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We are getting little to no extrusion from the hot end. When we use the manual controls in Repetier, the machine will extrude just fine. However, when we are trying to print an object the lines are very thin and it seems like there is very little extrusion.

We are using ABS, and have set the hot end from 220 to 230 degrees with no change. We have also asjusted the multiplier in the Slic3r configuration from 1.1 to 5 and there is still no change. We have set the flow to between 100% and 150% and that doesn't work either.

Update:

When re calibrating the machine, as we lower the horizontal radius in the EEPROM the extruder is where it needs to be relative to the bed, while at the start of the print, the extruder sits slightly higher. I know we can offset the Z axis in slic3r, but what could be causing the issue?

We have also noticed that after a session of printing, or attempting to print, our calibrations seem to shift, so for example, we will adjust our Z height adjust towers etc., then run a calibration print. If we check the calibrations post print they're all out of whack again. What other adjustments can we make at this point to fix these issues? Any help is appreciated!

Sorry for the bump. Just really hoping for some discussion on this, as we are still encountering the same issues.

Are your belts wobbly or loose? Does the system shake?

Try mattercontrol to see if it is a problem with repetier configuration.


And you can extrude by heating the hot end and twisting the knob?

observe speed with computer controlled extrusion and gcode based extrusion. Are they different.

I had had a problem with calibration. Totally different from yours. No idea what it was but I went back to the manual and restarted from flashing the eeprom.


PS: If you think you have a problem, you should contact seemecnc. This forum is just the crazy users rambling and it is not the official seemecnc helpline. But we are always glad to help and learn something new in the process.

Thanks for the replies! Much appreciated. We will look into some of the solutions here and keep you updated.

We have contacted seeme cnc, but they just think it's out settings. It very well could be, but we've matched the guide- unless it's something very minor we just not seeing We will flash the bios and start there.

We did both of the things suggested. First we downloaded MatterController. We could use all of the commands to move the ext ruder around. Then we decided to recalibrate everything. We reinstalled both Repetier and Ardunio, and all the files for the printer. We tried to clear the EEPROM and nothing happened. It said that the program was uploaded successfully, but nothing happened on the LCD screen. It was still showing the extruder and bed temps. We then tried to upload the ino that comes from the guide. After we did this the printer would connect to Repetier, and we could move it around. We then double checked the printer settings that the guide gave to us, and closed the settings window. We disconnected and reconnected, and the printer would home itself, but it would only go down. After we restarted Repetier we could not connect to the printer from it OR MatterController. Then nothing happened in either Repetier or MatterController. We could use the LCD to home the printer, but it would send it straight down towards the bed. Now Ardunio will not allow us to upload anything because we cannot even select a serial port to use.

However, now when we plug and unplug the USB from the printer the computer, the computer will detect the printer, but it appears that Ardunio and the other programs will not. We switched USB ports and that doesn't do anything, it still detects the printer but we cannot connect to it or see it in Ardunio or the other programs. We can see the extruder temp occasionally change a degree or so on the LCD, which seems to indicate that the board is talking to the printer's temperature sensors.

Please help.

It may seem like a trivial step, but after sending the CLEAR_EEPROM command and allowing it to finish uploading, did you power down the printer and turn it back on to a blank screen before attempting to flash the new firmware to the controller?

I did indeed power down the printer and turn it back on after the CLEAR_EEPROM but it appears that nothing happened. The printer just loaded up the Rostock firmware. We never got a blank screen indicating that the firmware had been cleared.

That leads me to believe that there's either something wrong with your RAMBO now, or the drivers on your host computer aren't playing nice with the RAMBO.

Are there any alternate host machines you could try to set the printer up with? If it works with another host, then we can eliminate the idea that the RAMBO is bad.

That is what we did and now the machine works. However, we got the following error during the start of a print: "No move in delta segment with > 1 segment. This may never happen and may cause a problem."

We did get everything calibrated and installed correctly, but we are also now back to our original problem. When printing, the extruder is not extruding as well as we feel it should/could. When either one of us force the filament through the tubing, the machine prints perfectly. The ABS sticks to the bed and to the other layers. But when the machine is left to its own devices the ABS clumps up and sticks to the hot end, not the bed. One post suggested tightening the screws on the extruder stepper motor. We did this, but nothing happened. We've messed around with the extrusion rates in print settings and slic3r settings, but that makes no difference either.

Thank you all for your help and suggestions. They are very much appreciated.

Then you failed.

While I do genuinely appreciate your feedback, I was hoping for a response directed towards why we can print when we push filament through the extruder by hand, but not otherwise.

You may want to ensure that the filament is properly inline with the hobbed gear within the Ezstruder. If it is riding to the side slightly then it may be skipping.

We'll give that a look. Thank you.

If you clear the eeprom, you should not see anything on the screen. (After restart of printer).

B3cause it does not have repetier in it anymore. It only has a bit of code that that clears the eeprom (memory where the permanent non volatile settings of the printer are kept, like the calibration settings). So if you see something on the screen the eeprom flashing has failed. You need a retart of the printer because the lcd has its own memory. And it displays whatever was sent last.

Your problem seems like either you have a problem with your motor electronics, the motor itself or a mechanical problem.

Try to check this. While the printer is extruding

1. Hold the little manual spindle. It should be fairly strong and the pull should be constatnt. I.e. it should not feel like the motor is skipping a beat or occasinaly the force of your hand can stop it or make it go back. If this is true, youe electronics / motor are fine.
2 hold the filament that is going in to the extruder. It should have a fairly strong pull. And you should not be able to stop it with ease. If it is eays to stop or you feel that the motor is grinding on the filament the you have a mechanical problem with ghe extruder.

When you say you were abe to push de filament, how did you do that? Turn the knob? Or force push the filament in to the ezstruder?

Finally do you see any filament dust around?

Oh and try another filament. If it is really bad, it could be so thin or soft that extruder cannot grab it.

did you set the e-steps on the extruder correctly?

My (limited) experience suggests that there is a fine balance to be found at the start of a print, at least with ABS.
Calibration seems to be critical to the first layer, i.e. wherever the nozzle starts it needs to be "notepaper thickness away from the glass" or the bead won't land "right".

My extruder tends to ooze as it comes up to temperature.
I am using 225C, but that isn't calibrated against a thermocouple.
I force a bit (say ~5 cm) out with the hand wheel as I wait for the bed to come up to temp.
SOMETIMES there is a bit of popping that suggests air bubbles, in which case I turn by hand until I get around 5 cm out without bubble pops.
By the time the bed is up to temp the extruder has USUALLY finished oozing so I pick the set ABS off and start the print.

This USUALLY results in the initial perimeter sticking to the bed, though not always.
If it tangles badly I abort the print, clean up and start over.
If it merely starts a bit late I let things go - 1/4 or so of the first perimeter is probably not critical (-:

I am using disappearing purple glue sticks, they seem to melt and set well if I paint the glue onto the glass when the bed is above about 60C.

FWIW, etc.

Will wrote:did you set the e-steps on the extruder correctly?

Unfortunately, we're a bit unsure of what that would entail. We followed the initial preparations that the guide includes and made the suggested changes to the "#define MOTOR_CURRENT" values. Are there additional calibrations we need to make on the extruder that aren't mentioned in the guide?

What's most confusing is the fact that we actually had a few successful or "better" prints early on. We literally changed nothing to our settings. The only change made was to the filament, but ours is the same brand, diameter, and quality.

We have been able to "force" filament through the extruder by gripping the filament and pressing in. That actually resulted in better quality lines. The second we stop applying the pressure to the feed, our line quality goes wonky, everything gets stringy with no adhesion, and the extrusion just seems generally weaker.

The motor feels relatively strong. We tried to stop it by tweaking where suggested, but it felt okay. And again, when we manually extrude everything comes out nicely. We have been able to print successfully using our current temps, so we're inclined to believe that they're okay as is. However, for the sake of trying, we changed those, too, all within 5-10 degrees with the same results.

It just feels like the thing is not extruding at the rate it should be at all.

ok, back up...How about a picture of the print? Could it be we are just fighting a clogged nozzle??

David I was going to suggest that first but assumed it was doing it from the beginning.

It was written in the manual. I luckily did not need to tweak it as it extrudes the exact amount I tell it to.

Go to EEPROM and check this value highlighted in blue. Heres a pic just make a quick check.

Let us know how you go

It sounds like your extruder is not working too well or slipping.

One thing comes to mind...

1 Check the temperature of the Extruder motor. If it is ver very hot it could be that the gear that is pushing the filament is so hot that it kind of slips on the filament.
2 It could be that you have tried to extrude while the hot end was not hot enough, so the gear ground in to the filament and it got a bit blocked. So if you dismantle the ezstruder to check that the gear is good and clean that may provide a solution.
3 Are you sure you have not set filament width to 3mm instead of 1.75?

PS: In mac os X if you press cmd + shift + 4 it lets you select which part of the screen you want to capture.

According to the op, the problem really started after switching filaments. That's why I want to see a picture of the print.
He is saying his extruder is extruding the proper length of filament. But when he goes to print its laying down a very thin light line. Let's sort the mechanicals before blaming the electronics...

Sure here are a couple shots of the pieces we were able to print. In addition to these we were also able to print the fan shroud on from that same filament, for that, however, i do not have a picture. Roughly the same quality as the other two pieces though. As you'll notice, the top layers are a bit jacked, and we could probably benefit from having the fans hooked up, but we were able to print nonetheless .


Here are the before shots:
[img]https://us-mg6.mail.yahoo.com/ya/downlo ... x&inline=1[/img]
[img]https://us-mg6.mail.yahoo.com/ya/downlo ... x&inline=1[/img]
[img]https://us-mg6.mail.yahoo.com/ya/downlo ... h&inline=1[/img]

And After:
[img]https://us-mg6.mail.yahoo.com/ya/downlo ... x&inline=1[/img]

Any thoughts?

EDIT: In addition, i forgot to mention that we did in fact adjust the stepper motor to the recommended settings. Our motors' sounds seem to change to a high-pitched "shriek" after they've been running for awhile. Is this normal, or is there something else we should look into?