TPU Filament Getting Jammed

[MarkF]

That filament guide was recommended to be printed with ABS.

I don't know if you are aware that ABS is toxic.  Be careful to check your ventilation if you print a lot of it.

Everyone was correct, the distance was too far. Trying to figure out how to get the hollow screw closer without hitting the gear isn't easy on this printer.

I haven't been able to find a clear closeup picture of your extruder gear and I didn't download your filler part.  On my Creality CR-10, the new filament guide has a short piece of PTFE tubing is trimmed into a V point to fit close to the gear.  I think yours is different.  I don't know how close it needs to be.

Currently I'm wiring in a new heater and thermocouple as the old block had gunk all over it. The heater wasn't tight in the block, so chances are it wasn't conducting heat efficiently. Also, I realized my nozzle is 0.4mm but I've been using the default 0.5mm in the slicing software (or maybe I accidentally changed it at one time).

More important, a loose nozzle is more likely to cause layer shifts and might cause jamming inside the filament path through the hotend.  Temperature wouldn't be my first concern.  You are actually trying to block heat transfer from the heater and nozzle getting up into the printer.

Not sure if setting the nozzle to 0.5 instead of 0.4 would affect prints.

I'm thinking it's probably over extruding filament unless you calibrated the error out through the e-steps/mm.
I would think it would also introduce errors in the xy position.

[bostonman]

I didn't know ABS was toxic. Does a typical soldering iron air cleaner work or does the ABS need to be vented outside?

The extruder wasn't loose, it was the heater that goes into the block.

Attached is the spacing in the extruder before I changed the height.

[MarkF]

Another thing I forgot to mention is that ABS is susceptible to air drafts while printing.
Also be aware that bed temperatures above 80^oC will destroy the magnetism of those flexible bed plates!
To start, I think I'll just point you to two resources to checkout.
 
First, this short write-up gives a good overview:
   https://all3dp.com/2/printing-with-abs-tips-tricks/

Second, this video:
   

[janoc]

There is this video from CNC Kitchen on printing flexibles:

https://youtu.be/4InFd5DoZa4

I didn't know ABS was toxic. Does a typical soldering iron air cleaner work or does the ABS need to be vented outside?

The extruder wasn't loose, it was the heater that goes into the block.

Attached is the spacing in the extruder before I changed the height.

ABS isn't toxic. Or rather - it is not toxic in the sense that you would keel over if you print it.

It is not healthy though - heated ABS releases styrene, fine particles and few other things being released while printing (anyone who ever printed ABS will recognize the smell)  - could cause asthma over time and similar issues. Most 3D printing filaments release similar fumes and particulates to some degree - even PETG, PLA or Nylon.

So you will want to ventilate the room and ideally don't have it next to you when it is printing. But unless you are running a printing farm blasting out ABS parts 24/7 in a warehouse somewhere, you don't need to worry too much about ABS. The resins used by resin printers are waaay worse for your health than any ABS emissions you can get.

However, do protect the machine itself from drafts! Certainly don't run a fan/forced ventilation there - that will cause air currents around the print, uneven cooling which makes the plastic warp and you get lifted corners, delaminated layers (with loud cracks as the part cools), etc, especially if you are don't have an enclosed machine.

If you operate the printer in an enclosure then that will pretty much keep the particulates and any styrene emissions from ABS printing down as well.

[MarkF]

As for the four different STL files in the Thingiverse download, it appears the only difference is the depth of the pocket where the filament goes through.  You can probably estimate the minimum pocket depth you need to make the part fit flush on top of the hotend mount.

[bostonman]

I overhauled my printer.

The heater block and nozzle had gunk all over it from the previous owner, so I replaced it with a new one. As mentioned, the heater itself wasn't tight in the block so chances are it had poor thermal conductivity, and that got replaced with a new one (including the thermocouple).

The hollow screw was far from the roller and gear, so I moved those closer. Most of the screws on the frame were loose and needed to be re-tightened.

The wire routing wasn't to my liking, so I rerouted the wires, zip tied them, etc... to make it much prettier.

The remaining item is calibrating the printer and maybe finding something better for the bed other than using painters tape over glass. Often times the painters tape rips and I need to replace it, plus removing PLA printed items is challenging at times.

I printed the knob that I had been trying to print with TPU and this time the filament didn't buckle at all and the knob printed fully. Unfortunately I don't remember the settings I used for this G Code file, but I need to tweak things anyway.

I'm uncertain if I'll use the filament guide (still need to tackle printing with ABS). Seems this guide would make feeding new filament difficult without dissembling the head and reassembling the head is a pain; not to mention I fear the servo mounting holes will strip soon from screwing and unscrewing.

Either way, at least I've somewhat solved the TPU jamming issue. It's a matter of the distance in the head and possibly needing the filament guide. So everyone was correct regarding checking the distance.

[MarkF]

I also print on glass with my CR-10.
You might want to try hairspray instead of painters tape.
I can get many prints before needed to clean it off and re-applying.

I do add a little extra spray between cleanings to places that I print over and over.
(Like many small parts printed at the center.)

I mostly print PLA and PETG and print remove is easy if I let the bed cool to room temperature.
I tend to be impatient and pry the little devils off with a putty knife that came with the printer.
Careful, hard prying will mess up the bed leveling.

With all your changes, you might want to re-run all the steps/mm values for all axis and extruder.
I replaced my brass extruder gear with a steel one and it significantly changed the required e-steps value.
Especially with your mix up with the nozzle size.
There should be some videos I linked to showing the process.

[bostonman]

If anyone remembers, I moved the nozzle screw to reduce the space, but never printed the piece recommended (I had issues trying to print with ABS).

In any case, I enlarged the hole on the knob I want to print and tried again Friday, but this time it jammed again. Fortunately it didn't much matter as I made the hole on the knob too large anyway, but it was disappointing to see the jam.

I want to buy a roll of grey TPU anyway so the knob color somewhat matches.

As for the jamming, no need to reply with more suggestions as most of you already gave some great input. It was my fault for not implementing more such as installing that piece.

[unseenninja]

For printing knobs and other small parts with fine detail, a resin printer beats any FDM printer hands down.

I had held off getting a resin printer for a long time as they were too expensive. Recently the price of an Anycubic Photon Mono 2 came down to just $150 and that's what I print these types of object with now. The results are excellent.