Hi there, not sure if this is the right place, I’m only here to get some help, hopefully someone can… I have a da vinci jr. that stopped printing a little while ago. Instead of printing, I hear a loud clicking noise. The noise I found out is coming from the gears that feed the spool through the tube, right above where the spool is installed. The gear just gets stuck on it, because the plastic won’t budge. I can’t print, or unload the filament as a result. I tried to remove the the feed tube, but I couldn’t remove it from either end, it’s totally stuck. I’m sorry if I’m missing something obvious here, I’ve been looking around and can’t seem to find any kind of a solution. Thank you to anyone who takes the time to answer.
Edit: Fixed! Thank you everyone for your time and advise!
OK, assuming your extruder is heating up correctly (the fact that the extruder motor is trying to move filament strongly suggests this) then hearing the clicking noise means that the force to pull the filament out or extrude it is too much for the torque of the motor. Probably the filament has been ground down enough at the point of contact that it can’t exert the maximum it could at this point anyway.
At the risk of being redundant, be sure the extruder is in fact heating. If so, and you are trying to unload, it might work to grab the filament at the entry point of the extruder with a needlenose pliers and pull as the motor starts to click. That might free it. In tough cases (for example, where the heater cartridge died during a print) I had to use a small butane heat gun (not a torch with a flame) to over heat the brass end of the extruder and then pull the filament back. Careful - there are a lot of plastic parts to melt…
It is quite difficult to get in to the rear of the extruder to clear the filament by cutting it, but it can be done with a small jeweler’s cutting wire, though I don’t recommend this do the the potential for damage to the pinch wheels that drive the filament.
You have the bed set too high, so the filament is unable to leave the extruder, it might be so high that it could take 3-4 passes before it starts printing again. LOWER THE BED! and you will see that is whats causing the issue. set up a few small test pieces say 5cm x 5cm x 3cm and test it once calibrated.
I just checked to be sure, and the extruder is in fact heating up. I have tried to remove the filament while it was clicking, but I wasn’t able to do so. It’s really stuck in there! I don’t have the time today to try the heat gun technique, but I will keep it in mind. I reached out to XYZ printing for help, and they have been ignoring me… I scheduled a phone appointment and I never got the call and haven’t heard from them since.
it sounds like bed height likely caused the latter issue, can you set it to change filament, so the head heats up and you can just pull the filament out?
I thought so as well originally, but I’ve experimented with many different heights high and low, without success. I have also tried to use the change filament options to my advantage, but nothing I’ve done has led to success.
It sounds like you are going to have to take apart the head and investigate further inside, it may be that the gears have been jammed with melted plastic which has cooled and hardened. (just a theory) Good luck with it.
That’s what I’m thinking as well. Thanks for all of your help, I really appreciate it. I’m not sure how this happened, I may end up waiting for XYZ to get their act together and respond to me haha.
Luckily, there is a solution to this problem! Firstly, if you try using plyers, then maybe you can force the filament out. Do not try too hard as you may damage your machine.
This video by XYZ shows you how to take apart your printer so you have access to the gears that are jammed. There you can manually remove the filament.
In the video, the guy removes the wires in the casing surrounding the gears, I do not advise it. Just keep them plugged in. He only does it so that he has more room to access the gears with. Just keep them attached since putting them back is really frustrating.
Yes, if a Jr. then the head can be easily removed and if you are capable, disassembled to clean and check. I’ve not had one apart, but clearly there is filament stuck in the path or in the hot end section, and clearing this may be a challenge. Take it slow and try to see where the actual sticking place is. It might be necessary to get a new head but most blockages can be cleared - the main thing is to not damage the extruder in the process.
yes completely agree with approach. I have done the same with my Da Vinci 2.0. I recommend cleaning the drive gears on the extruder at regular intervals. I usually give a quick clean before a large print just to ensure I don’t have any issues.
