Filament bulged - can't unload

[Emerald 1]

Hi @ all,

 

I've got a really wired filament jam. The PLA filament somehow bulged at the top of the print core. See attached photo.

Let me describe what I have done so far:

 

- Saw, that the Ultimaker S5 didn't complete the print. "Material seems to be empty." It wasn't.

- checked for twisted material as this sometimes happens. It wasn't.

- tried to resume print but filament didn't move into feeder.

- aborted print

- unload filament didn't work. I thought it might got stuck or ground down in feeder.

- turned off machine, removed bowden tube and opened feeder.

- it was ground down but still couldn't remove filament from core. Cleaned and assembled feeder

- snipped filament 

- tried "hot pull" core cleaning method

- filament wouldn't move into core and i couldn't remove it either

- noticed that filament diameter is bigger than the opening of the core

- tried to remove core but the intentional left filament tail prevents removal. I left a tail to grab hold with pliers.

 

Do you have any idea how to move forward? 

Edited December 13, 2021 by Emerald

[AndersK 59]

You might have an issue with the front fan to begin with, thats likely to cause this bulge.

 

Heat up the core to max temp and let it sit until you can pull it out.

 

If that fails try to cut off the remains as close to the core as possible or take the head apart (top lid)

I've had filament break between the bowden and core and been forced to that to get the core out.

[neute 16]

Hi, 

 

I had literally the exact same problem today. I was able to reach into the gap between the print core and the housing, e.g. the gap in your circle, with a small knife and cut off the filament, since it couldn't be unloaded from the print head but was free to move a few mm up and down, e.g. not permanently stuck in the print core.

You should probably make sure before, by heating the print core up and tugging on the filament, that the same applies to you, e.g. the filament isn't stuck in the printcore itself. Otherwise you won't be able to pull it out after cutting it.

 

After cutting the filament I was able to remove the print core and get the remaining piece out.

 

@AndersK thank you for mentioning the front fan, it seemed that it was an issue for me as well, I spent 15 minutes with tweezers pulling "hair"/thin stringing leftovers out of the fan of the base, it wasn't spinning freely at all. The print quality already seems to have improved. My filament tube was also dirty from inside which partly blocked retractions, causing a lot of stringing to happen in the first place.

 

Good luck,

Niklas

[Emerald 1]

Hi @AndersK and hi @neute,

 

thank you for your input and help. I managed to remove the core. I used a scalpel to cut a small notch and the filament came lose when I applied some twisting to the pulling motion.

Indeed there were some "hairs" in the fan. I did the full maintenance routine as I was half way done anyways after cleaning the feeders. 

 

Unfortunately the filament is stuck inside the core. See the pictures. I will read some more posts in the forum to find out how to safely remove the remaining filament.

 

 

[neute 16]

you should be able to insert and heat the core again to like 220-230 °C (for PLA), and maybe either push all the filament through or quickly remove the print core (ignore the printer's error message, just restart) and remove the filament with pliers.

[Emerald 1]

I will try this, thanks.

[RogueWave 15]

Have the same issue on two different times, have clean fan on the second time, some small particles, and happen again after 4 hours on a 8 hour print. Layer quality very poor for most of the print and filament in feeder grind away again….

Filament stuck in core and swelled up in Bowden tube.

Though it might be a bad core installed another core did not solve the problem 

what is next?

 

 

[Smithy 1,144]

3 hours ago, RogueWave said:

Filament stuck in core and swelled up in Bowden tube

The cause for that is normally a non working front fan, when the core is not cooled anymore. But as far as I understood you already have checked that?

[RogueWave 15]

12 hours ago, Smithy said:

The cause for that is normally a non working front fan, when the core is not cooled anymore. But as far as I understood you already have checked that?

yes, fan check ok ......... but now wonder might work off and on at times, not constant operation.......will observe more closely fan speed

thanks for your reply

[Smithy 1,144]

You are welcome. If possible check it more closely, the failure sounds really like a non working front fan, but maybe it stops after some time. 

 

It is also possible that it is a connection problem. Check the wires from the front fan, maybe you can see that it is broken somewhere. The cable is routed quite near the hinge in the back left as far as I can remember, so could be that it got damaged there and with some faster head moves, the fan gets on and off.

 

Or other idea, check the fan connector on the back of the printhead. Very unlikely that it got loose, but check it too.

[RogueWave 15]

On 1/16/2022 at 6:09 PM, Smithy said:

You are welcome. If possible check it more closely, the failure sounds really like a non working front fan, but maybe it stops after some time. 

 

It is also possible that it is a connection problem. Check the wires from the front fan, maybe you can see that it is broken somewhere. The cable is routed quite near the hinge in the back left as far as I can remember, so could be that it got damaged there and with some faster head moves, the fan gets on and off.

 

Or other idea, check the fan connector on the back of the printhead. Very unlikely that it got loose, but check it too.

I watched the printing for 10 minutes or more and the fan does not work but printing fine 210C pla. I have the Air manager does that cool the nozzle? Fan spins good with slight blast of air… I cleaned  the filament feeder, Bowden tube, and  the nozzle.. printing for 4 hours now no issue layers very good….

    Will check over your recommendations later. Thanks again for the feedback 

 

 

[Smithy 1,144]

When the front fan is not working than it is just a question of time until you get again the problem. The Air Manager don't cool the the print core, but maybe when the model is flat enough, that the two part fans generate enough airflow for the time that it is working. But you want definitely check why the front fan is not working.

 

I guess a wire is broken or the connector is loose on the back. If not you can only replace the fan itself.

 

But check also if the fan is maybe blocked by some residue of filament.

[RogueWave 15]

Thanks for your advice....certainly will find the issue.....any video on removing checking/replace the fan?

 

[Smithy 1,144]

29 minutes ago, RogueWave said:

any video on removing checking/replace the fan?

I think there was a video or some instructions, but haven't found it yet. I will still try to find something....

[AndersK 59]

https://support.ultimaker.com/hc/en-us/articles/360012826479-Replace-the-axial-fan-of-the-Ultimaker-3

[RogueWave 15]

13 hours ago, AndersK said:

https://support.ultimaker.com/hc/en-us/articles/360012826479-Replace-the-axial-fan-of-the-Ultimaker-3

Thanks very helpful 

found the problem ….. base of fan ….black wire broke off

will order the capacitor also as a precaution …..all the heat with no cooling

[RogueWave 15]

Here is a video of the operation r and r the fan plus the whole print head!!!

Enjoy

 

[Emerald 1]

Hi you all,

 

I finally got the time to tackle this problem.

I fully disassembled the Print Core and got the filament out. It broke of in the nozzle though. I used this video.

See attached photos  of the parts and the deformed filament. The thickest part was almost 4mm in diameter.

Next I installed and needed to calibrate the core. The broken filament just melted out. I considered cleaning the core but that didn't seem necessary. The calibration went fine.

 

Thank you for your support. Solved.