Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)  

RE: Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)

I have the exact same problem. This retraction clicking noise is by far the loudest noise my brand new mini is emitting. If you find a solution, please let me know.

RE: Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)

@rupprupp

The most common "clicking" problems are caused by the hotend (PTFE too short or heatbreak) when printing PLA. Other causes are:
- Firstlayer too close to the print bed
- nozzle temperatures too high, heat creep
- Extruder spring tension too low
- printing speed too high- clogged or worn nozzle

RE: Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)

I had this on my Mini which was an early version so disappointed to hear its still happening.

its slack between the gears on the extruder... its easily fixed. Disassemble the extruder and then reassemble whilst pushing the gears towards each other. After this my clicking is entirely gone,

RE: Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)

Posted by: @jweaver

I had this on my Mini which was an early version so disappointed to hear its still happening.

its slack between the gears on the extruder... its easily fixed. Disassemble the extruder and then reassemble whilst pushing the gears towards each other. After this my clicking is entirely gone,

Actuatlly, I have found your initial thread where you outlined this solution. I've tried to do so, but it didn't really work: Even though the metallic click noise got less, I get a more grinding noise now (I guess the gears are too tight now, but when I loose it a little, I get the metallic click noise again).
@jweaver: In your old thread, you said that you also got another noice which was "even more annoying". Do you have any suggestions how to solve this problem?

RE: Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)

I'm in the same boat. I have that sound but print quality is great. Prusa chat told me to grease the extruder wheel. Will do it tomorrow. Idler screw did nothing like in your experience.

IMG_1092 IMG_1091

RE: Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)

@jweaver

Did it happens right at the beggining of your use or after a while ? Mine did not have that sound my first 2 months. It started 3 or 4 days ago.

RE: Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)

Here is a view of the extruder : IMG_1095

Printer : Mini Plus

Filament : Prusament Galaxy Silver

Temp : 215/60

Slicer : PrusaSlicer 2.3

FW : 4.3.1

RE: Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)

@zemb

Mine has been doing it since the very first print. Prusa support suggested checking the idler screw, and confirmed that using the lubricant included with the printer to lubricate the extruder drive gear (not the actual extruder teeth, just to be clear) was another option. I haven't tried it yet; need to resolve the "cobweb" stringing issue that popped up after several perfect prints first.

RE: Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)

@andye

I got the same advice. Screw did nothing so i'm going to lubricate the extruder drive gear (and not the filament's one as it can lead to problems).

RE: Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)

Mine also does this, the same sound as the video. What lubricant is best for the gears?

RE: Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)

@raymate

Support adviced me to use the one that came with the printer.

RE: Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)

@raymate

They said the lube that came with the printer. You can also search their e-store site for "lubricant" - I don't think they have the mini tag applied to it yet.

RE: Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)

@raymate

https://shop.prusa3d.com/en/i3-accessories-mk3s-mk25s-etc/968-prusa-lubricant-005g.html?search_query=lubricant&results=1

RE: Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)

I have the same issue here. First it was clicking and then i tigten the gears togeter. Now it it sounds like someone is not able to use the car without being able tu use gear shift and clutches properly... After my TempTower i try to loosen them a bit

RE: Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)

So I'm experiencing extruder clicking noise. It started while printing my first print. Now it does it during first layer calibration and almost the whole time while printing. My extruder is literally chewing a groove into the filament, because it can't push it through the nozzle. I've cold pulled and can easily push filament out myself while applying pressure. I'm working with brand new rolls of PLA that my MK3 loves to use, and I've tried multiple rolls, so I don't believe it's a filament issue. Is my only real option to correct this is buying a Bondtech extruder for my mini+? I unboxed and assemble 1 last night and have 2 more in boxes... not wanting to drop another $300 right now in parts... wishing I'd have bought just 1 more mk3 now...

RE: Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)

So mine is fixed, after a week of owning it from new I got the clicking and I spent 2-3 days messing around with it and was not able to stop the clicking and jamming, so I give up and chatted with support. The first person said to check tension on extruder and lower temp of filament down. So I ended chat and did what they said, it worked for about 2 long prints then the clicking returned.

So I chatted back again and got a very helpful different guy and he seems to know his stuff, he told me to check the PTFE tube and if it does not look like it was damaged just follow the guide for getting the tube compressed right BUT do not do a 1/4 turn as per instructions do 3/4 turn instead.

He said the 1/4 is not compressing it enough. He then said with this and getting the extruder tension right you should fixed. Again he advised the trick for the extruder is unscrew the tension bolt until the door can wobble between open and closed, slowly do up the screw until the door no longer moves (this is with no filament in the machine) thats correct tension. Before I finished that I took apart the extruder again and cleaned it out fully and re greased the gears.

I also removed my filament sensor as I feel this is also adding a bit of drag on the filament going into the extruder.

Did that and im now a week into printing, used one and half rolls of filament with no clicking and no jams. The prints are very good. I think I need to level my bed a little and adjust the X skew but thats another job for another time.

RE: Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)

IMG_1104 IMG_1102

After working on my extruder, deassembling it and greasing the extruder gear i was able to obtain those 2 sounds. Not sure if my idler screw tension is OK though.

RE: Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)

Here's a short update on my first mini+ with issues is that support walked me through checking their QC work after performing a cold pull. My heatbreak was too low. So I pushed it up. The installed PTFE tube was a hair under 43mm long and the spare in the baggy was about 0.5 mm longer, so they told me to use that one. I reset the Super  Pinda height. Did 3 or 4 first layer calibrations to get it dialed in and have been printing for 3 hours with zero issues. Now on to assembling minis 2 & 3. I believe I'll be doing these QC checks on all minis from here on out. Thanksfor all of the advice. Cheers!

RE: Extruder "clicking" noise when retracting (not jamming)

I've had my mini for a week now and to begin with I had no clicking. However, on saturday a print failed after an hour as the extruder stopped doing anything. After trying various things, it turned out to be the grub screw on the stepper gear was loose. After tightening the grub screw, the extruder works fine. However, it now does the clicking noise, and it's very annoying. The prints are coming out very nicely, so there's no issue with the quality, just the noise. I can't even work out what is clicking, as there's just 2 gears rotating, the filament moving in or out, and the idler compressing the filament. What is actually making the clicking noise inside the extruder?