Clogged nozzle on brand new Ultimaker 2 - now stuck bowden tube

[troed 0]

Hi all,

Yesterday I received my Ultimaker 2 and today, after some outside-of-the-manual investigation needed to correctly level the print bed, I tried to make my first print.

At first try (following the wizard) nothing was extruded from the nozzle at all after having loaded the filament. The feeder was ticking constantly but even with a slight manual push nothing appeared when the guide said I should wait for it to do. I switched the printer off/on and re-did everything in the wizard and this time blue plastic (from the factory test print) was extruded followed by the clear PLA I used (what came with the Ultimaker).

However, it didn't manage to print. The plastic crept/curled up the side of the nozzle instead of flowing straight down. After having tried adding glue (hey, it's my first 3D printer - I followed the manual) I googled and the symptoms are those of a clogged nozzle.

At this time I went back to the manual which suggested to clear the blockage by printing at 260 degrees for 10 minutes. And indeed - in the beginning it seems the plastic flowed a lot better and I had my hopes up this would work.

Then suddenly nothing flowed at all.

After having aborted that print a few minutes in and switching back to regular temperatures nothing was extruded, at all. Again turning to google (and some links to this forum) it would seem the PLA has expanded due to heat and is now completely clogged up. Additionally, the bowden tube is also stuck - after removing the horseshoe and pushing down on the white plastic ring I can move it a millimeter or two up and down at max.

I bought the Ultimaker 2 because I didn't want to having to constantly rebuild my printer - but it seems as if the situation I'm requires me to completely disassemble the print head the first thing I do. Before I've even been able to lay down the first layer of a print.

Please direct me to a as noob-friendly as possible guide to what I need to do now. I've been unable to find something that makes me confident that I'm doing the right thing - partly because of lack of pictures and terminology that I haven't had the chance to learn yet.

Thanks in advance. So far I'm less than happy with my purchase :/

 

[jcoutts 5]

Hey,

First your Bowden Tube is probably stuck because the expanded plastic is stuck in the teflon piece, If you heat the nozzle up to 220/260, you should be able to pull the tube up.

Go to maintanence - advanced - and heat up nozzle

Second, If your plastic is clogged, before taking it apart, I would try the atomic method. Just google atomic method ultimaker.

Hope that helps a bit

 

[troed 0]

Hey,

First your Bowden Tube is probably stuck because the expanded plastic is stuck in the teflon piece, If you heat the nozzle up to 220/260, you should be able to pull the tube up.

Go to maintanence - advanced - and heat up nozzle

Second, If your plastic is clogged, before taking it apart, I would try the atomic method. Just google atomic method ultimaker.

Hope that helps a bit

Indeed it did! Heating up the nozzle made the bowden tube come out without problems. Next up the feeder had ground down the filament completely and I had to help by pulling manually to remove it.

I then did four atomic cleanings of the nozzle before I got the desired nice cone without contamination.

Many thanks for the tips - I'm now somewhat further to make my first print without problems.

(The issues I still have are better served in another thread)

/Troed

 

[pm_dude 27]

Hi,

Sorry to see you are having difficult time on your first try.

If you still have curling filament at the beginning of a print you sometime just need to pick the filament out of the way to make sure it doesnt stick to the side of the nozzle during.