1 Topic by Madeline

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Topic: New Solidoodle 3 clogs incessantly on almost all filaments

I've had  Solidoodle 3 for a few weeks.  I got a few successful prints that didn't have a clog/error for the 3 or 4 hours they were printing, but they were all with a 1.75 white ABS.  Everything else I've used clogs incessantly. 

It will get about a minute into the print, start clicking as the wheels of the extruder skip and shortly thereafter stop putting out much filament (it's still extruding, just not enough).  On the thinner filaments it just shoots them out of the gap in the plastic part of the extruder like thrown-up spaghetti.  Every time it does this I stop, get all of the filament out, feed some new back in and extrude a couple feet to make sure it's not clogged and start over.  Every time after this it clogs again. 

For each filament size I've used I adjusted the filament diameter setting in Slicr accordingly.  I've tried the extruder temperature anywhere from 200-210.  I have the Z adjusted correctly.  I've tried turning down the feed rate, and slowing down the time it takes to do all the moves.  Right now it's set at 30 mm/s which works for the white, but nothing else.  I've used several different types of ABS with this printer (from Filabot and Sainsmart), ranging in size from 1.25mm to 2mm (1.75 is supposed to be the default).  The only one that has been able to finish a print without clogging is a 1.75 white from Filabot, which clogs only on occasion, but still "skips" every now and then with no ill effect.  I don't know if it has to do with the filament colors, if so how do other people ever manage to print with them?  I'm afraid it has to do with the size, but when I ordered all of these filaments they were supposed to be 1.75 but varied slightly when they actually arrived.  Is this normal?  I'm just tired of only being able to use the white filament for all of my prints and I've exhausted everything I know to try.  Any advice is greatly appreciated!

2 Reply by wardjr

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Re: New Solidoodle 3 clogs incessantly on almost all filaments

If I had a dollar for every time I've made this suggestion.....
Order the E3D all metal hot end from filastruder and stop fighting it.  You will wonder why you ever bothered with the stock SD hot end.

Printit Industries Model 8.10 fully enclosed CoreXY, Chamber heat
3-SD3's & a Workbench all fully enclosed, RH-Slic3r Win7pro, E3D V6, Volcano & Cyclops Hot End
SSR/500W AC Heated Glass Bed, Linear bearings on SS rods. Direct Drive Y-axis, BulldogXL
Thanks to all for your contributions

wardjr's Website

3 Reply by Madeline

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Re: New Solidoodle 3 clogs incessantly on almost all filaments

wardjr wrote:

If I had a dollar for every time I've made this suggestion.....
Order the E3D all metal hot end from filastruder and stop fighting it.  You will wonder why you ever bothered with the stock SD hot end.

That's good to know.  We ordered a really nice new extruder and hot end but haven't gotten them in mail yet.  I wanted to rule out everything else before resorting to replacing those, so that if the problem was some sort of error on my part, it wouldn't repeat itself with the new extruder.

4 Reply by wardjr

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Re: New Solidoodle 3 clogs incessantly on almost all filaments

Madeline wrote:
wardjr wrote:

If I had a dollar for every time I've made this suggestion.....
Order the E3D all metal hot end from filastruder and stop fighting it.  You will wonder why you ever bothered with the stock SD hot end.

That's good to know.  We ordered a really nice new extruder and hot end but haven't gotten them in mail yet.  I wanted to rule out everything else before resorting to replacing those, so that if the problem was some sort of error on my part, it wouldn't repeat itself with the new extruder.

Nope the problem is well documented in the pages of this forum.  Good luck

Printit Industries Model 8.10 fully enclosed CoreXY, Chamber heat
3-SD3's & a Workbench all fully enclosed, RH-Slic3r Win7pro, E3D V6, Volcano & Cyclops Hot End
SSR/500W AC Heated Glass Bed, Linear bearings on SS rods. Direct Drive Y-axis, BulldogXL
Thanks to all for your contributions

wardjr's Website

5 Reply by elmoret

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Re: New Solidoodle 3 clogs incessantly on almost all filaments

Madeline wrote:
wardjr wrote:

If I had a dollar for every time I've made this suggestion.....
Order the E3D all metal hot end from filastruder and stop fighting it.  You will wonder why you ever bothered with the stock SD hot end.

That's good to know.  We ordered a really nice new extruder and hot end but haven't gotten them in mail yet.  I wanted to rule out everything else before resorting to replacing those, so that if the problem was some sort of error on my part, it wouldn't repeat itself with the new extruder.

What'd you order?

Once its clogged, it won't matter what filament you try to push through it. 30mm/sec is really slow, by the way. I usually print at 150mm/sec. If you can't do 30 you definitely have a clog.

Filastruder - the robust, inexpensive filament extruder
E3Dv6 All Metal Hotend - the premier 3D printing hotend

6 Reply by tealvince

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Re: New Solidoodle 3 clogs incessantly on almost all filaments

yes, an e3d seems much more robust than the stock design but that doesn't explain the problem you are seeing.

Both of the times I've had a bad partial clog which I couldn't easily clear with a wire (including one this weekend) ended up being due to the brass tube coming loose in the peek creating a gap that would fill with half melted plastic while printing.  To clear mine, I unscrewed the tube from the peek while the unit was hot and popped out the plug of plastic inside.  After screwing it back in tight, it extruded like new.

A one piece metal hot end wouldn't have this problem, but that doesn't mean you cannot repair yours instead if you so choose.

7 Reply by Madeline

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Re: New Solidoodle 3 clogs incessantly on almost all filaments

elmoret wrote:
Madeline wrote:
wardjr wrote:

If I had a dollar for every time I've made this suggestion.....
Order the E3D all metal hot end from filastruder and stop fighting it.  You will wonder why you ever bothered with the stock SD hot end.

That's good to know.  We ordered a really nice new extruder and hot end but haven't gotten them in mail yet.  I wanted to rule out everything else before resorting to replacing those, so that if the problem was some sort of error on my part, it wouldn't repeat itself with the new extruder.

What'd you order?

Once its clogged, it won't matter what filament you try to push through it. 30mm/sec is really slow, by the way. I usually print at 150mm/sec. If you can't do 30 you definitely have a clog.

We ordered the Bulldog extruder.  It's not so much a problem of a clog that I can't fix, it's that it clogs repeatedly like it's just choking on the filament.

8 Reply by Madeline

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Re: New Solidoodle 3 clogs incessantly on almost all filaments

tealvince wrote:

yes, an e3d seems much more robust than the stock design but that doesn't explain the problem you are seeing.

Both of the times I've had a bad partial clog which I couldn't easily clear with a wire (including one this weekend) ended up being due to the brass tube coming loose in the peek creating a gap that would fill with half melted plastic while printing.  To clear mine, I unscrewed the tube from the peek while the unit was hot and popped out the plug of plastic inside.  After screwing it back in tight, it extruded like new.

A one piece metal hot end wouldn't have this problem, but that doesn't mean you cannot repair yours instead if you so choose.

Thanks.  I'll give that a try next time.

9 Reply by wardjr

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Re: New Solidoodle 3 clogs incessantly on almost all filaments

Madeline wrote:
elmoret wrote:
Madeline wrote:

That's good to know.  We ordered a really nice new extruder and hot end but haven't gotten them in mail yet.  I wanted to rule out everything else before resorting to replacing those, so that if the problem was some sort of error on my part, it wouldn't repeat itself with the new extruder.

What'd you order?

Once its clogged, it won't matter what filament you try to push through it. 30mm/sec is really slow, by the way. I usually print at 150mm/sec. If you can't do 30 you definitely have a clog.

We ordered the Bulldog extruder.  It's not so much a problem of a clog that I can't fix, it's that it clogs repeatedly like it's just choking on the filament.

Just want to make sure you understand the difference between a bulldog extruder and an E3D all metal hot end?
You have a clogged hot end... Your extruder is working fine.
As the owner of both the Bulldog XL and the E3D I can verify that they work great together. 
Your new Bulldog will work about as well as your current extruder if you continue to use the SD hot end.

Printit Industries Model 8.10 fully enclosed CoreXY, Chamber heat
3-SD3's & a Workbench all fully enclosed, RH-Slic3r Win7pro, E3D V6, Volcano & Cyclops Hot End
SSR/500W AC Heated Glass Bed, Linear bearings on SS rods. Direct Drive Y-axis, BulldogXL
Thanks to all for your contributions

wardjr's Website

10 Reply by ronsii

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Re: New Solidoodle 3 clogs incessantly on almost all filaments

While the suggestion to get an E3D is great!!!... I normally suggest it myself just for the advantages it has over the stock hotend and added capabilities it has smile however there is no reason you shouldn't be able to print regular abs with the SD hotend that the printer comes with... which leads me to believe there is something else going on with your printer.... things to check on your printer that you may not be aware of:

1. Is the fan on the back of the printhead spinning? if not this can cause the filament to shoot out of the gap in the extruder.

2. Is the drive gear on the printhead's stepper motor aligned with the filament hole in the hotend? this also can cause the filament to shoot out of there if the gear is too far forward or back.

3. Does the filament extrude straight down when you are extruding into midair? if it curls continually then you probably do have a clog in the nozzle

One other thing the E3D while it is a great product does take a little 'modding' to make it fit and work with the SD printer, just the fact that you are using a 3d printer means you should be up to the task... in fact there are a few threads on this very forum that go into detail on how to install the E3D that I would suggest reading before ordering it smile

11 Reply by Madeline (edited by Madeline 2014-01-15 03:23:29)

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Re: New Solidoodle 3 clogs incessantly on almost all filaments

wardjr wrote:
Madeline wrote:
elmoret wrote:

What'd you order?

Once its clogged, it won't matter what filament you try to push through it. 30mm/sec is really slow, by the way. I usually print at 150mm/sec. If you can't do 30 you definitely have a clog.

We ordered the Bulldog extruder.  It's not so much a problem of a clog that I can't fix, it's that it clogs repeatedly like it's just choking on the filament.

Just want to make sure you understand the difference between a bulldog extruder and an E3D all metal hot end?
You have a clogged hot end... Your extruder is working fine.
As the owner of both the Bulldog XL and the E3D I can verify that they work great together. 
Your new Bulldog will work about as well as your current extruder if you continue to use the SD hot end.

I do, it's just that I'm not quite as sure what all we ordered (my SO is working with the new printer too and he's the one that ordered the extruder and hot end.  I'm not sure what hot end it was he got).  I don't think the hot end has a clog in it that won't come out, but I could be wrong.  I've un clogged it many times and it always extrudes fine after that for a while.  I've been printing with the white filament again tonight and I'm five hours into a print and it hasn't clogged yet and is printing great.  But I know if I switch to a different filament it will clog as soon as I start the project.  I'm just not sure what's causing it to clog in the first place unless you think there is some sort of small clog in the hot end that I haven't been able to get out.

Edit: I just asked him and the E3D is what we ordered, it just hasn't arrived yet.

12 Reply by Madeline

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Re: New Solidoodle 3 clogs incessantly on almost all filaments

ronsii wrote:

While the suggestion to get an E3D is great!!!... I normally suggest it myself just for the advantages it has over the stock hotend and added capabilities it has smile however there is no reason you shouldn't be able to print regular abs with the SD hotend that the printer comes with... which leads me to believe there is something else going on with your printer.... things to check on your printer that you may not be aware of:

1. Is the fan on the back of the printhead spinning? if not this can cause the filament to shoot out of the gap in the extruder.

2. Is the drive gear on the printhead's stepper motor aligned with the filament hole in the hotend? this also can cause the filament to shoot out of there if the gear is too far forward or back.

3. Does the filament extrude straight down when you are extruding into midair? if it curls continually then you probably do have a clog in the nozzle

One other thing the E3D while it is a great product does take a little 'modding' to make it fit and work with the SD printer, just the fact that you are using a 3d printer means you should be up to the task... in fact there are a few threads on this very forum that go into detail on how to install the E3D that I would suggest reading before ordering it smile

Thanks, there's definitely been a learning curve but I feel up to the task.  I'll certainly read up on it before trying anything.  I checked and the fan is spinning and the filament extrudes straight down.  How do I tell if the drive gear is aligned with the hole?  When it's printing I can see the filament going in and it's pretty well straight (not like its leaning and going in at an angle).

13 Reply by Hyper_Cube

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Re: New Solidoodle 3 clogs incessantly on almost all filaments

ronsii wrote:

While the suggestion to get an E3D is great!!!... I normally suggest it myself just for the advantages it has over the stock hotend and added capabilities it has smile however there is no reason you shouldn't be able to print regular abs with the SD hotend that the printer comes with... which leads me to believe there is something else going on with your printer.... things to check on your printer that you may not be aware of:

1. Is the fan on the back of the printhead spinning? if not this can cause the filament to shoot out of the gap in the extruder.

2. Is the drive gear on the printhead's stepper motor aligned with the filament hole in the hotend? this also can cause the filament to shoot out of there if the gear is too far forward or back.

3. Does the filament extrude straight down when you are extruding into midair? if it curls continually then you probably do have a clog in the nozzle

One other thing the E3D while it is a great product does take a little 'modding' to make it fit and work with the SD printer, just the fact that you are using a 3d printer means you should be up to the task... in fact there are a few threads on this very forum that go into detail on how to install the E3D that I would suggest reading before ordering it smile

We did indeed order the E3D all metal hotend and the Bulldog XL which I will probably be working on this weekend if the E3D comes in..

To answer questions 1,2, and 3. Yes. All of those things seem to be fine.. The only thing we haven't tried is taking off the hotend and checking to see if there is an actual clog. Which we will do after this next print finishes. Are there any guides to walk us through the disassemble?

SD3, E3D Hot End,
Heated Glass Bed,
Bulldog XL Geared Metal Extruder

14 Reply by ronsii

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Re: New Solidoodle 3 clogs incessantly on almost all filaments

Getting the nozzle off of the stock hotend is usually not easily done without harming other parts of the hotend unfortunately... however some people have done it successfully just go very easy on the amount of torque used yikes also it is easiest to do this at temperature so be careful not to get burnt!!! there are a few threads about this on here somewhere in the help/repair section.


You will love the E3D smile you will be able to print pretty much any type of filament you can find!!!

15 Reply by Hyper_Cube

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Re: New Solidoodle 3 clogs incessantly on almost all filaments

ronsii wrote:

You will love the E3D smile you will be able to print pretty much any type of filament you can find!!!

We're itching to get it on there with the new Bulldog XL. Just got the stock in disassembled. The parts are soaking in acetone. Once it's all clear we'll print out the parts for the Bulldog w/E3D and assemble that to the printer.. then the next upgrade will be a new power supply and carriage.

Thanks for the help everyone! We'll keep you posted.

SD3, E3D Hot End,
Heated Glass Bed,
Bulldog XL Geared Metal Extruder

16 Reply by Hyper_Cube (edited by Hyper_Cube 2014-01-19 04:53:03)

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Re: New Solidoodle 3 clogs incessantly on almost all filaments

Just to let everyone know.. It seems like it was just a Hot Clog. We took apart the hot end and soaked the brass parts in acetone for about 5 hours.. Then scrapped any bits leftover out with a small pin. Seems to be working like a charm at the moment. 2 hours into a print and haven't had an issue yet. We're also using some better quality filament just in case.

Once we finish up this print (the bulldog mount) we'll install our new parts and be ready to rock! Thanks for everyone's help!

SD3, E3D Hot End,
Heated Glass Bed,
Bulldog XL Geared Metal Extruder