Printer making funky sound, not working

So my printer stopped printing correctly (looks like its not extruder enough at random intervals) and then I noticed its making a rattling sound when it retracts. Has this happened to anyone? I couldn’t find anything that felt loose or rattly…


Also when I tried to take off the extruder idler piece the screw turns but doesn’t unscrew. Does this probably mean the nut on the inside is spinning around as well. If so, is there an easy way to get the thing unscrewed?

Check the status of the small gear on the motor, particularily the setscrew there and the gear teeth. If it is slipping, you’ll seee that.

The nut that is embedded inside the idler arm will spin in the socket and strip all the material out if you even look at it funny. If you can avoid taking it out, I would do so. Chances are you will not be able to get it out without cracking the Idler arm, so make sure you have a new one on hand. That being said, if the idler arm filliament notch is in decent shape, which it looks like it is from your picture, there is no reason to remove it since you can get to the arm mechanicals without doing so.

if the small gear isn’t the issue, check the idler arm bearing itself to see if that still rotates freely, and check the hobbed bolt for debris and gummed bearings. Also check that the nut on the end of the hobbed bolt hasn’t loosened. it should be just tight enough to prevent any forward or backwards movement of the bolt, but loose enough that the bolt turns freely with no drag. If you have ever sprayed lubricant in there, you may want to dissassemble and clean the whole thing.

The small gear looks slightly worn but still in decent shape, the printer is less than a month old. With the steppers locked, I couldn’t move the small gear at all, or the large gear. The bolt on the small gear didn’t tighten any further. The teeth on the hobbed bolt look clean and the bearing rolls fine. I was able to turn the hobbed bolt and big gear by turning the nut in front, so it’s not loose on the screw, but still allows the hobbed bolt to turn easily. Ya I’ll leave the idler arm alone then because it seems in good shape, although that is actually the one part I already have a replacement of should it break.

Did you notice the rattling when the extruder retracted? That’s not normal right?

It’s not normal, no. Retraction may sound like a clicking sound, but rattling indicates something is loose somewhere, It could be a bed corner retention screw, that would explain the wierd layer separation. I’m thinking you have something else loose though, probably on the X axis. Maybe a bearing holder on the back plate? Another possibility is it’s electrical. the heater core or thermistor may be cooling off during the print, causing the filliament to solidify and start making wierd noises as you print. An intermittant wire short would do the trick there.

Oh it would also make a comparatively lower pitched and loud beep every 3-8 minutes. Sounded almost like a “wrong answer” sound you might hear on a game show.

You probably should call support. They will get you all taken care of. Not sure if they have Saturday hours, but the website should say.

Alright I’ll send em an email, thanks.

One last thing, this looks like under extrusion right? It seems to have trouble extruding over infill…

While printing


After

You have a Taz, so this might be different, but it looks like your tensioner springs are quite a bit looser than mine (mini).
I have about 5mm between the washer faces, and my springs are nearly compressed.

I hear the clicks on retract and extrude in your video. That sure sounds like the hobbed bolt is skipping.

They do look oddly loose in that pic. Mine are also nearly all the way compressed as well. Maybe I was experimenting to see ifthat changed anything or something.

Can you try a different filament, or even filament material? It sounds like it’s chopping bits out of your filament on fast throws, and you said it looks like it might be underextruding as well.