Folger Tech Prusa i3 extruder motor not responding

I've completed my Folger Tech Prusa I3 kit, X, Y and Z axis respond to manual control and home in Repetier 6 but the extruder motor does not respond. Voltage for the extruder is set at 350 mv per Folger Tech recommendation, and the hot end (and bed) come up to temp nicely. Still nothing. I know the motor and stepper drivers work as I tested with the Pre-Flight code on the Ramps 1.4 page. If I try to manually extrude without the hot end up to temp I get the Dangerous Extrude error as expected. With the hot end up to temp, no errors, but no movement either.

I'm using the Marlin code from the Folger Tech Google drive. I've seen this question raised before but could not find the resolution. I'm guessing it's something in the configuration.h file but I don't know where to start. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Temporarily connect your extruder stepper to a different (known working) stepper output, such as the Y-axis to see if the extruder stepper is okay. Also, you are using the E0 stepper driver and connection, not E1, right?

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-David

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Thanks for the reply. Tried that. With the extruder stepper connected to the X axis driver it runs like a champ. But ... with the X axis stepper connected to the extruder driver (E0) - nothing. When I run the Pre-Flight code from the Ramps 1.4 page, which powers all 5 stepper drivers through loop of both forward and reverse steps, all 5 drivers drive a motor so that leads me to believe that it's not the motor or the Pololu board. I'm still thinking Marlin code. Can you think of anything else I can try?

I'll take a look... Please post your Configuration.h file from Marlin.

---

-David

Find me online at:
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Check out my FolgerTech Prusa i3 (plexi) at MindRealm.net

Thanks! Configuration.h file attached...

There is a setting that prevent extrusion with a cold hotend.
Set this to zero. Or heat you hotend.

Thanks, but that's not the problem. Nothing with the hot end up to temp.

If still nothing, try a different driver module. Using one of the known-working ones (Y-axis, etc.) will also narrow down the problem...

---

-David

Find me online at:
Thingiverse
Instructables.com
LinkedIn
Facebook

Check out my FolgerTech Prusa i3 (plexi) at MindRealm.net

I am having the exact same problem atm, i printed something nicely this morning, then i was gonna make a auto leveling bed system, and when i coupled everything back together, the system dident seem to work on my e1.

Testet different drivers and motors on e0 nothing

Same motors on X and Y axis and different drivers works perfect. It's only the e0 that is not working.

Please let me know if you find a solution, then i will tell if i find one too

I'm having the same problem as well. Anybody figure this out?

Greetings, has anyone found a solution to this problem? i spent the last 3 days trying to work this out to no avail. i included my config.h file just incase i did something wrong. thank you

I'm having a similar problem with my Folger I3, but it doesn't sound exactly the same. I just now got it set up to the point of testing extrusion, and found it wouldn't feed filament. The motor is working - I can hear it and feel it - but it won't pull the filament in.

There are 2 holes and the nozzle is under the righthand hole. For the heck of it I tried the filament in the left hole and it fed, but went into air since there's no nozzle there. I thought -- "wouldn't the left hole logically be E0, and the right one E1?" The manual said to use E0, but it wouldn't be the first time it was misleading. Or the second, or the third ...

So I tried switching the motor cable and stepper driver to E1. But then the motor didn't run at all. Maybe because I only have one extruder set in Repetier. So I'll have to email Folger and see what the deal is. And I was so hoping to print my cube tonight!

Have you guys contacted Folger about your problems? Dan is very responsive and helpful and I'm sure he can get you straightened out. It may take some back and forth, and I've had to beg/plead/remind him to put things in English, not engineer shorthand.

So, I m not sure if the problem I m running into is the exact same, however I just managed to get my Prusa i3 all setup. I feel your pain trying to feed the filament in, this was super hard for me too coz:
1. They do mention feeding it into the right hole, the one that leads right into the nozzle. I tried to push the filament in, and it would be impossible to get it through, and I did not want to apply too much pressure, as I had no idea what I might damage inside. So, I tried to get the extruder temp to 200, the hot bed to 70 and tried again, hoping the motors activate and start pulling the filament in, however nothing. So, at this point, I shut everything off, disconnected the mains, and opened up the extruder, the assembly is pretty clean and now I could clearly see how the motor works. So, while open, I decided to feed the filament in and keep it positioned so Its easier for the motor to pull from this point forward. I put everything back together, and reconnected. Now it was easier to glide the filament all the way into the nozzle.

2. Now I thought I m all set, and the extruder would do its job of extruding the filament as it prints. Turns out, that when I attempted to print a test design, it moves around pretty well, attempting to print, however, the nozzle was unable to extrude the filament. I saw a little bit of the filament come out and melt at the nozzle, however, it appears that the motor is stuck or unable to push the filament through. Not sure what else to try/do. However would appreciate if someone can explain what might be going on? I wish there was an easier way to test just the extruder motor.

This assembly has been quite a journey, first had a failed stepper driver, now thats out of the way, I hope this is the last bit of an extruder problem, appreciate any help on this.

My problem was, first of all, that the motor was moving in the wrong direction. That's why it would feed in the left hole -- it was moving counterclockwise. In the right hole it was just pushing it back out.

It turned out that INVERT_E0_DIR was set to true in the configuration.h from Folgertech. It should be false for direct drive.

After that, I discovered that the set screw to hold the gear onto the motor shaft was missing, so nothing was going to get pushed through anyway.

Unfortunately the only way to get a direct look at the motor and gear is to take the hotend assembly off and remove the cover of the extruder. (At this point, I could do it in my sleep!) Check that the motor is turning clockwise and the gear is fixed to the shaft. With the extruder cover off, see if it will feed filament manually. (Temporarily comment out #define PREVENT_DANGEROUS_EXTRUDE so you can run the motor manually while the hotend is cold.)

I also found that it fed better if the extruder cover screws were left just slightly loose, and not tightened right down.

This bare-bones extruder is too temperamental and requires too much fussing over. The real solution is to get or make a real extruder, which is my current project.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/2015 03:31PM by CraigMoberg.

Craig,
Thank you for your post in this thread. It helped me to resolve my issue of filament not feeding on a new 2020 build.
In your post you had "It turned out that INVERT_E0_DIR was set to true in the configuration.h from Folgertech. It should be false for direct drive."
For the Folger stock extruder I had to change the value from false to true to get my gear to turn the correct direction.
The instruction you provided for temporarily changing the Dangerous Extrude code also helped me to verify the gear direction.
Thank you again. I am now able to extrude!!! Time to try some prints!!!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/12/2015 12:41AM by AuWiMo.