You may have a temperature problem. I agree with Nicolinux, try a different filament and compare. Are you sure it is PLA? A bit of a dumb question but ABS has a higher melting point.
Try raising temp to 245.
Try increasing extrusion amount in Cura.
Try smaller layers.
Make sure your hot end is as hot as the thermocouple says it is. Sometimes, it can be a little off or the fan might be cooling it down.
Just some suggestions. Hope they help.
I tried with a previously used PLA filament and it also abnormally underextruded. It's not a material or temperature issue, it's the feeder that has been defective since I got the printer and the dozen last big models I printed ruined it, now I can't print anything. I don't care anymore what's the cause, I'm going to replace this junk by an ultimaker2.
I think your nozzle is just partially plugged. Do this:
1) heat up nozzle to 200C. *carefully* unscrew it because brass is easy to break. Be gentle.
2) Bring it over to a gas flame like on a stove. Heat it up pretty good but not too much (lol). burn everything out of there. Tap it on something to wack some plastic out. Try running a 2 inch piece of filament through it maybe. Make sure it looks empty on the inside.
3) While the nozzle is off, push down on the bowden ring clip thing and pull out the bowden tube from the head. Remove filament also. Make sure that path is clean of plugs.
4) Put it all back together and test out the old PLA you *know* works fine.
I print at 240C all the time but at that temp, if the PLA is moving too slow apparently you can burn it which turns it into a sticky plug. Never leave your nozzle over 180C for more than a minute without plastic flowing through it. Especially dangerous at 230C and 240C. But as long as filament is moving slowly I've not had a problem. Or as long as I turn the gear a bit every 30 seconds.
I don't think it's plugged. By what magic would it go back and forth from partially plugged (underextrusion) to not plugged at all (normal extrusion) ?
It might be far fetched but _maybe_ you just had bad luck with filament. The first filament you used might be of very low quality (where the diameter is not stable). Then your old filament could be also of low quality or degraded over time. I know that filament attracts humidity. That's why I keep my filament in a plastic bag full of silica gel packets.
Maybe this old filament ruined your extruder. Although I you could print yourself a new extruder - like this one:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:27626
Or someone here on the forums could print it and send it to you. I am from Germany and I can do it if you like.
I tried with a previously used PLA filament and it also abnormally underextruded.
I don't think it's plugged. By what magic would it go back and forth from partially plugged (underextrusion) to not plugged at all (normal extrusion) ?
I'm confused. Are you saying it's fixed now? I thought you said the machine isn't working well now. It's underextruding with 2 types of filament, right?
When you heat PLA too long it turns into a brownish black gunk that boils and gets thicker and thicker until it turns into something very hard. This hard thing can stick to the side of the inside of the nozzle and *partially* block extrusion. I have some of the same stuff on the outside of my extruder - a thin layer of brown or black gunk.
I'm confused. Are you saying it's fixed now? I thought you said the machine isn't working well now.
I'm saying underextrusion comes and goes. When it comes I feel the filament not being pulled so to me it's a feeder issue.
I spent too much time trying to fix this since the beginning, I've had enough, I'm not going to try anything. You should save your time as well !
I'm saying underextrusion comes and goes. When it comes I feel the filament not being pulled so to me it's a feeder issue.
???... Obviously, if the filament is being blocked in the nozzle, it is absolutely not the material feed mechanism's fault that it can't force material into the machine anymore.
It sounds to me like the problem is related to an improperly assembled or damaged hotend. Have you thoroughly cleaned it, as was suggested? That would also be a good chance to confirm that everything was coming together properly as well.
???... Obviously, if the filament is being blocked in the nozzle, it is absolutely not the material feed mechanism's fault that it can't force material into the machine anymore.
It sounds to me like the problem is related to an improperly assembled or damaged hotend. Have you thoroughly cleaned it, as was suggested? That would also be a good chance to confirm that everything was coming together properly as well.
How does it unblock itself ?
I disassembled it and cleaned it few months ago, it didn't improve the high speed underextrusion that was occurring. I probably won't bother doing it again.
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Nicolinux 288
One easy way to rule this out is to print with another filament and see if it behaves the same. Then you'd know for sure if it is your new filament or your printer.
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