Filament always stripping during prints

I cant seem to get through a print anymore without the gear stripping the filament.

I have only made about 5 prints since purchase, the first couple worked fine…ive tried different tensions on the bearing that pushes the filament into the gear with no luck. i clean the gear after each strip and cut the bad part of the filament off the spool.

i just cant seem to get through a print anymore and i am wondering if i am missing a step? Could my nozzle be to close to the glass? My filamemt usually strips 5 or so layers in. Could my tip be partially plugged? Any other suggestions would be great so i can try to over come this issue.

Cheers
Chris,

Yep, the nozzle is plugged. If the filament won’t extrude smoothly with the nozzle 50mm or so above the bed the nozzle is clogged.

Check your idler arm bearing on the extruder. If it’s gummed up and doesn’t spin freely, replace it. Also check the set screw on the small gear and ensure it is still down and tight. If that gear is slipping on the NEMA motor shaft it can partially strip filliament. Also check that the hot end is truly still heating to temperature. A failed heating element / sensor is far more likely than a nozzle obstruction if you are using decent filliament.

I will check into the mentioned items. I am using lulzbot filament tha was purchased with my machine. Thanks folks. Will post if I make headway

Chris,

bare glass, hairspray and PLA always work. I have similar problems with some models and ABS. the above suggestions will work great for the lifting. for the seperation problems may require a heated chamber when printing large models in ABS. I have experimented with a box over the unit and it does help. Now unless I have to print it in ABS, I use PLA. 200c extrude temp and 80c bed with a small oscillating fan blowing on the extruder and bed after the first few layers if the print will go more than an hour. with hairspray, you will be hard pressed removing the print before it cools. and even after it can sometimes be challenging.

On a brighter note. I can’t wait to get my gecko tec build plate. That should eliminate all adhesion issues and make things easily removable. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/geckotek3d/geckotek-3d-printer-build-plate 22 hours to go!

See this post:
http://forum.lulzbot.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1022&p=5033#p5033

I know nothing about kickstarter. How do I order the ghecko plate? I need it for my TAZ 3; so I am assuming I would want a 12x12"? How much does that cost?

I just had a similar problem, and followed the instructions to remove the nozzle and then soaked it in acetone for a day. Washed/dried it off the next day, put it back together, and no more clogged nozzle!

Some users have encountered flaking or delamination when removing parts when printing on bare glass. We recommend printing with either the stock PET surface, or with the new PEI print surface that some of our more advanced users are using with great success.

Thanks!