3D Printing Printing help!

[Velocity Aerospace]

I don't know what happened, my printer was turning out some pretty nice prints. I have an ender 3 pro. But lately, it's been dropping the ball. It'll start out ok, but then just stop extruding for a second, leading to some real bad prints. Any advice? I've messed with the temp settings, layer thickness, and moving the print bed

 

[manixFan]

I had a similar issue with a different brand of printer and it turned out my surge protector was going bad! I never would have figured that out but I use a Raspberry Pi with Octo Print and it reported an under voltage during printing. Once I changed to a new outlet the problem went away. I did have to clean out the nozzle by heating it up well above the normal temperature and running some filament through it until it was nice and smooth.

It seems unlikely it’s exactly the same thing but it could definitely be power related. Good luck, and hopefully you’ll get other suggestions.


Tony.

 

[Velocity Aerospace]

I had a similar issue with a different brand of printer and it turned out my surge protector was going bad! I never would have figured that out but I use a Raspberry Pi with Octo Print and it reported an under voltage during printing. Once I changed to a new outlet the problem went away. I did have to clean out the nozzle by heating it up well above the normal temperature and running some filament through it until it was nice and smooth.

It seems unlikely it’s exactly the same thing but it could definitely be power related. Good luck, and hopefully you’ll get other suggestions.


Tony.

I'll check that out and report back. Thanks for the tip

 

[Banzai88]

Have you checked the extruder motor operation by heating the hot end to at least 200C and running it with the control pad?

Have you tried reformatting the SD card?

Have you tried re-slicing the model?

What firmware are you running?

When it "stops extruding", does that mean the extruder motor stops spinning, or keeps spinning but still no plastic?

 

[Velocity Aerospace]

Have you checked the extruder motor operation by heating the hot end to at least 200C and running it with the control pad?

Have you tried reformatting the SD card?

Have you tried re-slicing the model?

What firmware are you running?

When it "stops extruding", does that mean the extruder motor stops spinning, or keeps spinning but still no plastic?

I have superheated the hot end and run the filament through, I haven't tried reformatting the card(not sure how) I've changed settings and re-sliced the model, I'm not sure about firmware, and as far as I know, the motor still feeds, but it's like the filament doesn't heat up fast enough

 

[Velocity Aerospace]

I also want to say that I just printed a big project that took 2 days a couple of months ago. It came out great. It just seems that this happens any time I change out filaments. They're all pla and all from the same brand. Just different colors

 

[Banzai88]

I also want to say that I just printed a big project that took 2 days a couple of months ago. It came out great. It just seems that this happens any time I change out filaments. They're all pla and all from the same brand. Just different colors

Best practice is to always run a temp tower and stringing test with any filament change, no matter what, since not every filament or color is the same, even from the same manufacturer. Then, just write it in sharpie on the spool. Too hot causes a lot of the same issues as too cold.

Reformatting of the SD card is done with your computer like you would do any flash drive.

Firmware version is available on your printer by scrolling down to About and pressing the knob.

 

[Banzai88]

Might be time to change the nozzle and clean the hot end, too.

 

[Velocity Aerospace]

Might be time to change the nozzle and clean the hot end, too.

The nozzle is actually pretty new. I changed it not long ago. How long of a life span do they have?

 

[Banzai88]

The nozzle is actually pretty new. I changed it not long ago. How long of a life span do they have?

Depends on who made it and what you run through it.

Discount nozzles, to me, have always proven false economy.

My current nozzle is on it's 5th spool of PLA, still going strong. Whenever I've used non-creality discount nozzles, I've had issues. YMMV.

Still, might be a good idea to remove it and make sure that you don't have any gunk built up if you didn't do that when you installed a new nozzle.

How long have you had the printer/how much have you printed since the last time you tore apart the hot end and made sure everything was clean and properly assembled?

 

[Velocity Aerospace]

Depends on who made it and what you run through it.

Discount nozzles, to me, have always proven false economy.

My current nozzle is on it's 5th spool of PLA, still going strong. Whenever I've used non-creality discount nozzles, I've had issues. YMMV.

Still, might be a good idea to remove it and make sure that you don't have any gunk built up if you didn't do that when you installed a new nozzle.

How long have you had the printer/how much have you printed since the last time you tore apart the hot end and made sure everything was clean and properly assembled?

I'll be sure to check. I only use creality nozzles, although if I'm not mistaken, it's been maybe a year since I've checked the hot end. I've had the printer for probably close to 2 1/2 years

 

[Banzai88]

I'll be sure to check. I only use creality nozzles, although if I'm not mistaken, it's been maybe a year since I've checked the hot end. I've had the printer for probably close to 2 1/2 years

About the same that I've had mine. About 6 months in, I had all sorts of issues, decided to tear into the hot end.
Had all sorts of nasty gunk in it. Apparently filament is filthy, and most of it gobs up at the end of the bowden tube in the hot end. I now run a small piece of foam on the filament, change with every roll, tube and hot end stays A LOT cleaner.

Also check the teeth on the extruder gear and adjust/replace as necessary. Not all brass gears are created equal, and a back up past the gear can damage the filament and the gear teeth. Same if tension is too high on the spring.

I do an annual tear down/clean up of the hot end, haven't had a single hot end or nozzle related issue since.

 

[rharshberger]

I'll be sure to check. I only use creality nozzles, although if I'm not mistaken, it's been maybe a year since I've checked the hot end. I've had the printer for probably close to 2 1/2 years

Then you probably should have replaced the bowden tube at least once if not twice (they will get out of spec just above the nozzle leading to extrusion issues), I use Capricorn tube an still have to replace it yearly or so, obviously nozzles have already been mentioned. How dry is your filament? Do you store the roll in a dry box (I use the rubber sealed Sterilite containers with dessicant and ports for the filament to exit through), I live in a dry climate so keeping the filament clear of humidity is a bit easier, but humidity can cause all kinds of problems depending on how much the filament absorbs. The hotend will also develop some slack in the Push to Fit fittings the bowden tube is held in by, I have replaced both my PTF fittings at least once (once due to a broken tooth, and the second one just because it seemed weak), it may also be necessary to cut the last inch or two of bowden tube off, as it will wear in the area the teeth on the PTF fitting grab it allowing the tube to move a little back and forward creating gap that gets filled with molten filament and that filament eventually cooks to a hard material that can start choking the flow.

Picture is not mine (its from Thingiverse) but I have a nearly identical set up. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3947469

 

[Velocity Aerospace]

Then you probably should have replaced the bowden tube at least once if not twice (they will get out of spec just above the nozzle leading to extrusion issues), I use Capricorn tube an still have to replace it yearly or so, obviously nozzles have already been mentioned. How dry is your filament? Do you store the roll in a dry box (I use the rubber sealed Sterilite containers with dessicant and ports for the filament to exit through), I live in a dry climate so keeping the filament clear of humidity is a bit easier, but humidity can cause all kinds of problems depending on how much the filament absorbs. The hotend will also develop some slack in the Push to Fit fittings the bowden tube is held in by, I have replaced both my PTF fittings at least once (once due to a broken tooth, and the second one just because it seemed weak), it may also be necessary to cut the last inch or two of bowden tube off, as it will wear in the area the teeth on the PTF fitting grab it allowing the tube to move a little back and forward creating gap that gets filled with molten filament and that filament eventually cooks to a hard material that can start choking the flow.

Picture is not mine (its from Thingiverse) but I have a nearly identical set up. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3947469
View attachment 592294

That's a lot of great information. I don't store my filament like that, and ut has been really humid where I live. I've changed out the tube once, but you may be right. I have a lot to check out now, although it may be a bit, as I just started a really busy week at work

 

[OzHybrid]

The teflon bowden tube deteriorates at the hot end. Either replace the whole tube or dissasemble the tube from the hot end, cut off the burnt bit and rebuild hot end with a new or fully cleaned nozzle. Check for any traces of old burnt fillament in the block. Do an extrusion test and check it's extruding the right amount of fillament. Preheat bed, relevel bed when hot and print a test object.
Good luck.
Norm

 

[Velocity Aerospace]

I had a little extra time thus morning, so I poked around and tore my printer apart a little bit. The tube is still ok, but I found a huge blob of filament in the hot end. I cleaned it out and I'll be trying it out in just a bit when I have more time. I figured it was clear because when I would manually push the filament through, it would come out as the right color, but apparently not...

 

[Bravo52]

You said it "stops" printing for a short time then starts again. Does that mean stopped as in stopped moving or just not extruding? If it is the former, it's likely a "software" issue. If it's the latter, you likely have a problem with your extruder. I don't know what an Ender has but it could be as simple as inconsistent material diameter and it's slipping in the extruder.

 

[Velocity Aerospace]

You said it "stops" printing for a short time then starts again. Does that mean stopped as in stopped moving or just not extruding? If it is the former, it's likely a "software" issue. If it's the latter, you likely have a problem with your extruder. I don't know what an Ender has but it could be as simple as inconsistent material diameter and it's slipping in the extruder.

The motor is moving to push the filament through, it's just stringing really bad when us supposed to be feeding. I cleaned out the hot end, which seemed to help quite a bit. I was looking at the teeth on the feed gear. They look a little worn, and I didn't know that having the tension too high could be a bad thing. I'll check on those the next time I have a chance

 

[rharshberger]

I had a little extra time thus morning, so I poked around and tore my printer apart a little bit. The tube is still ok, but I found a huge blob of filament in the hot end. I cleaned it out and I'll be trying it out in just a bit when I have more time. I figured it was clear because when I would manually push the filament through, it would come out as the right color, but apparently not...

There is some black crusty from burned filament on the pinkish piece, let us know how the cleaning works.

 

[OzHybrid]

When you change a nozzle, and you said you did, you MUST make sure that the nozzle screws HARD up against the heat break threaded section. If the threaded length of the new nozzle is shorter than the one you had previously you will get a gap between the nozzle thread and the start of the heat break. Degraded filament will build up in this pocket and cause printing to fail. Also if there is no seal(metal to metal) between the nozzle and the heat break you can get leakage of molten plastic through the thread of the nozzle and heat block which builds up in the silicone cover and come out as a large lump and completely destroy your print as the head drags it around bashing off the print.

 

[Velocity Aerospace]

When you change a nozzle, and you said you did, you MUST make sure that the nozzle screws HARD up against the heat break threaded section. If the threaded length of the new nozzle is shorter than the one you had previously you will get a gap between the nozzle thread and the start of the heat break. Degraded filament will build up in this pocket and cause printing to fail. Also if there is no seal(metal to metal) between the nozzle and the heat break you can get leakage of molten plastic through the thread of the nozzle and heat block which builds up in the silicone cover and come out as a large lump and completely destroy your print as the head drags it around bashing off the print.View attachment 592484

I changed out the nozzle today, and I tightened it down a bit past hand tight, but I'll crank it down a bit more just in case

 

[OzHybrid]

I changed out the nozzle today, and I tightened it down a bit past hand tight, but I'll crank it down a bit more just in case

It needs to be against the heat break. See the diagram I just uploaded.

 

[Banzai88]

Make sure the heatbreak tube is hard against the top of the nozzle AND make sure that the bowden tube is clean, cut square, and seated hard to the stop in the heatbreak tube. Those are also places where filament, dirt, and oil will build up and cause a blockage.

I torque in a nozzle, then screw the heatbreak tube down hard against it, then slide it all in the heat block and lock down the screws. That usually makes sure it's all tight.

A full cleaning and overhaul of an Ender 3 hot end is about 45 minutes start to finish your first time, less than 30 from there on out. Shouldn't need any parts other than a nozzle and maybe a rubber heat block/nozzle boot and a re-cut of the bowden tube.

Did mine today when I started getting indications of reduced flow, and glad I did, bowden tube/heatbreak tube was almost completely clogged with gunk. Now it's printing 100% again.

So, to answer your earlier question of how long do nozzles last....it was easier and more time efficient to simply change this nozzle than it was to de-gunk it, but if I had cleaned it, it would probably still be ok. But I got 5 1/2 rolls of filament between hot end cleans. YMMV.

 

[OverTheTop]

I have found something happening similar to what you describe when the filament hasn't been heated before printing. If it sits in the atmosphere enough it absorbs the humidity. It really affects print quality, becoming a bit more stringy (with the normal good settings) and also having some gaps in the extrusion. I am wondering if it is steam produced by the heating that creates the gaps (gas pockets). It is usually evident in the first part of prints we do. We have reel heaters to keep the reels from absorbing humidity, but there is a length of filament (2'?) outside the heated enclosure, in a tube, to where it goes to the extruder.

I would really be looking at keeping the filament dry.

 

[Velocity Aerospace]

Given the way its been acting, I really think that it could be because if humidity. It's been crazy humid where I love for the past couple months. I don't have any dessicant, so I'm baking the moisture out in my oven. I'm keeping it on a really low temperature to ensure it doesn't melt, but I'll post an update when I get a chance on how it goes

 

[Velocity Aerospace]

Soon, that wasn't quite it. I was really hoping to get away with not having to change it out, but the teeth in the gear are pretty worn, and if I assist it, it does pretty well. I have a spare gear from another repair/upgrade I did to the tensioner. The only problem is, the old gear is on there really tight. There's no set screws, so I think its just a friction fit. That's why I was hoping it was something else. So now I need advice on getting the old one off without damaging the motor. Man, I've really gone down the rabbit hole with this

 

[OverTheTop]

If you are removing the gear and don't mind damaging it, clamp it gently in a vice and file the brass away on one side until it breaks the continuous ring around the shaft. Try not to file the shaft, although it is harder and more robust anyway. It should pull off easy then.

Or if you have a shaft puller it will come off easy .

 

[Banzai88]

I never managed to get mine off, it was stuck on there really really tight, and broke the cheap gear puller that I bought. An adventure to youtube for help pointed out that there's no flat spot on that shaft to anchor a set screw even if you get it off....so you risk the drive gear spinning if there's any sort of resistance in the hot end, such as builds up as things start to clog up. I suppose you could always dremel a flat.

Then I went straight to Amazon and bought a new motor and gear for under $15 and next day delivery, recalibrated the e steps (Ender 3s are notorious for having incorrect settings on the extruder) for the new motor, and never looked back. That was over a year ago, still no issues. The advantage of the set screw drive gear is that you can slide it up and down the shaft and get 3 to 4 lifespans out of it before it needing to be replaced.

If you manage to get the old gear off and dremel a flat, and you don't already have a replacement gear, they're like $8ish for a 5 pack.....or get the metal extruder top and do a full convert (comes with a gear) for $10 (Amazon).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZQT9DJ...ndustrial&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWwy

 

[Velocity Aerospace]

So I got the motor installed and calibrated, but it will still slip occasionally. It starts off great, but I think it either gets clogged, or it's still trying to push too much filament through. I know it will vary between motors, but what do yall have your e-step/mm set to?

 

[OverTheTop]

I know it will vary between motors, but what do yall have your e-step/mm set to?

You calibrate that by extruding a set length, typically 100mm and measuring what you actually get. Then calculate the relevant factors and put in the software.