Extuder |
The extruder on the Tarantula is a referred to as a bowden extruder. This is different than a direct drive 3d printer because it uses a PTFE tube to guide the filament into the hotend that is fed from another location on the 3d printer. It consists of a motor, and works via a spring and clamp system. The filament is fed through the bottom and then is pushed to the hot end through the PTFE tube by the gear and is held in place by spring tension. |
Common Extruder issues
Extruder Clicking
Looking at the extruder gear when it is issued a command to move it just shudders or rolls back/forth. Check plug on Extruder motor, also check plug on PC board end, ensure both fully plugged in and tight.
The most common cause of extruder clicking is a clogged hot end. Please see the post next to this to solve that portion. If that is not the issue follow the troubleshooting steps below. The normal voltage to activate these steppers is 0.75v now the steppers have a large tolerance and some may need higher voltage. Look for the E0 Potentiometer this one will SLOWLY be adjusted CLOCKWISE to increase the voltage till the motor starts to turn (should have been re-issued large extrude command with bed/hot end heated but can have PTFE tube out of hot end so not waste material.) This may be 1.1v or so just turn it SLOWLY and not fast or you may end up giving it too much! Note if it is the second extruder in a dual set up you will want to adjust the E1 Potentiometer. |
Clogged Hot EndTwo reasons, first did you ensure the PTFE tube was cut VERY SQUARE/90 Degrees to length of tube? Even a small angle on the end of this tube can cause issues. Also the tube MUST be pushed in till it BOTTOMS OUT inside the transition zone. (This should be 1.5”/40mm or more depending on extruder). This eliminates one spot where material can “Mushroom” and cause a clog.
The second reason is that the nozzle (gold/brass pointed tip) is not tightened against the Heat break (The threaded tube, NOT THE SQUARE BLOCK). This should be tightened while cool and re-tightened when hot, again a small gap between nozzle and square heating block does not mater, what matters here is the nozzle is tightened against the heat break which is that threaded rod. This eliminates the second mushrooming area for material and eliminates this as a clog spot. |