Cleaning hot end exterior
So I had that dreaded event - a failed print forming a ball of gunk around the hot end. The hot end was covered in black PETG.
I got most of it off, and it prints fine (no clog), but it just looks like crap - black all over. I picked off what I could with tweezers, but it still looks bad. Thought about cleaning it while hot with a damp cloth (maybe in IPA), but was afraid to shock cool it.
Is there a fix for this? Ideally one that doesn't require removing the hot end from the printer?
Re: Cleaning hot end exterior
There are two ways to remove the final bits of the blob after you have finished pulling it off with tweezers :-
Regards,
Martin
Martin Wolfe
Re: Cleaning hot end exterior
A nylon brush with stiff bristles also works too for cleaning off PETG after bringing the hotend to temperature. It's what I used when I faced cleaning the blob of doom. It's less abrasive than a brass brush.
Re: Cleaning hot end exterior
A nylon brush with stiff bristles also works too for cleaning off PETG after bringing the hotend to temperature. It's what I used when I faced cleaning the blob of doom. It's less abrasive than a brass brush.
Question: The material that globbed on was PETG, which I usually print at 241C. Nylon is printed at 240-260, I believe. Is this an issue? Will my hotend melt a nylon brush if I scrub with it?
Re: Cleaning hot end exterior
A nylon brush with stiff bristles also works too for cleaning off PETG after bringing the hotend to temperature. It's what I used when I faced cleaning the blob of doom. It's less abrasive than a brass brush.
Question: The material that globbed on was PETG, which I usually print at 241C. Nylon is printed at 240-260, I believe. Is this an issue? Will my hotend melt a nylon brush if I scrub with it?
Good point. All I can say is that I have not observed any problem, maybe because with a scrubbing motion the duration of contact of each bristle with the hotend is actually very short (similar to moving your finger quickly through a candle flame--nothing bad happens). So, be mindful of that and do the brushing quickly.