Prusa CORE One extruder clicking
Hello, I’m trying to print a lithophane lamp, but during the print the extruder occasionally stops feeding filament and starts clicking. I’ve already printed several lamps without any problems. The print time is about 1 day. The filament is Prusament PLA Vanilla White, new and dried. Here’s what I’ve tried so far:
- Significantly reduced print speed (to 40 mm/s)
- Printed with the door open (previously only the vent grilles were open and chamber ventilation was on); current room temperature is 22 °C / 71.6 °F
- Varied the extruder spring tension
- Switched the nozzle from an E3D HF ObXidian back to a standard brass nozzle
It keeps happening that the extruder stops feeding filament and starts clicking. When I then cancel the print and extrude filament via the menu, there are no problems, so I would rule out a clogged nozzle (especially considering I already changed the nozzle).
As mentioned, I’ve already successfully printed three lamp shades. Then the filament ran out and I switched to new Prusament (same color). That’s the only difference compared to the previous prints that I can think of—however, as I said, it’s brand new and dried.
Do you have any idea what else I could test? I’m a bit at a loss.
RE: Prusa CORE One extruder clicking
Oh, I know that – but with PETG. I started another print last night and bang, it was over in the 10th layer. The filament wasn't being fed.
What layer height are you printing with?
What is your flow factor?
Reducing the printing speed is not a good idea. PLA in the Nextruder is already problematic because of the heat. That's why it's better to print faster so that it doesn't heat up too quickly and too much.
Take a look in the Nextruder when it clicks to see if the filament has jammed at the edge of the nozzle inlet.
RE: Prusa CORE One extruder clicking
In my case it was blocked nozzle, I had to disassemble and go through the "cold pull" procedure to unblock.
https://help.prusa3d.com/article/clogged-nozzle-core-one-core-one-l-xl-mk4-s-mk3-9-s_411823
RE: Prusa CORE One extruder clicking
Hi Jan, thank you very much for your reply. Okay, got it — then I’ll increase the speed again a bit. Since this is a lithophane lampshade, I need a lot of detail and I’m printing with a 0.1 mm layer height. In my case, the problems also only occur later on, not right at the beginning of the print.
I’ve attached a photo of my last catastrophic print. I wasn’t in the room, otherwise I would have stopped it earlier. At around 11.5 mm you can already see the first issues where the extruder stopped feeding filament. Then it seemed to work again for a few layers before several layers were printed in mid-air again.
I’m using the standard 0.10 mm FAST DETAIL profile for printing (okay, as mentioned, with reduced speeds), and the Prusament PLA filament preset with the flow factor left at the default value of 1. When I just checked the filament profile in the slicer, I noticed that the nozzle temperature is set to 230 °C by default. On the Prusa website, only 215 °C is listed. That surprises me a bit. As I said, I haven’t had any problems with the standard profile so far — except now. But maybe simply lowering the nozzle temperature could help?
RE: Prusa CORE One extruder clicking
Be sure to check your filament to make sure it doesn't break in the idler.As I said, I suspect that your preload on the idler and/or the filament is causing nothing to come out of the nozzle.It may also be that the 0.1 mm layer height causes the filament to jam and the idler to spin at the top.It would be good to start a new print and, as soon as the extruder rattles or makes noise, stop the print and open the idler. Then look at the filament string to see if there are any sharp-edged and clearly visible marks from the gear wheel, whether the filament is squashed or simply mushy.
I would definitely lower the nozzle temperature.
RE: Prusa CORE One extruder clicking
For Lithophanes I've found the best filament to be Overture Matte White PLA. I use a 0.4mm diamondback nozzle with 0.15mm layers. I started with a brass 0.25mm nozzle but that was a disaster since it clogged easily so I gave up.
As for the initial 230 temperature that should be OK. I think the issue though is you might want to try a higher temperature and faster speeds. My guess is heat creep is causing a partial clog. Also clean out any gunk in the heatsink fan.