Black Nozzle on Ultimaker 2

[sirpasha 0]

Hello All,

Decided to purchase an Ultimaker 2 a couple of months ago, and for the past few week I've been printing with relative ease. My PLA of choice has been the vast and exceptional offering(s) from ColorFabb.

My experimental side wanted to print in woodfill (http://colorfabb.com/woodfill-fine), so I tried my hand at it last night and didn't expect to have my first issue.

My nozzle is completely black and clogged completely and I don't know how to proceed. Have you ruined the nozzle and doesit need to be completely changed? I'm new to the 3D printing world so any advice and help would be much obliged!

Please take a look at the following two pictures...

http://imgur.com/a/41bmU

 

[IRobertI 520]

Don't worry about the outside of the nozzle. Most nozzles get dirty and blackish eventually due to plastic burning onto it. It's just a cosmetic issue.

If you get a bunch of burnt plastic in the nozzle it can be a problem as it will be clogged. People have had luck burning the crud out of the nozzle using a flame and then mechanically picking out the obstruction. Small drill bits carefully, slowly and gently twisted by hand to drill out the crap from the back could work well. You need to be very careful though so that you do not damage the exit of the nozzle as brass is quite soft.

For smaller blockages the "Atomic" works quite well: http://support.3dverkstan.se/article/10-the

With woodfill you have to be very careful to not let the nozzle sit around hot for long periods of time as the plastic will degrade in the nozzle and cause a clog like you're experiencing here. There should be more information about that on Colorfabb's page.

 

[pm_dude 27]

if you want to keep the outside of the nozzle clean you can use a brass wire brush but like Robert said, it's not really needed. Just dont leave it overly dirty otherwise you could end up leaking burned filaments on your prints.

 

[eldrick 65]

One step missing from IRobertI's description is that to use a flame to burn out the crud, you first have to Remove the nozzle from the machine...

But first, try the "atomic" or "cold-pull" method a few times.

 

[randyinla 14]

I have a Dremel close by and will run it at its lowest speed with a wire brush to give the outside a clean, shiny appearance from time to time. I've had it so blackened at times that tiny bits fall off and into my print. Be careful not to run it around the bottom, flat part where the hole is because you can reshape it by accident. I did that and was printing out tiny troughs instead of flat lines. Was horrible! Pulled a flat file across the bottom a few times as a last ditch effort before having to buy a new nozzle and it worked a treat! I am back to perfectly flat lines of filament again :wink: