Customer Service - Support Center for Bondtech Customers and Users

There are two ways of solving this issue:

1. Reconnect wires
   Reverse two of the 4 wires connected to the stepper motor;
2. Revert direction in firmware
   Use the firmware to revert the direction of rotation.

See why this happens, and how to solve it here:
Troubleshooting Extruder

There are 3 main possible causes for this issue to happen:

• Broken wires
  One or more wires connected to the stepper motor are broken;
• Wrong wire connection
  One or more wires connected to the stepper motor are using the wrong pin.
• Connector not properly seated
  The connector on the mainboard or on the stepper motor may be loose. It may also happen if one of the pins in a connector has moved or been pushed out.

Check the stepper motor cables and perform any corrective measure required.

There are many possible causes for this issue to happen:

• Hotend is jammed
  Filament cannot pass through the hotend. Most probable cause is heat from the heat block creeped up the hotend causing the material to soften, expand and stick to heat break walls.
  

  Use the proper working temperature and check if the cooling fans are working, and add more cooling if required.

  Check if the fans or heat sinks are covered with dust and clean them if they do.

  If possible use thermal paste between the heat break and the heat sink to ensure a proper dissipation of heat.

• Filament is blocked
  The filament hits the edge of the PTFE tube and gets blocked. It may also happen the PTFE tube is not properly pushed against the heat break (or nozzle) and a clog forms between them.
  

  Check the filament tube is in proper condition and has the right length.

  Clear any clog or jam and re-install the PTFE tube by firmly pushing it against the heat break (or nozzle).

• Filament is stuck
  The filament diameter is too large here and there, and gets stuck when is thicker than the filament path. Or, on unloading the filament tip is too thick.
  

  Disassemble and push out the stuck filament.
  Always extrude about 20 mm of filament before unloading.

• Clogged nozzle
  A possible explanations for this to happen is that due to wrong temperature settings for the material being used, there was not enough flow to allow the current print speed and the pressure build-up created a blockage inside the hotend.

  Clear the clog or replace the nozzle.

• Too much extrusion required
  The hotend cannot melt all the plastic being pushed.
  

  Reduce the print speed/layer height/extrusion width to lower the amount of plastic being pushed.

• Nozzle too close to the print bed
  The nozzle is being obstructed by the print bed and plastic cannot flow.
  

  Increase Z-offset.

These are the main causes for this to happen:

• E-steps is not properly set.
  Was the firmware updated?
  E-steps can be set using the recommended firmware upgrade, G-Code commands; or using machine settings. >>Check this guide
• Secondary drive gear is loose
  Was the thumbscrew tightened according to recommendations?
  The hinge holding the secondary drive gear may be loose, causing the filament to slip. Try tighten it using the thumbscrew. >> Check this guide
• Filament is not well calibrated (less frequent)
  The filament thinner than advertised or is not calibrated and its thickness varies while being extruded. This causes unexpected changes in the volume of extruded plastic.

  Do a calibration procedure and adjust your flow or extrusion multiplier to improve your prints.

• Wrong filament setting in slicer
  The filament diameter setting in the slicer is thicker than the filament actually being used.

  Correct the setting to match the filament diameter.

• Partially clogged nozzle
  The nozzle is semi obstructed and constrains the flow of material.

  Change or clean the nozzle.

There are two main possible causes for this issue to happen, both related to an interruption of the filament flow inside the hotend:

• Clogged Hotend
  The hotend gets clogged and the extruder keeps pushing material causing a growing increase of back pressure that snaps the bowden out of the push-fit.;
• Heat creep jam
  Similar result can be also be due to a jam inside the hotend created by heat-creep.
  Heat-creep is caused by heat flowing up through the heat-break. This softens the filament and disturbs the extrusion process because material is melting and flooding the interior of the heat-break instead of pushing material out of the nozzle. To avoid the heat-creep check the hotend cooling fan is working, and take the preventive measure of unloading the material after finishing printing.

In both cases, clear the clog or jam and then reattach the bowden to the push-fit so you can print again.

As our extruder can generate very high feeding force, to avoid pushing out the bowden when theissues described above occur, we recommend lowering the current of the stepper motor so that it will lose steps before the bowden tube is pushed out.

Due to small differences in thickness between sections of the filament path inside the hotends, and the fact that molten plastic is shaped to the extrusion channel, it can occur that filament gets stuck in thinner sections when unloading.

Disassemble and push out the stuck filament.

It is a good practice to always extrude some material (about 20 mm) before unloading the filament. This procedure will soften the blocking tip that will be able to be pushed back during unloading.

If the extrusion stepper motor is getting too hot, this means the electrical current being fed to the motor is too high. Lower the current step by step until you reach a good compromise between torque and temperature.

If you are using one of our stepper motors consider the following current limits:

• Nema17 Pancake stepper 25mm : 700 mA.
• Nema17 Pancake stepper 22mm : 800 mA.
• Nema17 Geared stepper : 1200 mA.
• Nema 17 Motor Slim Power 0.9 degree : 1400 mA.

Check the User Guide of your printer on how to adjust the current. You can also search inside tab 7 Install Upgrade for guides available to your Bondtech Upgrade Kit that may have info on Current Adjustment

This issue can be identified on sight or by evident signs of under extrusion. There are two main causes for the filament to slip inside the extruder:

1. Loosen thumbscrew (more frequent)
   The hinge assembly is not tighten and the secondary drive gear cannot make enough pressure on the filament to push it.

   Use the thumbscrew to properly tighten the filament as indicated here

2. Missing ball bearing (less frequent)
   A ball bearing may be missing on either side of the main shaft assembly. This will cause the main shaft to wobble and the primary gear will not make enough pressure on the filament to push it.
   This may happen when a user opens the extruder housing and without notice the bearing may fall and get lost.

   You will need to buy a ball bearing replacement

This issue may occur even if the Prusa is updated with our Bondtech firmware.
The most common cause for this to happen is by missing the last step of the guide.

1. Factory Reset
   When we update the firmware we change the microstepping from 32 to 16 bit. We do this because the increase of resolution of our extruder, if working at 32bit, would require the E-steps to be set at 830. It’s too many steps to be generated by the 8 bit processor in the mainboard. That change in microstepping requires a Factory Reset.

   Perform a Factory Reset in your Prusa (after updating the Prusa with our firmware).

This issue will occur if the firmware was not updated.

1. Firmware update
   Because our Upgrade Kits for Prusa change the z position of the tip of the nozzle, there is a need to correct that setting.

   Verify here what is the version you should use on your setup, download the file and find here a guide for your printer to perform the firmware update.

This issue may occur if the default Retraction Settings are kept after install.
The CR-10S has a 5mm retraction distance and 45mm/s retraction speed default. This works well on a Bowden setup.
When changing to Direct Drive the same setting should be much lower and slower.

1. Lower Retraction Distance and Speed
   On Direct drive systems the extruder sits very close to the nozzle and it requires much less effort on retractions. Fine tune the values below to your preference.

   Change Retraction Distance to 1mm and Retraction Speed to 35mm/s.

There are many causes for this issue to happen. Here are some of the most frequent:

1. Heat Creep
   Due to heat creep the material slowly melted and expanded inside the heat break up until it became a heat insulator, solidified and created a jam.

   Clear the jam and verify if your hotend cooling fan is working properly.

2. Clogged nozzle
   A possible explanations for this to happen is that due to wrong temperature settings for the material being used, there was not enough flow to allow the current print speed and the pressure build-up created a blockage inside the hotend.

   Clear the clog or replace the nozzle.

3. Stepper motor stops
   Stepper motor are very resilient and rarely stop working. The most probable cause is a shut down of data or power.

   Check the wires and connectors to the stepper motor.

The most probable cause of a leaking hotend is the nozzle is not properly tighten.

1. Nozzle not properly tighten
   Under pressure the molten material will follow the path of less resistance. Sometimes happens that path is between the heat break and the nozzle because they are not well tighten together.

   Properly tighten your nozzle by following these instructions.

The most probable cause of a worn main gear is the wrong assembly of the motor gear.

1. Correct motor gear position
   There is a proper orientation and distance to be set while attaching the motor gear to the motor shaft with the set-screw. Check the right Upgrade Kit Step By Step Guide ( see tab 7. Install Upgrade ) to learn how it’s done.

   Disassemble your Upgrade Kit and follow the Guide instructions to properly set the motor gear in place.

The incorrect assembly of the motor gear can also have the following adverse effects: under-extrusion; noise; feeding failure.

When Homing fails the CR-10S, S4 or S5 will show the following error message:
Homing Failed; PRINTER HALTED; Please reset.

With implementation of Marlin 1.1.9, some CR-10S users experience problems when trying to home the printer. This is most likely due the new more sensitive way Marlin handles the signals. Most printer manufacturers use mechanical switches with a capacitor to filter the noise from the signal. Unfortunately Creality does not. Which means if your signal suffers from noise you might have this problem.

Mechanical solutions to solve this issue:

1. If you are using an extension cable on your Z switch, remove it and check if it makes a difference.
2. Separate the Z-switch cable from the bundle of other cables, they may disturb the signal.
3. Twist the cables.

4. ADVANCED: Solder a 100nF capacitor in parallel with the switch. This would make the signal “noise-proof” without sacrificing accuracy, but we do not recommend this option unless you have experience with electronics and soldering. This is not guaranteed to work!

Enabling Noise filtering in Marlin could possibly solve this issue but at the cost of accuracy.

We have compiled a firmware with Noise filtering enabled. We only use 2 iterations so this should be similar to the accuracy of Creality’s stock 1.1.6 firmware.

You can download the firmware below.

• CR-10S : bondtech_fw_CR10s_1.1.9_noise_filter.hex.zip
• CR-10 S4 : bondtech_fw_CR10s4_1.1.9_noise_filter.hex.zip
• CR-10 S5 : bondtech_fw_CR10s5_1.1.9_noise_filter.hex.zip

If the mentioned solutions do not work, unfortunately you might not be able to use Marlin 1.1.9 in its current state.

We have compiled a Bondtech specific firmware based on the original firmware Creality is providing with the printers (Marlin 1.1.6)

You can find the firmware below.

• CR-10S : bondtech_fw_CR10s_1.1.6.hex.zip
• CR-10 S4 : bondtech_fw_CR10s4_1.1.6.hex.zip
• CR-10 S5 : bondtech_fw_CR10s5_1.1.6.hex.zip

In order to disconnect the PTFE tube, the black ring of the push-fit needs to be pressed down. If it’s not possible to press it down, most likely there has been a build up of filament that blocks the black piece from being pressed.

The reason for why the filament has built up is that the PTFE tube has not been pushed all the way into the housing. If it is not pressed in all the way, there is a free space between tube and nozzle, where the filament can jam, because the extruder has a super strong grip on the material. This can also happen if you have a clogged hotend.

The easiest way to solve the issue is:

1. use a scalpel to cut the tube flush to the top of the black push-fit collar;
2. use the same scalpel to cut the tube from the center and outwards so you split it in two pieces;
3. remove the PTFE tube from inside to allow the removal of the jammed filament that is below the coupler.

When a jam occur, the Bondtech extruder keeps on pushing filament and may happen that the pressure build-up inside the hotend is enough to pop the bowden tube out of the push-fit.

The push-fit collar replacement is easy to do. You just need to buy a replacement.

• You can buy a collar replacement at our webshop, or in a Bondtech Sales Partner near you. This is a very common and affordable component that can be purchased from many other vendors as well. Choose the one closer to you to lower the shipping costs.

Here is a more detailed explanation on the causes

The Bondtech extruders multiply the torque of the stepper motors 3 fold or more, depending on the extruder. This creates a very powerful extrusion system that provides very high pressure, and that’s why it works so well : )

When the nozzle is clogged there is no place for the filament to escape, and since the extruder continues to feed, the force will be high enough to push the tube out and create space for the filament to jam up.

We recommend to use our 25 mm stepper motor that has 18 Ncm of torque that gives the extruding force needed.

When using original stepper motors with torque up to 40 Ncm and more, the extruder will be too strong, due to the 3:1 gearing ratio. In order to avoid having problems when a clog is formed, the best way is to reduce the current to the stepper motor so it will loose steps, before the force gets too high, and cause no damages

Sometimes the extruders can get jammed when filament gets stuck inside and cannot be easily removed. Melted material can be deposited in hard to access areas of the extruder housing.

Here is how to solve this issue without damaging the extruder:

• remove the housing from your printer so you will be able to push it out from the bottom;
• if you still can’t get it out, please contact support using our “Technical Support Request” form.

There are two ways of solving this issue depending on what DDS for CR-10S generation you have:

1. On DDS Gen I
   The heater cartridge has a long lead that goes from the cartridge to the controller box.

   To perform this repair, please follow this step by step guide.

2. On DDS Gen II
   The heater cartridge has a short lead and connector that is much easier to replace.

   Remove the extruder from the printer;
   Take out the connector cover on the back;
   Replace the heater cartridge;
   Re-attach the DDS to the printer.

If you are experiencing problems with your ECAS PTFE-tube Push-fit Connector, please go through the steps listed below.

1. Check Metal pins
   Check that all the 10 metal pins that grab the tube are whole and look ok. See picture for clarification.
   You may need to use a flashlight in a certain angle to see them correctly.
   If All pins are OK, go to step 2.
   If the metal pins are missing or damaged, go to step 3.
2. Check bowden tube
   If your push-fit is fine and should work then the problem most likely comes from the tube. You need to make sure your tube is whole and not damaged. Try change the tube to a new.
3. Replace push-fit
   If the connector is damaged and needs to be replaced follow one of the solutions presented below.

We have 3 solutions available for you to choose from:

• (Do it yourself) Replace the push-fit with a new ECAS, there is a guide further below in the webshop page on how to replace it.
• (Do it yourself) Replace it with the threaded Metal push-fit connector. You will need to drill the push-fit hole with a 8.4mm drill and thread it with a G1/8” tap, to make it fit.
• Use our Customer Service > Contact Forms > Technical Support Requests to ask for a replacement of the front housing part (part cost is $16 USD) and a threaded metal push-fit (part cost $2.63USD).

Known reasons for Push-fit Connector failure:

Too much back-pressure from the Nozzle, it can occur from:

1. Heat-creep, hotend doesn’t cools enough from fan or other cooling source.
2. Clogged nozzle, plastics in nozzle that caused a stop, see THIS LINK how to fix a clogged nozzle.
3. Too low hotend temperature, the plastic can’t melt fast enough. Possible solution: Raise your nozzle temperature 5-15 degree Celsius.
4. The nozzle is too close to the print surface and prevents plastic from coming out. Possible Solution:Level the bed properly.
5. The plastic can’t be pushed through the nozzle fast enough, maximum flow is exceeded. Possible Solution: print slower or raise temperature on nozzle 5-15 degree Celsius.

To avoid damage your push-fit again, lower the stepper motor Current on your 3D printer.
The stepper motor will lose steps before the back-pressure from the hotend gets too high.