Flashforge Creator X Right Extruder unloads but will not load?

Hi,

Back again with another issue:)

My right extruder it seems will not load. It won't grab the filament. When i choose to unload it however, it pulls it through and the PLA comes out but when I load, it will not so I cant print.

I thought it was maybe RepG software so i went to makerware (that I've had no success with as the prints come out all weird) and when i tested it to try and see if it was a software issue after leveling the build plate, the extruders somehow were too close to the buildplate nd dragged across them ripping up the tape. I instantly went to re-level the print bed and its fine?! Can get the paper just under the nozzles.

So my problems are these, I cannot get filament to come out resulting in no prints and the bed leveling seems way off for printing but fine for leveling.

whats going on? Any ideas?

Thanks guys

Gav

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kingpiinx

Hi,

Back again with another issue:)

My right extruder it seems will not load. It won't grab the filament. When i choose to unload it however, it pulls it through and the PLA comes out but when I load, it will not so I cant print.

I thought it was maybe RepG software so i went to makerware (that I've had no success with as the prints come out all weird) and when i tested it to try and see if it was a software issue after leveling the build plate, the extruders somehow were too close to the buildplate nd dragged across them ripping up the tape. I instantly went to re-level the print bed and its fine?! Can get the paper just under the nozzles.

So my problems are these, I cannot get filament to come out resulting in no prints and the bed leveling seems way off for printing but fine for leveling.

whats going on? Any ideas?

Thanks guys

Gav

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It's not hot enough to extrude is the most likely cause for that. If you can actually get the PLA out of the extruder when you unload, and there is no apparent ball on the end of it, then its not getting hot enough. You said it's PLA, how hot do you have the preheat setting on?


When you cut the end of the filament to feed a new lot in, cut it on an angle - not dead straight, this helps.

If the bed level is off for printing, but it's ok for levelling that has to be down to software, and I dont have a Flashforge X sorry, so I can only say that the older one works great with replicator G, it seems you guys are all having alot of issues with the X that we never had with the original, would be good if some official tech support would responds also, Pete? Tang? Ivy?

I'll try cutting it at an angle. I went over the guide you put up Geoff and turned it up to 245 degrees and still nothing. Pushed down through the clicking and nothing. Only other thing I can think about is the whole taking it apart and drilling it but I'm too new to all this stuff and do t want to break it. Shame..only a week old and spent more time fixing it than using it. Lol still ill keep trying and hopefully something will work.

Thanks again for the response

gav

Sorry Geoff. I didnt answer the question regarding the temp of the PLA. With the PLA that came with the printer, I've went through all the settings and I find that 110degrees bed and 220 degrees extruder temp gives me very good prints. From what I read though you don't need the bed temp that high but even with Kapton and painters tape it didnt stick until around 110 degrees on the plate.

I'm about to try and figure out why the PLA extrudes at 230 degrees up to 245 for unloading but it won't grab it to load. Seems a bit strange because a blockage would stop any coming out for unloading and unloading pulls it through fine. It may be a software deal though.

I can't find where to reduce the bed temperature in ReplicatorG to try another PLA but Makerware has it onscreen but Makerware seems like it could kill the heads on my nozzles (that didn't sound right:) by ramming them across the build plate which Isn't a fun thing to watch.

I'll update if I can fix this and hopefully help others:)

Ok so now the extruder that unloaded has now stopped unloading and wont take the PLA through but "clicks" all the time. I've tried some force, put the temp up to 245 as suggested and tbh, I'm way too new to take this thing apart after the 1st week. Are all printers this hard to use at the start? It seems like a lot of money on something to have worked for 5 minutes and I am/was prepared to fiddle around to get things working as i know these things are DIY but I just thoght I'd get more use out of it before I had to take the thing apart. Is this a normal printer or have I bought one with issues do you think?

Thanks guys:)

240° is waaaay too hot for PLA. It likes something like 180° or so I think ....?

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Originally Posted by Billzilla

240° is waaaay too hot for PLA. It likes something like 180° or so I think ....?

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Yep, you said it Bill.. I am yet to see PLA that takes that sort of heat. When you heat PLA up to that extent you have very wierd issues...

The heats travels up the filament and makes like a meter go chunky and unusable. That excessive heat has also most likely blocked the nozzle as the PLA got cooked in there. You will need some ABS to flush that out (or plastic that likes high temps) if you don't want to mess with the nozzle.

1. Set your filament diameter in Replicator G to 1.80mm
2. Cut off a good meter of that PLA, or at least back to the roll.
3. Try to load it again at 200c.
4. If you can, load ABS or something else through that has different properties, you want to melt the blockage and that's hard unless you have plastic that melts at a higher level and can mush up the bad stuff and push it out.

Great! That worked. It seems to have unblocked the right extruder with a big blob behind the ABS...I notice now though when i load filament...it comes out the top..and unload pulls it in....is my printer upside down? lol. I have no idea whats going on now because it would explain why when it prints nothing's coming out since it appears to be shoving the filament out the top...totally confused.

UPDATE:- ABS is in, seems clear now the PLA blue blobs are out. I'm at 230 degrees extruder temp for the white ABS and the printer moves like its printing but nothing is coming out. When i push the filament into the extruder it "clicks" but does nothing. I feel like this maybe a weird extruder, damaged or am i doing something wrong? Looked up all i can on the forums and now when i unload the filament to pull it through the nozzle, it seems clear. Loading reverses it out the top of the extruder (huh?) and printing seems to work apart from no filament coming out. Apart from that, my models look great in transparent Air-BS..lol

UPDATE:- Ok, its all working now..it was a small setting in ReplicatorG software that I saw was called "invert extruder axes" or something but I assumed that it would reverse the feeding and it did:) Blockage out thanks to Geoff (thanks Geoff) and now time to figure out the correct ABS temp since 110 degrees plate and 230 Extruder wont make it stick on painters tape..but at least it works:)

Thanks again for all who helped:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kingpiinx

UPDATE:- Ok, its all working now..it was a small setting in ReplicatorG software that I saw was called "invert extruder axes" or something but I assumed that it would reverse the feeding and it did:) Blockage out thanks to Geoff (thanks Geoff) and now time to figure out the correct ABS temp since 110 degrees plate and 230 Extruder wont make it stick on painters tape..but at least it works:)

Thanks again for all who helped:)

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Wow. I didnt know about the inverting option.. I wonder why they do that, I assume it reverses the directions of all the feeder stepper motors?

It seems to. I checked both were not ticked and the left exude started pushing filament out the top so again i ticked the box to invert it and it worked. Seems strange to me though. Lol