Hi, can someone make recommendations for successfully using NinjaFlex? I’ve tried:
Bed temp off, bed temp on ranging from 50C to 100C.
nozzle temps between 215C (didn’t flow) to 255C (way too much flow) [but note that my thermistor reads about 5-7 degrees higher than the actual temp so what appeared to be good flow to me was probably closer to 240-245C)
thick first layer (150%), normal first layer (100%)
print speeds as low as 15 mm/s
no retraction, normal retraction, extra retraction
using Slic3r and Repetier Host
I am using an ecksbot printer, which is based on the Prusa Mendel. It has kapton tape on its bed. The only thing I haven’t tried, yet, is removing this.
What happens is that it just doesn’t extrude onto the bed. It might randomly for a bit here and there, but I have yet to produce an entire first layer that doesn’t have huge amounts missing. What’s even weirder is that if I kill the print and lift the nozzle, a whole bunch of filament suddenly comes out. I can also make it extrude happily in air, no problem. But as soon as that nozzle is near the bed, NOPE.
I have no idea what to try next other than to remove the kapton, but I have no idea if that would do anything. It’s not that it’s not sticking - it sticks very well when it does manage to come out of the nozzle. I can’t get it off the kapton, in fact. Thankfully the stuff seems to dissolve in acetone so I can clean the kapton that way. The problem is getting it out onto the kapton in the first place.
Could someone be so kind as to toss out a few suggestions? I’ve tried copying other people’s settings but nothing seems to work. I just don’t understand why it happily extrudes in air but not on the bed. Thanks so much.
Mind you, if I let it go long enough with this “oops I refuse to deposit on your bed” thing, it will tangle up, but I kill it before that happens. I’ve seen it do it once.
Which hot end do you have? Edit: Woah what the effffff…
This is probably the result of simply a shitty extruder. Shitty extruders will pump out ABS all day long, because it’s not sticky, and flows very well. Does your printer work with PLA? If it doesn’t, that’s the problem.
It looks like it’s actually suitable for PLA and ABS, but I don’t know what kind of trickiness all-metal hot ends have with filaflex/tpe filaments. @Sanjay_Mortimer , do you have any input on this? I know it’s not your hot end, but you have more intuition as far as thermal characteristics due to your experience designing the E3D end and the extensive testing you’ve done.
I’m willing to try to modify this but I want to first make sure I’ve exhausted everything I can try with it as it is. I’m brand new to 3D printing so I don’t want to go all crazy here, lol. I freaked out over ABS for 3 days before I finally got it working so I clearly am not a pro of any sort.
Sounds like the nozzle is too close to the bed, creating a blockage. I always re-level the bed before each print when using Ninjaflex. Try giving some space between the nozzle and build plate. Prime the hotend before starting a print because a good amount will leak out when you leave it on.
You need a special extruder body like the lulzbot flexistruder, it holds the filament tight so it don’t wiggle around. Ninjaflex needs to be extruded slower than regular filament because of its flexibility.
@Chris_Lau this is going to sound like a stupid question, but how do I increase the distance? Can I do that in the software (Z-offset?)? I’m thinking the same thing - at least for this filament, it’s too close and builds up too much pressure. I actually rebalanced it just before starting with the NinjaFlex and I’m pretty sure I got it pretty good, but maybe I cut it too close. However the balancing procedure I follow only balances it - it doesn’t change where the endstop is. The procedure that changes the endstop location involves sliding a piece of paper under it and whenever I check that, the paper slides the way it’s supposed to so I haven’t changed anything.
@Nuker_Bot_NukerBot_3 Yes I know - I had it set extremely slow. I’ve been trying to replicate what people have done without having to change their extruders. So far, it only tangles if I let it jam, basically, and I’ve been taking that as a good sign. i.e. a sign that suggests I should be able to get it to print, if I can only figure out why it refuses to get started. It’s not buckling before the jam.
I’m probably over-thinking this. That’s what I did when I was first starting with ABS. Grrr.
Why do these things have to be so tantalizingly cool? I would give up if I didn’t want so badly to make stretchy things.
I will eventually modify the machine if I have to. I just don’t want to jump straight to that. Actually, what I’ll probably do is just get/build a second machine if I never succeed with this one. I actually need PLA/ABS more. The flexible stuff is just for fun.
@Vicky_Bilaniuk I had a lot of these problems before I put auto bed leveling on my mendelmax, even if the filament is off by just .02 of a mm it will sputter and not stick, especially if it is temperamental as ninjaflex.
Deifnitely sounds like you’re too close to the bed for the first layer - try turning your lead screws by hand to dial it in to the point where it works, then get there again by updating your firmware or modifying the z-offset in slic3r. Print at 20mm/s.
