My Finder printer gets halfway through print then cools? Help!

[Tessa]

Me and my son are new 3D printers. I bought him a Flash Forge Finder... Our test prints went fine. But our first 2 slightly more advanced jobs (like a coffee mug), the print started great, seemed to be cruising, then around 40-50 percent, it started cooling, from 220 degrees to closer to 100 and below, and then the filament becomes stringy (not hot enough I assume). Cannot figure out what's happening? Any ideas? A setting? Something we need to adjust?

[fred_dot_u]

based on your phrasing, your print isn't changing temperature, your nozzle temperature is dropping. The "40-50 percent" reference is also ambiguous, but let's run with the nozzle first.

Check your slicer settings to determine that it's not commanding a temperature change at a specific layer.

You can also examine the g-code file by opening it in a text editor (notepad or similar) and searching for the lines for temp. The code will begin with M104 and may have the letter S followed by a number (bed temp) and/or the letter T with a zero followed by a number (nozzle temp).

Those lines should appear only near the beginning of the print and set to zero at the end of the print. If you find an M104 code in the middle of the file, check for a Z reference, to determine layer height, then check your slicer settings to ensure or remove that setting from the build.

Consider also to attach your g-code file to the message if you aren't sure where to look.

[Tessa]

Thanks here is my Gcode, and apologies, all new to me, so talk to me like a first timer and hopefully I'm a quick study! Right now, it seems like we cannot even get the extruder to heat up. Or it goes to 220 and beyond and then goes right back down. A little wacky.

M132 X Y Z A B
G1 Z50.00 F400
G161 X Y F3300
M6 T0
M907 X100 Y100 Z40 A80 B20
M108 T0
G1 Z.20 F400

END CODE
M104 S0 T0
G28 X Y
M132 X Y Z A B
G91
M18

[fred_dot_u]

I realize now that your 40-50 percent reference was for amount of print completed. A little slow on my part...

You can see the M104 S0 T0 code in the END CODE section, turning the heaters off.

The g-code file to which I refer is the entire file sent to the printer or stored on a flash drive or memory card. I'm not sure what the rather small snippet represents, unless it's the start and end g-code your slicer uses. What slicer are you using? I'm not familiar with your model printer, so some of my questions may seem unusual.

What slicer are you using? How do you send the g-code to the printer? By memory card, flash drive or direct connection?

[Tessa]

We are building in Tinkercad. And then exporting to Polar Cloud and then it says it is automatically sliced. We are sending through a Polar Cloud connection to the Flash Forge Finder printer.

[fred_dot_u]

check the last line in this linked web page

it should allow you to download the g-code and then attach it here for checking.

It's an unfortunate aspect of this type of process that prevents easy examination, although in this case, there's a work-around.

[Tessa]

Thanks. Does this attachment work?

[fred_dot_u]

The attachment works, unfortunately in such a manner as to let me know it's not in the g-code. The early M104 line reads M104 S220 T0, which says set the temperature of Tool zero to 220 °C. The next instance of a temperature change is at the end of the print.

This implies that something in your printer is giving up the ghost after a certain amount of time.

If this is a new printer and under warranty, consider to pressure the seller to replace it. If this is not a new printer, it would be good to dismantle it to locate the connection of the heater cartridge to the main board. My first thought is that the connection is poor at the main board and as the heater draws power, the connection heats up, causing high resistance, which takes power away from the heater cartridge. If this is the case, and the wiring is secured by set screws, they can be tightened, improving the connection.

If a new printer, under warranty, opening it up may void the coverage. Not repairing it and continuing to use it may generate enough heat from the poor connection to create a fire.

The g-code eliminates any settings transmitted to the printer.

Another owner of a FlashForge product discovered a loose ribbon cable by removing a panel from the underside of the printer. Unless there are warranty labels, doing so would not void the warranty. Yet another FF owner performed a firmware update on his printer. The former is more likely a solution than the latter, in my opinion.

See if you can get the printer swapped under warranty. Did you purchase locally from a major retailer? Those are usually easier to deal with.