I don't know what's going on here. (Page 1 of 2)

I realized the filament size on mine as well. After I changed it, it made diference to say the least.
What are your feed and flow rates at right now?

Start by setting it back to 1.75 that is the filament your using and it is a known factor.  Then work your way through proper calibration and focus on extrusion steps per mm.  Then extrusion multiplier.  Also make sure your nozzle is set at .40 and that extrusion widths are set to .48.  That should get you a lot closer than you are now to a successful print.

Once you've set your filament diameter to 1.75 (should actually measure this and enter that number)
Then you'll want to set nozzle diameter to .40 here

Next is your extrusion widths and you'll want to use .48 for most of these lines

Next is the steps per mm you should follow these instruction to determine the correct number.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZGdMc2ebPo

You'll need to enter them by going here

Then go to this screen (disregard the 485 that is highlighted)  your numbers should be real close to 100.

Then you need to do extrusion multiplier or flow rate by following this link.
You will notice that they are working with .42 width, that was for the older .35 nozzle.

http://solidoodletips.wordpress.com/201 … flow-rate/

That should just about cover it but if I missed something let me know.

Ok so extruder steps calibrated and its still doing what it was doing before. Sometimes it prints very thin and sometimes broken lines. ugh. This is getting more and more frustrating. It seems like none of the changes I have made have done anything. I have all the changes that were suggested in this thread applied currently. The pic above is the first layer of a raft. Ideas?

Yes actually it is... should I loosen it a bit?

Usually that indicates a partial clog there are many posts on how to clean it out.  You want to make sure those teeth are nice and clean and the tension is adjusted so it holds as good as possible.  What temp are you running it at?

I hate to say it but instead of being frustrated every time you sit down to do something you enjoy.  You might consider upgrading to an E3D all metal hot end.  Once it's set up right you can pretty much count on your printer just working every time.

Your current setup is a direct drive.  A Bowden setup moves the motor to a fixed position and feeds filament though a tube.
So the one your most likely looking for is the Direct Drive for 1.75
Good luck with your cleaning efforts.

Do I need a new power supply for an E3D, or is it compatible with the stock controller board?

I ran mine for about 2 months on the stock power supply. After that, the supply started giving up. It still ran, but lights on the printer flickered and the bed didn't want to get and stay up to temp. I got an upgraded PSU for about $30 on Amazon and my problem disappeared.

You might try 205-210 just don't let it sit idle.

ughh... So I cleaned out the extruder with some guitar string. Took the whole extruder assembly apart, heated up the hotend, ran guitar wire through it, put everything back together, and now it doesn't want to feed filament through.... I've adjusted the arm and I can get it to go through a few millimeters and then it gets stuck again. I really hope I didn't screw anything up.