Need help with printing parts (total beginner)

Mostly Printed CNC - MPCNC Advice
21

I taped a sheet of sandpaper to the desk to smooth my cut glass edges.

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22

A couple suggestions:

Cleaning the Nozzle:
It’s very rare that a clogged nozzle cannot be cleaned. The (only) method that works for me though is the torch method. There are plenty of how-to videos on this, I suggest looking them up. I personally use this small torch:

torch
torch601×872 35.1 KB

Replacing the hot-end:
Most instructions on how to do this will not mention that any time you change something related to the heating mechanisms on your printer, you should run various calibrations (like PID tuning). It can make a difference.

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In the past when a nozzle got stuck and I couldn’t unblock it I would throw it away, until I discovered the torch method, for me it is a foolproof method.

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I just started using an old wood burning pen(like a soldering iron) that the tip broke off of. I can hold it in a clamp an lay a nozzle on it and it clears all blockage.

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I tried to clean a nozzle with a torch. I was holding it in some pliers, and I think they were sinking too much heat, because it just burnt the filament. Then I put the nozzle on a nut, on the conrete and hit it for just a few seconds, and the thing got way hot, the nozzle turned red, and it was clean as a whistle. I didn’t have any spares, so I put it back in. It printed fine. But it got clogged again soon. I use some cleaner filament and the cold pull method now, and it’s a pain too, but at least I can leave the nozzle in place.

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I tried using nozzle cleaning filament for the first time this week. No instructions. Just went for it and pushed about 300 mm through the nozzle. I did not do a pull method to make sure it was all clean after that. Bad idea. Switched back to PLA and got the worst jam I have had in a while. The “throat” piece of the E3D V6 was packed full. I had to dismantle the hot end completely and use a lighter to heat it then jam a metal rod through it to clean it. When those guys leave those tiny flags on your lawn to advertise sprinkler blow outs etc. the metal post on that flag is like 1.7 mm diameter. Perfect ram rod if you sand the end smooth.

I ended up throwing the nozzle away.

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That’s a good tip (the flag thing).

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