Printer started making a clicking noise

[tonyv]

I recently completed my build and have start printing / tweaking  and today I started getting a clicking sound  and little hair like bits of plastic in during the printing.  I made a short video of the noise and the hairs.


any ideas  www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiMaj-51MZQ


 thanks

Tony V

[tonyv]

figured out the clicking noise, the printer stopped extruding I think the tip is clogged and the noise was it grinding away at the filament trying to force it thru the nozzle. so what is the best way to check or clear the nozzle.

thanks

[3DprintedLife]

Yeah that's the infamous extruder clicking. Gives me nightmares haha! First youll want to try heating up the hot end and removing the filament then re-inserting it, see if that works. Sometimes the filament can soft jam if you are printing at too low temperatures or your retraction is too large. If that doesn't work, then you have a hard jam. The best way to fix this is by doing cold pulls of filament (preferably taulman618 or another nylon filament). Heat the hot end up to operating temperature, insert the filament as far as it will go, cool it to about 150 (or as cool as you can go and still remove the filament), then slowly pull the filament out. This will drag along with it a whole bunch of trapped debris. Do this a few times and it should work. If this still doesnt do it, try poking a very thin wire (like a single strand of wire from a stranded cable, or the thinnest guitar string you can find) through the hot end while it is hot. Sometimes there is a chunk of debris so large it will fully block the nozzle and can't be pulled out. After poking it, continue with cold pulls and it should clean it right up!

[carlos]

Also check your retraction setting, if it's set high it can cause jams in the nozzle.

[tonyv]

Where can I get "taulman618 or another nylon filament"

and where do I set the retraction, this is my first printer and still have a lot to learn. is there somewhere where all the recommended starting setting for the E3D using Repetier?

anyone willing to list what they are using

Thanks

[3DprintedLife]

You can use the slic3r config bundle from my docs on the website, it should set retraction to either 1mm or 0.5mm, I don't remember. Retraction is found in slic3r settings under the printer settings tab. You can find Taulman filament on ebay but what would probably be easier is just use the lightest color PLA you have and see if that unjams it, if that doesn't work do a search for 3d printer cleaning filament. There's a few sites like toybuilderlabs which sell small quantities of taulman filament for exactly this purpose.