1 Topic by jasonb.194

  • jasonb.194
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Topic: Extruder clicking halfway through print

Lately my prints have been failing because the extruder starts clicking and stripping filament.

I have done all the normal things to try to stop this.

I have taken apart the entire extruder, cleaned it with both the butane torch and acetone method, it looks about brand new.

I have also tried multiple spools a filament and all do the same, even ones that I was printing excellent parts with.

Has anyone encountered this issue?

Also, the printer loads without issue, so I am not sure what is happening.

2 Reply by leenanj

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Re: Extruder clicking halfway through print

jasonb.194 wrote:

Lately my prints have been failing because the extruder starts clicking and stripping filament.

I have done all the normal things to try to stop this.

I have taken apart the entire extruder, cleaned it with both the butane torch and acetone method, it looks about brand new.

I have also tried multiple spools a filament and all do the same, even ones that I was printing excellent parts with.

Has anyone encountered this issue?

Also, the printer loads without issue, so I am not sure what is happening.

The hot end heater and thermistor are notorious for becoming intermittent.

My advise is to just change them both out.

3 Reply by carl_m1968

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Re: Extruder clicking halfway through print

leenanj wrote:
jasonb.194 wrote:

Lately my prints have been failing because the extruder starts clicking and stripping filament.

I have done all the normal things to try to stop this.

I have taken apart the entire extruder, cleaned it with both the butane torch and acetone method, it looks about brand new.

I have also tried multiple spools a filament and all do the same, even ones that I was printing excellent parts with.

Has anyone encountered this issue?

Also, the printer loads without issue, so I am not sure what is happening.

The hot end heater and thermistor are notorious for becoming intermittent.

My advise is to just change them both out.


It is actually more the problem with the connections than the actual devices. The heater core and thermistor are standard industry devices. The connectors however are cheap and the heater connector is under rated for the current it uses and is getting damaged by heat.

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4 Reply by jasonb.194

  • jasonb.194
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Re: Extruder clicking halfway through print

carl_m1968 wrote:

It is actually more the problem with the connections than the actual devices. The heater core and thermistor are standard industry devices. The connectors however are cheap and the heater connector is under rated for the current it uses and is getting damaged by heat.

I have already changed out the connector to the heater core for deans connector. I did that a while ago because I kept getting the heating errors. It may be the thermistor. I have purchased some spares and will try those when they come in.

I am pretty sure the beater block is still functioning, as the hot end does get hot. It may be that the thermistor went bad and its just not getting hot enough/reporting an incorrect temp.

Barring this, I will most likely just spend the $100 and get a replacement extruder from XYZ. Also thinking of just getting an E3D but haven't found a set up that I like and is simple to just use.

5 Reply by PseudoShooter

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Re: Extruder clicking halfway through print

I was thinking about getting a spare extruder too just in case.

Apparently XYZ made a few improvements to it so it would be a good investment.

$100 is kinda pricey though, that's why I haven't pulled the trigger yet. The Canadian dollar is taking a real beating lately.

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