Pulse XE operating help



  • Having some issues with my new D-124 Pulse XE. I'm running MatterControl. I've been trying to print with the included RYNO and PLA with little success. Support from Matterhackers has been non existent (I guess they are no longer doing phone support -- although they said they would call; and I have not received a return email). At this point I'm just ready to return the product. I decided to try and get help here and see if issues can be resolved.....
    Upon opening the box, the rear motor was broken off. I did get a replacement, so I'm assuming that was the only issue from unboxing and that the machine was not damaged anywhere else. When I describe the issues I'm having, let me know if you think it is any kind of machine defect.
    I switched from a Creality to the Pulse, so i am not new to 3D printing.

    These are the main issues:

    1. The PLA/TPU will get stuck in the gears that feed it to the nozzle. It makes it difficult to unload.

    2. The PLA/TPU mid print will get stuck to the nozzle and take the print with it. So, the print will stick to the nozzle, not the bed and the nozzle will drag it with.

    3. The RYNO/PLA warps and curls along the edges after a couple layers.

    These are the scenarios I'm trying to work through. Not all happen each time. But, I have yet to get a good print.

    I've been using:
    PLA extruder temp 200-210 , bed at 65-75
    RYNO extruder temp 245, bed temp 65
    TPU extruder temp 270

    Any help/advice is appreciated.



  • @mnicholson766 My first suggestion is to stop printing TPU until you are good in printing the easier stuff as TPU is much more of a challenge.

    1,) Filament grinding up in the extruders: you probably fun the extruder too tightly you can adjust how much pressure you put on the filament - enough so it does not slip but definitely not too much as you will "chew up" the filament also different filaments sometimes need different settings. PLA is pretty hard and brittle so you want to be a bit gentler as to how hard you grip it as PLA grinds up easy (Its easy to grind a hard cheese and not velveta lol) If you ground up some filament already you might have to disassemble your extruder and clean it out.
    2.) You seem to have a bed adhesion problem in relation to the warping capacity of the filament you print. PLA likes to warp some more than other - most materials do to some degree and the bigger the part the more warpage you can get. So make sure it sticks well to your build plate. My pulse has garolite build plate which works great for many things but on PLA and PETG I have been augmenting with tape . I also run my bed a bit hotter and have an enclosure as a draft from a fan or AC or someone just openeing a door or a window etc can cause problems if nothing else you can drape a garbage bag over it to keep hot air in and cold out. Just try to exclude the electronics board IDK which one and what setup you have but you don't want to get the electronics too hot or you get problems. You can also try gluestick or increase extrusion for first layer or print a brim or raft.

    As for the RYNO and the PLA that come with it - there are better filaments (IMO) out there that are easier to print.

    Once you have those problems squared away then give TPU a shot. Always get something working first and I mean reliably so you can switch back to it when something goes sideways



  • @Mnicholson766 I've had remarkably great support from the MH help team, though it has been exclusively through email. I suspect that coming here for help will nudge the MH support staff into gear, if they aren't already. Just keep in mind that the COVID 3D mania is still in full effect in some areas and they may still be swamped.

    I'm not sure which motor you are referring to being damaged upon delivery, but I would assume that the printer could have been "un-squared" if enough damaged had been done to a motor mount. I remember my Pulse D model being really well packed though; was there any damage to the exterior of the box it shipped in?

    As for the other issues:

    1. I have had TPU, polymaker and sainsmart, jam in the extruder gear when the nozzle clogs. I have had to put some serious physical effort into pulling the filament free, even after releasing all tension on the extruder. Upon inspection of the filament, i find a ground up "lump" that i assume is where the hob gears chewed up the same section.

    I have never had any issues with PLA. Usually if the nozzle is clogged, the extruder will actually pop the bowden tube out of the extruder housing and feed the filament into the air. There are some articles on this forum about corrections to that issue if it does arise.

    Like @mpirringer said, the ideal extruder tension should be just enough to feed the filament but not to grind it. I know this can be hard to determine. In my experience, once I have the tension screw threaded into the extruder housing properly, I will turn it maybe 1-2 more full turns for PLA. I will then push on the tension lever and expect some movement of it; if you can't feel the lever move at all, it's most likely too tight. For TPU i like there to be even more tension, but still the tension lever should move slightly.

    Lastly to point 1, something that may affect you since you own the XE model; did your printer come with a "phil" printed in Nylon X on the build plate? If so, your nozzle may have un-melted nylon in the bore. It would be there because PLA melts significantly lower as you know, resulting in the un-melted nylon not fully being pushed out during a filament change. If this could be the case, try a PLA or PETG filament change at the Nylon X loading/unloading temp. If that doesnt work, attempt and "cold/atomic" pull.

    1. I know you're not new to printing, but perhaps your z height is a little too high? It's possibly running into the layer it just layed down. Also like @mpirringer said, glue stick. Depending on the build plate material, garolite or build-tak, you could have adhesion issues.
      I use glue-stick religiously on either surface for all materials: PLA, PETG, ABS, TPU, Nylons; all of them get a fat layer of glue stick on the bed before a print, when the bed is at temp. I'll clean the built up glue stick every couple of prints, just a rinse in the sink, followed by isopropyl alcohol.

    I have only ever used a brim with Nylons and ABS, never needed it for the "basic" materials, but again like @mpirringer; my Pulse is in a home-made enclosure.

    1. The RYNO depending on surface area to height, may warp. It is very similar to PETG, though that's just from what I've read on the internet, I'm not a chemical engineer.

    I've never had PLA warp however, so I don't know what to say about that, other than all filaments are not equal. Especially during this COVID 3D printing mania. I loved Novamaker PLA up until recently. The quality and diameter tolerance seems to have fallen off significantly.

    As for temps, I mostly use the standard settings in MC. My PLA bed temp never gets set above 60c though. Too worried about the GT temp and nozzle clogging.
    The RYNO temp looks like the MC default, so all good there.

    TPU however, that seems excessive. What brand are you using? I've gotten great results below 240c with both sainsmart and polymaker. I only bump up to 245c when printing mask extenders at .3 with a decrease in surface finish.

    Sorry for the long response, i hope it's mostly coherent.



  • @hamprinter I am saving a lot of gluestick by printing all ABS,PETG,HIPS on my Anycubic printers with Ultrabase. I just love those build platforms.

    As for PLA - I hate it can't print any of my stuff right with it. Probably cause its mostly mechanical parts. Try to print some PLA lets say a slab 230x 100x25 mm with a .8 nozzle with 12 perimeters and tell me how to do that without it warping off. On my Chirons I print an item in HIPS that is close to 400x400 with enough perimeters to make it solid piece of plastic with hardly ever a warpage. I have tried nothing, gluestick and even tape. Now it did not separate from the tape it stuck real good to that but it warped and ripped the tape to pieces and off the build plate. Here is one of the items I am talking about

    https://www.chiefdelphi.com/uploads/default/original/3X/c/2/c2576d0c951a5e2e5236205d016166554ed35662.MOV

    That thing lifted 200 lb its 2 double racks and 20 gears meshing



  • @mpirringer I've never printed anything that large in PLA, or any material for that matter, so I will defer to your experience in that area.

    I have had the same issues with PLA and mechanical parts though, especially nuts and bolts or pin and hole style joints. So now I will prototype in PLA and print any mechanical parts in PETG.

    That mechanism is pretty cool; what material is that?



  • @hamprinter That was HIPS Or "the better ABS" like I call it. Same printing settings thereabout, less warp, no splitting, less smell, less shrinkage, higher impact resistance as its less stiff. The tensile strength is a bit lower than ABS but you hardly get to that limit anyway. Parts usually break as they get hit and jolted. That is why PLA fails explosively when hit and splinters. And we pick it up between $4 and $10/kg. We just turned a bit over 100kg of this stuff into PPE. I am the lead mentor for FRC team 1989. Here is a little article on this years robot so you see what we print you are looking at about 14 kg of HIPS.

    https://pirringers.com/3dp/?p=36

    We print Nylon too - mostly Taulman 910 and Hobby Kings CX12. Now that I am upgrading the Chirons to all metal I will try printing Nylon on them too.

    Oh another shortcoming of HIPS is that there are very few colors usually we only get it in "natural" which is white but the natural prints better than the color ones anyway.

    PETG is ok for some things. Its a bit tougher than HIPS but also bends more and if you print real big parts then that can become an issue as you in many cases want to minimize deformation. HIPS is go to for slow speed gears and most brakets. If we have high speed gears or slides or bushings or bearings we use Nylon for something stiffer often ABS and sometimes for smaller motor mounts PETG. For Tires and stoppers TPU. PLA for little trinkets you put on the shelf. We sometimes do a logo or a sign or smaller picture frame in it.


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