1 Topic by ddd1600 (edited by ddd1600 2015-01-29 00:34:44)

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Topic: Nothing coming out of the printer head after a few lines

Just got my Da Vinci 1.0 a couple of days ago. I've had some good times with it so far, but have only printed about 4-5 shapes before it stopped working.

The "ink" basically stopped flowing from the printer head. When I remove the filament and reinsert it, I can get about 1 layer at most (fairly big object though) before it stops printing again. Haven't repeated the exercise but I think that little data point is useful for diagnosis. Re-inserting filament gets it to print for a second.

No clicking noise, so I can only assume its being heating properly.

Cleaning out the hole now with the hole cleaner I just found that came with the kit. That had been missing. If this works I'll still post for the community. -- there was some hot glue in there I think. The hole cleaner can't get all the way in there, I assume that's normal. Trying again with sample print:

BY THE WAY. Does anyone else's XYZ Printer software freeze EVERY TIME you print something? I'm using a mac and mine does. god that's incredibly annoying. This software blows. Is there anything else I can use without the sd card hack?

ANYWAY, back to the mission:
"Printer busy" -- the printer is NOT busy. Anyone experience this? The only way I know how to fix this is to get it started with a sample print, then cancel it, then it works again. OH GREAT, now the XYZ printer software froze because I tried to print. NOT PRINTING, because the printer is "busy" or "idle", TOTALLY NOT BUSY. Restarting XYZ software….

Unplugged the USB cable because it thought I had the da vinci 2, reinserted, oh look the printer space got bigger, I guess its working now, great. Derrr it worked that time. God I hate this software. Now we'll see if the print worked….back in a couple of minutes….

Heating up…extruder temp is 213 celcius and unchanging. Platform is 67, just 30 more C to go….

Selah! There was glue stick stuff in the extruder. Think this is solved.

Saving post for future frustrated person(s)

**EDIT: Software frozen now that print is complete. Does anyone know how to fix this??

2nd edit: OK, so its just the print dialog that freezes, the rest of program still works….

update: It didn't work. Only the sample print which was 10mm*10mm*1.5mm worked. Not printing again after less than one layer of successful printing. See below.

2 Reply by carl_m1968

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Re: Nothing coming out of the printer head after a few lines

ddd1600 wrote:

Just got my Da Vinci 1.0 a couple of days ago. I've had some good times with it so far, but have only printed about 4-5 shapes before it stopped working.

The "ink" basically stopped flowing from the printer head. When I remove the filament and reinsert it, I can get about 1 layer at most (fairly big object though) before it stops printing again. Haven't repeated the exercise but I think that little data point is useful for diagnosis. Re-inserting filament gets it to print for a second.

No clicking noise, so I can only assume its being heating properly.

Cleaning out the hole now with the hole cleaner I just found that came with the kit. That had been missing. If this works I'll still post for the community. -- there was some hot glue in there I think. The hole cleaner can't get all the way in there, I assume that's normal. Trying again with sample print:

BY THE WAY. Does anyone else's XYZ Printer software freeze EVERY TIME you print something? I'm using a mac and mine does. god that's incredibly annoying. This software blows. Is there anything else I can use without the sd card hack?

ANYWAY, back to the mission:
"Printer busy" -- the printer is NOT busy. Anyone experience this? The only way I know how to fix this is to get it started with a sample print, then cancel it, then it works again. OH GREAT, now the XYZ printer software froze because I tried to print. NOT PRINTING, because the printer is "busy" or "idle", TOTALLY NOT BUSY. Restarting XYZ software….

Unplugged the USB cable because it thought I had the da vinci 2, reinserted, oh look the printer space got bigger, I guess its working now, great. Derrr it worked that time. God I hate this software. Now we'll see if the print worked….back in a couple of minutes….

Heating up…extruder temp is 213 celcius and unchanging. Platform is 67, just 30 more C to go….

Selah! There was glue stick stuff in the extruder. Think this is solved.

Saving post for future frustrated person(s)

**EDIT: Software frozen now that print is complete. Does anyone know how to fix this??

2nd edit: OK, so its just the print dialog that freezes, the rest of program still works….


Being on a MAC you are limited to their software. If you can splurge for a cheap Windows laptop that would be your best option. You  could buy Simplify3D which everyone here swears by for $150 and it works with this printer out of the box. They do have a MAC OSX version. Anything else and you will have to get in to reflashing firmware and trying to find a MAC version of software.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

3 Reply by ddd1600 (edited by ddd1600 2015-01-29 01:16:43)

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Re: Nothing coming out of the printer head after a few lines

UPDATE:

While the printer was able to successfully building the 1.5mm*10mm*10mm square, it quickly failed and started clicking after just a few minutes. Wasn't even able to lay down the first layer before it failed. Got much further than last time, but that's it.

The printer head appears to be picking up more glue stick glue? This didn't happen beforehand. Anyone have any success will dealing with the hot glue getting incessantly stuck in the printer head? Again, I did hear clicking this time.

4 Reply by carl_m1968 (edited by carl_m1968 2015-01-29 01:13:17)

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Re: Nothing coming out of the printer head after a few lines

ddd1600 wrote:

UPDATE:

While the printer was able to successfully building the 1.5mm*10mm*10mm square, it quickly failed and started clicking after just a few minutes. Wasn't even able to lay down the first layer before it failed. Got much further than last time, but that's it.

The printer head appears to be picking up more hot glue? This didn't happen beforehand. Anyone have any success will dealing with the hot glue getting incessantly stuck in the printer head? Again, I did hear clicking this time.

Could you elaborate on what you mean by hot glue? Ar you meaning the actual melted ABS/Plastic that is supposed to be coming out? This machine simply takes the 1.75mm plastic you feed it from the cartridge, and then melts in the the hotend and squeezes it out into a .4mm string of molten plastic that bonds to and cools on contact with the previous layers.

The only glue this machine uses would be the glue stick that you spread out on the glass build platform before you print.

You are like the third person now with a new machine describing this same issue. You may want to search for and join the other thread so you will be in on the solution once it is found.

The clicking indicates your extruder is trying to force filament into a cold or at the very least below melting point extruder. We have some other members trying some things to see if they can find a common problem. Until thin you guys with this issue are stuck unless the factory can shed some light. But it has yet to help the other guys.

Seems to me a batch of printers have got out with an issue that may span several machines and with luck is the same on all so once we fix one we can fix all.

Other Thread:

http://www.soliforum.com/topic/9049/sto … rst-layer/

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

5 Reply by ddd1600 (edited by ddd1600 2015-01-29 01:24:17)

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Re: Nothing coming out of the printer head after a few lines

Excuse me I meant glue stick glue, not hot glue.

Am I supposed to apply the glue every time before I print?

I'm going to try to remove all the glue from the platform and print without the glue to see if the stuff keeps coming out. I don't care what the print looks like if it shakes around because of no glue. Trying to rule out the glue here as a cause of problems.

Thank you so much for responding though. If this thing is broken then I'd be glad to know that. Sometimes when you're battling technical problems alone frustration can boil itself down into a pinhead of violence in the mind. Causes tunnel vision. Very glad to know my printer may in fact be just plain old broken. Thought it was my fault

6 Reply by carl_m1968 (edited by carl_m1968 2015-01-29 02:01:43)

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Re: Nothing coming out of the printer head after a few lines

ddd1600 wrote:

Excuse me I meant glue stick glue, not hot glue.

Am I supposed to apply the glue every time before I print?

I'm going to try to remove all the glue from the platform and print without the glue to see if the stuff keeps coming out. I don't care what the print looks like if it shakes around because of no glue. Trying to rule out the glue here as a cause of problems.

Thank you so much for responding though. If this thing is broken then I'd be glad to know that. Sometimes when you're battling technical problems alone frustration can boil itself down into a pinhead of violence in the mind. Causes tunnel vision. Very glad to know my printer may in fact be just plain old broken. Thought it was my fault


One thing to try, I know in the manual it says not to calibrate the bed, because it is done but to be honest that is hogwash as shipping ruins the beds calibration and anyone here will confirm that. Recalibration is a must. Look at the sticky in the top of this section and follow the manual bed calibration procedure. Skip the part about getting a passed auto cal value. Just start a test print from the LCD and once it starts printing turn off the printer and go from there using the procedure. Now that you say it is picking up glue it sounds like your bed is too high and the glass is actually plugging the extruder preventing it from extruder and causing back pressure to the point it can't push the filament.

if your bed is not properly leveled then it may print in some areas and not in others. Your case may be different from the other guys as they are able to print the first layer and then it just stops on the second layer. Moves but no extrusion.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

7 Reply by scotthay

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Re: Nothing coming out of the printer head after a few lines

I agree with Carl here, if it is scraping the glue stick glue off the bed then it is too close to the bed, you need to calibrate.  Is the print head still hot when the melted filament stops coming out  (be careful touching it, if it is still hot then it will melt your skin)?  My printer is at around 145 hours of print time and I just started having the well known issue of the connector for the heater wires failing (my printer will print 2-20 layers and then continue to go through the motions but no filament is coming out.  I just got in some new deans connectors and am planning to replace the connector over the weekend if I have time.

8 Reply by ddd1600

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Re: Nothing coming out of the printer head after a few lines

scotthay wrote:

I agree with Carl here, if it is scraping the glue stick glue off the bed then it is too close to the bed, you need to calibrate.  Is the print head still hot when the melted filament stops coming out  (be careful touching it, if it is still hot then it will melt your skin)?  My printer is at around 145 hours of print time and I just started having the well known issue of the connector for the heater wires failing (my printer will print 2-20 layers and then continue to go through the motions but no filament is coming out.  I just got in some new deans connectors and am planning to replace the connector over the weekend if I have time.

Do you need any other equipment to complete the fix? I'm thinking about going ahead and ordering all the supplies for that fix in preparation for it

9 Reply by ddd1600

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Re: Nothing coming out of the printer head after a few lines

carl_m1968 wrote:
ddd1600 wrote:

Excuse me I meant glue stick glue, not hot glue.

Am I supposed to apply the glue every time before I print?

I'm going to try to remove all the glue from the platform and print without the glue to see if the stuff keeps coming out. I don't care what the print looks like if it shakes around because of no glue. Trying to rule out the glue here as a cause of problems.

Thank you so much for responding though. If this thing is broken then I'd be glad to know that. Sometimes when you're battling technical problems alone frustration can boil itself down into a pinhead of violence in the mind. Causes tunnel vision. Very glad to know my printer may in fact be just plain old broken. Thought it was my fault


One thing to try, I know in the manual it says not to calibrate the bed, because it is done but to be honest that is hogwash as shipping ruins the beds calibration and anyone here will confirm that. Recalibration is a must. Look at the sticky in the top of this section and follow the manual bed calibration procedure. Skip the part about getting a passed auto cal value. Just start a test print from the LCD and once it starts printing turn off the printer and go from there using the procedure. Now that you say it is picking up glue it sounds like your bed is too high and the glass is actually plugging the extruder preventing it from extruder and causing back pressure to the point it can't push the filament.

if your bed is not properly leveled then it may print in some areas and not in others. Your case may be different from the other guys as they are able to print the first layer and then it just stops on the second layer. Moves but no extrusion.

You're referring to the "Bed Leveling for Beginners" post right?

10 Reply by ddd1600

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Re: Nothing coming out of the printer head after a few lines

ddd1600 wrote:
scotthay wrote:

I agree with Carl here, if it is scraping the glue stick glue off the bed then it is too close to the bed, you need to calibrate.  Is the print head still hot when the melted filament stops coming out  (be careful touching it, if it is still hot then it will melt your skin)?  My printer is at around 145 hours of print time and I just started having the well known issue of the connector for the heater wires failing (my printer will print 2-20 layers and then continue to go through the motions but no filament is coming out.  I just got in some new deans connectors and am planning to replace the connector over the weekend if I have time.

Do you need any other equipment to complete the fix? I'm thinking about going ahead and ordering all the supplies for that fix in preparation for it

Having some trouble with this sentence in your tutorial: "so you can just feel the paper being grabbed by the nozzle as you slide the paper around." what exactly you mean by this in a tactile sense? Do you mean instead,  "So you can just feel the paper being grabbed by the nozzle as you slide the nozzle around".

11 Reply by carl_m1968

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Re: Nothing coming out of the printer head after a few lines

ddd1600 wrote:
ddd1600 wrote:
scotthay wrote:

I agree with Carl here, if it is scraping the glue stick glue off the bed then it is too close to the bed, you need to calibrate.  Is the print head still hot when the melted filament stops coming out  (be careful touching it, if it is still hot then it will melt your skin)?  My printer is at around 145 hours of print time and I just started having the well known issue of the connector for the heater wires failing (my printer will print 2-20 layers and then continue to go through the motions but no filament is coming out.  I just got in some new deans connectors and am planning to replace the connector over the weekend if I have time.

Do you need any other equipment to complete the fix? I'm thinking about going ahead and ordering all the supplies for that fix in preparation for it

Having some trouble with this sentence in your tutorial: "so you can just feel the paper being grabbed by the nozzle as you slide the paper around." what exactly you mean by this in a tactile sense? Do you mean instead,  "So you can just feel the paper being grabbed by the nozzle as you slide the nozzle around".


It actually means just what it says. Move the nozzle near one of the adjustment screws. The place a strip or page of paper between the bed and nozzle. Adjust the screw so that when you move thr paper around that you can just feel some friction between the paper and nozzle.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

12 Reply by ddd1600

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Re: Nothing coming out of the printer head after a few lines

I've used carl's tutorial in conjunction with this video on youtube (can't post link): "Simple Method of Adjusting the Davinci 3D Printer Bed - Video #025" to figure this out.

Its basically all a matter of lowering the print bed a bit. Its all about the quality of that first layer.

The print head needs to "kind of squish" the first layer, but only just a little bit. If its too squished, you know the head is too close. If its too fine and doesn't stick well, you know its too high.