Filament drive melting!

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JohnnyRobot
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Filament drive melting!

Post by JohnnyRobot » Tue Apr 22, 2014 10:22 pm

Hey everybody,

Glad to see an official MakerGear forum!

Here's what I've got going on... I recently started printing with ABS to try it out.

After printing quite a few components, I noticed that my quality was degrading over time. I inspected the extruder and found that it was loose. It had been wiggling while the M2 was printing.

I wasn't sure why the nozzle was loose. I just replaced the filament drive and started printing again. Halfway through the next print, I noticed it was wiggling. When I inspected it again, i noticed that the plastic slot the extruder nozzle slides into had warped from the heat, and was flexible. The slot expanded, making the nozzle loose.

My printing temp is 230*C. Is this too high? If so, my ABS filament won't adhere properly. The documentation that came with the printer says not to exceed 240*C

Any suggestions?
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jsc
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Re: Filament drive melting!

Post by jsc » Tue Apr 22, 2014 10:25 pm

Is the fan that blows on the extruder (vertical 40mm fan) running during your prints? If not, are you running Simplify3D pre-version 2.1.0? If you are, remove "M108 S155" from your startup gcode.

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jimc
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Re: Filament drive melting!

Post by jimc » Tue Apr 22, 2014 11:27 pm

Is your filament drive printed in abs or pla? The factory one is abs.

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JohnnyRobot
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Re: Filament drive melting!

Post by JohnnyRobot » Wed Apr 23, 2014 2:21 am

My fan does run during prints. My filament drive is PLA. The factory one cracked. Luckily I printed up some spares when I first got the printer.

I see what you're saying. I'm in a catch 22.

I need an ABS drive to print with my ABS. I can't print new filament drives from ABS because my current drive will melt.

I'll need to get creative.
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jimc
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Re: Filament drive melting!

Post by jimc » Wed Apr 23, 2014 2:30 am

yes all the plastic on your printer is made of abs. you dont want any of it near heat made out of pla. pla isnt even good to print anything in pla. it just gets too soft and rubbery. just order one from MG then print yourself spares. always have spares of all the plastic parts on the m2.

do you still have the cracked drive? can you solvent bond it back together with some acetone then print a new one?

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Tim
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Re: Filament drive melting!

Post by Tim » Wed Apr 23, 2014 2:40 am

I'm still using a cracked filament drive that I patched up with 2-part epoxy and put back into service. I thought it would bite the dust sooner rather than later, but it's still going strong three or four months after the fact.

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JohnnyRobot
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Re: Filament drive melting!

Post by JohnnyRobot » Wed Apr 23, 2014 5:24 am

Unfortunately, I scrapped it... I guess I'll get one on order and print some spares out of ABS. Not PLA.
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