Suddenly can't extrude

Hi!

Just finished building my Fisher Delta 1 the other day, commissioned it, and did a few quick simple prints with it. They weren't perfect, but I didn't expect them to be.

Today, I go to use it and it's as though the nozzle is blocked. But it's not. I've heated the extruder to 210'c and I can easily push a thin piece of wire through the nozzle, and see it coming out the other end. So I have to assume the nozzle isn't blocked.

The temperature is 210'c. I can manually turn the feed and put filament into the extruder, but it just won't melt and come out.

Any ideas as to what I could try next?

Thanks!
Ronnie

Check that the filament hasn't been worn down by the feeder before so there is a "flat" on it. This happens to us quite frequently - once the filament gets to the flat bit in the extruder it then stops.
(You can sometimes give the filament a push to get it past that bit again).

Seems you were spot on!

Don't suppose you know of a way to have it automatically set the head to Z=0? I'm having to do it manually most times as it seems to think 10mm above the bed is zero.

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ronnietucker
Don't suppose you know of a way to have it automatically set the head to Z=0? I'm having to do it manually most times as it seems to think 10mm above the bed is zero.

Perhaps you have the H parameter in the M665 command in config.g set about 10mm too small?

I suggest you set Z=0 manually, then run auto calibration. Check that the Z=0 point is still correct. Then run M665 with no parameters and copy the values it reports into the M665 command in config.g. Do the same for M666.

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Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

Sorry - I'm still very much a n00b and don't really understand the whole calibration thing.

I have done what I've read though; which is to run G32 (The bed probe routine) quite a few times, then type M665 and M666 into the console and copy the results to my config.g file. What difference that all makes I don't really have any idea yet - lol.

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lord_alan
I have done what I've read though; which is to run G32 (The bed probe routine) quite a few times, then type M665 and M666 into the console and copy the results to my config.g file. What difference that all makes I don't really have any idea yet - lol.

It means that the calibration results are applied when you start up the printer. So even if you don'd run auto calibration before a print, the calibration should be reasonable accurate.

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Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

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dc42
It means that the calibration results are applied when you start up the printer. So even if you don'd run auto calibration before a print, the calibration should be reasonable accurate.

Thanks! So does setting these parameters make any difference to the way the calibration runs afterwards - or is it simply there as a kind of "fail-safe" in case you forget to run G32 before you print?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2015 01:06PM by lord_alan.

Thanks! I'll give that a try.

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dc42

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ronnietucker
Don't suppose you know of a way to have it automatically set the head to Z=0? I'm having to do it manually most times as it seems to think 10mm above the bed is zero.

Perhaps you have the H parameter in the M665 command in config.g set about 10mm too small?

I suggest you set Z=0 manually, then run auto calibration. Check that the Z=0 point is still correct. Then run M665 with no parameters and copy the values it reports into the M665 command in config.g. Do the same for M666.

My M655 figures are pretty much identical (give or take 1mm or 0.5mm here and there) to those in the config.g. Same with M666.

Ah well. No big deal.

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ronnietucker

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dc42

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ronnietucker
Don't suppose you know of a way to have it automatically set the head to Z=0? I'm having to do it manually most times as it seems to think 10mm above the bed is zero.

Perhaps you have the H parameter in the M665 command in config.g set about 10mm too small?

I suggest you set Z=0 manually, then run auto calibration. Check that the Z=0 point is still correct. Then run M665 with no parameters and copy the values it reports into the M665 command in config.g. Do the same for M666.

My M655 figures are pretty much identical (give or take 1mm or 0.5mm here and there) to those in the config.g. Same with M666.

Ah well. No big deal.

In that case, can you clarify what you mean when you say the printer thinks Z=0 is 10mm above the bed?

---

Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

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dc42
In that case, can you clarify what you mean when you say the printer thinks Z=0 is 10mm above the bed?

I usually click home then auto to align things before printing.

When I look at the Z= on my screen it can sometimes say Z=0 but the tip of the nozzle is about 10mm off the surface of the bed.

Most times I will move the head (using the software) until it says Z=0 then manually move it to just a hairs breadth away from the surface of the bed.

Most times that'll get me a good print.

OK, try this:

1. Home the printer.

2. Send G1 X0 Y0 Z10 F5000. Is the nozzle 10mm above the bed?

3. Send G32 to auto calibrate.

4. Send G1 X0 Y0 Z10 F5000. Is the nozzle 10mm above the bed?

---

Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

Quote
dc42
OK, try this:

1. Home the printer.

2. Send G1 X0 Y0 Z10 F5000. Is the nozzle 10mm above the bed?

3. Send G32 to auto calibrate.

4. Send G1 X0 Y0 Z10 F5000. Is the nozzle 10mm above the bed?

1 after home the nozzle is about 10-12mm above the bed

2 after the G1 command the nozzle is about 20+mm above the bed

3 after auto calibrate it's about 15mm above the bed

4 after this G1 it's back to being about 10-12mm above the bed.

So the printer thinks Z=10 is about 20mm above the bed after homing, but after auto calibration it is correct? That does sounds very much as if the H parameter in your M665 command in the config.g file on the SD card is set about 10mm lower than it is after running auto calibration. Please check it. The only other explanation I can think of is that you have something odd in your homedelta.g file.

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Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].