I just suffered my first clogged nozzle that I was unable to free up I had no choice but to strip down the print head and put in a new hot end. Took me about 20-30 minutes to make sure it was done without losing screws or damage to other components.
So, question is, can the old one be salvaged and whatās the best way to achieve this?
Next question, having put in a new hot end, is there anything else I should ensure was correct other than print bed recalibration? I ask if the hot end looks set correctly, slightly lower than the black sides and flush with the inside housing.
Finally I unload filament after using it and thought this would suffice. Apparently it doesnāt therefore I have some filament cleaner and ask should I use this every time I change my filament or shut down for the night?
Unless you had leakage and globs of filament that you had to clean out Iām not sure how it took 20-30 minutes. Sounds like you were taking apart more than you needed to. Should take 5 minutes. There is one set screw inside the door that you loosen and then the unit should just drop out.
Some people find it easier to unplug it if you take off the side panel, but itās not necessary.
You may need to adjust the sensor after changing the hot end, but Iāve found usually itās the same. Before you pull out the old one, just use a credit card to check the distance and then see if itās the same when you put it back.
Thereās no need to unload the filament after use. Iāve found itās better to leave it in. Just snip it off
I wouldnāt use filament cleaner any more than absolutely necessary. Nozzles are soft brass and more likely to do damage and wear them out than fix them. Most clogs turning up the temp clears. (except for those clogs where the temp was too hot and the filament carbonized)
Yes I did as it was a first time for me and the plug inside that the hot end connects too, was a pain the access. As a result I took the long way around by taking off the print module and doing it that way. We live and learn, me more so that others
I noticed that something was wrong, 6 hours into an 11 hour print when I saw the nozzle was not pushing filament out and it was a about 4 mm higher than the print yet still doing its thing like nothing was wrong. I can only guess that in the 2 hours or so that the filament wasnāt coming through it probably jammed up the nozzle completely. A pity Snapmaker donāt put in nozzle wire to clear nozzles as standard. I had nothing suitable here to try that.
As for adjusting the sensor, not heard or read about that. Will look it up to see. I did a full recalibration with the supplied card and reset the nozzle so it was at the correct height. Iāll try a quick print shortly to test if things are fine again.
I believe in you. Iāve never had to throw away a nozzle due to a clog. A pin vise drill with a small bit is pretty cheap and guaranteed.
Also, hard to argue with the efficiency of soaking it in a solvent that dissolves whatever material you were using. I used to use dichloromethane for a variety of things but thatās not a trivial chemical to work with - you must understand the SDS and proper safe handling procedures. It will dissolve nitrile gloves quickly so I use butyl rubber gloves. Acetone MAY be able to soften it enough to loosen it up.
Usually the clog is in the nozzle. Nozzles are cheap. For me not worth the time to deal with.
The ptfe tube in the heat break can deform and give problems. While you can replace that too, by that time you usually might as well just replace the whole hot end. They really arenāt that expensive either.
Yeah Iām beginning to think is it worth the expense getting solvent to free up the nozzle as I bought 2 hot ends recently so have only used the spare that came with the machine. They are Ā£6.99 each so fairly reasonably priced. Iāll still try and salvage the existing one as I may be lucky, if not then itās no great loss.
Try solvents other than dcm first. Thereās lots of more common ones that will likely do what you want. Iād have to do more googling but initially acetone may work. THF probably will too. MEK and ethyl acetate also probably will. All of those are safer than dcm which is so special it gets its own chapter in OSHA regulations.
Yes, its always a little frustrating to lose a print half way throughā¦ but this should be an easy fix.
Here are a couple of steps to try to clear out the clog (first Without removing anything from the printer).
Go to the settings (Swipe Right) and go to Nozzle (bottom of screen)
adjust the temperature to the highest your filament is rated for (if its PLA for example you can go to 220C)
as the temperature is heating (usually around 200C) your can open the filament loading door and simply push or pull the filament with your fingers from the top of the loading hole.
at the specific temperature it will just push through or pull out.
I like to get a feel of the pressure that is necessary to push the filament through. This is because its a good indication of how much work the Snapmaker has to do to feed the filament. If its hard to push through at a specific temperature (for example 200C) the push the temperature up 10C until it becomes relatively easy to push through. (I find that I print at the high end of the filament temperatures with my Snapmaker 2.0 A350)
You can also use the Load Button, and it will automatically push the filament through. If you hear āClickingā then the filament is jammed and not pushing through (usually because its too cold)
#2 Another simple trick is to use a .04mm Acupuncture needle to push up through the nozzle and use it as a pipe cleanerā¦ if you have anything jammed in the print head it will be pushed up. (be careful if the print head is at 200C it will be HOT)
#3 if you have printed with another filament of another type (for example TPU) that prints at higher temperatures you must be sure you run the new filament at that higher temperature FIRST when loading and clear out the old filament.
When all else fails, then you can remove the print nozzle from the printer simply with the small allen key in the front of the door and pull gently down. You should see the connector wire pull down as well and disconnect it.
Then you can disassemble the three parts of the āhot endā:
the Nozzle
Heating element
Feeder tube (AKA heat break)
I have taken the nozzle and put a blow torch to it to burn out all the old filament. the feeder tube has a tiny plastic part inside it on the Snapmaker brand hot end (dont lose it).
You can then use the acupuncture needle to clean the nozzle and a small drill bit to clean the feeder tube. (Note: I ordered extra small drill bits for a hand drill to put axles in my 3d parts)
I had no choice but to strip down the print head and put in a new hot end. Took me about 20-30 minutes to make sure it was done without losing screws or damage to other components.
