Author Topic: Crap hack. Bulk filament  (Read 60318 times)

bobobobicsek

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Re: Crap hack. Bulk filament
« Reply #15 on: November 09, 2014, 08:47:21 pm »
Works perfect with 2.08. Have been printing with Matterhacker filament for weeks.  Bit too thick therefore pulley constantly  has to be adjusted. Please let me know what your experience is with third party filaments. I will definitely try the Afina Permium when done with my kilo of Matterhacker.

storm4077

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Re: Crap hack. Bulk filament
« Reply #16 on: November 09, 2014, 08:59:42 pm »
Filament stopped coming out the print head after a bit. I assume because the filament is too thick? What do I do? I bought 1.75 PLA. Someone help!!

bobobobicsek

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Re: Crap hack. Bulk filament
« Reply #17 on: November 09, 2014, 09:03:59 pm »
Take off the extruder, print head cover and with your 7mm ranch loosen the pulley. Its the first bolt in the front.  What filament are you using?

bobobobicsek

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Re: Crap hack. Bulk filament
« Reply #18 on: November 09, 2014, 09:06:12 pm »
Did you hear a clicking noise before it stopped extruding? Try my suggestion.  It worked for me.  Unfortunately  it constanly has to be adjusted even sometimes during printing

HittinBottom

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Re: Crap hack. Bulk filament
« Reply #19 on: November 10, 2014, 11:40:11 am »
I have the same problem with the bulk filament.  It started taking it and then quit.  Tried adjusting the pulley but I almost think it doesn't get hot enough to melt it.  When the stock stuff is in there and you remove it and put the bulk in it works for a minute and then quits.  Almost like the melted stock material help heat it until it's all gone.  I can't really tell if the hack works or not since I can't get the bulk material to flow.

bobobobicsek

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Re: Crap hack. Bulk filament
« Reply #20 on: November 10, 2014, 11:48:17 am »
Sf563 suggested Afine Premium. He has had good luck with it. I ll be testing that next...   I have been using MatterHacker (but not premium, premium is thicker) and i have only had pulley issues that i could adjust for.  Melting point is very similar to cube proprietary filament. Other blogs all suggested  MatterHacker Regular.  Also pretty cheap....  1 kilo for $ 33

bobobobicsek

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Re: Crap hack. Bulk filament
« Reply #21 on: November 10, 2014, 11:52:58 am »
I meant don't  use MatterHacker pro (i wrote premium in previous post). 

storm4077

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Re: Crap hack. Bulk filament
« Reply #22 on: November 11, 2014, 10:53:37 pm »
do i have to remove the fan or anything? or can i just use the flat wrench things that came with it? and im using technologyoutlet premium filament

(http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00I8MRPDM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00)

I heard a clicking sound yes.

Now I have another problem. When I try to load the filament, nothing comes out, i think there may be a jam somewhere. I tried using that thin rod to see if anything comes out but i have no luck.

Any ideas?

Dan

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Re: Crap hack. Bulk filament
« Reply #23 on: November 12, 2014, 06:45:35 am »
Sf563 suggested Afine Premium. He has had good luck with it. I ll be testing that next...   I have been using MatterHacker (but not premium, premium is thicker) and i have only had pulley issues that i could adjust for.  Melting point is very similar to cube proprietary filament. Other blogs all suggested  MatterHacker Regular.  Also pretty cheap....  1 kilo for $ 33

Hmm not sure what PLA you guys are using, but I can use whatever filament I feel like.  One thing that is likely is that the chip you remove must be from a like filament, that is, if you remove the chip from a PLA cartridge, use PLA.  The chip seems to affect the temperature of the hotend among other things. 

I have tried numerous el cheapos from ebay, they all seem fine.  Im in Australia so providing an exact like is probably a waste of time for most.  Currently using this stuff though - works just fine. http://www.cultivate3d.com/   Shipping nice and fast too.  Here the following day.

As per the issues everyone seems to be having, my guess is there's something else crap about these printers which is producing the varied results.

Dan

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Re: Crap hack. Bulk filament
« Reply #24 on: November 12, 2014, 07:13:52 am »
do i have to remove the fan or anything? or can i just use the flat wrench things that came with it? and im using technologyoutlet premium filament

(http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00I8MRPDM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00)

I heard a clicking sound yes.

Now I have another problem. When I try to load the filament, nothing comes out, i think there may be a jam somewhere. I tried using that thin rod to see if anything comes out but i have no luck.

Any ideas?

That Clicking sound you're hearing is the stepper motor which feeds the filament being overdriven - most likely by something either becoming jammed or the amperage of the stepper not being set correctly.   I have opened this device up and screwed with it quite a bit and can confirm, that if one needs to add a few milliamps of juice to the stepper, there is a number of POTs (4), which if adjusted will increase the amps.  Not sure exactly which one to adjust as I've never had to before, but if you test them by rotating no more that 270 degrees, you should see either a drop or increase in amps.  The POTs may or may not have an end point, meaning if you rotate too far, you might go back to the start (or end as the case may be).    One thing to note, 4 POTs - 1 for each axis +one for the extruder, if you're testing to figure out which one's which be sure that if you evidently adjust the wrong one, that you set it back. 

Honestly I doubt its the AMPS though.  My experience with this hotend has been less than perfect.  The pulley which helps pressurise the filament has lines on it.  If it skips too much, the light sensor sees the lines arent moving and cancels the print.  My best suggestion would be to stick with 1.75mm (as I have done). Ensure you clean out the hotend with the metal stick these come provided with regularly.  If that fails, yes you'll have to remove the fan with the hex tool and adjust whatever you can to ensure filament moves through with just the right amount pressure.  Too much it will jam before it feeds, too little and it will slip.  Further - DO NOT TEST THE HOTEND WITH THE FAN REMOVED!!!!!  There is a thermal fuse which will overheat if you do.  If like me yours blows - just remove the fuse and short the wires.  IMO the thermal fuse is overkill anyway. 

Another thing. If too much filament is present in the hotend at any one time, the hotend will fill and heat will begin to travel back up the feeder, making the filament soft in the funnel just before the hotend.  THis makes a big blob which is a pain in the arse to remove.  THese units have very precisely calculated feed speeds based on the filament width.  Using 2mm filament will likely give you issues.  Its way too thick for the nozzle size and extrusion speed.  Go back to 1.75mm!

Another thing I've found to cause issues is the metal feeder tube just before the pulleys needs to be aligned so the filament feeds straight between the drive gear and pulley.  If the filament is allowed to bend in the space between the metal tube and and pulleys, it wont feed correctly.

Oh, just realized, the stuff I got from Cultivate 3D is 1.70mm - Oh well everything else has been 1.75 so I can safely say anything in that range should be hunky dory.


Hope this helps.
Regards
Dan

« Last Edit: November 14, 2014, 06:09:43 am by Dan »

bobobobicsek

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Re: Crap hack. Bulk filament
« Reply #25 on: November 12, 2014, 07:30:37 am »
Thank you Dan for detailed info.   Although I am not sure a about the melting point being different with various colors.  I don't  think the chip makes a difference. I really think cube 3d 2nd gen.  Is using a bit of a thinner filament  than standard 1.75. I will try your suggestion and get the filament that you are using. I also agree the alignment  of the filament is important so the stepping motor and pulley has an easier time feeding it in.   Storm,  i agree with Dan do not remove anything  especially  the fan. For PLA printing i actually add an extra small fan the cool the print bed...  Just remove the cover,  and adjust the pulley.  (i did end up getting a better 7mm wrench but you could use the one it came with).  It's  the first bolt in the front. You alse have a clogged extruder/ head it sounds....   That is easy to fix.  Just use to supplied tool to unclog  the head with. 

Dan

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Re: Crap hack. Bulk filament
« Reply #26 on: November 12, 2014, 07:33:37 am »
Just thought id post another picture of my setup.  One thing I did was remove the chip all together from the cartridge, solder 2 wires to each contact of the chip and connect it to a momentary push button. (see the black button to the right of the filament platform.  THe makes it easy to "Insert" and "remove" the cartridges and has made this hack an absolute pleasure.  Actually this was born out of necessity.  All the pushing in and pulling out of cartridges eventually screwed the chip contacts in the filament bay.  Im glad it did though. Its sooo much easier this way.   

Dan

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Re: Crap hack. Bulk filament
« Reply #27 on: November 12, 2014, 07:42:56 am »
Thank you Dan for detailed info.   Although I am not sure a about the melting point being different with various colors.  I don't  think the chip makes a difference. I really think cube 3d 2nd gen.  Is using a bit of a thinner filament  than standard 1.75. I will try your suggestion and get the filament that you are using. I also agree the alignment  of the filament is important so the stepping motor and pulley has an easier time feeding it in.   Storm,  i agree with Dan do not remove anything  especially  the fan. For PLA printing i actually add an extra small fan the cool the print bed...  Just remove the cover,  and adjust the pulley.  (i did end up getting a better 7mm wrench but you could use the one it came with).  It's  the first bolt in the front. You alse have a clogged extruder/ head it sounds....   That is easy to fix.  Just use to supplied tool to unclog  the head with.

The chip definitely makes a difference to temperature with material, but yeah likely not colours. Thinner filament will REALLY be an issue - it will slip easily and not feed quick enough to fill the hotend.
For the record, I've never needed to adjust the pulley, But certainly have noticed there is quite some play in the way the motor fits to the carrier - adjusting this and that tube fixed all my issues. 

Again I just stick with run of the mill 1.75mm.  If you're having issues with this size, I PROMISE your problem is with the mechanics of the printer - all of which is fixable. 

bobobobicsek

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Re: Crap hack. Bulk filament
« Reply #28 on: November 12, 2014, 07:56:16 am »
Very funny, I printed very similar rollers for my spools like you Dan. I also printed a a filament feeder on the top of the printer so it aligns it better weith the head.
Bobo

bobobobicsek

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Re: Crap hack. Bulk filament
« Reply #29 on: November 12, 2014, 08:13:54 am »
I thought the chip determines the type of filament (ABS vs PLA), color and amount left. So you are suggesting that the color makes the difference in melting point? But honestly I really don't think it's a melting point problem. I agree it's mechanical and fixable. In my experience, filament thickness is any issue sometimes, but nothing that cannot be adjusted for. Again, thank you for all your effort to build a community for 3d system consumer printers!
Best,
Bobo