Filament Extruder not "gripping" filament

#1
I've noticed recently that the filament extruder drive gear isn't pushing filament down like it first did. The bearing that rolls with the gear isn't moving at the same rate and seems to be slipping.

I wedged a piece of paper between the spring that applies pressure between the gear and the bearing, however it only seems to help a little.

The bearing is also loose and seems to wobble around even though the nut is tight.

Any thoughts or experiences with this?
 
#2
I've run into the same problem over time. The arm applying pressure is printed pla.
I believe were seeing creep in the plastic arm causing a decrease in pressure.
As a quick fix I printed a 1mm shim and put it under the spring, this worked although not for long.
The correct fix would be a metal arm.

Steve...
 

GORDON.LAPLANTE

Administrator
Staff member
#3
Try tightening the bolt holding the arm in place. We have printed about 15-18 hrs a day, 7 days a week for months (and one printer for a year) with no decreased pressure so the bolt may just be loose.