1 Topic by freakmean16

  • freakmean16
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Topic: Extruder Temperature not going up

I dony know if you guys have the same problem Im having right now, but my extruder gets only to 163.4 degrees and stays there....dont know whats going on here....Is anybody else having the same problem with your extruder temperatures???If so, How can I fix them???

2 Reply by H_Alex

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Re: Extruder Temperature not going up

I have not had that problem. I'm sorry.

Frustration is part of the process.

3 Reply by trayracing

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Re: Extruder Temperature not going up

Is your printer trying to run the heater full tilt? (In the tools window in SP, or the "manual" tab in RH.)
If so, here's some things to check:

  • Is your heater held firmly by the set screw?  (Check the thermistor screw as well.)

  • Are the wires at the base of the heater crossed?

  • Any damage to the wires? (easy to accidentally pinch them at the extruder.)

  • Loose connectors?

4 Reply by freakmean16

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Re: Extruder Temperature not going up

I dont think Im having those issues, heres what I can see right now on SP...http://soliforum.com/i/?qvsygvR.jpgDont know if this helps but Im smelling the ABs melting right throug the extruder right now.....

5 Reply by trayracing

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Re: Extruder Temperature not going up

If you're melting ABS at "165", then your temperature reading is low. I don't know about the Press, but on some printers this can seriously overheat the hot end, causing damage or fire.

Most likey the thermistor - loose, damaged or a bad/shorted/open connection. After the physical check,  unplug it from the board and measure its resistance and check for shorts to ground. You'll need to look up the proper resistance to see if it looks OK.

6 Reply by freakmean16

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Re: Extruder Temperature not going up

Sorry for the late response...but, where is the thermistor???

7 Reply by trayracing

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Re: Extruder Temperature not going up

The thermistor should be in a small hole toward the rear of the heater block. It's on the other pair of wires leading to the heater block, and is pretty tiny. Don't crush it when you snug up its set screw.

8 Reply by Goshdarnit

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Re: Extruder Temperature not going up

trayracing wrote:

The thermistor should be in a small hole toward the rear of the heater block. It's on the other pair of wires leading to the heater block, and is pretty tiny. Don't crush it when you snug up its set screw.

Can I just ask also trayracing: does the set screw grip the thermistor, or should the thermistor be pushed all the way in with the grub screw gripping the wires?

9 Reply by trayracing

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Re: Extruder Temperature not going up

Goshdarnit wrote:

does the set screw grip the thermistor, or should the thermistor be pushed all the way in with the grub screw gripping the wires?

Really SD support should answer for their hot, hot mess and post such info on their web site. (Arguably they had an extra 3-4 months to get ready for the deluge of support requests.)

Not sure, and I haven't studied the heater block closely, but probably gripping the wires.

Ideally you want reliable thermal contact between the sensor and block to keep control lag down, so either you want  thermal paste or tight mechanical contact. Looks like SD stuffed it in there dry and no wadding. A set screw on a glass bulb with no padding will work loose after a few thermal cycles. So I think you're left to stuff the sensor in there and snug the screw on the wires while pushing gently on the wires. Being careful not to crush the insulation and cause a short. Then beep with a multimeter for shorts and hope for the best.

(BTW, I'd love to be totally wrong on this and find out they did something elegant. Did I miss something?)

10 Reply by Goshdarnit

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Re: Extruder Temperature not going up

trayracing wrote:

Really SD support should answer for their hot, hot mess and post such info on their web site. (Arguably they had an extra 3-4 months to get ready for the deluge of support requests.)

Not sure, and I haven't studied the heater block closely, but probably gripping the wires.

Ideally you want reliable thermal contact between the sensor and block to keep control lag down, so either you want  thermal paste or tight mechanical contact. Looks like SD stuffed it in there dry and no wadding. A set screw on a glass bulb with no padding will work loose after a few thermal cycles. So I think you're left to stuff the sensor in there and snug the screw on the wires while pushing gently on the wires. Being careful not to crush the insulation and cause a short. Then beep with a multimeter for shorts and hope for the best.

(BTW, I'd love to be totally wrong on this and find out they did something elegant. Did I miss something?)

Thanks for that. That's exactly what I had ended up doing, and it seems to be working. I just wanted to check that I hadn't done it wrong. Didn't want the screw slowly eating through the wires or something. But equally didn't want to damage the thermistor! Thanks, you've helped put my mind at rest!