Clogged extruder, most likely. First try to push gently the filament through, that way sometimes the pressure gets the debris out. If it doesn’t work, you have to remove the nozzle with the key provided (while it is completely heated so be careful). you can insert a thin metal bar so the filament sticks to it. It can be a real pain, so be patient, but it will work. If it doesn’t you have to disassemble the whole hot end. I found the entry from Zortrax on the topic useful: Nozzle Cleaning in Zortrax M Series 3D Printers | Zortrax Support Center 110 and Hotend Replacement in M Series 3D Printers | Zortrax Support Center 66
I find this problem sometimes when putting new materials into the machine. I find heating the extruder head first, then selecting insert new material helps get the extruder head very hot… Also snip the end of the new material so its dead straight, if you insert it and its not the ‘gear’ can skip as you video shows. I hold the new material and gentle push feed it through.
If it starts to skip and wont accept then go to ‘remove material’ mode as its likely that the gear now stripped a flat area on the material length. (which means it can grip and pull it through) Cut this away and try again.
Some times you can get a block in the Brass extruder but I’ve only had that once and not likely if you’ve just started.
If it stopped during a print, the material could have got stuck on the reel. Some times it can become snagged if your not careful so check for that too. I’ve had this twice, its quite easy to loop the material wrong on the reel so its get tight after a while, check the material has no ‘ties’ or tight spots as you pull it out.
A good resource is the Zortrax Website if you haven’t already check that.
I had exactly the same yesterday. It happened when I unloaded the filament to load another color. Filling in the new one didn’t work because of this stuttering. I found a small bit of old filament in it that made it stuck. Removing it solved the problem.
Hi Matt, this looks really strange to me, especially because it starts to stutter when the filament isn’t loaded yet. If this happens while printing I would say it’s the printhead cable, but in your case I can only imagine, that the extruder motor is broken. It seems to have no torque at all. I would recommend to exchange it, but first I would ask this question in the zortrax user forum (forum.zortrax.com 34) again. There are many friendly and very experienced users and a lot of threads for different problems. My experience is that one doesn’t do anything wrong buying a M200. Best regards Oliver
If I see this right, the extruder still stutters when he removes the new filament during “loading”. That’s why I wouldn’t point on a clogged nozzle. Then the extruder motor has no load. The hint to check for a knot of the windings on the spool is good, when it interrupts filament feeding during print. Regards Oliver
I had a case in wihich the gear locked, and I solved by removing the motor and cleaned the gear area (the lock was caused by a piece o filament misplaced). The Zortrax website provides detailed instruction for this type of problems.
In any case you can write a report your case to Zortrax support.
You may have the extruder gear pushed in too far. That would put the set screw very close to the filament which could cause problems. Another possibility is a clog in the nozzle. If dust builds up on the filament reel, over time it all gets pulled through the nozzle and burns and clogs the nozzle. The tool kit comes with a small wire. While the nozzle is at temperature, push the wire up through the tip to make sure it is clear. Are you using Zortrax filaments only? I used some other brand ABS filament once and it was the only time my hot end nozzle clogged. Some cheaper brands can have impurities than can clog a nozzle. I would guess most name brands would work okay though. I have only had one nozzle clog in over 1000 hours of printing. I’ve had the extruder gear set screw loosen twice. I’ve had a very small piece of filament jam between the extruder gear an the housing around it 5 or 6 times. Considering how many hours I’ve used the machine it very rarely has any issues. Keep us posted. Im pretty confident you will find a simple fix to the problem.
when you guys say that the extruder cable is bad, do you guys mean the small cable connecting the stepper motor directly to the breakout board or the flat cable that comes from the main motherboard?
I already tested the small cable that goes directly from the extruder motor to the breakout board using a continuity tester and that all seems connected.
