Extruder push measurement.

thingiverse

In technology, nothing beats precise measurements for qualifying a design. Unfortunately, I only see exaggerated claims like "Wow!," "Greatest," and "Fantastic" - typical sales pitches with little substance. Let's examine the extruder, which hinges on its ability to push filament down the hot end. Measuring this is relatively straightforward: just measure the pull force. As seen in the picture, thread a short piece of filament through the extruder, create a loop on the other side, secure it with scotch tape, and attach it to a small scale hanging from the frame top. Keep the scale vertical and aligned with the extruder using brackets or bars if necessary. Videotape while running the extruder motor until the filament starts to slip or the stepper loses steps. Reviewing the footage will reveal when you reach maximum capacity and when grinding begins. If you notice the filament slips as the motor continues, your hobbed gear is likely the bottleneck. You can test this by detaching the top of the scale and pulling until the filament slips to measure its capacity. If necessary, adjust or replace the hobbed gear. My setup with a hobbed gear and idler holds over 40N, indicating that my motor is the limiting factor. The force required from your extruder depends on various factors, including filament type, temperature, nozzle diameter, and more. To estimate this, reduce the motor current until it starts to lose steps, then measure the force as described. Set the current 50% higher for a safety margin. If you can't achieve this, your setup is at its limit. In my printer, PLA at 200°C requires around 10-15N of force. Yes, the motor must pull filament from the spool and push it through the hot end, but unless you have an overly complex filament guide or spool setup, this isn't excessive. Note that head movement can also affect print quality. The STL file is included due to Thinkverse's requirements, although it's not used in my setup. Anyone knowledgeable can fill in the gaps or provide additional insights.