New 3D Printer

[granz]

Dirty extruder feed gears

How do the extruder gears look?

They looked fine to me. Is that a very common trouble? Is that something that I need to give a close look?

[Chris Savage]

They looked fine to me. Is that a very common trouble? Is that something that I need to give a close look?

I just figured that was an easy one to rule out. More so than the nozzle issue.

[granz]

They looked fine to me. Is that a very common trouble? Is that something that I need to give a close look?

I just figured that was an easy one to rule out. More so than the nozzle issue.

Oh yeah, the gear set is easily seen in the filament bay. They look OK. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Chris Savage]

Oh yeah, the gear set is easily seen in the filament bay. They look OK. Thanks for the suggestion.

No problem. I know for mine I need only take the cover plate off, which is held on by magnets.

[granz]

Yep, and for the Voxel, when you remove the cover for the filament bay, it is there in all its "naked" glory. 

[granz]

With that trouble-shooting page above indicating that I may have extrusion troubles, I found a video about cleaning my extruder (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxbvzLBtlG0.) So, a cleaning tool (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F9XSHJS9 $5 with shipping) is on order. It should get here tomorrow, and then I will try cleaning the extruder and see if that fixes the trouble. If not, I may need to get a new extruder (here's hoping that cleaning works.)

[JKnightandKARR]

With that trouble-shooting page above indicating that I may have extrusion troubles, I found a video about cleaning my extruder (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxbvzLBtlG0.) So, a cleaning tool (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F9XSHJS9 $5 with shipping) is on order. It should get here tomorrow, and then I will try cleaning the extruder and see if that fixes the trouble. If not, I may need to get a new extruder (here's hoping that cleaning works.)

I'll check that tool out, thanks! I just have a 0.4 mm drill bit, and it's NOT flexible....  as for the clog, maybe, that's one of the things about FDM printers that's a pain...

[granz]

I'll check that tool out, thanks! I just have a 0.4 mm drill bit, and it's NOT flexible....  as for the clog, maybe, that's one of the things about FDM printers that's a pain...

As I understand it, you want something that is flexible, and has a rough surface. You heat up the extruder then ram the tool through, and it needs to grab as much of the filament as possible. Next, you feed some more filament through and then let it cool enough that it is still a bit flexible but had melted to the old filament clogging the extruder - then you pull the filament back out to remove the rest of the old filament from  the extruder. The video (although it is specifically for the Voxel/Adventure 3 printer) explains pretty well what, and why.

The video was put out by Jaycar, which is kind of like the Sparkfun, or Adafruit, of Australia. They seem to be hobbyists themselves, and have a hobbyist interest in their products. Also, like the old South West Technical Products Company (SWTPC) they produced a lot of the kits for articles in Electronics Australia magazine.

[granz]

Well, after a cleaning per that Jaycar video, I started another Benchy. So far it is looking really good. Photos coming in a little while.

The video shows the woman cleaning by pushing the tool from the top, all the way through the nozzle. My tool is not long enough to go all the way through, so I just did the best I could. After I started the Benchy print, I went back to Amazon to try to find a longer tool. I was a bit shocked to see the photos of people starting at the bottom, and going up the nozzle. Duh! I should have thought of that.  But, as I said, the print seems to be going well.

[JKnightandKARR]

Well, after a cleaning per that Jaycar video, I started another Benchy. So far it is looking really good. Photos coming in a little while.

The video shows the woman cleaning by pushing the tool from the top, all the way through the nozzle. My tool is not long enough to go all the way through, so I just did the best I could. After I started the Benchy print, I went back to Amazon to try to find a longer tool. I was a bit shocked to see the photos of people starting at the bottom, and going up the nozzle. Duh! I should have thought of that.  But, as I said, the print seems to be going well.

Will watch n clean mine, and print the mounts for the Z-Probes. Might as well switch to automatic n see if that helps right?

[granz]

Here is my most recent Benchy:

Not bad, but still quite a bit of stringing.

I went through the cleaning again, and tried the Up house again:

Much better, but far from decent.

I did try going up through the nozzle, but it doesn't seem to have helped much (a little, but not enough.) I'm thinking that I need to get the longer cleaning tool, like the Jaycar video shows. Unfortunately, I did not see the tool by itself, and the 3d printing tool kit that contains the tool is pretty expensive. I need to search their site, and Amazon, to see if I can find the long "ram rod tool."

[granz]

Well, so much for Jaycar - they do not ship to the USA. They will ship via Australia Post (if Australia Post ships to my location,) but it requires a special account with their post office - and the minimum shipping price is AU$ 30!

Continuing with searching for the tool on Amazon - unless any of you know of a good place to look. It looks like the tool will need to be about 10-15cm long.

[JKnightandKARR]

Well, so much for Jaycar - they do not ship to the USA. They will ship via Australia Post (if Australia Post ships to my location,) but it requires a special account with their post office - and the minimum shipping price is AU$ 30!

Continuing with searching for the tool on Amazon - unless any of you know of a good place to look. It looks like the tool will need to be about 10-15cm long.

is that for that cleaning kit you posted?

[granz]

is that for that cleaning kit you posted?

Do you mean the Amazon cleaning kit (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F9XSHJS9)? No, that is just a set of "clog poke" (funny name) tools.


The Jaycar tool kit is a pretty nice kit (https://www.jaycar.com.au/3d-printing-toolkit/p/TD2132,) but AU$64 (plus shipping - minimum or AU$30) is pretty steep.


I found this one (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3HLTWF6?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title) on Amazon:

This one looks to be long enough to go completely through the entire extruder, including the nozzle. I also ordered a few wire brushes to clean up the nozzle it self.

[JKnightandKARR]

is that for that cleaning kit you posted?

Do you mean the Amazon cleaning kit (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F9XSHJS9)? No, that is just a set of "clog poke" (funny name) tools.


The Jaycar tool kit is a pretty nice kit (https://www.jaycar.com.au/3d-printing-toolkit/p/TD2132,) but AU$64 (plus shipping - minimum or AU$30) is pretty steep.


I found this one (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3HLTWF6?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title) on Amazon:

This one looks to be long enough to go completely through the entire extruder, including the nozzle. I also ordered a few wire brushes to clean up the nozzle it self.

Got ya. That's very costly for a kit with tools when you can make the same thing yourself... I know the nozzle, providing are the same size is 6mm/ 1/4". I need to get a cleaning kit myself.