1 Topic by kszwab

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Topic: Clicking issues - blocked nozzle ??

One of my printers is having terrible issues that I hope someone can help with. When printing at a temp of 220-235C the extruder is clicking. Adjustments are correct. Same filament in a 2.0 works fine.

Upping the temp to 245-250 fixes the issue, but then the plastic is too hot and horizontal surfaces on top of supports are bubbly. I cleaned the extruder inside and out and the channel seems clean. I cleaned the gears and they seem fine although I am thinking they may get worn.

I did not take the extruder hot end apart out of the printer to check yet. I am thinking to replace it with another 1.0 I have and see if the problem follows the hot end.

The temp reported by Simplify3D is 250C so it is not a connector issue (soldered anyway). The funny thing is that when it clicks if I manually pause it, press the lever to disengage the gears and manually push the filament it has a lot of resistance and the extruder filament does not go down but somewhat curly as if there is something inside the nozzle that may partially block it.

Could there be crap in there from poor quality filament floating around that intermittently would partially block the nozzle creating this problem ? How would one clean that ?

2 Reply by IronMan

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Re: Clicking issues - blocked nozzle ??

It does sound like a partial clog; and yes, crap filament can have impurities that make a clog more likely.

Here is some info:

http://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/2iawzu/

SD2 - Stock - Enclosure - Heated Bed - Glass Plate - Auto Fire Extinguisher
Ord Bot Hadron - RAMPS 1.4 - Bulldog XL - E3D v6 - 10" x 10" PCB Heated Build w/SSR - Glass Plate
Thanks for All of Your Help!

3 Reply by kszwab

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Re: Clicking issues - blocked nozzle ??

I am going to desolder the heater connection and take it completely apart so I can look into it with a flashlight and see what is floating inside. I believe it must be some impurity that as I clean with the wire is pushed up out of the way then as the filament feeds back in and melts it is eventually blocking the extruder again.

4 Reply by kszwab

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Re: Clicking issues - blocked nozzle ??

I cleaned the hell out of it, resoldered connections. same issue, a bit less frequent.

Lowered speed from 1800 to 1200 and works perfectly.

5 Reply by madmarkus

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Re: Clicking issues - blocked nozzle ??

make sure its not just the filament moving over the inside of the enclosure...mine clicks all the time.  AT first I thought it was some problem that I have seen discussed on thee boards, but it always worked fine; it just made some noise sometimes.  After carefully watching once I came to  the conclusion it is just the filament moving over the inside top of the enclosure.
good luck.

DaVinci 2.0 Duo
Latest Stock Software
XYZ ABS only
1st print 12/26/14

6 Reply by Fantome

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Re: Clicking issues - blocked nozzle ??

Hi. I noticed you said you use Simplify3d. That's what I use too. I've noticed that if I set the Z offset too low, and depending on the 1st layer settings, I get a clicking sound that definitely comes from the head. Try watching to make sure the filament is actually coming out properly. If not, just adjust the Z offset or the 1st layer setting. (%hight 1st layer)

That fixed it for me.

7 Reply by kszwab (edited by kszwab 2015-02-28 18:49:55)

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Re: Clicking issues - blocked nozzle ??

I spoke too soon, the problem came back. It is not related to the height over the bed since when it starts clicking if i move the carriage in the rest position I cannot push the filament even by hand with the gears disengaged.

It is not heat related (as in head getting cold)

It is not the filament moving inside the enclosure. I can tell the tone between the clicks.

It got to the point now that if I hear any click (fucking birds breaking a twig) I get mad.

I will replace the head with another one from my spare Davinci 1.0 that has the oval circles problem. I believe that this extruder just is clogged by something I cannot extract that just floats around.

Is there another extruder that I could replace it with ? Maybe something better that can also do PLA ok ? Something like this: "http://http://www.ebay.com/itm/Metal-DIY-Hot-End-for-RepRap-3D-Printer-1-75mm-Filament-0-4mm-Nozzle-hotend-/321314639984?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4acfd85070"

Thanks,

8 Reply by Fantome

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Re: Clicking issues - blocked nozzle ??

Haha, birds... That's funny.

I know it must be frustrating to get a lot of suggestions and they don't work. But, here's one more. Go through the process of loading the filament by letting DaVinci put through a lot of filament. A couple of "try again"s on the LCD display. Then do an unload filament. That might carry the contaminant out when you lift out the filament during the unloading.

9 Reply by kszwab

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Re: Clicking issues - blocked nozzle ??

Fantome wrote:

Haha, birds... That's funny.

I know it must be frustrating to get a lot of suggestions and they don't work. But, here's one more. Go through the process of loading the filament by letting DaVinci put through a lot of filament. A couple of "try again"s on the LCD display. Then do an unload filament. That might carry the contaminant out when you lift out the filament during the unloading.

No, I am grateful for the suggestions, that is how I learn. I already tried that one, even tried to let it cool off a bit so it is semi solid to try to carry out the impurity. I already replaced the head with the spare one and I will completely dissasemble the hot end to see what is lurking inside. At that point I should be able to unscrew the heater and be able to fish out all the dirt...

10 Reply by kszwab

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Re: Clicking issues - blocked nozzle ??

Found the tiny impurity ! Zoom in on the black speck.

http://i.imgur.com/09dCUuC.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/etb3zWL.jpg