Comment on How can I get the clogged filament out of this heatblock?
Oxidant6283@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
I use a heat gun to get the filament just soft enough , then use tweezers to pull off big chunks. A vice helps here, you can clamp the heat block while you’re heating, then use pliers or a wrench to unscrew the heatbreak and the nozzle. Once the parts are separated, you can drop the parts in a glass jar of acetone, and that will break down the filament so you can get the rest off with a brass wire brush. Just don’t dunk the thermal sensor or heater element in the acetone. The metal parts will be fine, but the insulation on the wires could be damaged depending on composition. I’ve saved and rebuilt several hotends this way - it’s great to not have to be ordering hotend parts all the time. 😁
Interstellar_1@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
I don’t think I have acetone, but if I try other things and they don’t work then I’ll try this.
Oxidant6283@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
It’s readily available as regular old nail polish remover
morbidcactus@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
What type of filament? Acetone doesn’t do much to things like pla or petg, stuff that works aren’t things you generally want around the house, industrial solvents and stuff.
Cold pull as others recommended, nozzles are consumables, def should keep some around. Cleaning filament works pretty well in my experience if you have a partial clog. Have had some success soaking partially clogged nozzles in acetone (not the best but it’s something with long enough residence times), but that won’t get you up and running today.
Oxidant6283@lemmy.ml 5 days ago
It definitely works on PETG, PLA and most other plastics. I use it on some of my prints that need to be watertight. It leaks through the tiny cracks and seals them. Have you actually used acetone on any of these filaments…? I use them regularly for this purpose and I can’t understand why you would say it “doesn’t do much”…?
morbidcactus@lemmy.ca 5 days ago
Softening and that, maybe? But it really depends on the filament brand too, as far as I’m aware, acetone doesn’t readily dissolve in acetone which is what’s meant by not doing much
Interstellar_1@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Yep, I do have a sock, but one time the filament ended up just building up inside the sock, so it hasn’t been too helpful lol
morbidcactus@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Mmmm, yeah that sucks, that first block I mentioned was an older style that wasn’t fixed in place and I must have twisted it accidentally after a nozzle change, super slow leak just enveloped the thing, didn’t help there either!