Ender 3 not extruding

The Ender 3 Pro extruder not feeding filament when printing is one of the worst experiences for 3D printing enthusiasts. The culprit is easy to identify, and the problem can be easier and quicker to fix than you think.

This guide covers the frequently reported complaints of Creality Ender 3 users and lists the most effective solutions for each problem. The Creality Ender 3 is a fan-favorite 3D printer that retails far below the expected price for printers of this caliber. Owing to its low price and higher end features, a lot of beginner hobbyists buy the Ender 3 as their first 3D printer. Under-extrusion is by far the most common problem faced by Ender 3 users. You can identify an under-extrusion problem by evaluating your test prints. Flow rate is an essential aspect of print quality that is easy to overlook when tuning settings for a new filament or when setting up a new printer. Decreasing the print speed will ensure that the filament is laid evenly and has sufficient time to set before the next portion of the print is deposited on the build surface.

Ender 3 not extruding

If your printer was extruding properly at the beginning of your print, but suddenly stopped extruding later on, there are typically only a few things that could have caused this problem. We will explain each common cause below and provide suggestions for fixing the issue. If your printer was having trouble extruding at the very beginning of the print, please see the Not Extruding at Start of Print section. This one is pretty obvious, but before checking the other issues, first verify that you still have filament leading into the nozzle. If the spool has run out, you will need to load a new spool before continuing the print. During a print, the extruder motor is constantly spinning trying to push the filament into the nozzle so that your printer can keep extruding plastic. If you try to print too quickly or you try to extrude too much plastic, this motor may end up grinding away the filament until there is nothing left for the drive gear to grab onto. If your extruder motor is spinning, but the filament is not moving, then this is likely the cause. Please see the Grinding Filament section for more details on how to resolve the issue. If none of the above causes apply to you, then it is very likely that the extruder is clogged.

The culprit is easy to identify, and the problem can be easier and quicker to fix than you think. Small Features Not Printed.

While it all seems so simple when it comes together, extrusion is a pretty complex operation that relies on all the distinct software and hardware components working correctly together, which causes it to have multiple points of failure where even one of the parts becoming inoperational can bring everything to a halt. To obtain the official firmware file that Creality ships for your particular model of Ender 3, you can visit the support section on the official Creality webpage , where you will be able to select different firmware files based on factors such as mainboard version and whether a BLTouch sensor is attached to your Ender 3. In the case where there indeed are heating issues, which would practically make it impossible for your Ender 3 to extrude filament even if everything else is working as intended, the first order of business, as you may predict, is resolving this problem to restore the heating capabilities of the hotend, and see whether the extrusion issue continues afterward. For this process, our primary recommendation would be to ensure that the heater cartridge wires are connected correctly to the mainboard without any looseness or wiggle that could lead to the connection becoming compromised by disconnecting and re-connecting them carefully, as such disconnection can easily prevent the heater cartridge from operating as intended and cause the hotend not to heat up. While the more advanced users may be able to go down the route of testing the power supply voltage with a multimeter to find out whether the power supply is in good shape or not, which would point them toward the problematic component without having to replace both, the fact that this may not be an option for everyone makes replacing the components or sending your 3D printer in for a repair the go-to solution in most cases.

But can you guess why the 3d printer not extruding during printing? Indeed, the most common reason behind the Ender 3 not extruding is a misalignment in the extruder and carriage. Additionally, Ender 3 not extruding may occur if the hole is too small for the filament to go through, the nozzle is badly clogged, or the Ender 3 speed is set too high. Probably you have started scratching your head and looking for the solutions, right? Here are some reasons why your Ender 3 is not extruding properly.

Ender 3 not extruding

Among all the issues you can face, problems related to extrusion are some of the most common ones, as there are way too many factors that can disrupt the sensitive process of consistently extruding the correct amount of plastic in the right positions. Today, we will investigate the problem of the Ender 3 extruding filament inconsistently throughout the printing process, which creates a subpar final product by introducing plenty of issues ranging from weak adhesion between layers to poor surface quality and accuracy. As there are plenty of distinct reasons that can cause your Ender 3 to extrude inconsistently, we have listed the most common ones that can cause the problem below:.

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If they are worn out, they might not be able to feed the material. Print Quality Guide. If the extruder gear is not turning as your Ender 3 is running the extrusion command, this would effectively mean that there is an issue that stops the extruder stepper motor from operating as intended, which would explain why your Ender 3 is unable to extrude filament. A stopgap solution is to shut down your printer and plug in its power supply. If this happens, the X and Y axis motors will be spinning and moving the extruder toolhead, but the extruder motor will not be moving at all. Adjust the nozzle Adjusting the Z-distance, which is the vertical distance from the nozzle to the print bed, can typically improve layer uniformity and setting. Talking about feeder gears, the gears themselves could be a reason why no filament is coming from the extruder. It is constantly spinning back and forth, pushing and pulling plastic back and forth. If none of the above causes apply to you, then it is very likely that the extruder is clogged. Here are some reasons why your Ender 3 is not extruding properly. If your printer was extruding properly at the beginning of your print, but suddenly stopped extruding later on, there are typically only a few things that could have caused this problem. The idler could also be a cause why the extruder is not pushing the filament , generally due to too low pressure.

We can all agree that 3D printers are complex machines, with many moving parts coming together and working seamlessly to make the magic of 3D printing possible in the comfort of our own homes. Unfortunately, as complexity increases, so does the possibility of issues occurring, as even a single part that does not work as intended can cause the entire printing process to fail and prevent the printer from operating until the appropriate solution is approved. Today, our topic is a critical issue that can entirely prevent the Ender 3 from conducting the printing process, where the printer, for unknown reasons, does not extrude any filament at all and moves the printhead around without printing anything.

Missing layers When printing larger pieces, you may find that there are gaps or skipped layers in the print. In the case where there indeed are heating issues, which would practically make it impossible for your Ender 3 to extrude filament even if everything else is working as intended, the first order of business, as you may predict, is resolving this problem to restore the heating capabilities of the hotend, and see whether the extrusion issue continues afterward. To obtain the official firmware file that Creality ships for your particular model of Ender 3, you can visit the support section on the official Creality webpage , where you will be able to select different firmware files based on factors such as mainboard version and whether a BLTouch sensor is attached to your Ender 3. If the nozzle is too close to the build table surface, there will not be enough room for plastic to come out of the extruder. New: Filament Printing Course. If your extruder has lost some plastic due to oozing, the next time you try to extrude, it is likely that it will take a few seconds before plastic starts to come out of the nozzle again. Another common issue with the Ender 3 is Z-axis misalignment. Leave it to soak for about 24 hours until the obstruction is dissolved. Go to the deal. Check carefully what problem you are facing:. You can fix this issue by restarting it. However, if you cannot see through it, then use a Q-Tip with some Isopropyl Alcohol on it and swab out any clogs or deposits that may have built up on the inside of your nozzle. Clogged Extruder. Check your G-codes To familiarize yourself with the nuance of 3D printing technology, you need to understand G-codes.