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Brand new unit, cannot feed filament

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by upstartengineering, Mar 14, 2014.

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  1. upstartengineering

    upstartengineering New Member

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    I just got to the part of feeding the filament into a brand new unit.

    The nozzle tip is hot, and melts the PLA if you touch it to the tip... but it will not feed through the hole in the top of the print head. It goes down and stops solidly. Even after 5 minutes, the tip of the filament is not even warm.

    Did someone forget to drill a hole through the nozzle or something? The filament is clearly not reaching the hot tip.
     
    #1 upstartengineering, Mar 14, 2014
  2. upstartengineering

    upstartengineering New Member

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    Yes, I trimmed the end, and tried to feed it from all different angles.

    It seriously shouldn't be this hard to feed.
     
    #2 upstartengineering, Mar 14, 2014
  3. tesseract

    tesseract Moderator
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    There are stopping points in the path where filament can get caught on and I think that is where you are
    You can very easily check this quickly by seeing how far you can manually push the filament down then removing it and the see if it actually is going down far enough to reach the nozzle I think you will it coming up a bit short indicating the filament is indeed getting caught on one of the stopping point. These are usually area where the material changes or a constriction starts.
     
    #3 tesseract, Mar 15, 2014
  4. upstartengineering

    upstartengineering New Member

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    That doesn't really tell me how to resolve it.

    The filament goes in exactly 1.040, which is nearly 2" away from the nozzle tip. So clearly it is hung up.
     
    #4 upstartengineering, Mar 15, 2014
  5. warlocke

    warlocke Active Member

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    Sounds like you are catching on the grub bolt inside the tube. Or it could be possible something got in there and is blocking it.

    If you can't get it to go past the grub bolt then I suggest shining a light down/up the extruder to see if you can see any clogs.
    The light should shine through otherwise.
     
    #5 warlocke, Mar 15, 2014
  6. arrg

    arrg New Member

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    I had a similar problem with my machine. I took the first few inches of filament and straightened the curl out of it with my fingers (crude but effective). As tesseract said there are several places in the path where it can catch. Straight filament goes through much easier.
    Good luck
     
    #6 arrg, Mar 15, 2014
  7. tesseract

    tesseract Moderator
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    Wow my second post disappeared I had said that i was giving you reasons as to what could be happening. There are multiple ways to see what is going on.

    1. Use a thin wire instead to make sure it is clear before going on
    2. Warlocke has a great idea with the light
    3. Taper the filament to a point
    4. Try wiggling it abit as you push it down to get it to skip over anything it catches on
    5. Take it all apart and see if the inside parts are cracked or bent
    Etc.

    Sometimes you have to be creative in what you do to get results.
     
    #7 tesseract, Mar 15, 2014
  8. upstartengineering

    upstartengineering New Member

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    You think I didn't try to cut, wiggle, and otherwise cojole the filament through for several hours?

    No I cannot see light through it.

    This is completely unacceptable that a brand new unit cannot do something so basic as accept its own filament. I will be returning this unit. Taking apart a brand new unit it totally unreasonable... I can't see how this isn't either a manufacturing defect, or huge design flaw.
     
    #8 upstartengineering, Mar 16, 2014
  9. warlocke

    warlocke Active Member

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    Well, it can certainly be frustrating to run into issues out of the box and some have had compounding issues.
    People on the forum do their best to help as much as they can but a certain level of troubleshooting capability and willingness is needed for that.

    At this point your best bet is to contact the Robo Support guys and work with them.
    They should be able to either get you up and running or help with a return if that is the route you decide to take.
     
    #9 warlocke, Mar 16, 2014
  10. upstartengineering

    upstartengineering New Member

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    I guess that reads harsher than i meant it, but it has been frustrating. I do appreciate the help here, though I don't want to open it up and get into a he said, she said over when and who broke it by opening it up while under warantee.
     
    #10 upstartengineering, Mar 16, 2014
  11. tesseract

    tesseract Moderator
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    I am sorry for your issue but sorry more for the attitude I seemed to bring out.
    The people here on the forums try to help others and I for one have helped a great many people and have never gotten a response like this before.
    Your printer is not in front of anyone except you.
    We do not know what you have tried or what you have not.
    People have been stumped by not turning the printer on because the saw an LED on the board was lit no knowing it was the USB power giving it the power and not the main one they turned it on things worked

    I am sorry you are having issues but if you do decide to keep it and get it working with robo s help and run into additional issues, which is likely, I would highly reccommend taking a bit less aggressive tone with those willing to try and help or else you will most likely find fewer people to help you
     
    #11 tesseract, Mar 16, 2014
    2 people like this.
  12. AxisLab

    AxisLab Well-Known Member

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    There is an initial catch right at the beginning that is normal anytime I do a filament change. the final hole is so exact that sometimes it does take a bit to find the sweet spot and push through. Once you find the hole it slides down perfectly over an inch. just like you are describing. It is normal. Just to be clear what filament are you using? 3mm or 1.75?
     
    #12 AxisLab, Mar 16, 2014
  13. Peter Krska

    Peter Krska Active Member

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    Make sure your temp is set to 190 to 220 and the feed the filament. Confirm the temp in your software, the push the filament thru and see if anything comes out. There is a ledge or something when feeding the filament through. Feel your way past it and the filament will drop down further and now will feed through. Try that.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    #13 Peter Krska, Apr 3, 2014
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