Maker Gear M2, extruder clogging

[RCaron]

I bought the Maker Gear M2 in December 2013. I assembled the kit at the end of January and started my first prints in February 2014.

I have never gotten a successful print without any errors.

I use Slic3r and Pronterface for prints.
The mot common problem as that the extruder seems to reduce the amount of PLA being extruded mid-print, and in most cases simply clogs.
Both problems appear within a minute or two of the print starting.

I've used the Slic3r and the pronterface configuration files from:
https://github.com/kefir-/M2-config
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1x7FRm_HSY
They both create the same problem.

I thought at first that I had bed leveling problems, but after re-leveling my bed about 50 times on 50 different occasions I'm confident that this is not what is causing the problem.
I thought it was a Z-axis setting, but the first layer extrudes just fine, and the other layers seem to work until the PLA stops coming out or gets clogged.

I've had to unclog the extruder multiple times (almost every time I've tried to print), The extruder gear that control the PLA feed starts to skip until it's unable to push the PLA anymore. The PLA gets clogged under the gear forming a tiny little ball above the hole that leads into the hot end of the extruder.

I've tried reducing the speed of the infill or even trying a solid infill. >> Same result.
I've tried reducing the speed of all print setting >> Same result.

I'm printing with Maker Gear provided PLA (black), 1.75mm thick.
I have no communication issues with the printer, I've tried using both the Mac and the Linux platforms >> Same result.

I tried printing at 215 degrees, 220 degrees, 195 degrees >>> Same result.
In early February I was getting decent results with 185 and 190 degrees, but the head would still clog on occasion. When I brought the problem up with Maker Gear on Feb 26th they said that PLA (with the new V3b extruder) should be printing PLA at 220 degrees. At that time I had only tried to print a few times and aborted the print each time due to bed leveling problems.
I've tried printing several different provided files (Maker Gear SD Card) and even downloaded files (M2 Dial-indicator holder) >> Same result

I'm discouraged, I feel that this is a poor product or that I got a lemon.
There is clearly something wrong with the extruder as it hasn't worked properly since I got it.

Video of problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfDN5EW ... e=youtu.be

Any suggestions?

[Toby]

I would contact Makergear support again. Your printer should not be doing that. M2's don't have this kind of problem unless something is wrong, and they'll fix it. They probably just assumed in February that it was the known thing about PLA temperature needing to be higher for the V3B, but now you have a lot more evidence that something else is wrong. Slicer settings and bed leveling can have an effect on quality for sure, but not like that.

I don't have any special skills with this hardware and have been printing nearly flawlessly for a couple of months. A recent project entailed a total of about 80 parts printed in PLA, with only 3 failures, and two of those were clearly my fault.

Whatever the problem, Makergear will fix it I'm pretty sure. Just give them a chance.

(You can delete posts- it's the button next to the edit button)

Edit: I also wouldn't be surprised if someone on the forum could give you some good troubleshooting ideas. I just don't have that kind of knowledge. Usually more people show up here in the evening.

[thecadman99]

There could be several culprits but that certainly doesn't sound like the normal operation of a M2.
Have you changed firmware? Have you tried printing with any ABS filament?

Did you maybe have a hard time getting PLA to stick at first and adjusted your nozzle really close to the glass? I've done that and it causes the filament to back up into the hotend because it can't exit the nozzle fast enough, and eventually jams as the heat creeps up in the barrel warming the filament making it "sticky".

Talk to Makergear first, but if I was troubleshooting, the first thing I would do would be to heatup the hotend to around 220, unplug and remove the fans (not good to run the hotend without a fan, but this will only take a minute).
Unscrew the two bolts holding the hotend on the extruder gear and gently pull the hotend off the gear (with filament still in the hotend). You can loosen the top pinch bolt to help the drive come off the gear.
Don't let the hotend dangle from the wires, just slide it off the gear until you can push the filament manually through the hotend to see how much resistance there is. It shouldn't be too hard to push the filament down through the hotend. If its pushing easily, I'd run a couple of feet through there at a good pace, hopefully clearing out anything that may be causing dragging.

If its really difficult to manually extrude, you probably have a clogged extruder or your thermistor is not reading correctly and your hotend temp is too low (unlikely).

While you have it off, check your drive gear, it shouldn't be loose on the gearbox shaft, if it is, I would suggest some blue threadlocker (don't try superglue). Just a dab on the shaft and the setscrew.

I would also check the filament drive by pulling the filament out, then allow it to cool, pull the hotend out of the filament drive, and look up through the filament drive or slide some filament through the drive to make sure its not binding in the drive (it may not have printed perfectly).

The M2 is generally very dependable. Poor filament, improper temps, and setting your Z too close to the glass have all been the most common mistakes I've made.

[jimc]

have you printed with only this one roll of plastic? unlikely but could you have gotten a roll of abs instead of pla which was mislabeled? i have had this happen where the tension adjustment on the filament drive was too tight and it ended up squeezing and slightly flattening the filament between the gear and bearing making it oval and difficult for the extruder to push the filament through. if you tightenend all the way try taking some tension off.

[jbarnhardt]

There are some good suggestions above. You might also just try using the manual controls in Pronterface to extrude filament fairly slowly (similar to the rate it would be extruded during a print) and see if you can keep it extruding freely into thin air (print bed is lowered far away from the hot end) perpetually. If you can do this then the problem is less likely to be with your hot end itself or extrusion temperatures, and you can focus your efforts on ensuring bed leveling and z-zero location are correct, slicing parameters are appropriate, etc. If you encounter issues extruding into air, then your hot end or filament feed or possibly firmware config are places to investigate and troubleshoot.

FYI I received my M2 a few weeks ago, assembled the kit, and the very first print I tried (the bracelet from the SD card) came out perfectly. I have yet to have extrusion cease in the middle of a print and have used PLA, ABS and PET+, all in the same nozzle. I mention this only to reassure you that the M2 does not have any fundamental design issue and is in fact vastly more reliable than a previous 3D printer I owned. You definitely have either a setup/configuration issue or there is something wrong with some component of your hardware. Don't get discouraged, this can definitely be resolved. And a support call to MakerGear as someone else suggested is probably a very good idea. They are generally very helpful in resolving customer issues. Best of luck,

-John

[rpollack]

Ray - considering that the last time I heard from you was March 3rd and you said "Thank you for your help in resolving this problem. I feel like you went above and beyond the call. I'm not sure if the problem is completely resolved but I have managed to print a fairly complex coaster as a test, and had no issues."

I am more than a little surprised by this post.

Rick

[thecadman99]

After watching your video, this is my theory-
Your initial Z height looks too low to me- I think you're probably getting too much pressure in the nozzle as a result, that causes the gear to strip little "bites" of filament, which clogs the gear teeth, which causes the filament to eventually slip.

Clean out your gear, set your Z height a hair higher (your first layer should't be quite so flat) and let us know how it goes.

[MichaelH]

Could you provide a G-Code you tried to print with no success?
Then we can determine if there is some thing wrong with the code or even print it our self and see what happens.

[j-rod]

I just finished dealing with this same problem. The issue in my case was caused by too much resistance in the path from the spool to the extruder as well as the filament on the spool having crossed over itself a few times causing something of a really loose knot. The teeth of the extruder motor did get quite a bit of plastic stuck on them and eventually it just wouldn't grip the filament.

I recently printed and installed a modified filament guide which was really hard to pull the filament through if it was moving through it at any angle at all. I ended up drilling out the top of the guide so the filament tube could sit most of the way down inside the guide. This helps keep the filament's angle almost perpendicular to the guide and it keeps the tube in place better. I also had my dust cleaner clamped on a bit tight so I loosened that up.

Now it's printing smoother than ever!

[jillclimbs]

I had the same issue with both of my M2s. In my case the print bed dropped when the computer tried to go to sleep. I changed the power settings to NEVER sleep and the issue has been resolved.