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Keeps clogging, filament pulls out faster than stepper motor pushes

Posted: July 23rd, 2017, 11:02 pm
by TheOrvinator
Hey guys,
My Hictop 3DP12 i3 Prusa was working great for several months, and I've enjoyed it. Just for a week now, it continues to jam after 10-30 minutes into a print. The nozzle will clog, nothing will come out, and the machine will go on without pushing any filament out. I've looked through many forums and tried all their suggestions, but none have worked so far. I have replaced the jet fan, throat, and nozzle. I have re-leveled the bed and raised the auto-leveler to avoid the nozzle dragging. I have cleaned out the extruder gear. Still no help. If I pull the filament out after it jams, snip the end, then feed it back in, it will work well again for another 10-30 minutes before clogging again. The interesting thing is that the clogged end always looks the same, 2 normal diameter sections separated by a long thin section (see the attached picture) Could use some help ASAP as I have a delivery to make for this. Thanks in advance!

Matt

Re: Keeps clogging, filament pulls out faster than stepper motor pushes

Posted: July 24th, 2017, 7:08 am
by Roberts_Clif
There are several thing that can cause this, you have eliminated most of them.

First I would Ask if you switch between PLA and ABS this is the major cause of this happening.
Second if the throat the PTFE tubing becomes deformed, Clogging can occur.
Third is that the nozzle and the throat are not touching inside the heating block. Forming a chamber for the filament to pause.
Forth check your cool end fan, this must be working or filament gets stuck in the cool end, at the PTFE gets too hot.
Fifth is checking your thermistor is secure in the heating block. being loose cause the temperature to drop just enough to cause a clog.
sixth is your filament needs more heat than you are supplying. "Not too likely though"

Sometimes your your setting cause problems like retractions, on complicated prints too many retractions can cause a filament clog.
Lastly is that your filament is bad. Try a brand new roll of filament.

Tried to cover everything skip what does not apply.
If I have missed anything, someone will pick up what i missed.

Re: Keeps clogging, filament pulls out faster than stepper motor pushes

Posted: July 24th, 2017, 10:44 pm
by shocksofmighty
Roberts_Clif wrote: July 24th, 2017, 7:08 am
Second if the throat the PTFE tubing becomes deformed, Clogging can occur.
This is the main thing that has given me issues.

Re: Keeps clogging, filament pulls out faster than stepper motor pushes

Posted: July 24th, 2017, 10:54 pm
by GrueMaster
Another thing to do is get a set of tip cleaning drill bits. They really help if your tip is getting clogged and they're cheap ($7). I also recommend buying a bunch of extra tips, throats, and heat blocks. They're cheap (~$10 for a 5 pack of each).

Re: Keeps clogging, filament pulls out faster than stepper motor pushes

Posted: July 25th, 2017, 4:43 pm
by Izzy
Another good bit of kit is an electric adjustable heat hot air gun, I've used it a couple of time to help unclog micro nozzle of 0.1 and 0.15mm, a lot easier to use than a flame. You can precisely control the heat to soften and remove.

Re: Keeps clogging, filament pulls out faster than stepper motor pushes

Posted: August 7th, 2017, 10:56 pm
by Chaco
i had this experience when trying to print with carbon fiber filament
i found the carbon fiber was getting too soft on my heatbreak.... sounds like you may have heat creeping...
i now am using a 50mm radial blower as my fan for my heat break and its perfect now.

Re: Keeps clogging, filament pulls out faster than stepper motor pushes

Posted: August 17th, 2017, 7:37 pm
by Roberts_Clif
TheOrvinator wrote: July 23rd, 2017, 11:02 pm Hey guys,
My Hictop 3DP12 i3 Prusa was working great for several months, and I've enjoyed it. Just for a week now, it continues to jam after 10-30 minutes into a print. The nozzle will clog, nothing will come out, and the machine will go on without pushing any filament out. I've looked through many forums and tried all their suggestions, but none have worked so far. I have replaced the jet fan, throat, and nozzle.

Matt
Hello I have a solution that has been proven My me.

I took one of these heat sinks Cut it in Half between the Fins, making 2 half height Heat sinks.
Image3.jpg
Image3.jpg (9.31 KiB) Viewed 11357 times
As Shown.
Hot End Cooling.jpg
Remake of Hictop Part cooling Duct
Modified because extruder leaking filament, could not easyily be remove with full circle around Nozzle.
New Hictop extruder duct.stl
(196.96 KiB) Downloaded 429 times