Extruder clicking or grinding

Rhythmic clicking from the extruder. Pulled filament shows a flat, chewed section.

skippingticking noisefilament chewed flat

Causes, most likely first

Ordered by how often each is actually responsible, not by how interesting it is. Work down the list.

Clog or partial blockage

The extruder is pushing against something it cannot move. Cold pull or replace the nozzle.

Retraction too long or too fast

Excess retraction shears filament in the drive gear and causes the jam it was meant to prevent. Reduce distance first.

Calibration step: Tune retraction DISTANCE (only) →

Demanding more flow than the hotend can melt

Slow down, or reduce layer height. Check against max volumetric flow.

Calibration step: Find real max volumetric flow →

Heat creep softening filament above the melt zone

Check the heatsink fan is running. Failures that start an hour in rather than at the start are almost always heat creep.

Temperature too low for the speed

Raise nozzle temperature or slow down.

Calibration step: Run a temperature tower →

Open First Layer →
The app walks this in order, generates the test model for your nozzle and filament, and records what you measure so nothing has to be repeated. Free, no account, works offline.