1 Topic by Briggs

  • Briggs
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  • From: Minnesota
  • Registered: 2013-03-20
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Topic: filament broke off in hot end during retraction

The filament broke off during my first retraction. It was backing out of the extruder just fine, and then it just broke off at the worst possible place! FYI, the heater was at full temp, and filament was even oozing out the bottom. Not sure what I screwed up. Anyway, I could not get a tweezers into the tiny hole (just under the filament drive) in order to grab it, so I removed the hot end from the jigsaw, left it hanging while I heated it up, and then removed the remaining filament with a pliers. Not sure if there's a trick or better method here on the forum or not.

I think my first print will be a new extruder! It's fun getting to know my new printer.

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2 Reply by cmetzel

  • cmetzel
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  • From: Solidoodle2 #0091
  • Registered: 2012-08-22
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Re: filament broke off in hot end during retraction

Yeah you should have done a search first, this is common.  I use a small allen wrench and push it through until it's past the peek, then use the new filament to push it down. 

Look for mk4 if you're going to replace the jigsaw.

3 Reply by Briggs

  • Briggs
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Re: filament broke off in hot end during retraction

That is exactly what I will do next time Cmetzel, thank you! There will only be a next time until my new MK4 is printed....

4 Reply by impulze

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Re: filament broke off in hot end during retraction

The Jigsaw puzzle is very interesting....
http://i40.tinypic.com/1i08c0.jpg

//Matte

5 Reply by Leghk

  • Leghk
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  • Registered: 2013-02-18
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Re: filament broke off in hot end during retraction

There's an official video of how to assemble the jigsaw, assuming the parts are still whole.

Don: Folger Tech 2020 Kossel Rev A + Borosilicate + Snow Effector
        Davinci 1.0 + Repetier : Filastruder
        SD3 + RAMPS + Lawsy Carriages + E3D + Borosilicate + ... : Cupcake

6 Reply by IanJohnson

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Re: filament broke off in hot end during retraction

I'm actually switching back to the jigsaw for a time.  It is a pain if you need to to any maintenance on the hot end, but it is excellent at guiding the filament into it.  With the Mk4 I have to grab the filament with tweezers as it passes the gear and guide it to the hot end since the bend from the spool tends to make it curl away from the opening.  Also the opening of the hot end is a fraction of a mm to the side of where it needs to be.  The advantage of the laser cut acrylic is that it's very accurate, and doesn't depend on the printer being perfectly dialed in.  When you print a new extruder a change of .2mm in the dimensions can make the difference between a loose fit and a snug fit.

I wonder if the cracked extruders are due to the screws getting put in too tight at the factory.

7 Reply by cckens

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Re: filament broke off in hot end during retraction

IanJohnson wrote:

I wonder if the cracked extruders are due to the screws getting put in too tight at the factory.

That may be the case, but for those of us whose jigsaw fell apart on taking the head out, it's hard to go back.  I don't have a problem with the filament going into the hot end, but I seem to have an issue with the bearing being out of alignment with the hobbed spooler.  I can feed in reliably, but I get skips that force the spooler to dig into the filament and I have to force the filament into the hot end.  This is disconcerting as even for a short print I have to monitor the feed.

I wonder if the problems that some are having with the Mk4 are because of this?  I know it's been mentioned once or twice.