Need help getting Makerbot printer going

[Mjolinor]

Looks like you are taking it apart then.

[Mjolinor]

Did you feel the stepper grab the filament and pull it in?

[geetikas]

Did you feel the stepper grab the filament and pull it in?

Yes it does grab the filament. Want to avoid opening it up.

[wpilgrim]

Unfortunately you sound like you have a filament clog. the "smart" extruders on the 5th gens are prone to do this currently. Whats worse is with your 5th gen you can't actually open the extruder up to clean it out without voiding your warranty. It is a fairly simple job, (or so it is on other printers and appears to be so on the 5th gen) but its best to contact support and let them know your issues. They will send you another if it is still under warranty.

If you don't want to go the stay inside the warranty route, then this video will be helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8iUA1uVWIs

I currently use a rep 2, but have followed much of the happenings of the 5th gens. (I almost purchased one myself)

[geetikas]

Unfortunately you sound like you have a filament clog. the "smart" extruders on the 5th gens are prone to do this currently. Whats worse is with your 5th gen you can't actually open the extruder up to clean it out without voiding your warranty. It is a fairly simple job, (or so it is on other printers and appears to be so on the 5th gen) but its best to contact support and let them know your issues. They will send you another if it is still under warranty.

If you don't want to go the stay inside the warranty route, then this video will be helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8iUA1uVWIs

I currently use a rep 2, but have followed much of the happenings of the 5th gens. (I almost purchased one myself)

We are in India and had the printer imported. We have no warranty or support on it anyway Guess we'll have to open it up.

[Assaf]

Thanks wpilgrim for this youtube video, nice tutorial, I am waiting for my Z18 and I am a bit of worried from the rumors about the Gen5 Extruders...
Getikas, can you share your experience... was it as simple as in the youtube video?

[3DPBuser]

I bet the 5th gen really does not have that many problems. It probably just looks that way because they are selling 100 times as many printers per week as anyone else, and selling them to beginners, and so 100 times as many people have trouble even though it's the same percentage of printers.

Just like if Ulimaker sold 100 times as much; there would be 100 times as many questions/problems posted here.

Just a guess.

[wpilgrim]

I would hope you are correct, but I am worried you aren't. I know of several non-novice users who have had these same issues with the gen 5 printers. Many of us are very willing to tear into our printers and fix issues and problems we see, but the gen 5 models have attempted to close off the tinkerer by voiding warranties and nulling support if you want to do a medial task like unclog your extruder (which from everything I see has more clog issues due to design than the previous gens). Also I am not sure we can accurately show how many more printers they are selling now than they were before. There is no data that I know of to point one way or another. Definitely more sales will always = more problems, however more problems doesn't always mean more sales.

Everything I have seen on them, these gen 5’s seem to be a step backwards

[3DPBuser]

I was going by the number of Home Depot stores... over 2000... so just one sale a week per store is 2000 printers a week.

[geetikas]

Thanks wpilgrim for this youtube video, nice tutorial, I am waiting for my Z18 and I am a bit of worried from the rumors about the Gen5 Extruders...
Getikas, can you share your experience... was it as simple as in the youtube video?

Watched the video and was able to open up the extruder fairly easily. No major issues except that my screwdriver kept getting stuck to the magnets and the spring on top of the nozzle came out as well and had to be put back in place.
Anyway, I removed the clog, closed the extruder and put it back in place. I was able to load the filament and it started extruding. Then I started a test print. It printed a little but then stopped extruding again! now I cant unload the filament even. It seems to be stuck inside. Tried loading and unloading several times but no luck Please help again!!!