1 Topic by jstickley

  • jstickley
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  • Registered: 2014-08-30
  • Posts: 5

Topic: Solidoodle 3 extruder issue

I noticed the other day that my extruder started doing something weird.. The motor was turning, the gear was turning, the bearing was not turning, and it was not extruding.

What tension should the clamp be? (the one that holds the bearings.)

thanks.

2 Reply by AZERATE (edited by AZERATE 2014-10-22 02:26:25)

  • AZERATE
  • AZERATE
  • PRINTiT
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  • Registered: 2013-11-28
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Re: Solidoodle 3 extruder issue

Unfortunately, there is no way to gauge the tension.....but you definitely need to tighten it up a bit.
After adjusting the tension, you will want to recalibrate your extruder.

Printit Mason and Printit Horizon printers
Multiple SD2s- Bulldog XL, E3D v5/v6/Lite6, Volcano, Hobb Goblin, Titan, .9 motor, Lawsy carriages, direct Y drive, fishing line...the list goes on
Filawinder and Filastruder #1870.....worth every penny!

3 Reply by pirvan (edited by pirvan 2014-10-23 13:36:28)

  • pirvan
  • pirvan
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  • Registered: 2013-03-27
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Re: Solidoodle 3 extruder issue

Check your extruder drive gear, more than likely it's clogged. 

As the gear pushes the filament into the hot end, sometimes the rate at which it drives the filament is faster than the rate the hot end can extrude it, so the back pressure results in the gear stripping bits of filament that end up between the teeth.

This can be caused by quite a few things:

Extruding temperature not hot enough
Partially clogged hot end nozzle
Bearing pressure too high
Bearing pressure too low
Nozzle tip too close to the print bed (first layer or so)

First thing I would do is check between the gear teeth and see if it's clogged, then watch the printer as it makes the first pass.  Usually, that is when it's most likely to strip the filament.  If this is the case, you may want to either increase the hot end temperature for the first layer, or increase the hot end to print bed gap (or both).

To print or, 3D print, that is the question...
SD3 printer w/too many mods,  Printrbot Simple Maker Ed.,  FormLabs Form 1+
AnyCubic Photon, Shining 3D EinScan-S & Atlas 3D scanners...
...and too much time on my hands.