E3d getting jammed

[precisionpete]

Need some help again folks.
Running the E3d V6 hotend on my orion.
This first occured when removing black pla, it was print okay and I normally just heat up to 205 and release the red lever and pull out the filament. The first time I tried this completely solid inside the screw section and had to use a hot wire to remove the pla.

Fast forward, printing using T-Glase hot end temp set at 235. I noticed after a few very small prints a "clunking noise" this I discovered was from the extruder drive wheel slipping. My guess is it solidified again inside the metal screw part.
Getting ready to pull apart again to investigate.

Any thoughts on what might be causing this? Yes the extruder fan is running.

P.S. Using the stock .4mm nozzle I use a slightly smaller diameter .002" wire heated up to pull through the nozzle for cleaning.

Thanks,
Pete

[bvandiepenbos]

I have not had good luck with my E3D v6 either. PLA jams often. I don't understand why, 2 others in my makerspace are having great results with their v6 and PLA.

[bot]

Did you guys assemble the v6 as per instructions?

Here is a sweet video demonstrating the proper assembly:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr02pG58gaU[/youtube]

[Polygonhell]

How much retraction are you running, if you retract too far on the E3D it pretty much guarantees a Jam. On my V5 too far is about 4mm, I try and stay under 2mm.
Bryan, if the V6's are like the V5's, it could just be manufacturing variance.

[precisionpete]

Assembled per instructions, that video is good also.
My retraction was set to zero, just changed from using matter control to the new version of slicr and it jammed after the 3rd print.

Any thoughts on clearing jams quicker?

The last time it jammed with pla I removed the hot end and disassembled it.
I took a torch and let the stuck pla run out the big end.
Then I used a wire from my Home Depot welding brush good size just below .4mm nozzle (0.0157" wire is 0.014") to clear it the rest with a drill bit on the other side. Took about 30 minutes to clear the nozzle.

Thanks for the suggestions. Moving on.

[bvandiepenbos]

yes, I assembled like the video.
I am using Cura with 4mm retract.

[Woolf]

I also have problems with E3d V6 and PLA.
Most PLA materials work great and other PLA jams at the first layer.
Why does it jam?? I don't know, I tested PLA without any retract and it jammes also X)
The Support can`t help me and they say that I must send it back to England

[Eaglezsoar]

I did a review of the V6 that was one of the first released and I printed PLA off and on for many days without one problem.
I wish I could resolve the problems you are seeing but some have problems with PLA and others do not - very confusing.

[craftymethod]

The only Jams im getting with my E3Dv6 seems related to my 1.75 colorfabb woodfill filament. It seems to experience too much friction on the way to the nozzle? still trying to figure it out. Ive got a post in troubleshooting

[elmoret]

yes, I assembled like the video.
I am using Cura with 4mm retract.

That's a lot, try dialing it down to 1-2mm.

[elmoret]

Need some help again folks.
Running the E3d V6 hotend on my orion.
This first occured when removing black pla, it was print okay and I normally just heat up to 205 and release the red lever and pull out the filament. The first time I tried this completely solid inside the screw section and had to use a hot wire to remove the pla.

A few suggestions:

1.) Thermal grease on the heatbreak - heatsink interface
2.) Be sure the PTFE tube is inserted all the way into the heatbreak. It may help to bevel the end slightly so it fits the heatbreak.
3.) Season the hotend - a few drops of canola oil on the end of the filament before printing.

[elmoret]

drill bit on the other side. Took about 30 minutes to clear the nozzle.

This was not a good idea, you have probably damaged the finish on the inside of the heatbreak, practically guaranteeing future issues even if you resolve the previous cause.

[precisionpete]

drill bit only on the nozzle not the heat break. Appreciate the tip, I try to go slow before I FUBAR something.

[Saturn Rocket Man]

Hi Everyone,

I am still really new to 3d printing and in using my Max V2, my first printer by the way. I bought and put the E3D V6 on during assembly of my printer from the start.
Getting started, printing with ABS, I experienced frequent jams during prints. Switching to PLA, the jams slowed down but still experienced them. Disassembling my hot end all together, a "lining" of the gray ABS stuck in the nozzle could be seen. The heat break was clear/clean.
It was impossible to clear the nozzle out with any tool on hand. Thought about drill bits but did not do it, instead opting to throw it into a can of acetone and soak it. Decided to put a new nozzle on it and reassembled following directions to the t.

Reading everything about jams and hot ends in general on the forum and elsewhere, I have adopted the following.

Dip the filament , no matter what it is, into canola oil before loading it into the extruder .
At the end of each print, if I am there at the time, Retract the filament completely out of the hot end before it cools. If not there, but before my next print, I will heat the hot end up enough to retract it back out of the hot end by hand, Oil the end of the filament, and back into the extruder it goes.

After doing this , I have yet to experience a jam and have almost finished printing a project with multiple parts. Logged about 50 hours so far since this and no jams yet. Thoughts about going to stainless steel nozzles, don't know if it would help or not ?

(Does someone know a way, or if its possible, to program the coding or software, to retract the filament out of the hot end for a set distance when it finishes printing? )

I know it won't be everyone's resolve, but thought I would throw in what I have experienced.

John

[precisionpete]

I would imagine it's easy to grab the code for retraction and put it into the end of your G-code.

P.S. after this last clearing and cleaning I re-tuned everything up and measure real accurately my T-Glase that I was printing with.
So far a full day of printing multiple test objects and no jams. Software crashes plenty thou

Nice tip about the oil, have heard people mention it but seems to work okay with things calibrated well.
My filament number was about .18mm lower than actual and looks to be part of the problem.

[Eaglezsoar]

Thanks for all the tips on the E3D jamming. The hardest part is understanding why some people experience the jamming part, others do not.

[precisionpete]

The biggest thing I found was if all your hardware is assembled correctly and working okay it simply a calibration problem.

I noticed yesterday while printing stuff all day long that if your not careful with the temp and speed you can jam real quick.
Very slight backlash on the extruder wheel or any noise is a sure sign of problems. Pay attention to this and your okay.

I was having trouble slowing things down where the machine would stop because of the firmware settings for slow speeds.
Just bumped the temp up slightly.

Just like machining speeds and feeds correctly and things work.

[grimmindustries]

The canola oil worked for me.

[emsoll]

I've now used my E3D with PLA, T-Glas and ABS. Initially it ran fine with the PLA but when I switched to black PLA I suddenly started running into multiple jams in the hot end during runs. I tried the canola oil trick and the jams went away completely. I have since printed a small filter http://www.thingiverse.com/make:110239 that contains a very fine sponge with a drop of canola oil that I leave just above the extruder whenever printing PLA and I have no had a jam since. Hope that helps.

[626Pilot]

You can't do more than ~3.5mm retracts with an E3D. I don't know whether it heat-soaks the upper reaches or allows filament to swell into the heat break. Maybe both.

I use 3.2mm retracts at a speed of 25mm/sec and I get really good results. It never, ever jams on PLA since I started doing that, and the slower retraction speed has eliminated almost all spider-webbing. When I was running 4-5mm retracts, I was lucky to get 20 minutes out of it before it seized up.

It's a good idea to set a low temperature like 180C, let it settle there, and then crank up the temp to 240 while feeding the filament through by hand as the temperature climbs. The point where it runs with the least pressure is where you set the temp for the print. It's no good to use the manufacturer's specified temp because these hot ends have to run a bit hotter to get the same results. I usually print PLA at 233 degrees C, even though I'm "supposed" to print it at 190 or whatever.

If you get some gunk in the nozzle and need to clear it out, and you have a blowtorch (or a stove with sealed burners where you can take the cap off to get the same thing), you can use that to burn whatever gunk out of the nozzle. It only takes a few minutes to reduce it to ash. Don't ever do that to the heat block, though. The brass nozzle can take it, but the heat block is aluminum. It will deform and become useless. Ask me how I know

If you don't have that, an oven set to 400 degrees will probably just melt it and let it ooze out. I wouldn't mess with a drill bit.