in it so would never even start the plate leveling process. So they just sent me a whole new 5th gen at that point. Plus my network connectivity barely worked between it and the Makerbot Desktop.

So you probably have a bummed extruder, what MBI will tell you and replace it most likely.

Once I got my new priner I haven't had any issue (knock on wood it doesn't clog on my next print, its like a horror show reading this forums! Praying that its not the case for the vast majority of users!).

On Friday, May 2, 2014 7:41:26 AM UTC-5, Tillsbury Gromit wrote:

[tunell]

there is also the MBI Users group. A sister to this group that is not moderated by MBI. Many of the power-users hang out in both groups.

[Automaton]

I think I got your old machine.  Just like you I'm unable to level the build plate.  The knob doesn't tilt the plate enough to light the led, and so it won't continue the leveling process.  There is no option in the menu for manual leveling, even though it clearly shows the option in the online .pdf manual.  Several other menu items are different - the manual must be based on an older and very different version of the firmware. 

Prints are decent in the middle of the bed on a raft, if a tiny bit crooked.  However, a print that goes to the back of the machine just starts air-printing and makes a sloppy mess of everything. Help tickets open for two weeks with no response.  Did you call customer support?  How did you get them to respond?

[Darren Clarke]

Same problem here. Got the new extruder, the first one died of plugging from the firmware and design. The new extruder worked great for a couple of prints and now the dang thing wont level for anything.  I wish I could do a manual level, cause the automatic just aint cutting it at all.

[Darren Clarke]

Im actually starting to think they have the logic set up wrong for the assisted leveling program in the newest firmware. It seems to get worse every time you level it.

[Morph Life]

same here printed great for couple times then hard to get plate level, rotated both knobs until they came loose still not get them level. 

[Joe Soap]

Something they don't provide instruction for on the 5th gen is that before levelling you should tighten down the levelling knobs so that when you level they can only turn one way. Otherwise you find that after a few levelling attempts the knob goes past its functional screwing limit, you keep screwing and it just unwinds the knob off the thread (hmm, perhaps I should rephrase that before the thought police descend...).

Not one of MBI's best design decisions.

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[Jeff Culler]

That does sound like a problem.  It would help if one could manually raise the build plate, or instruct it to raise a few inches without printing in order to get to the mechanism under the plate.  If there's a way to do that, I haven't found it (without pausing a print and having a hot extruder in the way).

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