1 Topic by ajflyhigh8

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Topic: Bad hotend connection - Temperature dropping mid-print

I have the Solidoodle 2 with a heated bed, and lately, I have been having problems with the hotend. The extruder temperature will suddenly drop during a print, and if I don't notice it quickly enough, it will ruin the print! This can happen at random times during a print, or sometimes not at all. If I notice it quickly enough, I can tighten the connections for the hotend, and the temperature will begin to climb again. I have tried tightly wrapping the connection in electrical tape, and that seems to have helped, but it hasn't completely fixed the issue. Does anyone know of a good permanent solution for this problem? Thanks for any and all help!

2 Reply by Kronikabuse

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Re: Bad hotend connection - Temperature dropping mid-print

Is it a stock hotend? if so you should think about upgrading to a e3d and you can have band new wires and connections. or you can put new connetions on the wire, but if you are going to do work on it any ways id upgrade while im at it

Sd4 #9080 with a glass bed. E3d chimera duel extruder. Paste extruder , duet wifi.
Lawsy carriages. linear bearings. Y axis direct drive, Kinect scanner
SD4#8188 glass bed, lawsly carriages, E3d v6, octoprint http://www.ustream.tv/channel/hotrod96z28
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3 Reply by ajflyhigh8

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Re: Bad hotend connection - Temperature dropping mid-print

Kronikabuse wrote:

Is it a stock hotend? if so you should think about upgrading to a e3d and you can have band new wires and connections. or you can put new connetions on the wire, but if you are going to do work on it any ways id upgrade while im at it

It is the stock hotend, and I have had my eye on getting either a E3D V6 or the E3D lite6, but asside from these connections issues, I haven't had any other problems with the stock hotend. If at all possible, I'd like to keep the stock without having to upgrade.

4 Reply by heartless

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Re: Bad hotend connection - Temperature dropping mid-print

why keep the stock hotend? you are so limited in what you can do with it and it is not the best quality

E3D v6 would open the door to so many other materials for you - PETG, Nylon, and others. I can honestly say that upgrading to the E3D was one of the best things I ever did with my SDs

SD4 #1 & #2 - Lawsy carriages, E3D v6, Rumba controller board, mirror bed plate, X motor fan, upgraded PSU & Mica bed heater
SD4 #3 - in the works ~ Folgertech FT-5, rev 1
Printit Industries Beta Tester - Horizon H1

5 Reply by AZERATE

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Re: Bad hotend connection - Temperature dropping mid-print

Trust me, after you dial in a genuine E3D you will stuff your stock hotend into a drawer and never look at it again.

At least grab a Lite6 and you will never look back. They are available fully assembled at Printitindustries.com; to be transparent, I am a co-founder of Printit, but also an avid E3D user in my private life.

Printit Mason and Printit Horizon printers
Multiple SD2s- Bulldog XL, E3D v5/v6/Lite6, Volcano, Hobb Goblin, Titan, .9 motor, Lawsy carriages, direct Y drive, fishing line...the list goes on
Filawinder and Filastruder #1870.....worth every penny!

6 Reply by ajflyhigh8

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Re: Bad hotend connection - Temperature dropping mid-print

I am strongly considering upgrading my hotend, probably to the lite6 because I will only really be printing in PLA or ABS, but I would like to at least get this one working so I can use it as a backup and to print the attachment for the SD2. Thanks for the advice all!

7 Reply by heartless

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Re: Bad hotend connection - Temperature dropping mid-print

for PLA and ABS use the Lite6 would be a fine choice and very budget friendly.

to get the old one working you will need to track down where the bad connection is located and repair it... not an easy task, but it can be done...

I would drop the bed out of the way, move the printhead forward (for easier access to the full length of wiring) and heat it up with the temp graph up on your screen.. then start gently bending the wires along the length until it drops the temp - that would give an indication of where the wires may be broken at.

alternatively you can simply replace the wiring for a short term fix - clip most off, leaving enough at the ends to splice in new wires of the appropriate gauge. Make sure the splices are properly insulated.

SD4 #1 & #2 - Lawsy carriages, E3D v6, Rumba controller board, mirror bed plate, X motor fan, upgraded PSU & Mica bed heater
SD4 #3 - in the works ~ Folgertech FT-5, rev 1
Printit Industries Beta Tester - Horizon H1

8 Reply by ajflyhigh8

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Re: Bad hotend connection - Temperature dropping mid-print

Ok, I'll get working on checking the wire, and I'll let you know what I get. Thanks for the help!

E3D lite6 ordered! Is there anything else that I need to buy to attach it to my printer? Is the tutorial at http://www.soliwiki.com/E3D_extruder still good?

9 Reply by heartless

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Re: Bad hotend connection - Temperature dropping mid-print

those instructions are geared more towards the full v6 - not the lite6.
everything except the actual hotend assembly and temps will be pretty much the same tho..

check here for lite6 assembly instructions: https://wiki.e3d-online.com/wiki/E3D-Lite6_Assembly

SD4 #1 & #2 - Lawsy carriages, E3D v6, Rumba controller board, mirror bed plate, X motor fan, upgraded PSU & Mica bed heater
SD4 #3 - in the works ~ Folgertech FT-5, rev 1
Printit Industries Beta Tester - Horizon H1

10 Reply by heartless

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Re: Bad hotend connection - Temperature dropping mid-print

those instructions are geared more towards the full v6 - not the lite6.
everything except the actual hotend assembly and temps will be pretty much the same tho..

check here for lite6 assembly instructions: https://wiki.e3d-online.com/wiki/E3D-Lite6_Assembly

SD4 #1 & #2 - Lawsy carriages, E3D v6, Rumba controller board, mirror bed plate, X motor fan, upgraded PSU & Mica bed heater
SD4 #3 - in the works ~ Folgertech FT-5, rev 1
Printit Industries Beta Tester - Horizon H1

11 Reply by ajflyhigh8

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Re: Bad hotend connection - Temperature dropping mid-print

Sounds good, I'll use those instructions for the assembly.

I did the test that you suggested, and any move on the wire seems to trigger it at random. There doesn't seem to be any patterns of any sort that trigger the temperature drop. Also when the temperature starts to drop, there is no sure way to bring it back. Sometimes it comes back easily by shaking the wires, and sometimes it doesn't.