Special cleanup of extruder after print failure?
I'm something of a newbie, wondering what the appropriate cleaning tasks are after a print failure.
I had a print failure that gummed up the nozzle and the aluminum block that holds the nozzle (heater block?). I heated it up and used some tweezers to pick off the filament bits.
Should I be doing anything more? Is it okay if my nozzle isn't "brass bright" anymore, but has some leftover filament sludge here and there?
Thanks!
Bill
RE: Special cleanup of extruder after print failure?
I'm something of a newbie, wondering what the appropriate cleaning tasks are after a print failure.
I had a print failure that gummed up the nozzle and the aluminum block that holds the nozzle (heater block?). I heated it up and used some tweezers to pick off the filament bits.
Should I be doing anything more? Is it okay if my nozzle isn't "brass bright" anymore, but has some leftover filament sludge here and there?
Thanks!
Bill
Clean as well as possible with a soft brass brush, wooden sticks and paper. Do not forget aramid or similar gloves. It may also be necessary to remove the hotend. In this case a hot air gun can be very useful for the cleaning process. ABS and ASA can be dissolved in acetone.
Statt zu klagen, dass wir nicht alles haben, was wir wollen, sollten wir lieber dankbar sein, dass wir nicht alles bekommen, was wir verdienen.
RE: Special cleanup of extruder after print failure?
If using a BRASS brush - be sure power is OFF - or you will damage the electronics. Heat to 280c, then power off, clean. Repeat.
I've used the brass shoe brush, paper towels, cotton cloth. Paper and cotton can be used with power on, but be careful around the wires, you do not want to bend them around.
At the end of the day, the aluminum block (the heater block) gets dirty. So plastic on it doesn't really hurt anything - just don't let so much accumulate you can't see some metal.
RE: Special cleanup of extruder after print failure?
RE: Special cleanup of extruder after print failure?
I'm in the habit of regularly brushing off the nozzle area as a preventive measure.
RE: Special cleanup of extruder after print failure?
I use small strips of corrugated cardboard to clean the nozzle and block while heated. No chance of sparks and I find I can apply more pressure where needed to scrape filament away. Some folks also suggest polishing the nozzle tip with a strip occasionally. The cardboard can do that too.
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: Special cleanup of extruder after print failure?
I also will heat the nozzle, force some large piece of sacrificial PLA against it, and let things cool to about 100 and essentially do an external version of a cold pull. It gets the bits that don't pop off with scraping.
os: that image above isn't my nozzle - just a convenient web image. Mine looks a bit worse. lol.