Hey, everyone. I’m having a bit of difficultly with my MAX and I’m hoping someone can give me a sanity check that I’m on the right track when it comes to troubleshooting + resolving the issue…
I’ve only had the printer for a couple of weeks but I’ve had quite a lot of difficulty getting it to feed filament from the spool, through the aux feed kit, and into the print head. Nearly every time I’ve tried it comes up short. The first couple of times it would stop, no kidding, in the last inch or two before the head. Right now it is getting stuck not even half way down the Bowden tube.
I’ve been doing some digging and it certainly looks like:
the aux feed kit is known to be problematic and it looks like some folks have experimented with replacing the spring it uses to halt on resistance?
the Sovol-shipped Bowden tubing is perhaps not great and some folks have had better luck with the Carpricorn replacement tubing?
As it stands right now, my only work-around is, upon f2f:
back the filament out all the way past the aux feed kit using the menu system
re-feed the filament into the aux feed kit and try to manually flatten out some of the turns in the bowden tube to minimize resistance until it reaches the print head.
feed the filament all the way through while holding the bottom lever on the aux feed kit to disengage the feed gear.
The problem with that is that I eventually, maybe after several prints, get more f2f errors and have to re-do all of the above. So it seems like there’s something about the system that needs adjustment and I’m just getting kinda lucky for those handful of prints.
Am I understanding the known issues correctly? And the common work-arounds? Anything I’m missing?
I see some folks have just foregone the aux feed kit completely and remounted the spool on the top of the unit with a direct feed to the head. I’d like to avoid that for now though.
First, make sure you cut the end of the filament at about 45° – such that the natural curl of the filament is towards the “shorter” end of the 45° cut. This will ensure the pointy end is naturally drawn towards the middle of the bowden tube, not riding along the outside getting caught on things.
Second, Sovol shipped these with 2.5mm ID bowden tubes. Replace with 4mm OD x 3mm ID PTFE bowden tube. Capricorn is one brand, there are others. There are also fakes claiming to be PTFE but are not – watch out for any that claim to be “ultra-clear”, or similar. Real PTFE is translucent not clear.
Third, do not use the automatic unload macro. When changing filament disconnect the bowden tube from the extruder head, retract the filament and cut the end so it cannot drag fine strings into the tube where they will cool, break off and eventually jam things up.
And yes, replace or stretch the aux buffer feeder spring – not because it will prevent this problem, but it will help prevent false clog detection while printing.
Thanks for clarifying what are the best field practices for this unit right now.
FWIW, I have been using the aux feeder disengage lever and manually feeding the filament up to an inch or so from the head and then using the button to have it autofill the rest of the way. The problems with jams seem to have subsided for now though I don’t know why. I’m planning on getting a drier + AMS soon and as part of that process I will swap the Bowden tube out to something more reliable.
Evaluating still. For immediate, I’ll be wiring up the Sovol SH3 drier because I am pushing into non-PLA prints and some of a size where I’d hate to lose a job mid-way over moisture due to cost of filament. Since getting the MAX I have mostly been focused on tuning small jobs as a learning process. Hanging brackets, drawer organizers, small toys of the kids. I’ll be pushing into 10” and 19” rack mounting kit soon.
If you have strong opinions on AMS with the MAX I would love to hear it. Primarily around color + material changing to be able to add fancy branding to otherwise bulk prints. For instance, re the above, branding of the 10” rack mounting kit.
That I had not heard. Good to know. I prefer to stick with companies that are committed to Open Source as a means of isolating myself form possible future rug pulls even if the resulting devices lack features or polish. Posting that just in case anyone at Sovol is monitoring the conversation. haha
You realize this is a Sovol fourm? They are not “committed” to Open Source. They do occasionally release some stuff but where do I find the source code for the latest Max firmware? If that’s too much at least put a link to the compressed image on the wiki.
@cardoc I’m not sure what you’re looking for. They host it on a google drive instead of the more traditional github, but the images are there: SV08 Max | Sovol 3D Printer Wiki
They use a slightly customized version of Klipper, but you can easily switch to mainline Klipper. Their customization provides for features mainline doesn’t (the buffer and the eddy current sensor, if I understand correctly).
The only thing that isn’t open source (again, if I understand correctly) is the stock screen. They sourced that elsewhere for some reason. But the firmware is still available (same google drive) and you can swap in a standard BTT screen and stick the stock screen in a drawer if you prefer (I did).
Sovol does offer a pre-loaded eMCC 32GB card but they also put up a video on how to flash a 3rd party card instead of buying theirs.
This printer is not perfect buffer. It lacks the polish and easy set-up of the Bamboo experience. But overall it’s high quality hardware, sturdy, precise and well-made and as a company they are WAYYYY more open than Bamboo.
I went from hardly being in a room with a 3d printer, to the MAX, to printing custom RV kit and custom comms rack mounting kit in about 6 weeks. So that speaks pretty well on the MAX’s part, I think. The main thing for me has been / will probably be for the next 6 month learning CAD programs and how to fine-tune in the slicer(s). But that’s not a Sovol thing.
I certainly don’t feel limited by the MAX versus a more “polished” Bambu.