1 Topic by Capt Jack

  • Capt Jack
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  • Registered: 2013-06-21
  • Posts: 34

Topic: Stopped extruding

So, for the first day everything was going according to plan.  Was running my 8 hours of throw away filament...and that went great.  Loaded everything up for my first real spool and then....

I checked on it and it had stopped extruding.  I lowered the hopper and saw that the pellets were not going down, so I knew there was a blockage.  I pulled the extruder end off, and found a tiny piece of metal stuck in the hole.  Pulled that out and I figured that the issue was resolved.

Put everything back together and...nothing!  Pellets still aren't going down, and no filament is being extruded.

Is it possible that when the blockage occurred that the pellets in the shaft may have melted (since they weren't moving) and caused a blockage?  If so, do I really have to take the entire thing apart, or is there another way to clear this (assuming that is the problem)?

2 Reply by elmoret

  • elmoret
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  • Registered: 2012-10-11
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Re: Stopped extruding

Yes, that could have done it. Debris that large indicates the barrel wasn't prepared well per assembly.

You may be able to free the jam by heating up, pulling the nozzle, and pulling out all the plastic you can with skinny needle nose pliers. You can also try 200C.

Filastruder - the robust, inexpensive filament extruder
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3 Reply by Capt Jack

  • Capt Jack
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  • Registered: 2013-06-21
  • Posts: 34

Re: Stopped extruding

A complete disassembly found a large jam near the end of the nozzle.  After clearing it and soaking everything in acetone (just to be safe), I checked to make sure no more metal filings would be found.  FYI, I did de-burr per the instructions, but must have missed something. 

Now that it's reassembled, it has been running non-stop without any issues.  Filament is all within acceptable range, and the Filawinder is working like a charm as well!