Hello everyone!
I’m almost at that point to giving up on 3D printing with this machine, even if I still think that is one of the most advanced on the market.
In the picture attached the issue encountered.
Please help me to find a solution to get consistently great 3D prints as I saw on this forum and on other social.
Thank you in advance!
Ouch - what did happen? it looks like your toolhead ran hard into some obstacle, or the screw that held the proximity sensor in place rattled loose and fell of, the sensor then catching somewhere and causing havoc. Fact:
If you’re the type of guy who tries to repair things:
If things are just dislodged and nothing broken, reassemble in correct orientation, and make sur that the proximity sensor is reseated correctly and firmly. If only the hotend is bent, they can be bought seperately, or you may even have a spare. If the sensor is broken, you can also get a new one. If more is broken or you are not the “I fix it” guy → Buy a new toolhead.
To add, wiki has a few detailed guides on how to replace the sensor and other parts of the head, that will help in repair a ton.
I’ve run another couple of prints in the meantime (see a picture of one of the two prints, not the best picture resolution, but it help to have an idea).
According to those prints the sensor is still working: I’ve put it back in place and fixed with just a pinch of hot glue at the end to the toolhead case (nothing that can’t be easily removed when the replacement arrives).
Right after those two prints, I’ve decided to go for a bigger one: a leg of a giant lego Spiderman (see second pictures).
Even if the bed is leveled at every print, it looks like that the larger printer surface brings to formation of an excess of PLA that, when it is hit leads to breakup of the sensor (picture I’ve sent before).
Any suggestion?
I’d check if your hotend sits tight - it might be that it is not fully fixed and is pressed down by the filament. In other words: Check the grub screw that holds the hotend in place.
Aside from this, you may want to check your E-Steps (i.e. the number of stepper motor steps that are needed for a given amount of filament to be advanced - see here: Extruder Calibration a must). If you never did this, your toolhead would most likely UNDERextrude, not overextrude - so you only need to check if you ever messed with this value (but my be interested in doing the calibration at some point).
Also, check if you changed the flow rate in the slicer.
And final thought: Did you ever use abrasive filament like glow-in-the-dark or carbon fiber enforced? If so, your nozzle might be worn, i.e. have a too big hole, causing overextrusion.
Nothing else comes to my mind - anyone else ideas?
Nozzles are cheap. But in any case, checking the E-steps calibration might be a good idea.
