Two new problems after 3 months of no printing

[akkrolnik]

I had an extended duration without using my printer. Recently I started up again and I've noticed two problems that I have never had before. First, the printer would randomly just stop, leave a puddle of material and then start up again. I have a new version of Simplify 3D, but other than that I do not know what is causing this. I print from Simplify 3D using the "Begin Printing over USB" button. This has always worked for me in the past.

The second problem is that the extruder just stops extruding material in the middle of a print. I can manually extrude if I put more force on the filament to help it through so it is not jammed. Usually I can do some extruding this way and then I retract, cut off the filament and re-feed it. This usually gets me back to printing. However, at that point my print is failed. I did notice the screw for adjusting the amount of "bite" for the filament has somehow gotten very loose. However, even with tightening this and adjusting it to get the correct amount of "bite" (thanks Jules for your useful post on that topic) I keep having it fail. How do I know if the nozzle has issues if material is actually coming out? Should I be pulling it all apart and trying to clear out the nozzle? Could it be partially blocked? Any guidance would be appreciated.

[Jules]

The second problem is that the extruder just stops extruding material in the middle of a print. I can manually extrude if I put more force on the filament to help it through so it is not jammed. Usually I can do some extruding this way and then I retract, cut off the filament and re-feed it. This usually gets me back to printing. However, at that point my print is failed. I did notice the screw for adjusting the amount of "bite" for the filament has somehow gotten very loose. However, even with tightening this and adjusting it to get the correct amount of "bite" (thanks Jules for your useful post on that topic) I keep having it fail. How do I know if the nozzle has issues if material is actually coming out? Should I be pulling it all apart and trying to clear out the nozzle? Could it be partially blocked? Any guidance would be appreciated.

No earthly idea what could be causing your first problem (puddles?), but you can check the extrusion width and height by running a few calibration squares - that will show whether there is a partial blockage of the nozzle.

If you are trying to print PLA though, the answer might be as simple as your spool has absorbed too much moisture if you didn't have it stored correctly (air-tight, and bone dry) for the long period of time that you didn't use it. As it absorbs moisture it gets much more brittle and prone to break at stress points, and the place where it bends to go into the filament drive is a stress point. It might be breaking inside the filament drive before the teeth can grab it, and that is going to stop the extrusion. I've noticed the increased brittleness on a couple of my older spools, that are now seven months old, and i generally do store them in a sealed bin with a dessicant. But i sometimes forget and leave a spool attached to the machine for several days.....It's caused me to lose a couple of prints where i wasn't paying close enough attention.

Increased brittleness also makes it harder for the gear teeth to grab the filament in the first place. Check your filament too, and if you can snap it with a couple of sharp flexes at the end, instead of having it bend, then it's absorbed too much humidity, and that's probably your problem.

[akkrolnik]

Check your filament too, and if you can snap it with a couple of sharp flexes at the end, instead of having it bend, then it's absorbed too much humidity, and that's probably your problem.

Thanks for your comment. I retracted my material and it took 30 bends back and forth to get the filament to break off. In addition I have my spools stored in an airtight container with 1 quart of desiccant beads in it. While the beads have clearly absorbed some moisture, they have not yet changed color enough for me to need to dry them out. I don't think moisture is the problem.

To solve my second problem I had the same thought as you to try and print the calibration squares to see if I was getting the proper amount of extrusion. However, the first problem raised it's ugly head and didn't allow the print to finish. The "puddle" I'm talking about is just material that oozes out of the nozzle as the nozzle sits stationary in contact with the part. It seems that there must be a good amount of pressure build up in the nozzle to cause the material to ooze out so much. I'm guessing I have a nozzle that is starting to plug. I just bought some eSUN cleaner filament on Amazon. Hopefully that will help, but it means I have to wait for a week. That may take care of my second problem, but the first problem with the printer just stopping mid-print has me completely baffled and frustrated.

On a somewhat related note, I have thought for a long time about getting a new nozzle so that if I have a nozzle plug I can quickly swap it and keep printing. I wonder if I should just upgrade to the V4 rather than buying replacement V3b nozzles. Are there any drawbacks to the V4?

[Jules]

On a somewhat related note, I have thought for a long time about getting a new nozzle so that if I have a nozzle plug I can quickly swap it and keep printing. I wonder if I should just upgrade to the V4 rather than buying replacement V3b nozzles. Are there any drawbacks to the V4?

Just about everyone prefers them to the v3bs. It's much easier to set the gap and it's a snap to change the nozzle. The only thing you have to be really careful of is not to try to unscrew the nozzle while it is still clamped in the holder. The neck is relatively fragile and can snap if you don't take it out of the holder to wrench the nozzle off.

The heat break that the thinner neck creates keeps heat creep from working it's way up the hotend though....it's a far superior design, IMO. (Do pick up a spare nozzle for it when you get it though, always a good idea, as you said.)

[jimc]

for your first problem i am going to take wild guess that your running windows 10?

[akkrolnik]

for your first problem i am going to take wild guess that your running windows 10?

Yes I am. It seems that could be part of the problem because the upgrade did happen between my last set of prints and now. I had the same thought, but I haven't been able to figure out what settings in Windows 10 could be impacting it. (I also suspect Windows 10 as the culprit for problems I have using CREO structure on this computer.) Do you have any knowledge of specific issues caused by Windows 10?

[jimc]

Yes there are usb driver issues with windows 10. You cannot print from usb. You must print from sd card. Everyone with windows 10 has this problem

[akkrolnik]

Well, I was able to get a finished part out of my printer today. This forum is a necessity for solving problems. In the months I've been away, Jules has done a stellar job creating extremely well written how-to guides that are much appreciated along with all of the other ones I'd previously used from others. My first problem is most definitely caused by my Windows 10 upgrade. I got a finished print only because I stayed at my computer during the entire print and hit the pause then resume button every time it stopped. I have probably 20+ blobs on my print, but it will function.

The second issue I believe was caused by multiple things. First the screw for the extruder had loosened over time which caused the material not to feed. Tightening that per Jules guide helped with that part of the problem. The second part of my issue was switching from ABS to PLA. With the lower PLA temperature I think some of the ABS was plugging up the nozzle a bit until I extruded enough PLA through it at high enough temperatures. The final part of the puzzle was my extruder temperature and speed. This roll of PLA seemed to need a bit higher temperature than previous roll's have needed. I also started with a process file that had too high of a printing speed. The combination of temperature and speed meant the extruder did not keep up and would strip the filament.

[Tim]

Nothing creates confusion like changing all your variables at once.

[wmgeorge]

I can't imagine why anyone running a 3D printer or laser needs Windows 10? Just because Microsoft Wants you to go to 10 would be the reason Not to switch over. All the issues have been posted here and just about everywhere Online.