1 Topic by iainb

  • iainb
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  • Registered: 2017-07-18
  • Posts: 3

Topic: ABS Filament Extrusion Problem - Noztek Pro

Hi guys I'm Iain. Wondering if anyone has any experience/knowledge of working with a Noztek pro. I'm currently working with it to try and extrude ABS filament. So far I have tried at extrusion temps of the range 180 C - 260 C. I know that 260 C is quite high for ABS but I kept attempting higher temps as after a while extruding the machine would stop, as if there was a barrel block. Previous to me using the machine, I'm a masters student, a PhD student used the machine to extrude PLA and a luminescent powder. I have used a compound called Asaclean to clean the machine and taken the machine itself apart to clean the internals (barrel, screw, nozzle etc with acetone) and when i attempted ABS it got stuck again. I'm getting to my wits end and would really appreciate if anyone with any experience with filament extrusion could point me in the right direction. Thanks for reading.

2 Reply by roshan00

  • roshan00
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  • Registered: 2019-07-09
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Re: ABS Filament Extrusion Problem - Noztek Pro

Hi Iain. I realise you're probably not working on this any more, but I will answer anyway (if for nothing else, then just for some useful procrastination). I'm currently using  Noztek Pro for a PhD project. The recommendation is to extrude ABS at 195C, which is also what I would recommend. If you're at 260C it is possible that the filament will get burnt, which has happened to me (perhaps due to the larger heat contact area that the pellets are exposed to in the extruder when compared to in a printer).

The only possibility I can think of in this case is that you don't have enough pellets in the hopper. If there aren't enough, then they tend to get stuck in the hopper without being pushed down in to the screw grooves. This effect is more for when the Noztek is at a 45 degree angle (in fact I am just about to try positioning the Noztek horizontally to ensure the pellets travel straight down in to the screw). But I cannot see why lower temperatures would cause the filament to get stuck. Have you checked the temperature during extrusion (it often drops drastically), or the temperature control? Perhaps there is a problem with the heater. And did the PhD student before you have any problems with it?

Other that that, I cannot think why the motor gets stuck. Hope everything went well in the end.

Finally, if you are doing this regularly, extrusion and ABS printing should be done in a well ventilated environment due to the nanoparticles and Volatile Organic Compounds which are created. That means either outside, in an area with air extraction, or in an enclosure with a pre-filter, HEPA and activated carbon filter.