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Questions tagged [extruder]

Questions about extrusion hardware for 3D printers.

The Extruder is the part of the FDM/FFF printer, located on the head, that is responsible for the extrusion of a filament material.

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When to use 1.75 mm vs 3 mm filament?

Why do we have two standard filament sizes, 1.75 mm and 3 mm? Does it really make a difference when printing? Or is the 1.75 mm just for smaller printers? In what situations should I be using 1.75 mm? When should I be using 3 mm?
Matt Clark
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Why do the corners of my ABS object lift off the bed?

I print ABS on a LulzBot Taz 5 and frequently have issues with the corners of objects lifting off the bed. My extruder is at 230 °C and the bed is at 90 °C for the first layer and 100 °C for the rest of the layers. I have experimented with using ABS…
Kevin Morse
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What are the advantages and disadvantages of an all-metal hot end compared to one with a PTFE heat break?

Related to an issue I had in this question, where the PTFE tube feeding my filament to the metal tip of the extruder clogged and became discolored: what are the advantages and disadvantages of changing out my extruder (Mk10 on a FlashForge Creator…
Dustin Wheeler
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How should I clean my extruder when changing materials?

I often switch my print material, i.e. ABS / PLA / Wood / Flex, How can I best clean out my extruder between them to ensure I don't contaminate my next print?
Matt Clark
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How to get consistent and accurate readings from thermocouples?

I upgraded to an Mk9 dual extruder, and it came with thermocouples installed instead of the thermistors I had before. No matter what I did with the thermocouples, the indicated temperature jumped around by as much as 30C or more. In short, after…
TextGeek
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Filament extrudes at an angle

On one of the nozzles on my printer, the filament comes out at a 45 degree angle. It seems that this causes problems with adhesion to the bed and overall quality. What caused this problem? How do I fix it? How do I prevent it from happening in…
Eric Johnson
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How do I keep my extruder head from getting clogged?

Using a thermoplastic MDF printer with a 0.4mm extruder nozzle, I frequently have trouble with the nozzle getting clogged. I am not sure what's causing the clog, but my guesses are dust and/or burnt filament (from leaving the hot end on without…
Martin
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Can 1.75 mm filament be used in a printer that takes 3 mm filament?

As an extension from this question, is there any reason that you would not be able to use 1.75 mm filament in a printer that takes 3mm filament? I know you would have to change the filament size in the slicing of prints but would there be any other…
Eric Johnson
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Efficient and easy way to thermally insulate the heat block of the hotend?

Sparked by this question, I wanted to discuss the most efficient and also the easiest ways of thermally insulating the heat block of the hotend. I have seen Kapton tape insulations as done here with a very conclusive resumee about its usefulness. In…
kamuro
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Which is the difference between MK6 and MK8 and even MK10?

I made and assembled my own 3D printer two years ago and I notice that some extruders are MK6 and MK(*whatever). Some of them has the block fuser horizontal and others vertical, then uses a nozzle longer. The block heater that I made was an aluminum…
Fernando Baltazar
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Will I see a noticeable difference switching from a .4mm to a .3mm nozzle?

I currently print with a .4mm nozzle on my extruder, and my prints seem to come out fairly accurate; would I see much of a difference if I went to a .3mm? What are the pros and cons of larger and smaller nozzle sizes?
Matt Clark
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Extruder clicks

I have Prusa i3 derivative with MK8 extruder and Marlin 1.1RC8 as firmware. I already reduced the default speeds as well as the accelerations. But sometimes when trying to print with BQ PLA filament (220°C), mostly during filling areas, my extruder…
Thomas S.
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Extruder stepper motor problem, what can be wrong?

I bought a self-made Reprap Prusa Mendel 3 printer, modified to be built from cheaper materials, and immediately after the deal I got various problems. I fixed the majority of them, but don't know what the reason of the strange extruder behavior is:…
Poliakoff
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Pulling filament through long tubes

I'm setting up my printer in a small room, and I thought I'd come up with a system for more easily swapping filaments, but I'm not yet sure it is feasible. Rather than physically replace the spool, I'd like to hang most of my spools on the wall,…
mhelvens
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How to choose an extrusion temperature?

From what I've been able to find out, online sources recommend around 205ºC for PLA and around 240ºC for ABS. But these are only guidelines, of course. Optimal printing temperature can be different depending on the printer, the filament, the model…
mhelvens
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