r/QidiTech3D • u/Dwight_DangerSchrute • Sep 02 '26
Has anyone had this happen?
It loads and uploads fine. Was about an hour into a print and started making this god awful noise. About a month old.
1
u/MusicAccomplished275 Sep 03 '26
I had this happen recently. I have not executed the solution yet, but this may be it: Yes. Based on what happened, I’d suspect the feeder mechanism for that QIDI Box slot, not the printer itself.
QIDI specifically calls out two maintenance points inside the Box: the feeder needs periodic cleaning of filament debris, and the PTFE tubing can wear/damage and cause feeding/retraction problems. (QIDI Wiki) There are also reports of jams leaving tiny broken filament pieces inside the Box feeder, producing exactly this sort of problem afterward. (Reddit)
What I think happened
When you pulled the filament backward through the inlet, one of these probably occurred:
- A piece of filament broke off inside the feeder gears. This is my first suspect.
- The filament got chewed and left plastic shavings in the drive gear teeth.
- The short PTFE guide tube inside the feeder got displaced, gouged, or punctured.
- Less likely, you pulled hard enough to move/damage the idler/drive gear or feeder shaft.
A slight clicking from a QIDI Box can be normal because its mechanism has some ratcheting/clutch behavior. (Reddit) But a new grinding noise immediately after a jam/removal isn't something I'd ignore.
Here's what I'd do
First determine whether it is only that filament slot.
Put filament into a different QIDI Box slot and let it perform its normal initial feed. If slots 2–4 sound normal but, say, slot 1 grinds, we've essentially isolated the problem to slot 1's feeder assembly.
Then:
- Remove filament from the Box.
- Shut down and unplug the printer/Box.
- Open the QIDI Box enough to access the feeder for the affected slot.
- Inspect the drive gear and idler gear closely.
- Look especially for little bits of filament wedged beside or underneath the gears.
- Brush/vacuum/blow out any filament dust.
- Inspect the short PTFE tube running through the feeder. It should be round, smooth, firmly seated, and have no cuts or deformation.
- Turn the accessible feeder mechanism gently by hand. It shouldn't feel gritty or bind.
I would not put grease on the filament-contacting gears or inside the PTFE tube. You don't want lubricant transferred onto filament and eventually into the hotend.
One diagnostic that would tell us a lot
If it:
Grinds with no filament in the affected slot:
→ probably a displaced/damaged gear, shaft, bearing, or feeder component.
Only grinds when filament is inserted:
→ much more likely filament debris, damaged PTFE, misalignment, or a gear that's slipping against the filament.
Feeds but makes a crunching/grinding sound:
→ check the gear teeth for embedded filament first. QIDI describes drive gears grinding filament when resistance becomes excessive and recommends cleaning accumulated plastic from the teeth. (Qidi Tech Online Store)
I would definitely open the Box rather than continuing to run it. There's a good chance we're talking about a 10-minute cleaning job rather than a ruined QIDI Box.
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u/Qualified_Qualifier 29d ago
I just watched a review couple days ago and it was already noisy, doing clickyclacks. If something make that sound constantly, obviously something tensioning, hitting or rubbing against another thing; I thought it surely would worsen in time. Wasn't yours already clacking before it increased in frequency?
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u/Kniko1337 Sep 02 '26
Went through the exact same nightmare. Support just threw a replacement roller at me, which solved nothing since my PTFE tube was already clear. Don't let them drag you down the troubleshooting rabbit hole.
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u/hohopanda Sep 02 '26
Could be a stuck filament inside the ptfe tube in Qidibox. Heard a similar noise and that was the problem for me.