Clicking & No Extrusion When Starting Print  

Clicking & No Extrusion When Starting Print

Hello,

I bought a Core One Kit at the end of 2025, assembled it, and was able to make a few initial prints (keychain, boaty, and some small planters). I had no clicking or extrusion issues on the first print but the printer was on a table that vibrated too much so I stopped the print and moved the printer.  I never had an easy time getting a successful print after the first attempt. 

The printer will get to the stage where it creates an initial purge line but nothing is extruded and I hear clicking from the print head (gearbox). I could not fix this at the time so I resorted to adding a brim to each print, pausing the print, unloading->loading the filament, running a purge, then resuming the print. I did this for several prints and there were no extrusion issues/clicking after the purge. Then I had to pause any further troubleshooting/use of the printer due to life getting busy.

Now I am back to trying to fix this. Because I am able to get extrusion sometimes, I do not suspect a clog. I mainly targeted the idler tension. My concern was that I over/undertensioned the idler screws.

Here is what I have tried:

• Run a gearbox calibration. No issues
• Unload, load filament, purge. Sometimes this works, often when I add a little force on the filament by pushing it into the nextruder. Other times, I get clicking noises and nothing is extruded.
• Tightening the idler tension screws in increments of 5 rotations and running a print. I did this 4 times, totaling 20 rotations on the 4th print attempt. Print attempt #3 had clicking but did extrude after the purge line step was complete. I ran a couple attempts with tension a little tighter and looser around this point because I thought I was close and just need to dial it in but I saw no improvement. All other attempts in this step had clicking and no extrusion.
• Loosening the idler tension screws, undoing the above tightening, and then loosening in increments of 5 rotations. I experienced clicking and no extrusion as well. At the loosest, the screws were well backed up within the idler nut.

I'm at a loss as to what to do next. I have considered completely disassembling the nextruder but I would prefer not to unless it is necessary. Any help or advice is appreciated.