Brown dust from white filament
I'm hoping I'm in the right place here. Apologies if I am not.
My nozzle was clogged overnight, so my extruder was grinding the filament for quite a while. When I opened up the extruder, I saw a lot of brown dust.
This is puzzling to me, because for the past few months I have only been printing white PLA, and I don't think I have ever printed brown... My first thought was that this is burned residue, but this explanation is implausible to me, because the dust is so far from the hot part of the extruder. The printer is in a clean environment (no sawdust or anything).
Any ideas what might be causing the brown dust?
RE: Brown dust from white filament
if the gear teeth have not been lubricated, this could be rust particles.
regards Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility. Location Halifax UK
RE: Brown dust from white filament
Hi Joan, thanks for the swift reply. Much appreciated!
I think you are right. I cannot remember the last time I lubricated them, and when I try to rotate the gear by hand it is not a smooth movement. Whoops! This is probably also the cause of my filament clogging, because cleaning and replacing the nozzle did not solve it.
Would you recommend lubricating the gear with something like this, or is it a lost cause once they are rusty and should I just replace the part?
RE: Brown dust from white filament
Superlube will do
Regards Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility. Location Halifax UK
RE: Brown dust from white filament
... are we supposed to be lubing our extruder gearbox? I didn't see anything about that in the assembly instructions!
RE: Brown dust from white filament
This helped for me, Joan. Thanks!