26 Reply by MacDoodle

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Re: Issues with black ABS from Solidoodle

I have the same problem. Black filament from Solidoodle have totally clogged my nozzle after only 5 prints. I started at 200 degrees. I used red filament from solidoodle the first day. It worked well. Then I tried black and it just stopped printing. I have tried to clean the nozzle two times. It just clogs up after a minute.

This is dishartening. I paid almost $1000 for this machine (shipping and import tax) and I could only use it for two days printing 5 small objects.

I am using the machine indoors in a totally non-humid area, so my filament has had no exposure to moisture.

Had this machine been bought in my country I'd taken it back to the shop now and gotten my money back or at least a repair. A new nozzle seems like the only thing left to do, but I don't think that I should have to pay for a new one + shipping and import tax again.

27 Reply by incredibert

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Re: Issues with black ABS from Solidoodle

Hey MacDoodle. You can clean your nozzle completely with acetone. I've done it several times now.
Dismount the nozzle direclty through unscrewing the the brass thread on the printhead. Be carefull tho and counter hold it to not get all the force on the guidance rods. Immerse the nozzle in acetone for an hour or so. Unlike the ABS, the cables for heater and temperature and the tapmeasurement do not dissolve in acetone. But better keep the connectors above the surface. I'm not sure what would happen to them.. Then try to clean it with any tool that fits in the hole to get out the rest of the dissolved ABS. I first used a copper wire, then a very small screwdriver. It worked so far that I could see through the nozzle. What I also did before cleaning, was heat up the nozzle when dismounted and push as much rest ABS through the nozzle as possible with a small srewdriver in order to facilitate the job for the acetone.
Best you never use the black filament again. But if you still want to use it, be sure to put it in the oven for a few hours before use. I had the experience now several times that even with a humidity >40% rel. at my home, something happens to the black ABS, which can be solved by drying it in the oven. Now I have nearly perfect prints with my firstly clogged nozzle and the "bad" black filament. I'm very happy now with the solidoodle and I learned a lot through this problems.

28 Reply by MacDoodle (edited by MacDoodle 2013-01-01 20:13:34)

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Re: Issues with black ABS from Solidoodle

Hey incredibert!

Thanks for your reply. I'm trying your method now. The brass end is now immersed in acetone. I hope it helps.


Thanks!

29 Reply by incredibert

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Re: Issues with black ABS from Solidoodle

I removed the hot end from the "funnel" directly on the printhead through unsrewing the brass thread of the hot end (or the nozzle). Otherwise you would have to disassemble the hole print head with it's acrylic glass plates. So there's only the brass thing (the nozzle) with the temperature sensor and heater + cables. No funnel. It stays on the printhead. Also remove the heat insulation, which you can simply pull off. I immersed the hole thing (the nozzle) that far, that the both ends were under the surface and the connectors were above.

My procedure:
1. Unplug the 2 connectors for the heater and temperature sensor
2. Remove the heat insulation (pull off)
3. Take a wrench that fits the hexagon of the nozzle (be sure you don't use the side where the temperature sensor is!!! And be careful, so you don't mess up the tape that holds the sensor)
4. Counter hold with any tool at the plastic feeder (or funnel)
5. Unscrew it (take care for the cables, maybe bend it down a little)
6. Lay it horizontally in a tea cup or whatever with the cables looking upwards
7. Immerse it in acetone at least to the level, where both holes are under the acetone surface (be sure there's no air trapped inside the hole of the nozzle). And connectors above the surface!
8. Wait an hour or so
9. Try to remove as much as possible with any tool that fits in the bigger hole. Maybe use a thin needle for the other side (0.35mm) if even necessary
10. If you can see through the nozzle, you're finished. Otherwise go back to step 6

As i did this, I waited only few minutes after immersing and had to do it several times and took me long to remove all the crap. But waiting longer probably is better, so you only have to do it once maybe.

No guarantee for the procedure! It worked for me tho smile
GOOD LUCK and let me know

30 Reply by MacDoodle

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Re: Issues with black ABS from Solidoodle

Ok,

Now I've tried drilling out the molten plastic in the brass piece (without drilling through the nozzle). I then left the piece in acetone for a few hours. I drilled again and got out most of the plastic. I let the nozzle in acetone for a few hours more.

I also used a blow torch to burn the plastic inside, which resulted in the whole nozzle catching fire. (oups)

Sadly this didn't help. Only 10 seconds after plastic started oozing out of the nozzle (at 210 degrees) it just stopped. It didn't even help that I pushed down hard to help the filament down.

My nozzle must be really busted or something... I'm goin to buy a 0.3mm drill tomorrow and try it one last time.
I'll let you know how it goes.

31 Reply by velvetcream

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Re: Issues with black ABS from Solidoodle

Is anyone still having issues with this? My black solidoodle filament worked well for the first half of the roll.  My solidoodle plastic was shipped early Feb. 

Now its been very problematic, and strips quite often. My other plastics are working fine.

Ps-When not in use, i put the filament in ziplock bags with silica packets.

32 Reply by Dogodile

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Re: Issues with black ABS from Solidoodle

Anyone still having problems. Just got a roll of black having tons of trouble printing. My original roll of natural abs prints perfectly. The black just strips.

33 Reply by solijohn

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Re: Issues with black ABS from Solidoodle

Dogodile wrote:

Anyone still having problems. Just got a roll of black having tons of trouble printing. My original roll of natural abs prints perfectly. The black just strips.

Have you tried adjusting your thumbscrew? Sometimes this may help.

Former Solidoodle employee, no longer associated with the company.

34 Reply by jcotton

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Re: Issues with black ABS from Solidoodle

I got black ABS January 2013. I'm in Florida and the humidity is 73% and the air temp is 88 degrees... feels like 100!!! The black won't even think about extruding. It's curling up before it gets into the peek.

35 Reply by dkeeling728

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Re: Issues with black ABS from Solidoodle

ive yet to try any SD filament. all my filament so far has been octave and sani-smart off of amazon.com (free shipping). the octave black ABS prints absolutely perfect, their white has some issues. the same can be said of the sani PLA rolls ive tried so far. of course take that with a grain of salt, since ive read some negative reviews of both companies products.

i think when it comes to filament, your always going to have differences roll to roll. thats just the nature of it. i would hope supplier would disclose the amount of recycled material they are using since that does matter for these machines. i suspect that the plastic everyone is having problems with has a higher than normal concentration of recycled ABS. if your having problems with a roll, clean your nozzle and try a totally different roll, you might have an unusable roll. but if your having problems with several rolls of different colors, then you have a problem somewhere else.

check your temperature curve display in repetier and see if you see any wild fluctuations in hot end temp. this can cause clogs if its spiking way high then dropping low. do a PID autotune, build an enclosure around your printer, and try again. you want that graph to be as smooth and linear as possible.

get a gunsafe dehumidifier and toss it in the airtight bin you keep your filament in. try the oven trick, if its not the printer itself, just keep trying stuff till you get results. if everything fails, send the plastic to the recycling center and try a different supplier.