1

Ok so a littke while ago my CR10 started producing crap prints with missing layers. I found out that the feeder assembly was slipping. I eventually found that the filament was jamming consistently in the top of the heat break. I changed to a full metal hot end, heartbreak and heatsink.

I broke some other stuff along the way and fixed that as well, and now after installing a new heater cartridge I still have the problem.

I am able to hand feed the hot end directly and it works perfectly and it only jams when fully set up through the Bowden so I don’t know what’s happening and I’m nearly just going to go and buy a fully new assembly.

Thanks for any help you can give.

2

Not my area of expertise but from what you write something is getting stuck (trapped) somewhere along the line. From what I have read the usual suspects are;

  1. loose or misaligned driving gear
  2. worn or clogged driving gear
  3. dirt/dust in bowden tube
  4. misaligned or crushed bowden at hot end
  5. bowden too tight a radius or got bent/creased

If you strip the “feed” down (remove bowden) and extrude to fresh air pinching the filament with your fingers does it stop or skip feeding? That would suggest toothed gear needs looked at.

If you pass filament does the tube alone does it slide freely? If you bend the tube beyond the current radius and it still runs smooth the tube is fine.

If you hand fed to the hot end does it extrude nicely or off to the side? Might have some rubbish inside it.

Sorry not sure how to see if tube to hot end is fine I got the above from youtube when trying to sort a problem with my extruder (heatbreak in upside down…doh!). Hope it works out for you.

3

Thanks for responding, I did everything you recommended and I thought it was the Bowden tube getting restricted in the heatsink. I got about 12 hours of good prints, changed the filament once, and now I have a more annoying problem.

Halfway through the prints it will start slipping and I don’t know what to do

4

Hmmm. So we have checked the mechanics. Patted own back for genius “cracked it”. Left secure in the knowledge that all is well. And when your back is turned…

Ok back to process of elimination;

Factors that have changed
1 time
2 filament
3 print?
4 ruthless abandonment of printer with loneliness issues.

  1. When you checked the mechanics did anything need tweaked? Check that it hasn’t gone again. (sorry not talking down I have left stuff before because “I’ve done that already” only to find that the loose bit was loose again). Having completed a 12hr print I don’t thing anything mechanical is being affected by temperature but it is a fair bit of shoogling around.

  2. Again, sorry for stating the obvious but if you swapped back to 12hr print filament did it still slip? Same symptom will show if filament is jamming on spool creating too much resistance for driving gear. Quick thought was it the same material? I have PLA that is rough enough to file with and ABS that is so smooth and hard that get it to feed (guide wheel had to be reset so the teeth could bite).

  3. For the print itself firstly is it the same model, same settings? There are two schools of thought on printing neither wrong just different. Some print direct from PC others direct from SD card. Both appear adept at handling the code but one has connection drop outs that they cannot fathom and the other doesn’t. The latter (SD method, due to my lack of skill/knowledge) is my default position. Is the slippage visible during printing or is it after when you view the print? It could be a slicing issue sorted via one of the mesh mixer type programs that highlights issues for you.

  4. Clean everything. Talk nicely to it. Take it to the cinema. Excellent revenge on those who natcho with smelly dip and those that talk through the movie. Do not under any circumstances let it see you have any spare cash…that’s a recipe for failure.

Hope you get it sorted.

P.S. If it’s any consolation I suspect it’s a stealth move by the manufacturers to get us to upgrade bit by bit to the printer we should have got first time round. I have seen printer whisperers that produce injection molded finishes out of the box and others claiming “amazing results” from finishes I wouldn’t give house space to.