Hi
What do you think this looks like?
Fixable?
Cheers / Alex
Does it do it on everything you print ?
That looks like a stepper motor where one of the coils is not being driven. This can cause it to just rock back and forth around the same location.
So it could be the motor itself, the cable or connectors or a fault on the main board like a driver. I would check the wires and cable for the stepper motor first - unplug it and reconnect it at both ends and check for any damaged wires along the full run of cable from the extruder to the controller board.
If you have a multi-meter you could also unplug the cable at both ends and do a continuity check of each wire in the cable.
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I took the whole extruder apart and discovered there were two(!) set-screws on the central axis gear shown here at 04:41 in the following video:
The second (completly unnecessary) set-screw was loose and blocking the entire system so I removed it and now the extruder works perfectly.
In you look carefully in the video we see only one installed set-screw and an empty hole where a second one can be installed. This is a design flaw that inevitably invites problems if the person assembling extruders at the factory isn’t aware that they shouldn’t add a second set-screw which doesn’t even screw in all the way!
It would be interesting to know how many Sovols were shipped with this time bomb of a problem. I suggest taking apart the extruder according to the clear steps in the video. If you see a second set-screw sticking halfway out from the main gear, take it out!
Edit: Its even commented at 05:50 in the video…
Why Sovol?!