Extruding Problem

[Kelador]

Hi All

I am a noob so bare with me.

I have been happy so far with the QIDI TECH 1 until i started printing with the filament supplied with the printer. My first print came off OK with some minor irregularities which i thought, as i am new and still getting the hang of it I put it down to user error, the second print i did with the filament supplied the job finished 33% the way through and with the nozzle stopped what looked mid print. nozzle was still to set temp as was the bed.

After i reset to zero position no filament came out so i tried to remove/change filament as per printer instructions which i found to be quite tough. Upon finally removing the filament i noticed the filament had jammed as it was a lot thicker and would not even go in to the feeder.


I then decided to change the filament to ABS to help clear the blockage and to do some prints that required it. I am now on my 5th print on ABS 3 where perfect but the last 2 failed stopping at 40% and the 65% through jobs as before with temperatures still set.


I have now unloaded the ABS and noticed teeth marks from the gears on the filament. I reloaded it back in to the print head as instructed and as it fed it through i could hear what sounds like a gear or motor slipping.


I have tried a print but the filament is being extruded inconsistently which coincides with the clicking noise, i have tried a number of prints and ones that where perfect previously and all are now being extruded incorrectly in time with the clicking.


Does anyone have any suggestions.

As I said i am a bit wet behind the ears with this so any help is much appreciated.

[cncartist]

Welcome!

To start, we will want to know what filament you are using (make I'm assuming QIDI, but what color?) and what temperature you are extruding at.

I would recommend removing the nozzle from the extruder and cleaning it out if possible, it definitely sounds like there was some buildup. Might be an issue if you don't have a spare nozzle + PTFE tube to use, the nozzles PTFE tube had clogged/solidified on me one time and I fixed it easily by replacing the nozzle + tube.

Another thing to try is bumping up the temperature by 5 degrees C or less in increments to see if it's a temperature issue - the reading could be off for your sensor and there may also be a sensor problem which I haven't troubleshot on this machine. I wouldn't recommend going over 250c for ABS during testing.

[Talon 3D]

Have you bought any of the PTFE tubing you see on Amazon and sites like that to use for replacements?
I have been looking at them I have not decided yet. The prices are great compared to buying them pre-cut.

Welcome!

To start, we will want to know what filament you are using (make I'm assuming QIDI, but what color?) and what temperature you are extruding at.

I would recommend removing the nozzle from the extruder and cleaning it out if possible, it definitely sounds like there was some buildup. Might be an issue if you don't have a spare nozzle + PTFE tube to use, the nozzles PTFE tube had clogged/solidified on me one time and I fixed it easily by replacing the nozzle + tube.

Another thing to try is bumping up the temperature by 5 degrees C or less in increments to see if it's a temperature issue - the reading could be off for your sensor and there may also be a sensor problem which I haven't troubleshot on this machine. I wouldn't recommend going over 250c for ABS during testing.

[cncartist]

Have you bought any of the PTFE tubing you see on Amazon and sites like that to use for replacements?
I have been looking at them I have not decided yet. The prices are great compared to buying them pre-cut.

Yes, I did purchase 6 feet but unfortunately it seemed to be ~0.1mm oversized. It was so slight that I could jam it into the feed tube and I wasn't fond of that technique. I put the cut pieces aside for now and will post process them in the near future (rainy day project).

I didn't want to mess around with yanking a seized PTFE tube out with pliers and chose to pickup the ~$20 QIDI 4 nozzle + 4 ptfe tube kit on ebay. Three of the nozzles and tubes have been utilized in the past 1200 hours of printing and I was fortunate to have my first nozzle last to over 1000 hours.

[Kelador]

Cheers for the help

Right it was QIDI in luminous orange. The first print i did was at 200 deg bed 60, it had a random under extrusion 65% the way through but printed rest perfect. I did the same settings for the second print but stopped 30% through nozzle still on item and the filament had jammed as was too thick.

I then switched to Black ABS (4 3D brand) and did 3 perfect prints at 240 deg 110 bed then same settings on the 4th stopped again 40% ish i put it down to model/support error re loaded it went again with modification but it stopped again at about 65%.

I am now at a position after trying the suggested 5 degree increments to try cleaning it but now its just clicking and wont take the filament at all.

Also i do not at present have any spares

Welcome!

To start, we will want to know what filament you are using (make I'm assuming QIDI, but what color?) and what temperature you are extruding at.

I would recommend removing the nozzle from the extruder and cleaning it out if possible, it definitely sounds like there was some buildup. Might be an issue if you don't have a spare nozzle + PTFE tube to use, the nozzles PTFE tube had clogged/solidified on me one time and I fixed it easily by replacing the nozzle + tube.

Another thing to try is bumping up the temperature by 5 degrees C or less in increments to see if it's a temperature issue - the reading could be off for your sensor and there may also be a sensor problem which I haven't troubleshot on this machine. I wouldn't recommend going over 250c for ABS during testing.

[JensC]

I'm risking appearing insulting but I have had a devil of a time with the QIDI filament, both ABS and PLA, tangling on the spool during use. I've lost a number of lengthy prints when this happens. All kinds of rage does that engender. So... have you ever peeked over the back when this happens to check the condition of the spool feed. I've had mine also on occasion spring off the spool and wind around the spool post. That grinds everything to a halt QUICKLY. The QIDI filament is very poorly wound on the spools. You've probably already checked this and it also wouldn't explain why the jobs stop at the exact point each time but... I'm just sayin'. I've never had this occur with the Hatchbox filament that I also use. I don't plan on ordering QIDI filament when what I have now is gone.

[Talon 3D]

I have not had the issue with the QIDI filament but I've had it happen on a different one.
I only used the supplied filament a couple times so I might not have gotten far enough to get that issue.

I'm risking appearing insulting but I have had a devil of a time with the QIDI filament, both ABS and PLA, tangling on the spool during use. I've lost a number of lengthy prints when this happens. All kinds of rage does that engender. So... have you ever peeked over the back when this happens to check the condition of the spool feed. I've had mine also on occasion spring off the spool and wind around the spool post. That grinds everything to a halt QUICKLY. The QIDI filament is very poorly wound on the spools. You've probably already checked this and it also wouldn't explain why the jobs stop at the exact point each time but... I'm just sayin'. I've never had this occur with the Hatchbox filament that I also use. I don't plan on ordering QIDI filament when what I have now is gone.

[Alibert]

Most likely a clogged nozzle. I never bother with cleaning nozzles, I just throw them away and use a new one as I buy them wholesale from Aliexpress at dirt cheap prices. No rocket science there, just a piece of machined brass or steel.

Another more difficult problem can be the thermistor which is used to measure and regulate the hot end temperature. I serviced a printer once which also had these weird problems. It turned out that the thermistor leads were making contact at certain movements of the extruder head. This results in a short which appears as the maximum temperature to the motherboard (300 C in this case). The motherboard then stops heating the hotend in order to cool of. However, as the hotend was the correct 230 C at that point, it cooled down and the plastic solidified in the nozzle. After tweaking things around, the short would disappear and the printer would work normally again, until the next times the leads shorted again, etc.

I finally found that one by monitoring the temperature in the control software, and jiggling the lead of the thermistor around. I could then see the temperature 'jumping up' to 300C at certain movements. Replaced the leads and problem solved.

[Kelador]

Cheers guys

So far i have found the following:-

A nozzle clog
A tube clog
AND a gear clog ( fillament jammed in the motor cog)

I have cleared all these but am still getting the pulsing.

I have tried the filaments i have i know are good in both extruders but this left one still a no go.

Does anyone know if one of the screws behind the heat sink is a tensioner

[Kelador]

I will try the thermistor thing and try and get some new nozzles.

Qidi have advised to replace the motor line which i thought was pointless???

Most likely a clogged nozzle. I never bother with cleaning nozzles, I just throw them away and use a new one as I buy them wholesale from Aliexpress at dirt cheap prices. No rocket science there, just a piece of machined brass or steel.

Another more difficult problem can be the thermistor which is used to measure and regulate the hot end temperature. I serviced a printer once which also had these weird problems. It turned out that the thermistor leads were making contact at certain movements of the extruder head. This results in a short which appears as the maximum temperature to the motherboard (300 C in this case). The motherboard then stops heating the hotend in order to cool of. However, as the hotend was the correct 230 C at that point, it cooled down and the plastic solidified in the nozzle. After tweaking things around, the short would disappear and the printer would work normally again, until the next times the leads shorted again, etc.

I finally found that one by monitoring the temperature in the control software, and jiggling the lead of the thermistor around. I could then see the temperature 'jumping up' to 300C at certain movements. Replaced the leads and problem solved.