I'm back at the RepRap. It has been 4 years.
So I am hired on to a small company and they wanted a 3D printer. And they chose a RepRap (not my decision). A Pursa with hotbed and a standard extruder were used. It was made at a local hackerspace called ThinkHaus (http://www.thinkhaus.org/) last weekend. The printer takes 3.0mm filament and has a .32mm nozzle. ThinkHaus has ~5 RepRap printers, but I cannot access the shop again until Tuesday. If anything, I am documenting this problem for others.
3 large rolls of 3.0mm ABS were purchased. I also have two rolls of 3.0mm PLA. The ABS worked at the start, then it was not extruding as the plastic was being ground down by the hob/gear on the gear shaft. I have cleaned this shaft twice. The extruder extrudes well for ~30 seconds, then I wait for the table to heat up to 110C, then when I want to extrude again, it grinds on the ABS filament and stops flowing at a steady rate. I have taken the hot and cold end apart to see if there has been any clogging or damage to the nozzle or the rest of the system.
Questions:
What can I do to prevent the ABS filament from being ground by the shaft? This grinding is working as a lubricant, preventing the filament from being extruded henceforth. I can provide other information as needed. I do not have easy access to a camera.
So I am hired on to a small company and they wanted a 3D printer. And they chose a RepRap (not my decision). A Pursa with hotbed and a standard extruder were used. It was made at a local hackerspace called ThinkHaus (http://www.thinkhaus.org/) last weekend. The printer takes 3.0mm filament and has a .32mm nozzle. ThinkHaus has ~5 RepRap printers, but I cannot access the shop again until Tuesday. If anything, I am documenting this problem for others.
3 large rolls of 3.0mm ABS were purchased. I also have two rolls of 3.0mm PLA. The ABS worked at the start, then it was not extruding as the plastic was being ground down by the hob/gear on the gear shaft. I have cleaned this shaft twice. The extruder extrudes well for ~30 seconds, then I wait for the table to heat up to 110C, then when I want to extrude again, it grinds on the ABS filament and stops flowing at a steady rate. I have taken the hot and cold end apart to see if there has been any clogging or damage to the nozzle or the rest of the system.
Questions:
What can I do to prevent the ABS filament from being ground by the shaft? This grinding is working as a lubricant, preventing the filament from being extruded henceforth. I can provide other information as needed. I do not have easy access to a camera.
