Constant jamming problems

[DanB]

Hi guys,

I know this issue has been covered far and wide on different forums but I am having a hell of a time just getting my i3v to extrude on pronterface, let alone actually make something! With a pair of pliers I can feed the filament and it extrudes fine. I have to apply a decent amount of pressure but it comes out ok. It doesn't act like the tip is clogged. But- when I screw the two bolts so the bearing presses the filament against the hobbed bolt and try say 10 mm @ 40 mm/min I don't get jack. I usually do the first time but repeated attempts fail. The hobbed bolt either grinds into the filament or it just kind of spins (slightly grinding), regardless of how many times I try to adjust the tension. It's well over 100 + tries. I'm printing with abs and I've tried temperatures ranges from 210c - 230c moving up a few degrees each try. With that range of temperatures you'd think I'd find a sweet spot if it were heat creep? The large and small gear seem to be working fine and I've checked the voltage of the extruder motor which is set at .39v. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Drone]

Make sure the long bolts with springs are tight enough. Easy enough to check, just extrude from Pronterface and squeeze to move the guilder closer/tighter to the main extruder block. If it feeds tighten up the bolts. Also make sure the guilder bearing moves freely without and filament loaded in but with the springs and bolts on so it's in position. I'm assuming the extruder motor moves the gear when commanded from Pronterface. Also, I find 210 is too low for my i3v. My ABS range is 225 to 240. I've never tested at what temp ABS starts to extrude from my printer, but the 225 to 240c spec works best for my prints.

[printbus]

A number of issues that can lead to extrusion problems are discussed in the Prusa i3v help thread up a level in the reprap forum.

[dacb]

What is your filament quality? Lower quality filament can be incorrectly sized and cause this problem.

[gmay3]

+1 to Drone's suggestion.

Just extrude 50-100mm and slow that feed rate down in pronterface to half of the default or more while you manually squeeze the guidler bearing in. If it extrudes too fast you could be getting chewing that your wouldn't normally experience during a print. Once you get a feel for how much tension is needed, start with the bolts loose and it extrude smaller test lengths and tighten the screws down 1 or 2 turns per small test length until you get a good extrusion.

Make sure the long bolts with springs are tight enough. Easy enough to check, just extrude from Pronterface and squeeze to move the guilder closer/tighter to the main extruder block. If it feeds tighten up the bolts. Also make sure the guilder bearing moves freely without and filament loaded in but with the springs and bolts on so it's in position. I'm assuming the extruder motor moves the gear when commanded from Pronterface. Also, I find 210 is too low for my i3v. My ABS range is 225 to 240. I've never tested at what temp ABS starts to extrude from my printer, but the 225 to 240c spec works best for my prints.