Repair or replace clogged nozzle?

Share your hardware improvements for your HIC i3, the good and the bad!
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NoViS1
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Repair or replace clogged nozzle?

Post by NoViS1 »

Got a used 3D printer from a friend, have yet to get it to work well, usually it doesn't work at all. Tried switching to fresher filament but it clogged my "nozzle". I can remove the heating element and thermoresister but the nozzle/heating block/threaded guide tube are inseparable (I've stripped the tube and nozzle a bit trying to separate them. Tried heating with a lighter and got some of the black filament to melt and drip out. Soaked overnight in acetone and when I reattached and heated to 240C a little more black filament came through nozzle and some out back of tube. Tried printing but only getting small amounts of very sporadic filament flowing through, I'm not sure these parts are salvageable. Any ideas on how I could clean them? I'm very new to 3D printing and very unsure of the nomenclature, where could I find replacement parts for these (Hictop 3DP12 I think). Maybe this would be a good chance to install a double or triple extruder?

On a separate note I tried upgrading Marlin, but had a problem with the Z axis. It sounded horrible, I got the impression that a software error had the limit switches trying to stop every z motion (no problems with X and Y). Was upgraded with magnetic limit switch on Z so maybe I need some special code for that? Still using the stock Marlin from Hictop website....

Thanks for any help!
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Roberts_Clif
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Re: Repair or replace clogged nozzle?

Post by Roberts_Clif »

You have come to the right 3D Printer Forum, as we have been helping all Hictop users get there 3D Printers working like a Swiss clock.
Sorry a perfectly tuned 3D Printer capable of 3D Printing models perfectly that some of the more expensive 3D Printer users cannot 3D Print.

Now this sounds exactly like what happened when I purchased my 1st used Hictop 3DP11 3D Printer
I found that the extruder stepper Motor was turning the wrong direction.

Though Looking at your Photo's it appears you have a Clogged 3D Printer M6*26mm Nozzle Throat.
My purchases at first were need only though found could save money purchasing in lots with quantity discount, at single price get quantity of 10.

In this case the cost of my time far exceeds the cost of the parts + time needed to make the repair.

If you read the articles posted in the Hictop RepRap Prusa i3 area of this forum you will find a lot of great information.

My modified 3DP11 and 3DP12 shown in the photo below.
Red is 3DP11 (12volt) Blue is 3DP12 (24volt) sharing a single enclosure
The Twins 2018-3.JPG
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Roberts_Clif
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Re: Repair or replace clogged nozzle?

Post by Roberts_Clif »

I have said this before though it deserves to be repeated.

When flashing firmware for any 3D Printer make sure you have a backup for the unit being flashed.

HICTOP firmware backups are located here Under Resources > Firmware then select your 3D Printer.
As companies do go out of business download your firmware and store in a safe place.
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Roberts_Clif
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Re: Repair or replace clogged nozzle?

Post by Roberts_Clif »

Noticed you are using multiple passes of Blue tape .

I have been using vinyl transfer paper tape, reason behind mentioning this is because it comes in many different widths.
T1.jpg
As you can see in this image one pass completely covers the Hot-Bed.
Forgive the blurry image taken during Print. You may ask why I was not printing in the Bed Surface below the Paper Tape.
Well the filament would not stick to the bed surface, ended up purchasing a different bed surface that it would stick on.
NoViS1
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Re: Repair or replace clogged nozzle?

Post by NoViS1 »

Roberts_Clif,

Not too worried about the tape issue at this point... My print quality is so poor that the surface isn't an issue at this point...

Any clues on settings for a magnetic z-stop settings in the config.h in Marlin? Like I said, I got everything else working, including reinstalling the Hictop factory image.

Thanks for the clue to the correct part names! I needed a little more than just the throat so I ordered this: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3297003 ... GHO1b&mp=1 Ebay wasn't significantly faster and Ali is cheaper! Will give me time to build the ikea table enclosure :)

Wish me luck!
Robert
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Roberts_Clif
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Re: Repair or replace clogged nozzle?

Post by Roberts_Clif »

Have never changed out the Hot-ends on my 3D Printers, though sure other have done more in this area than myself.
I find myself needing more Z-Axis height for upcoming projects. My next project will be to increase Z-Axis height to ~300mm.
Mostly updated my Hictops to look professional, and printed a MPCNC Router system for use with wood and aluminum.

After I finally got my Hictop 3DP11/12 Printers Printing I was completely satisfied with the results of their 3D Printing.
Well I complained posted images and everyone told me if they got results a good as my 3D Printers they would not complain.

When your E3D V6 Hotend Kit arrives myself and other forum users of 3dprintingforum will assist you in anyway we can.
We have more than enough combined knowledge to assist you in making your Hictop 3DP12 print to its maximum capacity.
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LePaul
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Re: Repair or replace clogged nozzle?

Post by LePaul »

Nozzles are so inexpensive, anytime I suspect a clog or partial clog...I swap it out

I then put it on a soldering stand (those claw arms? Name escapes me) and can heat the nozzle up either with the heat gun or soldering iron.

At work we have the industrial ovens, which are nice to bake out stuck material :)
NoViS1
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Re: Repair or replace clogged nozzle?

Post by NoViS1 »

Well I wish I had an industrial oven, how are you using the soldering iron to fix it LePaul?

Just got the new heat blocks which are pretty close, except on the old block there was a large hole for the thermosister and a small set screw on the adjacent side. The new one is puzzling me, I think the thermosister is supposed to go in the small hole and the big black thing is a set screw and I just need a different hex in order to be able to adjust it? I can't quite figure it out, they both look like dead end hole, I can kinda just let the thermosister sit in the smaller hole, but it will easily fall out and that would be bad... Help?

Thanks,
Robert
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Roberts_Clif
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Re: Repair or replace clogged nozzle?

Post by Roberts_Clif »

Loosen the hex screw, insert the thermister into smaller hole route the wires one each side of the set screw and snug set screw.

The thermister should be bottomed out in the small hole, while the set screw holds the thernister wires as to not allow the thernister movement.
NoViS1
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Re: Repair or replace clogged nozzle?

Post by NoViS1 »

Well thanks for the help! I'm now printing again. New throats were longer then the previous ones so I wedged a random part under the motor because the z limit didn't have enough range to compensate. Now I'm back to figuring out how to make a print work. My first layers don't stick well and my prints lift after about an hour, ruining anything but a tiny print. My skirt is ok except for very round corners and barely sticking ( hairspray seems to work a little better than glue sticks) but the first layer of my print inside the skirt is jagged lines instead of solid (extrusion too slow?) I think I've got to optimize everything but I don't know how to organize and where to begin. Is there a guide your guys could refer me to for an organized way too optimize printing? Do you always have to optimize everything for every spool, or every single time you change spools?

Thanks for the help, it's still an uphill battle with this thing, but at least I've won one battle...
Robert
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GrueMaster
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Re: Repair or replace clogged nozzle?

Post by GrueMaster »

That looks like a first layer height adjustment issue. The layer height test prints that I do prints a box in each corner, then fills it in with lines. If the print head is at the perfect height, the lines blend together and it ends up with the bottom as smooth as glass. With the head too high, I get lines similar to yours.
Adrian_S
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Re: Repair or replace clogged nozzle?

Post by Adrian_S »

I had this issue with my 3DP-11, the nozzle had some damage after being crashed into the perforated board supplied as the base for ABS, and I found the nozzle so tight in the aluminium block I was worried I was going to strip the threads. A bit of searching through Youtube clips came up with the suggestion of backing off the threaded tube first, which I was able to do after warming up the aluminium block with a hot air gun. This then released the pressure on the nozzle which unscrewed easily.

The advice came from viewing somebody's advice for how to put a new nozzle in the hot end: screw the nozzle in , back it off a turn, screw the threaded tube in until it contacts the nozzle, then nip the nozzle up tight against the threaded tube.

I know it's probably quicker to just buy a complete hot-end on ebay, but I don't like the idea of not being able to sort things out myself.

Hope this helps.
NoViS1
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Re: Repair or replace clogged nozzle?

Post by NoViS1 »

It does help. Turns out I'm actually much more naive than I thought. Turns out the problem was a lot to do with z not being close enough as pointed out (took me a while to get there though...) Now instead of a spacer and a rickshift print head I just added a z offset into the g code for the longer nozzle (3mm!) Next I figured out that my print head wasn't tight enough and molten globs were randomly oozing around, I think tightening while hot is working ok... Print I have going now is for the top hinges for the ikea lak enclosure... Looks like my bed isn't entirely level (should have been suspicious-er when one of my hot bed leveling wing nuts fell off). So at least one of the prints of going to be poor, but the magnetic hinges are passable... So, progress... Slowly...

Robert
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Roberts_Clif
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Re: Repair or replace clogged nozzle?

Post by Roberts_Clif »

I have my Bed leveling wingnuts down a little more than half way through there travel.
Not to tight and not so loose that the nuts fall off when in use. An I want to tell you they still fall off from time to time.
Maybe I should get something that will make it harder for the wingnut to turn, though it works.

Have had very little problem with oozing only a couple of time and it was because the throat became loose re tightening solved.

When upgrading Marlin firmware I have enabled " baby stepping " this allows me to adjust the Z-Axis height quickly at Start of Print.
I have also enabled " Park on Pause " this moves the head to the left back of the print on Park.
When doing a Manual Filament color change this keeps the nozzle from melting a hole in the model or oozing all over the model.
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