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What are your strategies for fixing jams in the hot end?

(Printer I refer to is a PowerSpec Ultra)

I also ran into an issue when I went to reassemble one of the extruders and found out the spring had been thrown out (curse those ignorant people that don’t understand things have a purpose). What do you recommend I get to replace this? I bought some off amazon marketed as extruder springs but they put way too much tension on the filament, to the point it grinds off filament without any extra agitation.

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First off when it is working correctly. Please the printhead into a feed in mode as if your loading filament and allow a bit of filament to come out. Leave it feeding and squeeze the trigger on the appropriate side and pull out the filament as quick as you can. This insures the majority of the filament has not had a chance to soften and always a clean extraction. (This is good technique for most printers.) Also do not let PLA sit loaded in an unused print head as it does get brittle and can brake off while moving back and forth with the print head.

If you have a situation now where the printhead is jammed, pull the stepper motor off, heat the head and work another piece either into the extruder tube or use needle nose pliers to extract the piece that is stuck in the extruder tube (after everything heats up. It most likely has a blob on the end; especially if you used the slow unloading method. (Squeeze the trigger and pull when hot is the only way to go to insure no clogs.)

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Hi Noah

Hot end clogging

I agree with dmyers about the filament going brittle. It is a real pain when it snaps off. As far as unloading the filament is concerned: what he is referring to is called a ‘Cold Pull’. The best way to do a Cold Pull is to let the head cool down, then start it heating back up again and start to pull on the filament once it gets to around 160 - 170 degrees. The colder you can pull the filament out the more filament and dust / contaminants will come out with it. The end of the filament can be snapped / cut off and discarded leaving a nice pure filament end.

Another thing you can do is: cut a piece of cheep washing up sponge and inch or so square, make a small hole or cut a slit in it then make the filament go through it before it goes into the extruder. This will wipe any dust off of the filament and minimise contaminants getting into you hot end.

Another thing I have had in the past is that: the starting gap between the hot end and the bed was too small making the filament build back pressure and overheat in the hot end which can carbonise, thus causing a jam!!!

Spring

I don’t know if the spring on your printer is pushing or pulling so I hope this helps. Simple thing to do here is to cut the spring down with plyers and stretch it a little. This will lesson it’s strength / tension.

I hope some of this helps.

Regards

Dave

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Actually, my method is not a cold pull as I wouldn’t suggest a cold pull all the time. Cold pulls can be good to help clear a jam in a clogged nozzle if you don’t want to replace the nozzle. My method is a hot pull as I suggest letting the filament get to full temp, start the load process to purge the very end and then push the trigger and pull out the filament. I do this on all my printers to prevent a lumpy end and jamming as can happen if you use the stock “unload”.

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I have an powerspec ultra. For it I keep a thin metal rod and a guitar string around in case of sever clogs when I print with ABS. The metal rod is to push the filament through from the top. The guitar string is for clearing out the nozzle tip and when inserted from the nozzle end can help pinpoint how far in to the extruder the jam is. My last clog was due to a broken piece of cheap quality filament getting stuck in the extruder.

Have you tried looking at your local Microcenter for printer parts? You may be able to find a spring there. Else try flashforge (http://www.flashforge-usa.com/shop/flashforge-extruder-spring.html). The parts should work as powerspecs are flashforge clones in a way and use a lot of the same parts.

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If it’s PLA, I usually do a hot pull. I’ll set the extruder temp to about 70C and basically yank the filament out. It’s just enough for it to soften without being completely melted, and it sticks to near anything in the nozzle even if it’s in the orifice.

As for the spring - when I upgraded my Solidoodle with an E3D extruder, what I did to get the spring tension correct was slowly clip off one end of the spring, about a quarter inch at a time, until it felt like it was the right tension.

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Seeing as the powerspec has Teflon tubes, I highly advise against hot/cold pulls of the filament as you don’t want to get filament stuck in the tubes and damage them. It is always best to push the clog out instead of pulling it out as the pulling method can lodge a clog higher up in the extruder and worsen the situation.

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Good point, I missed that part. I upgraded mine with all metal tubes from micro-swiss which makes it a lot more robust. Totally worth it, and once you go through about 10 teflon tubes (which I did) you might as well spend the extra money on the upgrade.

1 Like
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With my Flashforge Creator Pro I had today a clogged nozzle while printing ABS yesterday. After I tried multiple times to load/unload/load/unload without success, I unscrewed the nozzle and found the clogging ABS.

I put the nozzle on a fire-proof pad (like porcelain dish) and than I used a gas burner (normally used in the kitchen for creme brulee) to heat the nozzle and also to burn the ABS by directing the flame into the nozzle. You can use a small screwdriver to get ABS out of the inside while holding the hot nozzle with pliers. Attention: REALLY hot!

I did this already another time before - both times with success.

Do not forget to clean the teeth of the gear-wheel which is likely full of filemant pieces, because of the multiple times of slipping while pushing in.

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Hey guys

You spend all day printing successfully, You go to bed and wake up the next day (filament still loaded and no settings changed). You start another print run and (it works the same flawlessly or, it fails big style). Your heating was off for the night the room cooled and moisture/condensation dampened the filament loaded on your printer (nearly every one leaves the filament loaded). The filament is brittle and snaps off at the extruder or gathers hot end clogging dust. The first layer is too squished or too loose. Hey!!! Every thing is changing and is always in flux!!! (ambient temperature, expansion of the bed, hot end, filament or planet MARS! just aligned with VENUS!!!). Sometimes (sorry for casual swearing) SHIT happens.

3d printing is not a science it is an ART. I spent 8 hours trying to do a really simple print with failure. Went away had a couple of glasses of wine, chilled out and gave it another go (relaxed). Worked great with another fantastic print (relax don’t try too hard) remember, we do this cos it’s fun!!!

Because of thermal dynamics everything is always changing so go with the flow and keep trying. When ever you need to figure something out or learn do a youtube search including the word tutorial and you will find a video that will help you.

If you need more direct help I am very willing to help: just email me at dave_jolliff@hotmail.com and I will lend my 3 intensive years of knowledge to help you solve your problem.

Regards

Dave