Prints stopping or extruder carriage going crazy

[ByteSlinger]

I'm running a Flashforge Creator Pro. I've clocked up over 250 hours of print time so far and it's been on the whole running great.
I've also been using Simplify3D since I got this printer and always exported to SD rather than printing via USB.

However, I recently had a print which got part way in, then the printer just froze. Both the nozzle and bed remained hot but nothing was moving. From this point even if I paused and restarted the print nothing would happen. I had to cancel the print. I started the print again thinking it must have been a freak error but the same thing happened again in the exact same place.

Next I tried re-making the gcode whilst also re-orientating the print so it would be in a different part of the bed at a different angle. This time, part way into the print, the extruder carriage just shot towards the front of the printer and the motor kept on running as if trying to break through the front of the printer. I had to pull the plug to prevent damage.

I next tried a completely different model and the same thing happened again with the carriage going crazy.

I'm now trying a print after altering some things which have been suggested could be hardware causes but many people I talk to suggest that it sounds strongly like a software issue in the slicer.

Now as I say, I've been using Simplify3D since I started printing just shy of 3 months ago and haven't changed a thing so don't see why this would suddenly start happening now, but if it does turn out to be Simplify3D, does anybody have any suggestions as to what it could be and how to fix it as I really don't want to be leaving for another slicer.

Thanks

[CompoundCarl]

I can't imagine anything in the software that would cause this. Usually, when things like this start happening when printing from the SD card, it's almost always a broken SD card reader or failing electronics that are to blame. But if you want to be sure, then run some old files that you had already printed successfully. If those start failing, you can confirm that it's probably a new hardware/electronics problem that you need to diagnose.

[Heutinck]

I agree with Carl, Try another SD card. I know the stopping mid print is a classic symptom of a failing SD card.

[laird]

I had exactly the symptoms you described, and the cause was a failing X-axis stepper motor cable. FlashForge tech support thought that it was the controller (the box with the display, SD card, and buttons). I tried printing via USB, which bypasses the SD card and controller, and I had the same problem. Despite that, FF support was adamant that it was the controller, and I first swapped that ($65), but that didn't fix the problem. Luckily I suspected the cable ($9) and ordered it, and swapping it in completely solved the problem.

When the stepper motor cables wear out, which is particularly likely with the X-axis cable since it flexes continuously during printing, it can cause all sorts of problems, like the printer resetting unexpectedly, the X-axis motor skipping around wildly, etc. Given how cheap the cable is, and how easy it is to swap (if you don't run it through the crazy path the original is in but just run it straight and let it hang loose), it's a good first thing to check. I had the same cable fail both on the FlashForge and the MakerBot Replicator (which the FF is a clone of), so IMO it's just a weak point in what's otherwise a wonderful design.