zig zagging filament

[Darkklown9]

WP_20150914_003.jpgOK sorry if this is already a topic somewhere but i couldn't find it. OK so i use a flashforge creator pro and here recently every time i try to extrude the filament comes out normal for about 6 inches but then it changes into a zig zag pattern. i have tried to clean my extruder nozzle but nothing i do works. do i need to change my nozzle? any suggestions would be great. this ruining everyone of my prints. i included a picture sorry for the quality but you can see what im talking about

[curious aardvark]

never seen anything like that.

I'd have to say the extrusion temp is just too low. And the filament is too stiff when it's coming through the nozzle.

what type of filament and what temp are you extruding at ?

[EagleSeven]

My guess would be that it is a Noisy signal or low voltage getting to Stepper-motor.
you will probably need an oscilloscope to see that and trace it to the cause, if that's what it is.

Second guess would be a defective Stepper-motor, due to overheating.
the X & Y motors get very hot , without a fan directly on them.
(We hung a fan on right side of printer to cool those motors)

[Bobby Lin]

Hi! I didn't have any experience like that, but I can only guess that maybe your extrusion temperature is low. Sometimes zig-zag filaments and poor quality printing can happen if you print it with low temperatures.

[Darkklown9]

i am printing using hatchbox abs and it is set on 230 degrees. i thought maybe my filament has gone bad but it does it with every color i try. i will try to raise the printing temp and add a update if it fixes it. how can i test to see if my stepper motor is bad?

[curious aardvark]

it's almost never the stepper motor.
plus it's feeding fine, the filament just looks a bit stiff.