Extruder jam

We'll, I think I screwed this up. So I have some PLA filament stuck in the extruder. Basically it snapped off in there and there doesn't seem to be any way to get it out. It also seems like the extruder basically melted down. Any ideas how to ream this thing out? I've tried heating it up to 230C but it's still jammed, hence my theory that it melted internally. It also has what looks like some bizarre heat damage on the bracket you open to load filament.

So I have a E3D direct feed extruder coming in, which I intend to just use as an upgrade anyway. Unfortunately, it looks like I will have to print a fan mount before I can use it. This obviously presents a chicken and egg problem.

If I were to print the bracket in PLA is the E3D extruder going to be damaged? What if I crank a fan up and blow it cross-table?

 

The fan bracket you need to print is for the existing stock fan.
In your case I would wait for the e3d, install it and direct some airflow whilst you print the fan bracket.

The stock extruded isn't worth the trouble to clear out as it will only do so ASAP.


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OP> Can you post some photos of the damage?

I got PLA stuck once (Ran out of filament and it was below the hobbed bolt, I could not extrude anymore). I heated to 210 C then inserted more filament to push the other filament out.

 

It basically looks like the entire head just got very, very hot. At this point, I figured it wouldn't matter either way since it isn't working and I'm going to replace it, so I did try to use directed flow from a heat gun on low to try and dislodge whatever it is, so now the bracket is a little "shiny" so you couldn't easily see what I was originally talking about. I figured that's ABS, the filament is PLA... -- didn't work. The damage is cosmetic; I just originally mentioned it to illustrate how hot it got that far up. Either way, I don't care too terribly much about that.

I think what happened is that the filament snapped off, and wasn't feeding. At the same time, the nozzle somehow became clogged enough to slow down the extrusion just enough that the heat traveled up the PLA filament and melted the thing into a glob and it adhered to the side of the pipe. It seems like the simple solution is to go with the all metal E3D hot end, because like Rick said, regardless of what I do it's just going to jam again.

Of course, the other possibility is that this is just crap filament. The solution would be the same: Install the all metal hotend.

In the meantime, I have a new extruder from a Mendel that I could probably use. Probably more trouble than it's worth if I'm just going to replace it Monday anyway.

This is what happens when you're trying to blaze new trails at the leading edge of technology.

 

Well, I salvaged it. I'll post this here in case this happens to anybody else. I'm not suggesting that this is the best way to fix it, either.

I had to remove the cover of the Robo3D. This is accomplished by removing the four screws in the corners, visible from the outside of the unit and on the sides (not under). I then had to remove the extruder. The stock extruder is a device with concentric rings and held in place by two screws immediately under the moving bracket you use to load the filament. They have to be completely removed. You can then tell Repetier or whatever software you're using to raise to the top of the Z-axis.

At that point -- AND MAKE SURE THE EXTRUDER IS OFF AND COLD -- (no, I didn't burn myself) -- carefully unhook the wires going to the extruder. This is the white connector. Remove the extruder. Take care that the machine's main power is off too, or you can get a nice shock from the fan connectors.

Look in the extruder and using something like needle-nosed "eyebrow" tweezers remove any remaining filament. If you can't get it all, that should be okay as it should melt once we're all fixed.

Now, carefully remove the carriage and lay it down. Look down the loading hole for filament. This is probably the first thing you did to start with. Then flip it over, and look for any filament jammed in the hole. Remove it with the tweezers. Do NOT try to melt it out. It won't work, and you'll deform the carriage

Take a 2/16 drill bit or a straightened paperclip and ream out the hole. Then try to feed some filament through it. If you can, you're done. Put it all back together.

And while you're doing this, take care not to crack your plate or something.

It turns out what happened to me was that the filament had broken off deep in the hole. I then fed more filament down. Of course, it's supposed to push the filament down through the extruder. Apparently the heat had traveled up the filament -- which may have something to do with me setting the extruder to 230C trying to clear it out -- and deformed a piece of PLA. When I fed in the new filament, it smooshed right into the wall, and I wound up with two filaments in the hole. Of course, two can't go into the extruder, so it just jammed. It was so bad that I actually had to pull out the power drill and drill part of it out before it finally got to the point that I could extract it.

The extruder is working again. I'm printing some parts because after this experience I figure it is a good idea. I tested by making a filament guide (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:255541/#files) because it's small. It's coming out pretty close to perfect. It's on layer 44 of 106 now. It does look like Slic3r screwed up and filled the hole, though, so I'll have to change those settings and do it again. And as I write this, it falls off the plate. ;_)


Next time something like this happens I'll try to remember to take some pictures.