Just want to say I'm very new to 3D printing and had no idea what a cold pull is, this is by far the best tutorial I've seen. Subscribed to you! I love the energy and how well you explain things. Made it so easy to follow
One thing I would add...I would move the print head to the corner and be wary you are not pulling upwards too hard to damage the metal rods. I've never used Nylon for my Atomic Pulls, just PLA...heat to 220, press filament in, then cool to 90C and pull. Rinse and repeat as needed. I'll have to see how Nylon does as a comparison! :)
The Explorographer There is no 'correct' or 'wrong' way. Of course, it works with PLA, but if you have some Nylon, thats better. The type of material doesn't really affect the cold pull. It's the action that does the magic. The type of material just changes how well a material works to clean out another material, based temperatures
What i dont get is why he heats up the filament before pulling it out. Why call it a cold pull when you heat it up? I Also always use pla and either let it cool down all the way or heat it to 80C because it gets really flexible but it will pull everything out even the little bit right inside the 0.3mm hole.
Quick note to add: if you have a hot end where the PTFE tube goes ALL the way down to the nozzle (such as a CR-10), even if your firmware allows you to go to ludicrous temps, you should throttle it around 235c.
Eh. Even the UM2+ has a PTFE coupler between the hot end and the Bowden tube that needs to be replaced once in awhile from heat exposure (after1000hrs print time usually). Needs to be replaced more often with higher temps. Not like a cold pull takes that long anyway.
I took an old Bowden tube and cut an 2inch piece to guide my filament when loading hotend. Then after hotend cooled, I removed the tube, reheated hotend and did a cold pull. That way I didn't need to worry about guiding filament or burning my Bowden tube.😅
I remember the first time I learned this trick. I was extremely excited. Made my printing life so much better. You are still one of like 10 people that have one of my custom faceplate haha.
Joel, I love you. I've been having trouble lately and the last print was plain awful. So, I bought 1 roll of nylon filament (I though "what the heck, let's give it a try") and after about 10 pulls, it is now printing as good as new. Thank you so much for this.
Love a good cold pull :P Also what can work amazing is to use intentionally moisture damaged nylon next to 'steam clean' the remaining crap out of the nozzle. Like seriously if you let it get wet it pops spits and builds up pressure in the nozzle. It's SO satisfying.
As I just posted, string trimmer line works well too, with the added benefit of it usually being quite full of moisture, so you get the steam cleaning effect as well.
@@mattelder1971 Thats funny. I was just thinking about that while watching this wondering where I was going to get a nylon string like that. I have some "twisted" trimmer line as well. Maybe turning it around and back and forth in the nozzle will have an "agitation effect" or a "swiping effect" and clean even better :)
A little hint, if (like me) you don't normally print in nylon, and therefore don't have nylon filament around to do this, look for a small pack of string trimmer line at a home improvement store or the garden section of Walmart. You can usually find a small roll of it for just a couple of dollars. Be sure to get ROUND line (it does come in other shapes), and make sure the size is one that will fit your extruder (.065 inch line works well since it works out to 1.65mm, just under the normal 1.75mm size of filament).
I occasionally find myself frustrated by random clogs in my Prusa i3 MK3 and after being benched for a month -- and fearing that a complete teardown and PTFE-tube replacement was in my future -- I thought that a cold pull might help, so I watched this video. I turned up the extruder temp to the max (295C, IIRC) and when I inserted my regular PLA filament, noticed that molten filament was flowing, so clog problem solved! :) While I may do a cold pull down the road, it just didn't dawn on me to really crank up the temp to unclog the printer! Thank you, Joel, for making such clear (and helpful) videos for newbies like me!
Oh, I was going to say that you listed the steps in your video and I'd find it even more helpful if you listed those in the description (or had a link to a page containing same), so we short-term-memory-challenged folks can use it as a checklist during the process. Thank you!
Thank You! I've been sitting with a clogged extruder forever. I looked up how to do an "atomic pull" and was thoroughly unimpressed with the results. You're technique seems much better, and I'll give it a try so I can get back to printing toys for my kids.
Thank you so much! This was the best explanation ive found for a cold pull and finally got my printer unclogged. Gonna be more careful using filament with glitter in it from now on....
Is there a way to search topics of your videos. I think they are great and I often need to research a particular topic. As an example, I want to know the ins and outs of printing with Nylon. Thanks
I don't even have a filament printer, yet this was very interesting to me! Surprisingly, I still get asked a lot of questions about filament stuff, so always appreciate having more knowledge on hand to share when I can! :)
@@jorgeespinoza3938 actually it looks like it would be pretty easy to write a piece of gcode for it. would work especially well with direct extruders. I wouldn't be surprised if such a gcode already exists
I have had super success with esun cleaning filament. Rescued a nozzle after multiple cold pulls have failed. I was about to throw away the nozzle. Came out loke new. Ran around 10 cm of cleaning filament through the nozzle then did a cold pull using the same cleaning filament. The cleaning filament cold pull is at room temperature. Amazing stuff
Thank you! I'm new to 3D printing. On forums I occasionally read the suggestion that someone should do a "cold pull" on the printer and the rest of the folks on the forum all nod like we all know that means. NOW, thanks to you ... I know what that means! Thanks Joel!
Amazingly some searches on the internet for “cold pull 3d printer” gives you loads of results. No need to wait for a spontanious TH-cam algorytm to present you with the answer.
I have done cold pulls on my Ultimaker Original and UM2+ for a long time but using nylon adds an extra dimension that I didn't think of before, so gave it a whirl. Couple that with the constant pressure while cooling, it works really, really well! Nice one, Joel; adding a new twist to an essential technique! #highfive
thank you so much, i had to try this while my printer had paused a print and it worked :D didnt want to wait another 2 hours to print something that was almost done.
Just got 7 year old printer for pennies. This video cleared biggest problem i had whit it (after rewiring controlbox😅). Thank you for your 5+ years old video!🎉
Nice tip ! I don't do it exactly the same ... My method differs in only 1 point : I don't re-heat once it's at the desired temp. With nylon, I let it reach 120°C or so and then pull the whole stuff. Works like a charm. also works with PLA, going down to 90°C.
Just had my 4 week old Ender 3 V2 clog up after about 100 hours of printing (last 3 projects were over 20 hours each). It clogged just about 3 layers short of completing the last model (sigh). Between the Creality video and this one, I should be able to get running in no time. Thanks!
Thanks for all of the great info Joel. This helps me out a ton. I'm a noob at this & would never have thought this was an issue until I actually started developing problems. I'm pretty sure you just saved me a bunch of failed prints.
we had a jam a couple of weeks ago on our ultimaker 2+ printer at the office. It took us a total of 3 hours to figure out what was wrong where. In the end it was a huge blob of plastic that didn't want to melt at all. It nearly destroyed the whole extruder. We also lost the spring that was in the filament drive, so jammed an allen wrench in to keep the button pressed.... Luckily it has been printing quite ok since then, but I still prefer my personal flashforge finder (350 euro) over an ultimaker that is literally 10 times the cost
Having a clogged nozzle was the worst experience ive had starting out. It took me FOREVER to get it right, although once i realize cleaning the nozzle is very important everything came together and my life changed for the better lol i no longer get frustrated and give up on my 3d printer. it still is a process to have it clean, the cold pull method is something id have to try for myself! #3DPrinting101
I cold-pull (usually using PETG cause it likes to stick to things better than nylon and it's all clear and easy to see the gunk on) all the way through the bowden and extruder, no need to dis-assemble.
I preffer doing it outside with a heatgun. With it clogs i just jam in a new nozzle and then clean it later. I also give it a few brushes with the steel wire brush till its all clean too
Mine was once clogged as in no filament would come out at all because it somehow wasn't melting the old filament further away from the heating block so I took a lighter and heated all around it until about 300-350°c and that was enough to melt all of it and I could then push it out. A bit extreme but if this video doesn't work that might be your next only solution.
Nice! Watch out for wear on the filament intake; that 90 degree bend is harsh! I suggest your fist print be a filament guide. www.thingiverse.com/search?q=ender+3+filament+guide This one looks quit nice, and uses bearings for a smoother filament path: www.thingiverse.com/thing:303550
I am in no way a printing veteran. However, I feel I have come past amateur status lol. That being said, I feel if you think you know everything about a topic you should stop doing it. I think these videos are great and need to stay relevant and updated to current popular models so that people searching for them can use them step by step. As long as there are new users 101 type videos will always be needed. Keep up the good work Joel and 🤚
Thank you! Perfect timing! My Qidi X-One printer just clogged last night and I was having a lot of trouble finding out how to unclog it without taking it apart.
I remember my first jammed nozzle, back when I couldn't find replacements. I was printing with ABS and was getting all kind of tension and build up in my hotend. I took the nozzle off and let it sit in acetone overnight to unclog it! 😆
I've done this before and just end up with a bunch of gooey abs still choked in the nozzle. Had to keep agitating and rinsing it out with acetone several times. Maybe that plug was extra bad, but it seems like a cold pull could do just as well and maybe a little faster.
Rock, paper, scissors...lizard Spock! I've had the same shirt for years and never seen it on anyone else. Please consider leaving a link when you wear a cool shirt, which seems to be more often than not.
Nice video Joel. Good idea for alternative methods ... I use cleaning filament (eSun) which has a little gritty feel and seems to help scrub the insides as it moves through the nozzle. I then set temp to 100°C and let sit for a few minutes just before slow pulling.
I don't know if step 7 is necessary or even helpful. It doesn't necessarily hurt but if you wait too long, your temperature will overshoot and you'll need to repeat the process. Basically push and hold until the nozzle cools down to 65˚C (for nylon!) and pull. At least with trying to pull while cooling down, if you don't pull it out, you can heat it up and try again on the warmup.
Nylon is best because of it's melting temp and it's strength. I don't know if others will work. You could reach out to any reseller or post in a group - see if someone has some Nylon to spare?
sweet info, been doing this for years. One thing, actually I've found things like Nylon aren't the best. Reason, they release at higher temps, so lets say the PLA you are trying to clean out is actually liquid already before the nylon releases. Honestly I've found Flexables (TPU TPEE) work the best as you can let it get near room temp to do the pull. Everything is somewhat solid and when you pull it you'll hear a satisfying POP and everything in the nozzle gets yanked out.... nothing gets left behind.
Can you do a cold pull not heating up the hot ends? just pulling the filament out cold? I've been doing it that way and need to know if I'm damaging the hot end....
So you're using 3mm Taulman clear nylon and I assume you normally use larger 2.85mm filament in your printer. Mine uses 1.75mm so do I need 2mm or 1.75mm filament? I can't imagine it can handle 3mm. Sorry if this has already been answered but there's so many comments at this point.
If printing with carbon fiber nylon, the material that is stuck, should i heat the nozzle up to its printing temperature, which is 260 instead of 200 for step 7?
Probably the best cold pull video ever. Also, looking for a followup video on this where we get to see the Full Joel Cold Pull. Lastly, those subtle little inserts from Sean might be the highlight of videos like this :D
I have a bowden tube with PTFE hotend. I tried a cold pull with PLA. Ended up in clogging the whole hotend. Heated up to 200, pushed a little while letting cooling down. First try at 90C PLA broke. Next try at 130C worked. Did it again, whole hotend was clogged, even heating up to 260C didnt help. I pulled out the bowden tube and put in PLA direct. Is that wrong? Or do i have to do the cold pull from the external extruder thru the whole bowden line?
Great instructions Joel! I had bought some "cleaning filament" for my M3D Micro as it clogged ALL THE TIME. But never really knew the right way to use it. What you showed makes a ton of sense.
I got myself in a good habit that in between every filament change I do a cold pull. And I even keep that little bit of filament that’s left on a spool just for an occasional cold pull as well if I feel the need.
have you ever worked with a CTC 3d printer, If you have could you make a video series regarding maintenance and recommended mods for the best 3d prints?
thanks a lot your video helped me solve my jam , and i even found out(thanks to you showing me the cold pull) that my printer came with a tool to use on the jams
Good to know that works lol, I've been doing that with PLA for a long time and has worked flawlessly ;-) I have a different method but same principles, while it cooling I just keep jamming it back in and out cutting off the tip each time until it won't melt anymore.
I bought some eSun "cleaning filament" when I first got my printer, and I've only used it once! XD But then again I only had a clog once after a LOT of wood-fill printing, but it was a total clog. So I just went the lazy route and (not having any replacements yet), bought a pack of 0.4mm nozzles and just switched it out. :P Maybe I'll try using it a bit more between filament changes and see if I actually get any crud out.
I tried to do this cold pull on my Anycubic Mega and the filament snapped within the printhead :-(. I tried a spare printhead and the result is the same - now, I am left with two unusable printheads :-(. Any idea how to remove the filament?
Just want to say I'm very new to 3D printing and had no idea what a cold pull is, this is by far the best tutorial I've seen. Subscribed to you! I love the energy and how well you explain things. Made it so easy to follow
I love these basic videos. It helps everyone. Please do more of these!
One thing I would add...I would move the print head to the corner and be wary you are not pulling upwards too hard to damage the metal rods. I've never used Nylon for my Atomic Pulls, just PLA...heat to 220, press filament in, then cool to 90C and pull. Rinse and repeat as needed. I'll have to see how Nylon does as a comparison! :)
In work we used PLA to cold pull a fully cloged UM3 BB hot end (with PVA) it takes few pulls and in the end it was like brand new.
Yes, this is the correct way... the way it is explained in the video is not the correct way.
The Explorographer There is no 'correct' or 'wrong' way. Of course, it works with PLA, but if you have some Nylon, thats better. The type of material doesn't really affect the cold pull. It's the action that does the magic. The type of material just changes how well a material works to clean out another material, based temperatures
Well then we can just agree to disagree. I am going by how it is shown to be done right from the Ultimaker site. Do it however you want.
What i dont get is why he heats up the filament before pulling it out. Why call it a cold pull when you heat it up? I Also always use pla and either let it cool down all the way or heat it to 80C because it gets really flexible but it will pull everything out even the little bit right inside the 0.3mm hole.
Quick note to add: if you have a hot end where the PTFE tube goes ALL the way down to the nozzle (such as a CR-10), even if your firmware allows you to go to ludicrous temps, you should throttle it around 235c.
Meh, I'm printing PETG at 260°C with this and the bowden tube looks fine...
Eh. Even the UM2+ has a PTFE coupler between the hot end and the Bowden tube that needs to be replaced once in awhile from heat exposure (after1000hrs print time usually). Needs to be replaced more often with higher temps. Not like a cold pull takes that long anyway.
I took an old Bowden tube and cut an 2inch piece to guide my filament when loading hotend. Then after hotend cooled, I removed the tube, reheated hotend and did a cold pull. That way I didn't need to worry about guiding filament or burning my Bowden tube.😅
I remember the first time I learned this trick. I was extremely excited. Made my printing life so much better. You are still one of like 10 people that have one of my custom faceplate haha.
Joel, I love you. I've been having trouble lately and the last print was plain awful. So, I bought 1 roll of nylon filament (I though "what the heck, let's give it a try") and after about 10 pulls, it is now printing as good as new.
Thank you so much for this.
Love a good cold pull :P Also what can work amazing is to use intentionally moisture damaged nylon next to 'steam clean' the remaining crap out of the nozzle. Like seriously if you let it get wet it pops spits and builds up pressure in the nozzle. It's SO satisfying.
YES! I've only done that once, long ago, on accident. I need to do it again. Plus, it's super easy to do!
Steam clean? My dad would freak out
As I just posted, string trimmer line works well too, with the added benefit of it usually being quite full of moisture, so you get the steam cleaning effect as well.
@@mattelder1971 Thats funny. I was just thinking about that while watching this wondering where I was going to get a nylon string like that. I have some "twisted" trimmer line as well. Maybe turning it around and back and forth in the nozzle will have an "agitation effect" or a "swiping effect" and clean even better :)
@@mattelder1971 What size line trimmer line would be appropriate for a 4mm printer nozzle?
A little hint, if (like me) you don't normally print in nylon, and therefore don't have nylon filament around to do this, look for a small pack of string trimmer line at a home improvement store or the garden section of Walmart. You can usually find a small roll of it for just a couple of dollars. Be sure to get ROUND line (it does come in other shapes), and make sure the size is one that will fit your extruder (.065 inch line works well since it works out to 1.65mm, just under the normal 1.75mm size of filament).
good to know
Joel just feels so personal, like he cares about my happiness and stuff. Thanks Joel, I WILL get something tasty to drink. :)
When I tweeted a number of 3d printing youtubers he was the first to respond back to me.
And I replied here too!
Some heroes don't wear capes :D
Papa Joel, tell us a 3D printing bedtime story
I occasionally find myself frustrated by random clogs in my Prusa i3 MK3 and after being benched for a month -- and fearing that a complete teardown and PTFE-tube replacement was in my future -- I thought that a cold pull might help, so I watched this video. I turned up the extruder temp to the max (295C, IIRC) and when I inserted my regular PLA filament, noticed that molten filament was flowing, so clog problem solved! :) While I may do a cold pull down the road, it just didn't dawn on me to really crank up the temp to unclog the printer! Thank you, Joel, for making such clear (and helpful) videos for newbies like me!
Oh, I was going to say that you listed the steps in your video and I'd find it even more helpful if you listed those in the description (or had a link to a page containing same), so we short-term-memory-challenged folks can use it as a checklist during the process. Thank you!
Thank You! I've been sitting with a clogged extruder forever. I looked up how to do an "atomic pull" and was thoroughly unimpressed with the results. You're technique seems much better, and I'll give it a try so I can get back to printing toys for my kids.
Thank you so much! This was the best explanation ive found for a cold pull and finally got my printer unclogged. Gonna be more careful using filament with glitter in it from now on....
Is there a way to search topics of your videos. I think they are great and I often need to research a particular topic. As an example, I want to know the ins and outs of printing with Nylon. Thanks
I don't even have a filament printer, yet this was very interesting to me! Surprisingly, I still get asked a lot of questions about filament stuff, so always appreciate having more knowledge on hand to share when I can! :)
welbot wouldn't it be nice to have a 3d printer with an "autoclean" feature? Hope manufacturers take notice.
@@jorgeespinoza3938 actually it looks like it would be pretty easy to write a piece of gcode for it. would work especially well with direct extruders. I wouldn't be surprised if such a gcode already exists
I have had super success with esun cleaning filament. Rescued a nozzle after multiple cold pulls have failed. I was about to throw away the nozzle. Came out loke new. Ran around 10 cm of cleaning filament through the nozzle then did a cold pull using the same cleaning filament. The cleaning filament cold pull is at room temperature. Amazing stuff
Thank you! I'm new to 3D printing. On forums I occasionally read the suggestion that someone should do a "cold pull" on the printer and the rest of the folks on the forum all nod like we all know that means. NOW, thanks to you ... I know what that means! Thanks Joel!
Amazingly some searches on the internet for “cold pull 3d printer” gives you loads of results.
No need to wait for a spontanious TH-cam algorytm to present you with the answer.
Thank you for sharing and helping me learn in my 3d printing endeavors.
I had not seen this method using nylon, good idea . Thanks
A cold beverage sounds nice…I think I will indulge while engaging in this practice. Thank you! Still learning everything with 3D printing
Great video mate. Put it on my watch later playlist so I can always come back to it for refresher.
Joel you're a legend. I have literally been suffering this issue for the past week and this just diagnosed and fixed it. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much. I have never understood how to do this. A visual guide made this misunderstood method easier to understand.
I have done cold pulls on my Ultimaker Original and UM2+ for a long time but using nylon adds an extra dimension that I didn't think of before, so gave it a whirl. Couple that with the constant pressure while cooling, it works really, really well!
Nice one, Joel; adding a new twist to an essential technique! #highfive
thank you so much, i had to try this while my printer had paused a print and it worked :D didnt want to wait another 2 hours to print something that was almost done.
I’ve read the term cold pull so many times but honestly was afraid of asking and looking dumb. Thanks for the video!
Thanks for watching!
Just got 7 year old printer for pennies. This video cleared biggest problem i had whit it (after rewiring controlbox😅).
Thank you for your 5+ years old video!🎉
That’s great news! You’re welcome:)
12 minutes. awesome. helps with my stress right now.
Thanks!
I subbed when I saw you're in WA. I'm in Kent lol. Thank you for this video. I think I have this exact problem. Not a full jam but partial blockage.
Thank you for this! I've read plenty of pages on how to do a cold pull, but seeing it is always helpful.
Bacon jalapeño jam?
You've changed my life and now I'm on a mission to find such a thing
Nice tip !
I don't do it exactly the same ... My method differs in only 1 point : I don't re-heat once it's at the desired temp. With nylon, I let it reach 120°C or so and then pull the whole stuff. Works like a charm.
also works with PLA, going down to 90°C.
Just had my 4 week old Ender 3 V2 clog up after about 100 hours of printing (last 3 projects were over 20 hours each). It clogged just about 3 layers short of completing the last model (sigh). Between the Creality video and this one, I should be able to get running in no time. Thanks!
Thanks for all of the great info Joel. This helps me out a ton. I'm a noob at this & would never have thought this was an issue until I actually started developing problems. I'm pretty sure you just saved me a bunch of failed prints.
This was not remedial for me! This was so helpful! Thanks, 3d Printing Nerd!
Hi Joel I will be getting my first 3d printer in December and I feel that your channel is preparing me for the frustration and solutions
Wow Joel this was super Helpful, for someone who has just gotten started I'd appreciate more of this format
we had a jam a couple of weeks ago on our ultimaker 2+ printer at the office. It took us a total of 3 hours to figure out what was wrong where. In the end it was a huge blob of plastic that didn't want to melt at all. It nearly destroyed the whole extruder.
We also lost the spring that was in the filament drive, so jammed an allen wrench in to keep the button pressed....
Luckily it has been printing quite ok since then, but I still prefer my personal flashforge finder (350 euro) over an ultimaker that is literally 10 times the cost
Having a clogged nozzle was the worst experience ive had starting out. It took me FOREVER to get it right, although once i realize cleaning the nozzle is very important everything came together and my life changed for the better lol i no longer get frustrated and give up on my 3d printer. it still is a process to have it clean, the cold pull method is something id have to try for myself!
#3DPrinting101
I cold-pull (usually using PETG cause it likes to stick to things better than nylon and it's all clear and easy to see the gunk on) all the way through the bowden and extruder, no need to dis-assemble.
I preffer doing it outside with a heatgun.
With it clogs i just jam in a new nozzle and then clean it later. I also give it a few brushes with the steel wire brush till its all clean too
Mine was once clogged as in no filament would come out at all because it somehow wasn't melting the old filament further away from the heating block so I took a lighter and heated all around it until about 300-350°c and that was enough to melt all of it and I could then push it out. A bit extreme but if this video doesn't work that might be your next only solution.
Would a good test be changing out nozzle thereby confirming you need to do a cold pull?
As a newbie to 3D printing, I found this extremely helpful (and entertaining!).
Excellent video - thank you! My first printer (Ender 3) has just arrived 20 minutes ago too! Happy days...
Nice!
Watch out for wear on the filament intake; that 90 degree bend is harsh! I suggest your fist print be a filament guide.
www.thingiverse.com/search?q=ender+3+filament+guide
This one looks quit nice, and uses bearings for a smoother filament path: www.thingiverse.com/thing:303550
James Laine Excellent! Thanks for the tip and the links - very much appreciated! 👍🏻😎
Always coming in clutch for me Joel
Always love seeing comments from you man!
For those like myself who are just starting out this stuff is gold.
I love the homemade look of the ultimaker.. looks like some one in jr. high school made it.
Hoping this works better than that sunlu? I think cleaner filament. That just clogs the nozzle and never flows out when I change filaments.
Could you look at the new Anycubic Chiron? The 25 sample bed leveling system looks neat and I’m curious how well it works.
your the only person how helped me clean my nozzle thank yo soooooooooooooooooo much man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am in no way a printing veteran. However, I feel I have come past amateur status lol.
That being said, I feel if you think you know everything about a topic you should stop doing it.
I think these videos are great and need to stay relevant and updated to current popular models so that people searching for them can use them step by step. As long as there are new users 101 type videos will always be needed.
Keep up the good work Joel and 🤚
Thank you! Perfect timing! My Qidi X-One printer just clogged last night and I was having a lot of trouble finding out how to unclog it without taking it apart.
I don't have any nylon. I tried cranking it up to my highest, 260, and pushing some regular filament in. Nothing comes out of the nozzle.
Do you think it collects more plastic when operating at higher temperatures?
Does the nylon, then have to be cleaned out of the nozzle, or does it just stick to itself , well enough, to come out?
Is this an alternative to just replacing the nozzle, or does it clean out more than just the replaceable part?
IDK if its been tried but I weld and we have tools for nozzle cleaning. I wonder if that would work also.
Perfect timing, having some issues with my Prusa I3 Mk3 and came to TH-cam to research this very thing!
I remember my first jammed nozzle, back when I couldn't find replacements. I was printing with ABS and was getting all kind of tension and build up in my hotend. I took the nozzle off and let it sit in acetone overnight to unclog it! 😆
Stephen Zura now that is an idea I like! Screw putting force on your z-axis... Just soak it!
I've done this before and just end up with a bunch of gooey abs still choked in the nozzle. Had to keep agitating and rinsing it out with acetone several times. Maybe that plug was extra bad, but it seems like a cold pull could do just as well and maybe a little faster.
Unfortunately, Acetone wont clear out PLA, etc., only ABS
Rock, paper, scissors...lizard Spock! I've had the same shirt for years and never seen it on anyone else. Please consider leaving a link when you wear a cool shirt, which seems to be more often than not.
Great info, especially for people newer to printing.
Nice video Joel. Good idea for alternative methods ...
I use cleaning filament (eSun) which has a little gritty feel and seems to help scrub the insides as it moves through the nozzle. I then set temp to 100°C and let sit for a few minutes just before slow pulling.
I don't know if step 7 is necessary or even helpful. It doesn't necessarily hurt but if you wait too long, your temperature will overshoot and you'll need to repeat the process. Basically push and hold until the nozzle cools down to 65˚C (for nylon!) and pull. At least with trying to pull while cooling down, if you don't pull it out, you can heat it up and try again on the warmup.
I dont have a nylon filament to use this technique. What can I do? GREAT video
Nylon is best because of it's melting temp and it's strength. I don't know if others will work. You could reach out to any reseller or post in a group - see if someone has some Nylon to spare?
Newb here. Heard of a cold pull but never knew what it was. Thanks. Any thoughts on cleaning filament?
Thanks for sharing this. I need to do this. I suspected partial clog, based on the last print. Now I know how to clean it out. Thank you
sweet info, been doing this for years. One thing, actually I've found things like Nylon aren't the best. Reason, they release at higher temps, so lets say the PLA you are trying to clean out is actually liquid already before the nylon releases. Honestly I've found Flexables (TPU TPEE) work the best as you can let it get near room temp to do the pull. Everything is somewhat solid and when you pull it you'll hear a satisfying POP and everything in the nozzle gets yanked out.... nothing gets left behind.
Can you do a cold pull not heating up the hot ends? just pulling the filament out cold? I've been doing it that way and need to know if I'm damaging the hot end....
Am new to 3D printing so yes, I appreciate this. I'll order some nylon.
Decided to do a cold pull after having seen this video. I am currently waiting for the hot end to cool down and am enjoying my cold beverage! :)
So you're using 3mm Taulman clear nylon and I assume you normally use larger 2.85mm filament in your printer. Mine uses 1.75mm so do I need 2mm or 1.75mm filament? I can't imagine it can handle 3mm. Sorry if this has already been answered but there's so many comments at this point.
If printing with carbon fiber nylon, the material that is stuck, should i heat the nozzle up to its printing temperature, which is 260 instead of 200 for step 7?
Probably the best cold pull video ever. Also, looking for a followup video on this where we get to see the Full Joel Cold Pull. Lastly, those subtle little inserts from Sean might be the highlight of videos like this :D
Thank you! I try to spice things up here and there, but I'll never be as spicy as bacon jalapeno jam. :)
I like when your videos show up as a google result!
I do as well!
Can you do this with cleaning filament instead of nylon?
Im liking these kinds of videos Joel!
You can consider placing the extruder in the corner; this can prevent the rods from bending. Like this video dough
GREAT tip!
Hey Joel what do I do if my printer extruded stepper motor is skipping?
It's good to have videos like this how about a video on maintenance for 3d printers good example would be what kind oil is best on guide rails.
so when are u going to do a follow up on the kodoma ks printer ?
I have a bowden tube with PTFE hotend. I tried a cold pull with PLA. Ended up in clogging the whole hotend. Heated up to 200, pushed a little while letting cooling down. First try at 90C PLA broke. Next try at 130C worked. Did it again, whole hotend was clogged, even heating up to 260C didnt help. I pulled out the bowden tube and put in PLA direct. Is that wrong? Or do i have to do the cold pull from the external extruder thru the whole bowden line?
Great instructions Joel! I had bought some "cleaning filament" for my M3D Micro as it clogged ALL THE TIME. But never really knew the right way to use it. What you showed makes a ton of sense.
I got myself in a good habit that in between every filament change I do a cold pull. And I even keep that little bit of filament that’s left on a spool just for an occasional cold pull as well if I feel the need.
have you ever worked with a CTC 3d printer, If you have could you make a video series regarding maintenance and recommended mods for the best 3d prints?
Thanks for an excellent step by step detailing of the process. Guess it's something we should be doing periodically anyways.
thanks a lot your video helped me solve my jam , and i even found out(thanks to you showing me the cold pull) that my printer came with a tool to use on the jams
Glad I could help
Do you use the same size nylon as your machines filament size? So if I use 1.75 filament do I use 1.75 nylon??
Certainly wasn't remedial to me. I heard of the fabled cold pull before, but never seen it done, so thanks for showing how it's done!
Should a cold pull be done only as a reactive measure to inconsistent extrusions or can it be done as a routine preventative measure??
It very much can be done as routine maintenance though personally I only do it when I have an issue.
Can you also do this without nylon (I've only got a brass nozzle) or do you need a filament that has a higher melting point than what's inside?
This was very helpful as i do not know how. But one quistion would weed wacker string work its nilon sam sice as my boeden tube
It CAN work yes
Hey that would be a funny vid using weed waker line ay
3:25 What is the purpose of those clips?
Good to know that works lol, I've been doing that with PLA for a long time and has worked flawlessly ;-)
I have a different method but same principles, while it cooling I just keep jamming it back in and out cutting off the tip each time until it won't melt anymore.
I've always wanted to know what a cold pull was! Thanks joel!
I bought some eSun "cleaning filament" when I first got my printer, and I've only used it once! XD But then again I only had a clog once after a LOT of wood-fill printing, but it was a total clog. So I just went the lazy route and (not having any replacements yet), bought a pack of 0.4mm nozzles and just switched it out. :P Maybe I'll try using it a bit more between filament changes and see if I actually get any crud out.
Will PETG work instead of nylon?
I tried to do this cold pull on my Anycubic Mega and the filament snapped within the printhead :-(. I tried a spare printhead and the result is the same - now, I am left with two unusable printheads :-(. Any idea how to remove the filament?
Are there any nozzles that are relatively easy to disassemble, and then maybe you can pop 'em in solvent when you need to clean material from 'em?
What if you don't have nylon? And what if you've already pulled the filament out?