Feeder stepper not rotating

[JohnsonK 0]

Hey guys,

I have an Ultimaker 2 and until last Monday, the prints it delivered were outstanding.

A small piece of filament got stuck inside the feeder mechanism so I had to disassemble this. It was after this several problems started occurring. First the feeder was slipping and I read many threads on this, ultimately solving the problem (I hope).

So I started to test print a small piece. Everything worked fine and the small amount of filament that extrudes before every print just seemed normal. Which was quite a relief after days of trouble.

However when it started to print the actual thing, the feeder stepper stopped rotating, leaving a small, nasty, opaque filament trail (see picture).

My question is, if anyone has had similar problems, and how he/she could solve it. I'd be very grateful for that.

Thanks in advance!

[SandervG 1,521]

Hi @JohnsonK, welcome to the forums!

I'm happy to hear you have always been very happy with your Ultimaker. What kind of things have you been printing?

It sounds like something got misplaced or put together differently after taking it apart, if it started misbehaving since then. Have you considered using some tweezers to remove the string of filament?

Can you check if the setscrew on your teethed sleeve is properly secured? If this is loose, there is no grip on the sleeve and even though the motor might be turning, this movement is not transferred to the sleeve, and your filament will remain still.

When the print is running, can you feel the motor work? Does the motor ever work?

Looking forward hearing from you!

[JohnsonK 0]

Hi @JohnsonK, welcome to the forums!

I'm happy to hear you have always been very happy with your Ultimaker. What kind of things have you been printing?

It sounds like something got misplaced or put together differently after taking it apart, if it started misbehaving since then. Have you considered using some tweezers to remove the string of filament?

Can you check if the setscrew on your teethed sleeve is properly secured? If this is loose, there is no grip on the sleeve and even though the motor might be turning, this movement is not transferred to the sleeve, and your filament will remain still.

When the print is running, can you feel the motor work? Does the motor ever work?

Looking forward hearing from you!

 

Hey Sander! Thanks for welcoming me and for the quick reply!

Last two years I've been printing functional things for 'my' student team (making a fuel efficient car), so for example customized protection cases, structures that hold certain elements (electronics and varia) in place etc.

It is only a month ago I got an Ultimaker 2 at my disposal so I am finally able to print some things I wanted myself. I love CAD software and have been using it for quite some years now so I can't wait to print some models (I made myself) and learn about 3D printing and several filaments more and more, including cleaning up and painting models after the print! I'm very excited to gain lots of experience in the 3D printing world and have endless possibilities to print.

Anyways, back to the problem. I was able to remove the string of filament before the stepper problem occurred. I also checked the setscrew several times and I can tell it's tightly secured.

The motor runs at first but stops when it starts printing the actual design. It is the first time I encountered this problem so my guess is that the motor works fine but I'm not able to locate the source of the problem. It is quite difficult to explain what happens so I've included a video (dropbox link) showing this.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/t8xhn50i4mgp6wp/IMG_1339.MOV?dl=0

1. Initially, the feeder seems to work just fine as you can see it rotating and material gets extruded (the string of filament before every print).

2. When the printer starts printing the actual design, a rectangular test piece in this case, it stops extruding material and the stepper stops rotating and seems to slip a little bit.

I hope all information is clear to you and if there is something you don't understand, I'd be happy to explain more in detail.

Looking forward to your reply!

Kim

[SandervG 1,521]

Hi Kim,

Thank you for your reply.

Could you add another video which perhaps shows a little bit longer how your feeder behaves?

Did you disassemble the feeder, and put it back together? Are you sure the spring in your feeder is put back correctly? Have you tried increasing the tension on your feeder?

[JohnsonK 0]

Hi Kim,

Thank you for your reply.

Could you add another video which perhaps shows a little bit longer how your feeder behaves?

Did you disassemble the feeder, and put it back together? Are you sure the spring in your feeder is put back correctly? Have you tried increasing the tension on your feeder?

 

Hey Sander,

First my apologies for my late answer, last days were pretty busy and I didn't have time to get to 3D printing. I recorded a new video, which is uploading right now. However before that, I disassembled the feeder again, made sure everything was tight and assembled it. I did another test print and it seems that the problem has resolved... It was a clean print but I have no idea what exactly the problem was. But I think I can get back to printing like before!

Big thanks for your time and help, I really appreciate it.

If any problems still occur, I'll let you know in this thread.

Have a nice day!