E3D v6 jams and other issues

[Dionysus480]

Hi guys,

I must be missing something here. I'm getting horrible jams with PLA on my E3Dv6. ABS is printing great and I'm loving the quality.

So - the problem is that after printing the raft, somewhere around layer 3 the PLA jams and I end up digging it out of the ez-struder mechanism. I'm using SeeMeCNC Rocket Red PLA if the color matters.

In trying to troubleshoot the problems myself:
I cleaned the nozzle (although I didn't use a torch)
Checked to make sure the fins on the heatsink were not hot (they were not) and that the fan was on and at full speed.
I disassembled the heat break, heat sink, and heater block and recoated the thermal paste, tightened the break into the sink then applied the heater block. Whole assembly is tighter than before.
I reduced the retraction to 0.5mm
I increased hotend temp 5 degrees each attempt up to 220C

It is still clogging on me and jamming. I don't know what else I can do. It works great with ABS.
How do folks clean the brass nozzle? For ABS I've been alternating two nozzles in an acetone bath. I don't have a good small wire that fits the orifice - but I've heard that guitar wires work? (Seems like an expensive option.) How tight should the wire fit in the orifice - about the same size or with lots of wiggle?
What is the best way to remove the carbonized plastic from the nozzle and heater block? I've had some epic fails that coated everything...

Second problem is still ABS warping. I have an enclosure - although its more of a temporary situation since most of those pieces had some warping. I'm going to order the heat inserts and reprint the things.

I'm printing on Fablam and the center of something like an enclosure bracket can be so tightly adhered it causes first layer damage when removed, but the corners curl up away from the bed. Rafts can help, but often at least one corner curls. I use alcohol to clean the fablam in between. No layer cooling at all (I actually remove the fans.)

So - questions

Is PETG or some other substance more likely to give me flatter prints for larger prints like the enclosure but with adequate heat tolerance?
I've tried adjusting first layer height and width and slowing the speed down to 30%. It takes 20 mins to print the first layer of a raft. Printing on FabLam at 85C (which is why I'm getting the centers of these things stuck too tight actually.) Anything else I can try?

PS - yes I'm still very much a beginner at all this. I've been practicing, but obviously there are some structural parts I'd like to produce for the printer somehow. Here's some of my practice pieces.

[travelphotog]

Well I will throw in my 2 cents and see if I can help out at all. I use the E3d V6 for pretty much all the filaments I print with (ABS, PLA, NYLON and so on). I run about a 4-5mm retraction on the PLA and it seems to work fine for me. What is your retraction speed set to for PLA? WAY back in the day I have issues, I oiled the filament for a few jobs then stopped that. It worked great so I stopped doing it to see how it would do and it has been great since then. I have changed the nozzle out a few times since and I did not oil again. So I would look at your retraction speed. I know for me, a .5mm retraction leaves far too many strings so I went larger retractions at a faster speed (125 for me).

[Nylocke]

Most people have better success with low and slow (2mm retracts at 15mm/sec, and if you can set the "prime" speed (when the extruder unretracts the filament it retracted before a move) to a bit higher). Not sure how photog is managing 125mm/sec retracts without jamming issues.

Some people also have jamming issues because their extruder motor current is set too high and the motor heats up and starts to soften the PLA, which causes a jam.

PETG does have good dimensional stability and less shrinkage than ABS. JFettig uses it exclusively because the parts he gets are dimensionally spot on and thats what he's aiming for. It also does have better heat resistance than PLA, I think it should be fine for an enclosure.

I generally don't mess around with first layer settings, other than making my first layer slightly thicker than other layers. It remains the same width, between 100 and 110% the diameter of my nozzle. I've never used FABLAM, I always use a PEI sheet (lasts longer than anything else I've tried or heard of being used) at 95 or 100C for ABS and things stick very well. PLA I do 60-65 or so.

[Dionysus480]

Thanks for all the suggestions. After trying several related things...

I turned the voltage to the ez struder stepper down, and it dramatically cooled it, so I do think that was part of the problem.
However, it still jams at the hotend. Works just fine with ABS, but the PLA immediately jams. I cleared the nozzle, and ran a wire through it, so Its nice a ready. As soon as I started it jammed.

I'm printing at 220 C, to try and reduce resistance at the nozzle. I slowly push filament through the ezstruder and it won't push it nice a smooth. It catches and goes a quarter turn without pushing any filament. Frustrating because I'm so happy with ABS.

I bought a new hobbed gear. Hopefully a better grip will help. I did slow down the retract speed, and I upped the retract just a little to 2mm.

However, now I can't even lay down the raft before it jams. I was actually having to push the PLA into the extruder just to get anything to extrude at all. Again, I just removed the PLA and have been printing ABS just fine.

Any more suggestions?

[Nylocke]

220 for PLA? Thats really hot typically. PLA is very different from ABS, and higher melt temps != lower resistance. Drop it down at least 10 degrees. You may have scratched the nozzle interior with the wire you're cleaning it with. Also if you're getting carbonization in the nozzle you're letting the plastic sit for too long at too high of a temperature.

The best way to clean a nozzle IME is to do the "atomic pull" where you remove the bowden tube from the hotend (if you have an extra length of it, cut off a short length and insert it back in to serve as the liner) and then heat it up to a pretty high temp (the E3D can manage 280 fine) and push some filament through for a couple cm. Then drop the temp to 130C for ABS or 80-90C for PLA and pull straight up on the filament very quickly. Repeat this until the pulled filament is clean (no discolored filament or black carbonized material). This should clean the nozzle out completely without damaging it.

[Xenocrates]

At this point, I would pull the end of your bowden tube, and check it. PLA being what it is, it may be that there is a notch where the bowden tube hits the rest of the nozzle, and it's jamming up there, especially since it's doing this with manual extrusion.

Also, when it jams the filament, does the extruder skip (As in fails to turn), or does the filament get ground away? Does it do neither?

First case, turn the current back up some.

Second case, perhaps more spring force, or a higher temperature?

Third case, find the cap screw used to tap the panels from the kit, and put it into the EZ struder spring.

[HumanLiberty]

Hey guys - is this an E3D Party only, or can anybody join

I'm having a very similar problem with PLA and my Prometheus v2.
Dionysus480 - any luck recently? Let me offer you this silver lining: the fact that it jams fast if it's going to at all is a relative blessing. I'm jamming 2-hours into an 11-hour job I let run over night. So you have to waste a ton of time and filament just to find out if a fix has worked or not (which so far none have). Makes for an anti-christmas-morning feeling. Last night I was up till about 4:30 AM stewarding the print and caught it right when it jammed. Paused, cleared the nozzle, only to have MatterControl go haywire attempting to continue the job. Cancel. Sigh.

Xenocrates, I'm a "2nd case" case. How do you get more spring force?

Nylocke, I think the end of my Bowden tube could be a bit raggedy, but so far no tool I've tried has made a perfectly clean and flush cut - what do you use?

I may try oiling the filament - Travelphotog how did you approach that? I'm using this filament pre-filter http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:492067, so could just saturate the sponge with oil. What kind of oil did you use?

Also, my "Cool End" is not-quite-uncomfortably warm to the sustained, firm touch when printing at 210C. Is that as it should be?

[Mac The Knife]

"Nylocke, I think the end of my Bowden tube could be a bit raggedy, but so far no tool I've tried has made a perfectly clean and flush cut - what do you use? "

I use a spare PEEK section from the SeeMeCNC's hotend, and a razor blade to trim my tubing square.

[Xenocrates]

Sorry for not being clearer about spring force. Take the cap screw, or whatever is appropriate and to hand, and shim out the spring attached to the red lever. If that doesn't help, it may very well be a hotend problem. Make sure your bowden is well seated, and that your nozzle/heatbreak is clear. Since you have a Prometheus, you may want to reduce your transition zone in size, so that there is less area where warm but not well melted PLA can cling to the walls of the nozzle/heatbreak.

[HumanLiberty]

[quote= I use a spare PEEK section from the SeeMeCNC's hotend, and a razor blade to trim my tubing square.[/quote]
Thanks!

[travelphotog]

Hey guys - is this an E3D Party only, or can anybody join

I'm having a very similar problem with PLA and my Prometheus v2.
Dionysus480 - any luck recently? Let me offer you this silver lining: the fact that it jams fast if it's going to at all is a relative blessing. I'm jamming 2-hours into an 11-hour job I let run over night. So you have to waste a ton of time and filament just to find out if a fix has worked or not (which so far none have). Makes for an anti-christmas-morning feeling. Last night I was up till about 4:30 AM stewarding the print and caught it right when it jammed. Paused, cleared the nozzle, only to have MatterControl go haywire attempting to continue the job. Cancel. Sigh.

Xenocrates, I'm a "2nd case" case. How do you get more spring force?

Nylocke, I think the end of my Bowden tube could be a bit raggedy, but so far no tool I've tried has made a perfectly clean and flush cut - what do you use?

I may try oiling the filament - Travelphotog how did you approach that? I'm using this filament pre-filter http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:492067, so could just saturate the sponge with oil. What kind of oil did you use?

Also, my "Cool End" is not-quite-uncomfortably warm to the sustained, firm touch when printing at 210C. Is that as it should be?

I just would dip the start of the filament into plain cooking oil. Just about the first inch or so and would then tap to remove the excess oil. I did this for about a month or so if I would change filaments. I never used a full time oilier on the filament. It did help my jamming issues and I have not had any since, but I also no long use oil so not too sure if the stoppage of jams relates to the oiled filament or not.