Filament blocked in PTFE tube ?
Hi,
I am a happy owner of a I3 MK2s, but today, I heated the nozzle, unloaded the PLA filament to insert some PET and something went wrong. No way to insert the filament anymore. The extruder is not able to push any filament in the hot-end.
The PTFE tube seams blocked, in the middle (or lower part) of the heat-break. 64mm from the top of the extruder.
From the nozzle I am able to push a needle in for 30mm (almost the complete needle). There is no plastic stuck anymore in the hot-end.
Any "official" advice ? Shall I remove the hot-end ? change the PTFE tube ?
Some people heat the hot-end without fan, isn't that dangerous?
Thanks for your help.
Jerome
Re: Filament blocked in PTFE tube ?
Open the extruder door. Examine the PTFE tube. Can you see any filament broken off below the gears? If so, can you grab it with needle-nose pliers? If not, heat up to 250C and remove nozzle. Insert a smooth 1.5mm rod (or hex wrench) up from below. Does anything poke up out of tube? If blocked partway, try pushing gently from above. Anything pop out?
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Re: Filament blocked in PTFE tube ?
Thanks,
The extruder was OK. I dismounted the hot end and the PTFE tube was loose and can freely be removed from the hot-end.
I heated up, removed the heat-break and found a blob of PLA/PET just below the PTFE tube's end ... let's try to remount everything without breaking anything.
Re: Filament blocked in PTFE tube ?
The filament is now coming out smoothly. Issue closed. Thanks for the help