No extrusion during print

Im reposting some of this from a topic I posted in the prusa mendel thread.

Still not getting the printer to print.

Im using Marlin, Sli3r,Pronterface.
Seem like I have the steps set right in Marlin.
Printing ABS 3mm filiment, nozzle 0.5mm.
K type extruder,w/Jhead,direct drive.

E steps.

151.57X30=4547.1/29.89=152.12
152.12X30=4563.60/29.27=155.91
155.91X30=4677.30/29.95=156.17
156.17X30=4685.1/29.98=156.27
156.27X30=4688.1/30.55=153.45

Always a varation, in mesurements ?
So close right?
When I go to pronterface and try to extrude everything seems to be ok. Filiment will come out of the nozzel.
Im not for shure what the extrude/reverse settings should be? default is 5mm@300mm/min?

Go to try to print, load the 20mm test cube and hit print and the printer locks and after a good pause will start to print, looks like all axis are moving correct for the print and the extruder motor is turning but no filiment will come out.

I think that I have sli3r setting right, but Im new at this and still think that is operator error more than anything big.
So I have no clue, everything seems to be ok, but will not extrude filiment when trying to print.

Any and all help needed.

waitaki suggested


Do you have the "skirt" function set in Slic3r? You need at least 4 or 5 loops when printing something that small to give the extruder a chance to prime itself.

So I tryed the fallowing

Ok in the skirt settings

Loops set to 1
Distance from object set to 6
Skirt height set to 1
Minimum extrusion length set to 10

Still no extrusion during print.

I dont men too little or too much, I mean no extrusion at all.
If I try to print the 20mm test cube it will go threw all the moves but no extrusion of filiment at all.
I will let it run until its tryed to print 5 to 10 layer and no extrusion at all.
Also Ive noticed that after I start to print and the controls lock that the hotend temp will drop form 230 down to 200 and the print will not start until the temp drops to the new setting. So maybe the hotend temp is not hot enough to melt the filiment so it will extrude? And I have not clue why the the hotend temp resets to a lower temp at the start of the print.

Ive been trying to figure this out for over a week now, dont know whats going on.

Help and Thanks.

What temp do you have set in your slicer program? I think you are correct the temp is dropping below the melting point. When the hotend is at 230,before you print, does it extrude?

Was checking things out this morning, It will only extrude when using the extrude button in pronterface. Whenever I try to print something the pronterface will lock and change the temp settings from 230 to 200 and then the print will continue as normal, but will not extrude, too low a temp for the extruder to melt the filiment. Ive checked the temps in
sli3r and marlin and they all look ok. But Im thinking that after I changed the settings and save in sli3r {several times} that for some reason pronterface is still loading the defalt
settings or one of the saved settings file from before I had the settings right. When I go to the sli3r tab in pronterface in the dropdown tabs one for print, filiment and printer settings each one of these have one of the saved files from when I made changes asosated with one of them. And I cannot as of yet find where sli3r save the files. How can I delete all the saved files to get pronterface to load the correct settings for print? Might try to uninstall the pronter sli3r software and start over. So it looks more like a software
problem.

Well got the temp drop problem taken care of. Was the temp settings in sli3r. But still no extrusion. So maybe feedrate? Recheck the steps? Bang head aginst the wall?

Ensure, by holding the filament through your hand, and give extrude command, you should feel the filament going downwards, If so then your Extruder motor is pulling properly, else sometimes the motor would rotate not the gear that holds the filament.

If you find only the motor rotating and not the gear, use alen key to tight the shaft and the gear, so that when the motor rotates gear rotates.

Second scenario could be your hotend got jammed. raise the temperature to 230 degree, and use some fine needle like object to pierce inside the filament hole and ensure, the residual filament in the hotend comes out, then try for extrusion.

If both are working fine, I would suggest take your hotend out and clean it properly.

I checked that filiment will feed into the hotend, and it will until it bottoms out.
Im set up to run ABS in the hotend so I started at 230, and have tryed it at 240 and 250, nothing.
Ive taken it apart and cleaned it out nothing.
I was looking at the extruder and it looks like the filiment guide/ toothed wheel and bearing, dont quite line up with the hole in the top of the hotend.
When I load filiment into the extruder I have to use a knife to cut the end of the filiment to a point to make it go into the hotend.
Will take it apart and clean it and try to make shure that everything lines up better.
If nothing else I have parts on order to put together another extruder {Wade type}.
Could of been printing a month ago if it wasent for this problem.

Thanks all for the help.

Post the first 25 or so lines of a gcode file that you have been using, in order to rule that out as the problem.

---

Help improve the RepRap wiki! Just click "Edit" in the top-right corner of the page and start typing. Anyone can edit the wiki!

Ok the only gcodes that I know of or can find is in Sli3r and are.



G28 ; home all axes
G1 Z5 F5000 ; lift nozzle

M104 S0 ; turn off temperature
G28 X0 ; home X axis
M84 ; disable motors

If there are others I dont know of them yet.
Im using a home bullt prusa mendel i2.

Quote
romon
Ok the only gcodes that I know of or can find is in Sli3r and are.

What about the gcode file that Slic3r produces after you process an STL? This is what gets fed to the printer. I'm not sure where the Windows version of Pronterface stores the resultant gcode file, but take a look in the same directory as the STL that you sliced. You can open a .gcode file in notepad.exe (right click, open with...).

---

Help improve the RepRap wiki! Just click "Edit" in the top-right corner of the page and start typing. Anyone can edit the wiki!

Ok this is the file that I tryed to print. I dont know anything about gcode yet to know whats what. And I thought that maybe that the jhead hotend was somehow pluged up, well I got a new one in today and installed it and the same results, no extrusion. It will extrude a little bit when I use the extrude button in pronterface and will reverse, I was able to calibrate the extruder, as close as I could get. Somehow I think that maybe this is a software issue, everything seems to work except for exturuding during print. Just dont know, seems that everything but this is set up and working right.


; generated by Slic3r 0.9.10b on 2014-03-12 at 17:28:03
; layer_height = 0.4
; perimeters = 3
; top_solid_layers = 3
; bottom_solid_layers = 3
; fill_density = 0.4
; perimeter_speed = 30
; infill_speed = 60
; travel_speed = 130
; nozzle_diameter = 0.5
; filament_diameter = 2.87
; extrusion_multiplier = 1
; perimeters extrusion width = 0.53mm
; infill extrusion width = 0.53mm
; solid infill extrusion width = 0.53mm
; top infill extrusion width = 0.53mm
; first layer extrusion width = 0.70mm

G21 ; set units to millimeters
M107
M190 S110 ; wait for bed temperature to be reached
M104 S230 ; set temperature
G28 ; home all axes
G1 Z5 F5000 ; lift nozzle
M109 S230 ; wait for temperature to be reached
G90 ; use absolute coordinates
G92 E0
M82 ; use absolute distances for extrusion
G1 F1800.000 E-1.00000
G92 E0
G1 Z0.350 F7800.000
G1 X72.970 Y72.970
G1 F1800.000 E1.00000
G1 X74.160 Y71.960 F540.000 E1.05549

Problem solved, did my first print today.

After working on this problem for over a month, I knew that it was one of three possable problems.
1. extruder/hotend.
2. software/settings.
3.ME.

Got to looking at the Temperature sensor settings.

Had the old settings at,

# define TEMP_SENSOR_0 55
# define TEMP_SENSOR_1 0
# define TEMP_SENSOR_2 0
# define TEMP_SENSOR_BED_51

Changed setting for sensor 0 from 55 to 5.
Problem solved.
Both setting are for a Jhead type hotend.
So it looks like the problem was both software/settings and ME, mostly me.

Thanks to everone who helped.

Theres allways a answer.