Ninjaflex printing issue. Still not solved :)

[lightninjay]

Definitely appears to me as though the gear itself isn't getting enough grip on the filament. Whether or not you should increase tension on the filament at the extruder gear is beyond me. From your video, it seems to be a consistent area of the extruder gear which is catching on the filament and allowing it to drive. I would still say this is an issue with your cold-end.

[dunginhawk]

i dont disagree at all.... do they sell gears with better teeth? i mean just really grab that sh*t and force it through?

On a side note. im in my office working and i heard the layer fans spin up at layer 3.. i ran in to check (because i forgot i had the fans set to turn on) and the nozzle was down to 215 steady.. greatly affected about 10 lines of filament.. i think it can be overcome though.. quick click in mattercontrol and got the fans off... back to 240 and rockin...

I definately think its the cold end. I just cant get enough grip.

[BenTheRighteous]

I'm not a tension expert but if it were me, I would increase the tension almost to the point where I would risk crushing the filament. Is there a reason not to do so?

[dunginhawk]

THe only reason i have for not doing it is that i have tested the tension at quarter turns (on the screws that adjust it) all the way until its very tight, and tons of tension, and that seems to not work at all. Its a VERY fine balance for some reason here. Literally 1/4 turn of the screw for tension was the difference between it seemingly (at least right now) working, and not.

Right now im on layer 4 of the bottom of my iphone 6 case. all seems well right now.
I keep having to go in and pull filament off the spool and drape it over the side... I really think there is something to how much force it needs to pull that heavy spool with wrapped filament stuck in the gaps.

[KAS]

It almost looks like the tube is catching on the left side of the filament. It appears to bulge just under the gear before making it's way into the tube. Maybe a burr or sharp edge is catching it?

Can you extrude the filament without the nozzle on?

[dunginhawk]

oh yeah, i can extrude perfecly all day long down the tube. its only when i encounter resistance by the hotend that it has any issue.
and i will say, right now, im on layer 5 of the case, with zero issues.

[dunginhawk]

so we are on about layer 10... just doing the border now and the cutouts for the holes in the case... all seems well right now..

call me crazy, but i think the 2 biggest things are i am pulling filament off the spool and letting it dangle, so there is no friction to pull against the spool, and i have to think my stepper motor now being cooled is playing a role too.

[teoman]

What if you cooled the filament?

Or cooled the stepper to below ambient temperatures.

[dunginhawk]

i have a fan running on the stepper now and its keeping it only slightly warm but WELL within spec.. so im thrilled with that... I think Ben was right when he said it was transferring heat in to my drive gear and causing issues. so that is resolved.
cooling the filament when?

[lightninjay]

Well, if you're considering that your extruder is too hot, have you checked you voltage in your firmware for your extruder?

It turned out that I had Kysan Stepper motors, and since I was running them at Wantai motor voltages, my stepper would get too hot and melt certain kinds of PLA right at the gear, just enough to cause slippage.

Soon as I lowered my voltages, the stepper cooled off to, well, practically room temperature! I haven't had any extrusion issues, other than those related to filament diameter and consistency, since!

[dunginhawk]

ill have to check that out... if that documented somewhere?
thanks

[lightninjay]

Here is the post that Guanu from SeeMeCNC recommended and I used myself.

http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php ... san#p45708

I lowered mine for the extruder down to about 100 or 105, if I recall correctly.

[dunginhawk]

you mean you lowered the value that guanu posted as 155, You went to 105? for the extruder stepper? or is there another 105 value im missing.
thanks for the link.. ill check it out after my print finishes...

[lightninjay]

If you notice, the values are in order. The first three numbers are 155, and those are for your towers.

The fourth number, originally 200, is brought down to 165 by Guanu, but I put my fourth number down to 105.

[teoman]

I was thinking of running the filament through a metal block that is cooled to 2-3 degrees.

[dunginhawk]

thanks LJ

Teoman , for the softer filaments are you hoping that it would great a stiffer surface for the teeth to grab? if so, i think it makes sense... although, do you think there is enough time (certainly on faster print speeds) for the filament to get back to a reasonable temperature before entering the hot end? if not it will drastically reduce the temp on the hot end, to which you would either have to compensate for or live with.

Well, i figure something is working with the new changes ive made..
85% done and looking amazing... a little stringing in the holes, but thats to be expected.. easily trimmed.. the edges and the surfaces look amazing. ill post in the "what im making" after its done and cleaned up.
[img]http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m562/dunginhawk/th_597DF1EB-5623-48D1-8D9A-BEF78629F9AE_zpscn1pajtk.mp4[/img]

One good print is nice... two is better.. three I have it solved ... as wooderson once said "patience darlin, patience"

[dunginhawk]

well.. it finished... and except for the stringing, which i fully expected the only issue is that the purple glue i used to adhere the print to the bed really showed up on the print itself.. so i need to find another method for adhering this stuff to the bed... it shows everything.

[BenTheRighteous]

Purple glue washes right off in water!

[dunginhawk]

yeah its not the glue that caused the issue, its that any imperfection in the glue, like if it was a micro off, or there was an area not quite covered, etc... it just shows up... its not good.. but its very functional. i may try printing it on glass with no glue...

[lightninjay]

Doubtful that you'd get any adhesion. I'd recommend at LEAST a fine layer or two of hairspray. THIS brand if at all possible.

[BenTheRighteous]

Ohhh, I know exactly what you're talking about. You can see the pattern of the glue in your print. There's another thread going on where the guys are dissolving their glue sticks in water and using a foam brush to apply an even layer, have you tried that?

[dunginhawk]

So quick question... is there any way to read the eeprom and see the configuration.h without just opening the File and rewriting it to the eeprom?

Reason i ask is im not sure exactly what file (its not on this laptop now) i flashed to the rambo... so i dont want to overwrite something I already did.
thanks