hi, i had a clog driving me crazy and i ende dup pulling what looked like white tube from inside the hot end / nozzle? PTFE Lined Stainless Steel Thermal Barrier Tube Hotend – 1.75mm – 3D Printer MK7 Is this what i would need to buy to replace? are there any videos or guides on how to change thanks!
Yes, that happened to mine as well. You need to replace it. Make sure to meatier it because there are 2 online. One with thicker walls and one with thinner wall. I think it’s 4mmx2mm and 3mmx2mm. You need the 3mm one. Also, I suggest some baby oil on the filament, it helps to keep it unclogged and running smooth. Use some sort of cloth to transfer the baby oil. One little bottle will last about 2 years. That gives you an idea of how little you need to use
Maker geek sells the tube and I think they will ship anywhere.
I could probably spare some as well should you need it. I’m likely never going to use it all!
Yup - this is the nasty truth of Flashforge and ctc makerbot clone machines. Even if you run at cooler temps in time you will need to replace these tubes. Its a drag for sure.
The baby oil will prolong the degradation of the tube.
This is true in part, so long as you use good quality PTFE tubing, your looking at 260C for maximum operating temp. So long as you never reach that or close, it should last but should be considered a consumable.
I’ve actually replaced my PTFE lined brass nozzle with a solid metal nozzle so I’ve got PTFE JUST in the barrier tube which operates much cooler anyway.
That’s the PTFE tube, 3mm OD 2mm ID that serves to prevent excess heat transfer too the filament that is in the barrier tube, stops it from melting too early into the nozzle.
Looks like that you might have been running your hot end too hot and it’s melted the PTFE tubing. PTFE has a melting point around 260C, depending on the grade.
You don’t want to buy the stainless steel barrier tube, mainly because it’s the wrong size/length. All you need really is the PTFE tube itself which is a nightmare to buy in the UK.
I managed to get myself some imported a while ago and it’s been fine for me ever since. I can’t remember the exact length but I think the ones used in the CTC extruders are 33mm long but I trimmed mine to 34mm so that there was a little bit of compression to stop the filament squeezing past the tube from the nozzle and jamming itself.
Keep me posted as about this one. I’ll buy some too.
I got rid of those tubes, but tried running it and kept getting clogs. I made the upgrade to better extruders, with metal & spring loaded filament guides, I haven’t had a clog since!
You need a PTEFE Tube with 3mm Outer diameter and 2mm inner diameter. About 3€ on Ebay/m
Hey, I’m also waiting for an order on PTFE tube from Ebay, just to have around as spare. I’ll only know for sure if it’s the right size once it arrives which should be still this week, but for reference, this one is the one I ordered:
PTFE Teflon 2 x 3mm
The inner diameter is 2mm (to handle the 1.75mm filament) and the outer diameter is 3mm, in order to fit the nozzle (I hope). Previously I got another PTFE tube which was for 1.75mm filament and it didn’t fit - inner diameter 2mm / outer diameter 4mm.
First listing which didn’t fit (chose 1.75mm) > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111513375750?\_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=410506092329&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Second listing, still to arrive, hoping it will fit > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151280480493?\_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
I’ll let you know how it goes once the later one arrives.
EDIT - I own a CTC-3D printer, in spite of having bought from an Ebay listing mentioning RepRap etc.
You can’t run without the PTFE tube. It acts as a guide down into the nozzle. If you run without it, the filament will just flex in the heat break, twist and jam.
The only way to get rid of it completely is to replace the heat break with to a version with a 2mm hole down the centre and nozzle with a 2mm hole and make sure when you assemble that you tighten the heat break and the nozzle very tightly against each other to stop molten filament from spilling out between them.
This happened on my E3D Clone and it was a sod to clean all the cold filament from the hot end.
Agreed, the entire extruder is built differently than the cheap plastic ones that are stock with CTC. The upgrade was about $190, and there was some retro fitting, but I have a reprap style of feeder now, no more tubing. Hasn’t clogged yet, and that’s with 350+ hrs on mine!
You might be able to find what you need here: http://www.makers3dzen.com/category-s/115.htm 26
I am no way affiliated with that company nor have I ever used them. I saw a posting they had in a google group.
To be fair, the default extruder with a fixed bearing and no pre-load is terrible. I bought a moulded abs spring loaded replacement pair of extruder on ebay, best upgrade so far. I plan on getting some stainless bar and making my own barrier tubes on my lathe so that I have an all metal hot end.
Hi, the new tube arrived yesterday and it fits nicely, matches all the comments and suggestions from the other posters in this thread > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151280480493?\_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
I also bought a few spare nozzles that seem to work with this PTFE Teflon 2 x 3mm:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321796094101?\_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
The shape of the new nozzles isn’t exactly the same as the originally installed ones - the new ones seem narrower/slightly longer - but the specs seem to match.
I will do some maintenance on the printer later this week and try out the new nozzles+PTFE tube and post the results here as well.
hi, i have ordered PTFE Teflon Tube ID 2mm OD 3mm for 1.75 Filament Makerbot Prusa RepRap 3D Pri... | eBay 11 PTFE Tube ID 2mm OD 3mm for 1.75 i measured the outer diameter an it was 3mm and the inner was 2 so hopully this works lol
If you have an address send me over a message on here and I’ll post you replacment ones free cut to size all you need to do is remove the nozzle and slide this tube in and out the nozzle back on
Hi Dan,
Is it possible to purchase some of this tube of you as I have 3 printers down at the moment and am waiting for some from china which seems to be taking forever or do you know of a supplier in the UK?
Thanks for your time
Tommy
Hi Dan
I have only just joined this forum and can not find the messaging part could you possibly send me an e-mail to tjdonnelly2012@gmail.com
thanks for your time
Tommy
wickwire great replies , i have got same tube but not fitted it all yet will do soon.
I wrecked one of my teflon tubes, too. I bought a 5-pack of replacement hot-end barrels off Amazon but they had 4mm OD PTFE linings in them, and a lot of stuff just printed too differently for my taste. (PLA and ABS seemed to print fine, but PETG-- my bread and butter material --didn’t print right anymore.) Either due to the different barrel design, or additional thickness of teflon…
I finally just bought a meter of 3mm OD PTFE tubing and waited like a bloody month for it to arrive from Malaysia via slowboat while I used the lining from the left extruder to get the right one back up and running. Taught me an important lesson though; stock up on replacements of anything that can take down your printer!!!
Also, stay away from PFA. It’s supposed to be rated for the same temps as Teflon and it was easier to source in the right diameter, but if you take it up to 240°C to print PETG or something…it’ll LIQUIFY. Not melt or deform, LIQUIFY. (Invented some new curses for that one, I did.)
at first CTC dual extruder 3d printers are not recommended to buy it have lot of problems.
I whole heartedly agree.
There are indeed differing levels of 3D printers on the market. when I bought my CTC, I could have had a cheaper option like a Prusa I3 which required much much more assembly, set up and calibration.
OR I could have gone for the much higher end of the spectrum and got a stratasys or something like that (enter very expensive brand name here)
I’d never used a 3D printer before let alone knew anything about them, operations or materials. I opted for the CTC because it was already assembled taking out a lot of the work.
Straight away though I had issues, exactly as you’ve mentioned. The nozzles would clog, the prints wouldn’t stick, I couldn’t get replacement Kapton for the bed cheap, the extruders would skip on the filament.
Over all, it was a terrible machine which I couldn’t trust to run more than an hour without messing up.
It was from that I persevered with it, I replaced the stock fixed extruders with spring loaded ones which has solved the skipping on the filament. I replaced the PTFE tube with that which is 1mm longer so that it’s compressed in the thermal barrier tube, no more clogging or jamming.
I’ve since made a TON of other modifications and the print quality is fantastic but is still only as good as the settings I use.
My point being, no matter what level of user you are, no matter what level of machine you have, it’s still developing and there’s still a lot to learn.
I’ve recently built a Rostock legacy and had masses of issues with it, so much so I started to design MY OWN printer to repurpose the parts I bought for the Rostock. But I persevered with it and now it’s at a point where I’m happy with it. Just further reiterates my point above.
… or maybe you’re just the kind of user who just wants a turnkey solution, something along the lines of a Nexpresso coffee machine.
If that’s the case, then perhaps it would be good to understand that 3D printing isn’t quite there yet, at that level.
While I disagree with your comments, I’ll back mine having owned one for a bit more than 6 months:
… and whatever else I’m not thinking of right now
You’ve made 6 comments, and they’re all about how bad your CTC dual extruder is. You understand that it’s an exact copy of the MakerBot Replicator 1 dual, right? Just like the FlashForge and a half dozen other inexpensive Chinese-made printers.
Jams happen, that’s just how it goes with FDM printers. Doesn’t matter if it’s CTC or MakerBot. But I’ve had my printer for eight months now, and it’s only jammed once. If you wanted a maintenance-free printing experience, you should’ve spent a couple tens of thousands of bucks more.
As for all the problems you’re having with your CTC, have you tried checking to see if the #P38K4C register is set to 1?
I think so too.
My CTC has MK7 extruders (which are common) and after over 500 printing hours I didn’t had any problems. I had to exchange the PTFE tube only once (I bought 1m for 3€, so I can change it as often as I want) and two times the nozzle was jammed/blocked, but this happend when I change my Filament from ABS to PLA or TPU or vice versa. CTC is a pretty good printer! An you get it these days for < 400€ with dual extruder
I am so surprised at how many replies this topic has gained. This topic was made in order to fix this part which i have now done with plenty of ptfe tubing I can use for the future.
hi
not sure where it can be correct please #P38K4C register is set to 1? and also how to correct Roll Inv. error with beep.?
The thermal barrier tube is held by a set screw. Unscrew that and take it out you’re done. Btw you shouldn’t mess with ptfe lined tubes…AT ALL… EVER. There’s no possible way to print reliably with this printer unless you get threaded thermal barrier tubes with no ptfe, and with thermal paste on the cold side of tyre tube ( not the side that screws into the heater block) , and thermal paste where the heatsinks touch the block. If you stick to ptfe lined barrels all I can say to that is good luck!
With all due respect, although its a “clone”, makerbot released drawings to their replicator 1 that were wrong on purpose so all the Chinese clone makers got suckered. Original makerbot had threaded thermal barriers and worked.
Does anyone know how long the tube is supposed to bet cut to?
34mm + or - 1mm
My new CTC (one week old) clogged last night. I just removed the tube completely. It still printed just fine. I had done the same thing to my Da Vinci 1.0 and it always seemed to work fine.
I guess I’m only risking clogs.
Don’t remove the tube. Buy a new one and put it in there if not you will have nothing but clogs. Also a but of baby oil helps a ton. I usually have it on a lint free cloth piece and when the filament is being pulled it passes by the baby oil just enough to keep things lubed. Not really needed for oily filaments like abs, but pet, pla, XT and so on do need it and makes it print very smooth. Haven’t had a clog since I started doing this baby oil trick.
More tube on the way. It’s out for now because it’s mangled.
