Mk10 extruder extrudes very poorly all of a sudden

[Reliku]

Hey guys,

I'm new here, not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I was hoping to get some advice on a problem I've got.

Basically, I've got a wanhao duplicator i3 (old V1 one) and it's been doing great for years. Unfortunately, a while ago I changed filament brand and all of a sudden prints come out extruded very poorly. I've seen this phenomenon before, so I completely cleaned the nozzle and replaced the PTFE tube in the extruder. To no avail. I've proceeded to replace the entire nozzle and applied new thermal paste all over the threads to get it to work again, but again to no avail. I've switched back to my old filament, same problem. I've tried changing my printing settings to print slower or faster, with thicker and thinner layers, but it all makes zero difference. Some prints come out fine (simple ones not involving a lot of retraction), so I figured changing the retraction settings might help, but unfortunately faster or lower retraction speeds don't change a thing, nor does changing the retraction distance. Prints that do require a lot of movement and thus retraction seem to be a nightmare. Stuff like this happens. Prints from a few weeks ago with the exact same settings for reference:



I'm not a 3d printing expert but I've been using this thing for a few years now, it's printed tens of kilograms of plastic already, I've played with just about every setting in the software and I've got a pretty good feel for how the extruder works. I see absolutely no reason why it shouldn't extrude well, but for some reason it doesn't. The only thing I can imagine is that it doesn't get hot enough, and the wanhao is kinda known for having heating issues on the hot end but cranking up the temperature doesn't seem to fix it.

Also funny to note: the raft and first couple of layers seem to print just fine. After about 10-20 layers though, it starts extruding very poorly.

I'm at a loss really, so I was hoping some of the internet experts maybe have seen this before, or have an idea what could be the problem. Any input would be much appreciated!

[airscapes]

I know nothing about your printer, but I assume it has a filament drive.. tension set correctly?

[JohninLex]

Reliku

Let me ask a couple questions. I don't feel this is filament related

1. What 3d printing software are you using? IE Cura, slicer
2. Can you confirm that the gantry is tight?
3. Can you check your belts to make sure they are snug?

Thank for you time
John

[JohninLex]

Reliku

Let me ask a couple questions. I don't feel this is filament related

1. What 3d printing software are you using? IE Cura, slicer
2. Can you confirm that the gantry is tight?
3. Can you check your belts to make sure they are snug?
4. Do you have a way to check the voltage on the stepper driver? This is where I am leaning the most after looking longer at your prints.

Thank for your time
John