2 Minis, printing differently
I have two Minis, both have performed wonderfully for the last couple years. I normally use Prusa galaxy black PLA with absolutely no issues.
Recently I have been attempting to make some dual color filament pieces, dragons and eggs. I attempted using MatterHackers Build PLA dual color filaments, and it’s been rough.
One printer seems to print without any sort of issue, other than the filament leaving a stain on the bed. The other printer seems to always clog at around layer 3-5 and sometimes later. But with this filament it clogs every time. I’ve tried temps from 195-220 and it seems to happen the same way.
I figured it’s heat creep so I tested the fans, cleaned out all the dust, and it still happens the same. But if I switch back to Prusa pla it works fine again.
Any help on this?
RE: 2 Minis, printing differently
Sounds like heat creep. When was the last time you looked at or changed the PTFE tube in the hot end? They can shrink and when they do a gap opens in the heat break that fills with filament. The matter hacker may be more sensitive to it.
Cheers
-Bob
Prusa I3 Mk2 kit upgraded to Mk2.5s, Ender3 with many mods, Prusa Mini kit with Bondtech heat break, Prusa I3 Mk3s+ kit
RE: 2 Minis, printing differently
I didn’t see any filament or damage or anything abnormal when I cleared the last jam. I will try to replace that tube just to be safe.
RE: 2 Minis, printing differently
I had such a problem with it I changed my heat break with a Bondtech, it raises where the PTFE meets the break so it's less susceptible to heat.
Cheers
-Bob
Prusa I3 Mk2 kit upgraded to Mk2.5s, Ender3 with many mods, Prusa Mini kit with Bondtech heat break, Prusa I3 Mk3s+ kit
RE: 2 Minis, printing differently
I took out the old PTFE tube and it definitely was getting a tiny bit worn, and there was a small amount of filament build up in the hot end. Got it cleaned and changed the PTFE tube, so far it’s working!
Thanks for the help!
RE: 2 Minis, printing differently
What I found out is that the amount of thermal paste on heatbrake inside the hotend heatsink is not sufficient out of factory, so hence heat creep. I disassembled it, remove old paste and apply new one according to manual https://help.prusa3d.com/guide/how-to-replace-a-heaterblock-heatbreak-mini-mini_122769 step 15. After that everything is ok in stock configuration even after printing PC at 285 C for long periods of time.
Regards,
Peter