Solidoodle 3 - Stops extruding after first 20 layers or so

I've tried 3 different filaments.. all with the same result. 2 ABS and 1 PLA.

I have used different tensions on the tension arm - same problem no matter whether it's just tight enough to feed, somewhat tighter, or very tight. Actually it printed on complete object when it was very tight. It didn't print a subsequent object though.

It mushrooms at the top of the PEEK, where the filament starts going into the ceramic. There is no clog at the nozzle when I am having this problem - I had a clog problem at the nozzle in the past. However, if I catch the printer not extruding filament during mid-print, and it's early enough, I can push filament through and it starts extruding again.. sometimes leading to several more layers being printed... sometimes leading to it stopping extrusion/layer adhesion again very quickly.

In other words, if I could sit next to the printer all day, and I had a was of determining the moment it stopped extruding while printing, I could gently push the filament into the extruder head to "give it a boost" and it would keep extruding/printing just fine.. but since I can't do that....

It's important to note that the extruder motor continues attempting to extrude plastic.. it just isn't coming out the nozzle. I'm not sure if that's clear from the conversation.

My issue is the E-X-A-C-T same as Hunter Green's in a thread you talked with him on, here:

http://www.soliforum.com/post/50065/#p50065

I'm dealing with this right now too... Prints just fine for the first couple of layers, and then stops extruding but continues with the print. I'm guessing it's a clog in the nozzle. I'm printing the mk5 pieces now, hopefully it gets through just fine. I'll be ordering an E3D soon

A little Background, and an update:

I had a print (upper mandible of a 4 part skull) fail a couple of nights ago. When I checked on it, the printer was going through the motions, but not extruding any plastic. Assuming it was a clog I removed the nozzle, soaked it in Acetone until I removed all the ABS, ran a guitar string through it until it was perfectly clean. Reinstalled it tonight.

After reading this thread, I heated the hotend (E3D) and turned the nozzle in, to make sure it wasn't cold-clogging

I started the same print that failed last time. It stopped extruding on layer 22 or 23 (its hard to tell when it stopped extruding exactly, it was on one of those layers) and "clogged".  I compared this with the failed print, and it had stopped extruding on the exact same layer as before.

The extruder gear turns, but it acts like it is clogged up. No more filament will extrude, even if I manually extrude. Sometimes I'll get a little out, but it just stops.

It certainly seems like it might be cold clogging, but I cant see any reason why.

I print at 220-225 degrees (tried both). I might try printing at a slightly higher temp.....I dunno. It doesnt seem to be an extruder arm issue though, as the nozzle is certainly not extruding. Its just bizarre it failed at the exact same layer. I'll try printing something else to see if it finishes. Something using at least as much filament.

When the print failed and it "clogged" I tried manually extruding, but it wouldn't. I am fairly certain it is not a tension arm issue as you'll see

After unplugging it and leaving it for a couple of hours I decided to fire it back up and see if it would extrude without me touching a thing since I'd left it jammed. As suspected, it extruded fine, I ran 300-400mm through it no prob.

There are a couple of things worth noting on mine (not sure if xtaticlyme's or kevin's are showing these issues). #1 the plastic is kicking out at an angle (25-35 degrees) if I extrude it straight down. #2 the free falling filament can come out with a very slight ripple in it #3 is that there is a definite rippled when it lays down the layers....like the edge of a lasagna noodle. more pronounced than when it is extruding into space, I've knocked down the extrusion multiplier but it didn't effect that....could be non related though. #4 there is a small amount of moisture in the filament. I had stored the machine for a couple of months while waiting to have time to fix it, the filament is only a couple months old as well. The small popping is maybe every 50mm to every 75mm on average, sometimes you can see a very small bubble on the filament as it extrudes. Not enough to show up in the print that ive seen, but it is something to take into consideration in my case. The final note being that the printer and filament are enclosed in plexiglas. The filament feeds off of a bar across the top and takes no real tension to pull from the roll. Can provide pics if needed

Thanks for the reply Wardjr, I'll have a look at the alignment in the Mk5, that makes sense. I'll run a print to see if I can see which way it is tilting.

I'll also check the alignment of the extruder gear to E3D alignment, and let you know.