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Filament run out detection

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by AlienBeans, Jul 11, 2017.

  1. AlienBeans

    AlienBeans Active Member

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    I have a mostly full spool of filament loaded and keep getting a Filament run out detection error. The first time it happened, I went through the procedure of removing and reinserting the filament and it turns out there was a stray piece from a different spool in the feeder to the hotend. I also thought it might have been triggered by the normal snag that happens in the spools because they are wound so tightly. However, today, I changed colors and started a print job and it worked fine for about 2 hours then gave me the Filament run out detection error again. I waited a while and restarted the job and it didn't even finish the raft print before the error came back. This is really getting frustrating for me. Has anybody else had this problem? If so, what did you do to solve it? Thanks.
     
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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  3. OutsourcedGuru

    OutsourcedGuru Active Member

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    From what I understand, some of the paired-filament-sensors were installed backwards. It might be worth running the filament through the opposite hole just to see.
     
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  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    I agree. I expected both sides to be active and was surprised when we added the 2nd extruder to realize that it was empty on one side.
     
  5. OutsourcedGuru

    OutsourcedGuru Active Member

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    They saved themselves the cost of an LED, photoresistor and another pair of wires doing that. ;)
     
  6. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Which (in quantity) is chump change.
     
  7. AlienBeans

    AlienBeans Active Member

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  8. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Disabling the runout sensor will prevent the runout from stopping a print. You lose the functionality

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
     
  9. AlienBeans

    AlienBeans Active Member

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    update again: I decided to go into the web interface and disable the filament run out detection and so far the previous print that stopped is printing beautifully. No idea why that sensor would randomly activate on a full spool but it does (at least for me)
     
    #9 AlienBeans, Jul 15, 2017
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2017
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  10. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    Faulty sensor, request a replacement machine or if your up for the repair parts to fix it. Glad to hear your running !
     
  11. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    That is one part that would be fairly easy to replace
     
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  12. wthierry

    wthierry Active Member

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    I just started my first test print. I ended up with the message again, ran the wizard, and it keeps popping up. Where is the filament sensor on this thing? Also, someone mentioned use the other hole, is it the hole on the back of the printer where the filament tube plugs in?
     
  13. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Yes, it is the small black "box". However using the other hole will not help at all. Then the run-out sensor will ALWAYS not see filament.

    They allowed for two filament feeds in that box, but only one run-out sensor that I can see.

    Just disable the run-out and pursue a replacement (part or printer) with Robo.
     
  14. wthierry

    wthierry Active Member

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    Is it worth taking it off and looking inside to check it our? Is it an easily replacable part? I have lots of replacment printer parts :)
     
  15. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Sure, not a huge hassle to disassemble that bit*.
    If I recall correctly it is an IR sensor. Fairly standard bit to order from Mouser or Jameco if you can get the part # off of it.

    I can look in a few minutes and see if I can read it.


    Had it apart once when we added the second extruder the C2 since I (incorrectly) assume there was a second sensor in there...


    *EDIT: I lied. I forgot that the screws which hold that on are coming from inside the case. IT IS a bit of a hassle to remove that thing. Not impossible, just more effort.
     
  16. wthierry

    wthierry Active Member

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    Well, I sent an email to support, will probably just disable it for now as suggested, and then take it apart when they send me a new sensor.
     
  17. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Here are the two photos.
    C2Filament1.jpg

    C2Filament2.jpg
     
  18. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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  19. wthierry

    wthierry Active Member

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  20. OutsourcedGuru

    OutsourcedGuru Active Member

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    Alright, I have now inserted my filament into the opposite hole of the filament run-out sensor and it ran an entire job without complaining about it. I didn't mimic a run-out but the job didn't stop with a complaint of no filament, which I half-expected.

    So... if my filament sensor is installed backwards, then why did both attempts succeed? Wouldn't one of the versions have resulted in a run-out indication?

    From a troubleshooting standpoint, this feels like running the filament to bypass the sensor completely. Doesn't that mean that the sensor is lying? If the circuit is open when there's filament, for example, and the sensor isn't even connected to the board, that might explain this one.
     

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