=> Is there any Solvent to clean my nozzle? I tried Acetone but it is not solving the PLA (seems OK for ABS but not for PLA)
=> Is there any ‘Cleaning kit’ that can be bought? (small brushes or drills that don’t dammage the nozzle)
I can heat the nozzle while dismantled from the PEEK, but it’s hard to clean the inside of the nozzle and the small opening of the nozzle (0.35mm?) is still blocked.
Any suggestion how to clean it?
P.S. : Is there any ‘preventive cleaning’ to be done after each XX hours of running?
[quote=“PHD3D”]My nozzle got blocked with black PLA
=> Is there any Solvent to clean my nozzle? I tried Acetone but it is not solving the PLA (seems OK for ABS but not for PLA)
=> Is there any ‘Cleaning kit’ that can be bought? (small brushes or drills that don’t dammage the nozzle)
Any suggestion how to clean it?
Thanks for feedback.[/quote]
No realy solvent for PLA
I Always unclogged the nozzle with a high temperature for PLA
go to 230°C er more and push by hand te filament through the extruder.
Look up “Atomic Method” on Google. It does work wonders if the nozzle is only partially clogged. It might work if it is fully clogged, but results may vary.
As you stated “black” PLA may I ask if you are referring to PLA from Velleman?
I ask because that stuff gives me a headache. It cloggs my nozzle everytime I use it, even at extremely low temperatures and I can always pull burned residue out of the nozzle afterwards. Other colors appear to be fine (I’m at close to 2kg white now with no problems), but the black one is just vile.
[quote=“PHD3D”] Is there any Solvent to clean my nozzle? [/quote]NaOH (= lye, caustic soda) can “dissolve” the PLA (not really dissolve but turning it into soft tiny filaments) but it can burn your hands and chances are that you’ve got burnt PLA in the nozzle that nothing will dissolve.
If you can remove the nozzle tip you can use a blow torch to reduce the burned PLA to ashes.
To clean the small opening you can use a guitar string or a specially made device like this :
To clean the big opening I’m using a hex wrench when the nozzle is hot or a drill bit (carefully) when it’s cold.
[quote=“PHD3D”]My nozzle got blocked with black PLA
=> Is there any Solvent to clean my nozzle? I tried Acetone but it is not solving the PLA (seems OK for ABS but not for PLA)
=> Is there any ‘Cleaning kit’ that can be bought? (small brushes or drills that don’t dammage the nozzle)
I can heat the nozzle while dismantled from the PEEK, but it’s hard to clean the inside of the nozzle and the small opening of the nozzle (0.35mm?) is still blocked.
Any suggestion how to clean it?
P.S. : Is there any ‘preventive cleaning’ to be done after each XX hours of running?[/quote]
Not really. You can find “cleaning filament” but it’s not very effective and it won’t work with the Vertex (too soft).
The best thing is to avoid too high temperatures (max 190° for PLA and 220° for ABS) and heating the extruder without extruding.
This was indeed the first time I did not use filament from Velleman, I got it as a present from a friend who ordered it on the internet. But it was also the first time I did not print in white.
I have the impression that my temp. Setting is rather high (210°C)
Is there some rule of experience that darker colors need higher or lower temp. settings than white?
If I lower my temp. settings, how do I know it when it is too low? (What will then be the problem?)
If you don’t want to use the chemistry, the only way remains the mechanical treatment.
For the filament hole I use a drill with 1.8mm diameter, combined with a handle for manual drilling. This will avoid some damage of the nozzle due to high speed drilling.
For the nozzle tip itself I use a small drill like shown above, however, these parts are highly sensitive. I already broke one within the nozzle, which is now waisted.
As long as the filament is still flexible (when hot) a thin steel wire will do the job too.
Hi all,
I use Velleman PLA with about 190°C or a little higher if I need rapid flow of material.
NuNus filament is the worst filament I got and would never ever buy it again.
All stuck filament was caused by Nunus.
I was using PVA (different company) which blocked my nozzle and I could not free it.
So I heated up the nozzle with a torch and blew out the filament with high pressure.
This was done a few times until no filament was coming out anymore
