Has anyone figured out a way to automatically clean the nozzle before the start of the print. That is when its waiting in the corner while the bed is heating up. It would be nice if something can clean off the filament after the nozzle gets primed before printing.
You mean the outer side of the nozzle on inner?
If the outer I read that Snap Maker recommend a sponge however I would think one of the kitchen scourer sponges would do that job nicely.
If the inner of the nozzle, I bought filament cleaner from Amazon to periodically do that. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FQ46L1L/
Hope the above helps.
Isn’t that what a skirt is for to clear out any junk on and around the nozzle?
1 Like
Amongst other things, yes a skirt helps with priming.
1 Like
I use a rag to wipe off any residue as it heats up. Usually as it moves to the center it will wipe off anything more against the edge of print sheet. Occasionally there will be a ‘tail’ or a little string that gets dragged past. I just brush that away with my hand. Another reason why to always watch the start of a print. And as has been said the skirt helps with it too, and gives the time to get rid of any strings. Easy and quick to cancel and start over at this point if there’s too much gunk. Minimal wait for nozzle and bed to reach temps again.
-S
That is exactly what I’m talking about. Problem is that I want to be able to start the print without being there. Sometimes, one of the long spaghetti’s sneaks into the bottom of the print. Maybe a small low profile sponge at the edge of the board might do the trick.
I use a small brass tootbrush like thing to clean the nozzle if junk sticks to it:
You could mount one to the buildplate or some fixed location and have your printhead move through it after the purge and before the actual print. You can’t have it prime the nozzle in it or it will create a mess. but if you put it in between the path after the priming and before the actual print you should be fine.
Something like this: Mark Rehorst's Tech Topics: Attempting to Automatically Clean a 3D Printer Nozzle Using a Wire Brush (but with the above type of brush it should work better)
Might need a change of start code to adapt the path. I once thought about doing this myself but in reality I’m always there for the first 2-3 layers, so it’s not a real issue for me personally and I’ve already done more than enough upgrades to my machine already 
Occasionally I do want to use it for something else than making upgrades for itself 
Another trick I’ve seen is to always print a small line across the border of your printplate so that if something does get stuck, it’s likely to end up there and not in the real print area:
Thanks! I really like this idea of using the Gcode script. I find it takes so long to heat the bed almost like waiting for paint to dry. I usually run luban over wifi in a different room and wait till the bed comes close to the initial temperature and then go check on the start of the print.