Bondtech extruder stopped moving soon after install
Hi all,
I upgraded a few things on my Prusa Mini this weekend, but I'm having issues with the new Bondtech extruder. I'm hoping I can get some troubleshooting advice.
What I upgraded:
- Mini+ Upgrade (replaced the MINDA with the Super PINDA)
- Bondtech Dual Drive Extrusion Upgrade
- Bondtech Heat-break Upgrade
The extruder upgrade was done according to the instructions:
- Swapped out the extruders, offsetting the new brass motor gear with a zip tie
- Swapped the red/blue pins on the connector to the main board
- Installed the thumb screw and backed it off by 4 turns
- Adjusted the estep by adding "M92 E415" to octoprint via Terminal and PrusaSlicer
I then started doing some z-level calibrations, and everything looked fine. However, during the second calibration print, the extruder stopped pushing the filament.
I tried:
- unloading/loading filament
- Restarting the printer
- Reinserting/adjusting ptfe
- Tightening/Loosening the thumb screw
None of these fixed the problem. I can manually push the filament through the extruder, and I can see the motor turning normally. The filament doesn't move at all though, which makes me think it's not engaging.
Has anybody else had this issue? Any ideas on what I can check?
The only thing I can think of is if maybe the motor gear wasn't tight enough and slipped?
Thanks in advance for ideas.
Best Answer by fuchsr:
Haven't had that with any Bondtech extruder but if you can manually push it through it's not a clog, and you said the motor is running, so all that's left is two things:
Most likely, the gear is not properly installed on the motor. Check the set-screw. Make sure it's properly installed per step 19 in the instructions. Tight against the FLAT side of the shaft. I guess it could also be installed in the wrong orientation, which I managed to do once (albeit on a Mk3S).
Or the idler (thumb screw) is not tight enough.
Beyond that, I don't see anything else that can be wrong. My money is on the set screw.
Haven't had that with any Bondtech extruder but if you can manually push it through it's not a clog, and you said the motor is running, so all that's left is two things:
Most likely, the gear is not properly installed on the motor. Check the set-screw. Make sure it's properly installed per step 19 in the instructions. Tight against the FLAT side of the shaft. I guess it could also be installed in the wrong orientation, which I managed to do once (albeit on a Mk3S).
Or the idler (thumb screw) is not tight enough.
Beyond that, I don't see anything else that can be wrong. My money is on the set screw.
Re:
Yep. It turned out to be the set screw. I missed that there is a flat face on the motor, so I must not have used it and it loosened up to where it was basically a bearing at that point.
Tightened it up and it's running smooth now. Thanks for the reply fuchsr!
Happy to help!