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Problem with my extruder (Reprap Prusa Mendel i2)

Posted by thendenster 
Problem with my extruder (Reprap Prusa Mendel i2)
January 28, 2014 10:55PM
Hello, I have just finished building my Reprap Prusa Mendel i2, and I have found a problem with my extruder
I have calibrated all the home points accurately, but when I print, the print is just a tangled mess of plastic.
I am thinking that there is a problem with my extruder- that it has two holes in it, but I am not too sure.
So here are my questions:
1. DO I have two holes in my extruder? (please refer to attatched photos, and apology for bad pic)
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2. If my extruder is fine, then what are the possible problems and solutions to it?
3. If my extruder is faulty, then where can I complain to, and how can I replace it?
4, How do I improve my quality?

Thankyou very much in advance.
Re: Problem with my extruder (Reprap Prusa Mendel i2)
January 29, 2014 12:41AM
It's possible you have 2 holes in the hot end. This happens when cutting the angle on the outside getting too close to the hole drilled on the inside. If that's the case, talk to the person/company you purchased it from.
To check this, using Pronterface,
raise your hot end off the bed enough to look under it,
heat your hot end to print temperature,
set extrude length to 5mm and click extrude a couple times and watch to see if it's coming out 2 holes.
It may have just curled and the tip of the plastic just stuck to hot end.

Other problems of the print could be using the wrong size filament, setting the wrong size filament in your slicing software/not saving your filament settings to run every time. Make sure your steps in your firmware match the length being fed into the extruder.
Re: Problem with my extruder (Reprap Prusa Mendel i2)
January 30, 2014 06:11AM
Thankyou for your help! thumbs up But is there any trustworthy online sites I could go to for a new extruder? And is there anyway I can slow down by Prusa Mendel to improve quality?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/2014 06:12AM by thendenster.
Re: Problem with my extruder (Reprap Prusa Mendel i2)
January 30, 2014 09:26AM
I make my own extruders, and the first and only one I bought on eBay came apart the first week using it. So I can't recommend one.
As far as your speed, this can be adjusted in your slicing software. In Slic3r, select the "Print Settings" tab, go down the list to find "Speed". In the newest Slic3r you'll need to be in "Expert" mode. To get here from "Simple", File>Preferences...>Mode>Expert.
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