Filment Globbing Around Nozzle

[redjr]

I recently replaced my stock Ender 3 Pro hotend with an all metal one. I'm noticing an anomaly that did not exist before and wondering what is possibly causing it. After about 20 minutes of printing I notice a glob of melted filament that gathers around the nozzle and ultimately will break loose, or parts of may lodge in my print. For the most part, they are just a nuisance. Once one breaks free another one will start to form and the cycle continues. The new hotend is using a metal nozzle, while my original nozzle was brass. I'd like to know what's likely causing this and correct it. See image of a typical glob - normally about the size of my pinky nail.

Edit: Using PLA 1.75 filment. 200 degrees and 60 degrees

[LePaul]

What material? Some stringy materials, like PETG, can be tough to dial in

Let's start with the material, is it properly dried? Never assume fresh from the vacuum bag is dry. Many vendors use a water line to cool the filament after extruding it.

Is the part cooling fan on this new setup hitting the nozzle, instead of below?

Finally, have you calibrated your esteps and flow rate?

[redjr]

Thanks - All good points. I do need to calibrate it. The fans and shroud have not changed position, and new hotend is the same size as the original, but maybe there something to fine tune.

[Lez0]

Just a though, is the new nozzle screwed in properly so there is no gaps?

[redjr]

After I thought this was fixed, I still had issues. I removed the hot end and the heater block and what a surprise! I cleaned it up a bit, but in the end I decided to replace my heater block, heating element, heat brake, thermistor and nozzle(I had several). I was able to salvage the heat-sink. When I originally upgrade to the MicroSwiss hotend, I had meticulously installed everything per the instructions. I guess not meticulously enough.

Question 1 - How do you determine that the heat brake and the nozzle are mated properly(tight enough), when you can't see inside the heat block?

Question 2 - Do you have to use the nozzle that comes with MSwiss kit? Or, will other nozzles work equally as well? I gotta believe the depth of the threads of the nozzle are standardized - at least for this type printer and hotend. Yes?

Question 3 - If so, what is the best type of nozzle (steel, brass, etc.) to use for general printing of PLA at 200 degrees? I don't need hi-temp printing currently.

Before 'fixing' my original MSwiss upgrade, while I have it somewhat dismantled, I plan on doing a couple other improvements, and still waiting for a few parts to arrive. I'll let you know how it goes.

All thoughts and ideas welcome.

Rick

[LePaul]

Most of your answers should be available from Micro Swiss, perhaps even their YouTube channel. Or others that have done step by step videos showing the install.

So 1 & 2 I would kick to MicroSwiss.

3 for PLA I would stick with brass. Typically steel nozzles are used for abrasive materials that would wear out the inner portion of a brass nozzle (brass is a much softer metal).

Now some nozzles come with various coatings that can help in a variety of ways. Some repel the PLA from sticking to the nozzle.

I had a MicroSwiss on a CR-10 for a bit and it was OK. I eventually replaced the entire hot end with a direct drive setup, which I prefer.