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Solved PLA Filament stuck, not extruding

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by KellywithaY, May 4, 2017.

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  1. KellywithaY

    KellywithaY New Member

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    All I wanted to do was print a Yoda head using translucent green PLA. I mean, May the Fourth, ya'll.

    Filament: MakerGeek Crystal Series PLA 1.75 in Translucent Green
    Printer: Robo 3D R1+ (I've had it since Oct. 2016 and use it weekly for work)
    Nozzle Temp: 210º then 220º

    I preheated the nozzle to 210º per usual. I removed the previous filament and extruded the remaining PLA by turning the gear wheel. I loaded the new filament, turned the wheel to advance it through annnnnnd nothing. Through MatterControl, I tried to extrude, then retract it, and now it's stuck. The gears turn but the PLA doesn't move.

    I've attached some pictures to show what is going on. I don't normally print with the top off but I couldn't see with it attached. Besides, ripping it off felt good.

    Side note: is there a magic trick to loading the filament? I've never been able to load it correctly on the 1st, 2nd or 10th try. I load it has directed, but it doesn't extrude. When I take it out (unlike this time, it normally does come out), it's been chewed up by a gear inside.

    Thanks in advance for your help!
    Kelly

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  2. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    HI @KellywithaY . Almost sounds like a jammed nozzle. That hobbled bolt is quite full of ground up pla. I'd start with getting that cleaned.

    There is no magic trick but I did find it easier to remove those 2 spring loaded screws when loading and unloading, just be careful or the springs will go flying across the room.
     
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  3. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Me too and you can't miss getting it fed down into the top of the hotend that way.
     
  4. KellywithaY

    KellywithaY New Member

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    That tip (removing the springs) is ingenious.
    When I made this post this morning, I was afraid I may have gone a little too far taking the cover off. Now, five hours later, I'm like, "UNSCREW ALL THE SCREWS!"
    I discovered a broken piece of PLA inside the tube that feeds to the hot end extruder. Now both the left over PLA and the green PLA is stuck in the tube. I have a tube of "tube lube" that came with the printer. I've tried to "stuff" it down in hopes of making the PLA slick or something.
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  5. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Out new forum motto...
     
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  6. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Worst case you can drill that out.
    That portion of the feed is not critical on size and if you are concerned about over-sizing it simply add a section of 2mm OD PTFE tube that goes from the hobbed bolt down in there to the top of the hotend. This is the SAME modification you need for flexible filament so if you are ever going down that road -- go ahead and do the mod.
     
  7. KellywithaY

    KellywithaY New Member

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    Good to know! I have been eyeing the flexible filament so I'll keep that in mind.

    After I posted that follow-up, I took one of the screws I had unscrewed and manually screwed it into one end. Once it was nice and stuck, I yanked it back out with needle nose pliers with much success! I got all the clogged up filament out.

    However, there was still a small part lodged in the hot end. I connected the wires back and went through MC to heat the hot end. Unfortunately, I managed to yank out one of the wires to the hot end.

    I am a lot of things, but one of those things is not electrician. How do I reconnect this wire?

    I am also looking this up on YouTube but figured I'd ask here as well.

    [​IMG]



    Thanks again for your help!

    Kp
     
  8. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    That is the thermistor.
    As long as it still looks like a loop of wire it is fine and it goes back into that metal (brass) sleeve. You can perhaps use some high-temp RTV to help hold it in place.

    You can sanity check it is good by running the software and powering on the printer and see what the hotend temperature shows. As long as it is room temp it is fine...
     
  9. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    If it is broken... well, you need to call Robo for a replacement if you want an exact match.
    I have looked through a lot of Chinese thermistors and can't say any of them are a perfect match.
    Some are functional, but not the best quality.
     
  10. KellywithaY

    KellywithaY New Member

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    So I got the Permatex Red RTV at Walmart and put it together. How did I do? I put it in the hold then place the "thing" in the hold and then put more stuff to hold it in (because more is more).

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  11. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Should be fine. 600f is like 315c :) YOu are not going to need to get that high
     
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  12. KellywithaY

    KellywithaY New Member

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    One more question for today: is there a diagram that shows how to put all of this back together? I'm 85% sure I know where everything goes, but I'd like a blueprint or schematic to back me up. I've searched the forums and found some posts on wiring but I'm more concerned with the hardware.

    Thanks!
     
  13. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Nope.
    However ask and we can help with any questions.
     
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  14. KellywithaY

    KellywithaY New Member

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    So, I put EVERYTHING back together (except the cover) and had zero left over parts. Go. Me.

    At first I noticed white smoke as I extruded a piece of filament. Then I heard crackling like fire. I didn't see any flames so figured that might be some of the RTV burning off or something.

    Other than that, everything else works great! Thanks again for your help!!

    Kelly
     
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