Continual air prints

[drando...@gmail.com]

Here is the rundown.

1. Is the drive gear clean?
2. Is the filament kinking or sticky?
3. Remove the nozzle and see if it extrudes ok.
4. I'm willing to bet if the above is fine then you need a new nozzle. The hole can become bent and extrude just fine but with back pressure it can cause your gear to skip.

[TobyCWoods]

There are so many different things it could be. BP distance and level. Filament diameter. Settings in SW...

I was just getting air prints myself using settings that have worked fine for 4 spools of PLA. Just put on a new white spool and it required 20C higher temp. Air prints stopped. Too much heat and that too can cause an air print. 
It takes patience, perseverance and more detail as to what you are printing... the PLA... your SW and it's settings.

On Wednesday, May 22, 2013 2:14:25 PM UTC-7, Joe D. Reynolds wrote:

I have tried everything I can find in the forums, followed suggestions of MakerBot but still get air prints.  I have 

a spring operated upgrade purchased from another user but that is not the problem.  Filament feeds fine for up to 10 minutes and then air print.

The filament shows tooth marks until a cavity is dug into the filament and then air print begins.  

I have dissected the thing so many times I am afraid the screws will fall out.  Still no luck.  

First few minutes of operation - fine.  After that: Frustration.  MakerBot has suggested a few things that don't work. Machine is two hours old

and I have spent many hours working, experimenting, and becoming frustrated.

Any help out there.

Joe

[David Celento]

This is frustrating beyond belief, I know. Should not be happening on a new machine, so it's essential to narrow down the variables.

The Stretchlet bracelet on the SD card is an excellent diagnostic. Suggest printing this first and reporting back. Should be perfect, with no horizontal interruptions. If these do occur, likely you have a thermocouple and/or hot end issue. If it is perfect, other issues are likely. I offer some troubleshooting steps in my Zero to Hero guide that may help narrow things down: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:71575

One easy thing to overlook for a new owner, is your front fan blowing in?

Hang in there! The Rep2 can and will print well once properly set up.

~Dave

[Spk64]

When you free extrude with the bed lowered. Does it come out in a straight stream down or try to curl up slightly as it leaves the nozzle?