Clogging due to heat creep: buy new cooler or new hotend?
Sadly, I am not able to "repair" my 3D printer. Every time, I want to print something that takes a bit longer to print, the extrusion stops at some point during the print (the first few layers are great), no under-extrusion whatsoever before that critical point.
I already tried temperature variation (185-220 °C) with about 5 different brands of 1.75 mm PLA.
I tried printing without any retraction, but failed (I also experimented with flow rate a lot and calculated the perfect percentage etc.)
Everytime a print fails, it is a nightmare to remove the PLA filament from my Bowden tube (because it expanded near the nozzle and is stuck in the Bowden tube). I have to pull with so much force, that I already cut myself several times because I slipped off my pliers.
As I know for sure (I already wasted almost 1kg of PLA for my testing) the problem is heat creep = heat travelling from the heat block to the PLA above because the heat break or fan seem to be broken.
So my question is: "Will it be enough to buy a new cooling fan (as the standard fan doesnt seem to be powerful enough)?"
I have to add that I already bought the original hotend long time ago and I tried printing with the "fan of the first hotend" and with the "fan of the second hotend" (the fan that blows air towards the cold end) so that might not be the problem.
Or do I need a totally new hotend? (with heatbreak etc.)
My printer is a Creality CR 10, and I'm using Ultimaker Cura 3.6.
Or is it enough to buy a new heating block + heat break? (I don't know if the cooling fan is the problem or the heat break).
RE: Clogging due to heat creep: buy new cooler or new hotend?
Hi
Uh, this forum is for Prusa Mk2 / Mk2.5 printers.
But in answer to your question, I would be inclined towards replacing the hotend. Before doing so, you might want to check that the heat break, the metal part that fits inside of the heatsink, is making good thermal contact with the heatsink. If it is held in by being threaded into the heatsink, it should be tight. If is is held by a setscrew, that should be tight. Probably there should be some heat transfer compound between the heatsink and heat break. Poor contact between the heatsink and heat break will cause heat creep no matter how large of a fan you have.
If the heat break is teflon-lined, the teflon bore should also be inspected for damage, melting or distortion.
Good Luck! And you might want to consider getting a Prusa printer.
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RE: Clogging due to heat creep: buy new cooler or new hotend?
[...] Everytime a print fails, it is a nightmare to remove the PLA filament from my Bowden tube (because it expanded near the nozzle and is stuck in the Bowden tube). I have to pull with so much force, that I already cut myself several times because I slipped off my pliers.
As I know for sure (I already wasted almost 1kg of PLA for my testing) the problem is heat creep = heat travelling from the heat block to the PLA above because the heat break or fan seem to be broken.
I've come at this from the other direction, starting with a Prusa Mk3 as my first printer, and recently purchasing an Artillery Sidewinder X1. I know that a bowden tool is a source of constant frustration with other printers. One of the first things I did on my Sidewinder was upgrade it to an all-metal hotend so I don't have to worry about melting the PTFE tubing when swapping nozzles. A direct drive extruder is also a godsend in terms of ease of printing (esp. flexibles) and retraction.
You might want to follow up with some of the groups (perhaps Reddit) that are more focused on Creality printers and the CR-10, although there are a few people here that have extensive CR-10 experience. A direct drive extruder and all-metal hotend are upgrades worth investigating.
[...] So my question is: "Will it be enough to buy a new cooling fan (as the standard fan doesnt seem to be powerful enough)?"
If you're getting heat creep, I'd definitely look into improving both hotend and part cooling.
Or do I need a totally new hotend? (with heatbreak etc.)
Look at extruder + hotend for quality-of-life upgrades.
and miscellaneous other tech projects
He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
RE: Clogging due to heat creep: buy new cooler or new hotend?
I think you have the same problem I occasionally chase. Is it related to your part cooling fan? After the first few layers it will kick in an then drive the temps down. Try shutting off all of the cooling including the "bridging" cooling. Watch the temperature graph and see what happens when the clogs occur, you will see it drop if the part cooling fan is the issue.