1 Topic by kitcarguy

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Topic: My first problem

Hey Everyone,

I purchased a filastruder from a forum member recently and it has been working flawless till yesterday. I went to make a batch of glow in the dark filament and it was not pushing through the nozzle. Here is what I have done

1. Temp was set at 191
2. Removed nozzle and checked/cleared any left over ABS. a 1/16 drill bit moves in and out freely
3. With the advice of OS printing I removed the auger and the tip was full of hard abs(after heating it up of course) Cleared all that and reassembled.
4. Brought the machine back up to temp and after letting it sit for 10 minutes or so I fired the motor back up and after 20-25 minutes of running I was still not getting any material coming out of the nozzle.


The motor/auger is turning with no issue, and pellets are feeding from the hopper to the auger. I was going to tear it all back down tonight . Anything else I might have missed?

2 Reply by Obfuscated

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Re: My first problem

What was your mix ratio of glow in the dark colorant to natural abs pellets? Too much of the colorant will drastically reduce the extrusion rate

3 Reply by kitcarguy

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Re: My first problem

It was 2 cups of pellets to 1 tsp of colorant. It is not extruding at all. Thats my problem

4 Reply by OSPrinting

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Re: My first problem

kitcarguy,
We had the same issue with a machine in house (I mentioned it in our emails). I ended up replacing the barrel, pipe coupler, nozzle, and the auger. After that the machine works great. Now I know you don't have access to the spare parts that we do but a good cleaning of those parts might solve the issue. Before you do that, I would see if some other people have a simpler solution. This is kinda a sledge hammer approach.

5 Reply by kitcarguy

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Re: My first problem

Thanks for the suggestions. I ripped it all apart last night. Cleaned it all out, assembled it. I just got it to temp about 20 minutes ago and its running, and eating up abs but its still not working.

So the next step after about 2 hours of use it to replace everything? SWEET! Are all the parts for sale . I can get the black pipe and coupler at Lowes, and the auger appears to be a boshe concrete bit of some kind. What about the nozzle?

6 Reply by elmoret

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Re: My first problem

Lets try to get a little more information before replacing everything. We will get you the parts at cost if it comes to that.

You said working flawless - what resin(s), what master batch/colorant, what temperature?

OSPrinting - what is your experience with the glow in the dark colorant? Does it affect the output rate? Some colorants/masterbatches do, some don't.

After tearing down and cleaning out, did you try running just MG94, or did you mix in other master batch?

Do you get any extrusion at all, even if its very slow?

To double check, you have confirmed that the auger itself is rotating, correct?

Have you tried various temperatures? Up to 210C should be no problem.

Filastruder - the robust, inexpensive filament extruder
E3Dv6 All Metal Hotend - the premier 3D printing hotend

7 Reply by OSPrinting

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Re: My first problem

elmoret wrote:

OSPrinting - what is your experience with the glow in the dark colorant? Does it affect the output rate? Some colorants/masterbatches do, some don't.

We have seen no issues on our end or had any issues reported with glow in the dark.

We ran this machine for 20+ hours with no issues before sending it out to kitcarguy. We ran mostly MG94 and no colorant.

I didn't mean him to replace everything. I was just giving an example of how we fixed a similar issue. Granted it was prob overkill but its just as easy for us to replace parts then spend the time to soaking and cleaning.

8 Reply by elmoret

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Re: My first problem

OSPrinting wrote:
elmoret wrote:

OSPrinting - what is your experience with the glow in the dark colorant? Does it affect the output rate? Some colorants/masterbatches do, some don't.

We have seen no issues on our end or had any issues reported with glow in the dark.

We ran this machine for 20+ hours with no issues before sending it out to kitcarguy. We ran mostly MG94 and no colorant.

I didn't mean him to replace everything. I was just giving an example of how we fixed a similar issue. Granted it was prob overkill but its just as easy for us to replace parts then spend the time to soaking and cleaning.

Does glow in the dark master batch affect the output rate? What output rate did you observe? What temperature?

Filastruder - the robust, inexpensive filament extruder
E3Dv6 All Metal Hotend - the premier 3D printing hotend

9 Reply by OSPrinting

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Re: My first problem

We saw no issues with the glow in the dark masterbatch besides the need to dry them before use. We ran the plastic at 185 C and saw normal extrusion rates (around 7 inches per min). At the time of testing we were not recording extrusion rates.

10 Reply by kitcarguy (edited by kitcarguy 2013-12-04 20:15:41)

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Re: My first problem

Hey Guys. Thanks for the responses. The auger is turning, and I provided a video to osprinting showing it was all working. After reassembly it is still turning. After I put it back together I was running it at 195c with just MG94 but no luck.

I did several feet of copper color and it was perfect, after I did the glow in the dark is when I started having issues.

I will turn up the temp and see if I get a better result. Maybe I am not getting an accurate reading all of a sudden?

I might have came across above as upset. Im not in the least bit. Still think its a great machine and will get it working again hahaha

11 Reply by kitcarguy

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Re: My first problem

Ok here is the update. I took it all apart again and made sure there was no trace of the glow in the dark material left and put it back together. Fired it up again let it get to temp and its ALIVE again. Im no expert but I have a feeling something is going on with the Glow in the dark masterbatch. It worked just fine running copper through it and then when I switched to the glow stuff it stopped. I did notice that it did not appear to be melting very well even at 205c .

Also now the power cord is giving me issue. I have to wiggle the connection around to get it to turn on .

On another note has anyone noticed that the wood case kind of stinks when it comes to taking it apart and putting together. I would almost like it wide open so I could just get to everything whenever I need to .

12 Reply by elmoret

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Re: My first problem

Great to hear! Did you do anything to clean the parts besides physically peeling off plastic?

Which connection are you having to wiggle?

I have personally never used a case, but I prefer to be able to get to things quickly - some people prefer aesthetics!

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13 Reply by kitcarguy

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Re: My first problem

Well It seems to have stopped extruding again. I did about 5 feet or so then its started being very slow. Like an inch every few minutes.

The connection is the round one that connects the filastruder to the power supply. The case looks great but I think I am going to mount it so I can get to everything.

14 Reply by digitydogs

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Re: My first problem

Kit,
I've had two similar issues. Both with different causes. One machine the hopper had stripped a bit somehow and there was a single strand of abs hanging off of it into the hopper preventing the abs from feeding in properly. On the second system the melt filter had gotten clogged and had a burnt layer of abs under and around it and clogging the nozzle leading to moments of extruding followed by moments of nothing.

One final thought, what kind of resin are you running through the system? Is it from OSP? If not is it new or a recycled or reused plastic? If its from OSP im out of ideas, if its from another source then its fully possible you have a recycled plastic that is mixed or that is degrading under the heat and  causing jams or cook off.

15 Reply by kitcarguy

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Re: My first problem

Hey there,

Its from OSP.

It seems to be working again. I have to giggle the connector around on the cord but its seems to be ok again. Maybe something was still stuck that I could not see. It is running now at 200c and its just humming along. Weird but hey its working hahaha

16 Reply by OSPrinting

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Re: My first problem

Kitcarguy,
Let me know if you keep having issues with the power connector. I have spares and it would not be an issue to send you a replacement.

Glad to hear it is working again smile

17 Reply by kitcarguy

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Re: My first problem

Thanks,

The connector is doing weird things. Sometimes I can make it work, sometimes it requires a bit more work hahaha.

So I have a new issue. It is extruding just fine, well almost fine. It starts out about the right diameter but then it appears to extrude noticeable thinner. Is this a heat issue?

18 Reply by elmoret

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Re: My first problem

What material?
What temperature?
What diameter does it start at?
What diameter does it end at?

It is most likely the weight pulling on it that thins it. This is not a bad thing - you may just need to reduce temperature. For ABS, 180C is about where you want to be. Higher temperatures will make the diameter smaller.

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19 Reply by kitcarguy

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Re: My first problem

Yeah it was ABS and I was running it at 190 . I will drop it down to 180 and give it a go

20 Reply by elmoret

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Re: My first problem

190 is on the hotter end. Measurements would be nice.

Again, it will vary over the first few feet - gravity doesn't have its full effect until the filament is long enough to reach the ground.

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21 Reply by kitcarguy

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Re: My first problem

I dropped it to 180 and gave it a go and its back to 100%. Getting good stuff coming out the end:)

22 Reply by kitcarguy

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Re: My first problem

Ok so another quick update. I ran about 50 feet or so of blue filament through it and then it started extruding slow again to the point that it went right back to how my original post started. I do notice the hopper moving around a lot more then normal as well.