Flashforge 3D Creator forum.

[Geoff]

Q) My Extruder feed gear keeps CLICKING!! it just won't feed any plastic through, is it broken??
A) NO! it is fine (usually) Make sure you have the filament diameter set in replicatorG and make sure you are printing hot enough. The old flashforge extruder had no spring loaded bearing which slips ALOT so to clean that there are a few methods I use, I will list them below.

FLUSHING YOUR NOZZLES - IMPORTANT! CAN SAVE YOU ALOT OF PAIN!

This is my little method. I do not claim this is the be all and end all, there is probably 20 other ways, it's just the way that worked for me. Sometimes the blockage is so great, then yeah you need a new nozzle.

FIRST

Go into the menu of your flashforge.
Select INFO AND SETTINGS
Then down to PREHEAT SETTINGS
Raise the preheat temperature of your the extruder that's giving you problems, raise it to 250c.

When you Unload and Load your filament in a Flashforge (via the panel at the front and buttons.. ) it uses the PREHEAT setting to go by. So for example , if your preheat setting is set to 200c, then you can feed and unfeed at 200c. if your preheat setting is 230c, you won't be able to Change Filament until the extruder hits 230c, got it? We are changing the preheat setting to force the printer to not allow a filament change until we are at 250c, and in 9 times out of 10 that will cook the remaning crud in the nozzle to a mushy goop and be pushed through with the new filament, which is cool to put through at 250 - we just want to flush the thing out, not print. If you are a tinkerer, use Replicator G's function of a control panel and you can set temps and feed/unfeed at will and experiement much more than just with the panel, and you are not bound by the firmwares rules. I run firmware 1.0, it still works fine for me, so I have never upgraded it or had the need to.

Second

1. Start a preheat cycle on your machine via the panel on the machine, just the nozzle tho.

2. Wait for it to get nice and hot! don't rush.

3. When it's hot.. FEED your filament (don't try and unfeed! you most likely have a blockage, we don't want to snap it off and leave some in there.... )

If its the spring loaded one, push the little thing and push the filament down, hard. If there is no spring load, get your muscles working and push that filament in.
Still clicking? getting annoyed and frustrated and will try anything at this point? heat up a safety pin or needle, or guitar string... poke it up the nozzle hole, then feed again. Yep.. got me out of trouble many times.

If this worked for you and you can feed new filament through, remember to go back and change your preheat setting to the appropriate temp.


Ok, so I did all that and my extruder is still clicking!!!

Ok, well there is one more thing to try and thats the 2 hex bolts on the fan. Unscrew them, take the fan off (slides out the side a little) This allows the stepper motor to come free. Unplug it and remove it from the head. Check your feeder gear. It's really fine, like lots of blades. Get a scalpel or hobbyknife and run with the grain - do not go across it or you will damage the gear. Score your knife inbetween all the gears, you will probably find some foreign plastic in there. Failing that, take the whole thing apart and it's the last resort.





Ok, so I did all that and my extruder is still clicking!!! Argh this is driving me mad... mad I tell you!

Ok, well in my case 2 of my nozzles were the cause. I bought faulty filament off Flashforge (which they did replace) that left some residue in the nozzles and no matter what I did, I could not fix them.. so sometimes a new nozzle IS required (and no, they didn't replace those.... and lost a customer. ) I buy my filament off local suppliers if I can, but they are far and few between, with nearly all middle men ordering direct from overseas. If you find a good local supplier, stick to it.

You can read about it all in This thread... pictures on page #2

BUT.. if you have tried the above, cleared the pathway and still are getting clicking, you can try buying one of these cleaning kits off Ebay, cheap and can often get you out of trouble, fast.

(I have not bought off this ebayer, I am just using it as an example...)

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-5Pcs-...d83b452&_uhb=1