Stops extruding 3-4 hours in, every time.

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weidbrewer
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Joined: June 24th, 2022, 9:07 am
3D Printer(s): Ender 3 v2, Anycubic Photon Mono

Stops extruding 3-4 hours in, every time.

Post by weidbrewer »

Hey, everyone - first post here. I'm desperate. I've posted this question a few other places, and I seem to be stumping the whole internet. I am at an absolute loss here. I've been troubleshooting this with help from others for a few weeks now. My Ender 3 v2 stops extruding, reliably, three to four hours in every time and then just chews through the filament. Strap in, because I have a LONG list of things that I have done with no change in the end result.
  • It is definitely time-based, not Z-height. If I print something tall and thin or short and broad, it still fails at the same time, but vastly different heights
  • Leveled the bed.
  • Cura slicer - I've tried newly sliced files and old ones that have previously printed successfully.
  • I've replaced the nozzle at least three times during my troubleshooting, because they're cheap and why not?
  • Have also replaced: Bowden tube, Bowden tube coupler at the top of the heat sink, the throat, the block, the heat element and the thermoresistor
  • Fans still working.
  • Extruder is the upgraded all metal one, so it's not the classic broken plastic arm
  • Have disassembled and cleaned the extruder
  • Leveled the bed.
  • Have verified the gear and wheel are lined up
  • Have both loosened and tightened the tension arm.
  • Recalibrated the e-steps (twice now, just to be sure)
  • Printed faster and slower
  • Printed hotter and cooler
  • Fed the reel both clockwise and counterclockwise
  • Checked the spinal arm for worn-in grooves
  • Made sure the nozzle was tightened after fully heated.
  • Likewise seated the (freshly clean-cut) tube while hot (and while cold, for the heck of it.) Tube is Capricorn.
  • Leveled the bed.
  • Tried open filament, filament stored in a Ziploc with dry pack and a brand new spool. Different brands for each.
  • Nozzle is still hot after the failure. I don't have an infrared thermometer to verify the temp, but if I pull the filament, clip the end and feed it back in, it will feed again.
  • Leveled the bed.
I *think* that covers everything I've tried, but I may have forgotten something. At any rate, nothing has changed. 3-4 hours in, nothing comes out of the nozzle and the gear chews through the filament. At least twice, I've come in the room when it was working fine and five minutes later I've returned and it's chewed through.

Can anyone help? I'd really appreciate it.
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LePaul
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Re: Stops extruding 3-4 hours in, every time.

Post by LePaul »

There's a lot of Ender groups on Facebook, so if you haven't tried those, do check there.

If you are failing the same time duration, I would begin to wonder if your electronics are overheating. Are the heat sinks on the stepper drivers? Is the electronics bay getting airflow?

You mentioned "chewing filament" which also makes me wonder about the condition of the brass gear moving the filament through. Is it worn Can you see a groove from wearing down? I think you covered this when you called it a spinal arm, but just checking.

Is there a failure listed on the screen? Or is the print still going but not extruding material?

Again, the fact you fail consistently after X minutes/hours makes me really want to see if something on board is overheating or failing

A filament dryer would be a good tool to have, since you have to actively heat the material to dry it. A ZipLoc bag and desiccant just maintains the humidity level in the bag, That won't remove any moisture from material. Its like putting desiccant on a wet towel...it won't do any drying what so ever.

Anyways, that's all I can postulate at the moment
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