Welcome to the SeeMeCNC Community

So I've had my kit since thanksgiving, I have an e3d v6 all metal hotend. And for the most part my prints have been beautiful.

Well last week I disconnected my hotend for cleaning and managed to break the thermistor. finally got a handful in the mail last night and re-setup my hotend ready to print. I've mainly been printing ABS, at 235c and the bed is at 100c. A few weeks ago I was having jamming issues so I bumped up the temp, I've had successful prints all the way up to 245c. After reconnecting my hotend, I made sure I was calibrated (using the paper method and adjusting the offset values in the EEPROM), and got it to the same calibration as it was before with awesome prints.

But I tried printing a few calibration cubes last night (with the exact same spool of filament that I've been printing successfully with), and the farthest I could get was the first layer, and then it just basically stops extruding. But that was if I was lucky. most test prints I did last night just didnt extrude at all and it would barely eek out any filament. I checked the nozzle using a guitar string, and it is not clogged. And during the heat up I'm definitely getting "leaking" from the nozzle.

So I'm not really sure what to try at this point. I've checked and rechecked the the calibration, It's not too close to the bed that it is blocking it from extruding (otherwise I wouldn't be able to print the first layer) and again from the leaking I know it's not clogged. I've tried printing from 230c to 245c with these same results.

The 2 times that it did print the first layer, here is what it looks like after it fails with the second layer:

http://i.imgur.com/vnur5D9.jpg

It almost seems like it IS too close to the bed, as if the first layer is dragging, but again I checked the calibration a dozen times now, and going any higher seems too high as I dont get any "drag" of the paper that I had before with great prints. So i feel like it's an extruder issue? But I honestly don't know. And when it does print the first layer, the nozzle almost seems too high on second layer, but it may just look that way since it's not extruding any filament.

Any help and tips would be greatly appreciated!!!!

So if you leave it alone, even after it has failed, what's the failure scenario? Is it that the extruder stepper stops moving? Does the hotend stop moving, or does it continue trying to print? Does the whole printer shut down? More detail please.

BenTheRighteous wrote:So if you leave it alone, even after it has failed, what's the failure scenario? Is it that the extruder stepper stops moving? Does the hotend stop moving, or does it continue trying to print? Does the whole printer shut down? More detail please.

Sorry if I wasn't clear enough; It will continue to try and print. The hotend continues on it's path, but it just doesn't extrude any filament. And like I mentioned, sometimes I will get lucky and it will successfully print the first layer, but then as it continues, it's as if it get's clogged and stops extruding for the rest of the layers, resulting in the picture I attached. I will kill the print and check to see if it's clogged by sticking a guitar string into the nozzle. There is a little resistance, but it's definitely not nothing major in the way of being clogged. And after I pull out the guitar string it will start "leaking". I'll start another print, and the same thing will happen. It acts like it's clogged but when I check, it's not.

Hmmm... and the extruder stepper motor continues to work? Is it grinding a notch into the filament?

Could be picking up some dirt. On my other printer I've started poking the filament through a piece of soft foam before it goes into the extruder. That collects noticeable dust on any spool that's been open for any time at all.

Don't re-use the hole in the foam, just cut that piece off and use a fresh piece for the next roll. I leave the foam on the spool in storage.

BenTheRighteous wrote:Hmmm... and the extruder stepper motor continues to work? Is it grinding a notch into the filament?

yes the extuder stepper motor continues and it does grind a notch into the filament, I keep having to cut pieces of the filament past the notch and try again. So it's obviously blocked/clogging some how. But like I had mentioned this started happening after I disconnected the hotend, cleaned it out and also made sure there was no plastic inside the heat break and filament path. And after i see this "clog" I can stick a guitar string up the nozzle without much force, and after I do this it starts to leak, showing that the pathway is clear. But trying to manually run the extruder at the slowest speed or when it prints, it will grind. Once I cut the filament past the ground notch, I tried to hand feed the filament all the way to the nozzle, and then push a little more while the nozzles hot, it will leak. Also to reiterate, running the hotend at 245c, which should be plenty!

jdurand wrote:Could be picking up some dirt. On my other printer I've started poking the filament through a piece of soft foam before it goes into the extruder. That collects noticeable dust on any spool that's been open for any time at all.

Don't re-use the hole in the foam, just cut that piece off and use a fresh piece for the next roll. I leave the foam on the spool in storage.

Hmm, I've been printing fine with this same roll of filament for a while now, and it's white so I feel like It'd be pretty easy to spot any dirt. So this doesnt seem likely to me, but I will certainly check it out.

Did you reassemble the hotend properly? I just put together my own e3d, and the instructions say to make sure to do the final tighten while it's hot. Did you do that?

Also you should check the PEEK fan (I know e3d has no PEEK but I don't know what else to call it). I think that e3d's tend to jam if they're not getting enough airflow.

BenTheRighteous wrote:Did you reassemble the hotend properly? I just put together my own e3d, and the instructions say to make sure to do the final tighten while it's hot. Did you do that?

Also you should check the PEEK fan (I know e3d has no PEEK but I don't know what else to call it). I think that e3d's tend to jam if they're not getting enough airflow.

Yes, by now I've dissembled and re-assembled the e3d almost a dozen times without issue, so this was just another repeat no-big-deal for me. What should I look for when checking the PEEK fan? It turns on fine when the hotend starts to get hot, and it seems to be seated properly, otherwise i would have issues mounting the hotend. Thanks a ton for all your suggestions, i just feel stumped!!!

Yeah, that's pretty much all I meant to verify - that the fan turns on and is seated well. I dunno what else to suggest. There's another thread going on where people seem to think that their extruder is getting so hot that it softens the filament too much to push it - maybe you're in that same boat?

BenTheRighteous wrote:Yeah, that's pretty much all I meant to verify - that the fan turns on and is seated well. I dunno what else to suggest. There's another thread going on where people seem to think that their extruder is getting so hot that it softens the filament too much to push it - maybe you're in that same boat?

Hmm i can't recall about the extruder, but i'll check tonight. I know it will get hot, but only if it grinds. what could be done if that's the case??

And actually, I've got a related question that may help. The whole thing that started this was I needed a new thermistor. When I first got my E3D v6, i didnt change the thermistor "number" in the firmware, but everything worked fine. I believe the default in the repeiter firmware is "EXT0_TEMPSENSOR_TYPE 97" and they tell you on e3d assembly page to change it to TYPE 8. But again, i forgot about that and everything still worked fine. What does the number actually change? this is the thermistor i bought and installed last night, they are the only 100k ones they sell so I'm assuming they're the same as the one I had before that came with the E3D kit:

http://e3d-online.com/Electrical/Compon ... or-Semitec

shentheory wrote:

BenTheRighteous wrote:Yeah, that's pretty much all I meant to verify - that the fan turns on and is seated well. I dunno what else to suggest. There's another thread going on where people seem to think that their extruder is getting so hot that it softens the filament too much to push it - maybe you're in that same boat?

Hmm i can't recall about the extruder, but i'll check tonight. I know it will get hot, but only if it grinds. what could be done if that's the case??

And actually, I've got a related question that may help. The whole thing that started this was I needed a new thermistor. When I first got my E3D v6, i didnt change the thermistor "number" in the firmware, but everything worked fine. I believe the default in the repeiter firmware is "EXT0_TEMPSENSOR_TYPE 97" and they tell you on e3d assembly page to change it to TYPE 8. But again, i forgot about that and everything still worked fine. What does the number actually change? this is the thermistor i bought and installed last night, they are the only 100k ones they sell so I'm assuming they're the same as the one I had before that came with the E3D kit:

http://e3d-online.com/Electrical/Compon ... or-Semitec

Each thermistor has a resistance vs temperature chart.
It could be that the Semitec's curve is very close to the ones supplied by SeeMeCNC and that's why you do not see a difference.
I am of the opinion that if the Manufacturer specifies a number to use in Configuration.h then that number should be in the firmware and uploaded.
Happy Printing and Holidays!