Is this a clogged nozzle?

[mariem 0]

Hey guys!

So today I woke up and went to look at how the print was going.

I arrived to, pretty much, few lines on the bed (2-3 lines of the brim) and then... Nothing.

The printer head was moving around way higher (like 5 hours worth of print higher) but nothing was coming out of the nozzle, it was just moving around just like it would have been when printing.

So obviously I canceled the print.

Now what could it be, is my nozzle clogged?

can it be cause by a totally different reason?

I saw some post about an ''atomic'' metod but I'm a bit worried about trying it out.

First because I'm french so name of certains pieced can very quickly become confusing and I wouldn't want to make a mistake,

second because Oh well, I'm pretty much worthless when it come to opening and fixing stuff manually, I always feel like it will never work again.

I would have been very happy if anyone took some picture or even a video of the process?

Would really make the process feel much more secure for me, I wouldn't want to break something on my brand new UM2, after such a long wait...

Here's a picture I took of the nozzle from how I found it this morning (sorry bad quality)

 

[nick-foley 5]

Maybe clogged. Could also be other problems, but a clog will be the easiest to fix.

Turn the temperature of the nozzle up to 240ish and let it sit for a minute. Then feed material through the nozzle for a while, at least 50mm of filament. See if any mess other than clean filament comes out.

If filament doesn't come out, or it comes out cleanly but you continue to have printing problems, it is likely you will have to take apart your hotend to learn a little more about the problem, though it is also possible that you need to make some adjustments to your material feeder mechanism, either the tension on it, or the way your filament is spooling.

The clog is the easiest though, test that first.

 

[illuminarti 18]

Did you check first that the extruder hasn't simply ground away the filament? Be sure and do a material change, and if necessary grab the filament by hand, and pull during the fast retract part, to help the extruder grab onto the plastic.

Then reinsert the filament and see if you can get anything to come out of the nozzle. If nothing comes out during the filament insertion, heat the hot end up to about 250º, let it sit for a few mins, and then try the move material function, and see if that helps - try moving the filament in both directions, and check that it is actually moving as you turn the dial.

 

[brumbaer 0]

Used only UM Blue and UM Yellow.

Never had a problem with Blue. Since I use Yellow, I had three occurances of what you describe.

First time I thought it would be a clog, but it proofed to be what illuminati describes.

I realized that only after taking the head apart.

The filament may be stuck very fast and you have to pull quite strongly to get it out.

In one case there was also a bit of PLA at the outside of the noozle, but it came off easily and after removal - and after having resolved the jam - the filament flowed freely.

[mariem 0]

I tried to do a material change today,

Seems like the extruder grinded the filament...

Can't manage to remove the filament from it, help?

 

[mariem 0]

Picturesss!

I really try to pull kind of hard during the ''change material'' thinghy and it's very stuck :/

I am not able to remove the filament

I had a print to do for someone tomorow, not too sure what to do,

Anyone?

 

[illuminarti 18]

I'd remove the Bowden tube above the extruder, and cut the filament a bit above and below the extruder unit. Then with the power off, pull that short bit out. Then heat the head back up to 250, and pull the filament through the Bowden tube. A pair of pliers might help to grip it. If it is still stuck, then you might need to remove the Bowden tube at the hot end, and pull directly there as well.

[mariem 0]

Haha sorry for the noob question,

the bowden tube is the little plastic-transparent tube that goes from the extruder to the printing head?

I'm not sure how to remove it? I want to be sure not to damage anything

 

[illuminarti 18]

Yes. Slide the blue clip out, then press the white part down, while pulling up on the tube. When reinstalling it, push tube in all the way, then while holding tube down, lift white part up to grip it, then add the clip back.

[mariem 0]

:/ seems like it's impossible for me to remove the bowden tube at the top of the extruder.

I pushed back the white part down but the bowden tube just isn't coming out!

 

[mariem 0]

Manage to take it out but wasn't easy, apparently needed the arms of a man.

When I pulled it out the grinded part of the filament came out with it.

Happy it finally came out, I was starting to really wonder when I would be able to use it again anytime soon!