Month: May 2018

PSA: “partially clogged” prints are not always at the nozzle

I have a Maker Select V2 printer that I’ve been running for a couple of years. 37 days of print time and 4 KM of filament passing through the extruder (I am nowhere near as prolific of a user as some… but neither am i new to the hobby)Over the last week or so (I’ve been running the printer more than usual) I’ve had some worsening issues with my prints on the same roll of PETG filament.The bottom of the print would usually look good (sometimes amazing), the sides may have some minor (occasionally significant) under-extrusion defects, the infill looked horrible, and the top would either look ok (or horrible). Even worse, the prints are breaking on layer linesMy first thought was clogged nozzle i performed (multiple) cold pulls.Next i cleaned it (the easiest way i’ve found it to put it on the gas BBQ and burn away anything inside then hit it with a guitar wire to verify that it is completely clear), this did not fix thingsI started tweaking settings (very minor changes to filament size, increasing extrusion multiplier, increasing infill extrusion percentage, decreasing print speed) and things did not improve.I checked the extruder hob gear; not worn down and sharpI tried other filaments (last few meters on the roll of known good filaments) and print quality was getting worse.Eventually i pulled out the PTFE tube completely.It was slightly stretched and causing the filament to occasionally catch. This was the root cause of all of my problems.Yes, i know, printing PETG is at the limit of what can be done with a PTFE tube; I’ve been through 5 rolls without issue so i didn’t think to start hereMy replacement heat throat, PTFE tube, and nozzle will be arriving tomorrow. Once i get done with my current project(s) I think i will go with an all metal extruder (but i don’t want to fight more stuff this week.)TL;DR: If you are under-extruding and all the online advice is pointing to a clog / partial clog; if can be anywhere in the filament path. Mine was in the PTFE tube https://ift.tt/2JLohFi