In another thread, I discussed the problems I was having with my Geeetech A10’s extrusion consistency after doing some long needed maintenance.
I replaced just about every component in the extrusion system and still did not have consistent prints. Not one to give up, I would scour the interwebs to see who else was having the same issues. I finally came across some information that I was not aware of. In fact, I did not come across this information at all in regard to setting up the hotend that is in the Geeetech and newer printers.
I am not new to 3D printers and in fact own 3 of them. That being said, I have been using the E3D style hotend for years and I am very familiar with how they work. The Geeetech uses a modified style MK-10 hotend assembly.
This is where knowing how your hotend works will affect how to troubleshoot extruder issues. In the Geeetech hotend, the PTFE filament guide has to actually touch the hotend nozzle. A few things have to be correct for this to happen. First, the outer diameter of the PTFE filament guide has to be the same as the inside diameter of the heat sink. Second, the end of the PTFE guide that is in contact with the nozzle, needs to be cut square in order to prevent filament oozing out around the area.
The video below explaining how the different hotends work, gave me my ah-ha moment. Back to consistent prints!
