1 Topic by Stein (edited by Stein 2013-09-04 02:02:09)

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

The item I’m trying to print takes between 6 and 7 hours to run, so yesterday evening I started the printer, watched it for about 1,5 hour and then went home. When I came into office this morning, it is all just a total mess. Please see picture 1 and picture 2 where the filament has been untangled from the holder and the tread has been cut off by the feeding point of the printer. I have tried to print 3 items on this printer and 2 of them got into this problem. The solution with the feeding is obviously not a sustainable one and have to chance. Have anyone tried to change the way the roll of filament is feed into the printer?

As you can see from picture3, the filament has snapped in top of the transparent plastic leading to the printing head. On Picture 4, you can also see a lot of red dust in the area of the wheels that is feeding the filament into the printing head. There has obviously been a struggle during the night. It means that the filament is wered down at this area and the feeding wheel is not able to get a grip, I tried push the filament down or extract it from the barrel (is heated at 195 degrees), but it just don’t move at all.

Is there anyone that have a good idea of how to extract the filament when the feeding wheel is not able to get a grip?

Best regards Stein

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2 Reply by Shotline

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

Heat up the head to operating temperature (195c), and use some tweezers to pull on the broken filament while pressing the up extrude button in RH.  Alternatively you can undo the screw on the retaining arm (the one with the spring on it) and then pull it out with tweezers.

If all else fails take the extruder apart but be prepared for pieces of the acrylic to be broken (super glue them back together if necessary).

Seems you are having a run of bad luck with the printer.

3 Reply by ronsii

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

unscrew the thumbwheel on the pinch roller arm and lower it to the right 90 degrees then get the extruder up to temp ~195C take a tweezers and slowly pull the remaining filament straight up you should be able to start a new filament in right after doing this and push it down by hand... if it does not start flowing out of the nozzle tip then you might have to unclog the tip.

4 Reply by IanJohnson

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

As for the tangled feed, it has always been a problem.  Search on Thingiverse for Solidoodle and you will find several solutions for filament guides to prevent tangeling.

5 Reply by Stein (edited by Stein 2013-09-04 10:30:05)

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

Thank you a lot for good feedback. I heated the print head to 190 and managed to get the filament out from the top using a pair of tweezers. Puuhh, that problem is fixed but only to stumble into some more serious matter.

I now wanted to start the print the same file over again. Loaded the file and started to feed the filament into the heated print head only so see that the “feeding wheel” is not working any more due to the problems I had during the night. It seems that the “feeding wheel” is not able to grab the filament and push it down. Please see the attached video and you will understand what I mean.

So how do I fix the “feeding wheel” so it will grab the filament and push it down into the heated print head? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated as I am about to give up this printer.

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6 Reply by Stein

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

An update late in the evening. I found that the six transparent plates have been totally crushed when struggling with the stuck filament as described in my first message. This is very sad and defiantly something that is not possible to fix. New transparent plates has to be added. Hmm, is this something that is covered by the guarantee? The printer is crushing itself…..

7 Reply by IanJohnson

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

Try to glue the clear acrylic pieces back together.  If you can get them to hold for one print, you can print this extruder replacement - http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:111213

8 Reply by Stein (edited by Stein 2013-09-04 14:18:50)

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

That is a brilliant idea Ian, but the problem is that the plastic is so damanged that part of it is in tiny small pieces and can not be put together again. I cant get the "feeding wheel" to get a grip on the filament. In theory its a brlliant idea, but it will not work for me. I need six new sheets.

9 Reply by RavensCrest (edited by RavensCrest 2013-09-04 14:20:48)

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

there's no guarantee on parts, unless you notice it the first few weeks.
what IAN said.

I am suprised the acrylic part breaks... i would think you have more problem with nozzle than the acrylic parts... since you leave it running over night... your hotend is very much ruined... you will have to clear all the clogs in your nozzle... (maybe that is why the "feeding wheel" couldn't get a grib of the filament, because it couldn't push it down.
if nozzle is not clog.. hand push it pass the spring area and it will work.

filament can tangle or break... in my personal opinion... (this is only my personal opinion! maybe some people have success with it) the model you have... yes it's more expensive.. however the closure, the cover on top doesn't give filament room to bend. a quick y-axe movement can cause the filament to break.. i prefer loading filament from top.. however you lose the ability to use closure...(which is my next mod)

Solidoodle2 with Ceramic tile heated bed http://www.soliforum.com/topic/2544/my- … eated-bed/
"1kg should last for an while" is a lie!

10 Reply by Stein

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

Thanks for your input RavensCrest.
1) The nossile is not glogged
2) The root course for this incident was the tangled filament outside the cage

11 Reply by RavensCrest

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

responding to your video... you have a piece of filament still stuck inside of your hotend...
and you need to tighten your hand screw... it's too lose..

Solidoodle2 with Ceramic tile heated bed http://www.soliforum.com/topic/2544/my- … eated-bed/
"1kg should last for an while" is a lie!

12 Reply by Stein

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

Hi RavensCrest.
The filament is out of the hotend. At the time of the video, I was not aware of the hand screw. I have tried it now, but since the 6 plastic sheets where crushed, the whole part just fell apart in small pices. I have written to the Company asking for advice.

13 Reply by Tony Holmes

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

Hello Stein,

This is meant as constructive criticism.

Wow,it looks like you've got a heck of a mess there,I wish you were closer to NJ,USA so I could come over and help you!

Looking at your video,I see several problems you need to address.

First,I see a broken piece of filament sticking out from the top of the hot end(peek insulator).You will never be able to reinsert the filament until you get rid of it.Unfortunately this will involve removing the hot end from the extruder to clear the broken piece.In a worst case scenario,you may have to replace the hot end.Don't panic yet,once you remove that broken piece and reassemble,you may be able to insert the filament after heating it back up.

A video of how to remove the hot end: http://vimeo.com/55528973

Second,the thumbwheel on the pinch roller arm has almost zero tension on it! When inserting filament you must press "extrude" and let the wheel pull the filament in while guiding it with gentle pressure.The fact you can pull the filament up and down like you did shows there is no tension on the roller wheel.

The cause of all this is the way the spool feeds filament,it enters at the back of the case at a point lower than the extruder cuasing it to be at a severe angle.It chafes on the case getting filament dust all over the filament and causing the jam you experienced.

I solved my feed problems by getting rid of the stock enclosure and relocating the spool on top with $15 worth of pvc pipe and fittings.

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14 Reply by Stein

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

Hi Tony
Your picture shows a very good setup where the filament just cant escape. I understad that something like that is needed - BUT, I have read somewhere that its good to have the casing on to keep the heating stable and not to experiance any drop in the heat inside the cage. But your setup shows that you dont have the casing, so I Guess we dont need it then?

15 Reply by Tony Holmes

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

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.

16 Reply by 2n2r5

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

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.

SD3 w/ mods:
Glass bed with QU-BD heat pad upgrade, threadless ballscrew w/ 8mm smooth rod, spectra line belt replacement, lawsy MK5 extruder, Lawsy replacement carriage, E3D hotend, Ramps 1.4 w/ reprap discount controller, DRV8825 drivers, 12v 30A PS, Acrylic case, Overkill Y-idlers, Filament alarm, Extruder fan + more.

2n2r5's Website

17 Reply by Tony Holmes

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

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.

18 Reply by Stein

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

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.

19 Reply by Stein

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

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

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20 Reply by RavensCrest

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

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.

Solidoodle2 with Ceramic tile heated bed http://www.soliforum.com/topic/2544/my- … eated-bed/
"1kg should last for an while" is a lie!

21 Reply by RavensCrest

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

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

Solidoodle2 with Ceramic tile heated bed http://www.soliforum.com/topic/2544/my- … eated-bed/
"1kg should last for an while" is a lie!

22 Reply by solijohn

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

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.

Former Solidoodle employee, no longer associated with the company.

23 Reply by IronMan (edited by IronMan 2013-09-05 14:54:55)

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

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...

SD2 - Stock - Enclosure - Heated Bed - Glass Plate - Auto Fire Extinguisher
Ord Bot Hadron - RAMPS 1.4 - Bulldog XL - E3D v6 - 10" x 10" PCB Heated Build w/SSR - Glass Plate
Thanks for All of Your Help!

24 Reply by Shotline

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

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?

25 Reply by IanJohnson

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

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.