Feed Failures with PETG

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jhaupt
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Feed Failures with PETG

Post by jhaupt » Thu Mar 24, 2016 3:35 pm

Is anyone else having a recurring problem where PETG inexplicably stops feeding during the print? I like PETG for certain things but this is an ongoing annoyance and a showstopper.

I had assumed it was clogging but just last night I just happened to notice it stop feeding during a print, so I jumped up and pushed down on the filament going into the head while it was printing, and that was enough to get it going again. I then tightened the feed pulley (there's only about a 1mm gap in the slot in the plastic now, pretty tight), thinking that might help. When I woke up this morning I found the extrusion had stopped again, just before the print finished.

Anyone else?

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Jules
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Re: Feed Failures with PETG

Post by Jules » Thu Mar 24, 2016 3:40 pm

I just try to be careful to always reset the Filament Drive Screw tension when i switch to PETG, and that generally prevents problems. (PETG likes a hair more tension than PLA.)

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2694

:D

wmgeorge
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Re: Feed Failures with PETG

Post by wmgeorge » Thu Mar 24, 2016 4:10 pm

I think sometimes filament gets crossed or tangled coming off the spool. Not very often however. Jules or someone has posted a procedure for checking the drive gear teeth marks on the filament to make adjustments to the tension. I do that when I change spools. My last print ran about 22 hours, The 3D Marble machine as >http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1340784
turned out pretty nice.
MarbleMachine.JPG
PETG for body the Gray is ABS
MarbleMachine.JPG (38.37 KiB) Viewed 12514 times
Retired Master Electrician, Commercial HVAC/R,CNC Router

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ednisley
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Re: Feed Failures with PETG

Post by ednisley » Thu Mar 24, 2016 4:18 pm

jhaupt wrote:PETG inexplicably stops feeding
When that happened to me, the problem turned out to be a slightly too large section of PETG filament combined with a slightly too narrow passage through the filament drive:
http://softsolder.com/2016/02/02/filament-drive-jam/

Image

The solution boiled down to reaming out the drive passage with a 2 mm drill, which I apparently hadn't done when I installed the drive a year ago: it worked perfectly for a year, jammed twice, and now works perfectly again.

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Jules
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Re: Feed Failures with PETG

Post by Jules » Thu Mar 24, 2016 4:27 pm

Well, speak-eth of the devil......I just jammed some.....like five minutes ago. ROFL! :lol:

(Justine, you putta da hex upon it!) :lol:

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Jules
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Re: Feed Failures with PETG

Post by Jules » Thu Mar 24, 2016 4:28 pm

wmgeorge wrote:I think sometimes filament gets crossed or tangled coming off the spool. Not very often however. Jules or someone has posted a procedure for checking the drive gear teeth marks on the filament to make adjustments to the tension. I do that when I change spools. My last print ran about 22 hours, The 3D Marble machine as >http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1340784
turned out pretty nice.
MarbleMachine.JPG

Very
nice! :D

jsc
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Re: Feed Failures with PETG

Post by jsc » Thu Mar 24, 2016 7:35 pm

Also, PETG generates higher pressures than PLA, so you just can't print as fast.

wmgeorge
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Re: Feed Failures with PETG

Post by wmgeorge » Thu Mar 24, 2016 9:28 pm

Yes I used the 2 mm drill also when I re-printed my extruder body. I can not complain, 2 jams since August 2015. But I think the 2 mm is the way to go as it gives a little fudge factor after the drive gear engagement.


BTW there is a video on You Tube showing my Cyclone Marble machine in action. I did need to take apart a brand new ball bearing to get the steel balls needed for the thing to work. Since I am done with snow mobiles it was kind of surplus anyway.
Retired Master Electrician, Commercial HVAC/R,CNC Router

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PcS
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Re: Feed Failures with PETG

Post by PcS » Fri Mar 25, 2016 12:07 am

It must be something in the air.....I have decided I will no longer buy any esun. Every roll out of the last 6 has had print ending inconsistencies. I am trying to burn up a roll of translucent blue right now...if it quits again I am going to toss it. Sorry to rant and hijack the thread but I have petg from other makers and not got a bad roll yet. The cost savings isn't worth it.
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jhaupt
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Re: Feed Failures with PETG

Post by jhaupt » Fri Mar 25, 2016 4:44 pm

Something in the air indeed! Lot's of good info here.

PcS, by "print ending inconsistencies" do you mean it just stops feeding like people are describing? And you definitely notice better results with other brands?

I hadn't thought of extrusion pressure and having to increase temperature or decrease speed. Will try that, and maybe try a different brand after burning through my stock. That filament feed tension tutorial is fantastic.

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