Is my extruder blocked???

[thebluerobot]

My 3d printer I finally got working. But now the filament doesn't come out. I have both PLA and ABS. It will slowly leak out but not enough to print anything. Any suggestions?

[Rainman]

It would help to know what make/model of printer you're using, extruder type, etc. What settings you're using for your hot end?

[dwalden]

Sounds like it's clogged. In many cases, disassembly an extruder head is quite easy - the nozzle usually just unscrews for example. I had to do this last week - I soaked the metal parts in acetone overnight, cleaned them out, and after reassembly it works great.

[LambdaFF]

Get a look at your filament drive gear (see below) : is there filament powder between the teeth ?

[NoahSH]

also, it helps to have a thin guitar string you can push through the nozzle to clear out any stuck plastic. My process is this:

1.) heat nozzle for 5 minutes with no filament in it.
2. Push guitar string through a few times. this will usually push out some old burnt particles.
3.) Extrude fresh filament. Hopefully it is flowing better. If so, stop extrusion and pull the filament out gently. This will grab any other stuff, by melting them and getting them to stick to the hot plastic. If you extrude and pull out the filament a few times it will grab out all the gunk.
4.) One last guitar string check. Usually the string pushes through the nozzle much easier.
5.) Reload filament and print like new!!