Extrusion and other issues

[ulticolin 0]

I am having a lot of difficulty to get any kind of a print from my Ultimaker 2. It seems that some of the issues are around my extruder gear not grabbing the filament at times. Often the filament will simply stop moving through the extruder and I have to manually push it up. When I go to change the material it usually doesn't actually remove it all the way because the gear is not grabbing it. Does anyone else have this issue? Do you know how to fix it?

Also, does anyone have some optimized settings for PLA? I am using the Ulimaker PLA. Even my first print of the Ultimaker Robot came out terrible with the default settings. I am trying to slice and print my own files using Cura 14.07 with plenty over/under extrusion issues. The circular photo is an example of that.

I could really use your help!

 

[th3o 0]

I had the same problem.

Try adjusting the white indicator on the extruder with the hex screw.

[Blizz 53]

Initially I would think the same, to use the tension screw on the feeder to ad more tension. However the picture you have with the nodges in the bowden tube part of the filament seems like grinding to me. If adding more tension doesn't help, there might be a partial clog in your nozzle preventing the printer from pushing through plastic. But indeed, start with the tension.

 

[ulticolin 0]

So I tightened the screw which seemed to have solved that problem. Now I am getting a ticking from the back. I looked through the troubleshooting guide which said to raise the temp to 260C. I did that but the ticking is still happening. The print seems to be working fine but it keeps ticking which is worrying me.

 

[Blizz 53]

Look at the screw with which the knurled wheel is mounted and wait for that ping. If you're experiencing what I think you are you'll see it jump back about 1/4th rotation as you hear the sound. It's the filament being pulled back because of too much pressure.

If so you still might have a partial clot or something hindering the flow of plastic.

Btw if you're using PLA, don't heat it to 260° unless you printing at a very high speed, it'll burn and you have even more chance creating a clot

[qwarks 1]

I am on my second day of printing with my new UM2 and today i also get a ticking sound from my extruder.

I have had the UM1 for about a year before this, so im not that new to this and in my case the extruder is not bouncing back because of too much pressure on the filament.

Its more of a fast tick, tick, tick every quarter of a second. It is not visible when looking af the knurled wheel, but i can feel the vibrations from the "tick". when i put my finger on the knurled wheel.

The prints come out perfectly so no issue there, but the sound was not there yesterday.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance :-)

 

[illuminarti 18]

The quiet fast ticks from the extruder are normal - it just seems to happen at certain extrusion speeds; don't worry about it. The only thing that is an issue is when the extruder is making a loud click and jumping back 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn. As Blizz says, that's due to too much pressure in the extrusion system, so that the motor is stalling. And it is normal for it to happen during the filament load process, or when printing the first layer, if the head is a bit too close to the bed.

In Ultcolin's case, if you are getting gouges in the filament, and it stops feeding, you should NOT push it into the Bowden tube - that is simply asking for problems later. Rather, you should take the filament out and cut off the damaged parts, and then reload the filament. Increasing the pressure on the extruder idler will usually help. For printers made after mid-March 2014, you want the white indicator mark somewhere around the second line on the scale on the extruder housing. (Printers prior to that have a different spring, and the indicator should be all the way to the top).

 

[qwarks 1]

Ok, noticed that the ticking dissapeared on another faster print last night, so i guess you're right about that.

I'll try to adjust the tension a bit on the spring.

I had some other issues that got worse over 7 hours of printing yesterday and i've finally located the problem, the knurled wheel was not tightened on the motor shaft, so when retracting, the shaft slipped in the wheel.

- Maybe UM should mount the pin bolt with locktite? - Anyway, its working now.

 

[eldrick 65]

If you have been printing PLA at 260C, I guarantee that there is a buildup of black carbonized plastic in the nozzle, and that it will slow extrusion by increasing friction. For the Ultimaker sample filament, it is recommended to use 210C to print the UM robot, which I did yesterday, and I got the best print I've had in months...

Try using the cold-pull (atomic method) to clean the nozzle. It will probably take several repetitions before the plastic comes out completely clean. Also, use a slender needle to clear the tip of the nozzle, and then cold-pull again.

 

[ultiarjan 1,223]

and if you can't find a needle small enough you can use 1 fibre of a metal rust brush .....