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I recently got my nozzle off the hot-end.It was very messy so I soaked it in Methylene Chloride to get the ABS out .After a few days I took it out of the MC,I got the ABS off the outside,but it was full on the inside.I'm thinking of getting a new nozzle.Right now I'm wondering how to keep the nozzle constantly clean.I'm also not sure on how to properly swap filament quickly.When I first swapped some filament it took FOREVER to get all the old filament out.I would appreciate any help you can give.

Cale

Check out "Generic Default"s posts. He is working on technology to keep it clean by using coatings.


I have not had to clean a nozzle yet, but some use ultra fine drill bits
Some others use a couple of seconds of blowtorching.

One interesting technique I would probably not have discovered on my own is, bringing nozzle up extrudin a few mm and quickly yanking out the filament. I believe the filament sticks to the contaminants inside the nozle and pulling the filament out extracts them.

Some one more knowledgeable will soon chime in.

Thanks Teoman for all the help.I will try some of your suggestions and see how well they work.I am also looking at "Generic Default"s' posts to find out about this.

Cale

Assuming you're not talking about cleaning out a jam, I rarely if ever clean my nozzle, or for that matter remove it, but using sections of nylon filament inserting and removing by hand when at temperature seems to have become quite popular to clean the inside of nozzles.

Some people use Guitar string to clean their nozzle. I'm not sure which one, as I usually just change outthe nozzle if something really bad happens like last time.

Hey Cale,

I'm not sure why you would want to completely clean out a nozzle, but for maintenance purposes only, removing it and soaking it in acetone for a few hours, or even better, a few minutes with a propane torch will clean it out really well.
I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've actually had a jam that required disassembly and cleaning.

But just for changing filaments, there's no need to clean out the nozzle.

To change filaments, here's the best way:
- Warm up the hotend to your ABS standby temperature, 180c.
- Once it reaches temperature, disengage the extruder arm, and pull the filament back up through the bowden tube.
- That should remove the filament, and most of the resiidual from the hotend, sometimes all the way to the tip.
- Then insert your new filament and feed it back down to the hotend,
- Take the hotend up to your printing temperature, and
- Extrude between 100-300 mm of material at around 100-200 mm per minute.

That's enough to completely remove the previous filament, and get you ready for your next print.