MakerBot Unveils Smart Extruder+

[MB5thGenPrinter]

I finally just got my new SmartExtruder+ (v13.0 model MP07325) and updated my printers firmware to 1.9.2.505. Well...it is an improvement I think. The leveling now works, where as before on the old extruders (v12.X versions) the leveling almost never worked, you basically had to manually level it because the touch sensor in the extruder didn't work right. So my first big print on the SmartExtruder+ (30hrs @ 0.1mm resolution) and it jammed 3 times, real jams, I had to unload filament and reload it, and then I could see a small shift in the print for every jam/reload I did, so that wasn't good, and I don't recall the shift happening on the v12 extruders (But at least the jam detection works good and it didn't pause for any false jams like the v12 extruders were notorious for). But I noticed it didn't jam at night, only in the day when it was warmer. So I ran the same print again and this time opened the window so the room would stay cooler, and this time it didn't jam at all, completed 30hr print with no issues. The print quality was pretty good, had a couple dry spots on some large flat surfaces, but other than that pretty good. I did the print one more time to test my temperature theory and I found that it only seems to jam when the room temperature is above 67 degrees F. So overall I think the SmartExtruder+ is an improvement (but original extruders were really bad to start with), and if it had not jammed at all then I would say it would be an amazing improvement....but it did, and if it can only print in a sub 67F room without jamming then that is going to be a big issue in the summer. I will continue to test this, and if it is true, then I will call MakerBot because the printer spec says it should operate up to 90F ambient temperature. If Makerbot fixes this jam issue they will have a good printer.

[wkarraker]

That's interesting, our printer is in a pretty well regulated room. I need to confirm this but isn't the build chamber supposed to be regulated? I suppose it can heat the chamber but not cool it. When we received our printer in 2014 the ribbon cable between boards had worked loose and needed to be reconnected. By unplugging and reconnecting the connector it solved a bunch of issues for us. I'd let MakerBot know about the temperature issue, and how severely it affects your builds. I have access to a data logger I can connect a temperature probe to, you've got me curious about build chamber temperature variations.

[MB5thGenPrinter]

Hi Wkarraker,
I have the MakerBot Replicator 5th Generation. It is not heated and doesn't have a heated build plate, and it is not enclosed. But I did cover the 3 sides of it with plastic so it is partially enclosed now. The top is still open though. I have data logger also, that is how I know what the temps were. The inside temp of the printer right next to the build plate was about 85F. With the older v12 extruders (when they worked) I covered the whole printer with a bag and got inside temps of about 95F, sometimes over 100F, and they didn't jam usually. Do you have the SmartExtruder+? Is it working good? Thanks.

[wkarraker]

That makes sense. I have a Z18 and it is definitely enclosed in a glass or acrylic box so temperature changes are reduced but not eliminated. I had similar problems with my original Thing-O-Matic, I used sheets of plastic (acetate sheets used for overhead projectors) to enclose the sides but kept the top open just like you have done. I also added an aluminum plate on top of the heated build plate to have more thermal stability. Made a world of difference on that printer when printing ABS, I still use it occasionally for small stuff. After digging around in the custom print settings dialog of the latest Makerbot Desktop app I confirmed there is a way of setting the build chamber temperature on the Z18, if what you've said about temperatures above 67° causes problems I'll probably never use it.
Yes, I just received my first Smart Extruder+ and it's solved issues where I had misaligned layers and delimitation on extreme overhangs. It's working very well for us, far better than our first several months with the original extruder in the fall of 2014. I have about 200 hours on it and it hasn't missed a beat, longest print was for 27 hours and it auto-paused when the filament ran out. I loaded a new roll and it picked up where it left off, the only thing I could tell was a very slight bump between rolls on the print. Now that things have stabilized I'm looking for larger projects to use it with, for what I've printed on the Z18 a Replicator could have handled just as easily.