Makerbot Replicator 2 - Stop extruding after some minutes

[nvivas7]

Hi all,

I’ve been having problems with my printer lately, basically now I can’t use it anymore.

Issue: The printer suddenly stopped extruding the filament after 3-5mins max. At the beginning I was trying to unblock the nozzle and heating end as I used to do when that happened before but the problem kept going. So I decided to change the nozzle, and cooling block and motor thinking that the motor somehow lost power and couldn’t push the filament anymore. It worked for a while but really soon It began again the problem. I’m thinking to change the entire hot end assembly but I’m not too sure if that will fix the problem. It’s kind of an expensive part ($135) but that’s the only part that I haven’t changed yet.

For the record I already tried to fix settings and standard troubleshooting that Makerbot forum suggested. Didn’t work either. Any idea? I really need to fix my printer…

[chanman]

I had a similar problem with my Rep 2. the cause is that the heat from the extruder is getting into the filament and softening so the gear does not advance the filament. If you did a filament unload, you should see a section where the filament looks like there is a mouse bite. Make sure the cooling fan in the front is working and that it is installed so you do NOT see the label.

[nvivas7]

Thanks! My fan is working but your response explains well the issue, that’s exactly what’s happening. Did you solved your problem that way?

[chanman]

Yes I fixed it, I had the same problem that you described, the insulation around the heater block was torn, but when I changed it I had put the fan in backwards, took a week of debugging and found this. Ended up with a new nozzle, new insulation tape, cleaned the gear but the fan was the cause.

[nvivas7]

Great thanks a lot for the info! I’ll try to fixed it before buying everything brand new!