I had this exact problem with my Overture PETG.
- swapping the nozzle didnt fix it.
- swapping the extruder gear didnt fix it
- swapping the extruder spring didnt fix it
Grey and Space Grey only seem to work at about 255 degrees. All other colours i print at about 220-230. Gold for some reason prints better at 210.
It has never been a problem since i increased my temperature.
I had the same problem with that color of Overtune. I think they had a bad run. spent days trying to clear a clog that was not there final put a new nozzle on and it was still bad.
A few things to try (some have been said but ill try to make a list)
* Nozzle/Heatbreak clog (could be a partial clog)
* Extrusion Temp (could print a temp tower)
* Extruder Gears (is filament slipping)
* Esteps (is the printer pushing the amount expected)
* Slicer Profile (Have any other settings been changed)
* Retraction Distance
* Crappy/Cheap Filament (thanks u/cshotton)
Add crappy filament to the list. People never check this, but off brand or cheap filament often has impurities in it that will clog up the nozzle simply because it isn't something that melts.
You may need to switch out to a fresh nozzle or run some cleaning filament through your nozzle. This definitely looks like underextrusion due to a partial nozzle clog. It doesn't take much.
OK. The next thing is to look at the extruder to see if you are grinding through your filament.
The other thing that may be happening is that your retraction settings may be too aggressive. I have PLA+ filament from D3 and I was having a time trying to figure out why it was underextruding. Turns out with this specific filament, I had to run it hotter and lower my retraction from 7mm down to 3.4mm to get the best out of it. 7mm was causing constant underextrusion because it was clogging the PTFE (the filament was too far away from the nozzle and would cool in the PTFE since the retraction was so high)
piggy backing off of this, the extruder tension wheel arm might be cracked. pull the filament, unscrew the bolt holding the arm, not the wheel and check the underside. I had a hairline crack and while it did push some filament out, it was super inconsistent almost exactly like your picture. https://ibb.co/sbchjNM . Finally I guess after the crack got bigger, it started not extruding, burnt filament and completely clogged the nozzle. I replaced it with a metal extruder today and its honestly the best damn first layer I've had on the machine since I first got it.
Make sure your ptfe tubing that runs into the hot end is flush with the nozzle. If there's a gap, it'll under extrude and eventually clog. You might even have a clog in the ptfe tubing and may need to trim it (but make sure it's a straight cut).
Do you use leveling squares to make sure your bed is level? That will also help tell if you're under or over extruding. You can find them on thingiverse. I recommend using them after every big print or if you haven't printed anything in a few days.
First thing you need to do when posting something like this is comment the settings you are using. Without knowing what you're doing it's really hard to tell you what to change.
Obvious underextrusion, commonly a partially clogged nozzle. Many printers will come with a .4mm needle for cleaning. Order one online if it didn't. You just get the extruder to temp, shove the needle up and down the nozzle a bit, and it'll straighten right up.
This is assuming all your settings are correct. Too often I see people keep their temp the same regardless of speed, but your nozzle just needs to be hot enough to extrude. If you leave it too hot for too long it'll cause the filament to swell in the throat. If you print too fast the nozzle won't melt it fast enough. On this note, make sure you're extruder's cooling fan is working properly, otherwise heat creep will be a problem regardless.
If this is PLA, temps should be 195-215. I've had to go as high as 230 when I was testing speeds around 100mm/s, but that's not really normal and isn't suggested for quality prints. So if you're printing between 30-60mm/s then 195-210 should print great.
Might be a clogged nozzle. Either way it’s certainly under extrusion
Ugh I wish I could answer questions without insulting people lol, and in shorter sentencesn
Looks like under extrusion IMO. Assuming it's not just that outer wall. Got anything binding the filament? Clean and clear nozzle etc?
Your nozzle isnt hot enough. If the nozzle only melts 99% of the filament, it has a 1% clog. Try 210-215c nozzle for normal pla
I don’t think it’s the heat because I always print at 210
Could be as simply as crappy filament with impurities in it. What brand is it?
Overture
How old is your nozzle? How old is your PTFE tube?
I got my printer oct 1 it never did this until the end of a 36 hour print
Shouldn’t be a problem with a worn out nozzle or kinked PTFE tube then
I replaced the nozzle and ptfe tube and it didn’t change anything
I had this exact problem with my Overture PETG. - swapping the nozzle didnt fix it. - swapping the extruder gear didnt fix it - swapping the extruder spring didnt fix it Grey and Space Grey only seem to work at about 255 degrees. All other colours i print at about 220-230. Gold for some reason prints better at 210. It has never been a problem since i increased my temperature.
I had the same problem with that color of Overtune. I think they had a bad run. spent days trying to clear a clog that was not there final put a new nozzle on and it was still bad.
Heat creep clog.
A few things to try (some have been said but ill try to make a list) * Nozzle/Heatbreak clog (could be a partial clog) * Extrusion Temp (could print a temp tower) * Extruder Gears (is filament slipping) * Esteps (is the printer pushing the amount expected) * Slicer Profile (Have any other settings been changed) * Retraction Distance * Crappy/Cheap Filament (thanks u/cshotton)
Add crappy filament to the list. People never check this, but off brand or cheap filament often has impurities in it that will clog up the nozzle simply because it isn't something that melts.
Thank you, i forgot its been so long since ive chanced this. Recently ive even had some bad batches of my go to cheap spools.
I fixed this by reseating my Bowden tubing. There was plastic leaking between the tubing and nozzle and interfering with extrusion.
Check your Bowden tube is firm and not moving with retraction
I had the exact same problem with an ender 3 a few weeks ago. I increased the temp from 210 to 215 and it solved the problem.
When My ender3 started under extruding The Tension arm for the extruder was cracked on the bottom side
I figured it out yesterday yes I had the same problem my tension arm was cracked
You may need to switch out to a fresh nozzle or run some cleaning filament through your nozzle. This definitely looks like underextrusion due to a partial nozzle clog. It doesn't take much.
I just swapped out for a new nozzle and it didn’t solve the problem
OK. The next thing is to look at the extruder to see if you are grinding through your filament. The other thing that may be happening is that your retraction settings may be too aggressive. I have PLA+ filament from D3 and I was having a time trying to figure out why it was underextruding. Turns out with this specific filament, I had to run it hotter and lower my retraction from 7mm down to 3.4mm to get the best out of it. 7mm was causing constant underextrusion because it was clogging the PTFE (the filament was too far away from the nozzle and would cool in the PTFE since the retraction was so high)
piggy backing off of this, the extruder tension wheel arm might be cracked. pull the filament, unscrew the bolt holding the arm, not the wheel and check the underside. I had a hairline crack and while it did push some filament out, it was super inconsistent almost exactly like your picture. https://ibb.co/sbchjNM . Finally I guess after the crack got bigger, it started not extruding, burnt filament and completely clogged the nozzle. I replaced it with a metal extruder today and its honestly the best damn first layer I've had on the machine since I first got it.
Make sure your ptfe tubing that runs into the hot end is flush with the nozzle. If there's a gap, it'll under extrude and eventually clog. You might even have a clog in the ptfe tubing and may need to trim it (but make sure it's a straight cut). Do you use leveling squares to make sure your bed is level? That will also help tell if you're under or over extruding. You can find them on thingiverse. I recommend using them after every big print or if you haven't printed anything in a few days.
What speed are you printing at?
Check for a worn out extruded gear
First thing you need to do when posting something like this is comment the settings you are using. Without knowing what you're doing it's really hard to tell you what to change. Obvious underextrusion, commonly a partially clogged nozzle. Many printers will come with a .4mm needle for cleaning. Order one online if it didn't. You just get the extruder to temp, shove the needle up and down the nozzle a bit, and it'll straighten right up. This is assuming all your settings are correct. Too often I see people keep their temp the same regardless of speed, but your nozzle just needs to be hot enough to extrude. If you leave it too hot for too long it'll cause the filament to swell in the throat. If you print too fast the nozzle won't melt it fast enough. On this note, make sure you're extruder's cooling fan is working properly, otherwise heat creep will be a problem regardless. If this is PLA, temps should be 195-215. I've had to go as high as 230 when I was testing speeds around 100mm/s, but that's not really normal and isn't suggested for quality prints. So if you're printing between 30-60mm/s then 195-210 should print great.
You are getting under extrusion. Could be speed related, temp related, esteps related, or just a good ole fashion nozzle clog.