SoliForum - 3D Printing Community — How to remove a broken filament stuck in the printer head?

Re: How to remove a broken filament stuck in the printer head?

2013-09-13T01:38:42Z

Hi IronMan
That is very kind of you :-) For now, Solidoodle has agreed to shipp me new ones, but they wanted the old crushed ones in return. Not sure what they need them for, but you can see for yourself from the attached picture.

Re: How to remove a broken filament stuck in the printer head?

2013-09-06T14:45:08Z

Shotline wrote:

solidoodlesupport wrote:
Tony Holmes wrote:
You should have some type of enclosure to protect it from drafts.
The only part of my enclosure I kept was the door,I had taken it off to take some pictures but it's back on now.I do use an enclosure of sorts,just not the standard one.
I got two pieces of clear acrylic sheet cut to size,glued on some small round magnets,applied some foam tape and put one on each side.That leaves the four sides of the printer closed and just the top open.For now I'm leaving the top open.
The top can be closed if you want.Try reading the two pages of this thread and see how others did it.You may get some good ideas you can use.
http://www.soliforum.com/search/139193400/

Good luck.
Users shouldn't jump to the conclusion that they *must* take apart their extruder in these situations. It can be avoided in most circumstances.
I don't understand why Solidoodle is still using the acrylic extruder. You know of the problems with it (and I suspect since you started using them). You print the X and Y carriages and have several examples of quality printed extruders so why not change? Printed extruders would be cheaper for you as well.
Why is Solidoodle content with making low quality parts?

We're always working on cool new stuff. We usually don't talk about it till it's out.

The printed extruders we've tried so far, were not quite up to standards. So for now, we're sticking with the acrylic extruder parts. We aren't exactly happy with the performance either, but they do meet a nice ratio of cheap/easy to build / readily available. Expect to see cooler things in the future, but not to hear about them until they are ready to go.

Re: How to remove a broken filament stuck in the printer head?

2013-09-06T08:45:03Z

IanJohnson wrote:

It's a lot faster to laser them than print them. I think they're must be other materials they can cut them from for better reliability even if it would mean giving up the transparency.

Only if you consider material cost. You also need to consider assembly time (takes longer to put the jigsaw together than a printed extruder), waste (I imagine they break a few during assembly), and a printed extruder uses fewer nuts and bolts.

You couple that with an improved customer experience and the business case for continuing with the acrylic doesn't make sense. Perhaps there are aspects of the Solidoodle business model that allow for dissatisfied stakeholders. I am sure the business model is to be the low price leader in 3D printing and their product is good considering the price when compared to competitors, but little things like the acrylic extruder problem will earn them a reputation of producing a shoddy product.

Anyway I have already replaced mine so for me at least it is a non-issue at this point. It just amazes me that some businesses won't take a few simple low/no cost steps to produce a higher quality product.

Re: How to remove a broken filament stuck in the printer head?

2013-09-06T02:03:08Z

IanJohnson wrote:

It's a lot faster to laser them than print them. I think they're must be other materials they can cut them from for better reliability even if it would mean giving up the transparency.

Lexan, except then you need a fume hood...

Re: How to remove a broken filament stuck in the printer head?

2013-09-06T01:57:02Z

It's a lot faster to laser them than print them. I think they're must be other materials they can cut them from for better reliability even if it would mean giving up the transparency.

Re: How to remove a broken filament stuck in the printer head?

2013-09-06T01:40:29Z

solidoodlesupport wrote:

Tony Holmes wrote:
You should have some type of enclosure to protect it from drafts.
The only part of my enclosure I kept was the door,I had taken it off to take some pictures but it's back on now.I do use an enclosure of sorts,just not the standard one.
I got two pieces of clear acrylic sheet cut to size,glued on some small round magnets,applied some foam tape and put one on each side.That leaves the four sides of the printer closed and just the top open.For now I'm leaving the top open.
The top can be closed if you want.Try reading the two pages of this thread and see how others did it.You may get some good ideas you can use.
http://www.soliforum.com/search/139193400/

Good luck.
Users shouldn't jump to the conclusion that they *must* take apart their extruder in these situations. It can be avoided in most circumstances.

I don't understand why Solidoodle is still using the acrylic extruder. You know of the problems with it (and I suspect since you started using them). You print the X and Y carriages and have several examples of quality printed extruders so why not change? Printed extruders would be cheaper for you as well.

Why is Solidoodle content with making low quality parts?

Re: How to remove a broken filament stuck in the printer head?

2013-09-05T14:51:24Z

Stein wrote:

That is very good information 2n2r5 and Tony.
For your information, support at Solidoodle will issue new acrylics after I send the broken pieces back to them. I will ship the pieces right away and hoping that I do not have to wait for them to receive my shipment until they send the new acrylics back to me. I hope that we have both send our shipment at the same time. It would take some time to ship since we are on the opposite side of the globe.

I feel for you, Stein! I just printed a spare "Lawsy" replacement if things don't work out for you...it's yours for the asking. PM me.

BTW...judging by your initial photos, the acrylics were broken to begin with...

Re: How to remove a broken filament stuck in the printer head?

2013-09-05T14:23:40Z

Tony Holmes wrote:

You should have some type of enclosure to protect it from drafts.
The only part of my enclosure I kept was the door,I had taken it off to take some pictures but it's back on now.I do use an enclosure of sorts,just not the standard one.
I got two pieces of clear acrylic sheet cut to size,glued on some small round magnets,applied some foam tape and put one on each side.That leaves the four sides of the printer closed and just the top open.For now I'm leaving the top open.
The top can be closed if you want.Try reading the two pages of this thread and see how others did it.You may get some good ideas you can use.
http://www.soliforum.com/search/139193400/

Good luck.

Users shouldn't jump to the conclusion that they *must* take apart their extruder in these situations. It can be avoided in most circumstances.

Re: How to remove a broken filament stuck in the printer head?

2013-09-05T13:35:35Z

if not, post it at the "buy" section, ask for a mk5 print and $

Re: How to remove a broken filament stuck in the printer head?

2013-09-05T13:34:37Z

you don't have to glue every little piece... all you need is.. able to mount to motor, hotend, spring and bearing.
and I don't think it's that back... i still think it's doable to glue it back togther.

Re: How to remove a broken filament stuck in the printer head?

2013-09-05T06:17:30Z

I found it difficult to superglue it all back together. See picture

Re: How to remove a broken filament stuck in the printer head?

2013-09-05T05:51:31Z

That is very good information 2n2r5 and Tony.

For your information, support at Solidoodle will issue new acrylics after I send the broken pieces back to them. I will ship the pieces right away and hoping that I do not have to wait for them to receive my shipment until they send the new acrylics back to me. I hope that we have both send our shipment at the same time. It would take some time to ship since we are on the opposite side of the globe.

Re: How to remove a broken filament stuck in the printer head?

2013-09-04T16:44:34Z

FWIW,that's PET tape I got from Airwolf 3D. and ABS sticks very well to it.

http://airwolf3d.com/store/products/3d- … pe-8-x-12/

The PET sits on a clear ceramic bed from this company:

http://www.onedayglass.com/pyroceram.php

Excellent,prompt service from both companies if anyone is interested.

Re: How to remove a broken filament stuck in the printer head?

2013-09-04T16:23:22Z

Take note of the print surface that tony is using. That stuff sticks really well to ABS when used with a heated bed. Green powder coating tape.

Re: How to remove a broken filament stuck in the printer head?

2013-09-04T16:16:56Z

You should have some type of enclosure to protect it from drafts.

The only part of my enclosure I kept was the door,I had taken it off to take some pictures but it's back on now.I do use an enclosure of sorts,just not the standard one.

I got two pieces of clear acrylic sheet cut to size,glued on some small round magnets,applied some foam tape and put one on each side.That leaves the four sides of the printer closed and just the top open.For now I'm leaving the top open.

The top can be closed if you want.Try reading the two pages of this thread and see how others did it.You may get some good ideas you can use.

http://www.soliforum.com/search/139193400/

Good luck.