Zortrax Cold Pulling Nozzle Maintenance

[3DMuse]

Hey guys,

I’m on my second nozzle now after cycling through all of Zortrax’s filaments. Mixing polymers will cause the nozzle to block and some polymers do not dissolve in acetone. This is the same for other nozzles. However, systems such as the Ultimaker enable you to control the nozzle temperature to carry out a “cold pull” to clear the nozzle of residue, making it as good as new.

Has anyone tried this with the M200? I’m thinking of trying it during my next clog by timing the cool down phase after cancelling the nozzle heat up. Will share my experiences if I get to do it successfully.

[Lucika29]

That would be great indeed, I already dismissed my first nozzle after using only Zortrax filaments and it’s too bad. I wish I could have tried this first… Good luck and looking forward to your results!

[key23d]

Hi @yowhwui,

very good idea but maybe Zortrax can implement it in the firmware?

Interested to know your findings!

I have not noticed a nozzle blockage yet and have also used all of their filament. Total printing time +/- 350 hours.

(unfortunately I am not printing with the Zortrax at the moment because the extruder-cable is broken. A new one is on its way from Poland though)

Kind regards, Guy

[AneMotionHD]

Hi there. Since we work with both, Ultimaker and Zortrax, I see a small problem trying the Atomic method on the Zortrax since the Zortrax’s filament feeder sits on the printhead which is in the way of physically pulling the filament like with the Ultimaker which feeder sits at the back of the machine. I don’t see a way to “Unlock” the feeder system on the Zortrax like on the Ultimaker which would enable one to physically pull the filament out with your hand. But I stand corrected IF any of you could find a way for that.

[3DMuse]

Hi AneMotionHD,

thanks for pointing that out. During my first nozzle block, I managed to remove the feeder motor using this tutorial from Zortrax Support - “Extruder Bearing Exchange” http://support.zortrax.com/extruder\_bearing\_exchange/. Assembly and disassembly was relatively easy and intuitive, just try not to lose the screws. I would then reattach the ribbon cable, switch the machine on and proceed to feed the filament in manually. The question is only if the hole that leads to the heated chamber and the nozzle form a straight line with no narrow passage in between. I doubt that is the case as there is no reason to construct it that way and also complicate manufacturing. If anyone has more info on this please share!

[dowire]

Hi.

The best way to unclog a nozzle is to burn it with a flame.
That will clear all the debris inside… The zortrax printer comes with a set of tools to do that.
So my advice is: remove the nozzle, pick it it with pliers and burn it on the kitchen stove.
Then clean it with a tooth pick and a bit of alcool.
When puting it back is best to heat up the zortrax head, so it will fit tight when cooled.

I’ve done that severel times with very good results.

[Cicio]

In addition to the advice they gave you, I suggest you to use different nozzles for each material, you will avoid problems

[3DMuse]

Hello dowire,

thank you for your tips. I have tried burning and also acetone cleaning for my nozzle but somehow it didn’t work for me. I have a friend with an Ultimaker who switches between Ninjaflex and ABS often and has had great success with cold pulling. That’s the reason why I would like to try it.

[3DMuse]

Hello Cicio,

Thanks for your suggestion. I’m sure that would work as well but perhaps not economical. The reason why I want to explore cold pulling on the Zortrax is because I don’t want to spend so much money on nozzles. Zortrax’s nozzles are not that cheap so if there is a way to remove the carbon residue effectively I would like to explore that option.

[Nebbian]

Best way to cold pull I’ve found is to:

• Wait until everything is cool
• Do a normal preheat
• Keep tension on the filament
• When the nozzle gets to around 120 degrees, the filament will start to release from the nozzle
• Now pull the whole filament out.

When I’ve done this using ABS, it usually has a perfect image of the inside of the nozzle, including a small amount of 0.4mm that is pulled from inside the actual nozzle hole itself.

Using PLA usually doesn’t work as well.

Another trick is to push a heap of filament down into the nozzle as it’s cooling, this means less chance of an air bubble forming when the filament is cold. Then when you do a pull there’s more chance of getting the bit that’s near to the end of the nozzle.

[3DMuse]

You are awesome! Thanks! Sounds plausible. I will even try it tonight as nozzle maintenance. I’m guessing you’s have to remove the filament feeder right?

[3DMuse]

Hello Nebbian,

I’ve tried this technique yesterday evening on my Zortrax M200 and the filament keeps breaking off before the heated block. Did you try this on the Zortrax or on another printer? It seems to me that the passage before the heated block is smaller than the passage after the heated block. It may be physically impossible to perform this procedure on the M200.