Feeder is chewing on PLA

[TheRealJoost 5]

No idea why this is happening, on a brand new Ultimaker 2+, second print, it stopped feeding somewhere in the middle of a 50 minute print. It seemed the feeder stopped (no more PLA coming out the nozzle). When I removed the PLA in the tube, it showed two areas where the feeder gears seemed to have been chewing at it. When one of these sections reached the nozzle, extruding stopped.

I ensured the spool is free and the PLA can easily be moved into the printer, no obstructions of any kind.  Any idea what is going on?

[StephanK 30]

Had the same thing on my brand new UM2+ on my first print as well couple of weeks ago. Happened that one time and then never again since, scared the heck outta me though ;-)

Btw. do keep in mind I am a newbie to the UM2+, but here's a few hints that might help until the more experienced folks arrive:

First of all: here's a good trouble shooting guide for this problem and other UM issues one might encounter: http://support.3dverkstan.se/article/23-a-visual-ultimaker-troubleshooting-guide#grinding

In addition to that, other causes for it not being able to push out the filament and start grinding or skipping could be related to your print settings. So if you maybe made changes to the print settings in Cura, go back and try a default one?

In the past, I had lots of problems with blockages (on another printer) due to setting the distance between nozzle and print bed too close or the bed not being level in general. But I would think this would happen way earlier in the print and not 25 minutes in. Anyway, thought i'd mention it.

Supposedly printing objects with excessive amount of retractions may lead to grinding as well, but I never ran into that one myself.

Since yours is brand new, it might be also a case where something maybe went a bit wonky during shipping:

In my case, I am rather certain what caused my failed first print was the fact that one of the rods had snapped out of the black sliding block om my UM2. The sliding block was also tilted towards the wall. Here's an animation how the sliding blocks snap in and out and how its supposed to look: https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/19948-removing-the-print-head

Also the set screws in my pulleys were lose and one rod was already protruding out of the side wall for a millimeter or two when it stopped printing. I am still puzzled how it managed to print at all. This is how it shouldn't look: http://support.3dverkstan.se/article/23-a-visual-ultimaker-troubleshooting-guide#protrudingaxes

Hope this helps

Edited May 16, 2016 by Guest

[TheRealJoost 5]

@StephanK - thanks for the hints and reference to troubleshooting guide, that'll come in real handy. I hadn't had time to fuzz with the printer settings yet so it was/is all default. I cut out the section that was damaged and printed the same object again, this time without issues.

I'll take a look at the rods and set screws - thanks for those points.