Extruder grinding down plc

#1
Has anyone experience this problem? The wheel on the extruder where it rotates the plc down was grinding down the plc at one point so eventually the plc was too thin to rotate down into the extruder between the two wheels. This destroyed one of my big projects since the motors were still moving, but there was no plc extrusion so placement was lost. I loosen one of the wheels in hope that this does not happen again. Any solutions or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
#2
You might want to consider, or check for the following:

-Check your filament arm bearing it could be getting old and not as smooth. Could need to be replaced
-Check the bolts for tightness on the extruder arm and on the extruder gear
-Might want to consider replacing the extruder gear (they are very inexpensive)
- Check nozzle temperature (too low due to fan settings) it could be gradually slowing down the material passage to the point of causing a clog and as a consequence the extruder gear grinds the filament
-Clean your nozzle often. I do every 10 prints or so. I run some esun filament cleaner through the extruder. It is easy and works well. Especially if you change brands of PLA, and more so if you change materials (from PLA to PETG to ABS, etc)
- Slow down your prints. The temperature and the print speed you are using could be causing the nozzle to clog during the print, as the set print temperature can potentially not keep up with the extrusion rate
-Some times a low quality filament can cause that as well. Inconsistent diameter for instance. It is rare, but I have seen it especially after long prints of over 5 hours

I hope I have not mentioned something that you already know.
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