I’ve got an older replicator 2 and newer plastic from makerbot. After a while into the print the filament jams and the extruder starts making the knocking/clicking noise. I have measured the filament diameter, which is around 1.83mm (totaly not 1.77, makerbot store you lie). Almost all of the newer rolls we have are around 1.8-1.9. Changing the filament diameter helped but the extruder still jams part way through.
Also the prints have a gap at the start of each layer, creating a what looks like a seam up the side of the print ( which can be seen on the side of the thumb on the hand, and down the chest of the rabbits) I am hoping they are part of the same problum
1.8 is too much
normally is around 1.6-1.7
Left
3
Hi,
Few simple steps you can do.
- Clean everything
- Add a bit oil in the filament guiding tube
- Give the spring some extra tension.
This helped me getting rid of the problem.
1 Like
Alex_9
4
How old is the Replicator 2? MakerBot released an upgraded extruder part which could help.
While printing and hearing the clicking noise, try pulling the extruder lever up a little - if this causes thicker extrusion without clicks, you need to beef up the extruder.
have you tried good quality non MakerBot filament? Innofil, Colorfabb, Faberdashery are great. 1.8+ is awful tolerance- how did you measure? If it is outside spec can you you return for a refund?
Not knowing any of your settings I would say slow down and check the temps.
Where exactly does the jam occur? If it is up high in the barrel then you may be getting some heat creep. This could be from aggressive retractions on small areas with higher temps.
Not old enough to have the old plunger.
I’ve been suspecting heat creep might been a problem. We did buy a lot of this filament, but it has been working until recently.
Alex_9
7
For heat creep, try printing an object and after at least ) minutes, touch the exposed end of the aluminium bar mount. If it is at all hot, you have heat creep. The fans can often fail by slowing down, rather than stopping altogether -if you tap the fan housing and it speeds up, it is jamming. A drop of oil in its bearing can revive it but a quality replacement is wise.
Careful on oil since many of these size fans don’t have bearings and oil will end up wrecking them.
Is there a better fan than the one from makerbot that you would recommend?
Alex_9
10
Yes - good point - it’s a sticking plaster to get an already failing fan working temporarily, IF tapping the fan can make it speed up, things are already pretty bad…
Alex_9
11
Right now I don’t have a good answer, as my replacements have all worked well but had similar problems. I am looking for an ideal replacement myself, will let you know.
A Success!
I tried putting a little vegetable oil, ill find something better in the future) on the filament, and increased the fan speed from 50% to 70%.
