Filament is slipping on extruder teeth

My filament has been slipping on the brass teeth that are supposed to pull it down into the hot end. I don't think that it is being pushed up against it very fell by the guide wheel. All of this is causing my printer to under extrude a lot and it is becoming s very big problem for me. Any suggestions on how to fix this problem would be greatly appreciated.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/2016 12:36AM by WClampitt1.

Yes. See that spring on the right (image). Thru that spring there usually a screw for tightening/loosening the force that lever applies.

Contrary to normal behaviour, if you LOOSEN that screw, it causes the pinch wheel and the brass teeth thingi to come closer.

If you tighten it then there is less force on the filament by the brass teeth.

So if you are getting the filament slipping, and provided that there is no blockage and the extruder is at proper heat, then you should LOOSEN that screw to get better grip of the brass teeth on the filament.

I made this mistake early on with the filament slipping and only after opening up the extruder to see how it worked, did I fix the slippage problem.

Are there any other problems that could cause slippage like that? Just so I can check them if fixing the spring doesn't work?

make sure your cooling fan isn't lowering nozzle temp too much as the material won't melt fast enough to keep up and as stated extruder not clogged

Other than problems with the Firmware, which is another topic, you could check if there is any blockage in the Nozzle. If using Repetier, heat up the extruder and manually extrude some Filament. If you still get that slippage noise, try a manual assist while extruding - hold the filament and push it down when extruding and see if that helps. If it stops the slippage problem then you need to LOOSEN that extruder adjustment screw so that the pinch wheel and the toothed wheel are moved CLOSER together to grip the filament better. Also check that there is proper movement in both those wheels. A drop of oil will not harm.

You could also remove the heatsink temporarily and eyeball the movement while doing a manual extrude to see what is happening.

Another possibility could be that there is some blockage in the small tube that runs inside the nozzle. This would mean a disassembly, but is not complicated. If you have built your own printer from parts then you are certainly "Qualified" to open up the extruder and check.

Might want to verify your stepper voltages also.

Sorry it has been a while since I have responded to this question. I just got out of school so I am just now having time to sit down and figure out the problem. My printer does not have a screw that tightens or loosens the mechanism that pushed the filament against the brass gear. I just took hand and the heat sink off of the printer and I see a lot of plastic shavings on the brass gear, like it has just been grinding on the plastic instead of extruding it. If this is the case, I still do not know how to fix it since I do not have a way to adjust the tension of the spring in the extruder mechanism.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/2016 08:24PM by WClampitt1.

Make sure your filament rolls out freely.
You could change that little spring to a heavier one, but i would recommend visiting the eBays and getting a new adjustable feeder. They don't cost much.