Heater Cartridge screw melted in place
I am trying to swap out my heater cartridge on my MK3S+, but the screw to release it won't budge. Is there any way to remove the heater cartridge and replace it with a new one without buying an entire new hotend?
RE: Heater Cartridge screw melted in place
When I accidentally ruined my V6 hotend, before "decommissioning" it I also tried to remove the heater cartridge, out of curiosity and I also was unable to get it out. I was stripping the screw head long before it even budged. The split section of the heater block seemed deformed as if the aluminium alloy gave way under the tension while hot. Not related to the reason my V6 broke.
A bit of an off-topic perhaps, but maybe you should use this as an opportunity to switch to Revo Six? That's what I did and I couldn't be happier with my choice. If you need hardened nozzles, they (E3D) have already opened preorders for Obxidian nozzles in Revo format so it's reasonable to assume they'll finally get available soon. You should still be able to sell your salvaged V6 parts on eBay.
RE:
The one trick I know for stuck fasteners in dissimilar metals, in this case alumin(i)um alloy vs. some stainless steel alloy is to heat them, as they tend to expand and contract at different rates. I would try warming the nozzle up to 250C or so and try to carefully loosen it when it's hot. You can do this when it is mounted in the printer, or out of the printer using a bench power supply.
I also know that often when metal parts are headed and cooled, they can get into a 'when they are stuck, they are stuck' condition.
If it's really stuck, you can try drilling out the stuck screw, or just drop back 15 and punt and buy a new heatblock as they are not that expensive.
I am trying to swap out my heater cartridge on my MK3S+, but the screw to release it won't budge. Is there any way to remove the heater cartridge and replace it with a new one without buying an entire new hotend?
RE: Heater Cartridge screw melted in place
[..]You can do this when it is mounted in the printer, or out of the printer using a bench power supply.[..]
If you choose the latter, raise the voltage slowly and don't hit it with full 24V unless your idea of released heater cartridge is a liquid one, floating in an equally liquid pool of molten metal 😉
RE: Heater Cartridge screw melted in place
I haven't had to do this (remove and heat on the bench) on the Prusa (yet) but I have with the Ultimaker for another issue, and I use a variable voltage and current lab bench supply and use a digital thermometer to zero in on the approximate operating temperature.
I've found that using the bench supply as a current source (as opposed to a voltage source) gives better control over the temperature on the bench. Fortunately, I've only had to heat those up for a short time, just to be sure that filament flows without obstruction through the hot end.
[..]You can do this when it is mounted in the printer, or out of the printer using a bench power supply.[..]
If you choose the latter, raise the voltage slowly and don't hit it with full 24V unless your idea of released heater cartridge is a liquid one, floating in an equally liquid pool of molten metal 😉
RE: Heater Cartridge screw melted in place
I was able to heat it up to 180C and remove the screw, but the heater cartridge still won't budge. I used a little too much force, and my Extruder Body broke, so I'm probably also going for the Revo, because this is also my second v6 Hotend. Thank you for your help!