Before assuming the nozzle is clogged, make sure to reduce the extruder and bed temperature, make sure the unit is operating in the 16-30°C temperature range and that the filament and the feeder are actually working as intended. Read more on the 3D Printing troubleshooting section of the Knowledgebase.

Clean the nozzle

  1. From “jog” section in FABUI heat the nozzle to the melting material temperature (195-200 for PLA , 225 for ABS etc).
  2. Set feed rate for extrusion at 150 mm/min and extrude 10 mm of filament.
  3. Continue extruding until the material is clean and flows good.
  4. If you see sume burned material like ash, try this method.

Atomic Method

Atomic method is a good procedure for removing dust or burnt debris clogging the nozzle: it exploits the properties of thermoplastic polymers who become sticky and hold the debris when they reach glass transition temperature.

  1. From the jog menu in the FABUI heat up the nozzle to material melting temperature (ie. 195 for PLA, 225 for ABS, etc…).
  2. Pull out the bowden from the head by pressing the push-fit, cut the excess filament flush with the PTFE tube.
    removing_bowden.jpg

  3. Extrude 200 mm of filament and cut it out, take it and push it inside the head (it could be difficult to center the hole without the bowden).

    extruding_hand.jpg

  4. Try to extrude a bit of material by gently pushing the filament down and then leave the filament there, sticking out from the head.

    cleaning.jpg

  5. Decrease the temperature to material glass transition ones (60-65°C for PLA and 110-120° for ABS).
  6. Wait for the temperature to decrease and pull out the material very slowly (be careful not to break it inside the extruder), if you can’t pull out the material try to increase the temperature of a few degrees. When the material comes out you should see some burnt material on the tip.burnt.jpg

  7. Repeat the whole procedure until you see clean filament.

    cleaned_nozzle.jpg