Feeding issues?

My Prusa Mendel does not appear to be feeding properly. I do not know if it is a setting error, a code error, or a motor error. When I let it print by itself, it prints in droplets, not a stream. When I apply slight pressure, it then feeds a stream. Any ideas?

need more info
Filament ABS or PLA
Type of extuder ?
Hot end temp?
Always been a problem or just recently ?

Good luck

Yeah - we need more info. It sounds like either a) your E axis is badly calibrated, or b) the filament is slipping at the hobbed bolt - either from lack of spring pressure, too low of a hot end temperature, or too fast an extruding rate, There are probably other causes as well - these come to mind right away. Give us some info so we can help you diagnose.

using PLA
No sure on the type of extruder, it came in the MakerGear kit.
Hot end temp of 185.
And it just started happening in the past two days, but the printer has only been finished for about four.

Hi
As for the extruder a picture would help.

First thing i think you need to do is verify that the hot end is actually 185
Next would be to make sure there is enough tension "gripping" the filament so the stepper motor can do its job.
(there is also a slight chance you have way too much tension and the stepper motor is stalling)
If both the above are confirmed then it maybe that the stepper motor needs more current. Be careful with this thou. You dont want to fry your drivers by trying to get them to deal with a mechanical/ set up problem.

Good luck

185 is a good temp for pla. It's what I use.

Is the filament slipping on the hobbed bolt? You can usually hear it if you lean in to the extruder.

Are you operating at the same speeds you were before when it was working? If you try to go too fast - faster than the hot end can melt the plastic - the pressure will cause the filament to slip against the bolt. This can also happen, I guess, if there is not enough pressure from the extruder hinge.

Finally, what does your hobbed bolt look like. I've seen some poor excuses for a hobbed bolt. There should be a definite groove in the bolt to prevent the filament from getting off-track and slipping.