60mm NEMA 17 clicking

I've just upgraded to an E3D setup and direct drive and purchased a 60mm NEMA 17 however, it clicks when I try to extrude. Am I missing something here? I have a 12v power supply with RAMPS and I have adjusted the pot but alas I've had no luck.

Did you try running the stepper without load? ( eg. loosen the drive gear set screw)
Does the extruder run free? I had a direct drive where the setscrew was to long and blocked the stepper at one point.
Did you try extruding without nozzle?

Yes I've run the motor totally on its own so it isn't connected to the extruder and it doesn't affect the clicking at all.

How many amps does the motor require and how many are you providing? Check the stepper driver documentation for how to measure this.

12v 1.5a rated and I've run it at 0.5-0.9 on the stepper driver and it still clicks

0. By "direct drive", do you mean non-Bowden, or do you mean un-geared?

1. If you mean un-geared, then I presume you are using 1.75mm filament (you have no chance of an un-geared extruder working with 3mm).

2. Have you measured the extruder drive steps/mm, and configured that in the firmware?

3. What speed are you trying to extrude at? If you are using a 0.4mm nozzle, you don't need any more than 5mm/sec.

4. Have you configured the right thermistor type in your firmware? Otherwise you may be trying to extrude at too low a temperature.

5. Do you have a fan running all the time cooling the E3D heatsink?

6. Have you checked that if you remove the extruder drive (or maybe just slacken the tension), you can push the filament through by hand?

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Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

Sorry should have been clearer it is an ungeared bowden set up 1.75mm filament. The problem is the motor won't spin at all even withought anything attached to the shaft. Yes I have a fan attached to the E3D heatsink and also a fan blowing at the RAMPS. Is it because the A4988 isn't man enough to provide enough current for the bigger motor? Would a DRV8825 be better?

Quote
Henners56789
Sorry should have been clearer it is an ungeared bowden set up 1.75mm filament. The problem is the motor won't spin at all even withought anything attached to the shaft. Yes I have a fan attached to the E3D heatsink and also a fan blowing at the RAMPS. Is it because the A4988 isn't man enough to provide enough current for the bigger motor? Would a DRV8825 be better?

So the motor doesn't turn even with no filament or other load? If the shaft is free to spin but it just clicks when you try to drive it, that may mean that only one phase is connected. Use a multimeter to check for continuity of each phase, starting at the end of the cable that plugs into the electronics.

What is the specification of the motor, in particular its rated current per phase? If it has a really high rated current, then I guess an A4988 might be insufficient, but a DRV8825 wouldn't be much better.

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Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

Solved it DC42, after checking the continuance of the pins I realised that the pins were in a different arrangement to the previous motor I had been using, so I swapped the middle two and hey presto. All I need to do now is set the tension up right and et it properly calibrated!!