1. Got a question or need help troubleshooting? Post to the troubleshooting forum or Search the forums!

Solved Pesky clog and nozzle removal.

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by Lord_Surl, Aug 27, 2015.

  1. Lord_Surl

    Lord_Surl Member

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2015
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    2
    Ok, so let me set the context here: I just got some wood filament from Alchement.com, and I put it in after printing with ABS. I took all the necessary steps to clear out the remaining ABS, and the extruder was easily pulling the wood filament through. I then set the temp to recommended levels (190 degrees) for the wood, and began printing.

    Long story short, the wood only printed for 5 minutes before filament stopped coming out. I tried pulling it out, but there is a lot of goopy shit near the nozzle. When I say nozzle, I mean the very end bit where the plastic actually comes out, not the whole metal piece.

    Anyway, I want to remove the nozzle to clean out that goopy stuff, but I wasn't sure if it was meant to come off or if there is some special trick to not breaking it. Do you guys have any advice? Have you experienced this before?
     
    #1 Lord_Surl, Aug 27, 2015
  2. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2013
    Messages:
    6,967
    Likes Received:
    2,277
    Remove the rubber boot and then you can grip the nozzle and heater block with wrenches and loosen the nozzle. Will allow you to remove it and clean it.
     
    #2 Mike Kelly, Aug 27, 2015
  3. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2013
    Messages:
    23,915
    Likes Received:
    7,338
    And going forward you might want to increase the nozzle size a bit for the composite filaments like wood/stone/etc... they do prefer something a little larger than 0.4 (you can get a 0.4 to work, but you might be better off with a larger one).
     
    #3 mark tomlinson, Aug 27, 2015
  4. Lord_Surl

    Lord_Surl Member

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2015
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    2
    Ok, thanks! Thats what I was thinking of doing, but I'm better safe than sorry haha

    As someone who is still fairly new to 3d printing in general, how would I go about doing this? I'm guessing that the nozzle isn't adjustable, so would I have to buy another nozzle?
     
    #4 Lord_Surl, Aug 27, 2015
  5. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2013
    Messages:
    6,967
    Likes Received:
    2,277
    Yup buying another nozzle from someone like printedsolid.com is a good option
     
    #5 Mike Kelly, Aug 27, 2015
  6. Lord_Surl

    Lord_Surl Member

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2015
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    2
    Crazy idea here... If I got a steel filament, couldn't I just print my own nozzle?
     
    #6 Lord_Surl, Aug 27, 2015
  7. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2015
    Messages:
    5,905
    Likes Received:
    3,593
    I wish that were the case, unfortunately, there is barely any metal in the metal infused filaments. So you would be printing a plastic nozzle, with some metal in it.
     
    #7 WheresWaldo, Aug 28, 2015
  8. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2013
    Messages:
    23,915
    Likes Received:
    7,338
    Yea, unless you have an SLA printer with Steel powder handy... @WheresWaldo is 100% correct.

    (I have a parts pile, but the DLP has to get finished first before I start on the SLA)
     
    #8 mark tomlinson, Aug 28, 2015
  9. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2013
    Messages:
    6,967
    Likes Received:
    2,277
    Wouldn't you need SLS?
     
    #9 Mike Kelly, Aug 28, 2015
  10. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2013
    Messages:
    23,915
    Likes Received:
    7,338
    Yes, my bad. Typo :)
     
    #10 mark tomlinson, Aug 28, 2015
  11. Lord_Surl

    Lord_Surl Member

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2015
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    2
    Update: So I tried to take it off, but that sucker is either on there REALLY tight, or its being stuck by the gunk.
     
    #11 Lord_Surl, Aug 28, 2015
  12. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2015
    Messages:
    5,905
    Likes Received:
    3,593
    You are trying to remove the nozzle hot, aren't you!
     
    #12 WheresWaldo, Aug 28, 2015
    mark tomlinson likes this.
  13. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2013
    Messages:
    23,915
    Likes Received:
    7,338
    Excellent point. You should be removing it hot...
    Awkward, I know.
     
    #13 mark tomlinson, Aug 28, 2015
  14. Lord_Surl

    Lord_Surl Member

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2015
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    2
    So I'm supposed to do this when the nozzle is hot? How hot is it supposed to be? Also, why would this have any affect on weather or not the nozzle comes off?
     
    #14 Lord_Surl, Aug 28, 2015
  15. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2013
    Messages:
    23,915
    Likes Received:
    7,338
    As two dissimilar metals that are bound together with a thread (i.e. brass and aluminum or steel and aluminum--you know, what the heater block and the nozzle are made of) heat and cool they either get tighter or looser due to the different coefficients of expansion for the metals (they expand and contract at different rates).

    The thought for hot torque is that the metal differences will cause the joint to be looser if you tighten/torque it in place cold and then get it very hot. If you torque it hot then it stays tight (this presumes the metals will tighten up as they contract--the threads). The idea is that it will bind tighter as the metal cools and contracts.

    Sorry, science isn't pretty hope that helps.
     
    #15 mark tomlinson, Aug 28, 2015
    Last edited: Aug 28, 2015
  16. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2013
    Messages:
    23,915
    Likes Received:
    7,338
    P.S. I change my nozzles hot. It is not impossible, just harder. Be careful that is the real point.
     
    #16 mark tomlinson, Aug 28, 2015
  17. Lord_Surl

    Lord_Surl Member

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2015
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    2
    Update: Success! I heated it up to 235 degrees and gave it one hell of a twist, and it came right off! All my problems seem to have stemmed from a small fragment of wood filament stuck right at the very edge of the nozzle. I still don't know why it got stuck, but it certainly explains why it was fairly hard to unscrew some of the stuff and why there was black goop.

    I'm attempting to clean it out now, but its pretty crusted and hard. I will update again soon!
     
    #17 Lord_Surl, Aug 28, 2015
    mark tomlinson likes this.
  18. Frankn

    Frankn Member

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2015
    Messages:
    261
    Likes Received:
    22
    I think, what I would have done would have to run the heat up to ABS temp. You could have just pulled the wood fiber right out. Then feed some ABS thru to clear it.. It would have been worth the try. Just a thought. Frank
    Funny face-flower.jpg
     
    #18 Frankn, Aug 29, 2015
  19. Lord_Surl

    Lord_Surl Member

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2015
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    2
    This is actually the first thing I did haha. The problem with that is the wood stuck near the end was actually burned, making extrusion of it impossible. What I ended up doing was soaking the nozzle in water for a while so removing the wood was a breeze. On the other parts of the hot end, a small drill bit spun by hand did the job very well.
     
    #19 Lord_Surl, Aug 29, 2015
  20. Frankn

    Frankn Member

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2015
    Messages:
    261
    Likes Received:
    22
    Glad it turned out OK for you. Frank thumb up 700 copy.jpg
     
    #20 Frankn, Aug 29, 2015

Share This Page