<p>What you experience is temporary under-extrusion. This could be a typical result of friction in the supply of filament to the extruder. I've run into this also a week ago when the shaft of the spool holder caught a plastic bag next to it which wrapped around the shaft creating a lot of friction. Friction can also be caused by filament that gets entangled on the spool, this is usually a problem if the spool unrolls too freely on the holder (too less friction);it unrolls a few windings, and then tightens those entangling the filament. Also, if you use 2.85&nbsp;mm filament on small diameter spools, the last stretch of filament has the smallest curvature and as such requires the most force to pull it to the extruder (this can go in steps).</p>

<p>Furthermore, slipping of the extruder gear is also a (rare) possibility (when using a stepper directly to drive the extruder gear, a flat spot on the stepper shaft should prevent this).</p>

<p>Be sure to inspect the filament release from spool to extruder and try to see (and listen!) what happens when you print a part when you experience the under-extrusion.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-25T07:30:53.953Z
2019-01-25T07:30:53.953Z
0scar
<p>I got myself an Ender 3 printer, put it together and tried the test g-code, worked fine. But i sometimes have problems with under extrusion, as shown in the picture below.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/TwDK7.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/TwDK7.jpg" alt="Under extrusion visible to the left while the part to the right is fine"></a></p>

<p>As you can see, the part to the left is almost not printed, but the part to the right is fine. These "holes" are a lot of places, and i dont understand what is causing a temporary clog or whatever the problem may be.</p>

<p>Anyone know something about this problem?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-24T14:00:44.740Z
Have you run this gcode multiple times, and do you get the same underextrusion in the same location every time? If not, it could be just a temporary filament advancement issue.
Davo
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-24T14:22:53.503Z
I can confirm it does not happen in the same places every time the same g-code is run. But it is happening every time I print something, so where would I start trying to diagnose it?
Fiskelord
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-24T14:24:59.387Z
Also, extrusion seems uneven, starting pretty good and getting bad pretty quick
Fiskelord
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-24T14:53:08.023Z
Does your spool unroll freely? You specifically mention Slic3r, so does this imply that it does not happen with Ultimaker Cura for instance?
0scar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-24T17:38:54.937Z
I tried lubricating the spool holder, but it didn't help, so I believe it moves as it should. I tried cura as the first slicer, but for some reason it just fucks up completely on my ender 3, probably don't have it set up correctly. I have gotten a few decent prints from Slic3r, but the issue remains.
Fiskelord
<extrusion><slic3r><troubleshooting>
Periodical under extrusion with Slic3r
Fiskelord
# Periodical under extrusion with Slic3r

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-01-24)

I got myself an Ender 3 printer, put it together and tried the test g-code, worked fine. But i sometimes have problems with under extrusion, as shown in the picture below.

[![Under extrusion visible to the left while the part to the right is fine](https://i.sstatic.net/TwDK7.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/TwDK7.jpg)

As you can see, the part to the left is almost not printed, but the part to the right is fine. These "holes" are a lot of places, and i dont understand what is causing a temporary clog or whatever the problem may be.

Anyone know something about this problem?

**Tags:** extrusion, slic3r, troubleshooting

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Have you run this gcode multiple times, and do you get the same underextrusion in the same location every time? If not, it could be just a temporary filament advancement issue.  
> **username_0**: I can confirm it does not happen in the same places every time the same g-code is run. But it is happening every time I print something, so where would I start trying to diagnose it?  
> **username_0**: Also, extrusion seems uneven, starting pretty good and getting bad pretty quick  
> **username_2**: Does your spool unroll freely? You specifically mention Slic3r, so does this imply that it does not happen with Ultimaker Cura for instance?  
> **username_0**: I tried lubricating the spool holder, but it didn't help, so I believe it moves as it should. I tried cura as the first slicer, but for some reason it just fucks up completely on my ender 3, probably don't have it set up correctly. I have gotten a few decent prints from Slic3r, but the issue remains.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-01-25. Score: 2

What you experience is temporary under-extrusion. This could be a typical result of friction in the supply of filament to the extruder. I've run into this also a week ago when the shaft of the spool holder caught a plastic bag next to it which wrapped around the shaft creating a lot of friction. Friction can also be caused by filament that gets entangled on the spool, this is usually a problem if the spool unrolls too freely on the holder (too less friction);it unrolls a few windings, and then tightens those entangling the filament. Also, if you use 2.85 mm filament on small diameter spools, the last stretch of filament has the smallest curvature and as such requires the most force to pull it to the extruder (this can go in steps).

Furthermore, slipping of the extruder gear is also a (rare) possibility (when using a stepper directly to drive the extruder gear, a flat spot on the stepper shaft should prevent this).

Be sure to inspect the filament release from spool to extruder and try to see (and listen!) what happens when you print a part when you experience the under-extrusion.


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