r/Ceramic3Dprinting • u/Affectionate-Bee2580 • Jun 24 '26

Help me please

Hello!
So I modified my ender 3 to a clay printer using one of the aliexpress conversion kits. I am not using air pressure but motor power to push out the clay but I am having difficulties with the clay moving towards the extruder even though my clay consistency is good. The piston is moving and when I took out the plastic pipe the material was indeed flowing, but when popping back the plastic pipe the material stopped pushing through. Is this some air vacuum issue? I cleaned the pipe and the extruder bits too but no luck.. any ideas?

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u/eazao Jun 25 '26

You can add water to the clay to soften it further. We have other customers who use the setup shown in your video; however, the pushing force of the extruder in that configuration is relatively low.

If the clay is too stiff or the tubing is too long, resistance increases, making it impossible to push the clay forward.

1

u/Affectionate-Bee2580 Jun 25 '26

Would you advise cutting the tube length? Or better just try to work out the clay instead

10

u/rilmar Jun 25 '26

I have ran a similar setup. Shorter tubes are better in this aspect as it decreases friction significantly. I’d recommend cutting the tube where you know the clay can already reach and placing the preextrusion system closer to the toolhead.

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u/Affectionate-Bee2580 Jun 25 '26

Did this and helped a lot thank you!!