1 Topic by DLM

  • DLM
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Topic: Filament Broke off feeder

Hi All,

First off, this forum has been indispensable for this newbie 3D printer hobbyist.  Thanks to everyone who has helped out.  I've had every question answered.

I started a print last night.  It was pretty straight forward for a print.  Nothing complex.  Sliced it using Slic3r and started the print when my temps were up to 195/90.  Everything went well for the first 45 minutes.  It was a tall print, so it was going to take several hours.  As much as I could have probably watched the entire print (yes, I'm mesmerized by my SD2), I had work in the morning and decided to let it do its thing overnight.  Given how smooth things were going, the worst that I was imagining was a skipped layer or something.

I woke up this morning surprised the print was still going.  I wake up my monitor and it is showing me that it's on the last dozen or so passes.  I look into the machine, and it has the same progress where I left it the night before except the print surface of the model was 4 inches below the extruder.  It stopped printing, or more accurately, stopped extruding, but was still going through the motions of the entire print.  The problem is that the filament broke off the feeder at some point right after I stopped monitoring it.  So basically, it did nothing for 7 hours aside from going through the motions of printing without actually printing.  There was a tiny blob of burnt filament at the extruder tip--like the size of a raindrop.

Question is, how did this happen?  I'm hoping it was just bad luck.  Maybe a bubble or crack in the filament.  I use the stock spool arm and feed the filament through the hole in the back of the SD2.  I've noticed from the start that there is some tension on the filament from feeding it through the hole in the back of the machine.  The spool runs the filament off horizontally, but the feeder requires vertical feeding.  The filament seems to not want to made the slight bend required to feed off the spool through that hole.  I also noticed that the hole itself is cut through raw sheet metal with no buffer. 

I'm going to try to tape the edges of the hole, or maybe re-think the entire feeding path with some Thingiverse feeding wheels.  I just wanted to get some feedback in case this is some common newbie issue.  Needless to say, I was pissed that I wasted all that time, filament, and electricity on the wasted print.

2 Reply by Stevos758

  • Stevos758
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Re: Filament Broke off feeder

I have had nozzle clogging problems lately causing the same issue. One time my filament snapped off as well. Check your nozzle for plugs.

Mine seemed to plug up and the feeding gear wore through the filament causing it to break off.

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3 Reply by LdyMox

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Re: Filament Broke off feeder

I have had this before a few times in the past week (especially with PLA), the filament breaking off and then it just printing like there is still something extruding. For me it seemed like I needed to lower the temperature for PLA by a few degrees, especially if the room get's hotter over the time period.

Tammy
Solidoodle 2
E3Dv6 Hotend, MK5 v6 version, Glass Bed, Anti Z backlash slop nut, SureStepr SD8825 1/32 Extruder Driver, makeshift breakaway plexiglass case; . L-Cheapo 3.8 Watt Laser Attachment w/Custom built enclosure
From Buffalo, NY, USA

4 Reply by Gordym

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Re: Filament Broke off feeder

The filament makes a sharp bend if using the back feeder hole and using the standard case. If the filament is slightly brittle, the filament could break while making this bend. I have had this happen before. Some filament works fine, while other breaks more easily. If you want to use the stock case, you may want to place spacers between the case and the frame (makes the case screws useless) to give the filament a little more room. Otherwise, the problem may occur at random intervals and sometimes not at all.

SD2
E3D V6
MK5 V6

5 Reply by DLM

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Re: Filament Broke off feeder

Thanks all.  Seems like there could be a few different issues, so at least I feel better that I'm not doing something stupid.  It was such a let down this morning to see no progress on my piece.

I am using ABS.  It seemed to flow well for the first centimeter of the print, so I would be surprised if it was clogged.  I'll have to take a better look tonight when I get home.  I will test print temps.  It was hotting in my place yesterday than normal, as my town is hitting the summer temps early.  I didn't turn on the A/C, so maybe the ambient temps factored into it.  I just wish I could have seen where it broke, as that would be telling of the issue.  Instead, the smaller piece in the feeder just fed through the extruder.  Judging by the lack of progress from where I last saw it the night before, I'd bet the filament broke off closer to the feeder and not towards the spool area. 

Last quick question: can ABS get dried out?

6 Reply by Gordym

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Re: Filament Broke off feeder

Another thought is to check your spool to see if it caught on something causing it to stop rotating or if your filament was caught under another layer on the spool. If the filament is tangled or the spool cannot roll, the filament will break.

SD2
E3D V6
MK5 V6