After a lot of printing, the knurled wheel in the material feeder can accumulate small filament particles. The knurled wheel can easily be taken out and cleaned. It is recommended to check and clean the feeder once a year, or when you experience extrusion problems.
Follow the steps in the tabs below:
First, unload the filament from the printer:
- Heat up the nozzle via the UltiController menu
- Open the feeder by pulling the lever upwards
- Pull the material through the Bowden tube and out of the feeder
Next, take out the feeder gear:
- Remove the feeder bolt clip
- Hold the feeder gear
- Slide the gear with the knurled wheel out of the feeder
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Remove the feeder bolt clip | Slide out the feeder gear and knurled wheel |
You may see a lot of small particles in the grooves of the feeder's knurled wheel. To clean it, you can either use (compressed) air, or a small brush (such as an old toothbrush). Make sure all the filament particles are removed.
Tip: Some filament particles from the knurled wheel may have gotten into the Bowden tube. If this is the case, clean the Bowden tube at the same time as the feeder knurled wheel. Find more instructions on this page: How to clean the Bowden tube.
To reassemble the feeder, first ensure that the washers are still around the knurled wheel. Align the knurled wheel with the bearings in the wooden parts. Slide it through the feeder, and secure it with the feeder bolt clip.
You can now reload the material by pushing it through the Bowden tube, all the way to the print head.
Close the black part of the feeder and push the feeder lever back into a horizontal position to secure it. Manually turn the extruder gear at the side of the feeder to move the material. Turn it until material extrudes from the nozzle.
The feeder is now clean and reinstalled, so you can continue with your next print!
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