Those who got clogs, what did you do to prevent future ones?
I just got my first clog which I think may have happen when switching between PLA and esun PETG.
What should steps should be taken to prevent clogs. It seems like one should use filament cleaner, but are there any other tips?
Re: Those who got clogs, what did you do to prevent future ones?
My favorite way of keeping my hotend nice and clean is to do few cold pulls whenever i switch to a new roll filament or when i think it might have crud built up. I use it as preventive maintenance as well as a first try to fix an actual clog. I first stumbled over this procedure when I got my Ultimaker and have been using it ever since on all my printers. I don't know who invented it. They call iot the "Atomic method".
Here's how to do it on the MK2:
Move your extruder up a bit and all the way to one side. Heat up the nozzle to whatever temp was needed for this type of filament. Unload the filament. Remove the two extruder tension screws and flip the cover open to get access to the PTFE tube going down to the hot end.
Now, with the nozzle still heated to printing temps, stick some filament down the PTFE tube until it starts coming out the nozzle. Now reduce nozzle temp to 90°C. Keep a little bit of pressure on the filament, to make sure the nozzle is "filled". Now, when the nozzle temp has dropped to 90°C, use one had to "brace" the extruder (we do not want to bend the rods) and with the other hand yank the filament out in a swift and decisive motion. Might need a tiny bit of force, but it should pop out fairly easily.
The idea is: while the starts to solidify, it will stick to any crud left in the nozzle and when you pull it out, the crud is on the filemant and gone from the nozzle. The effect can be quite impressive. Repeat a few times until the filament you pulled out is clean.
Here's more info on it - just ignore the bit where they talking about the bowden..
https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/19510-how-to-apply-atomic-method
Check the little movie there to see how much crud they get out of there and how the tips of the filament should look.
Re: Those who got clogs, what did you do to prevent future ones?
Allways allow the existing filament to cool below 50 deg C, and do not turn off the printer before the hotend heatsink fan turns off after a print, and or before a filament change or not. (ie allow proper fan assisted cooldown) Reheat to relevant filament temp, and then use the printer menu to unload filament. And then load new filament adjusting nozzle temp as needed. Meanwhile in between prints heat up to filament temp and scrub nozzle with a small wire brush to clean any crud. No jams for me in a very long time, and I am often changing filaments.
Nigel
Life is keeping interested and excited by knowledge and new things.
Re: Those who got clogs, what did you do to prevent future ones?
Regarding switching between PLA and PETG, I stumbled across this:
And if you plan to switch back and forth between printing PETG and PLA using the same nozzle, you need to pick up some cleaning filament to run through the nozzle. The higher melting temp for PETG will cook leftover PLA right onto your nozzle, narrowing the diameter of the hole and eventually resulting in a clog.
(ref: http://forum.makergear.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2593 )