Solved Phantom Printing (Possible clog?)

I received my ROBO3D R1 on Tuesday, and have been happily tinkering since.

I think I finally have the offset dialed in so my first layer is laying down great, I have an army of aquanet to keep my PLA stuck to the bed, and things are looking up.

So I decided to start my first large print before I headed off to bed, and found the filament broken off (but not fed through), a glob of molten and burnt PLA at the end of the extruder (now brown) and the printer assuming it's still finishing up the print (printing mid-air).

I couldn't get the filament out by reversing or pulling it out. I didn't use too much force as I didn't want to damage it. The hotend was still at temp when I attempted.

I think there might be a clog, as I don't think I'm getting enough PLA out on prints, leaving holes as shown in the first picture.

My questions: Does it look like I have a clog? Is it fixable or do I need some parts? Do I just upgrade to the E3d print head now?

What else am I missing? Thanks in advance.

 

Is your hot end fan running? Have you seasoned your nozzle?

You shouldn't have any need to upgrade to the E3D.

Try pushing the filament in a little before pulling it out. Remove the spring/screw tensioners to get more access to the filament.

 

I believe the hot end fan is running, I haven't seasoned my nozzle.

I'm concerned because there was a molten bit of PLA at the end of the nozzle and if the filament broke off at the top, it still should have continued feeding through and wouldn't be stuck. I didn't troubleshoot much on my way out the door, but my inclination is it's jammed.

I'll heat it up when I get home and remove it, and see if I can get something through it. I'll double check the fan, I'll season it and report back.

Thanks!

 

I seasoned the nozzle and was able to print, the fan is on and working. Something still isn't right with the extruder though. Going to continue playing. Thanks for the help!