EZStruder feed problems

[goldenpath]

Hello! I just got an Orion 3D printer and I'm still learning how to get good prints, etc, but I'm making progress. My current issue is with filament feeding. The filament seems to be slipping out from between the two rollers several times during a print. I've tried the filament that shipped from SeeMeCNC with the unit, and I've also tried a different brand of ABS and it happens with both and on several different parts I've tried to print. It seems like the roller attached to the red plastic "arm" has too much play in it, and it shifts forward a bit so that it's not actually pushing the filament up. Here's a youtube video I took of the issue to see if that helps better than my poor description. http://youtu.be/sUXb7FErINE

Any suggestions of how to fix this or what I'm doing wrong? I really want to get started printing, but with this issue I have to stay right by the printer and listen for the click of the filament getting out of alignment so I can try to keep it printing.

Thanks!

[Eaglezsoar]

Hello! I just got an Orion 3D printer and I'm still learning how to get good prints, etc, but I'm making progress. My current issue is with filament feeding. The filament seems to be slipping out from between the two rollers several times during a print. I've tried the filament that shipped from SeeMeCNC with the unit, and I've also tried a different brand of ABS and it happens with both and on several different parts I've tried to print. It seems like the roller attached to the red plastic "arm" has too much play in it, and it shifts forward a bit so that it's not actually pushing the filament up. Here's a youtube video I took of the issue to see if that helps better than my poor description. http://youtu.be/sUXb7FErINE

Any suggestions of how to fix this or what I'm doing wrong? I really want to get started printing, but with this issue I have to stay right by the printer and listen for the click of the filament getting out of alignment so I can try to keep it printing.

Thanks!

Ensure that the center of the drive pulley (with the teeth) is aligned to the center of the bearing. If not centered you will need a small allen wrench to loosen the setscrew on the
drive pulley and move it a little along the stepper motor shaft until it is centered. Also, sometimes it is possible for the filament not to go between the pulley and bearing. It is
difficult to see if it is not where it belongs, but from your video it looks as though the filament is not going between the two. The other thing to check is if the drive pulley is slipping
on the stepper shaft.

[goldenpath]

Ensure that the center of the drive pulley (with the teeth) is aligned to the center of the bearing. If not centered you will need a small allen wrench to loosen the setscrew on the
drive pulley and move it a little along the stepper motor shaft until it is centered.

Thank you for the reply! How do I go about making sure that the center of the drive pully is aligned? The unit arrived assembled, but I feel comfortable taking that small part apart if needed.

Also, sometimes it is possible for the filament not to go between the pulley and bearing. It is
difficult to see if it is not where it belongs, but from your video it looks as though the filament is not going between the two.

I think that I'm getting the filament between the two, but you can see and hear when the piece attached to the red plastic slips off (the flat roller) the filament. When that happens, it moves away from the printer towards the clear casing. In the video, I had just stopped a print because of this issue. I think at the very end of the video I get the red piece set back on the filament correctly. Are you able to tell from the video if I've got it right? When this happened the first time, I assumed that I didn't have the filament placed correctly and played around with it until it seemed right.

The other thing to check is if the drive pulley is slipping
on the stepper shaft.

If the drive pulley is slipping, would both rollers be moving smoothly? I don't know if you can tell from the video, but as far as I can tell the rollers never stop or stutter.

Thanks again!

[Eaglezsoar]

I think you need to take the clear plastic part off to get access to the pulley and bearing.

[goldenpath]

OK, so I think I figured out the issue. I took the clear plastic cover off as suggested, and everything was tight and centered as far as I can tell. I ended up taking the entire red arm/bearing assembly off (accidentally), and when I put it back together the spring that gives the bearing arm tension fit in there[img]http://i.imgur.com/b2FC8xs.jpg[/img] straighter than before. I doubt you can tell from the video, but the spring was curved out all the time, which must have been putting too much force on the arm, causing it to move out of place. I'm about halfway through a new print as I type this and haven't had any filament problems so far, so hopefully this fixes the issue. Thanks again for the suggestions!

[Eaglezsoar]

I am just glad that you got it working, good job!