Guys, having an issue I have not faced in a long time and at

3D Printing
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I found it did have to be “quite a bit” of plastic going through when I did test extrusions into air before I saw problems, and then it wasn’t a lock up, more that the rate coming out slowed.

The thermistor showed the temperate was stable at all times, so it might be a preheating effect on the pla, or maybe a localised heat loss in the hotend. But I’m a software not a hardware engineer, so this is just speculation.

I’m on a the standard shipping .4 nozzle.

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@Chris_Thomson did you run a V5 prior to your v6?

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I have a red PLA reel that keeps skipping randomly, but gets worse with any bit of backpressure (large W/H ratios), and a natural PLA reel from a different brand that runs perfectly fine.

Try a different reel/brand of filament. It may help. Otherwise, try using a step-down gear, which gives you more torque to push your filament through the nozzle.

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@Loong_Jin_Chow I could not agree more with both of your statements! I have found a majority of the issue was my slicer.

To your suggestions, run an 11 to 47 wades. And you nailed it with the filament! I know from previous experience, that this particular filament is one of the most finicky of all types I have dealt with. Unfortunately, I do not have a choice on this print.

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@Brandon_Satterfield There aren’t many things a slicer can do to overcome layer skipping, but here’s an incomplete list of things you can try in Slic3r, classified by what it tries to solve:

Too high backpressure:

  • Raise layer height, reduce extrusion width
  • Raise temperature (it makes the filament a little less viscous – with my red PLA, I need to print at temperatures between 205 and 225°C)
  • Reduce temperature (if it’s too high, it decomposes)
  • Reduce print speed

Jams in the heat break region:

  • Increase print speed
  • Reduce retractions and retraction speed

But really, skipped layers are usually not a problem with the G-code. If you suspect that it is, try inspecting it in http://gcode.ws, and file a bug if you can identify what Slic3r’s doing wrong.

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Thanks again for your suggestions. The issue is inset with Slic3r’s pillar support command. I will let them know, it’s a great slicer, just a small glitch than can be seen visually through Repetier’s aid.

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Could you post the G-code that shows the issue? And a closer-up photograph perhaps?