Extruder Jam and Resolution - Geeetech should note
Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2018 1:37 am
This is a note that may help others with the Geeetech A10. My extruder gear was shredding filament and catching leading to under extrusion and obviously unacceptable prints.
First, check that your brass tooth gear attached to the extruder motor did not loosen and drop - this happened early on because the set screws holding the gear to the motor shaft were not tight enough. Be sure one of the set screws is located over the flat. This problem happened early and was easy to fix.
A more important issue that was more difficult to track down, and a design flaw Geeetech should address, is the idle pulley that rides against the extruders brass gear (the filament rides between the idler pulley and the brass gear). The pin this idler spins on is only molded plastic less than 3mm in diameter. After I verified I had no clogging in the bowden tube or hot end, I eventually realized the material was catching between the gear and the idler for some reason. The small plastic shaft the idler spins on had snapped off, allowing the idler to bounce around and jam against the gear and filament.
Luckily I have tools available to fix, but for some, their printer would be dead if this happened and they would have to order replacement or new extruder assembly. I drilled a new hole in the plastic pieces and tapped them for 3mm screw and now the idler and bearing rides on a metal 3mm screw. It immediately solved the problem.
I realize this is a budget printer, but using a tiny plastic pin in a constant use pressure situation is asking for failure. It wouldnt take much to include metal pin, not plastic for the idler to roll on.
First, check that your brass tooth gear attached to the extruder motor did not loosen and drop - this happened early on because the set screws holding the gear to the motor shaft were not tight enough. Be sure one of the set screws is located over the flat. This problem happened early and was easy to fix.
A more important issue that was more difficult to track down, and a design flaw Geeetech should address, is the idle pulley that rides against the extruders brass gear (the filament rides between the idler pulley and the brass gear). The pin this idler spins on is only molded plastic less than 3mm in diameter. After I verified I had no clogging in the bowden tube or hot end, I eventually realized the material was catching between the gear and the idler for some reason. The small plastic shaft the idler spins on had snapped off, allowing the idler to bounce around and jam against the gear and filament.
Luckily I have tools available to fix, but for some, their printer would be dead if this happened and they would have to order replacement or new extruder assembly. I drilled a new hole in the plastic pieces and tapped them for 3mm screw and now the idler and bearing rides on a metal 3mm screw. It immediately solved the problem.
I realize this is a budget printer, but using a tiny plastic pin in a constant use pressure situation is asking for failure. It wouldnt take much to include metal pin, not plastic for the idler to roll on.
