Hello!
When printing the other day my vertex stopped feeding filament to the extruder. Figured it was blocked and tried to unblock it by turning on the extruder and to extrude manually, no success.
I removed the filament and made a strange discovery. It was covered in some brown, bad smelling “clay/grease”. The grease is soft in room temperature, like some sort of sticky wax.
After further inspection I noticed the the whole extruder including the plastic isolator is covered in it.
As you can see in the pictures the isolator is full with it and the filament is completely stuck in there, doubt i can rescue it? Last resort would be to drill it but I’m afraid I’d risk getting particles/dirt in the extruder afterwards.
I have ONLY used genuine velleman filament (still have the boxes if anyone would be interested in batch no. etc) and the last two spools have been white so it cant be a mix of old filament colors (plus its soft in room temp).
My guess its either the PTFE tube melted (but it shouldn’t be able to?) or some sort of residue/contamination in the filament?
My extruder is also clogged with this.
I’ve tried heating it up to 250 degrees and gently pushing some filament through but its completely blocked.
I’ve been thinking about burning it out of the nozzle head and removing any leftovers with high pressured air, but thought i check with you guys first.
Any ideas how I should go about this?
Regards
Johan
[quote=“johanmoberg”]Hello!
When printing the other day my vertex stopped feeding filament to the extruder. Figured it was blocked and tried to unblock it by turning on the extruder and to extrude manually, no success.
I removed the filament and made a strange discovery. It was covered in some brown, bad smelling “clay/grease”. The grease is soft in room temperature, like some sort of sticky wax.
After further inspection I noticed the the whole extruder including the plastic isolator is covered in it.
As you can see in the pictures the isolator is full with it and the filament is completely stuck in there, doubt i can rescue it? Last resort would be to drill it but I’m afraid I’d risk getting particles/dirt in the extruder afterwards.
I have ONLY used genuine velleman filament (still have the boxes if anyone would be interested in batch no. etc) and the last two spools have been white so it cant be a mix of old filament colors (plus its soft in room temp).
My guess its either the PTFE tube melted (but it shouldn’t be able to?) or some sort of residue/contamination in the filament?
My extruder is also clogged with this.
I’ve tried heating it up to 250 degrees and gently pushing some filament through but its completely blocked.
I’ve been thinking about burning it out of the nozzle head and removing any leftovers with high pressured air, but thought i check with you guys first.
Any ideas how I should go about this?
Regards
Johan[/quote]
Did you use ABS filament?
It looks like you have mineral oil residues sticking inside your hoted.
This can happen if you print ABS at too high temp, which can cause the filament to degrade.
[quote=“ichbinsnur”]
Did you use ABS filament?
It looks like you have mineral oil residues sticking inside your hoted.
This can happen if you print ABS at too high temp, which can cause the filament to degrade.[/quote]
Nope, never printed ABS, only PLA and at the set temp 210 degrees.
But yes, it feels like some kind of oil residue.
That is really strange.
Its not the PTFE tube because it has a different color when it melts. Are you sure there is nothing else that could results in this.
[quote=“VEL337”]That is really strange.
Its not the PTFE tube because it has a different color when it melts. Are you sure there is nothing else that could results in this.[/quote]
Can’t think of anything, Im using all factory settings (except added 0.1 mm layer height), no mods to the printer, only one kind of filament (PLA white velleman) and only one extruder.
I bought the two white spools at the same time, maybe that batch contains some contamination which doesn’t case a problem if you swap once and a while but since I’ve printed two complete spools in a row it adds up?
But everything else looks intact, the isolator is not deformed/melted in anyway so i don’t see where the grease would come from if not from the filament.
Is the PEEK part damaged? If it is, maybe your fan turned off during the last print? Wiring shaken loose somewhere perhaps?
What is the PEEK part? Nothing appears damage, when I heated up the nozzle to remove the filament the fan started and everything works as usual.
I don’t believe I have done anything to cause this problem but I need my printer up and running. If not covered by warranty is it possible to buy replacements for just these two parts at a reasonable price velleman?
What is the PEEK part? [/quote]The plastic part you are holding in your hand - it’s meant to be resistant up to 320C. I suspect replacing the nozzle plus the PEEK isolator if it’s damaged would cost very little. But I think you may have a problem finding a replacement nozzle - I believe end of March is the next consignment to the suppliers.
What is the PEEK part? [/quote]The plastic part you are holding in your hand - it’s meant to be resistant up to 320C. I suspect replacing the nozzle plus the PEEK isolator if it’s damaged would cost very little. But I think you may have a problem finding a replacement nozzle - I believe end of March is the next consignment to the suppliers.[/quote]
Aha no it hasn’t melted or anything, but its filled with the disgusting clay and the pla is stuck in it. Hmm okay that’s not good. Thanks for the help
Btw the “clay” smells like pla when i get it on my hands, which strengthens my believes that its some sort of rest product from the velleman pla. Perhaps some contamination in a specific batch.
Just get that PEEK part replaced - you’ll probably be able to clear the nozzle by pumping through lots of PLA. Wouldn’t use the same one that gave the original problem, of course!
Just check also when you dismantle and reassemble it that your thermistor is exactly where it’s meant to be - if it comes out of the hole it can think it’s cooler than the head actually is, which leads to overheating the head.
Just get that PEEK part replaced - you’ll probably be able to clear the nozzle by pumping through lots of PLA. Wouldn’t use the same one that gave the original problem, of course!
Just check also when you dismantle and reassemble it that your thermistor is exactly where it’s meant to be - if it comes out of the hole it can think it’s cooler than the head actually is, which leads to overheating the head.[/quote]
Ok thanks, how would i go about ordering replacement parts? Cant find any at my vendor.
Not sure if i can clear the nozzle, tried burning and using compressed air to clear it, but its still blocked 
Cant figure out what tool i should use to clean it while not damaging it. Regarding the thermistor i’ve used a black marker to draw on the outside of the cable where the thermistor begins and ends so i can keep track of it. 
[quote=“johanmoberg”]Not sure if i can clear the nozzle, tried burning and using compressed air to clear it, but its still blocked 
Cant figure out what tool i should use to clean it while not damaging it. Regarding the thermistor i’ve used a black marker to draw on the outside of the cable where the thermistor begins and ends so i can keep track of it. :)[/quote] A new nozzle isn’t expensive - £3 here, the problem is finding someone who’s got them in stock at the moment. For the PEEK isolator I’d try asking Velleman to send you one. I don’t think you did anything wrong - you were using their filament and their printer, so I think you’re within your rights to ask them to send you a new one. You have to email them and quote this thread.
The other more drastic alternative, is to buy the kit for the 2nd head and just print with that. When the parts arrive for your other head you can fit them whenever you wish. I printed with my 2nd head for weeks after snapping the thermistor wire on my original head. At least this would get you printing again quickly.
[quote=“biscuitlad”][quote=“johanmoberg”]Not sure if i can clear the nozzle, tried burning and using compressed air to clear it, but its still blocked Cant figure out what tool i should use to clean it while not damaging it. Regarding the thermistor i’ve used a black marker to draw on the outside of the cable where the thermistor begins and ends so i can keep track of it. :)[/quote] A new nozzle isn’t expensive - £3 here, the problem is finding someone who’s got them in stock at the moment. For the PEEK isolator I’d try asking Velleman to send you one. I don’t think you did anything wrong - you were using their filament and their printer, so I think you’re within your rights to ask them to send you a new one. You have to email them and quote this thread.
The other more drastic alternative, is to buy the kit for the 2nd head and just print with that. When the parts arrive for your other head you can fit them whenever you wish. I printed with my 2nd head for weeks after snapping the thermistor wire on my original head. At least this would get you printing again quickly.[/quote]
Didn’t think they were that cheap! Probably gonna buy a few when they get back in stock 
That is a good idea, I’ve emailed the support now with a replacement request and will purchase the 2nd head kit meanwhile, who doesn’t want faster prints and the ability to print water solvable supports 
Thanks for your help!
[quote=“johanmoberg”]…will purchase the 2nd head kit meanwhile, who doesn’t want faster prints and the ability to print water solvable supports
Thanks for your help![/quote]Er, not sure we’ll be getting water soluble supports any time soon. So far, PVA hasn’t been successfully used with the Vertex - at least not by the guys who designed the printer! You won’t get faster prints either. All a second head gives you at present is the ability to print a few (very carefully designed) objects with two colours. But I still think it’s worth the money, for the convenience of switching between filaments. For example, I like to have one head hooked up to experimental filaments, while the other has standard PLA if I need to do a functional print for someone / something. In between times I get to experiment with the other head!
Cant figure out what tool i should use to clean it while not damaging it. Regarding the thermistor i’ve used a black marker to draw on the outside of the cable where the thermistor begins and ends so i can keep track of it. :)[/quote] A new nozzle isn’t expensive - £3 here, the problem is finding someone who’s got them in stock at the moment. For the PEEK isolator I’d try asking Velleman to send you one. I don’t think you did anything wrong - you were using their filament and their printer, so I think you’re within your rights to ask them to send you a new one. You have to email them and quote this thread.
