Extruder Morse Code
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Scuttle130
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Mon Jun 08, 2020 11:12 pm
Extruder Morse Code
Does anyone know what could be wrong with my extruder? Its clicking every millisecond and extruding filament like morse code. Do i just need to buy a new stepper motor or is this something that can be fixed?
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Re: Extruder Morse Code
Hi, theres lots of posts on extruder issues with ticking or clicking. They can be fixed.
What I've learned so far for this printer.
1. Filement resistance
Make sure your filement rolls freely into your extruder. I mounted my filement on a roller bar with ball bearings so the feed has as little resistance as possible.
2. Filement Temperature
You will read about optimum filement temperatures. Make sure your temperature is high enough to run a test extrusion, but low enough not to ruin your print. You have to experement with it. My filement brand has a very high working temp for PLA of 205 degrees centigrade. Anything lower and it doesnt work. Most PLA is lower than this, but my prints are excellent (if my manual bed levelling is correct).
3. Bed levelling
I have some glossy photo paper which we done use. Its perfect for getting the gap right between my nozzles and hot plate. Too close you will get nothing, too far away you'll get a mess. Again, its a game of practice.
4. Test before printing, every time
Heat up your extruders before attemting a print, and do a bit of test extrusion a little hotter than usual. This will clear your nozzles and ensure that your starting at a good even temp when you send a print job into it.
Get those right and you should be fine.
If you dig about you will read about increasing tension on the extruder springs, or increasing stepper motor voltage. Approach these with caution. I tried these methods first and the results were costly. If you have the plastic extruder head, increasing the spring tension will break your extruder arms. Dont do it. Get point 1 and 2 right, and this doesnt need to be tackled.
Increasing the voltage to your steppers can result in broken plastic, or tangles of filement round your extruder when the extruder head clogs with hardened filement. A bit of back clicking is a good way of warning you your head is proabbly clogged or the temperature needs to be raised a little.
My printer extruder motors were getting approximately 0.8 volts. I increase this to 1v, and if my temperature is too low, I get solid PLA spagetti tangled up everywhere. Dialing this back a bit is on my to-do list.
Avoid filement oiling. PLA already has oil in it, so adding more just risks messing up your print. A plastics expert who does both microscopic injection moulding and 3D printing advised this will do more harm than good.
Draw stripes on the back of your extruder gears. If you find a position so you can see the gear go round, you can tell if its slipping, or if its back ticking (clicks backwards when trying to go round). In both cases, points 1 and 2 above will solve these without increasing extruder arm tension or messing with voltage.
What I've learned so far for this printer.
1. Filement resistance
Make sure your filement rolls freely into your extruder. I mounted my filement on a roller bar with ball bearings so the feed has as little resistance as possible.
2. Filement Temperature
You will read about optimum filement temperatures. Make sure your temperature is high enough to run a test extrusion, but low enough not to ruin your print. You have to experement with it. My filement brand has a very high working temp for PLA of 205 degrees centigrade. Anything lower and it doesnt work. Most PLA is lower than this, but my prints are excellent (if my manual bed levelling is correct).
3. Bed levelling
I have some glossy photo paper which we done use. Its perfect for getting the gap right between my nozzles and hot plate. Too close you will get nothing, too far away you'll get a mess. Again, its a game of practice.
4. Test before printing, every time
Heat up your extruders before attemting a print, and do a bit of test extrusion a little hotter than usual. This will clear your nozzles and ensure that your starting at a good even temp when you send a print job into it.
Get those right and you should be fine.
If you dig about you will read about increasing tension on the extruder springs, or increasing stepper motor voltage. Approach these with caution. I tried these methods first and the results were costly. If you have the plastic extruder head, increasing the spring tension will break your extruder arms. Dont do it. Get point 1 and 2 right, and this doesnt need to be tackled.
Increasing the voltage to your steppers can result in broken plastic, or tangles of filement round your extruder when the extruder head clogs with hardened filement. A bit of back clicking is a good way of warning you your head is proabbly clogged or the temperature needs to be raised a little.
My printer extruder motors were getting approximately 0.8 volts. I increase this to 1v, and if my temperature is too low, I get solid PLA spagetti tangled up everywhere. Dialing this back a bit is on my to-do list.
Avoid filement oiling. PLA already has oil in it, so adding more just risks messing up your print. A plastics expert who does both microscopic injection moulding and 3D printing advised this will do more harm than good.
Draw stripes on the back of your extruder gears. If you find a position so you can see the gear go round, you can tell if its slipping, or if its back ticking (clicks backwards when trying to go round). In both cases, points 1 and 2 above will solve these without increasing extruder arm tension or messing with voltage.