I just got my 3D Chameleon, and I'm having a really hard time getting it to load filament during printing. I have it set up on an Ender 3, and did the measurements and used the G-Code generator for Cura. I did have to rotate the extruder 90 degrees to get it to fit because the z axis rod was in the way. Everything appears to work right up until the filament is supposed to exit the extruder and go into the hotend. For some reason I can't ever get it to go cleanly out of the extruder, it always gets stuck. I've tried it with different filaments and it never loads into the hotend when attempting to print.
I have another issue with the second extruder seeming to slip when loading and unloading filament, but I don't know if that is going to be an issue during printing or not yet.
Here are some pictures of how I have this set up, happy to upload anything else that might help diagnose this.
Thanks!
I really like the BMG style extruders... they're easy to use and inexpensive. There are some that have quality issues, but I've posted a video on how to fix them and make them very reliable. There is one video I still need to make about them, and that is the fact that some of them have a less than 2.0mm inner filament path... but a simple 2mm drill bit will take care of that. (Of course, if you have the money, the real BMG is the way to go.)
I'm going to be honest, I don't like this extruder either. I wish I had done more research before buying it. Is there an extruder that you personally recommend?
I've flared the PTFE tube like you did in the video, and it appears to be loading and unloading correctly now. I'm going to try a test print and see what happens.
Thanks!
Ok... I've not seen that style of extruder before... normally, they have a PTFE coupler there that has a metal throat to guide the filament into it. My guess is that this design doesn't constrain the PTFE enough. Can you make sure the inside of the PTFE is flared so that it can "catch" the filament as it is loaded. My guess is it is not and it is getting caught on the edge of the filament. You can use your side cutters to flare out the inside of the tube. At 3:30 in this video, you can see how I do it. https://youtu.be/sVDB1qU9Bqk?t=211