# Specific 3D Printers, Scanners, & Hardware > RepRap Format Printer Forum > MakerFarm Forum >  Clogged nozzle

## usarmyaircav

Somehow I clogged the nozzle of my Hexagon 1.75mm.  What is the best way to get it cleaned out.  I had finally gotten my printer to work thanks to prinbus helping me with a pebkac issue.  I had 3/4 printed the test cube, and all of a sudden the printer was still moving but no filament was coming out.

Todd

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## AbuMaia

If you're using ABS, drop the Hexagon into some acetone. Or, for any plastic, heat up your Hexagon and feed a length of guitar string up through the nozzle to clear it out.

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## printbus

Have you already tried to remove the filament from the extruder, cut off the end and re-feed it? There's a lot of things that can cause the filament to stop extruding, with the nozzle not being clogged.  Examples -

Bulges in the filament that get caught at the top of the hot end (my *favorite*; dark filaments are prone to do this)Excessive spring pressure on the guidler causing deep cuts in the filament that causes it to catch on the hot end (I haven't seen this, but I've read about it and it makes sense, but I don't recall anyone proving spring pressure was a direct cause of extrusion problems)The filament spool not rotating freely enough (multiple people have seen this happen with the stock spool mount)Overzealous retraction leading to the hobbed bolt rotating back and forth over the same length of filament, carving away at itToo low of a nozzle temperature (leading to the hobbed bolt having to apply a lot of pressure to force the extrusion)Too fast of a print speed (hot end can't keep up with the flow volume)hobbed bolt teeth contaminated with filament shavings or other materialfilament shavings falling onto the top of the hot end where they migrate into the feed tube of the hot end, increasing resistance to filament movement (makes sense, but also unproven)combinations of the abovefilament actually only fed down to the top of the hot end, and not actually into the tube of the hot end (1.75mm filament in the 3mm-capable wades base is real prone to this)trying to use a soft or flexible filament in the wades extruder that has a large gap between hobbed bolt and top of the hot end

EDIT: I've probably had the extrusion stop over a hundred times, and only once or twice has it been due to an issue with the nozzle. Of course, I do pass the filament through a felt pad at the top of the extruder to wipe off the plethora of cat and dog fur in my work area. (see the white spot above the extruder in my avatar - that's the felt disk) That could be wiping off dust and who knows what else from the filament that could end up forming a clog.

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## usarmyaircav

Thanks, I am using ABS, I am on my way out so will pickup  some acetone.  I am sure I have old guitar strings too so will look for one of those.  Thank you!!!!

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## usarmyaircav

I took the hexagon all apart and can feel filament down to the nozzle, so took the tip off and can see there was filament coming out of the tip, like it broke off and got stuck.  When I tried to print again, it didn't do a thing, not even any ooze.

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## AbuMaia

> Bulges in the filament that get caught at the top of the hot end (my *favorite*; dark filaments are prone to do this)


I've had this happen at the tail end of a spool of MakerFarm clear ABS. It's got bulges about every meter or so. I don't know how many prints were ruined before I found them and tried sanding them down. Even still I miss some and ruin a print. Glad this spool is almost finished.

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## usarmyaircav

Here is what the nozzle looks like.

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## printbus

The picture's pretty blurry, and we don't know what color ABS you were printing. Perhaps someone will argue otherwise, but I wouldn't jump to conclusions by seeing the nozzle "plugged" after you've pulled the filament out of the extruder and then removed the nozzle.  I think finding filament remaining in the nozzle is pretty typical - it has been for me.  I still think that the only way you can really say it is clogged is if you've tried to re-feed the filament through at least one more time if not a couple of times. If it still doesn't work, then it's time to try pushing into the hot nozzle with fine wire or soaking the nozzle in acetone overnight if it was printing ABS.

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## Schnupp

Im also currently having the no extrusion issue however mine is probably due to the fact that ive been experimenting with a new hot end (Prometheus).  My filament looks like its being chewed up pretty good no matter the spring pressure.  Im going to play with the temperature and see if that makes a difference. Im currently at 230 for ABS 1.75 filament

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## printbus

> I've had this happen at the tail end of a spool of MakerFarm clear ABS. It's got bulges about every meter or so. I don't know how many prints were ruined before I found them and tried sanding them down. Even still I miss some and ruin a print. Glad this spool is almost finished.


It's interesting that you see that on clear, and on your E3Dv6 hot end no less. The argument I hear about is the bulges are the heavy amount of dye used on dark filaments coagulating on the outside of the extruder forming the filament, especially if they are made from remixing other filament scraps and enough dye has to be added to overcome the underlying colors.  So far I know I have had two spools with bulges (one TonerPlastics black PLA from MicroCenter and a new MakerFarm blue PLA) and one that I suspected before returning (TonerPlastics clear PLA).

I've been seriously considering moving to the E3D, in part because as I understand it, the E3D has a wider feed hole than the hex and is slightly more tolerant of the bulges.  

If you follow my build thread, you may have noticed that I've separated my filament spool from the printer.  A main reason why I did this is because I envision feeding the filament through a tipping plate mechanism that trips an alarm if a bulge won't pass through it. I figure that may give me some time to remove some of the bulge with a dremel tool or something if I'm in the area, and somehow terminate the print if I'm not.  

 I can't over-emphasize to new people that IMO, a truly clogged nozzle is probably the last reason why extrusion stops on you.  It's also the hardest reason to verify, so eliminate all the easy possibilities first.

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## usarmyaircav

I have makerfarm blue for abs filament.  I never thought about that having filament in the tip might be normal.  I will put it all back together tomorrow and go from there.

Colin said to be sure to season the hotend and that I should use the .9x version of slic3r, rather than cura, as cura can cause jams he says.

I really appreciate all the help here on this forum.

My fan shroud melted to the hotend and broke when I tried to remove it to tighten the nozzle while hot,  is clough42's improved hexagon cooling fan shroud system https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:335613 still the better way to go rather than re-printing the one the came with my printer ?

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## sniffle

> I have makerfarm blue for abs filament.  I never thought about that having filament in the tip might be normal.  I will put it all back together tomorrow and go from there.
> 
> Colin said to be sure to season the hotend and that I should use the .9x version of slic3r, rather than cura, as cura can cause jams he says.
> 
> I really appreciate all the help here on this forum.
> 
> My fan shroud melted to the hotend and broke when I tried to remove it to tighten the nozzle while hot,  is clough42's improved hexagon cooling fan shroud system https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:335613 still the better way to go rather than re-printing the one the came with my printer ?



Cloughs design is basically for perfectly placed airflow so that no air is being blown onto your parts causing warp.

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## printbus

> ...Colin said to be sure to season the hotend and that I should use the .9x version of slic3r, rather than cura, as cura can cause jams he says.
> 
> My fan shroud melted to the hotend and broke when I tried to remove it to tighten the nozzle while hot,  is clough42's improved hexagon cooling fan shroud system https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:335613 still the better way to go rather than re-printing the one the came with my printer ?


Seasoning with something like vegetable oil has it's followers, but I've never tried it and many don't agree with it.  

Colin starts losing credibility with the community here when he keeps saying you can't slice with anything other than Slic3r v0.9.9.  A number of us use Cura without issue, and many more have moved onto newer versions of Slic3r. I don't know that Colin has never told anyone what newer version of Slic3r he tried - my theory is it might have been a pre-release version that had some issues. I also know Slic3r has added settings with some of the newer versions; maybe he tried to use old configuration files with the new version and the missing settings in the configuration files led to issues.  

With Cura, the default retraction length is probably what causes extrusion problems for people. IIRC, Cura installs with a default retraction length of 4mm.  Note that Cura is put out by Ultimaker, who's printers use a Bowden extruder.  With a Bowden, you either get by without retraction or you have to use a large amount of retraction length in order to deal with the hysteresis of the filament in the Bowden tube.  For a direct drive extruder like Wades, 4mm is a LOT of filament to pull back out of the extruder.  4mm feed of 1.75mm filament is the same volume as what, about 100mm of extrusion from a 0.40mm nozzle and 0.2mm layer height?   This means that if you have more than one retraction within another 100mm of printed distance, the hobbed bolt is passing over the same section of filament again, but with the knife edges in a slightly different position on the filament than they were on the previous pass.  I've seen prints that can do multiple retractions within 100mm of printed extrusion.  Seems to me that this could easily lead to the hobbed bolt simply carving away at the filament.  When I was using Cura, I had ended up at 1.5mm for a retraction length and set the minimum distance between retractions to as large of a value as I thought I could get by with for each print.  

As you learned, the as-provided shroud for the hex hot end is sort of a laughable design. As a minimum, the flat part that sits above the hot end aluminum block needs to be cut away so the hot end won't melt it.  Flipping the fan around so fan air flows over the front of the print bed helps with the issue of fan airflow cooling off ABS prints. I've added wings to the back side to help ensure airflow passes through the heatsink fins, not just around them.  And I don't like how the shroud only mounts on the two upper corners - leaving the possibility of the shroud and fan bottoms vibrating. Other than these issues, the design is perfect (lol).

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## AbuMaia

> It's interesting that you see that on clear, and on your E3Dv6 hot end no less.
> 
> I've been seriously considering moving to the E3D, in part because as I understand it, the E3D has a wider feed hole than the hex and is slightly more tolerant of the bulges.


It may be. This is my first experience with bulges. I'm using the 1.75mm Universal E3D, and it has a piece of teflon tube running through the heatsink portion, stopping just before the heat break. That narrows things up a bit. I also use a piece of the same teflon tube through the extruder from just below the hobbed bolt to the top of the E3D. Interestingly enough, the bulges get through this tubing, but not the tubing in the E3D. It may be the integrated bowden tube receiver on top of the E3D Universal that's catching the bulges.

Edit: measured a piece of bulgy filament that had jammed my E3D. Nominal size is 1.75, measured is 1.71, bulge is 1.91. I can force it through a piece of teflon tubing, which I think works in the extruder because it's right by the hobbed bolt. But once it gets to the transition area just on top of the E3D where the extruder tubing ends and the hotend tubing begins, it can't be forced through again, and jams.

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## usarmyaircav

Kevin, you were correct.  After soaking the nozzle in acetone overnight it still had ABS filament in it.  I decided to just try and do a print and see what happens.  At first nothing came out, but then after a bit I noticed a tiny string start to come out, but then it stopped.  I stopped the print, and re-fed the filament, restarted the job and low and behold it started printing!!!!!!!  It went on to complete the whole clough42 fan shroud!

I used the slic3r .99 version.  I am having issues with the 1.1.7.  I installed it ok, went and changed it to Expert mode, and now when it starts I just get a blank window, no controls  nothing. I am on kubuntu.

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## Schnupp

Im still having extrusion issues...  How much force is needed to manually hand feed filament? When I try to hand feed filament I need to apply a ton of force to extrude the slightest bit of filament.

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## printbus

> Im still having extrusion issues...  How much force is needed to manually hand feed filament? When I try to hand feed filament I need to apply a ton of force to extrude the slightest bit of filament.


It shouldn't take a lot. How are you attempting to manually feed it? By pushing on the filament or by turning the large gear?  If pushing the filament, release the guidler block so the filament isn't held against the hobbed bolt.  You could always start by removing the filament and getting a feel for how easy/hard the large gear moves without the filament in place.  The motor adds some drag, but if the large gear doesn't turn easily without filament, make sure the large gear isn't rubbing against the bolts for the upper wheels on the X-carriage, and that the nuts for the large gear haven't tightened up the hobbed bolt on you.  

Have you recently replaced the MakerFarm firmware with a new Marlin version?  MakerFarm used to have a peculiar setup in the thermistor tables that would mess up temperature readings by 20-30 degrees if the update wasn't done properly. IIRC, the actual temperature ended up being set 20-30 degrees lower, which would also make the filament harder to extrude.   I don't know if they've carried that setup into the firmware baselines for the larger printers and the RAMBO and RUMBA builds.

If all that checks out, it may be time to remove the nozzle and try cleaning it out.  Before the holidays, I was printing some tall vases all day long day after day, and noticed my extrusion slowly getting weaker and weaker.  I was evidently building up some crap in the nozzle with that near-continuous printing.  Cleaning out the nozzle with a hot air gun and some fine wire got me going again.

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## usarmyaircav

Kevin, Not sure if this is the same issue, but reading more your config settings, I got home last night, and did the estep calibration, which worked fine.  Went to put in the amount and found that I have to fix my firmware to be writeable, so decided to just wait and print, cause I really wanted to print something.  I decided to use cura, so followed your settings and got the gcode, loaded it into pronterface, and started the job.  I could see filament oozing out some so figured this should be great. bed heated up and job started, but when it was doing the perimeter, the flow out was terribly erratic, and then stopped.  I stopped the job, re-fed the filament tried again. same thing. Went back to Slic3r .99, same thing. reset all my esteps, and anything that I thought was too low but got the same thing.  If I extrude into the air filament comes out, but doing a print job little to nothing.  Could the nozzle need to be cleaned like you mentioned above, or is it possible that the nozzle is too close to the bed?  I had the bed level just right, but, when I tried to print last, it seemed to be touching.  I will check that tonight.  I really need to get a modified endstop setup.

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## printbus

> Kevin, Not sure if this is the same issue, but reading more your config settings, I got home last night, and did the estep calibration, which worked fine.  Went to put in the amount and found that I have to fix my firmware to be writeable, so decided to just wait and print, cause I really wanted to print something.  I decided to use cura, so followed your settings and got the gcode, loaded it into pronterface, and started the job.  I could see filament oozing out some so figured this should be great. bed heated up and job started, but when it was doing the perimeter, the flow out was terribly erratic, and then stopped.  I stopped the job, re-fed the filament tried again. same thing. Went back to Slic3r .99, same thing. reset all my esteps, and anything that I thought was too low but got the same thing.  If I extrude into the air filament comes out, but doing a print job little to nothing.  Could the nozzle need to be cleaned like you mentioned above, or is it possible that the nozzle is too close to the bed?  I had the bed level just right, but, when I tried to print last, it seemed to be touching.  I will check that tonight.  I really need to get a modified endstop setup.


If you seem to extrude into free air OK, I'd suspect the nozzle may be too close to the bed. That can definitely lead to extrusion issues on the first layer, and even into some additional layers.  In my case, even the free air extrusion seemed thinner than what I was used to seeing. As someone mentioned earlier or perhaps in another thread, things change with temperature so the bed adjustment is best done with both the bed and nozzle at the temperatures to be used for printing.  When did you buy your kit? I see the 10-inch ones after October 9 or so shipped with the micro-adjustable endstop.  If yours is older than that, yeah, the Z endstop mount is pretty frustrating to adjust, especially if you're trying to do the adjustments with everything hot.  

Even before I had revamped the endstop on my 8-inch, I ended up with springs and adjustment thumbwheels on all four corners. By having all four corners adjustable, the exact placement of the endstop switch isn't as critical and can be just left alone after it is in the right ballpark.  Putting thumbwheels on the bed adjustment screws allows a no-tools adjustment, and if necessary the bed clearance can actually be adjusted for extrusion appearance while the printer is still doing skirt loops and into the rest of the first layer.

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## TopJimmyCooks

did you measure your nozzle clearance with the bed and nozzle hot?  if not, thermal expansion may be squishing the nozzle to the bed not allowing filament out on the first layer.

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## usarmyaircav

I probably didn't measure while hot.  I will do that tonight, I hope that is the fix.  I was getting so frustrated last night.  

I think I ordered my kit in August or September so no I don't have the micro adjustable endstops.  I will get re-read through your thread again and probably do the thumb wheels until I can get to the point I am more comfortable and look into the ABL.

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## danrodz

When my printer isn't extruding much or its thin and stringy, I have a stiff wire (i stripped the plastic off the tie wrap from a loaf of bread) that I bend in a loop. I heat up the nozzle and when it reaches my typical printing temp I slide the wire into the nozzle and wiggle it around and up and down and then I immediately turn the extruder gear. Usually it dribbles out and then a large blob will come out and everything will be good after that.

Also to echo other folks, the distance to the print bed is pretty critical. Too much and the filament won't adhere to the bed, it dribbles and balls up all over and then sticks to the nozzle and makes a big mess. Too close and nothing comes out or its just tiny stringy blobs. Ive noticed that if I don't push a bit thru the hot nozzle after that happens (nozzle too close to the bed) then I get the nothing extruded issue.

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## gmay3

> When my printer isn't extruding much or its thin and stringy, I have a stiff wire (i stripped the plastic off the tie wrap from a loaf of bread) that I bend in a loop. I heat up the nozzle and when it reaches my typical printing temp I slide the wire into the nozzle and wiggle it around and up and down and then I immediately turn the extruder gear. Usually it dribbles out and then a large blob will come out and everything will be good after that..


Have you tried enabling the skirt option in your slicing software to print a skirt around your print to purge the nozzle?

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## printbus

> ...  I will get re-read through your thread again and probably do the thumb wheels until I can get to the point I am more comfortable and look into the ABL.


To save you some time finding it, my thumbwheel info is in the BED LEVELING post of my build thread.

EDIT: There's an error in that post, and I no longer appear to be able to edit the post.  It says I used M3x30 bolts on the corners.  They're actually something like M3x25.  The length needed depends on how thick the insulation is between the heat bed and the Y-bed,

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## Schnupp

> It shouldn't take a lot. How are you attempting to manually feed it? By pushing on the filament or by turning the large gear?  If pushing the filament, release the guidler block so the filament isn't held against the hobbed bolt. .


Im removing the guidler block like you said so that the hobbed bolt does not have any force on the filament.

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## printbus

> Im removing the guidler block like you said so that the hobbed bolt does not have any force on the filament.


OK, good.  I guess I'd say try increasing the nozzle temp in 10 degree increments, letting it soak a bit at each new temperature.  See if it starts to flow easier at a higher temperature.  I've got some PLA that I routinely run in the 215 degree range, and a spool of MakerBot PLA that actually works best as high as 230.   It might take more pressure than I was eluding, but "a ton" of pressure should give you more than the "slightest bit" extrusion.  

Are you using 3mm or 1.75mm filament?  If 3mm, perhaps it takes more force than what I'm used to with 1.75mm.

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## Schnupp

> Are you using 3mm or 1.75mm filament?  If 3mm, perhaps it takes more force than what I'm used to with 1.75mm.


Im using 1.75 blue ABS from makerfarm.  Ill give what you said a try for sure.  All of this started when I switched to a different hot end so maybe that particular hot end needs to be run at higher temps.  I switched to the prometheus hot end because its said to be less prone to clogs and leaks...

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## printbus

> Im using 1.75 blue ABS from makerfarm.  Ill give what you said a try for sure.  All of this started when I switched to a different hot end so maybe that particular hot end needs to be run at higher temps.  I switched to the prometheus hot end because its said to be less prone to clogs and leaks...


Ah. I also don't have much of a feel for how much pressure ABS takes to manually extrude. It looks like Prometheus comes with what would be a Type 5 thermistor. You changed your configuration.h file, right?

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## Schnupp

> Ah. I also don't have much of a feel for how much pressure ABS takes to manually extrude. It looks like Prometheus comes with what would be a Type 5 thermistor. You changed your configuration.h file, right?


Yup and I did the PID autotune as stated in the build instructions.  Would wrapping the resistor heater in too much kapton tape be a problem? Im pretty sure I used more than the build instructions stated.

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## AbuMaia

> I envision feeding the filament through a tipping plate mechanism that trips an alarm if a bulge won't pass through it. I figure that may give me some time to remove some of the bulge with a dremel tool or something if I'm in the area, and somehow terminate the print if I'm not.


Great idea! I should probably make something like that as well, using a short bit of teflon tubing as the "detector" part, attached to a switch. I already have a switch connected that pauses the print and moves the hotend if the filament runs out. I can just wire the bulge switch in series, which will pause the print so I can sand down the bulge. Thanks!




> I do pass the filament through a felt pad at the top of the extruder to wipe off the plethora of cat and dog fur in my work area. (see the white spot above the extruder in my avatar - that's the felt disk) That could be wiping off dust and who knows what else from the filament that could end up forming a clog.


I do this too, using one of the buffing pads for a Dremel. Quick and easy.

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## printbus

> Yup and I did the PID autotune as stated in the build instructions.  Would wrapping the resistor heater in too much kapton tape be a problem? Im pretty sure I used more than the build instructions stated.


I haven't futzed with the PID, but I wouldn't think the tape would matter in the long run. More tape might add insulation, but the PID should be able to tune that out as just another variable in maintaining a setpoint.

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## printbus

> ... I should probably make something like that as well, using a short bit of teflon tubing as the "detector" part, attached to a switch. I already have a switch connected that pauses the print and moves the hotend if the filament runs out. I can just wire the bulge switch in series, which will pause the print so I can sand down the bulge.


I've also thought about merging the no-filament and fat-filament functions.   On the bulge detector, I'm waiting for some PTFE Bowden tube to play with. In the mean time, I've been thinking a simple plate with say #49 (1.854mm) and #48 (1.93mm) holes drilled in it to provide some flexibility. The bottom of the plate hinged and the top of the plate resting against a microswitch.  If a bulge doesn't fit through the hole, it tips the plate forward just a bit to trigger the switch and an alarm goes off.  Slide the detector mechanism toward the printer a bit, and clean away enough of the bulge to clear the hole and move the detector back towards the spool. All without stopping the print if I'm in the area.  

Where do you explain how you manage the print pause and hot end move?  I haven't been thinking about that part yet.

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## danrodz

> Have you tried enabling the skirt option in your slicing software to print a skirt around your print to purge the nozzle?


Yes, I actually have it set to do 3 as everything typically starts to flow smoothly after the 1st go around or so.

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## AbuMaia

> Where do you explain how you manage the print pause and hot end move?  I haven't been thinking about that part yet.


http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.p...ll=1#post29673

Read the reprap forum link all the way through. At the end I found a way to solve the problem I was having, and someone else posted a different method.

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## gmay3

> Yes, I actually have it set to do 3 as everything typically starts to flow smoothly after the 1st go around or so.


Ah ok, just checking. I wasn't sure if this could maybe replace cleaning out the nozzle manually with the wire.

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## usarmyaircav

So I re leveled the bed last night with the hotend and bed heated up.  I had to adjust the z end stop, so that was a pain.  Once I did that I tried 3 prints.  The first one was a replacement for the spool holder to be wider, it was sliced with slic3r .99 and seemed to be going ok.  Painful because I have to make sure that there is enough loose filament.  Well just over 65% done, and I went and checked, and noticed a lot of loose filament, that I don't remember being there before, and the hotend was printing air.  My thought is that it ran out  of filament and the roll sticks, yanked at the filament which pulled a bunch out, but also pulled it up out of the hotend.  I hate waste, but oh well.  The second I sliced in Cura, and printed out a  thumb wheel.  That went good, but I think it is actually printing too fast, (or I need a little more hairspray on the bed).  It printed pretty well.  I then went to print a second thumb wheel without reloading the gcode, and it seemed like it was going good, but then about half way to completion it went back to Home, and powered off the hotend and heatbed.  Would it be better to reload the gcode after each print if you are printing multiples of one item.  I suppose I could put 3 in Cura, and reslice and have it print 3 at the same time too.  Getting better though!

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## printbus

> ...I then went to print a second thumb wheel without reloading the gcode, and it seemed like it was going good, but then about half way to completion it went back to Home, and powered off the hotend and heatbed.  Would it be better to reload the gcode after each print if you are printing multiples of one item.  I suppose I could put 3 in Cura, and reslice and have it print 3 at the same time too.  Getting better though!


I'm not sure what you mean by reload the gcode.  How were you printing? From the SD card or from host software?  I remember the time I messed up a long SD-based print when the attached laptop went to sleep and apparently reset the printer in the process.

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## usarmyaircav

> I'm not sure what you mean by reload the gcode.  How were you printing? From the SD card or from host software?  I remember the time I messed up a long SD-based print when the attached laptop went to sleep and apparently reset the printer in the process.


I was printing from Pronterface,  to be honest, I have yet to try printing from the SD card.

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## printbus

> I was printing from Pronterface,  to be honest, I have yet to try printing from the SD card.


Then I'm not sure why your print stopped on you.  I haven't used Pronterface a lot, but you shouldn't have to reopen the gcode file each time you want to repeat a print.

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## usarmyaircav

I didn't really think so, but that is the only reason I could think of for why it started the print successfully but then said it was done, half way through.

On another note, Kevin are you using Repetier Host on windows or Linux.  I think I asked this but don't remember.  Sorry if I am repeating myself.  :Smile:

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## printbus

> ...are you using Repetier Host on windows or Linux.


I've never futzed with Linux, so that leaves me with Windows when I want to use Repetier-Host.  I think dacb once talked about how Repetier-Host for Linux wasn't too robust.  Starting to dig into Linux and Raspberry Pi is on the to-do list, but I'm not sure when I'll get to it.

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## usarmyaircav

> I've never futzed with Linux, so that leaves me with Windows when I want to use Repetier-Host.  I think dacb once talked about how Repetier-Host for Linux wasn't too robust.  Starting to dig into Linux and Raspberry Pi is on the to-do list, but I'm not sure when I'll get to it.


So what are you using for a slicer now?

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## printbus

> So what are you using for a slicer now?


Simplify3D. From the recent Simplify3D thread - My biggest "issue" with Cura was the way top solid layers are handled the same as infill.  In other words, you don't have the option to set infill to print as fast as the printer can and also set the top solid layers to print slow for quality.  Well, I guess multiple prints also suffered because Cura can't be set to do a retraction on layer shifts, an issue especially since Cura tends to always do layer shifts as the same spot in a print.  I don't care for the way settings are grouped in the native Cura, but Repetier-Host repackages the Cura Engine settings in way that made sense to me.
Don't get me wrong - Cura is capable of some pretty good prints.  I just sort of outgrew it.  I basically got to the point where I didn't feel I had much of a choice but to spend the money on Simplify3D if I wanted an improvement beyond Slic3r and Cura.  Sure, there are a few other outliers like kisslicer, but I opted to not give them serious consideration.

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## TopJimmyCooks

So it's worth the $140 to you in better print quality realized?  I'm interested in it.

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## usarmyaircav

I am sure I will be also, but it will be awhile before I can justify it since I just got my printer to actually make things  :Smile: .  I might try the experimental version of Slic3r.

release notes snip:
The *motion planner* that generates smart travel moves when Avoid crossing perimeters was improved in order to support many cases that were previously not handled. It also generates more straight paths.
Perimeter speed for *nested islands* are now supported properly.
The logic for travel moves/retractions/motion planning was rewritten in order to handle several edge cases that weren't handled optimally.

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## printbus

> I am sure I will be also, but it will be awhile before I can justify it since I just got my printer to actually make things .  I might try the experimental version of Slic3r.
> 
> release notes snip:
> The *motion planner* that generates smart travel moves when Avoid crossing perimeters was improved in order to support many cases that were previously not handled. It also generates more straight paths.
> Perimeter speed for *nested islands* are now supported properly.
> The logic for travel moves/retractions/motion planning was rewritten in order to handle several edge cases that weren't handled optimally.


Interesting.  Of course, I've also said previously that it concerns me when you read through release notes and see entries about functions being rewritten, ported to a new language, etc.  That doesn't suggest a stable product to me.  This "fix" might create new issues that in turn take a while to get resolved.  




> So it's worth the $140 to you in better print quality realized?  I'm interested in it.


 Again trying to maintain consistency with my other posts on Simplify3D - I didn't buy it just with the expectation that I'd be getting better print quality.  I bought it since I wanted a reliable, fast slicer that gave me the user configuration options I wanted/needed, and did so with a professional, easy to use GUI.  I went into it hoping for better print quality, but fully realizing obtaining that goal would depend on my ability to properly configure the settings, just as with any slicer.

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## TopJimmyCooks

I guess I care more about good results than the ease of use.  Are you getting better prints if you match temps and setups and slice the same file with Simplify v/s slic3er?

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## printbus

> I guess I care more about good results than the ease of use.  Are you getting better prints if you match temps and setups and slice the same file with Simplify v/s slic3er?


My limited comparison where I printed in both is in http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.p...ll=1#post43580. Others were going to provide pictures of comparison prints, but so far none are posted.

EDIT: Also understand that I still have areas of Simplify3D settings that I haven't explored yet.  I've only been using it a couple of weeks.

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## usarmyaircav

So printing is going pretty well so far.  I have printed out a few of the thumb wheels, 1 to go, the top of the spool holder (although I had infil set to zero, and so I am not sure about the strength of the part), the bottom part of clough42's fan shroud, with mostly good results.  I am sure I have some tweaking to do, but once again, while printing last night I had a print just extruding and print air.  I am not sure where to go in troubleshooting this.  This time I know I had plenty of loose filament so that isn't it.  One thought is to tighten the screws on the (guidler?) that hold the filament to the hobbed bolt.  Any other thoughts?  If I pull out the filament, re-feed it, it then prints just fine.

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## oblazer

I apologize in advance if this is not the appropriate thread to pose this question.

I managed to get mess my Makerbot Replicator up pretty bad. I believe it clogged and continued printing for about an hour. There is now a bulb of dried plastic firmly fastened to the bottom of the extruder. Any ideas on how to remove this plastic and get the printer up and running again?

Picture for reference:
IMG_20150611_085820.jpg

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## TopJimmyCooks

heat your nozzle up and pull the junk off with a rag or a glove.  wipe as much as you can off.  maybe some acetone on a rag for any tough residue once you cool it back down.  maybe go past your printing temp a little to help melt it off.  then go after your clog.

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## oblazer

Worked like a charm. Thanks for your input!

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