Troubleshooting - FELIXrobotics FELIX 3.0 User Manual

13 Troubleshooting

This chapter helps to troubleshoot common problems with the printer. Each common issue is described in a
table. The tables are organized with the highest probability solutions at the top.
PROBLEM: Stopped extrusion after x-layers/Skipped layers/weak strength of
parts/Extruder jammed.
Possible cause
1. Is temperature setting OK?
2. Is fan blowing on top of hot-end
working?
3. Ambient temperature OK?
4. Filament quality within
tolerance?
5. Are all bolts to assemble the
extruder tightened sufficiently?
6. Extruder arm tension OK?
7. Extruder arm in good shape?
8. Contaminants inside the hot-
end.
9. The hot-end parts are not tight
enough
10. Fabrication error in hot-end
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Possible solution
Recommended hot-end temperatures are:
PLA: 180 – 200 degC
ABS: 210 -240 degC
Too hot extrusion causes two things. First, the filament in the nozzle tip
gets very fluid. When there are fast extrusions, the molted filament could
creep up the barrel, cool down, and solidify causing a jam.
Second, the temperature of the top part of the hot-end, which should be as
cool as possible will get critically hot-and the filament starts to melt/re-
solidify in an unwanted part of the hot-end.
Too cold extrusion, can require an extremely high torque from the extruder
motor to push the filament down the hot-end. This can cause a ticking noise
coming from the extruder stepper motor, due to lack of power. (This cannot
cause any damage to the motor or electronics).
The fan blowing on top of hot-end should always be working. When there is
a loose contact the fan might stop working at some points of the
movement. This could cause the top part of the hot-end to get too hot.
Ambient temperature must be between 15 and 30 degC
Check if the filament diameter is within the 1.6 to 1.8mm. Sometimes
filament substance is not consistent; try different filament to see if it solves
the issue.
Make sure bolts are all tightened sufficiently.
The extruder arm must be able to exert enough pressure on the filament.
Turn the bolt on top of the extruder-arm counter-clockwise for more
pressure.
Turn it clockwise to exert less pressure. With too much pressure on the arm
the filament will be squashed too wide and cause a lot of friction inside the
hot-end; eventually it might get stuck.
Check if the extruder arm is broken. Replace if broken or deformed too
much.
Filament attracts a lot of dust, which without filtering all has to go through
the tiny nozzle. In time this could cause a layer of dirt inside which acts as a
thermal barrier, preventing the filament from melting properly.
Try to clean nozzle exit with 0.35mm drill, guitar string, or other thin wire.
If this doesn't work it means there is heavy contamination inside. Take the
hot-end apart and clean it carefully with a 2mm drill from the inside. This
will only work when the hot-end is hot. Please follow the instructions
downloadable here: http://shop.FELIXprinters.com/downloads
When filament could leak through the components.
It could be that due to fabrication tolerances the hot-end parts are not fully
up to spec, maybe not aligned perfectly or the holes are not the same. Most
User manual FELIX 3.0 3d printer