Why is my Orion making sploogies??

[Captain Starfish]

Really starting to sound like a temp calibration issue now.

I'd be waiting for the thermocouple (thermocouple, not thermistor: right?) to turn up before I did much else because if it isn't feeding right then you're overloading the extruder, the extruder motor, both ends of the bowden tube and the guts of the hot-end and you've already seen the results.

[Eaglezsoar]

I call out to all of my fellow members to help me diagnose this user's difficulties with this printer.
It is an Orion and has new PTC and tubing installed. The user is experiencing problems with PLA and ABS.
It acts as though the temperature of the hotend is not hot enough when the software says that the temperature
is fine. Rather than extruding filament it chews the filament at the Ezstruder. The same filament will extrude
if pushed by hand. This is one of the rare ones that defy logic and I am asking for help in helping this user.
All responses will be appreciated. The one thing which I believe should be done is to stick a thermocouple into
the hotend to verify temperatures, but if the temperatures are to low then why will it extrude by hand?

[Batteau62]

Can he do a video of it running a part? If he can catch it when it's acting up, so much the better. Maybe we can see or hear something?

[0rionN00b]

thermocoupler, yup.. sorry!

here's the weird part - - if i shut it down, hold down the extruder motor release arm, it's really pretty easy to push/pull the filament, all the way to the head!

And furthermore when i run it, the unit lays down a nice section prior to stopping--probably about 10 square inches.. then it completely stops.....





edit: update - - of course Comcast/time warner would pick business hours as a perfectly legitimate time to disconnect my internet connection, I suppose they needed to floss the cable?? jeepers....


I THINK I FIXED IT!



Here's what I've found:

So 2 days ago I had partially disassembled the extruder motor assembly to blow all the 'powder" out of the feeder tube and assembly (caused by the unit chewing up filament due to crappy PCT connectors).

I just pulled it down again. And for the heck of it, found a wrench to fit the little feeder gear (the gear which has been 'chewing up' the filament). IT WAS LOOSE!

First, that alone is pretty nuts, because the motor had a "D" flat on it (flat side), but apparently they had not tightened it down on that flat side during the original build/installation.
I wonder if that's been part of the overall issue, as possibly a cause?? pretty weird.

I've started a new print now, and it looks quite good, thus far anyway....


a couple other things..

I replaced the PTC's AND the feed tube. SeeMeCNC sent me a slightly longer tube, which I clipped down, but left aabout 8" longer than their original, and (IMHO) its better.. it doesn't bend nearly as much when the head is retracted, and gives a far more graceful loop for the filament to travel. (see pics below)

I pulled the PEEK fan out with it's 3d printed shroud, cleaned the fan (it's been running for weeks non-stop as we've been knocking out prototypes), and put it back in. it's been making a god-aweful whine for close to a month, which I've been putting up with.. after the blowing it out, that seems to have quieted.

Additionally I hand trimmed down the shroud that SeeMeCNC had included (which was warping the fan and partially causing that whine) - apparently they were in a big rush to ship my printer, as it originally arrived missing minor parts.... Makes me think they are pretty slammed to meet orders, but didn't exactly give me a tremendous confidence.. (That said, they *HAVE* stepped up to replace the tube & connectors, although they provide NO phone support and little/no email support, and they did send me out replacement parts which arrived broken in shipping on the original unit).

I'm not about 45 minutes into a print, and it is as good or better than any previous, in terms of quality.


Pics of longer filament line...

the reason for the rubberband "redneck ingineeerin" is that when the unit retracts, the longer tube has a tendency to flop over onto one of the arms, and would get caught by it.... this hillbilly setup keeps the tube upright all the time and actually keeps the feed angle at a minimal amount of bend...

[Eaglezsoar]

You have probably found the problem if the pulley was loose.
SeemeCNC is sometimes a little slow but take underconsideration that they are on the road alot. They are also not a huge Company. This means you may
have to wait a little longer than you would like to get your parts, but you will get your parts unlike a lot of fly by night outfits that give a so called 90 day warranty
then do everything in their power to see to it you are not sent anything. We are all fans of SeeMeCNC so keep that in mind before putting something in writing.
I really do think you found the problem we'll know soon enough. Please let us know when you are confident it works or doesn't.

[0rionN00b]

Check the EZstruder and see how much debris is around the drive pulley and gear and clean out whatever you find, then look to see that the grooved part of the pulley is lined uo
with the center of the bearing. Also ensure that the grooved pulley is tightend down good on the motor shaft.

yup- - -that's what was causing it - - note my point that it was loose! Apparently someone at the factory/assembly room didn't fully tighten during the process....

Oh well, it seems to be printing quite well.. I'm gonna run home for supper, and will be back to check on progress.....

[0rionN00b]

You have probably found the problem if the pulley was loose.
SeemeCNC is sometimes a little slow but take underconsideration that they are on the road alot. They are also not a huge Company. This means you may have to wait a little longer than you would like to get your parts, but you will get your parts unlike a lot of fly by night outfits that give a so called 90 day warranty then do everything in their power to see to it you are not sent anything. We are all fans of SeeMeCNC so keep that in mind before putting something in writing.
I really do think you found the problem we'll know soon enough. Please let us know when you are confident it works or doesn't.

Oh, don't get me wrong - I think they (SeeMeCNC) are great!

As I have told my students (I teach a bit on rapid prototyping), this entire rapid prototyping-by-3d printing and desktop SLA printing is all in its very infant stages, and today's pioneers will be tomorrow's billionaires (or tomorrows homeless, depending).. THe very fact that printers & firmware are changing by the day is in itself proof of this.

So it doesn't surprise me that two guys in a garage could, in a few weeks time, be manufacturing for the public, or that guys like SeeMeCNC could be in a major growth spurt, and as a result be entirely unable to fill customer service issues rapidly. That's not entirely out of the picture.

I was in the laptop industry starting in the early 90's, and watched the meteoric rise of a bunch of mom & pop startup companies. Those who flew and those who crashed didn't always follow the "expected" paths, regarding customer service and quality... but that's for another time..

Mainly, i'm happy to be back in business. My current test build is at 81% and looking nearly perfect, aside from a thermal heat buildup causing some delamination (my fault - i left my plexi-surround entirely closed for 2hrs, so it heated up a bit).....

I'll follow up on this in a bit..

[0rionN00b]

Well, quick followup..

It appears that was the issue..Probably the best, cleanest, and most smooth output that I've had off the Orion to date!

This also explains why so many of my early prototype outputs were getting weak at the top of the builds!

Many thanks to all who gave input on this.

[Eaglezsoar]

Well, quick followup..

It appears that was the issue..Probably the best, cleanest, and most smooth output that I've had off the Orion to date!

This also explains why so many of my early prototype outputs were getting weak at the top of the builds!

Many thanks to all who gave input on this.

We are just glad that you are working again!
Happy Printing!

[0rionN00b]

Well, quick followup..

It appears that was the issue..Probably the best, cleanest, and most smooth output that I've had off the Orion to date!

This also explains why so many of my early prototype outputs were getting weak at the top of the builds!

Many thanks to all who gave input on this.

We are just glad that you are working again!
Happy Printing!

Yes, indeed!

had a couple of perfect prints last night!

[TFMike]

I replaced the PTC's AND the feed tube. SeeMeCNC sent me a slightly longer tube, which I clipped down, but left aabout 8" longer than their original, and (IMHO) its better.. it doesn't bend nearly as much when the head is retracted, and gives a far more graceful loop for the filament to travel.

So your new tube is around 27" then, correct?

[0rionN00b]

I replaced the PTC's AND the feed tube. SeeMeCNC sent me a slightly longer tube, which I clipped down, but left aabout 8" longer than their original, and (IMHO) its better.. it doesn't bend nearly as much when the head is retracted, and gives a far more graceful loop for the filament to travel.

So your new tube is around 27" then, correct?

yes, my tube is about 27"..


This created another issue, which (mcgyver here) required more duct tape & rubber bands....

THe issue is that if you make the tube TOO long, it flops over.. And when the head retracts, it may (or may not) catch on one of the wheel trucks....

My solution was a bunch of rubber bands.. I looped them together into a LONG loose "harness", hooking each end over the top of one of the leg tops, UNDER the bowden tube & wire harness), and back up to the other...

The result is that when the head is fully down, the rubber bands keep the wires and the tube upright, but when it's fully retracted, there is essentially little/no pressure on the tube & harness.

here's a quick shot....