TAZ 6 printing first few layers then PLA doesn't squirt

General LulzBot TAZ
1

My TAZ6 has been printing with no issues forever.

On my last PLA reel, it printed perfectly for the last many months.

I just changed to a new PLA reel (same brand and type) and now it prints great for the first few layers (10 to 20), then no filament is extruded. The filament is not broken and fits tight inside the extractor teeth.

Thinking the filament was not getting hot enough, I heated the filament to 230 to clear out the nozzle, then printed at 210 again. Same thing. Prints the first 10 or so layers, then nothing while the machine happily prints nothing in the air.

Any advice? Suggestions? I bought the TAZ in 2017 I think. Can’t say enough good things about it…until now.

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If you’ve been using it for 7 years, there’s a chance the notches in your hobbed bolt are worn down, so when before it could push through heat creep or other factors, now it’s the weakest link.

Is it a model you’ve printed successfully before? This could be the layer where it starts doing more retractions, heat creep sets in, or the stepper driver starts overheating.

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Thanks for the feedback. two variables entered into the equation: New filament and new enclosure. Heat creep seems to be my first go to solution. I will start with that.
Keep on printing…

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