Filament won't advance but there doesn't seem to be a clog?

Sovol SV06 Plus ACE
1

Part way through a print, my filament stopped extruding. I thought it was a clog but I can thread the acupuncture needle clear up to its spring when putting it into the nozzle. I can also get it really low when putting it through the filament input on the motor so I’m starting to think it’s not a clog and maybe there is filament stuck in the gears somehow?

My manual doesn’t have any instructions on taking the print head apart to check the gears, the github for the SV06 Plus Ace seems to be basically blank, and the wiki doesn’t include an article for this under the SV06 Plus Ace section.

Can someone please tell me what else to check (and how) and if there’s a tutorial somewhere on how to take things apart without breaking them?

Thanks in advance for your help!

2

Don’t disassemble. There’s an easier way. Unscrew the knurled screw on the extruder lever and fold out the lever. This exposes the gears.

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3

Thanks, I’ll give it a shot!

4

As for Github… the 6, 6+, 7, 7+, and both Aces use the same extruder. Hot ends, mounting brackets, and fans change but the core extruder is the same.

5

What did you use?
If it’s PETG, try heating the nozzle to 280 degrees to melt it.

6

That only exposed the outermost gears. I ended up having to take it all apart to get to all the gears and clean them. Even with clean teeth on the gears, the filament still won’t advance.

It was PETG. I left the nozzle at 280 until it timed out and the system turned off the heat to the nozzle. Still no Filament coming through the nozzle.

Now I’m really confused and frustrated. If it’s not dirty gears and it’s not a clog, why won’t the filament advance and melt? Guess I’ll go read up on the extruder in the 6, 6+, 7, and 7+ forums. If anyone has any more suggestions I’d love to hear them.

7

Don’t hesitate to put a ticket at info@sovol3d.com with your order number.
They will help you within a week.

8

And you checked that the gears turn when you try to extrude?
(this can be checked without filament in the extruder)

9

Does the knob/handle/wheel on the front spin when you send an extrude command (hot end needs to be hot or “cold extrusion protection” will override)

If yes then next question is with the extruder open does the feed wheel turn?

And finally hold something softish against feed roller (back end of a sharpie works well) and try to hold it stationary and extrude again.

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This should help.
https://youtu.be/dYhq6K19ids

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Both the knob and the inner gears spin.

By the feed roller, do you mean the larger inner gear? I can see that spinning with the extruder door open.

I’m guessing your question about the feed roller is what the video shows at :59. I’ll check to see how loose it is after I get off work.

Ah, I wonder if there’s filament on top of the hotend that has a gap big enough for the acupuncture needle to get through but too small for filament, kind of like the video shows at 2:00. I’ll check for that too when I get off work. Thanks for linking the helpful video!

12

My guess is you are victim of “Heat Creep” where the filament gets hot enough to stick above the heat break.

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Royal pain. Usually removing the hot end (heat block an heat break as an assembly) and a little hammering on an Allen wrench will pop it loose.

13

I’m printing again!!! It turns out it was a piece of filament that had broken off after the extruder gears and at the top of the hotend tube so it couldn’t melt but it was preventing the filament from entering the tube. Got that cleaned out and I’m back in business!

Thanks for all the help @cardoc and everyone else!

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