I needed to print some feet so that my rack server can be made to stand up, so I was glad I have a 3D printer. Problem is, when printing, I realised I was getting underextrusion in the prints. So I took some time to observe a print as it was taking place, and saw that the extruder motor was not turning sometimes.
At first, I thought the tensioner was too tight, causing the extruder motor to stall. So I loosened the tensioner spring, which allowed the extruder motor to turn, but it was too loose to grip the filament, and I still ended up with underextrusion. So I tried to increase the tension again, enough to grip the filament, but then again, the extruder motor sometimes didn't spin. I even played around with the motor current (thankfully, it was easy, since I am using TMC drivers) but no luck.
In the end, I suspected that it could be the extruder motor which has failed. So, much as I dreaded, I took apart the gantry assembly (I am using a Titan Aero direct drive extruder), found a spare motor, put everything back together, and yes! It is feeding fine now. So I went through the manual leveling process of leveling the corners, then a 25-point manual bed leveling process. I then did my usual first layer test, and it seems everything is working as it should.
The final test was to print a set of feet for the rack server. And wow! I got a nice clean print, which confirmed that it was the extruder motor that had failed. Another new piece of knowledge for troubleshooting underextrusion issues.
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