I've got a 2015 M2 that was upgraded to dual V4 hot ends a few years ago. Today, I fired it up and at first none of the motors would respond at all -- I tracked that down to a slightly loose power cable, and fixed that issue. Now, though, when I try to print, the extruder motor stops responding after 3 or 4 layers of a small print. There are no errors, and the terminal shows the printer responding with OK. X, Y, Z motors all work fine. (I don't currently have filament in the other extruder, and haven't checked it yet.)
It's not a clog, and the temperature is consistent. The extruder motor literally just stops spinning. If I power cycle the printer, it starts working fine again -- but only for a brief period.
Any guesses on what's causing the extruder motor to work fine, then stop?
Extruder motor stops responding/moving
Extruder motor stops responding/moving
-Vprints
Changing my world, one print at a time
Changing my world, one print at a time
Re: Extruder motor stops responding/moving
First off, you need to test the extruder motor manually after you turn it on and it is functioning. You want to see if it will fail without the X carriage moving (think broken wire in harness) If the filament stops extruding when it is being called for, look a the opposite end of the extruder motor with a flash light. Look in the hole in the center of the end cap and you can see the motor shaft. You want to see if that shaft is turning even though the filament has stopped extruding. If this is the case, then the pinion gear that drives the planetary set in the housing is slipping on the shaft and it is time for a new extruder assembly.
If the motor is not turning when filament is being called for, then I would look up how to test for power to the motor and check that as well when the motor is non responsive. If no power at the motor, the test at the rambo board connector.
Hope you figure it out!
Doug
If the motor is not turning when filament is being called for, then I would look up how to test for power to the motor and check that as well when the motor is non responsive. If no power at the motor, the test at the rambo board connector.
Hope you figure it out!
Doug
Re: Extruder motor stops responding/moving
I put a black line with a marker on the back end of my extruder shaft so it's easier to see if it is spinning. This is mostly for when I'm changing filament and I want to make sure it's done retracting or extruding before I move on to the next step. It's also very handy for debugging stuff like this. I need to figure out how to mount a mirror back there so I can see it without having to move around to the rear of the printer...
It may not be that your extruding motor pinion is kaput. The fine toothed "gear" that actually moves the filament has a set screw, and it could be that the screw has loosened up enough that it is slipping, especially when things have warmed up.
Another Doug
It may not be that your extruding motor pinion is kaput. The fine toothed "gear" that actually moves the filament has a set screw, and it could be that the screw has loosened up enough that it is slipping, especially when things have warmed up.
Another Doug
Re: Extruder motor stops responding/moving
vprints, I hope you got this fixed.
I'm having a terrible time with a number of failures which occur in what would have been mid-print. Sometimes the head keeps moving but the extruder stops extruding, sometimes the whole thing stops. Octoprint shows nothing but continuing temperature reports which are correct for my setup 235 and 70 for PETG
A month before these problems started, I replaced the RAMBO board because I had wrecked the USB Jack by tripping over the cable feeding it - don't ask. I then discovered that these now ship with the G series firmware which didn't work so well with my 2016 M2 E. I found my old "E" firmware and uploaded it to the new RAMBO and all seemed well for a few dozen prints, then the "stalls" started.
I tried printing from the SD card on my Gee LCD controller. Same problem so not an Octoprint challenge.
I replaced the extruder stepper and the "burr" - no joy here either.
In 2016 there were a number of outbreaks of this problem and a lot of discussion on this excellent site. after running through all of the things I've tried Ed Nisley, I think, suggested that problem might be with the hot section thermister having gone intermittent. I had changed the entire hot section about the time these problems showed up so I do not think it was a bad thermister. Then someone suggested that the thermister cables get a lot of exercise. I bought two new ones from Makergear - two because it looks like the company is selling off its stock and may not replace it and I don't want to need to make a new cable although I could.
I suppose it could also be a probem with this new series of RAMBO board not hadling the older code reliably.
One other thing I discovered the hard way. You really want to use the Arduino IDE verions 1.5.5 AND you do not want to run it on a machine which has a newer IDE install. The reason for this is that the compiler in 1.5.5 may see a newer fersion of one of the INCLUDES and load that instead of the vintage one. A good example is FASTIO.H which in recent years has been changed in a way which the RAMBO doesn't like. And as was said in 2017, just because it compiles and loads doesn'rt mean that it will wokr ok.
I've lost a month on my current project becuase of inability to iterate my design. I'm afraid I'm going to have to buy another printer when I get back from a month's trip.
Nuts.
I'm having a terrible time with a number of failures which occur in what would have been mid-print. Sometimes the head keeps moving but the extruder stops extruding, sometimes the whole thing stops. Octoprint shows nothing but continuing temperature reports which are correct for my setup 235 and 70 for PETG
A month before these problems started, I replaced the RAMBO board because I had wrecked the USB Jack by tripping over the cable feeding it - don't ask. I then discovered that these now ship with the G series firmware which didn't work so well with my 2016 M2 E. I found my old "E" firmware and uploaded it to the new RAMBO and all seemed well for a few dozen prints, then the "stalls" started.
I tried printing from the SD card on my Gee LCD controller. Same problem so not an Octoprint challenge.
I replaced the extruder stepper and the "burr" - no joy here either.
In 2016 there were a number of outbreaks of this problem and a lot of discussion on this excellent site. after running through all of the things I've tried Ed Nisley, I think, suggested that problem might be with the hot section thermister having gone intermittent. I had changed the entire hot section about the time these problems showed up so I do not think it was a bad thermister. Then someone suggested that the thermister cables get a lot of exercise. I bought two new ones from Makergear - two because it looks like the company is selling off its stock and may not replace it and I don't want to need to make a new cable although I could.
I suppose it could also be a probem with this new series of RAMBO board not hadling the older code reliably.
One other thing I discovered the hard way. You really want to use the Arduino IDE verions 1.5.5 AND you do not want to run it on a machine which has a newer IDE install. The reason for this is that the compiler in 1.5.5 may see a newer fersion of one of the INCLUDES and load that instead of the vintage one. A good example is FASTIO.H which in recent years has been changed in a way which the RAMBO doesn't like. And as was said in 2017, just because it compiles and loads doesn'rt mean that it will wokr ok.
I've lost a month on my current project becuase of inability to iterate my design. I'm afraid I'm going to have to buy another printer when I get back from a month's trip.
Nuts.
Re: Extruder motor stops responding/moving
Never mind.
problem was a hot section thermister which went wonky about ten minutes into a print - it varied. I replaced the V4 hot section with a spare and now all is well.
Sorry,
john ferguson
st petersburg. fl
problem was a hot section thermister which went wonky about ten minutes into a print - it varied. I replaced the V4 hot section with a spare and now all is well.
Sorry,
john ferguson
st petersburg. fl
Re: Extruder motor stops responding/moving
Turned out not to be hot section, but extruder thermistor cable- the one that runs from the housing on the side of the extruder stepper to T0. The copper strands must have suffered work-hardening from all the flexing. They must have eventually parted but were touching enough to handle the termistor circuit most, but not all of the time.
Re: Extruder motor stops responding/moving
Do you happen to have any photos of the repair or where exactly the break was located. I am also having odd issues.. With the Duet Main board, if either heater does not heat as fast as it did when the PID was run, it will shut down the machine. I have had the shutdown happen with multiple hot ends so It is not the heater or thermistor. I have also watched as the displayed temp stops climbing and starts to fall so I am sure it is the wiring for the heater, but I would assume the break will be in the same location as yours was for the thermistor.jferguson wrote: ↑Sat Nov 25, 2023 1:10 pmTurned out not to be hot section, but extruder thermistor cable- the one that runs from the housing on the side of the extruder stepper to T0. The copper strands must have suffered work-hardening from all the flexing. They must have eventually parted but were touching enough to handle the termistor circuit most, but not all of the time.
Re: Extruder motor stops responding/moving
If it's in the cable chaging the hot end won't have any effect. How do I know? I did it.
I don't know where the break in the cable is. I do have a TBR, but it's frequency is too low to measure a cable this short.
In one of the last shutdowns before I inally realized what the problem actuaolly was, the temp display on the LCD was bouncing all over the place. I'f I'd had any sense, I would have molested the cable to see if moving it would show. But I didn't.
I bought two new cables in the hopes that I can get 10 or 15 years out of them. I have no idea whether our heros will still be here then, I suppose not. Obciously I can make my own cable but ????
MakerGear has them right now and they are $20.
good luck
John
I don't know where the break in the cable is. I do have a TBR, but it's frequency is too low to measure a cable this short.
In one of the last shutdowns before I inally realized what the problem actuaolly was, the temp display on the LCD was bouncing all over the place. I'f I'd had any sense, I would have molested the cable to see if moving it would show. But I didn't.
I bought two new cables in the hopes that I can get 10 or 15 years out of them. I have no idea whether our heros will still be here then, I suppose not. Obciously I can make my own cable but ????
MakerGear has them right now and they are $20.
good luck
John
Re: Extruder motor stops responding/moving
Yeah I have some other parts just incase, I guess a couple wiring harnesses wouldn't hurt. With the new main board and BLTouch I don't see myself buying another printer. I was printing .1mm thick nylon shims the other day.. I assume you bought the X/Extruder harness?
Re: Extruder motor stops responding/moving
I just bought the thermistor cable. I had to remove the old one from the very nice loom and get the new one in and get the loom closed up again, which all was a bit twitchy.
If I ever make one of these. I'll use wire with more stands then MakerGear did - less likely to harden up with flexing.
Except for the spring on the extruder adjusting screw, and the Wham Bam magnetic PEX printing surface, My M2E is as I bought it in 2016. The wham bam print surface has pretty much eliminated the downside of printing. no more fussing with re-leveling and the height seems to be maintained perfectly unless I change one of the stainless steel pex sheets and then I reset the height as a pecaution.
I didn't have great experience with the tape and the glass plates which I didn't think were of constant thickness such that bed had to be releveld every time I changed one. It could have been just my clumsiness, though.
If I ever make one of these. I'll use wire with more stands then MakerGear did - less likely to harden up with flexing.
Except for the spring on the extruder adjusting screw, and the Wham Bam magnetic PEX printing surface, My M2E is as I bought it in 2016. The wham bam print surface has pretty much eliminated the downside of printing. no more fussing with re-leveling and the height seems to be maintained perfectly unless I change one of the stainless steel pex sheets and then I reset the height as a pecaution.
I didn't have great experience with the tape and the glass plates which I didn't think were of constant thickness such that bed had to be releveld every time I changed one. It could have been just my clumsiness, though.