1 Topic by Gimpdiggity

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Topic: DaVinci Jr "Leaking" Filament Before Printing

Hi guys and girls. 

I just got a DaVinci Jr today.  I've run a few prints and had them turn out relatively successfully, but before I was able to get them I was running into an issue that I can't seem to find anyone online discussing. 

My printer would basically extrude a SMALL amount of PLA while it was travelling across the bed to get to where it would start the print.  This would ultimately end up having that bit that's been extruded to already be cooled by the time the print started, so no matter what happened I ended up with a "curled up" end of a line at the start.  This ends up causing the second layer to not lay properly. 

I've adjusted the Z-offset so that the paper slides through as suggested in numerous forum posts, and tested it with several different settings just to make sure I had chosen the correct one. 

My work around for this has been one of two things:
1.  Try and use the cleaning brush to get that little bit of extruded plastic off as the print head passes over the bed so that there is no cool PLA already out of the printer.
2.  Print everything with a raft, even if it doesn't really seem to need one. 

I've cleaned the print head and that seemed to help a bit, but didn't completely take care of the problem. 

I've placed a call and an e-mail to tech support, but from my reading it's a good chance I might not hear back at all, or if I do it might not be very soon. 

Can anyone think of anything for me to try?  I'd like to not print EVERYTHING with a raft, seeing as for things that shouldn't need it ultimately it will just be a waste of materials.  Using the brush works pretty well, but the problem with that is that if it ends up doing it later on during the print, there's a good chance I won't be sitting there to catch it. 

Thanks in advance for any help, and it's nice to be a part of the forum!!

Jeff

2 Reply by carl_m1968

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Re: DaVinci Jr "Leaking" Filament Before Printing

That means your temp could be too high but it is a common deal with most printers. Like me I just stand there with a pair of tweezers and grab the little tail as the head move to the print position.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
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3 Reply by Gimpdiggity

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Re: DaVinci Jr "Leaking" Filament Before Printing

carl_m1968 wrote:

That means your temp could be too high but it is a common deal with most printers. Like me I just stand there with a pair of tweezers and grab the little tail as the head move to the print position.


Okay, thank you for the quick response.  I'm going to guess that it's probably just the "common deal" part, because the Jr version doesn't allow you to change print temperatures, instead it's controlled by an RFID chip built into the filament spool...so, the printer SHOULD be printing at the correct temperature based on the reading from the chip. 

Having never had a 3D printer before, I wasn't aware that this is a common occurrence.  Once the first layer gets down, the rest of the prints went pretty well.  Both of the items I ended up printing were easily discernable as to what they were!!! 

I'll just make sure to pay attention to the first few minutes of the print to make sure that the issue doesn't cause a problem. 

Thanks again for the quick response!!!

Jeff

4 Reply by jwalker55

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Re: DaVinci Jr "Leaking" Filament Before Printing

My Jr does the same thing sometimes.

5 Reply by kad

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Re: DaVinci Jr "Leaking" Filament Before Printing

Mine does the same, although it usually comes off during the U shaped bit that the Jr does before each print run.  If not, I grab it with a pair of small needle nosed pliers I keep handy.

-K