Extrusion stops half way through the printing process

[apicalreform 1]

Hello,

Recently 4 out of 5 of my printing attempts have failed because the extrusion stopped half way through, after 3-4 printing. I am working with a file to fine tune the print (changing the file itself and Cura settings) and the majority of my prints have been wasted because after hours working properly the extrusion just stops.

I am particularly concern because I had to do the Anatomy pool almost every time I tried to print. As far as I understood from the posts I read in the forum that is not normal.

A few weeks back we had a lot of clogging issues due to using PLA filament after ABS filament without doing the proper cleaning. Since that happened I have changed the spool 3 times, cleaned the bowden tube, and performed the Anatomy pool method about 8 times in different moments. The first times I did the pool I could visually recognize small pieces of the ABS coming out, I assume they got stuck inside the tube because of the grinding that happened inside the feeder. However now I can't see the ABS particles anymore and I don't think it is possible that after cleaning everything up so many times that would still be the issue. Is it possible?

Also my first print attempts on this model I tried to use a generic PLA spool. I suspected that the filament quality could be the issue and confirmed that the diameter size was varying through the length. Since then I have changed to the UM silver PLA. I thought that would solve my problem, however from 5 attempts I got just one good print. All the other ones the filament stopped extruding after 3-4h printing.

One small detail is that I have noticed some marks on the failed prints with UM silver PLA that look like burned marks. I haven't changed the settings for nozzle heating or any other temperature setting. Could this be related to the problem?

I would really appreciate some insights on how to solve this issue since I have been wasting a lot of time and material with it.

Best regards

[DidierKlein 729]

Hi,

I would suggest doing several atomic pulls one after an other, if you have printed in ABS and see some burned material now and then it can be that some residues are still inside.

One other thing you can inspect is the Teflon coupler. How many hours of printing do you have now?

What is happening when it stops? Do you have many retractions on the prints?

Can you also share the printing parameter? And show pictures maybe?

[apicalreform 1]

Thanks for the fast reply Didier

When you say several times, what number you have in mind. Every time I had to unclog the printer I did it like 5 times in a roll.

We got the printer just a few months back and I don't think we have printed more than 150h. Just by looking the teflon coupler looks in shape.

To be honest I just notice when it stops after some time - when I can see the gap between the nozzle and the print. What happens as expected is a lot of grinding on the back but no marks on the print it self. I wouldn't say there are more retractions than I used to see prior to this problem.

this is the "successful" print

this is one of the failed prints

this is the "burning" mark, but its not very clear in this picture

What do you mean by parameters? the Cura ones? Every time I tried to print I have changed the parameters and I have a successful and a failed print using the same one, so I didn't think that was the issue.

Thank you

[DidierKlein 729]

After 150h of printing the teflon should be just fine.

There's no real rule for atomic pulls. The only thing is to keep doing them until the filament you pull is clean, like explained here

I had to do it something like 20 times with a woodfill clog once!

By parameters i mean the ones in Cura yes like speeds, layer heights etc...

And also print temperature.

You may need to reduce retractions like this:

 

Try to limit the # retractions on the same piece of the fillament.

Cura (15.04) expert settings;

 

many retractions can cause the filament to be flattened and finally grinded.

What is the tension of the feeder? If you have the stock feeder the white indicator should be at the top

[apicalreform 1]

I did again the Atomic pulls, and as I expected it was coming dirty again, but 8 times later this is what I got:

Regarding the parameters. These are the latest ones I used:

I haven't changed much from the default settings. I already changed the minimal extrusion before retracting. This is just to show how it was before. And this was the first time I opened the expert configurations settings.

About the feeder tension. The indicator is at the top. Regarding that indicator I have another question. I have tried to change manually but I couldn't. Is it just the case that it is really hard to move it?

Also, something else occurred to me. I read in the forum that if the bowden tube get scratched can interfere in the printing process. I took a picture showing how the tube is looking now to see if there is any relation:

I will try to print and will post soon if the problem is gone.

thank you so much for the support so far

[yellowshark 153]

When you did the atomic pulls, did you use PLA or ABS and what temperature did you raise the extruder to? If you have ABS deposits you need to raise the temperature to a higher point than your normal PLA temp. I do not use ABS but maybe it is best to use ABS to pull ABS?

[apicalreform 1]

Hello,

I have tried to print again and the extrusion stopped after almost 5h printing.

Here is a picture of the result:

I used the same parameters and same material.

After it stopped extruding I did the Atomic pull a few more times and the filament was coming dirty again. However it looked more burned than anything else.

Yellowshark. After reading your reply I realized my mistake before. I was heating the nozzle up to 190, since that I was using PLA and that was what I read in the forum. I didn't think that since the clog was from ABS I should heat up to 260. That would explain why I cleaned so many times and it was not efficient.

Any ideas on what I can try to fix this for good? I have been wasting a lot of material and printing time over this.

Best regards

ps> I got a better picture of the situation of the bowden tube

[apicalreform 1]

Hello,

I need to relive this post and I really hope this time someone can help me to solve the issue.

I stopped trying to print this project and the printer wasn't being used since the last post.

Today I got back to it and I already have two failed prints that stopped printing after over 3h printing. The half way results I got are very similar to the previous pictures I posted here.

I did the Atomic pull several times before starting again and I also did it after the last print.

What I found odd was that after it stopped printing today I did the atomic pull and on the very first try it came out like this:

It was pretty much clean so I don't know why it stopped this time.

My concerns are:

- what could be causing this if not a nozzle clogging?

- could it be the file?

- what else can I check in the printer to make sure it is all good?

- could it be the filament (UM silver)?

Please help

Best regards

[greysun 0]

We have been battling with issue like this for months. 15 hours into a 60 hour print the thing just stops extruding. We have been playing with all sorts of settings, retraction, fan speed, print temp. Even different brands of material. Nothing seems to help. I just fired off another 60hour print. I am trying to print at a little higher temp. If it works out I will let you know. If you hit on what works let me know. I am beginning to think the reported temp on the ultimaker is reporting higher than what it is.

To answer your question about the tube above, it looks fine. The scratches look like the external ones cause by the clips.

[yellowshark 153]

Difficult to be absolutely certain as the pic is not in focus but they look like serious teeth marks you have on your filament - could well be the source of you problem.

Also on an older pic your Bowden tube looks like two tubes pushed together. That might be my imagination but if that is the case then there is another cause if the inner tube has been compressed

[peetree 3]

I used to have this issue a lot. In my case it had nothing to do with the hot end and everything to do with the feeder and spool (UM2).

The simple explanation was too much tension building up between the feeder and the spool due to a tangle, or simply because the stock spool holder and filament guide are not great designs and caused too much friction.

Check behind the printer after a failure and see if it feels like the filament has been pulled tight. This would indicate a problem.

If you're using the stock spool and filament guide I recommend printing an upgrade such as IRobertI's excellent low friction spool holder and Ppyromann's bearing filament guide

[gr5 2,268]

1) Sometimes filament breaks in the bowden and when that cut/break gets to the head it gets stuck.

2) Sometimes one area of the print has too many retractions such that the same piece of filament goes though the feeder so many times it grinds it too thin.

3) Sometimes the extruder gets too hot and melts the filament slightly which gets squished flatter and *then* grinds to dust.

4) Sometimes dust causes a complete nozzle clog.

These are all easy to tell apart. #4 won't extrude when you start the next print. #3 results in very flat filament coming out of the feeder. #2 you can tell by looking at how many extrusions you have near the layer that fails (are there hundreds? thousands even?)

[gr5 2,268]

The good news is you can continue the print where you left off using tinker Marlni.

[Dipmech21 0]

operate your machine by disconnecting the filament with nozzle and let it run by gcode.

> if your program complete successfully then you have a problem with extruder but if it stops then you have a problem with ramps. May be it over heated.

[Dkobes 1]

I’m having the exact same issue, halfway up the print and it just stops extruding.  It looks like it’s just trying to iron the print rather than trying to add filament.  Like the extruder motor doesn’t try to spin at all I can’t figure it out to save my life

[gr5 2,268]

So it doesn't stop moving?  It keeps moving but stops extruding?  Can you actually see the extruder not turning?  Maybe the shaft is turning but nothing else?  What kind of printiner is this?

 

[Dkobes 1]

Yeah everything else moves as normal but the extruder stops feeding filament.  I’m running a CR-10 V2.  I just installed Cura 4.5 so I’m wondering if something didn’t go wrong with the install.  I never had this problem before 

[gr5 2,268]

Check the feeder more carefully - is it grinding a bite out of the side of the filament when this happens?

 

I'd abort the print and then see if you can do a manual filament move on the front of the printer.

 

If not then it's definitely hardware, right?  This just sounds like a hardware problem to me.

[gr5 2,268]

Maybe you need to tighten a set screw or something on the feeder.

 

[Dkobes 1]

It almost seems like it’s trying to iron the piece for a few layers, I have an indicator knob on the stepper and it’s not turning as it’s going through the motion.  Could be a loose wire as well I’ll have to do more troubleshooting but it doesn’t seem to be grinding the filament flows freely when I cancel the print and start a new one

[greysun 0]

For us the majority of the problem worked out when we switched pla filament brands. The brand we got from ultimaker was broken on every spool in dozens of spots and was very brittle. Each time it would hit one of these breaks or one of these brittle spots it was unable to push filament forward so the filament would just sit in the nozzle and cook until somebody discovered it. Also if you're using ABS it's going to be tough without a climate-controlled system. I built an enclosure with temperature regulator for ours and that helped.  we had to go through several different brands of filament before we found one that worked. We wasted over a year messing with this setting or that setting and whatever before we finally realized the filament was the problem. 

Edited March 8, 2020 by greysun

[odin 0]

Yeah my printer seems to stop partway through prints every time. It will go through about a third of the print before the extruder stops turning and little to no filament comes out. I think it’s a problem with cura because all the pre sliced test prints that came installed on the Ed card print perfectly, even right after a failed personal print. Any help would be wonderful, I have the mono price duplicator i3 plus and I’m printing with PLA.