Advice needed on loading filament into S5

[Alzibiff 8]

I recently had my "previously enjoyed" S5 serviced by an Ultimaker distributor so I am happy that belts are tight, the machine is lubricated and settings are just as they should be. (This was within a couple of weeks of me buying the machine so I am still learning how to get the best out of it). The printer makes fantastic prints, not surprisingly a lot better than either of the RepRap machines I built in 2011.

 

However ..... I am having trouble when loading filament into either extruder. The filament gets as far as the print core and DOES enter the relevant print core but that is when the problem starts - the filament does not go far enough into the print core, it effectively gets stuck resulting in the feeder grinding away at the filament at the back of the machine. I get some filament coming out of the nozzle but believe this to be "ooze" rather than a proper stream of extruded material. Of course, when the print starts, the machine inevitably reports a Material Error within a short time as it thinks that there is no filament on the spool.

 

The only solution that I have found is to load the filament manually - heating up the print core and then having unfastened the Bowden tube at the print core end and released the tension on the feeder drive, I push the filament through by hand which is all very tedious. 

 

I suspect that I am doing something wrong although I HAVE tried snipping the filament to a point to try and make automatic loading easier for the machine to cope with. Help!!

[Dustin 150]

The following is a guide for loading materials on your UltiMaker S5 
https://support.makerbot.com/s/article/1667417952533

However, it sounds more like your front fan isnt working properly?
Make sure your front fan is clean and spinning properly when your print cores are heated.

[Alzibiff 8]

1 hour ago, Dustin said:

However, it sounds more like your front fan isnt working properly?
Make sure your front fan is clean and spinning properly when your print cores are heated.

Thank you Dustin. How do I cause the fan to switch on? I have tried raising the temperature of one of the print cores but the fan does not switch on - which I expected it to. Am I right in thinking that once the print core(s) are above a certain temperature, the fan should come on automatically as the fan on my machine does not move at all.

[Dustin 150]

yea the fan should kick on within a few seconds.. to be sure set the core to like 200c
If it does not kick on.. you will need to check your connections in the print head to make sure its plugged in properly.

I would recommend taking pictures of your print head with the front open and closed and the back of it showing the plugs and opening a support case with UltiMaker.
Depending what the findings are they might be able to warranty parts for you if required.

UltiMaker unfortunately does not provide official support via the community.
This is mostly the extent of what I can help with.
Contact here: https://support.makerbot.com/s/contactsupport

[Alzibiff 8]

Thank you Dustin again. The Air Manager fan comes on when the print core temperature rises but not the front fan - I suspect that this isn't right either?

 

[Dustin 150]

Yea that sounds like the source of the loading issue. 
Question now is finding out why its not coming on.

[Alzibiff 8]

Just seen this on the Ultimaker support site which suggests that all is well with the air manager fan coming on when the print core temperature rises. Just need to sort out the front fan behaviour ... or lack of behaviour now!

 

"Any time a print core or the heated bed exceeds a temperature of 50 °C, the fan of the Air Manager will turn on. At these temperatures, residual material on the build plate or in the print cores can emit UFPs, which should be filtered. Therefore, it is normal for the fan to spin during other operations that require heating, and not only during printing."

[Alzibiff 8]

Solution marked - I simply wasn't following the guide which Dustin provided a link to. The issue was nothing to do with the front fan but saying that, Dustin's response led me to discovering that my fan has a fault somewhere. Being new to the printer, I wasn't aware of when the front fan should spin. (Although 'no spin at all' is a bit of a give away!).

Edited May 20, 2023 by Alzibiff