1 Topic by Crazy1pilot

  • Crazy1pilot
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Topic: Flakes not stopping

I have been having a problem with not being able to use any filament that the Filastruder has made because there is always a flake about ever 1-3ft. I have run the Filastruder ~44hrs now, I recently bought a the nozzle with the mesh filter after having continuous jamming. I installed the new nozzle about 26hrs ago and started a new print,, about 45min into it it jammed again. sad I ran out of white and all I have is black abs so it's hard to tell when there is a flake.. But I was hopeful the new nozzle would solve all my issues.

The printer I am using is a Felix 3.0 which has a .35mm nozzle instead of the typical .5 which would make it more prone to clogs, but I assumed that the flakes would stop after 12hrs+ of running and still be consistent every 1-3ft.

The flakes arnt particularly big, they have been a concictent size from the start. I was hopping to be printing with the Filastruder filament by now. What could be causing this? Is it normal to continuously have flakes after 40+hr of running? Should I tare it apart and soak the barrel in Acetone and see what it barrel looks like? I don't know what else to do other then keep running it and hope it clears out.

Crazy1

2 Reply by elmoret

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Re: Flakes not stopping

All extruders wear - even the big boys. That is why I designed the melt filter in the first place.

It is odd to have them at the frequency you describe as long as you describe, but the melt filter should catch EVERYTHING if installed properly. It has a 250 micron mesh, so I don't know how any 0.35mm+ particles would get though? Did you tap the retaining ring down into the nozzle to seat it?

What do you mean you only have black ABS? You should be able to make some without putting the master batch in, right? You said "jammed again" - did you replace the nozzle on your Felix, or just poke at it?

What temperature are you running, and what extrusion speeds are you seeing? I've run about 80kg of Filastruder filament now, no clogs. First through a 0.4mm nozzle, then I moved up to a 0.6mm to gain print speed. I did have clogs every few hours on a 0.35mm nozzle when I didn't have the melt filter installed.

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

3 Reply by Crazy1pilot

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Re: Flakes not stopping

Tim,

Thank you for quick reply!
The filter was installed correctly, I made sure the ring was seated down properly before installing it. The abs I am using was precollored black abs from eBay, I'll try and find the link, the Filastruder handles it just fine and it's perfect diameter with the new nozzle. What might have happen was over time the filament tension slowly increases and can crush the filament jamming the nozzle, I managed to free it up but heating the nozzle, backing out the filament, adjusting the tension, and I poked a wire in the tip with try and work anything out.. After reinserting the filament it seams to be extruding out fine now. Note last time the exact same thing happened but poking at the tip didn't work, I had to take the hotend appart and soak the nozzle in acetone, however that was with the filament made without the filter. I just assumed it was another flake. I will keep an eye on it, it seams to be printing fine now but I'll let you know if it happens again.

Again thanks for the help!

Crazy1

4 Reply by elmoret

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Re: Flakes not stopping

If you just poked at it with a wire, there's a chance you just pushed the debris up into the hotend, and it will eventually work its way back down to the nozzle.

It was a bit unclear, but you would need to do the full acetone cleanse of your printer's hotend/nozzle, and only run melt filtered filament from that point forward, if you're using a 0.35mm nozzle.  For reference, a human hair is about half that diameter, and some dust particles are large enough to clog a 0.35mm nozzle. A dust wiper:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:236528

is a good idea when using nozzles that small.

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

5 Reply by Crazy1pilot

  • Crazy1pilot
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Re: Flakes not stopping

The Felix comes with a dust wiper, I've run a few prints now and all seams to be going well. I discarded the filament I made without the filer. (gave it to a friend with a larger nozzle printer) I think it was the tension that caused the head to jam, if not, what ever I pushed back up would have been gotten stuck again if it was going to. The Filastruder has been running like a champ, just was concerned about the flakes but the filter might have solved that problem, I might just need to clean the screen off frequently if it continues to produce flakes. How often do you change the mesh? Can it just be soaked in acetone and reused?

Crazy1