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How do I clean the hot-end?

Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2014 1:09 am
by Cale
Today I printed a gear for a cube gear I'm printing.I left the print for awhile thinking it was good.When I got back I saw the hot-end was stuck to the print ,mid-print, and couldn't move.After I stopped it I got the hot-end off the the print and decided to clean the hot-end.My dad and I tried to get it off but,it was stuck VERY well.How should I clean the hot-end without breaking it ,and keep it on loose enough so I can easily maintain it? :?:

Re: How do I clean the hot-end?

Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2014 10:29 am
by teoman
You could heat it back up, it should let go of blob that it is holding on to.
Removing the nozzle and putting it in an oven is done by some to get the pla or abs to ooze out.
Putting the nozzle in acetone would dissolve the ABS.

IF the nozzle is badly clogged you can insert a micro drill bit inside to clean it.

That is all i can think of at the moment.

Re: How do I clean the hot-end?

Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 12:44 am
by Cale
Sorry it's been a few days , I've been busy.I just want to say thanks to Teoman for helping me solve this problem.I haven't used it yet,but I now know what to do for cleaning the hot-end.

Cale

Re: How do I clean the hot-end?

Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 10:13 pm
by 626Pilot
If my nozzle has junk in it, I heat the printer up to temperature, remove it, then blowtorch it. It works pretty well. Whatever's in there is reduced to vapor in one or two minutes.

Also tried torching a heater block from an E3D hot end. That's not as good as an idea. Nozzles are brass and can withstand a thousand degrees for a couple minutes without deforming, but aluminum heater blocks can be ruined easily by doing so.

Re: How do I clean the hot-end?

Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 12:40 am
by Jimustanguitar
I had a failed print once (bad gcode) where the effector stopped moving, but the extruder kept feeding. An ABS blob had completely encapsulated the brass nozzle. I let it cool, and when I pulled the nozzle out of the hardened blob of ABS, it took all of the gunk with it and it looked shiny and new.

I'd advise against drilling the nozzle orifice, unless you're a machinist and actually have tiny gauged bits to use and can put it in a fixture and drill it true and plumb... I don't have those tools at my disposal, so I've used welding tip cleaning wire and guitar strings in an effort to push out a clog rather than cutting it out.

Re: How do I clean the hot-end?

Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 1:16 am
by 626Pilot
I had a clog a few weeks ago that couldn't be burned out, so I took one strand out of a stranded wire. I was able to knock the crud out with ease.

Re: How do I clean the hot-end?

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 11:43 pm
by PrintableStudios
With previous hotends, I picked up some blood sugar testing needles to clear the clogs in a .2 and .4 mm nozzle. I'm going to need to pickup a larger gauge for the .5 mm nozzle on my shiny new V2, but I have found them quite effective.