As I’m sure some of you remember, this is my (very) cheap 3D printer. Over the last several weeks I’ve been getting this thing dialed in pretty well but I’m still having one last issue. As I’m printing, the extruder will sometimes still make that low frequency popping noise and in doing so it stopped pushing out filament for that brief second. The problem persists when it continues to do it for an extended period of time and it really screws up my prints. I’ve tried all the methods that people have suggested and that I’ve read online but I’m still having issues with it. I’m starting to think that maybe it’s time to replace the hot end of my printer. I’ve tried every temp between 180 and 230 and it’s still doing it. It will even sometimes do it if I manually extrude the filament. Do you guys think that replacing the parts is the best thing to do or am I just missing something? It just seems like it keeps getting clogged/jammed no matter what I do. Also, what’s a decent compatible extruder? I don’t really want to spend more than like $20-$30 if possible.
Have you tried something like this? It helped me for a bit.
Try another print and watch the drive gear. Is it slipping on the shaft or skipping steps? If you end up wanting to replace either the hotend or extruder I think most people will agree with me that E3D’s line (V6 or V6 lite for the hotend, Titan for the extruder, or Aero for the combo) is well worth the cost at about $115 for both extruder and hotend (nearly the same price for a V6 and Titan vs just an Aero) or $50 for either hotend or extruder. Extruders and hotends are usually around that price but you can find a cheap chinese clone for much less but the quality will be hit or miss.
@Rob_Sherman_Soulfibe I have heard of doing this but I really don’t think it’s my issue. I just got a brand new roll of filament and it’s still doing it. This was was double air tight sealed and as clean as can be. I feel like the hot end is my issue. If I have the motor off and just manually move the filament around it feels like it goes in and out great. Also, when it’s popping like that, pressing the filament in by hand doesn’t help so I don’t think it’s the extruder itself. It’s just like once the filament goes I to be heated, it just gets jammed up in there. I have a feeling that it might be the little plastic tube that’s inside of the hot end. Maybe it’s too long or something. Maybe I should shorten it. Now that I think about it, the plastic doesn’t actually contact the metal very much before it’s pushed out if the extruder. I bet if I shortened the plastic tube it would allow more plastic to be melted and might help it. But worst case scenario is that I break it and in that case I’m about ready to buy a new one anyway.
@Adam_Steinmark I’ll take off the heatsink and watch the gear to see what it does. I’m pretty sure the motor itself is just is pushing and is just popping back and forth because it can’t push the plastic out.
Switch to a E3d v6 hot end, I have a lot less problems after I did that.
@micah_Jacobs I will look that up. Thanks for the tip.
@micah_Jacobs I had lots of trouble with a fake J-head that came with my first 3D printer and that’s how I fixed my problems with air-printing etc. Couldn’t agree more.
it sounds like nozzle jamming to me like the others have said.If you have a spare nozzle around I would try that first, then upgrade to E3D V6.
I’ve had so many issues with jams on the e3d v6 and pla. If you do switch I recommend using Teflon throats. One thing I learned from the v6 that might help you, is to watch your retractions. Too high, and you pull soft material up and you get jams or under extrusions.
The other thing to add, is the oiler is not just to clean, but the oil will decrease friction of any metal, be it throat or nozzle and reduce wear.
@Dan_Collins Teflon and oil. Got it. I really doubt my current one has any Teflon.
How hard is it to print many quantities of say chess piece like 1000 piece
@Kevin_Danger_Powers just search for PTFE Throat on amazon. If your printing below 220, these should really help out. Good luck.
Yeah I’d agree with the rest and blame your hotend. Fully recommend a V6.
@Adam_Steinmark sounds pretty unanimous. I’ll be ordering one here soon then.