The main areas of an extruder are the heating block and the dissipation area, although these are formed in turn by several parts. To understand the basic operation of the extrusion process of the filaments in 3D printers, it is essential to understand the functionality of both areas. The first filament comes from the cold zone of the extruder (zone heat dissipation), then passes through the hotend, softens and ends up leaving the nozzle or nozzle turning to harden.

The dissipation area is very important in the extruder because the heat it dissipates filament from the heating zone. In the event that in that zone no heat is properly dissipated, it would heat the filament softening too and preventing proper advancement thereof along the area of ​​dissipation of the extruder (due to dilation and loss of consistency), what would generate a plastic ball causing a jam inside the extruder. It should be noted that normally the most contentious area is where both zones meet, at the end of the PTFE Teflon tube. To aid in the cooling zone in heat dissipation is normally couple one or two fans in the extruder.

Another important factor to take into account for the good care of the extruder 3D printer issue is print the filaments at the correct temperatures, as in the case of printing at low temperature the filament could get stuck inside the extruder obstructing the passage thereof, and in case of printing at a high temperature could carbonize tiny plastic particles inside the extruder causing a partial obstruction inside the extruder. These hard particles and carbonized never be extruded by the extruder so the only alternative is to use a cleaning filament specifically designed to have suitable viscosity and thermal stability to drag these particles leaving completely clean inside the extruder.

The importance of ensuring a smooth and continuous filament flow in the extruder, in addition to extending the life of the extruder itself will also ensure better print quality.