C3D Extended stops extruding after first layer

Hi. I recently bougth a used Cetus 3D extended. I've had a bunch of successful prints since, but since two days the printer stops extruding after the outline of the second of the model (or simply put right after the first layer is done). At this point, if I pause the print and use the extrude tool in the maintenance window it, confirming that it's not a clogged nozzle, it will start extruding again when I resume the print. I do not get any warning messages.


Troubleshooting so far:

* Checked that all cables are properly connected in the motherboard and the small PCB on the feeder motor. OK.

* Made sure that the filament spool rolls without much friction. OK.

* Made sure that the hotend and nozzle is in line with the output of the feeder (for minimal interference). OK.

    (I must say, the mount of the hotend is very dodgy).


Still it's occuring in each and every print.

Seems like a software bug.


Suggestions?

What slicer are you using? Are you using gcode for this by any chance?


What you're seeing could be due to wrong retraction settings. Due to a lack of calibration in the Cetus software, the extruder stepper is about 22.5 to 23 times too slow when using gcode. Even if you've got your multiplier set in a third party slicer, you still also need to adjust your retraction settings (both distance and speed) by that same factor, since slicers usually are configured w/ absolute values for that and are not affected by the multiplier.

I'm using the Cetus3d slicer.


What material do you use? 

Try clean up cache.

Regular 1.75mm PLA. 210 degrees at the hotend.


I think I might have localized the problem. I just came home and it had stopped extrusion mid print again. This time the filament had been heated too close to the feeder, and had escaped between the feeder and hotend. Perhaps this is what happened before, but not on the same scale.

The previous owner had mounted a 60mm noctua fan, and it could be the source of the problem. I looked up said fan on the web and it's a 12V fan, and I'm not surprised because I don't feel much drag from it at all. I'm gonna try to connect the fan to an external 12V source (trust me, I'm an engineer ;), and I will get back to you if I see any difference.

The orginal fan of cetus is 5V and powerful. It is important to cooling the upper half of nozzle and the gap between feeder and hotend, It is helpful to improve the cooling efficiency.


Feeding the Notua fan from an external 12V source made a huge difference regarding mass flow, and it's still silent. Let's hope it was the source of my problems.


Does anyone know if there is an onboard 12V regulator on the motherboard? Else I might solder on a buck converter.

The 60mm Noctua is also available as a 5 Volt version.

Since I connected the fan to a 12V supply it's been printing perfectly. Everyone who do the 60mm Noctua mod make sure to get the 5V Noctua fan! 


Thanks for all the input.