Dreamer can't load/unload ABS or PLA

[forest428]

I have a Dreamer for a week now and it had turned into a night mare. After a print, if I don't use it for a day, filament will get jammed and I can't load or unload it. It happens on both PLA and ABS and on both nozzles. I tried to remove the nozzle and clean it, clean the feeder wheels but no help. Filament got stuck inside and the wheel keeping on clicking. For a whole week, I got 2 prints out of the machine and the rest is just cleaning and trying to figure out why the f-ing print head won't work and I can't figure it out.
I tried to preheat to 230 and 250 degree before loading, I could manually push the filament through and see stuff came out from the nozzle but the wheel still keep clicking and I couldn't unload the filament. My guess is a part of the filament inside the nozzle was melted in the previous print is harden after cool down but cannot be melted for unload because this part of the filament is outside of the heating element and hence being deformed and stuck inside the extruder head.
I'm so returning this machine.

[mikenmel08]

Have you removed the nozzle to see if there is anything blocking it?

[forest428]

yes, it is the non-melted ABS inside nozzle that blocking it. This ABS doesn't stick on the nozzle and can't seem to be melted all the way. I left it preheated to 250 degree for a whole 15 minute but still can't seem to melt all of the ABS inside the nozzle that connects to the end of the filament inside of the nozzle. This ABS is bought from flashforge-usa

[lucidpsykosis]

I feel your pain to some degree. I have a Dreamer as well, and for the most part hated it when I first got it, but now I've warmed up to it. I had the same problem with Black PET+ filament a few times, ending up taking the head apart to clean it out every time. If you read Geoff's huge, but incredibly important thread in the Creator area, you'll find a couple things that help. One, don't use "unload". Half the time it backs up soft filament around the gear/sprocket, making it harder to clean out. Use 'load', depress the spring release, and pull it out. Two. You gotta clean off that gear or else its going to keep jumping and clicking. Undo the screw that holds the release lever and take off the upper portion to get at it better. Use an exact and get it all out. If you've been doing all this, I apologize for the whole novel, but it sounds like it might help.

[mikenmel08]

I never use the unload feature anymore. ...I just cut the filament flush with the top of the machine and use the load function......As the old filament goes down just follow it through with the new. ..works every time now......no more headaches

[DrUsual]

I just spent an hour cleaning out the extruder -- I'm always nervous about this kind of thing, as I'm more persistent than experienced when it comes to my electronics' innards. I ended up cleaning out the gear teeth with a Xacto knife, with just a bit of trouble getting the spring lever arm back on. (Not to mention that when I took that arm off, a small brass collar fell out. I didn't actually know where that went, but I put it back as an interior sleeve around the screw that holds the arm on. Seemed to fit, and seems to be working...)

Anyway, my filament is feeding again, and I think from now I'm going to try the snip and load process that people mentioned earlier here, rather than the unload and re-load.

[ole_blue_moon]

One thing I have found about the Dreamer extruder, running an unload routine after an idle period can cause a jam at the driver gear. After disassembly looks like the filament gets a small ring or collar of hardened plastic near the top of the heater zone, maybe .5 inches from the end. Even though the ring is small when it hits the driver gear it jams. Solution is to always run a short load first until a small amount of material exits the nozzle then immediately switch to unload. Seems to allow a smooth tapered filament end that passes through the gear fine.

Not a direct solution to your problem but related.