P1P Prints Suddenly Weak & Stringy

[ZepGuy]

Hello all,

I’ve been 3D printing PLA and PETG with a new P1P for about 6 weeks now with phenomenal results, from my beginner perspective. This machine has exceeded my expectations right out of the box. Then yesterday I was printing with Elegoo PETG Pro using the Generic PETG profile as always, checked on a print and it was weak and stringy so I immediately stopped. Multiple successful prints with the same filament/settings previously.

I tried again with, of course, the same results. I tried another spool of green Sunlu PETG that the day before had zero issues with and had the same stringy results.

So I did three cold pulls and nothing much came out but the last one was completely clean. Fire it up again with green PETG and, same results. Also noticed that the test line across the front of the plate was weak/broken. So I decide to do a calibration on the filament, never had to do one on any filaments thus far but maybe, just maybe that’s the issue. Fire it back up with the calibrated filament settings and got the same results again, so I deleted the calibration settings.

At this point I unloaded, pulled the nozzle and the extractor assembly. Disassembled the extractor, cleaned out some small dust and tiny filament debris and reassembled/reinstalled both. Heated up the nozzle and used the needle on it to make sure there was no debris blocking it. Also ran a full auto calibration on the machine. The decided to go print a green PETG benchy. It came out great! Almost flawless, as I would have expected before this issue arose.

Great! It’s all good! Went back to my previous print that failed and fired it up with the same green PETG I used on the benchy thinking maybe it was the black Elegoo that screwed things up. Nope. I got a good solid test line, but then this nastiness on the bottom layer so I stopped.

Tried a few more prints, different calibrations, generic PLA, Bambu PLA Basic, PETG, and the test line kept coming out weak. Like there isn’t enough filament being pushed through. Nothing is restricting it that I can see. The spool is free to move, PTFE tube is fine.

Tried another benchy and again, weak test line and weak print. Here are the benchy results before I aborted.

This was all using my original 0.4 nozzle. I came to the conclusion that there must be some kind of partial clog so I switched to the 0.2 nozzle, exact same issues. It’s like there isn’t enough filament coming through.

All of this while running at standard 100% speed.

Only slicer settings I changed were under the supports:

None of these spools were dried, but it’s currently 12% humidity and 104 degrees in my garage where they were stored. Not to mention that I had one benchy come out great in the middle of all this. Greens may look different because of the lighting but they’re both the same spool of PETG. So I don’t believe I can blame this sudden change on wet filament.

Sorry for the long story, but I’m looking for some guidance from the forum on what could have caused this sudden failure and what I can do to correct it.

Thanks.

EDIT: Just heard this sound while feeding filament for a cold pull. No tension on the filament. So I guess I have an extruder issue?

[Panamon_Creel]

What’s the pressure advance K value at for your generic PETG?

[ZepGuy]

I’m not sure why, but I can’t find it in the filament settings. So I’m assuming it’s 0 or whatever the default is. I changed the k factor to 0.07 when I did the calibration but it did nothing to help so I deleted it.

[johnfcooley]

Extruder is skipping…
So when you disassembled the extruder, did you tighted the screw that tensions the filament through the extruder? How tight?

The prints look like a partial clog to be honest. That benchy has layer either seperated or evidence of a clog under the window. You don’t have another .4 do you? I mean, a .2 wouldn’t be that bad either, but I suspect the extruder gears.

Any errors?

[ZepGuy]

I tightened it completely. I have it apart again right now and I see nothing wrong with any of the gears or teeth. Watching videos on it and so far I don’t see anything I’ve assembled incorrectly or anything that is worn.

[johnfcooley]

you don’t want that too tight.
I’ve always just screwed it in to just touching the extruder and not impeading the cover when putting on.

I didn’t say you put it together wrong. I wanted to know how tight that was. There are also 2 bearings on wither side of the big gear, lubing those with a very small amount of lube wouldn’t be a bad idea while you’re there.

[EnoTheThracian]

Interesting timing. This morning I found my overnight print to have ended in a bunched ball of thin spaghetti. So I did cold pulls, hoping not to have to look at the extruder but then had to head off for work.

Then I spent the last 3 hours tonight doing cold pulls, checking the nozzle and extruder manually (and removing a tiny piece of tape from the extruder), trying the 0.6mm nozzle…
Nozzles and Extruder were fine when I did things manually, but absolutely no luck on a real print.

I then had my hopes up that it was the slightly sticky filament cutter, …
Nope, nothing printing when trying to print as normal.

I am now trying to print from the back spool holder with the 0.6 nozzle. Looking good so far. So the next days its gonna be from the back spool for me before I can go over my AMS PTFE’s during the weekend. Hope that’s it at least though. My ObXidians are due on Friday and they’ll need a challenge.

[johnfcooley]

Yeah, I hadn’t gotten to that yet. Like to work back.

[ZepGuy]

@johnfcooley

I’ve always just screwed it in to just touching the extruder and not impeading the cover when putting on.

Interesting… the factory position was all the way tight, but I’ll try backing it off a bit and see how it goes.

@johnfcooley

I didn’t say you put it together wrong. I wanted to know how tight that was. There are also 2 bearings on wither side of the big gear, lubing those with a very small amount of lube wouldn’t be a bad idea while you’re there.

Oh I didn’t think you were insinuating that, I was just stating that I was currently checking to see if I screwed something up. Both bearings are there. And I did hit them with a drop of super lube for good measure.

Going to install and try a print.

[johnfcooley]

Since it’s been brought up. Do you have an AMS, and if so did you print the benchy from a different slot than the messed up prints?

[ZepGuy]

No AMS. Just a single spool mounted on the back.

[johnfcooley]

I’m starting to lean more towards the filament then. Do you have any other filament beyond the Elegoo or the green PETG?

[ZepGuy]

I have tried multiple generic PLA filaments, and a Bambu PLA basic as well. All had the same results.

I have the screw backed out as far as I could and still get it into the housing. probably about 0.12".

Currently starting up a new print. I did try feeding filament through as shown in my video and there was no slipping or clicking. Fingers crossed.

[ZepGuy]

Well, it started out perfect and then slowly deteriorated to the same fuzzy mess. The last time I took the extruder apart and reinstalled the benchy printed perfect, then the next print was almost an immediate failure.

Can the extruder really be bad after 6 weeks?

[johnfcooley]

Not likely, but not impossible either.
I’d say wet filament cause it looks similar, but the benchy contradicts that thought.
No AMS so no PTFE to caues issues, you only have the little bit running from the frame to the extruder. You said you haven’t had it long so I doubt that’s worn.

I don’t think, or know, if the filament sensor would have any part in this, but I don’t think it would. That leaves the extruder or the nozzle. It does look a little like a partial clog, but you’re getting it on 2 different nozzles.

You could contact support, put a ticket in. Support will either narrow it down further and/or replace the part. I tried.

[ZepGuy]

I agree about the nozzle. I thought it was a clog too until I tried the 0.2 and got the exact same behavior. How bizarre is it that it works correctly for a short time after doing nothing but removing, disassembling, reassembling, then reinstalling the extruder? It’s not like I’m removing any thing from it or changing anything.

I’m going to submit a ticket. But, I’m tempted to just buy a new extruder assembly while I wait on them to get to ticket, but if that’s not it then I’m out $35.

Thanks to everyone who replied and tried to help.

[ZepGuy]

Update: Replaced the extruder gears with hardened steel. Extruder still slipping. Entering a ticket.

[ZepGuy]

Solution: This turned out to really be a very stubborn partial clog. It stayed in there through at least a dozen cold pulls and a half dozen needle cleanings. I finally cleared it by taking it off the machine completely, heating the tip with a lighter and using the needle on it.

What tipped me off was that if I ran the extruder without a nozzle, it didn’t skip. So basically the extruder was trying to push more filament through than the nozzle would allow.

Side note: I thought it was an extruder issue because the 0.2 nozzle prints were also awful. Turned out that after fixing the clog I badly needed to tension the belts. IDK if it was somehow related or if the timing was a coincidence. But, I’m back to printing with the quality I had before.

Thanks again to all that replied!

[johnfcooley]

I called that 6 days ago. You told me it wasn’t.

I’d be mad but I’m glad you figured it out and solved it. Happy printing.

[ZepGuy]

Yep, you did. Just assumed it was all the same issue since both nozzles were printing garbage. But it turns out the 0.2 was just printing a mess because of the belts being loose. A learning experience for sure. Thanks again.