# Extruder

The extruder is the part of the printer that push and pulls the filament through the hotend to extrude/retract molten plastic filament. It typically consists of a motor, a set of drive gears that grip the filament and a housing to hold it all together.

![The toolhead and extruder on the Prusa i3 MK3S. Image from Prusa Knowledge Base.](https://1820679795-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LXautSvCbUco5Lv7YrH%2F-MS0OiejpflJlOX_UC6H%2F-MS0PFRYZ0tupHUxgQju%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=573d9ba5-e10b-4e1a-9920-606d957888d5)

To disassemble the extruder, follow the instructions linked here:

{% embed url="<https://help.prusa3d.com/en/guide/2b-mk3s-extruder-disassembly_181561>" %}