Clogged Extruder

[ejignacio]

I heard a clicking noise from the extruder and filament won't load. I disassembled the extruder and found this blob of filament stuck in the gears. I tried pulling it out with needlenose pliers but it still won't move. Any help guys?

[Alibert]

Loosen the grub screw in the gear (the part on the axle of the stepper), pull it off while pressing the lever down, remove blob, put gear back on axle and tighten grub screw again.

Remember the position of the gear, you can make a mark on the axle with a felt tip if you want to. Better is to just look from the top and align the groove in the gear with the hole in the heatbreak (the part running from the heating block up through the cooling block).

[MichaelA_Parker]

I suggest printing out this anti-buckling backing plate for the extruder. Take apart the extruder and take pictures during every step so you don't forget how it goes back together. I used it on my Dremel (which is a repackaged FlashForge). Not only does it allow you to easily print flexible filament but it should also lessen filament jams.

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