Extruder Clogged?

[DaveServo]

Using my FlashForge Creator Pro tonight and, after a successful print (PLA), I began another one using the same filament. Checking in on it after about 1/2 hour, it looks like it laid down 3 or 4 layers and then stopped extruding. When I checked it, the plate was about .5 cm under the extruder. I tried reloading the filament but it seems like it's clogged although I can't tell by looking at the extruder tip. Could it be clogged inside? If so, what is the best way to go about unclogging it? If not, what else could it be?

[Bassna]

http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.p...-Creator-forum

This should be of a lot of use to you.

[Marm]

Staying away from a hardware specific answer, I heat up my extruder and stick a needle up in it and poke it around for a while.

[3dkarma]

Heat up the nozzle to about 230 celsius and let the temperature stabilise, then reduce the temperature to about 100 celsius and retract the filament, by hand if necessary. The filament in the melt chamber should be just viscous enough to pull out any obstructions with it. If you see what looks like a straw at the end of the filament when you pull it out, you've got the low temperature right.

Rinse and repeat until you're happy the blockage has cleared.

[DaveServo]

I've tried The needle and wasn't really sure what I was feeling around for. I've also tried 3dkarma's idea but the filament doesn't go in far enough to even get soft at this point. I loaded it as far as it would go in (which wasn't very far) and let it sit at 230 for a minute or so and then let it cool down. It came back out looking the same at when it went back in. Any other ideas? Disassembly?

[3dkarma]

If the filament's not getting as far as the nozzle, disassembly's your best bet.

[DaveServo]

I ended up removing the extruder and taking it partially apart. I was quite easy. Once I got it opened up I saw right away that the filament had wrapped around the large wheel that pushes it through to the nozzle. I removed it, cleaned it up a bit and reattached. I'm back in business! Thanks to all who gave me ideas!